You Plus Me Equals - Chapter 48

Sam sighed. ‘Idiot! Predictable as always… instead of going out there, and doing something. He was in here moping.’

He walked over to the bed.

“Go sit on the couch clueless. I need the bed to lay down. I am exhausted.” Sam said, shoving his friend without waiting for a response physically or verbally at all. Max rolled off the bed to the ground and groaned in annoyance.

He walked past Sam and got a toothy grin on his face.

“Wow, how was taking it?” Max asked cheekily, momentarily distracted from his own problem.

“That was fast, it’s only been like an hour and a half since I ditched you guys in the hallway outside class.”

Sam looked annoyed, then glared at his friend. But then smirked.

“Pretty good actually.”

Max opened his mouth, thought better of saying anything about it and grinned instead.

“What!? I am a very sexual being! And besides it was going to happen sooner or later, I preferred sooner so we went with that.” Sam responded defensively.

“Uh-huh… We will circle back to that later. For now, I need your help in figuring out a problem I have.” Max said intrigued, but also still hung up on his own dilemma

Sam chuckled. “Fire away. But be gentle… The last person who did wasn’t.”

Max stared at his friend and snickered. But then became serious again as he remembered Leo’s face in the hall.

“Oh, dude, you have your serious pants on now. Okay, what can I help with.” Sam said.

“I have a problem.. And I need your help figuring out how it happened. Because I don’t get it.”

“Well, obviously, that’s why I came dummy… fire away.” Sam said smiling. Max glared at him.

Okay, but try and be serious about this,” Max said, cautiously

Sam nodded somberly and adjusted how he was sitting before signaling for Max to go on…

“Leo seems to think I am in love with you, and that I am settling for him because somehow he is a lesser copycat of you,” Max said seriously.

Sam burst out laughing, Max glared so he just nodded agreement. “Right, well firstly.”

“It makes sense. Everywhere you and I go we are always kind of together. We joke around have fun, and you have no problem like just being chill physically with me.” Max looked like he was about to say something.

“No, shush you called me, remember… So hear me out.”

“As I just said I am a very handsy person.”

Max nodded.

“I also have a less than stand up reputation for taking anyone I want no matter who they are… Girl OR… and Sam motioned at his current state. “Or BOY… So.. It makes sense that at some point we could have been together.”

“Now if you think about it from Leo’s perspective if I was a girl with my reputation being what it is, with how close we are. How much physical touch we do in a day….” He paused to let Max process that.

“Good now with that mindset look back at it that way.”

“Remember If I were a girl, how would it look?” Sam reiterated.

Max sat there thinking for a moment before that sunk in and the realization dawned on him.

He became a little paler.

“But I don’t… And never will like you like that!” Max said seriously.

“Yes, well same.” Sam said flatly and rolled his eyes.

“AND, we both know that is never going to happen. Because…” Sam gestured at Max… You are not my type at all.” He said a bit more playful.

“However, Leo had it right. I am your type, Max. I’m just personally not attractive to you because we have been best friends for so long and it just isn’t that way. We are like brothers.” Sam said simply stating facts.

“But Leo had a point, think about our qualities. If you listed both mine and Leo’s side by side on a paper how many would we share?” Sam asked gently nudging his friend to be honest.

‘Personally, he thought there was maybe something else bugging Leo and this might be an excuse to get Max off his back. But he thought it was really sweet his boy was taking the time to be fretting over something the other had said even if offhandedly. If it had been Sam he would have just gone and shown Leo how wrong he was. Proved to him with not just words, but his body just how serious he was. But that wasn’t the kinda person Max was.’

“This was Max and Max was the kinda idiot to be searching his drawer for something right now rather than bolting out the door to go and show what he was feeling. To go in person and de-sway his mistaken crush.

Max finally found what he was looking for and stood up paper and pen in hand. Sam chuckled under his breath at his idiot best friend. ‘Of course, he would actually make a list.’ He rolled his eyes but still helped Max write out all the things he liked about both Sam and Leo. When they finished Max stared at the paper in confusion.

“What The actual F***! How did that even happen?” he said, confused.

He stared up at Sam as if Sam had become an Alien.

“You really are my type!” He said in confusion.

Sam shrugged, smiling. “Of course… I’m everyone’s type.”

Max glared at Sam unimpressed.

“How… what… why did you end up my type?” Max said.

Sam reached out to pick up the paper so he could pick out his favorite qualities about himself that Max had written down. He had a smug grin on his face.

“Ah, don’t start!” Don’t make me look at it again. Or they will find your body in the river later.” Max scowled.

Sam chuckled.

“Seriously though. Leo really is your type despite how much he is like me.”

“But even more, your type than I am, because he has qualities I don’t and most importantly… You like him.”

“And really, isn’t that the most important thing of all?” Sam pointed out.

“You should go talk to him, you didn’t scoff at his feelings, you came back and tried to understand him. I think if you let him know, then you still have a shot.”

“Just go to him, and help him understand your feelings now,” Sam said gently.

“I already worked the other one over to our side. So go see your Bae.”

“Say sorry, get him back. And then we can go on a freaking double date.” Sam said and shoved his friend on the back.

Max stood up with a happy smile. ‘Yeah, It was simple from here. He just had to find Leo and help him understand.’

“WHAT NOW? Did you change your mind? You want some of this?” Sam said sarcastically, motioning at all of him laying on Max’s bed.

“Too bad, it’s taken,” Sam added snidely before Max could do anything but scoff, and snort at him.

“Honestly, why are you even still here? I’m going to lose my shit… Like go!” Max opened his mouth paused, then closed it and turned to go.

He opened the door and shut it.

“Jeez, you’re both idiots what are you even going to do if you guys didn’t have us?” Sam snapped at the air.

Max opened the door and stared at Sam.

“Oh MY gosh! What now? Do you need me to drag you to him? I have somewhere else to be and someone else to do! Sam growled.

“I don’t know where he is,” Max said sheepishly.

Sam stopped and chuckled. “I’ll go back to where I was before and get some inside intel, I’ll send you a message when I find out.”

Max smiled his thanks and walked back out of the room.

Sam fell backward on the bed. His phone lit up with a buzz.

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