Max and OB | By : literatty Category: G through L > Hollyoaks Views: 1180 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Hollyoaks, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
"Tony..."
"You alright Max? You want to come in?"
Shit, thought OB
"No, no it's OK, I thought..."Max's voice sounded odd, too level and monotone, even from the top of the stairs where OB was awkwardly perched.There was a pause. OB pushed himself forward, trying to breathe quietly, straining to hear, wished he could see the door.
"Has someth...Max?"
Then sudden footsteps moving away, fast.
"Max!"
And then the door closing. After a moment Tony appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking thoughtful.
"He was looking for you, you know"
"Don't be stupid" OB pushed himself up off the step and came downstairs two at a time, avoiding Tony's eyes. He plonked himself back down in the chair. From a lack of anything else to do he picked up his mug, rolled it between his hands. Then he put it down again carefully on the ring it had made on the coffee table, not looking at Tony.
"Why...why would he want to see me?"
"After your Dustin Hoffman impression?"
OB looked blank. Tony sighed
"'The Graduate'? I was there OB- you did everything but drag him out of that church and onto a bus"
"What you on about Tony?"
"Never mind. Point is, you didn't see him, he was looking all round to see if you were here"
OB felt his stomach lurch
"So?"
"So...O'Brien, get out there and find him. NOW!"
The door was open when OB got there. Not just unlocked, but jammed wide open, with a red high-heeled shoe. It looked expensive. OB toed it away on the way in and pulled the door closed softly behind him. He stood for a moment, palm still against the cold handle, ready to shove it open again. Fast of necessary.What if Max had just wanted to warn him off a final time? He let go of the door and the handle sprang up, hitting his palm with a sharp click, making him jump. He ran a hand through his hair, realised he was shaking just a little.
"Max?"
Nothing.
"Max...mate, you in here?"
No Max, no Tom...no Claire? He could smell her perfume, but it was faint. His foot caught on something. Clothes, piles of them on the floor. He picked one up on the toe of his trainer and let it drop again.
"Stamp on 'em..."
OB spun round, caught at the counter to steady himself. Max was in the doorway, a bundle of Claire's clothes in his arms "...if you like"
"You alright mate?" OB tried to keep his voice level, squinted, trying to get a look at his face, but the kitchen light behind made Max an unreadable silhouette.
"Fine"
"Where's..."
"Tom? Sophie's looking after him"That calm voice again, like he was talking from a distance.
"...Claire?"
Max chucked the bundle on top of the others "I came looking for you. Earlier."
"Yeah"
"You want a beer"
It wasn't a question. OB nodded warily. Max held a bottle out. OB took it, touching fingers for an instant, drank deep without taking his eyes off Max. The beer was warm.
"You're not having one?"
"That's the last- I drank the rest waiting for..." the voice, steady and calm, tailed off.
OB swallowed another gulp, wiped his mouth on his sleeve cuff.
"...for me?"
He saw Max shake his head. Last chance then I quit, OB thought, taking a deep breath and letting it all out in a rush."I'm sorry, alright. I'm sorry I said those things...about your dad. About you. I just..."
"She's gone"
"...just...What?"OB felt the air kick out of his lungs. Max sat down suddenly on the floor and pushed at the clothes with his feet.
"Fuck, OB, she's gone"
OB felt a cold rush up his back, as much from Max saying his name as from...the words sank in.
"She told you?"
"No. No she didn't"
"You mean she left without....? She just ..."
"No!" Max reached up and grabbed at OB's arm, caught his sleeve instead."Just shut up a minute. Alright?"OB shut up. Max pulled him down so he was crouched at eye level, and OB saw his face, his eyes, suddenly thought of the day Max had trashed Drive and Buy, how it had just been them sitting together in that mess too.
"She didn't, OB. Right, she didn't run off, she didn't steal all my money, she didn't...knock me over the head and nick my credit card, and put Tom in a children's home, she..."Max shook OB's arm a final time, let it drop, and lent back against the wall, spoke quietly, deliberately."She left because I told her to leave"
"But she's a..."
"It doesn't matter"
"Course it matters! That wom...that...bitch had me arrested! She framed me. She...what do you mean you told her to leave? When? Why?"
"You. Tonight."
"Me?"
"You, you twat!"Max was trying to laugh now, but he was looking past OB at a spot on the wall, and OB could see his hand was shaking as he reached out to take the bottle from him. OB pushed the neck of it into his hand wordlessly. As Max raised the beer to his lips OB noticed the wedding ring had gone.
"I think I did it because..." Max took a deep swallow "because I had to know if..."
"If she was using you"
"Fuck, OB, are you listening? I was using her. I used her"
"Thought you loved her"OB knew he sounded petulant. Max didn't seem to notice
"I thought I loved her"
"You don't?"
"I don't know"
"Shit"OB slid down onto the floor.
"But..." Max rolled the bottle between his hands "I..."
OB felt a rush of indignation."You don't believe me do you?"
"OB..."
"She was fucking with you Max...she was going to take it all and..."
"And now she won't." Max looked sidelong at him "You don't get it, do you?"He carefully placed the bottle between his feet."It's you, you fucking moron"
OB stared at him.
Max stared at the floor.
"It's always been you"
Max turned, looked OB full in the face, tried a small forced smile.And OB felt everything shift, mind reeling, tried to find space for that admission in his head, and failed. Heard himself saying "Oh shit" instead. Saw hope change to hurt on Max's face for the second before he looked away again and shut down.
"Yeah, so here I am, OB. This is..." Max grabbed the bottle again, held it up in a mock toast.
"This is it. Close the door on your way out, eh?"He drank until the bottle was drained.
OB stopped trying to think and went on instinct, reached blindly and grabbed for it, chucked it away, then gripped Max's hands tight in his. The bottle hit the wall with a smash and thumped mutedly on the carpet behind him.
They stared at each other.
Then OB started to grin, felt the tension flow out of him suddenly, let himself slump forward till his forehead hit Max's, felt hair brushing soft against his eyelids as Max started to laugh nervously, breathlessly. Without knowing why, OB found himself rubbing Max's hands between his.
"You stupid bastard"
"Yeah"
"Fuck me!"
"Only if you want me to"
OB felt a laugh starting up in the back of his throat."You are not fucking me up the arse, Max Cunningham"
Hysterical giggles. Like two fucking teenagers again, thought OB distractedly, until Max took his hand back from OB's grip, reached out, still laughing, his fingers finding OB's cheek, thumb rubbing down his neck, chest, coming to rest on his stomach. OB breathed in and the hand dropped heavily into his lap. Suddenly neither of them was laughing.
All OB could think was how soft Max's bitten-down nails had felt against his skin, how different to the scrape of long sculpted nails.
Max breathed deeply. His hand grasped, found what it was looking for, pushed.
OB stopped thinking entirely.
"Max..."
"Shut up"
Suddenly OB was shoved up against the wall, and Max was holding him down, one hand going around his waist, the other rubbing at him hard through his jeans, Max just about climbing into his lap.
"woah woah woah!"
OB grabbed for his shoulders, pushed him up clumsily.
"Couldn't you just've got me drunk, or..."
"Tried that"
"Oh yeah"
He felt the laughter coming again, grinned
"What the FUCK will Tony say?"
"I told you so, prob'ly"
"Sanctimonious cunt"
"Do what?"
"Max..."
OB leaned forward, grabbed Max round the neck and pulled him down, smiling against his lips, running his hand down Max's body, down his jeans. Max's eyes fluttered shut as he pushed his palm against him hard.
"Just shut the fuck up and kiss me, yeah?"
End
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