A deep sigh
Max got on the bus, carefully watching for the second step. She didn't need a repeat of her fall this morning.
"Long day, huh?" the bus driver greeted with a friendly smile
Max didn't doubt that he remembers her from her earlier gracious display of clumsiness.
"Uh huh" she flashed him a tired smile.
She immediately sat down as the bus began to move. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, taking advantage of the soothing motions brought by the vehicle as she rests.
All she wants is a moment to herself –just the calm without the impending storm.
No thinking about the tornado,
or Rachel Amber,
or her unexpected rewind powers,
or even about the gnawing feeling she has, like something evil is residing Blackwell
No max, stop that, stop thinking, stop, stop, stop
Another deep sigh
It's impossible to stop thinking after all.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and opened her eyes.
The bus is illuminated with the light of the orange sun.
Max always favored this time of day. She'd always shoot a lot more pictures in this warm light. It makes the shot so vibrant and alive that leaves the viewer awe-struck. Too bad, there's nothing worth shooting right now. Besides, she's too lazy to take her camera out of her bag.
She looked out the window, watching Arcadia Bay pass by as the day comes to an end. Nothing is worth seeing around this lazy town.
Her eyes languidly drifted around the bus, catching a glimpse of two other people she doesn't know, sitting at the back of the bus.
The setting sun's rays caught her eyes as she flit her gaze to the person sitting across the aisle.
Max was captivated-her eyes wide and her mouth hung half open.
The warm light casts a soft glow around short, blonde hair.
An arm slung lazily by the window, and a hand under her chin.
Eyes, half lidded –not sleepily but rather, a beautifully bored expression on her face.
Her posture comfortable, in its own frigid sort of way, with a leg crossed over the other. Her other hand gently rests on her lap.
This aloof demeanor along with preppy clothing of minimalist jewelry and trademark cashmere sweater completes the Queen of Blackwell: Victoria Chase.
Max stares in awe at the combination of brooding emo and queen bee clashing into one persona- more familiarly known as the source of her worst nightmares.
Max's hands were suddenly heavy as she had subconsciously taken out her camera. It has become sort of a habit whenever she sees an opportunity of a wonderful shot.
She bit her lip, contemplating the shot.
This shot comes once in every eclipse, and she's itching to take it.
A Victoria Chase that's the image of calm and beauty (Max can't believe she'd ever describe the intense diva as calm). In this perfect moment, wherein Max is at the right place and right time to witness, Victoria exudes a radiance of tranquility and magnificence.
Something unknown settles in the pit of her stomach, rising to her chest and finally working its way to her face, leaving her a little dazed.
She feels her heart beat heavily against her chest as she works up the courage to lift the camera in her hands.
She ignores the gnawing confusion borne from the unfamiliar reverence she feels towards Victoria Chase, other than the usual dread and intimidation.
Her hands were shaking lightly at the anticipation of a shot she's sure will be one of her favorites –next to Chloe's sunset bench shot by the lighthouse.
She holds her breath to steady her hand and –
CLICK!
Everything would have been fine, and Max would have gotten her perfect shot if it weren't for the damning flash that came with the click.
Victoria's eyes widened momentarily before snapping her head so quickly that Max worried it might come off.
When the girl recognized the hipster sitting across the aisle, she sneers like she just smelled something rotten.
Max had various images of her death flash before her eyes at Victoria's terrifying glare.
She looks hella pissed.
"What did you just do?!" Victoria's pitch rose after every word. Max flinched much to Victoria's delight.
"Did you just take a picture of me?!" Max's head was blank. She has nothing to say.
Her face was definitely on full heat. She ignored the trickle of sweat down her forehead.
She could always rewind.
She quickly lifted her right hand to do so, before a thought stopped her:
She remembered the moment she had with Victoria when she comforted her. The girl showed a tender, albeit still a little snappy, side when they were alone. Maybe she should try being honest with her instead.
She subtly glanced around, and surely, Victoria's lackeys were out of sight.
"What are you doing? You're creeping me out!"
Max found herself blankly staring at Victoria, with her hand raised and her mouth hanging half open.
Fuck
She rewinds.
"Did you just take a picture of me?!"
"Uh-no! It was something outside!" Of course she chickens out at the last second.
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not stupid, Caulfield. You took a picture of me, you creep."
"Uh-" Max replied dumbly.
Victoria gave an aggravated sigh.
"Just hand it over."
Max took out the printed photo –habitually shaking it. It was snatched from her hand before she can finish her ritual.
Victoria takes a moment to look at it before raising a perfect brow at the guilt-ridden girl.
"You realize that the flash ruined the shot, you should've turned it off," a pause, and then "you creepster."
"Yes!" she cleared her throat
"Uh- I meant to do that. I mean not to creepster –I mean, not to be a creepy." another cough (an attempt to compose herself.) "Of course I didn't mean to do this part. Uh, you know what I mean, what you said before the creepster. That that, not this that." She's dead. She knows it. Just now, she died several times inside.
