P.J, Bobby and I grabbed food at the burger joint down the street after our schedule was cleared. P.J and Bobby were laughing it up while I was thinking on and on about the probably embarrassing conversation the professor and Bradley were having earlier. The boys noticed my silence and Bobby asked "what's up Maximillian? Maaaan you've been so down in the dumps lately dude!" He said with concern as I chuckled "ummm... to be honest dude I'm just a little worried you know?" I said as P.J wondered what I was worried about. "What's got you so worked up?" He asked as I shrugged "I guess Brad man... he presented his analysis of this really depressing ass book and it was like he could relate." I said as Bobby chuckled " oh please, it couldn't be that bad man. You trippin" He chuckled " it was bad enough for teacher to called him back to stay after class" I replied rather bluntly as both P.J and Bobby sort of stared rather shocked at that for a second. " okay but it's Brad, he's a little overdramatic" P.J said as I shrugged " I mean sure but this seemed like an actual issue and I'm worried about him you know?" I said almost after immediately I had regrets of saying that because Bobby cooed " awwwww~ Maxyyyyyyy~ you really care for him?! That's so romantic" he snickered as I perked up "oh please Bobby, I don't even think Bradley considers us friends man." I snickered as P.J laughed " yeah! The two are like all time rivals dude! You're sayin some weird things Bobby man, you sure you ain't high right now?" P.J asked. " for your information Pete jr. I am 14 hours sober!" Bobby replying making P.J and I laugh. The discussion of Brad shifted into P.J and I doubling up and pestering Bobby with friendly insults to which he pouted and crossed his arms slouching on his chairs "Not cool dudes..." but Bobby can't stay mad. He ended up giggling and shit five seconds later.

After we ate and headed our separate ways though, P.J went to his girlfriend's place to hang out, Bobby went to his late night classes and I skated back to the dorm. As I skated, I heard a noise in the distance. I looked up to see none other than Bradley Uppercrust jogging down the same road I was skating along. I smirked and shouted "Hey Brad! To try to get his attention but I was ignored which confused me. I skated up closer to him and noticed him leaning against a lamp post out of breath. I chuckled finding it a little funny at first as I caught up and stopped nearby him " dude, why are you jogging in this? You're gonna overheat" I pointed out the sweatsuit he was wearing, including the compression shirt underneath which was visible through the collar of his shirt to his neck. He was so out of breath he couldn't even look at me. I grew concerned as I tilted my head and asked " hey, you okay man? Do you need water? I got an extra water bottle on me you know" I mentioned taking it out as he slowly stood back up straight. But I noticed that he was swaying, he looked unfocused and frankly a little scared which concerned me. " Brad? Hey dude? You good?!" I asked waving a hand in front of his face. I gasped seeing him collapse to the ground full on passing out. I caught him before he could hit the ground and looked worried as hell "shit shit shit shit" I panicked not knowing what to do. That was until I heard a groan from the very sweaty Bradley. " Brad? Brad hey man you good??" I asked quickly. Clearly he wasn't alright but I just wanted a response. He panted softly as he nodded " yeah I'm okay..." He said softly trying to stand. I'm assuming he wanted to continue his run which I wasn't gonna let happen. The dude almost fell face flat onto the ground for god sake! What if I wasn't there?  Hell, it's a coincidence he was even running down the same road as I was skating on.

He attempted to take another step but he staggered as I caught him once more "come on man. My dorm is right around the corner. You need a break" I assured him. He didn't protest which was nice thankfully. I slung his arm over my shoulder and wrapped my arm around his waist practically carrying him to the dorms. I walked up each set of stairs and staying quiet on Bradley's appearance. He looked exhausted beyond compare. When reaching my dorm room though, I opened it and brought Bradley to my bed laying him down before returning to the door to close it. I then walked back and checked on him. I checked his forehead, he didn't seem to be overheating but he was warm, most likely because he was sweaty as hell. His breathing was fine and his heart was beating rather quickly, I panicked until I realized it was slowing down to a normal pace once more. Probably just because he was exercising. I thought this whole ordeal was odd. Bradley is an athlete so why couldn't he handle a bit of exercise? There's gotta be more to all of this..... I didn't want the dude to overheat and I realized he had fallen asleep rather quickly on my bed. So I took his sweat shirt and compression shirt off gently, I blushed in embarrassment at this because this looks so wrong. But then I looked down and noticed Bradley's body which sort of alarmed me, I saw him playing volleyball in nothing but trunks the other day and swimming as well a different day. He lost weight really quickly. He looks good undeniably though, I just hope he's losing weight safely. But he's very fit right now, I'm not gonna tell him that obviously but I'll admit it to myself. I replaced the shirts with one of my graphic t shirts. I turned a fan on and faced it towards him. I realized again that P.J and Bobby really fucked up the room so I opened the window to rid of the smell and begun cleaning a little. I didn't wanna hear Brad wake up and complain about the garbage in here. So I cleaned everything and tidied up a little. Once finished, I looked over at Brad who was still sound asleep. He looks better when he's not angry at the world. The thought made me chuckle and shake my head. But I guess since I'm alone considering Brad's asleep I'll just do homework and wait for him to wake up.

