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max tilted his head back onto the wall of the elevator, letting out a deep sigh. he’d just spent six hours on the top floor of the library cramming for one of his midterm exams. he hadn’t slept more than 4 hours in the past two days and at this point, his brain was mush. he was sure that his physical appearance wasn’t any better if his reflection in the stainless steel walls told him anything.
his blonde hair was mussed from countless times of running his hands through it in frustration. he’d been so frustrated in fact, that he ran hot and shed his jacket, leaving himself in a black, sleeveless tank-top and gray sweatpants. not to mention he’d started to grow a beard from not shaving in the last week.
yeah, he’d definitely had his better days.
max was pulled out of thoughts, lifting his head as the elevator stopped a floor below the one he’d just left. the doors slid open to reveal two men, one of which max could definitely see himself hitting on if he found himself in better spirits. the boy’s artfully messy brown hair was kept out of his green eyes by a black bandana, and black-rimmed glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose. one hand was stuffed into the pocket of his white hoodie while the other casually held onto the strap of his backpack.
he was cute as hell and definitely max’s type.
his friend, while attractive with twinkling blue eyes and a neatly trimmed beard, didn’t hold a candle to the actual prince that he’d just walked in with.
as the two stepped into the elevator, max made eye contact with the green-eyed boy, watching as his eyes widened slightly behind black frames. max raised an eyebrow at that.
interesting…
the two boys, now with their backs turned to him, began to speak to each other in what max quickly recognized as rapid french.
“oh he’s totally your type,” the blue-eyed man remarked to the bandana-clad boy next to him.
“pierre, shut the fuck up, this is absolutely not the time,” he hissed, turning to look at his friend to the point where max got a clear view of his phenomenal side profile. honestly how is someone that good-looking even real?
“what? you’re gonna tell me that tall, blonde, broad, and brooding doesn’t get you going? as if i don’t know you well enough. ask him for his number!”
“pierre, shut up,” he urged, elbowing his friend in the side, which frankly max found hilarious because did they think he couldn’t at least see their movements?
“just admit it, you think he’s hot! ”
“absolutely not.”
“oh come on, charles, i saw that look on your face, it was a look of lust, thirst, hunger—”
“oh for fuck’s sake,” max watched amusedly as the boy (charles?) tossed his hands up in the air, “yes, he’s hot! his arms look fantastic in that shirt and his hair looks really soft to the point where i’m tempted to run my fingers through it, but there’s no way in hell i’m saying that to him!”
now, it was very possible that max’s sleep deprivation was getting to him and he was entirely mishearing the conversation. he wasn’t exactly fluent in french after all. but on the other hand, he did have quite a few years of studying under his belt and didn’t think he could be misunderstanding them that terribly. if he’d heard right, this adorable boy actually found him quite attractive but was too shy to say anything.
fuck it, i may look like a hot mess, but there’s no way in hell i’m missing out on asking this guy out.
“wow, you’re making me blush back here. you really could’ve just told me that directly.” max spoke the words casually, as if he wasn’t revealing to the two french-speaking men that he’d understood the entirety of what they believed to be a private conversation.
his smirk widened into a bright smile as he watched the two backs in front of him tense. they both slowly turned to look at him and max noticed that pierre’s eyes were sparkling with mirth, his lips pressed together in an effort to conceal his laughter. charles, on the other hand, was staring at max in horror, to the point he might’ve paled a few shades. once he had their attention, max made a point to lean his body against the back wall of the elevator, crossing his arms across his chest. he definitely didn’t miss the way those gorgeous green eyes traced over his upper body.
after a few seconds of appraisal, charles seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, quickly shifted his eyes to meet max’s and began to let out a stuttered response.
“i-, you-, how much did you hear?” he implored, looking at max with desperate eyes, likely hoping it wasn’t the entirety of the conversation. he had switched to english to ask the question and max couldn’t help but appreciate the way his thick french accent accentuated the words.
the blonde shrugged, “most of it? i’m not exactly fluent, but i did study french for quite a bit. i think i got the gist of it though.”
when realizing the extent to which max had overheard them, the dutchman watched as charles dropped his face into his hands, letting out an embarrassed groan. at that point, pierre actually did burst into laughter, patting his friend consolingly on the back. max’s grin shifted from amusement to a soft fondness as the cute boy uncovered his face to peek up at max through his eyelashes with apprehension.
“i’d love to take you out on a date, schatje, although running your hands through my hair might have to wait until we’re in private,” max teased, admiring the pretty blush that spread across charles’ cheeks and over the freckled bridge of his nose.
max watched as the most gorgeous smile grew on charles’ face, deep dimples and all, already reaching into his back pocket for his phone. he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the ding of the elevator as they arrived at the first floor. if he was honest, max had completely forgotten where he was during his interaction with charles.
the trio stepped out of the elevator and the french-speaking boy turned to max. he still had his phone in his hand and max could see the empty new contact on his screen just waiting to be filled. charles handed his phone over to max with a bashful smile, stating that he could “add his contact and they could figure something out for the upcoming weekend,” adding a rushed “if you want to, of course.”
oh, max definitely wanted to.
after entering his information, charles looked at his phone, mouthing max’s name to himself before looking up.
“i’m charles, by the way,” he added bashfully.
“i know, i heard,” max quipped, prompting charles’ face to redden once again, although this time he didn’t look away. the two held eye contact with small smiles on their faces for what could’ve been hours, before they were interrupted by pierre clearing his throat.
“um charles, not that i don’t love this for you, but we’re five minutes late for class?”
charles visibly startled, scrambling to check the time on his phone, “merde, pierre you’re right!” his eyes quickly darted to max’s, clearly expressing his regret as he had to say goodbye. he explained that his professor already hated him and pierre and that they couldn’t afford to be late. max waved them off, understanding their preference to not piss their professor off completely.
max watched as the two french-speaking men speed-walked in the opposite direction (and maybe he took a peek at charles’ fantastic ass while he was at it, sue him).
charles gave him one last look over his shoulder, waving at him with a shy smile, and max happily returned the gesture. he overheard the two speaking yet again as they walked away, and at that point, they didn’t bother with french.
“i actually got you a date this weekend, what wingman is out here doing it like me?!”
“pierre, i swear to god!”
max couldn’t help but chuckle as he made his way out of the library. god he’s so fucked , but in the best way possible.