Victoria's eyes were burning a hole on Max's face. Her entire. Fucking. Face. And she is certain that it won't get any worse than this.
She took a breath before deciding that Victoria isn't worth this much stress.
She raised her hand to rewind way back before she took the shot.
No more taking creepy pictures of teenage girls this time, Max.
A light tap on the knuckle of her raised hand.
"Take another." Victoria commands as she hands the ruined photo back.
"What?"
"Didn't you hear me?" Victoria was about to change her mind, but Max wasn't letting an opportunity slip.
"Yes! Of course" Max's face was still burning, but her shaking hands were gradually subsiding as she takes a breath.
Victoria moved back to her previous pose.
Max held her breath before taking the shot, this time she remembers to switch the flash off.
Print, shake, and snatch.
Victoria waited for the ink to clear.
Max saw a gentle smile ghosting her face. And at that exact moment, Max could feel the exact second her heart skipped in her chest. She could hardly believe this is the same woman who's responsible for tormenting her since she came to Arcadia.
Victoria returned the picture to a love-struck Max.
"Beautiful" It was barely audible, but Max had leant closer when she was stunned by the girl's smile.
They were close enough for Victoria to hear.
The Blackwell diva's smile turned to shock.
Max recovered quickly before working on salvaging her major slip.
She pretended to study the photo (she already knows it's good even before taking it).
"Yes," she blurted in feigned calmness.
"It's beautiful. The photo is. Beautiful. Not you, smiling."
Shit
"I mean, you're beautiful even when you're not smiling. You're especially hot when you're being a colossal bitch."
What
"I meant to mean that I'm saying: not you beautiful, but the picture beautiful. Not that you're not because, you definitely are. But what I'm telling you is that the picture is beautiful, a picture of you, not that I'm surprised, because you are beautiful. And when I said beautiful, I meant in general that the picture – everything in it is beautiful, including you. But! I didn't mean to say that you're beautiful, you know?"
At this moment, Max had a dejected thought of utter embarrassment: Fuck
And another: oh no, it got way worse
She hid her red face in her hands. She never imagined that death by embarrassment is a thing. Sometimes, The Sims is just too realistic.
"Caulfield"
She feels like crying but she can't do that because it would make this bad situation worse.
"-Max"
So she settles with burying her face in her hands, forever… maybe not forever, but until her stop anyway.
Away from Victoria Chase
In her room
Which isn't far from Victoria as they live across each other
Her shit just follows her everywhere. 'Tis the worst day ever.
Just when she thought things will run smoothly with Victoria, she had to fuck it up. Now, Victoria will forever think she's creepy.
Time to rewind-
"Max!"
"I'm sorry!" Max jumped from hiding
A hand came upon her cheek; her head being guided to face the woman destroying every shred of whatever social skill she has had.
Victoria's brown eyes were the most beauti–(stop thinking beautiful!) –the prettiest she's seen.
Her gaze flitted from Max's eyes to her lips.
"Shut up, Caulfield"
Victoria tastes like lipstick and mint cigarettes. She smells of designer perfume and lavender shampoo.
Her lips were relentless but soft against Max's. She teases her tongue against Max's lips before lightly biting at her lower lip.
Victoria broke away when she felt awkward that Max hasn't returned the kiss.
When she found the other girl still dumb struck, her worry dissipates.
She self-consciously licks her own lips.
"Peanut butter?"
Max worked her way around her incoherence for a moment before replying.
"My-my Reese's lip balm" She finished lamely.
Thankfully, Victoria found her inadequacy adoring.
Max noted a light blush on the giggling girl's face. She strained herself from picking up her camera, because now is definitely not the time for taking pictures.
"I– " Victoria hesitantly bit her lip.
"I've been meaning to do that." She shyly admits.
Max gulps, her mouth suddenly dry. There's only so many sides of Victoria Chase she was allowed to see, and today seems to be boundless.
"Why?"
Victoria grinned knowingly.
"You call a girl beautiful a hundred times and you ask her why she kisses you?" Max lamely chokes on air. This woman would be the death of her.
Max continued to unattractively splutter incoherent words.
The bus came to a stop to save her from more embarrassment.
"Uh- gotta jet!" who even says that?
Max was out the bus in a blink of an eye. Man, she's so lame for running away.
A tap on her shoulder
Max jumps comically, making a fool of herself.
Victoria raised an amused brow.
"You do know that we're going to the same place, right?"
Right
"Listen, Max. I know this is weird –even for you. But I-"Victoria glanced around before turning her attention back on the shorter girl.
"I really like you. I know it's hard to believe. I've done a lot of things and," her gaze catches the floor
"and I regret them. I just- Can we talk somewhere private? In my room?" Victoria's hopeful look made Max's heart race.
Max sweeps a look around the campus. There are a few students hanging around, but most had gone home or back to their dorm room.
She turns back to the taller girl.
Seeing Blackwell Academy reminded her who Victoria really is: her bully.
