It was late noon on Friday, and Maxwell and I were sitting in the living room of Toby and Caleb's apartment. We weren't saying much to each other, but it was nice to sit in the comfortable silence as Duke walked about in the background with a toy in his mouth. Toby was in the small kitchenette with Caleb, and they were making dinner while I caught up on homework on my laptop as Maxwell watched T.V.

"How do you like your steak?" Toby asked, making both me and Maxwell turn to face him. He was at the counter, while Caleb was looking through the cupboards for a pan.

"Done," Maxwell said, making Toby nod in understanding before he looked away from us. Caleb took a pan out of the cupboard, and soon the two were talking to each other as they went about making the steak.

My eyes moved to Maxwell after a bit of watching my cousin and his boyfriend act, well, couply. I smiled at the sight of Maxwell. He had his eyes glued to the T.V., and I guess he liked cartoons as much as Toby and Caleb because one was playing. I let myself take in his red wavy hair that had loose strands sticking out by the side though he had made an effort to comb everything back. His freckled face shone under the fluorescent light, and I didn't look away until Maxwell turned towards me.

"Xander," he said with a firm tone before chuckling. It was obvious he knew I had been looking at him, but I didn't feel embarrassed, just a bit guilty for looking away.

"What?" I asked, looking up to find him rolling his brown doe eyes at me. "Can't I look at my boyfriend?" I asked, making him laugh. The dog chose the moment to bark randomly, and we both turned to watch Duke walk over to the kitchenette and wagging his tail. Caleb passed him a bit of beef, and Toby just chuckled before turning his attention back to the pan in front of him.

Turning away from them I decided to look around their place. I liked their apartment, it was small, but it was pretty looking. Caleb had told me he and Toby had done most of the decor. They wallpapered or painted walls and changed things like light bulbs and taps here and there. My face warmed up when my mind wandered to whether I would have a place like this with Maxwell in the future. I mean, we couldn't live in the school residence forever, and most people moved out by their second or third year.

"Are you two planning to move in together at some point?" I heard the voice of Caleb's boyfriend ask as my face grew warm. I watched as Maxwell's eyed went wide as he looked over towards the kitchenette. I looked over there too to Find Toby dishing out the steak while Caleb took out glasses and brought them to the small dining table.

"I..." Maxwell trailed, looking away. At least I'm not the only one that's red. I thought, staring at his now reddened face. "I don't know if Xander wants to."

Oh. I thought, not saying anything as I watched Maxwell look over to me.

"Okay, I was just asking because I know some good places. It's hard to get a decent affordable apartment," Toby explained, taking the tray of plates to the dining table. "Come on, don't you guys want to eat?" he asked us as he sat beside Caleb on the table. Caleb hadn't said much but follow and help Toby, but then again, he was usually quiet.

"Oh, we're coming," I said, getting up from the sofa before heading over to grab one of the free seats. Maxwell was soon sitting down beside me, and we were all eating. Caleb would leave his food to attend to his drawing pad from time to time. He would nudge Toby with it sometimes, and they would have a small discussion—probably about the drawing he was doing—before Caleb leaned away and continued sketching.

"So, how's school been treating you?" I asked, making Caleb look up from his drawing pad. He rolled his eyes before letting out a long sigh as Toby chuckled. His boyfriend reached out to run a hand through his hair.

"It's awful. I mean, I love art. It's just so much work," he complained as Toby continued to run his fingers through his brown locks.

"You'll get used to it," Toby chimed in, before turning to meet my gaze. "How's school been for you?"

"Fine," I muttered, using my fork to pick up a piece of meat. "I mean, it's not hard. A little boring, but I guess things will pick up eventually," I said. My mother had explained that the first year for writing students was usually beginners' work that I wouldn't be keen for, so I had been expecting it.

"What about you? I heard you're in the music program?" Toby asked, looking over at Maxwell. Maxwell looked up from his food, blinking before he let out a sigh.

"Meh," he said, making Toby shake his head.

"Do you like it?" Toby asked, and Maxwell just shrugged. From what Maxwell told me before it was evident that he was just pulling through with the program because of the pressure, but I was surprised he was being open about that with Toby.

"Sorry," Toby said before sitting up on his seat. "I want to understand this. You don't like the program, or you don't like music?"

