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kenyaru · 1 month ago

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STILL HURTS, but not as much hurt | 01

1ST DATE, FOR REAL THIS TIME. synopsis | after getting back together, Bradley wanted to do something nice for the goof that decided to take him back after everything. even though they had been out before, he doesn’t actually recall going out on a real date. Better late than never, he supposes. This date, however, doesn’t go exactly as planned.. genre | fluff, date during the day!, mixed pov, bradley somewhat ooc, awkward interactions, reoccuring themes from still hurts (02) pairing | max goof x bradley uppercrust iii (maxley) warnings | none! (unless you fear dates and awkward interactions) word count | 2.69k author's note | hello everyone! finally, here is the awaited (somewhat) prologue of "Still Hurts". Sorry for the delay, I had some midterm exams, but they are over, so this is being posted today :). I hope you guys love this fluffiness and enjoy it just as much as the first two! (spoilers; there's gonna be more coming~) enjoy reading <3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Come to think of it, Max and Bradley never actually went on a date before, as silly as that sounds. Sure, they went on their casual hangouts at the Bean Scene or skate park, but they wouldn’t have considered it a date, per say.

And of course, Bradley had to realize this while doing a study session with Max in the library, occasionally looking over to see his love half-asleep reading the Calculus textbook in front of him. No matter how many times he studied and tried to get focused, Max always found a way to doze off. “Max~” Bradley whispered, poking the Goof’s shoulder, causing him to flutter open his eyes, clearly dazed. Just like his inner child told him to, Max most likely, and did, stay up all night playing video games with P.J. and Bobby. “Huh- what-” Max grumbled, his eyes focusing on Bradely, a small smile coming to his face as he stifled a yawn. “Mm..did I fall asleep again?” He asked, sitting up and closing the Calculus textbook, already deciding that he didn’t have the motivation to even look at another equation.

“You did, and you were nearly done with that problem too.” Bradley said with a soft chuckle, closing his own textbook. He gently moved a bit of Max’s hair out of his face, giving him a reassuring look. “You usually fall asleep, but today you seem extra tired. Work got you down?” Bradley asked, genuine concern heard in his voice. Following their almost breakup, Bradley was doing everything in his power to not only be more open, but show Max that he cared, which he obviously did all the time, but genuinely show his concerns. Like, right now for example. He noticed how tired Max seemed when arriving at the library, how his answers seemed uninterested and like he was struggling to even keep his eyes open. Even late night gaming couldn’t do this to the Goof.

Max shrugged at the question asked, letting out a full yawn this time as he aimlessly put away his pencils. “I guess, yeah. I feel like everyday’s just waking up, going to class, studying and going to sleep, y’know?” Max explained, a somewhat sorrowful expression on his face. It was unusual for Max to feel this way as he had believed that he wouldn’t let college stress get to him, but this year, that wasn’t the case. He felt like he was falling behind, struggling to catch up and even his free time felt like a detriment to what he had to get done. Bradley asking, though, did make him feel a little better that someone other than his roommates noticed that something was off. Bradley gave him a sympathetic look, deciding to speak on his thoughts earlier instead of waiting until it was the weekend like he had planned. “Well..would you wanna go on a date?” The question caused Max’s face to go red like he had been out in the sun. Surely he hadn’t heard right. “I’m sorry?” “Would you like to go on a date? Y’know, just you and me go somewhere.” Bradley repeated, noticing how Max seemed to fluster at even the mention of it. It was honestly adorable how they had been dating for over a year, yet the Goof still gets flustered over the mention of things that couples do.

Even though Max was sure they went on dates before, hearing Bradley ask him so bluntly like that made his heart skip a beat. He felt special, wanted. He knows that it might be weird to freak out over being asked out on a date when you’re dating someone, but he couldn’t lie that it made him feel butterflies all over again. “Of course I would wanna go on a date with you!” Max exclaimed, a bit too loudly as he put his red face in his hands. “Sorry..” He grumbled, embarrassed.

Bradley took Max’s hand in his own, kissing it gently with a soft chuckle. “Awe, my baby is embarrassed.” He teased, causing Max to take his hand away, which only made him laugh harder at his flustered acts. “I’m teasing, Max, come on, pack your stuff up.” Bradley said as he stood up from his seat, swinging his bag onto his shoulder. “Wait, we’re going now?” Max asked, the sudden demand by his boyfriend confusing him as he did so anyways, putting his textbooks into his bag.

“Yeah, why have to wait until the weekend? You don’t have any more classes, right?” Max shook his head, standing up just as Bradley did, following him out of the library and onto the quiet campus. It was mid afternoon after all, and everyone was either in classes or off studying somewhere. Max did have to agree that leaving right now would be the best idea.

