A/N - Enjoy my shit talking, Chloe-Max attitude hybrid writing, heh heh... :)
There's nothing like starting a new year at some dumb Academy I used to drive by countless times a kid. All of those heart wrenching hopes and imaginations that sore so high when you're young about a place you dream of going to; suddenly begin to come crashing down at the mercy of nobody, and nobody even acknowledges the beauty of this place way back when. At first I was ecstatic that we were coming back to Arcadia Bay; especially to Blackwell Academy, but that all diminished like a flickering light on its last breath before disappearing all together, and leaving a dark void behind full of terrifying emotions and an endless stream of fear. Deep, I know.
The reason why it diminished all of a sudden? Well, everybody I basically knew before we moved away several years ago ran off into the sunset riding pale horses with suitcases attached to their ass-ends and never looked back. The second people caught whiff of this place smelling like bullshit and lies; people didn't stick around. Mind you, we were also fleeing for the same reason; heh, but my parents grew up here together, and decided to stick through the horror and hardship in hopes to find some new kind of adventure. This is why I don't let my dad watch any old films anymore. Nothing against them, they just fill his head with hopes and lies about finding peace in something they once loved when it's been drained completely dry; and filled with democratic assholery. "Power is vested in the people" my ass, more like just one. Unless your name either begins with Asshole, or ends with Prescott; there's nothing fair about it, and don't even get me started on the Prescotts.
Now let's get to the good part, it's only my second day coming to the Academy and get this; some shit talking, city girl who Google's her answers, apparently moved in a couple years ago and runs the damn show with her little boy toy who owns the entire city; no wonder it smells like rich infested shit in here. Not only that, but the boy toy has the entire system wrapped around his little finger and can get away with anything, and I mean anything. Everybody seems so depressed in here; I don't blame them at all. You have two circus freaks running the show throughout the halls with this lame ass thing called a Vortex Club that everyone supposedly would die for. I was never a party animal; and I never will be especially if the only party here is that one. Yeah we have a few people who are socially awkward or quiet, but despite my whole intake on this Hellhole, and the people here in general; if you're nice to me I'll still be the good person I am, and help those who need it. I have multiple sides to me, and it's probably impossible to keep up with which one I listen to. Hell, sometimes I can't even choose which role to play; so I just stick to the quiet, stubborn and smart person who doesn't put up with anything, or anyone and usually tries to avoid conflict when deep down inside I want to fix it, which requires me to get involved.
The halls of Blackwell Academy linger with only a few souls strutting about the place as if they own it, this school has plenty of people who either have a hand shoved so far up their assholes that they speak in high pitched voices and are controlled by the Prescotts, or you're so quiet that you try to avoid conflict as soon as you can and barricade yourself in your dorm. Luckily there are a few in-between options, or else this wouldn't end pretty at all and all Hell would break loose between the students.
My eyes catch a glance of one of the populars as I make my way down the somewhat empty hall, immediately I'm almost paralyzed with overwhelming judgment by their little group; despite not really caring about what they have to say or think, just the fact of knowing I could be their next victim is enough to make me part the way back to my dorm room like the Red Sea. Amazingly they just stand there, silently judging everything they already know about me from just a second day of classes beginning; pulling out their iPhones and texting away to whoever gives a flying fuck about whatever they're saying. Lucky me I have one of the puppets sitting in my photography class gawking over the teacher, which I just so happen to be heading to right now.
Who doesn't have their first high school/college teacher crush? If you've never had one; you're clearly lying to yourself, either that or you have no drop dead attractive teachers nearby. In that case I feel extremely bad for you, there's nothing like getting lost in their eyes when they make direct eye contact with you as they speak to the class, the butterflies in your stomach that flutter around and damage your vital organs and entrails because why the fuck are there butterflies in my stomach? And not to mention it's the best motivation to even go to class and hand in work; when they praise you in front of everybody and show off how amazing you are and how outstanding your grades are it sends you flying over the moon and back in a matter of seconds.
My feet stop dead in their tracks the second I reach the classroom door, clearly I'm early considering no one; not even Victoria herself is in the room which is surprising because she looms over him like he's the last remaining piece of chocolate in existence and debates on whether or not she should take a bite now, or savor the flavor for later. Damn, I wish I liked English enough to pursue a career in it.
