xxi stand for a while and waited for words, xxseen but not heard and struggled to try. xxmy tongue's turning black, but i'll take you back, xxyou're still the best, more or less, I guess.
Lokys' joke about Barty not warning him about eating all the pizza relaxed Max slightly, but not quite enough. Him calling over Arty was enough to drive Max to down his drink in one, feeling the burn and relishing it. The anxiety seemed to quiet a little, and Max's smile was entirely genuine by the time that Arty reached them.
"Hey, Artie." There was a little bit of sadness at hearing Arty stop himself from using his nickname. And suddenly, Max could almost feel the distance between them, feel how separate their lives their lives had become. His sober self would have suppressed it. But right now, he just found himself wanting to close it. He pulled Artie into a hug, finding himself smiling.
"Yeah. Too long, really. Oh, hey, I heard you got into Yale, congrats man!" he said. Artie had always been smart, so much smarter than Max. Yale was never even on his radar. He couldn't have handled the pressure, it would have driven his mad. If he thought he was a mess now, he could have only been worse. But it always just seemed so effortless to Artie.
"Let me guess, something science-y?" He asked with a grin. "Oh, can I get you guys some drinks? I'm planning on drinking as much of Barty's alcohol as I can, purely because it's free and because I can." He said with a shrug and a laugh. He'd learned how to cover up the anxiety, the racing thoughts, to appear the chill and laid-back guy everyone loved. Nobody pays attention to the chill drunk. Everyone pays attention to the sad and anxious drunks.