“Okay, to the car then. I have a place that I think you’ll love.” Bradley said confidently before taking Max’s hand and leading him towards the University’s parking lot, pride bubbling in him from the high hopes of being able to surprise his boyfriend with something he would love.

Well, hoped he would love. _____

What Max didn’t expect to see when Bradley pulled into the parking lot was a huge blue and white building with paintings of several different aquatic animals on the sides. Whales, dolphins, even little sea turtles were plastered on the outside. It could only be one place, and this place, he hadn’t been in years.

“Did you bring me to an aquarium?” He asked, turning to see Bradley giving him a confident smile as he put the car in park.

“I did, love. And you’d better like it because we have a few hours here.” Bradley said, though his expression showed that he was kidding, but was full of hope that his boyfriend would like the gesture. He had honestly thought about this idea last minute, but he assumed it would be a good escape for the both of them as there really isn’t much cuter than seeing sea animals living their best lives in their water compartments.

Max, to Bradley’s relief, gave him that big, goofy, smile that he loved so much.

“I don’t know, we might just have to go inside and see. And then I’ll tell you if I like it.” Max said, already getting out of the car, his excitement contained by the sly remark. This was somewhere he didn’t think he needed to really go to often, but now that he was here, he realized how much he missed it.

Bradley followed Max’s lead, getting out of the car and heading behind Max, taking his hand in his own and opening the door for the both of them. They walked into the dimly lit environment flooded with hues of blue and white to resemble being in the ocean.

“It’s beautiful in here..nothing at all like I remember. Granted, I hadn’t been here since I was little.” Max whispered, more to himself than to Bradley as he watched his lover check in, being allowed to pass through the entrance gates and into the aquarium.

“I know right? I had a feeling you would like the vibes of it.” Bradley handed Max the map showing all the sections with the different sea creatures, including a cafe on the top floor. Max scanned the map, not sure where to start and decided to simply look over to his left, noticing the dolphin looking back at him through the glass.

“Oh- hello there.” He greeted with a smile, causing Bradley to chuckle softly, joining him next to the tank and watching as the dolphin seemed to greet Max back, spinning around before returning to his position in front of the glass. Max was infatuated, unable to get his eyes off the beautiful creature in which Bradley took out his phone, wanting to capture this adorable moment in a picture.

Seeing Max’s smile, taking live photo evidence of how happy he seemed in that moment, was enough to make Bradley want to give him the world, or as much of it as he could.

—-

Continuing through the many sections of sea creatures, the couple saw big animals like sharks and adult sea turtles to really tiny ones like clownfish and seahorses. Bradley was taking pictures every now and then, wanting to capture each moment so he could look through them when he was down. That was just what Max did to him; lifted him when he was down.

It wasn’t until they were heading up to the cafe that something made Max stop in his tracks, his face a sort of uncomfortable expression.

“What’s wrong?” Bradley asked, turning back to see that Max had stopped. Max shook his head, trying to play it off, though his gaze aimed past his lover’s. Just as Bradley was about to turn and look, Max quickly repositioned him.

“No! Don’t look.” He urged. “Sorry..it’s just- that’s Roxanne. The girl I dated in high school.” Max whispered, his voice full of awkward tension. He didn’t feel any harsh feelings towards her or anything, he just felt it was going to be super awkward, especially since he had no clue how she was going to react to his new partner. Of course, they were still friends, but distant friends, and with their busy schedules, rarely spoke. So, it was weird to see her here of all places.

Just as he was getting his bearings, Max saw Roxanne heading in the direction, causing him to try to hide behind Bradley, who was not interested in his shenanigans.

“Max, what is up with you? It’s fine- she won’t like, yell at you or anything, right?”

“No, but it’s gonna be super awkward and when I tell you I don’t want to deal with th-” “Max?” A familiar voice called, causing Max to further hide his head into his boyfriend’s back.

“Please tell me she’s not coming over here-” “She’s coming over here.” “Oh- come on..”Max whispered, moving from behind Bradley with an awkward smile, waving to Roxanne as she approached. She looked relatively the same; ginger hair flowing down her back the way it always did, eyes big and bright.

“Hey Max! Didn’t expect to see you here.” Roxanne turned to look at Bradley. “Sorry, was I interrupting?” She asked, to which Bradley shook his head, assuring her that it was fine. “I’m Roxanne, one of Max’s friends from high school.” The way she introduced herself was so casual, like they didn’t have any romantic history and were simply friends. Granted, their ‘romantic history’ was nothing short of the classic high school romance that didn’t work out, but it seemed to be for the better and thankfully, there was no bad blood.

