Paper Heart
By: muaaimoi
Caroline doesn't even notice when the notebook falls out of her purse as she takes off. Max doesn't feel like calling out to her, and honestly, she's used to cleaning up after Caroline. She stuffs it in her own purse and forgets all about it until she's on her way home from work. Max is a true New York-er, she knows how to achieve that mindless meditative state that keeps boredom at bay before she gets to her stop on the train. But the lure of entertainment is there. It's not like frenchie is the only guy Caroline has crushed on, and while she doubts Caroline has had any crushes she hasn't gushed to Max about, loving the sound of her own voice the way that she does, the possibility is there. Max has always been terrible at resisting temptation. And there's no denying she can be pretty nosy as well.
Of course she opens the notebook. Flips through lists, and charts, and even graphs and equations of all things. Max will never understand Caroline's love of math. But hidden along the margins she finds her treasure. As expected they are all there, inter spaced with weird snatches of thought. Like curly dark hair, deep blue eyes, full lips, and weirder still, smooth creamy skin. It's kind of funny.
She feels a warm bubble of affection when she reads Candy, next to a rough sketch of a lolly pop. She actually really liked Andy. He had been awesome. Caroline deserved awesome. A cute, funny guy who owned his own business was so much better than some french pastry instructor with a wife. Sure the chef was hotter, and Max was a sucker for some of the treats her teacher knew how to make, but Andy had actually made Caroline happy. All Nicolas did was make Caroline horny and broody.
She misses the days when Caroline was so effortlessly happy. Max doesn't like to admit it, especially to herself, but she loves Caroline. Loves her bossy ways, mostly secret geeky obsession with math, and beautiful, retainer assisted, smile. She wanted every good thing in the world for her. Which was why she wanted Caroline with a nice guy. Max barely fit into the blurry sideways definition of good. She would never be considered 'nice' and she certainly wasn't a guy.
Max sighed, trying not to fall into old thoughts about kissing Caroline, being her girlfriend, figuring out all the ways they could mean more to each other. They had been roommates for years. She'd learned to shove those thoughts far, far away. Max had gotten really good at it.
She turns another page.
Then her brain goes blank. Total static. Because there, doodled along the margins of a grocery list, in Caroline's careful script, is Black.
All she can do is stare. Eyes drinking in every curve of the ink. Over and over again. Because Caroline doodled her name, her last name alongside Caroline's first. Just like she would if she had a crush. And Max doesn't know what to do with that.
Can't even begin to untangle all the feelings that well up in her chest like a tsunami. Her hearts beating like she's run a mile, or done some hardcore exercise. She definitely can't stop thinking about kissing Caroline. In all white. Gay marriage was legal in New York now, wasn't it?
Max misses her stop.
x
Reviewer prompted me sooo... here you go! I started like two multi-chapter fics, so at least one should be up sometime soon.