My Little Rebel

Teenage Boys

Max's P.O.V.

3 years ago (Lexi 13, Max 14)

I run into my house and quickly strip off my sweaty clothes, before jumping into the shower. The water is cold, since I don't even wait for it to warm up, but there's no way I'm going to keep Chloe waiting all day for me. I scrub soap all over my body, ridding myself of the dirt and sweat I accumulated on me, after pushing Lexi on that stupid swing for the past fifteen minutes. I love Lexi so much, but I HATE that stupid swing. Whatever Lexi wants though, she always gets when it comes to me, BECAUSE I love her.

Wait. Did I just say...LOVE?

I stare at the wall of the shower for a few seconds, racking my brain and trying to figure out where that suddenly came from. I mean, I love Lexi as a friend, but she's like a sister to me. I don't LOVE, love her, though. No way, that would be weird. Wouldn't it? I shake the thoughts away quickly, scrubbing my skin so hard that it burns, to make sure that I'm good and clean, so I'll smell good. Girls like guys that smell good, right? Surely, Lexi will decide to be my girlfriend if I smell good.

CHLOE! I MEAN, CHLOE!

I slam my hand against the shower wall and close my eyes, trying to get the images of Lexi laughing on the swing out of my head. Beautiful, always so beautiful and carefree. Always looking like she's having the time of her life, no matter where I take her or what we're doing. I can't look at Lexi that way, though. She only sees me as a friend, and that's all she'll ever see me as. I tried to kiss her when we were kids, but she pushed me away and told me that I was gross. That told me everything that I needed to know right there, that she only saw me as a best friend; only saw me as a big brother type.

I turn the shower off and hop out, drying off quickly and wrapping the towel around me, before swiping on some deodorant. I change into a plain white tee-shirt and black cargo shorts, before brushing my wet hair back with my fingers and putting a red flat bill hat on backwards. I look at myself in the mirror. Yeah, Lexi will definitely like this.

OH MY GOSH, MAX!!! FREAKIN CHLOE! FOCUS ON CHLOE!

I let out a frustrated huff, then go over to my dresser to get some socks, before walking over and grabbing my red Vans out of my closet. After I'm done, I creep down the hallway to my parents' room. They're both downstairs, so they won't notice. I creak the door open and tiptoe inside, before grabbing my dad's cologne off of the dresser. I always see my dad spray it once, but I'm spraying it three times for safe measure. I quickly realize why my dad only sprays it once, since it's suddenly suffocating me, but I decide not to worry about it since I don't want to be late. Maybe it just needs time to air out or something.

I walk back down the hallway and grab my skateboard from beside my door, before running down the stairs and heading towards the front door. I'm only two steps away from the front door, when I hear my dad call for me from the kitchen.

"Where are you headed, champ?" he asks me, like he doesn't already know.

I walk towards where my parents are located, before leaning against the door frame of the kitchen, nervously staring at them. I decide not to get too close, because I don't want him noticing that I'm stealing some of his cologne. My dad and mom stare back at me for a few seconds, before my mom's nose scrunches up. She giggles under her breath a little, before turning towards my dad and giving him a soft smile.

"Just...um...just to the skate park with Lexi." I tell him, before rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

My dad nods once at me and smiles, "Okay, but you two need to be back by seven. Her parents invited us over for dinner tonight."

I nod my head at him and give both of them a quick wave, before heading back towards the front door. As soon as I reach for the doorknob though, I hear my dad call out for me again.

"And Max?" he says, with a little bit of humor in his voice.

I was so close. So, so close to getting out of here without them noticing.

"Yeah, dad?" I ask him.

He starts to chuckle a little, before finally answering me, "Maybe go easy on the cologne next time, okay?"

I squint my eyes, closing them tightly in embarrassment, before letting out a small sigh, "Sure thing, dad."

I can hear the two of them laughing together, but I ignore them and head towards Lexi's driveway. I always make sure that I'm a little earlier than I tell her, to make sure that I don't keep her waiting. I've always been that way with Lexi. Never in my life has she arrived at our meeting spot before me. I stand there for a good five minutes, before looking at my phone. It's been over fifteen minutes now. What's taking her so long? I look up at Lexi's window and see the curtain moving back and forth, letting me know that she knows that I'm out here. A few seconds later, I hear her door open and then close. When I look up at her, I'm not ready for what I see coming towards me.

Lexi has always been beautiful to me. Everything about her has always been beautiful. She's always shined bright, like a light that never goes out. She's always been so pretty, from her freckles scattered perfectly all over her face, to her hair doing whatever it wants, which matches her spirit. She's always been perfect in every way, no matter how she looks or acts. Right now though, right now, I can't even explain this Lexi that's in front of me. Astounding? Radiant? The sun, the moon, and the stars?