Bradley gave his usual confident smile, putting his hands in his pockets. “Bradley Uppercrust The Third, pleasure to meet you.” Roxanne couldn’t help but smile, nodding in acknowledgement of his name.

Then, followed silence, very awkward silence. It seemed like no one knew how to continue the conversation or even move forward, especially since neither Max or Bradley knew if the other was comfortable with mentioning their relationship to Max’s former girlfriend.

It seemed Roxanne wasn’t very fond of the silence either as she swayed her hands a bit before nodding her head towards the stairs. “Soo..you guys were heading to the cafe?”

Max nodded, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. “Yeah, we were just about to go up there.” Roxanne nodded once more.

“I recommend the Aqua Shake. It’s just a blueberry shake, but it has a cute dolphin cookie in the whipped cream.” Roxanne suggested with a somewhat bubbly smile.

“Oh, you’ve been here before?” Bradley asked.

“Yeah, I have. I’m only here right now with some cousins-” Roxanne paused, quickly turning to the area she had just come from. “And I realized I should have been watching them. Shoot- it was nice seeing you Max, and meeting you Bradley!” She suddenly exclaimed before heading off, most likely in search of said cousins.

Before Bradley could even process the ending of the interaction, Max had put his hoodie over his head, groaning as he walked up the stairs. “That was so awkward..”

“It wasn’t too bad.” Bradley commented, walking beside Max as they arrived at the top of the stairs. “She seemed nice. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say that we were dating. Hope that's fine with you.”

Max hadn’t really considered that yet; letting others know and being so open about his relationship. When all his friends and father knows about it, he tends to forget that people outside of his close knit family aren’t aware.

“It’s alright. I don’t think I wanted her to know either right now, anyways.” Max said, standing in line and skimming over the menu, spotting the Aqua Shake that Roxanne had suggested. Though the interaction was over, Max wasn’t able to shake the slight tension in his heart, like something was tugging on his heart strings. It felt weird since he couldn’t tell what that feeling was.

Bradley was already pulling out his wallet, ready to pay for whatever Max wanted and share with him when they got it. Roxanne was an afterthought to him and, even though he knew how Max acted around her in high school, he was in no way concerned about any possibility of him regaining feelings or something like that. He saw how that ended last time. It didn’t seem to bother Max either, at least from what he could see. As Max told him when they first started dating, he and Roxanne ended things pretty smoothly.

After ordering the shake and some curly fries, the couple left to go eat in the car, wanting to leave soon after as it was already approaching the evening.

Sitting in the car, the couple got comfortable, busting out the straws and sharing the aquatic shake. It had blue and white patterns, with the dolphin cookie on top, which Max happily broke in half and shared with his other half.

“Okay, Roxanne was right- this is super good. Especially the cookie with the whipped cream. Did you try it?” Max asked, a big smile on his face as he ate the cookie once more.

“I did, just a bite though. This is all too sweet for me, you can have it babe.” Bradley said, handing it to him before putting on Max’s seatbelt and his own. “Be careful, don’t spill it anywhere.”

Bradley warned before pulling out of the parking spot, turning on the radio to play their shared playlist on the way back to campus. This date was definitely a success, but even in the comfort of their favorite songs on the car ride home, he couldn’t shake that something felt weird, off. Or maybe that was just Bradley’s anxieties taking over.

Max had continued sipping at the blueberry goodness of the overpriced shake that his boyfriend had bought for him, making occasional glances to the left towards the blonde. He hated to admit it, but after getting back together, he felt this tension, like something was pushing them apart even though there was really nothing wrong. Right?

Bradley had pulled into the parking lot almost mindlessly as he turned off the car and looked out the window for a moment, mind focused on analyzing every moment of the date. Did he do the best he could? Was Max actually happy?

“Brad?”

Max called, only to get no response from his love.

“Bradley?”

Max said again, confused as to why he was receiving no answer, concern etched on his features.

“Bradley!”

Max’s voice pulled Bradley out of his thoughts, turning his head to face his love. He was wiping his hands off from the stickiness of the shake and had already unbuckled his seat belt.

“We’re here. Are you okay? You zoned out for a bit, there.” Bradley nodded, taking off his own seatbelt and leaning in to gently kiss Max’s cheek. Though his mind was reeling, he gave Max his usual smile.