Mistrust boils from the back of her brain.
This may be another one of the diva's pranks to shame Max in front of the whole school.
This on top of stopping the tornado (and more) isn't going to help her cause.
She can try rewinding before the kiss if this does turn out to be some sort of trap. But she's afraid she might strain herself too much if she did, throwback on the time her nose bled and the banging headaches that comes with it.
Why does she always subject herself to stupidly acting on her whims?
Max made her choice.
"Victoria, I-"
I just can't deal with this drama right now. No, that sounds wrong… and rude
"I'm sorry." Victoria's face reddened at Max's apology. Her eyes glued to the floor in embarrassment.
"No! That's not what I meant!" Max lifts her chin with a gentle hand, making eye contact with the usually confident girl.
"I'm just really tired right now. I don't know if I can talk." She exhales
She is tired. Solving mysteries with Chloe takes its toll. She needs rest and she's dying to just sleep for hours without interruption.
"I've been really stressed out these past few days, and I haven't gotten any sleep." Max explains
Victoria calms down after a few breaths and a reassuring stroke on her cheek.
"So…tomorrow?" she asks expectantly.
Max's vision tells her the tornado is coming this Friday. And she's gonna have to deal with that.
"Uh-can we talk next week?"
The moment of weakness in Victoria was gone. Her eyes were flaring with hatred and her fists were clenched in anger.
"Is this some kind of joke, Caulfield? Are you messing with me? Just say you hate my guts! I don't have time to play these mind games with you!" She was livid, her anger masking her embarrassment and the dissonance of rejection.
Adrenalin pumped Max's body at Victoria's outburst; ready to assuage the girl's ire.
"I don't hate you Victoria! I think you're amazing and incredible. I'm just-" really fucking tired. She didn't say that of course. Instead she explains tactfully:
"I'm dealing with some stuff right now, and I don't know if I am in a good position to talk without resolving it first." Max pleads
"And, honestly, I'm kinda worried this is some elaborate prank."
Victoria's eyes widened. She took a step closer.
"I would never-" she hastily spoke, eager to correct the object of her affections.
"Max, I would never joke about this. My feelings -what I feel for you, is real."
She wraps her arms around herself protectively.
"I'm sorry I made you feel insecure around me." She takes a tentative glance at Max before returning her gaze back to the floor.
"I'll leave you alone." She finished, rooted to her place by her suddenly heavy feet.
Max's hands were sweating.
She watches the girl's misery with mild guilt.
Victoria has made her feel like shit a lot of times since coming to Blackwell. She'd always daydream of the day she'd return the favor. But seeing it unfolding in front of her does nothing to satiate any underlying vendetta she has towards the miserable girl.
"Do you still want to talk?" Max awkwardly fills, determined to make the girl feel better.
"I just, you know, need more time to process this" Her mom did always say to sleep on hard decisions after all.
Hope can sometimes be so fickle. One moment it was on full blast, the next, it can be shattered in mere seconds.
Victoria's eyes were yet again filled with hope that leaves Max a little impressed at the girl's perspective of her predicament.
"Okay" came the silent reply.
"Are you angry?"
"no, no I'm not" she lightly shakes her head
She's finally able to look up at Max. A small, sad smile gracing her lips.
Max's heart leapt at the tender smile.
She's not used to this Victoria. Not yet, anyway.
She has no idea what's gotten over her.
"Victoria? I uh-" she shyly scratched her cheek, conscious of its sudden coloration.
Her sudden urge was taken over by the growing shame of what she was about to do.
"never mind" Max moved to say goodbye and run to the dorms. Victoria was having none of that.
"What is it?" another flash of a hopeful smile.
Max is suddenly weak.
"I-It's bad timing, but I just" a sigh. She gives up, deciding to be honest. She can manage a rewind if this turns bad anyway.
"I wanted to ask…if I could… kiss you…" Victoria's face heated much to Max's relief.
"I-uh, I mean, I'm-" Victoria pursed her lips to keep herself from stuttering.
Max doesn't mind, this is the first time she'd seen a stuttering Victoria Chase. It's adorable.
"okay" the usually kept together girl finally managed.
Max grins, a surge of confidence rushing in her veins. She took a step closer. A hand on the other girl's cheek. Victoria's eyes fluttered close and Max's shyness came back to place when she realized that with the height difference she was going have to reach up.
She hesitated, that's the problem. She should've just done it when she had the courage.
She tiptoes, waiting for the courage to come back. Unfortunately, she waited too long.
She chickens out at the last minute for the second time –kissing the corner of Victoria's lips instead.
Victoria's eyes flew open just in time to see the other girl's back, walking swiftly away from her.
Max suddenly turns around, working with the second wave of courage surging in her body.
"Imaybelikeyoutoo!" She barely squeaks out. But Victoria heard her loud and clear.
Max runs back to the dorms with all of the energy that's left in her after the exhausting day.
Leaving a Victoria Chase thinking maybe there's still hope for the two of them.