The door to his room is wide open, as if he's expecting someone to show up early. He's in there all by himself, hunched over his desk with his laptop out, not giving a care in the world about anything apparently. He doesn't even notice me standing by the door, and those chocolate brown eyes are so fixated on his screen. There's papers scattered all over his desk, along with photos of things like a butterfly, or a close up on beautiful flower petals that he must've taken himself. My vintage Polaroid camera has nothing on his digital, expensive one. But I wouldn't change it for the world; old things amaze me, especially old portraits and anything else that fits into that category. History is my other passion; nothing says sweet justice like chopping off people's heads that deserve it with a guillotine, and having children stand by the bloody corpses to snap quick pictures for Facebook. At least that's how I'd like to imagine what it would be if we could still do that in this day and age. I should probably tone down the morbid… Nobody considers it to be fantastic; I'm already odd enough in this place as it is.
My hesitation is beyond insane right now, every muscle in my body wants to move right in and take a seat in the back of the room where I usually do, and just focus on something else in there other than Mr. Jefferson. I can't even peel my eyes away from him, how pathetic am I. His crisp, slender appearance topped with scruff and glasses; not to mention his slightly narcissistic attitude and sarcasm. Whoever can't find gold in that is doomed for a life beyond repair, nothing says 'hello world, kill me now' like a little bit of sarcasm whipped up with some repressed memories, and attention whores.
I don't even know what time it is; not that it matters to me anyways since I'm a human time machine. All I know is that I woke up and checked my schedule; grinning like a clown on acid when I found out I have his class first, and with that in mind I shot up wide awake and got dressed, grabbing my things and off I went down the hall in the dorm room. The sky outside looks like it's just a little after the sunrise; coloring the world with its magnificent pastel hue in the clouds above, followed by the calming sounds of the chirping birds outside fluttering about the treetops and the beautiful scent of the sea breeze flowing through the open window.
And just like that, his eyes gaze up in my direction, flashing me a passionate smile that in return makes me smile as well. He closes his laptop gently and stands up with a strange elegance that just screams 'I own the world, and time now' if only he knew what I'm capable of doing.
"Why Max, it's a bit early. Classes don't start until eight." He casually strolls up towards the door, inviting me in as if it's some formal guest party and I clearly didn't get the memo with my outdated outfit that I have on.
"Heh, yeah. The early bird catches the worm, I guess." My eyes attempt to hide from his averted gaze, I sit in the back of the room for a reason; yet yesterday that's all he did was use me as an example, or jokingly pick on me in front of everyone. His eyes are what make me freeze up, his voice even triggers me into babbling like an idiot so I tend to not answer any questions he has in class when I know them perfectly, I've never fallen so hard for someone like that; what the fuck is wrong with me?
His smile shines through the room once more, brighter than the sunshine reflecting through the window and onto the nearby group of desks, capturing the small particles of dust that gently float by, minding their own business in this ominous, confusing world. His fingers just barely touch the door as he manages to swing it closed with one light touch, and just like that the door closes with a soft clicking noise making almost anything imaginable possible.
Yeah, I fantasize about him too; who doesn't at this point? I keep it hidden down deep inside of me though, it's just hard not to when the so called "warning" signs are all over the place… Closed door, fragile yet sly smile, the fact that he's moving closer to me ever so quickly… Come on Max, you have the power to reverse time for fuck's sake! Even if something goes wrong all you have to do is raise your right hand, repeat 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' and you're scot-free! You're basically hitting rewind on an old VHS of some horrible opening for a porn tape and boom! Nothing ever happened and he can't press charges because he isn't liable to remember a damn thing.
My heart just pounds, no ands, ifs or buts, I am so going to try this. I just have to get over my nervous anxiety of never being accepted by anyone. I just can't believe that he's coming to me, he usually floats around the classroom a lot but; I'm in the back.
"You make a valid point… Do you have any photo ideas in mind Max? Even though the Everyday Heroes contest doesn't start until October; that's still plenty of time to take some shots." He hesitates while standing in front of me, casually moving over and sitting on top of one of the desks beside me while he tries to move his attention somewhere else in the room as he waits for my response.
He's sitting on the desk, you damn fool. He clearly wants something from you; and it's definitely not an assignment. His eyes bounce around his room, glancing over at me a few times for a split second. I don't think I am over-thinking this anymore...
The silence is almost bliss, I've never had a moment of silence this peaceful unless I'm in my dorm chilling on my bed, or strumming a couple guitar strings while listening to some of my favorite songs. Nothing beats a classic Nirvana tune to help get you in the mood to deal with this bullshit Academy.
"Uhh, I've taken a few, they just, look kinda lame to me…" Once again the words come out slightly choppy and passive. There I go again, dammit why can't I just speak normally around him like I do when I'm around other people? Why is it just him that this is happening to me? Why doesn't he have to be so damn perfect in every way…?
He instantly jumps off of the desk he was sitting on the second he hears the words "I've taken a few" escape my lips, moving closer towards me and extending his hand carefully with a somewhat beckoning embrace to it. He's so motivated by taking photos that half the time I can't tell if he's coming onto me or if he's genuinely enthusiastic about photography.