“I’m alright. Come on, let's start heading back.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#maxley #max goof #bradley uppercrust iii #fanfic #pls see this #an extremely goofy movie #fluff #akward #first date

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kenyaru · 4 months ago

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STILL HURTS | 01

SO THIS IS HEARTBREAK..

synopsis | maximilian goof has made one of the most goofy decisions ever: he forgave bradley uppercrust. he sat there, accepted his apologies after getting kicked out of the Gammas and actually became friends with him, trusting that he would have change and to not hold a grudge, just like his dad said. albeit against his best friends' wishes, he and uppercrust got closer, and eventually a somewhat-friendship turned into a romance. but, a year or so later, bradley did the unthinkable, leading to their breakup. was he wrong to trust? genre | angst, heartbreak, making up(?), oneshot pairing | max goofy x bradley uppercrust iii (maxley) warnings | implied internalized homophobia, mild cursing, angsty word count | 1.76k author's note | hii! i finally posted part 1 of this fic! this is heavily inspired by 'a seriously goofy romance' by pidge030 on ao3. this is my first time writing with these characters that already have some spitefulness, so i hope you enjoy it! lmk if you would like a part 2 :> ______________________________________________________________

One month. It’s been exactly one month since he and Bradley broke up. One month since their huge argument had caused him to walk out on the other and only a few weeks since Bradley had tried to contact him and soon stopped all together. Max hated to admit it, but he regretted how he acted, but how could he not react badly? Max sat up in bed, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. He was just trying to relax after a long day of classes, but Bradley’s words clouded his mind. I can’t believe you- cheating on me..I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, Goof.

It was the audacity in Bradley’s mind to accuse Max for something like that, knowing that Max had liked, and had come to love, Bradley more than ever. He felt more for Bradley than he felt for anyone; the way he got butterflies when the others bought him flowers or would compliment him in his own sort-of rude way. He recalled Bradley mentioning him talking to some girl in a way that seemed flirtatious and he responded by saying that Bradely had his assumptions; that he used Max’s sexuality against him.

Maybe Bobby and P.J. were right to be skeptical. When Bradely got kicked out of the Gammas and was trying to make amends, his best friends were the first people on the hate-train, not wanting to forgive the brunette. Max, still in his own feelings, reluctantly decided to let him in. Some advice his father gave him was to not hold a grudge and try to see past the mistake. At some point, Bradley had been interested in Max joining them, even if it was just to win.

One thing led to another and they went from close friends to a couple. Well, until now.

Max checked his clock, noticing it was nearly 6 and decided to go for a skate to calm himself before going to eat dinner. Bobby and P.J. were at the Bean Scene last he remembered, but that was over an hour ago, before he got into his funk over Bradely. He had blocked the brunette’s number after the first few messages, not wanting to hear his pitiful apologies.

Even though he seemed angry and not affected, he still cried some nights, he still felt the pain in his chest, he still looked at the photos he and Bradely took during their year of being together. He was a junior in college now, he shouldn’t be held up by some guy that graduated already. He fortunately unfortunately still got to see Bradely on campus as he was studying for his PhD and was working in the library sometimes for whatever reason he mentioned; Max must have been too angry to remember.

Max physically shook his head, putting on his shoes and adjusted his sweatshirt, picking up his skateboard and walking out of his dorm room. He wasn’t going to think about Bradely anymore, fill his head with memories and feelings he wanted to forget. He headed for the skating area, skating past the empty roads on campus. Hm, maybe everyone was at the Bean Scene right now, which most likely meant Bradely too.

Once he got there, Max went to the ramp and skated down, doing a trick and feeling the cool breeze on him as he moved quickly on the board. He missed this feeling, this carefreeness that he lacked in the past few weeks, few days even. He felt so congested, like his life was missing something. Skating was something he enjoyed before Bradely, so he thought it wouldn’t hurt as much, yet skating did remind him of how they met, how they got to dating in the first place, how they learned to work together and move past their previous disagreements that made them ‘enemies.’

Max continued to do tricks, flipping the board mid-air and landing, focused on what was ahead instead of the board itself, forcing himself to not get caught up in his thoughts and accidentally fall. He was doing good, so good, until he looked over, and caught a glimpse of brunette hair. Before he knew it, he was stumbling and before he could catch himself, he was on the ground in the middle of the skating rink.

He looked up, only to see a completely different person walking past the rink, looking over for just a moment before continuing their walk. He sighed, putting his head against the concrete. He panicked because he thought it was Bradely, because he thought it was the one person he didn’t- well, maybe he did, want to see. He was royally fucked up.

