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Five years, it had taken five whole years for Gru to hit what essentially was rock bottom. He was called a great villain by all his peers, at least that's what they told him. Who knew what they were even saying behind his back. They were likely spitting lies or calling out his every mistake amongst each other whenever he had his back turned. It's never been this hard before. College felt especially hard as here everyone was significant. Everyone here had at least put some sort of effort into their profession and had set their mind on becoming a true child of evil. It made it hard to imagine them all being horrible at what they do when they all had evidence of being competent and skilled. They all got to display said skill on stage every year and he felt so foolish every time. Where as before he was confident in his skill, now he just felt weak compared to the others.It was yet another college party, this time at one of the rich kids mansions. He didn't remember the name of the kid but by the looks of things they must have been pampered beyond belief. It was some wooden mansion with curtains lining every hallway and room with family portraits hanging from each wall. Redheads, every single one of them down to the dog. They all seemed like villains, a family of villains... God he wished he had that. At least then he could be motivated out of this deep depression and pushed to work harder instead of him just telling himself that he can do better over and over. He didn't even have any friends to help him, probably why he felt so lonely and helpless. He had a feeling he'd fail this year did he not pull himself together.
Gru turned away from the family painting and over to the ruckus of tipsy college students. In the middle of it all was Maxime Le Mal. An egotistical narcissist who Gru suspected was on the spectrum from what he'd observed. He never shut up, was always making jokes and keeping everyone's attention on him and never seemed to take anything seriously. Despite all that though, he was a top ranking student. Because of course he was, he was the biggest dickhead there was in this school. That's really all that mattered.Gru watched as two students raised the brunet in the air by his waist and awkwardly dangled him there. What the hell were they doing? Maxime was laughing like a maniac and kicking his feet in the air as he waved around a half empty bottle of beer he still somehow managed to spill on the people below. Yeah it was no surprise the class clown was a big party animal. Why everyone gravitated towards him would still forever puzzle Gru. What was there to like about him besides his looks? He hadn't even dressed for the party, he'd simply taken his jacket off and called it a day. Everyone else apart from one other individual had even bothered to change out of their school uniform. Not that it was important, it just bothered Gru that he gave that little of a fuck.He didn't really even know the guy that well. They'd talked maybe once or twice in the past, they'd bullied each other here and there as all students do in villain school, and they'd have a short and sweet rivalry for a time. He was likely just a faded memory to Maxime by now...Gru felt a strong sadness wash over him as he stood just outside the crowd. Everyone talked among themselves, some taking a moment to watch the scene going on with Maxime as he fell to the floor with a loud bang still laughing. Gru really didn't belong in a setting like this, he felt sick...
--Everyone had migrated to the living room part of the mansion, one of them at least... Gru was still just people watching, having no motivation to do anything else. He didn't know why he was here, maybe just so he could say 'yeah I was at the party last night' if anyone asked. Not that it would really matter... Gru turned to look at the loud crowd of people again, the same one that had caused a scene an hour ago. It looked like they were playing spin the bottle in the far corner of the room by the couches. Not surprising they'd fall on a game like that to pass the time... What was surprising however was the brunet walking over. "Maxime??" he nearly fell out of his seat trying to correct his posture. "Oh you remember me? I was worried you had forgotten my name, haha," he said with that same rough accent Gru had remembered him for. "Oh no-no-no, I could never forget a rivals name..." Gru turned away from Maxime and made eye contact with the wood grain on the table instead. He felt horrified to talk to Maxime again for some reason. He didn't know what to expect. He couldn't read him at all. Not to mention he could probably not talk his way out of any insult Maxime could throw at him in the mindset he had put himself in...Maxime took notice of just how tense Gru got. His smile turned to a narrowed frown, he leaned down and rested his arms on the table to get on Gru's eye level. "You don't look too good, mon ami. How many bottles have you had?" he asked, tone changing from loud an sort of obnoxious one to a soft genuine and worried one. It was slightly stunning how quickly the man's whole aura changed. "Uhh...N-Not that many... Just two, this is my second one..." Gru felt like this was a setup. It clearly was, wasn't it? He hadn't seen Maxime give a rat's ass about anyone else but himself. Why would that change today and for him of all people?"Oh, then what's up, huh? You look like you're about to start