Maxwell cocked his head to the side a bit, thinking about it. "I don't like the program." Maxwell loved music. It was one of the few things I had known him for in high school, and he still loved to play his instruments in his room and whenever he had time, so his answer was in line.

"Is there something else that you like to do?" Toby asked, and Maxwell frowned a bit like he was thinking about it seriously.

"I like to write, but I suck," he laughed, shifting in his chair a bit. It looked like he was getting a bit uncomfortable, and his laugh had been shaky and filled with underlying nerves. Toby didn't back down though, he pressed on.

"Does he suck, Xander?" Toby asked, looking over at me, and I blinked. For a while, I had just been listening in on the conversation. I hadn't expected to be dragged into it.

"I..."

"It's not like he would tell me if I did," Maxwell said, cutting me off and Toby looked back at him.

"Do you know what I suggest?" Toby asked him.

"What?" Maxwell's voice was starting to sound a bit defensive, and I was getting worried. I didn't want a bad first impression on either side.

"Maybe pick up writing as your minor and spread out your music courses and not try to overwork yourself every semester. There's nothing that kills your love for something more than turning it into a chore," Toby said, making Maxwell's frown leave his face. He sighed, nodding and Toby just smiled in response.

It was awkward as we ate in silence, but Toby soon brought up another discussion that we all took part in. When we were done with dinner. Maxwell and I hung around the kitchenette by standing at the kitchen island while Toby and Caleb cleaned up. Duke hung around for attention, bumping his head against thighs until someone pet him.

"Annoying," was the only thing Toby muttered under his breath when Duke nudged his head against his trousers, and Caleb would chuckle.

He hated the dog, but he loved him at the same time. It was a complicated relationship.

Towards eight in the evening Maxwell and I finally said our farewells and left their apartment as we walked down the stairs Maxwell nudged my shoulder, making me turn to him. He was smiling, his toothy grin on full display before he suddenly looked away.

"Your cousin's boyfriend is pretty good at giving advice," Maxwell said, and I smiled as he turned over to me again.

"He's like six years older than us," I said, watching as Maxwell shrugged. We had gotten down to the ground floor and we were now leaving the building.

"Yeah, it's just - I don't know," he said, hugging himself as we got out into the cold. He was in one of the more stylish sweaters I had gotten him and a pair of black jeans.

"Are you going to do what he said?" I asked, raising my brow a bit. Maxwell shrugged, humming a bit to himself as we made our way towards the closest bus station.

"I'll think about it. If I try to cut my workload my dad will get mad, but that's not new. Him getting mad at me, that is," Maxwell said as we took a sit on the wooden bench by the bus stop sign. I stared down out both off our shoes, watching Maxwell swing his foot against the concrete pavement.

"Oh," I said, staring down at his hand that was laying between on the bench. I took it in mine, squeezing it a bit. "What about the writing?" I asked, and Maxwell sighed.

"I don't know," he said, and I nodded, not wanting to push it.

"Xanny."

"Hmm?"

"If I send you my writing. I mean, not the writing I'm doing for class but my personal one, will you take a look?" I looked over to face him, leaning forward a bit so that I could look at him properly. He was biting his bottom lip, and his eyes looked shifty.

"Of course," I said with a smile, squeezing his hand and he seemed to relax.

"Thanks," he said, and I just continued to smile.

The bus came up to the stop a few minutes later, and we got in, heading for the stop closest to our school. We read together like we usually did, and from time to time Maxwell would ask me about Caleb, and my other cousins he hadn't met yet. He seemed to want to hang out with Caleb and Toby again, so I was happy about that.

"About the apartment."

"What?" I asked, looking over at Maxwell as we got down at the bus stop closest to the residence building we stayed in.

"I err," he started, running a hand through his hair. "Do you think we should get one together?

"I - I don't know, I just assumed..." he trailed when my eyes went wide.

"No. It's not that I don't want to," I started as we made our way towards the residence building. "It's just that I didn't expect you to want to do that. We haven't been dating for that long," I said, and Maxwell nodded in agreement.

"I know," he said, letting out a sigh. "But if I bring it up next semester can we talk about it then?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Of course," I said, voicing my agreement before taking his hand. We walked the rest of the way to the building, and I hung out on Maxwell's floor in the lounge with the rest of his friends.