Just a cute little fluff one shot I thought up while listening to the Aladdin soundtrack. Set after the events of the game but nothing is made clear as to what happens in episode 5 (apart from some destruction which I feel should be a given). Super Chasefield. Hope you all enjoy!
It was about ten at night in sleepy little Arcadia Bay, Oregon. Early November, and things were calm, for once, which was an absolute relief for Max Caulfield, Chloe Price, and, well, everyone at Blackwell Academy after all that had happened. The girls' dorm was quiet, most of the girls had opted to turn in early tonight, as midterms had wiped out the energy out of most of the student body.
Except one Maxine Caulfield. While she didn't exactly like being called Maxine, whenever Victoria called her that, she got a lot of butterflies in her stomach and couldn't bring herself to tell the blond no. She couldn't bring herself to say no to just about anything Victoria asked of her.
Max had a huge crush on Victoria Chase, and at this point, everyone at Blackwell knew about it, even Victoria. Though Max was still too shy to ask her out on a date. Dana had pushed her multiple times to just go for it.
"The worst that could happen is she says no," Dana had told her multiple times since she first admitted her crush to her.
Of course that was the worst that could happen— not even the idea of Victoria mocking her endlessly was in her mind, she figured that wouldn't happen at that point.
Whether Victoria wasn't interested, or was straight, THOSE were the outcomes that terrified Max.
If something was going to happen, it needed to happen now. She had been sitting and thinking on plans of how she could ask Victoria out, what they would do if she somehow said yes, and while this wasn't the traditional dinner and a movie date that she figured would be a safe go-to had Victoria actually said yes, but, well, it would be worth a try.
She put on her signature hoodie and some sock and her shoes, ready to go out. Sure, she still had her pajama shorts on, but that was all part of the adventure… right?
Messenger bag slung on her shoulder, she quickly opened her phone to text Victoria.
"Hey are you awake right now?"
It'd be useless to put this goofy, dorky plan into motion if the girl it was for was sleeping.
Max impatiently waited at her door, standing quietly, biting her lip nervously before her phone finally buzzed in response.
"Yeah I am why?"
Perfect.
"Don't go to bed and don't ask any questions"
Max didn't bother to see what Victoria would text back, she was just more than excited to know that she was awake. Maybe this plan would have a chance at working, after all.
She left her dorm room and locked her door, but instead of knocking on Victoria's door, she tiptoed out the front door of the dormitory, instead wrapping around the side of the building until she reached Victoria's window. At least… she was pretty sure it was her window. If It wasn't, this was going to be iincredibly/i awkward. She bent over and picked up a tiny pebble and tossed it at the window, it bouncing off.
It was such a silly, romantic comedy-esque plan. If Chloe were to see Max do this she would have busted up laughing.
Max waited a few seconds, no response.
"Ok, just one more time, Max," she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath before tossing the next pebble she picked up.
Finally, the window opened. A yawning Victoria, dressed in fancy, gorgeous pajamas that would be worth Max's laptop peered out the window, narrowing her eyes at the brunette hipster.
"…Max? What the hell are you doing out here? Is— this can't be why you asked me if I was awake," Victoria said, quirking an eyebrow.
"Well, um, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out?" Max asked, now bright red, pulling her right hand to grab onto her left arm. She was nervous— this was the big moment.
"You're kidding, right?"
Ouch.
"It's like… it's almost midnight, Maxine. If we were going to go out, wouldn't it be like, during the day… or the evening?" she asked.
…Was that basically a yes?
"Well, there's like, this really cool underground photography exhibition happening in one of the warehouses in the downtown area and I thought you would really like it and might want to go with me," Max said awkwardly, now looking at the ground.
"You thought of me?" Victoria asked, a small smile forming on her face, touches of red now on her cheeks.
"Well— yeah. We're both photographers and I thought you might like it since it's so different than what we're both used to from what we're learning here," Max told her, hopefully her reasonings sounded alright.
"And you really want to go with me? Not like, Kate or Chloe?" Victoria asked.
"I wanna go with you— if you want to. I think it would be really fun," Max said, now looking up, turning even more red as she saw Victoria smiling— though as soon as Victoria saw that Max was looking, she quickly stopped smiling.
"This isn't like, some trick, is it?" Victoria asked, crossing her arms. Victoria knew it wouldn't be— Max didn't have it in her to pull some awful, devious trick— but it would be interesting to see what the hipster would say.
"N-no! Of course not, I promise. Don't you trust me?" Max asked. It kind of hurt that Victoria would think this was all some kind of trick— she'd just have to prove to her that she really cared.