"Can I see them? Everybody has their opinions." His dark brown eyes glaze down over me while he stands slightly taller than me by a foot at least. My body tenses up even more, noticing how his eyes never leave mine and it's been a few seconds now. Why can't I just jump into his arms and push him against the counter that's back here. Or better yet; the wall…
Fear overwhelms my system to function, even though if all else fails I can abandon ship and go back to this moment, I'm still petrified to even try anything with him. I never really, had an opportunity like this, at all… Why can't I just push myself into him and see where things go?
"I, uh, left them behind… Sorry." I force out a tiny timid smile while he slowly loses his, shaking his head a little he turns around and begins pacing a little bit in front of me.
"What a shame, Max. I still have high hopes for you, when you wrote your letter yesterday so I could get to know some of you a little better I must say, I'm impressed about your knowledge in this course. Not to mention history as well. History and photography almost go hand in hand, you see; throughout the generations that pass by, everything slowly but surely evolves-"
"Over time and eventually all there's left is the traces of how previous art is formed." I finish his sentence with the same words he was about to use; and this time I didn't have to rewind time to do that. Not to mention I didn't freeze like an idiot too, that's a plus for me.
His eyes widen a bit while he suddenly stops pacing, facing directly towards me his smile returns, lighting up not only the room but also my small little world, causing mine to grow even bigger in return.
"You never cease to amaze me, you truly are wonderful."
That sentence alone sends shivers down my shine, followed by a gentle, warm touch that melts away the freezing coldness in this room. Are you for real? Look at me; I went from some intense shit-talker into some lovey-dovey bullshitter right here. Now I'm genuinely terrified of how serious he affects my attitude.
Just do it, try it Max come on, this is your chance; your chance to finally figure out if he thinks about you like how you do sometimes. All of the signs are there, you just need to try. You can reverse time dammit, you literally have nothing to lose here.
I have no idea where the sudden courage erupted from, that alone frightened me a little bit the second I realized I was walking towards him, filling the small gap that he made between us whether it was on purpose or by accident; surely I'm about to find out anytime now.
His lips curl into a devilish smile almost instantly, immediately his arms reach out towards my shoulders, sending shivers crawling down my skin in a pleasant way, without a moment too soon his soft lips eventually make their way towards mine, grabbing me tighter this time he hauls my frail body into his; wrapping his arms around me as he lingers on my lips still.
His heart pounds furiously against mine, I can just feel it through the emotion he's sending me. Not to mention I can feel his chest pulsating; so the feeling must be mutual.
Nothing can even describe the feeling I'm experiencing right now. Holy, fucking, shit. It is happening right here, and right now. There is nothing, nothing in this fucking world that can take away my happiness and enjoyment from this sudden explosion of emotion from him.
His lips don't want to move away from mine, but the sound of his door slowly opening followed by a small gasp combined with a growl along with books hitting the floor grabs both of our attentions almost instantly. Right away one his arms drop from my shoulder while he stretches his neck to see who's there. Curiosity gets the best of me, I peer my head over his arm that's now by his side glancing at none other than Victoria herself; and the look on her face says it all.
The rage emitting from that stupid idiot is outstanding, Mr. Jefferson lets go of my other shoulder and started stammering away like he was just caught doing something illegal. Her fists clench up nice and tightly and her eyes pierce mine with a fiery rage that can only be fueled by jealously, brimming with just a few, small tears.
"I'll come back some other time; maybe with principle Wells too." She sneers, trying to cover up her poor heartbreaking pain with a threat while she storms off down the hall, clearly in full-blown tears right about now, and leaving her books on the floor in front of the classroom entrance.
I'm surprised she even has emotion. Surely someone as cold hearted as her couldn't possibly feel pain, or anything for that matter. I'm impressed; but none the less I don't care about her right now, and honestly I might never will based on how she treats people.
His eyes gaze back on me the second she leaves, for someone who was just threatened with the principle you sure do seem rather chill about it…
"Nothing wrong with a little bit of guilty pleasure here and there, she doesn't have any proof; it's our word against hers." He flashes me a cocky shit-eating grin; turning around once again he makes his way towards his desk, opening his laptop screen once again and takes a seat. Eventually he peels his eyes away from the screen to gaze up at me once more, opening his mouth just slightly.
"Now that I think about it; you and I are going to get along just fine this year." The way he said that just makes me want to jump up and latch onto him again; despite the fact that if Victoria isn't bluffing – which I know she isn't, her and principle Wells will show up here shortly, and so far that's the only thing that's holding me back now, goodbye nerves; hello reality.