crying." Maxime pulled out a chair and sat next to Gru much to his dismay. God this was torture! What did he want? "What do you want, Maxime?" It's best if he just asked, right? Get a straight answer out of the guy before he started spilling his gusts uncontrollably. The question seemed to daunt Maxime slightly as he opened his mouth to answer. "Well... I haven't exactly seen you all that much anymore. We've been in zhe same class for six years now and every year since 9th grade you've look more and more sad. Even at a party! Zhis is zhe ground of no care! You're supposed to throw away all of your worries and just have fun here!" he explained lifting his hands in the air and waving them. "So it worries me... You look like you're about to do somezhing bad to yourself and zhat, well... Zhat isn't exactly somezhing I want you to do."Gru felt so embarrassed, mortified even! He'd really been the stand out at this party without even knowing, simply for sitting by himself. Shit... It had been so obvious that even Maxime had taken notice... "Err... Well... I don't know... Would you care?..." Gru asked bluntly, hoping for an answer. Maxime just looked more worried at the question, "yes! Jesus Gru! Zhere are better ways you know... Listen..." The brunet sighed and wrapped a comforting arm around Gru's back which made him tense up greatly. "We can talk about zhis back at school on Monday if you want, okay? But for now I need you to do us both a favor and try to just have fun, yes?"Why was he trying to help him? This was out of character for Maxime and it still felt like a setup. Gru cringed slightly, he didn't want to talk about this with Maxime. He honestly didn't want to talk about it to anyone. He pushed the brunet's arm off of his back and shook his head. "No... I really don't want to talk about it..."
Maxime felt he had hit a roadblock, he pulled his arm back in and rubbed his fingers together. "Okay... Will you try to have some fun at least? You can't go to a party just to have a drink," he argued before standing up and letting out a hand for Gru to take. "Come on, Gru. I promise it will be okay," he assured with a soft smile. Whether it was genuine or not was still a big mystery to Gru. Despite the alarm bells going off in his head, he decided to take Maxime's hand and get up from his chair. He felt very weak and demotivated to even try but if Maxime seemingly cared, he would try to do the same.Remembering that this was spin the bottle, he quickly let go of Maxime's hand halfway there. "I don't want to-" Maxime grabbed his hand again and pulled. "Relax, Gru! You don't have to play!" he stated without an explanation. Gru didn't understand at all. What was the point of him being there if he wasn't going to participate?? He was yanked, pulled through the circle and sat on the couch on the other side behind the ring. He felt like he'd been just pulled into a den of hungry lions, everyone was out here to get him. He could feel it, oh god--"Hey-hey-hey, calm down. Nobody is dying! Just observe like you always do... Please..." Really? Maxime was begging him now? What was going on? This was nothing like the guy he'd grown to hate!Maxime was called into the circle by another but before he left Gru on the sidelines he gave him a comforting smile as if to say that he'd be there if he needed him. Gru still didn't understand... What was there to gain from this? What did Maxime want from him that would benefit him exactly? This felt so suspicious. He just wasn't going to talk, it was better that way...Gru did as he was told, sitting down on the couch with the game happening on the ground. There was about 10 people here, 9 of which were playing and one of which soaking on the couch... Then of course, something would happen which would send Gru into a downward spiral.This clearly wasn't Maxime's first rodeo. He wasn't afraid to kiss anyone, not even guys. Which wasn't really all that surprising now that Gru thought about it... He could be qualified as a pro in spin the bottle had it not been for this one time... Maxime spun the bottle and everyone waited in anticipation, some chuckling and cheering on like they really wanted Maxime to kiss a certain someone. The bottle slowed down and Gru felt his heart skip a beat as he realized the neck was going to land in his direction. He froze completely, somehow becoming more pale than he already was.It of course landed on the woman in front of Gru but that didn't seem to matter. She knew that Gru was behind her. She turned to look at Gru with a smirk. "Hey! Let Gru have a go!" someone shouted from within the circle, another vouching. Gru recognized the woman in front of him. Valentina... Of course it was Valentina... She'd been suspected to be with Maxime as a couple for years now. Sometimes they would deny it, other times they would confirm it proudly. You could tell they got a kick out of fooling with people. This was a setup, Gru was in their crosshair.Gru looked over at Maxime who look a little stumped. "Val it landed on you," he argued and waved for her to come over but she refused with a big smile on her face. "No I think Gru want's to have a go! Isn't that why you got him to come over? You wanted to kiss the depressed guy?" she joked standing up and stepping to the side for Gru to come forward. Maxime now looked a little frightened and people were taking notice. Was he scared to kiss someone? That was unheard of! "Are you scared, Maxime? Haha!"
