Chapter Text
“We just have a few more questions for you, Mr.Goof”
Max would never get used to being called that, “Max is fine” he corrected with less charm than the first time he had asked to be called Max.
It wasn't her fault of course, she was just one of the many nursing students he had encountered on his frequent trips to the doctor on campus. He could tell she was nervous as the razor sharp eyes of her professor, a doctor watched for any flaw in her patient care.
“Of course Max” She corrected politely but noticeably unsure of herself as the professor potted down a note “What is your diet like?”
Max was a little wary about answering that, because of course his diet wasn't great. He lived off the freshman's diet of pizza, nachos, noodles and coffee! He already knew where this was going and he wasn’t keen on the conclusion they were trying to make.
“What does that matter!” Max asked defensively.
“Well..” before the trainee could respond, her professor and the ENT doctor stepped up.
“Physically you're fine. There is no infection, blockage, breaks or head trauma that could cause you to lose your sense of smell” She said very matter of fact and clinical
“But I still cannot smell anything!” Max reminded
“I know. This may sound like disappointing news as we are still in the diagnostic stages, but it is a good thing that the cause may not be as serious as we feared” she tried to comfort “Since we have ruled out trauma this is more likely to be reversible” she ensured “But we need to explore all the factors, starting with your life style”
Max slumped a little in his chair, finding the following set of questions pointless to the overall diagnosis. Stress and diet was too mundane to be the cause of his malfunctioning nose. He could survive an inferno, push himself to the physical limits at the X-Games and trade swings with another Alpha but couldn’t handle a little pizza and homework deadlines?
The thought that he would be so affected by small day to day inconveniences while withstanding the X-Games and its aftermath was frustrating.
Max finished telling the doctor everything he could think of that she might find relevant. He answered the questions honestly, though he internally protested wasting time on the topic.
The doctor and her pupil jotted down notes here and there. She looked at Max, sensing his skepticism in their diagnosis technique, she responded to his unspoken protests. “I know it sounds odd for such small things to affect you this greatly, but everyone reacts differently to stress and a poor diet. You’re a freshman, so your life style has taken a drastic change recently, it would make sense for issues to reveal themselves now that your environment has become more stressful”
Max sighed, he guessed he had been feeling very tense after the X-Games. He didn’t know why he felt so rigid when comparatively these were the easiest, most stress free weeks of his College life!
“One more question, are you seeing anyone?” The doctor looked up from her clipboard. The cute nursing student blushed and covered her mouth with her own paperwork.
Max cocked his brow “Now my sex life is causing my nose not to work?”
“Actually, I am more curious if you’ve had a bad break up recently” she admitted “It seemed more polite to ask less bluntly”
“I broke up with my long-time girlfriend about a year ago, I saw her recently, everything seemed normal” he admitted, thinking back on their interaction.
“Could you smell her?” she asked
“No”
“Sometimes, when an Alpha no longer registers someone as a potential mate their senses will dull when around them” She informed, Max had the lingering suspicion he would have known this already if he had an Alpha figure growing up, or went to a private school.
“So, I just don't consider anyone a good mate?” he frowned, wondering if he was that egotistical “Like I won the X-Games and suddenly no one is good enough?”
The nursing student looked a little disappointed by the theory.
The doctor smiled at his conclusion “No no. A lot of older Alpha’s will lose their sense of smell when a long-time mate passes away. It is a part of the grieving process and being unable to move on. If this is the case for you it will gradually go away once you’re body has recognized the suitor is no longer attainable"
“But no one died!” He tried hard to think of who he’d lost recently.
“It is only a theory to be aware of” She began jotting down notes “with instincts nothing is certain and everyone behaves differently. It makes things harder to diagnose”
Max was deep in thought as he ran through the possibilities.
“I will recommend a heavy duty nostril rinse to clear out any mucus, allergens or irritants as a precaution. But I also want you to eat better and try to relax more. I know school is important but so is your health. Try to get your full eight hours of sleep”
“Gotcha” Max said with unconvincing finger guns. What's a college kid supposed to do to relax? He had finals approaching, a social life to keep up with and It wasn't like their tiny room came equipped with a kitchen to cook healthy meals.
It was frustrating not having his sense of smell, food always tasted the best after getting to smell it first, But his love for the savory aroma aside, he felt partly blind without it. He couldn't tell where people were, who was close by, approaching or leaving.
Even emotions were harder to navigate in his peers, without the pheromones to indicate mood people had become harder to read.
He sighed as he took the paper his doctor had given him as his stubbornness subsided slightly. He really didn’t want to be nose blind forever, so maybe he could cut back on the greasy take out and try to be in bed at a half decent hour for his own sake.
He left the building with more questions than answers, staring in a dazed state at the paper he was given, though he wasn’t reading whatever medicine that had been written down, he was deep in thought about admiring someone so secretly he didn’t even know who it could be himself!
“Hey Maxie!” A sweet voice called to him. He looked up from the paper seeing two girls jogging by while waving.
Their greeting had pulled him out of the thoughtful state. If he was secretly pining after someone then he would smell them eventually when they crossed paths, if he couldn't even remember who it was then they mustn't have been very important.
