Forever?

Max didn't expect to be home alone when he woke up that morning. Alice, Alec, Ani, Matt and Oliver were always at his house; it was more straightforward, and he enjoyed their company; plus, he didn’t have to be alone in this massive place. Max stumbled out of bed and went to his broken oak desk, where he saw the notes, all in separate handwriting. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he focused on them. Ani’s typewriter-like handwriting was: 'I'm sorry I wasn't there to hug you and give you breakfast!' - Ani. 'Don't die chipmunk' - Oliver. See, he tended to use capital letters only. Max remembered him once telling him about how his English teachers despised him because of it. 'If Damian calls, you don't answer. Also, I DID make your lunch. We should be back for dinner." - Matt. His handwriting was the messiest. It was barely eligible. 'I'll bring you back a collectable. Or something. I don't know I'll stop by the gift shop' - Amber. In Max’s opinion, Amber had the best handwriting out of them all. Her cursive was stunning. 'We won't be long, I swear. Sorry, Alec wasn't there with you, but we needed him for this' - Alice. Alice's handwriting was something. He never knew what to expect. Her handwriting was constantly changing depending on whatever pen and paper she was using. 'Don't worry. I'll text you. Just text me when you're awake so I won't wake you up. And, yes, I'll grab you something from the shops too' - Alec. Out of everyone's handwriting, he liked Alec's the best. He was biased but enjoyed looking at his short and boxy handwriting. Max had known everyone for about six months now. This had become a common occurrence. If they said they would be back before dinner, they would be back before dinner. Max never knew where they went; honestly, he didn’t want to know. But he knew he should never ask them about whatever had happened while they were gone. The most notable event that happened was once, he believed, almost two months ago, everyone had disappeared for nearly two weeks, and when they came back, they were exhausted. Alec had clung to him that night. Max didn't question it. Sometimes, the others liked to cling to him, mainly Alec. But, in his gut, that night didn't feel right, so he didn't question any of it. Nor did he question their blood-stained clothes. They had a change of clothes at his house, so he quietly put all their bloody clothes into the laundry while they were changing He explicitly put the notes in the box he had for all their notes in his closet. It may have been weird to keep them, but it was lovely. They cared enough to go out of their way to write notes. And he wasn't about to throw them all away. Alone in this large house again. Max ignored the eerie silence and freshened up, and afterwards, texted Lyric. Max Come over? Lyric Yes, be there soon Max looked around as he waited for Lyric to show up, and to his surprise, Claire came too. They let themselves in, and they didn't do much, in all honesty, they just lounged around. They were in the middle of an episode of Friends when Claire spoke up. "Where are all of them?" "They had to go out. Amber said they'd all be back before dinner," Max replied, not taking his eyes off the TV. He clung to the pillow he was holding just a little bit tighter. Claire cleared her throat. "Rio says he's sorry." Max scoffed, eyes still glued to the TV. "I don't care." He f****d up, and that was on him. He was wrong if he thought Max would be forgiving him anytime soon. "Lyric, how are you doing?" he said, turning to face Lyric, who peeled his eyes away from the TV. "Therapy is a b***h," he deadpanned. "It's a b***h, but it's working. And we all know Roland would kill you if you didn't go," Claire said, and he nodded. It was true. He would. "Yes, but still. My therapist, Terrance, just makes me talk about feelings. Then he tries to tell me what I should think. Like no, you're not being very helpful, you're just telling me I'm wrong. And I don't like being told I'm wrong," he ranted. As night fell, the others still hadn't come back yet, and Max would be lying if he said he wasn't just a bit worried. They ordered pizza, and Claire got her own because she put pineapple on hers, while Lyric and Max got a cheese and tomato. "Wait," Max said, laughing a little. "So, you're telling me that Chris pushed Creed out of the window?" "Yeah!" Lyric said as he swallowed his bite. "He just sort of came into the room and, I don't know, just pushed him. Neither was bothered about it. Creed said something and it annoyed Chris. It was so funny. Creed thought he was going to get a kiss but he got pushed out a window. Although, I'm pretty sure Chris did feel a little bad about it because then they went upstairs, so Roland and I left." "You know what's worse? When Chris came home, his back was covered in scratches. I mean absolutely doused. But there were hickeys all over. So, at least we know their roles." "No?" Lyric said, confused. "I f****d up once and walked in on them f*****g. It was Creed on top." "I swear, I walked in on them and Chris was on top." Max cleared his throat a little, trying to keep the heat off his face. "They might just switch?" "Okay, fair point. But ew, can we stop talking about my brother's s*x life?" Max got a text and had to scramble to find his phone. Alice We're coming So it tok longer than expected Have you ate Read Max That's okay. I have pizza Wheres Alec? He hadn't replied Delivered Hmm, that was odd, so she didn't reply. Max put his phone away, and the three began talking again. It was honestly about anything and everything. None of them had gone to college. Well, Claire and Lyric didn't go. "Are you okay, Max?" Lyric asked, and he was fine. "Yes?" he asked. A car pulled up, and he frowned a little. He heard the yelling and stood up. Before he got to the door, it burst open, and all the others had come in blood-stained clothes. ~*~