Gru bit the inside of his cheek, heart beating out of his chest. "NO! That's not it! I never said anything about kissing him! I just wanted to make sure he was--" he stopped himself quickly and bit his lip. He didn't want to let them know he actually cared for the guy. Gru sighed to himself and swallowed dryly. "It's okay, Maxime. I'll kiss you," Gru spoke. His tone was so flat, emotionless. This hurt really badly, you can tell it did and it made Maxime feel horrible. "Whoof, way to go! You've just made the depressed kid suicidal." - "Jesus just get it over with already! We don't have all night! Just kiss 'em!" they began to banter amongst themselves. "Fermez-la! Everyone shut up!" Maxime shouted as he got up from where he sat. He stepped over to Gru who looked somehow even worse than before he was approached by Maxime. He was halfway on his way to break down, head hanging low and leaving no room for the other to approach him. Maxime sighed, and turned to the circle. "Continue without me, I don't feel like playing anymore."Maxime felt sick. Yeah he loved messing with people with his friends but this was a bit too far for him. He had pulled Gru into this hoping to help him feel more wanted but had made it so much worse. "Gru you don't have to kiss me, you can go... I am really sorry..." he muttered to Gru as the others behind him began to play again, cheering. Gru sighed deeply and got up, leaving hastily down the stairs.He was leaving, he was done. He couldn't take this anymore it was too much. He felt so stupid to trust Maxime. He struggled to push open the large door and paused realizing just how quiet it was out here. Everyone at the party was in the living room. It was kind of scary of empty this place felt when no one was around. He heard footsteps behind him, seeing it was Maxime he quickly opened the door to slip outside before he could get to him.Gru stopped outside at the bottom of the stairs leading down from the entrance to the mansion. He was understandably furious at Maxime. Toying with his emotions like it was nothing. What did he expect from a villain? A warm hug and a cold beer?? "AH!-" he screamed, feeling someone hug him from behind. "Shhh... It's me, I just wanted to properly apologize..." It was Maxime? He pushed away from the hug and turned to look at the other with disgust. In his hand was ironically a cold beer that he was offering to Gru. "I know you won't believe me, what being a villain and all... but I am being honest when I say my intentions were good and that I never wanted you to be dragged into that game," he stated.Gru didn't buy it, not anymore. This was an act and a trick for this fucker to be able to wrap Gru around his finger. He wasn't going to fall for it again. "You're right, I don't believe you. Tell me why you suddenly feel like being nice to me," Gru demanded ignoring the offering Maxime had.Maxime adjusted his glasses and set the beer down on the ground to leave it there. "Well... I guess I just saw a lot of the same signs... I used to be in a similar place as you. Everyzhing seeming pointless and unfair," he started as he stepped back a bit to give Gru space. "It was just more obvious tonight than any other time. You were just sitting alone at a college party and err... I just... Wanted to help... I'm sorry..."Gru scoffed to himself. Here he'd believed this guy was full of himself, not giving a shit about anybody else or their feelings. Here he was proving him wrong, clearly worried he might do something bad tonight. If he was willing to let down his persona and confess that he was worried, maybe he was telling the truth. That what Valentina said was just a fucked up joke. "You're really bad at helping... --But I don't blame you for it. You're a villains, being good isn't your strong suit..."
Gru stepped over to the beer and picked it up off the ground where Maxime had set it. He inspected the bottle and sighed. "...But, I appreciate that you're trying, Maxime." Gru made eye contact and gave a reassuring smile that faded quickly before stepping away towards the street.It was just the thing Maxime needed to see right now. His ego hadn't been tarnished for no reason, thank god! When Gru had stepped out of view he let out a heavy groan. Thankful that this had somewhat resolved itself for now. He needed a drink after that, maybe a cigarette... He needed to get this weight off of his chest as soon as possible.