He waved back at the joggers before jumping onto his skateboard and grinding the rail down the building's steps to the flat ground below.
He decided to make the rest of the day a relaxing one, just as the doctor prescribed. And what better place to relax than the best place on earth.
—
As soon as Max arrived, the skate park would inexplicably triple in the size of its onlookers.
No matter how busy it was he always knew there would be a ramp for him and the troop, as anyone skating would dismount just to give him space like he was the Skate King,
Max had never been so popular. He was always a pretty awkward kid, a bit of a trouble maker and a rebel. His big teeth were an obvious outward flaw kids would pick on him for, not to mention his embarrassing laugh and an even worse last name, Goofy, making him an easy target.
He always had PJ and Bobby at least, but even then they were a trio of odd balls. At least it was less lonely being outcasted together. He had trouble finding his place growing up, always wanting to be someone important while his confidence and peers told him he wasn’t.
That was until crashing Principal Mazur’s school assembly. His behavior had been so bold he became the talk of the neighborhood for the entire summer, his actions became all the more brazen with every passing day. People weren't very surprised when he presented as an Alpha over the break, after crashing that Powerline concert everyone saw it coming.
The only one caught off guard seemed to be his dad. He never expected an Alpha son and it was obvious he didn't always know how to handle him.
Even the bit of notoriety he got with his Powerline antics was nothing compared to the high he was riding after the X-Games. It was actually a little hard getting used to it. He always wanted to be the center of attention and adored for his own merits, but Imagining it and living it were two very different realities!
He felt important, like for once people could see him as more than the kid who crashed a concert and had a really embarrassing dad. His own passions were being recognized and no one could claim he was leaching off another Alpha’s success. He won the X-Games and no one could diminish that accomplishment. Now he could just ride the wave and enjoy his peace. After his first semester was such an emotional mess he really needed his second year to be more leisurely.
“Yo Max! Show us your moves!” someone requests as Max is just rolling from one edge of the ramp to another, performing little beginner stunts as he simply enjoys the feeling of the momentum and air through his hair.
For once people wanted to see moves that were truly his own, they didn’t want to see how he had perfected Powerline's signature dance and mannerisms, or how he could lip sync every verse without flaw. They wanted what only Max could give them, his skate talents, his skills, the thing he has worked hard for and made him truly unique.
Upon reaching the edge of the halfpipe Max leapt vertically on his board, balancing himself as he stretched out like he had during the qualifying rounds.
He fell back onto his board as the balance began to wane, the move was a tough one to perfect.
“Oh the hand stand!” someone gasped
“I died when he did that at the games!” an excited voice added
“That's so cool!” The whole crowd was eating it up
He chuckled to himself as he listened to the excited ooh’s and awes, he liked knowing what people thought of him, and liked entertaining them. They gave him attention and in return he gave them a great show!
“Tch, is that it?” Max heard one unenthused onlooker among the sea of praise, he looked to the audience to see where the negativity was coming from.
“What a one trick pony”
Max moved too fast on his board to get a good look at individual faces, but he was determined to find the source of the unimpressed people. He was on pretty good terms with everyone, besides maybe the Gamma's.
But even they'd never show their faces at the skate park, not after the shame they brought to the sport.
Max stopped on the base of the ramp, looking towards the audience for the source of the mockery.
He recognized an Alpha named Wrench from when he was announced at the semi-finals. One of the participants Max had a little tiff with in the locker room. He was the lead of team 87, they had been the first team disqualified at the rock wall event after Wrench mysteriously lost his footing.
The three members of team 87 watched with judgmental eyes and mean smirks. Max easily concluded their moods were based on jealousy due to their own poor performance that day.
He felt a rush knowing he had the upper hand, the trophy, the glory. He was so high above them even if they tried to bring him down, they couldn't.
“Oh is the no trick pony jealous?” Max mocked with a big grin “Looks like you're half way to the glue factory after your performance!”
PJ and Bobby jumped onto the ramp to back up their pack lead. They stood above the other team, looking down at them from their platform.
“Big talk when your only accomplishment was dethroning that Omega!” Wrench shot back. “You couldn’t beat an Alpha with those parlor tricks. Why don't you try skating against someone your own rank?”
Max felt the vein on his forehead intensify as he glared “If Bradley was such easy competition, Why didn't you beat him?”
“We all know that Omega was cheating” The senior gestured to the crowd. “He set it up so he would be facing the weakest team in the finals. That was yours”
It made Max's skin crawl when he heard other students belittled Bradley to just the status of his presentation. Bradley had always led with his name, it was clearly a point of pride and defined his self-worth. Regarded as just The Omega didn't sit well with Max. He had a feeling Bradley, the guy who couldn’t even stand being called Brad, would be particularly irate knowing this is how people were referring to him in his absence.
Mentions of the famed Bradley Uppercrust the third had lessened as days passed; State College's Golden Boy, the prematurely named Valedictorian of his graduating class, the X-Games multi-time champion, The Campus King, someone who had been on the top of the Deans list since his first week was talked about like an old folks tale now.