—------

Back in the dorms, Max laid back on his bed, phone in hand as he scrolled through his social media, going to Bradley’s profile on instinct and seeing that he hadn’t made any new posts since the breakup. Everything was still up; the pictures of them on their first date, the X-Games from that year and pictures of himself and the group. He closed the app, opening up the messaging app and seeing Bradely’s as a pin. Though he blocked him, he never removed him from his pins. He shouldn’t be reminiscing, looking back at these messages, possibly putting himself in a deeper funk. But he couldn’t stop himself, he wanted to, he missed him.

He opened his messages with Bradely and finally saw the stream of texts that he had ignored when it was first sent. Angel? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you. Can we please talk? Please, let me explain. Call me back. Max, please. I love you, I feel terrible. I get it, you need space.

Max repeated the last message in his head, practically hearing Bradley's voice, the imagination making his heart break. Angel was what Bradely had begun calling him, stating the reason was that when he first saw him on a skateboard, he saw an Angel in Max. Max hated that he couldn’t be mad anymore, that even though it still hurt like hell to be accused like that, his feelings for the other had overridden that. Maybe it was time for him to step up, stop hiding and speak to him again. Clearly, Bradely still cares or he wouldn’t have spammed him for a week.

He checked the time, noting it was a bit past 8:30 now. Had he really sat there for nearly half an hour staring at some messages? He sighed and unblocked the number, hesitating on how to start the message. Should he be apologetic or upfront? Should he even be doing this at all? His thoughts were interrupted when P.J. and Bobby entered the dorm, making him flinch and nearly drop his phone.

“You still in here all depressed, man?” Bobby asked, kicking off his sneakers and climbing onto the top bunk.

“Ha, ha, very funny. I’m doing just fine, actually.” Max retaliated, sitting up and putting his phone to the side.

“Really? ‘Cause your face tells a different story, like you were contemplating life or death just now or something.” P.J. adds, sitting down on the bottom bunk and taking off his own shoes. “If this is about Bradley, we told you to just talk to him about it. You know he would never hurt you intentionally. That dude loves you.”

Max sighed, taking in what was said by his friends. They were right; in the year or so that he had been dating Bradely, he had always been clinged onto him, praising him and striving to be the best versions of themselves together. Though they had a rough start, it was clear that Bradley’s attraction towards him was real. He ran a hand through his hair, considering it. “Alright, maybe I will..soon.” Max picked up his phone, looking at Bradley’s contact again, the picture of them staring back at him. Bradleys toothless small smile compared to his wide grin. “Nuh-uh, not soon, tomorrow. The more you hold off, the more you’re going to procrastinate and the cycle will start all over again.” Bobby urged, pointing down at Max assertively. “Whatever you’re about to do, do it. Let him know you’re still into him- you are still into him, right?”

Max nodded, returning the look at Bobby. “Of course I am..I can’t stop thinking about him.” “Okay, so put on your big boy pants and let him know!” Bobby exclaimed, encouraging the other.

“Bobby’s right, if you want him back, and to get on good terms, you need to accept his calling.” P.J. added, already laying down as the conversation continued. Max opened up the chat again and started typing, letting his hands do the work as he typed out whatever came to his mind that he thought would be appropriate.

Hey, you were right. I needed some space. I’m ready to talk if you’re ready to explain. Max let out a sigh of relief as he sent the message, putting his phone on the nightstand as he laid down, anxiously waiting for a reply. He looked back up to see what the others had to say, but he saw both Bobby and P.J. already asleep. They were out all night and didn’t really sign up to be his therapists on the situation, so they had no reason to really stay awake for this.

Within a few minutes of staring at his ceiling, moments from falling asleep, his phone pinged. Max quickly took his phone and saw the incoming message from Bradley. Alright. Meet me at the Bean Scene, 6am tomorrow. It’s usually empty at that time, so we can talk then.

Max felt his heart thump in his chest, both of worry and excitement. He would be seeing Bradely again, be in his presence and see him face to face for the first time in what felt like forever. He sent a thumbs up emoji before putting his phone on the charger and getting up. He nearly forgot he had on his outdoor clothes, unlike his friends. He chuckled softly to himself and quickly headed to the bathroom to change into some pajamas before returning.

Once back in bed, Max got comfortable in his covers and rested his head on the cool pillow. He closed his eyes, trying to relax and fall asleep. Tomorrow, he will be seeing his love again. Tomorrow they were going to talk it out and hopefully he would get the closure he would need. Was he even ready to forgive as much as he convinced himself he was? Fuck, he was so scared for tomorrow.

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#maxley #max goof #bradley uppercrust iii #pls see this #fanfic #an extremely goofy movie #angst

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