With a bag of snacks swinging from the crook of his arm, Max happily made his way over to your apartment.

Today was the day of your planned study date. With midterms coming up soon, the study date served two purposes. It would help to improve his grades and serve to buffer your depressing spirals. Before he met you, Max didn’t even know there could be that many variations of ‘scum’ and ‘stupid’ in the English language! Clearly, you were well-prepared for the humanities section of the exam. But, to ensure you went into the exam with a clear head and to help both of you pass the exam with flying colors, the study date was a non-negotiable.

And Max had come prepared for it!

He had his textbooks, writing utensils, smartphone charger, an eraser, and most importantly…

Max sped up his pace, eager to show off the snacks he bought. He made sure to purchase some tried and true classics: potato chips, chocolate kisses, strawberry jelly, and more, but he couldn’t help buying some of the more unusual snacks the convenience store had in stock as well. Color changing sodas, miniature pie rolls, sparkling gum drops—there was no way that he, as the self-proclaimed snack supplier and connoisseur, could ever pass up the opportunity to try new snacks!

Arriving outside your door, Max rang the doorbell.

A moment passed. Then another. And then finally, you opened the door.

Absolutely undeterred in the face of your eyebags, frown, and jet black hoodie, Max showed you the shopping bag he had.

“Guess what I have~” He sing-songed, stepping over the threshold of the door and into your apartment. Plastic crinkling, he got to work setting up the optimal study space for fun romantic shenanigans and actual studying.

You slowly took a seat in the designated area he made, tugging the hood of your hoodie lower over your face. Your textbooks were already out, proof of your attempts at studying alone, but a quick glance told Max that progress had been slow.

He already knew why.

Your gloomy reputation preceded you on campus. Jokingly dubbed as one of the college’s “Seven Wonders”, people often mistook you for a ghost when you attended classes and roamed the halls during one of your spirals. A dark rain cloud seemed to follow you around no matter how sunny it was outside and your “happy form” was rumored to be luck-granting if anyone ever saw it.

Max ended up your teammate on the campus-wide Color Wars. From then on, he learned about how pretty you were when you smiled and about your crippling social anxiety and low self-esteem. As he spent more time around you, he learned that when you weren’t spiraling, you were the most dedicated, hard-working person he knew.

Suffice to say, Max fell for you—hard.

As he worked towards becoming your boyfriend, Max developed cheer routines to combat your spirals. He’s prepared for anything that could possibly cause you to spiral, and was always ready to shower you with affirmations and praise to the contrary.

Taking a seat next to you, Max pulled you into a hug.

“I have to charge up my you-battery before studying,” he murmured, attention focused on you.

He wasn’t going to miss even the smallest hint that’ll help him cheer you up!