Max stomped on the end of his board, catching it in his hand as it flipped up “You just couldn’t handle a few extra obstacles” Max smirked “it was nothing we couldn't deal with, but I understand some might not be up for the challenge”
“Don't get used to that pedestal. Now that the scheming Omega has been kicked out everyone is gunning to fill the spot he left behind” Wrench announced.
“Teh, you mean the one I already filled?” Max added pompously “Face it, nothing changed for you. You just get to lose to someone else from now on” Max brushed his shoulders in an uncaring gesture.
He didn't want to waste his time on the hurt egos of some sore losers. He turned to leave, controlling the duration of their little interaction.
“Ha, beginner's luck!” The other Alpha laughed loudly trying to have the final say even after Max had ended their interaction and moved on “Enjoy your summer break, you’re going to have some real competition at the Winter X-Games” Wrench threatened as he and his team walked off in the opposite direction.
Max hadn’t really been thinking about the next games. He was just trying to relax and enjoy his victory, he didn’t realize the push to one up himself would come so soon.
But if the other teams were already practicing maybe he should too. He wasn’t as adept at winter sports as he was in the summer category. It wasn't like he was some rich boy that could go to where the snow was whenever he pleased.
How lame, it wasn't even summer vacation yet and he already needed to worry about the winter! Max walked past the ramps with his board still in hand, nothing like killing the good vibes with more strenuous competition.
“Aw hell yeah!” PJ piped up from beside him, to everyone's surprise he was very hyped about this interaction “Round two here we go!”
“Dude, how can you have so much energy already?” Max cocked his brow “If I never see another white finish line it will be too soon”
“I didn't get to the finish line man, I want a re-do!” PJ complained
“I didn't cross the finish line either, you don't see me complainin” Bobby shrugged
“I didn't even get past the starting line let alone finishing!” PJ retaliated
“Come on Peej, no one sees you as any less of a winner. You helped us get to the finals!”
“Yeah big whoop” He shrugged “I wasn't training for the year just to get kicked out right before the big finally”
“Relax man” Max patted his friends back “We're gonna win the winter games no problem!”
“Aw right! I can't wait for Hockey, it'll be just like how we did it on the streets!”
“You guys better not be thinking about training all summer” Bobby warned “I have some serious chillaxing to catch up on. Just me and my van out across the country to a new beach and new babes every day”
“I'm going to spend some time back at home, Mom said she’d set up an air mattress on one of the bowling lanes for me to sleep on” PJ said sounding very unenthusiastic “I think Mocha is sharing a room with Pistol” he rolled his eyes at his parents strict nature
“You better have perfected your strike by the time you get back” Max chuckled
“Think they'll have bowling in the events?” Bobby laughed
“What about you Max?” PJ asked as Max didn’t offer it freely “You always got some hair brained planned lined up”
Max thought for a moment “eh, I might just hang out around here” he shrugged, hoping they wouldn't react too strongly to such a boring answer.
“Bro that sounds super lame” Bobby frowned
“Hey shut it! My dad just started giving me space! I don't want to go back home and encourage old bad habits!” he reasoned
“You really have to face your old man, man” PJ insisted “you can’t just keep avoiding him”
“I'm not avoiding him. He's got a new girlfriend, and school, I got my own life. It's going well for us, we're just too busy to talk much”
“You're still pissed about the X-Games fiasco” Bobby displayed a moment of impressive perception.
Max rolled his eyes, knowing not to get into this discussion with the boys. They couldn’t understand the boundaries Goofy had crossed no matter how many times he tried to explain it. He didn't hate his dad, but he wasn't ready to act like everything was normal either.
“There is plenty to do around here, I’ve barely spent any time off campus grounds. I’m going to find some holes in the wall and see what the night life has to offer. Besides, with the Powerline concert coming up I want to be well rested” It was a good excuse to relax, though he was also concerned about regaining his ability to smell.
Bobby whistled and rubbed his hands together “I can’t believe Powerline actually stuck with his guns man, that's crazy”
“Dude you’re going to kill it out there! I'll have every one of my dad's TVs is tuned in!”
“Oh, you guys will have better seats than that” Max grinned wide.
“Dude..” Bobby lifted his glasses to read Max better, ensuring he wasn't just pulling their legs
“Noo way!” PJ gasped, his ears perked up with excitement
“Yeah” Max said casually as he put his arms behind his head “I pulled some strings” truthfully he had asked Tevin very awkwardly, afraid of coming off as greedy, if his friends could come too.
It was much less cool then he played it off as.
But luckily for him Tevin was a cool guy and offered him three extra tickets for all of team 99.
“Dude no waay-hay-haay!!” Bobby tossed his arms up then fell forward against Max, hugging him like he was simultaneously melting in his arms.
“It just felt right, you guys were right there with me. Without you I never would have won!” Max insisted as he helped Bobby back to his feet.
“Let's make this summer one to remember” he grinned, raising his hand into the air, the boys followed suit, slapping their palms together “let's do it to it!”
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Here are the faces of all the characters that don't have canon names so i had to name them! Besides Bradley and Tank of course