I try to gulp down the lump that feels like it's lodged in my throat, and my mouth suddenly becomes dry. My brain can't form any words at the moment, not even a simple 'Hey'. Lexi smiles at me bashfully as she twirls her fingers through the bottom of her chestnut brown hair, which is pulled into two soft pigtails at the bottoms of her ears. It's like she went into her room as a kid, and then came out looking two years older all of a sudden. I can't help myself from looking down her body, even though I try to fight it. Puberty is well underway with me and my hormones have me suddenly doing stupid things, like checking out my best friend.

IS SHE WEARING A BRA?!

SINCE WHEN DOES SHE HAVE BOOBS?!

I shake my head and close my eyes, as heat floods my cheeks suddenly. I can't do this. I can't check her out. I can't have the urge to want to hold her hand and have her be my first real kiss. I've already promised Chloe that I'd be HER boyfriend.

"Ready to go?" Lexi asks me, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I open my eyes and force myself to look at her again, force myself to keep my eyes locked on hers. I nod my head, unable to speak still. Lexi smiles at me and puts her skateboard on the ground, before stepping onto it and pushing off. She rides it down the driveway and stops at the end, before looking back at me and smiling again.

"Try to keep up, loser!" she screams out, before pushing off with her foot again and taking off down the sidewalk.

I quickly drop my board on the ground and race after her, making sure to slow down when I get too close. I'd never tell Lexi this, but I always let her win, let her stay a few feet in front of me. I'm pretty sure she knows it, but she has never said anything. I don't let her always win because I think I HAVE to let her win, since she's a girl. I know deep down that if Lexi truly wanted to win a race against me, she could do it if she made up her mind that she was going to beat me. She's always been a firecracker like that, always been super competitive. No, the reason that I always let her win, is because I like her being in front of me. I like to keep an eye on her to make sure that she's safe, make sure she doesn't get kidnapped or anything like that. Weird things to think about, I know, but I've always been that protective over her.

We arrive at the skate park ten minutes later, and it doesn't take me long to find Chloe sitting at a concrete picnic table with some of her friends. She's always here just sunbathing, never actually skating. Chloe's soft blonde curls cascade down her shoulders and back as she sits on top of the table, basking in the sun. Her friends are giggling as they look over at me, before whispering something to Chloe. Chloe looks down at them in surprise, before looking back up at me with a simple smile and wave. I wave and smile back at her, but suddenly take notice of the outfit she's wearing. Why would she wear heels to the skate park? I mean, I know that she is about to turn fifteen and that's what girls her age wear sometimes, but the skate park is no place for heels.

I hear Lexi let out a frustrated huff from beside me, but when I turn around to look at her, she's already on her board and skating away from me. I watch her roll away from me and go meet up with all of our friends, which just so happen to be a bunch of guys. Lexi has never been the type of girl to hang out with other girls. She's never really gotten along with them, never really had enough in common with them to have a long conversation.

Suddenly, a new feeling courses through me the second that I take notice of our friends checking her out. They're looking at her like THEY want to hold her hand, and kiss her, and be her boyfriend. I've never seen them look at Lexi that way, but today, they aren't even hiding it. I watch as she high-fives all of them, giving them her usual greeting when she sees them, not even taking notice of their lingering stares. Of course, Lexi wouldn't take notice of them staring, of their hormones quickly taking control of them with the gorgeous girl standing in front of them, because she doesn't understand teenage boys the way I do. She just takes her place in the middle of them like usual and laughs at something that Tate Harris says, making his eyes twinkle as he watches her giggle, like he's just won the state championship or something. I grit my teeth together and decide to make my way over to them to pull her away from them, suddenly feeling way too over-protective. The second I take my first step though, I feel someone tug on my arm.

"Hey, Max! I thought you were going to come over and talk to me. I've been waiting for you to show up all day. You promised you'd be here." Chloe says as she pokes out her bottom lip.

I stare at her lips, suddenly wishing they were Lexi's. Chloe's lips are nothing compared to Lexi's beautiful, full pink ones, now that I take a closer look. I look back over at Lexi, only to notice that she's sitting beside Tate now, way too close for my liking. Tate drapes his arm over her shoulders, which would usually be an innocent move, since he does it all the time. Right now though, it feels like he's marking his territory or something.

"Do you want to show me how to skate? I've never tried to skate before." Chloe says as she tugs on my arm again.

I look over at Chloe and nod my head at her, "Sure." I say, because I don't want to be rude.

I promised her that I'd show up here today, promised her that I would be here for her and her alone. I can't let all of my focus be on Lexi. She's my best friend, but she'll never be anything more. Chloe though, has shown me that she wants to be my girlfriend. I need to follow through with my plan, even though I don't want to anymore. Who knows? Maybe Chloe won't be so bad. Maybe I'll actually start to like her more than I do Lexi.