An hour went by and I finished my homework for my classes before realizing Bradley was awake. He sat up slowly and groaned rubbing his head as he sighed "jeez...." He said in a soft manner. "Headache? I got Tylenol if you need man" I said offering him a bottle of water. He flinched and looked up shocked to see be practically and looked around the dorm before looking at himself. He gasped and covered himself in the blanket as I cocked a brow confused "what's wrong?" I asked " did you undress me?! You perv!!" He quickly accused as I gasped now and flinched stepping back. I could feel my face going red as a Cherry " WOAH WOAH WOAH! ITS NOT LIKE THAT I SWEAR!" I shouted. "No I'm just playin" Bradley snickered. " you gave me a heart attack ass hole! I thought you were gonna sue me for sexual harassment!" I scoffed as he laughed "no, but thanks, I was sweating like crazy earlier." He admitted as I gave him a bottle of water to which he chugged. "Someone's thirsty" I mentioned with a snicker as he flipped me off.

The room went quiet for a moment as I thought about what to say to Bradley. I was worried about him and all but I didn't wanna push boundaries with the other by asking personal questions. I rubbed the back of my neck for a second before mustering up the courage to ask "what happened man? Why did you pass out like that?" I asked him as he just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Low iron I guess?" He said. This confused me. "Are you sure? Or are you not eating properly or something?" I asked him. " I'm eating properly Jack ass. What makes you say that?" He asked me in return to which I answered " you just look a lot thinner, a lot quicker..." I replied awkwardly to which now he couldn't even deny. He sighed and replied to me "I don't feel comfortable continuing on the conversation" in which that flabbergasted me. I stood up quickly and looked at him "dude. You passed out earlier! What do you mean?! You can't just avoid what can potentially be a serious issue!" I asked Bradley. He glared at me and spoke "why does it matter to you? It's not your life it's mine. I'll do whatever I see fit" he said back as he growled in annoyance " okay but haven't you realized you're hurting yourself! That effects others as well you selfish prick!" I said, I shouldn't have exploded like that but his attitude irritated me " why do you care then! If I'm annoying you then don't help me!" He replied swiftly and quickly.

"Why do I care?! Who asks that!?"

"I asked you! So answer me!"

"I care because I'm worried about you Jack ass!"

"Then stop being worried!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"I just-.."

"Spit it out already!"

" BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU ASS HOLE! YOU'RE MY FRIEND!! WHY DONT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IM TRYING TO HELP YOU! I WANT YOU TO LIVE DUMB ASS!"

The moment I shouted that Bradley went quiet which annoyed me more "I answered you so answer me! Why are you doing this to yourself!?" I asked "because there's always room for improvement and I plan to eliminate everything wrong with me to obtain perfection" he said. This shocked me, he spoke like a robot and he didn't even look at me as he spoke "Brad you're perfect the way you are.." I consoled as he snapped "Bradley!! Not Brad! Bradley!!" He corrected quickly as I stood stunned at him snapping back. "And I'm not perfect. I can be better. I can achieve greatness... I don't need your concern..." he said crossing his arms.

"You're going to die Bradley. Is that what you really desire?" I asked. He stayed quiet for a moment. When he answered my heart broke "In some cases yes... I really do want to. But I don't let my emotions sway me like yours do.." he insulted. I was confused and asked "what is that supposed to mean?" As he snapped back instantly. " you're so soft, you saw helpless ol' me passing out and because of your concern you helped me up here. Then you console me and say we are friends. Don't pull yourself into despair because your heart is too big for your own good, Goof" he replied. But I can see the look of shock on his face when he saw me smile. "Is that supposed to hurt me? You just gave me the sweetest compliment man. Thank you" I chuckled as he grumbled to himself annoyed. I chuckled softly and slowly sat next to him. "You're a good person Bradley, but you're hurting yourself. There's safer ways to do things and I'll help you out every step of the way. I'm here to offer advice if needed, an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on." I consoled. He looked at me and I could tell by his eyes he seemed to be relaxing. He wanted something and I knew he did so I asked "what do you want Bradley?"

"........ nachos"