"…I do. I just wanted to see what you'd say. Give me one second to get ready," Victoria said, leaving the window open but retreating into her room, returning just seconds later with a sweater to put over her tank top, and shoes on. They didn't match her silk pajama pants in the slightest, but she still looked amazing.
"Do you mind helping me out?" Victoria asked, raising a foot onto the windowsill and reaching her arm out. Max walked over into the dirt and grabbed Victoria's hand, helping pull her out of the building. The two closed the window and then were on their way.
"So, it's downtown?" Victoria asked.
"Yeah, around that area."
"And how do you expect us to get there?"
"A bus. The campus bus stop isn't running at this time so it's about a half mile to the city stop, and then it'll be about a half hour to the bus stop in Arcadia Bay we need to get off at, and then it'll be like, a five minute walk to the exhibit," Max explained.
"A bus? Just your average public transit bus?"
"Well, I don't have a car, you don't have your keys, we need to take the bus. I know it's not a stretch limo, but it'll have to do."
"Fine."
There was silence between the two for a few minutes as they walked through the courtyard in front of their dorm building. They were starting to walk to the stairs that would lead them up to the main area of campus when Max stopped, Victoria not noticing for a moment.
"Do you— do you mind if we hold hands?" Max asked. Victoria stopped and turned around when she saw that Max wasn't next to her.
"I— uh— yeah. That would be nice," Victoria said, walking over to Max and grabbing hold of her hand, the two walking off again, staying silent for a few minutes.
The central area of the campus was calm and cool, no lights on, just a peaceful night. The two remained silent for a few moments more, before Victoria cleared her throat.
"Why do you like me, Maxine?" she asked, looking straight ahead. Max turned red, gripping the blond's hand slightly harder. The question panicked her. Victoria drove Max wild, she was obsessed with her and thought about her just about all the time— but what could she say that wouldn't sound all stalkery and terrifying?
"Well, I think you take great pictures and—" Max started, but before she could continue gushing more and more, a light flashed on their backs.
"Hey! You two! It's way past curfew! You're not supposed to be out this late!" one very familiar voice— the voice of the head of Blackwell security: David Madsen.
"Shit—" Victoria started, though Max was already ready to act.
"Come on, let's go!" she said in a hushed voice, starting to run off, Victoria following after.
"Max Caulfield I swear if we fucking get in trouble—" Victoria said in between huffs and pants from running. Neither of them expected to have to be running from security at night, but, well, it was already an exciting date at least?
Not too long after the two of them got off campus, well on the way to to the bus stop,the light faded— David had stopped chasing them.
The girls stopped, panting, hands on knees, obviously very tired. Neither of them were quite dressed for a getaway,nor did they exactly want to do this at this time of night, when they were just expecting a calm walk to the bus stop.
"He's gone, right?" Victoria asked as Max looked up, unable to see him from the view she had of the campus— which wasn't that great, they were decently far away now.
"Yeah, he's gone. Sorry about that… I really didn't expect David to show up like that, honest. And here I thought my idea of us sneaking out was great," Max said with a sigh. Victoria walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not gonna lie, the whole coming to my window thing was cute," she told Max, offering what was easily the warmest, most genuine smile Max had ever gotten from the blond. "It was like a little rom-com thing from the eighties— so you," she added and Max turned bright red.
…It was a pretty Max Caulfield thing to do.
"Thanks… the bus stop is just up ahead, we should actually be a little early since we had to run from David," Max said with a sigh.
The two walked ahead in silence for a bit, finally reaching the bus stop— the bus not there yet— before Victoria turned to Max.
"So what were you saying before he started chasing us?" Victoria asked. As egotistical as it was, she was deadly curious about what Max's reasons for her crush on her was.
"Well— you take great pictures… and… and you're really confident and cool, and you're really beautiful, and—" Max told her, and Victoria turned red.
"You think? Thank you…" she mumbled, looking down.
"You're… I could say the same about you, Max, easily. I'm actually surprised you're head over heels for me and not Chloe," Victoria admitted shyly.
The bus finally arrived. Max and Victoria got on in silence— Max wanting to figure out how to answer what Victoria had just said. Max paid the bus fare for the both of them, just a dollar, and the two sat down towards the middle of the bus as it started to drive off into town.
No one but the two of them and the driver.
"I like Chloe, I really do," Max finally said after moments of unnerving silence.
"I love her even… I always have. She's my best friend. But… that's just it. She's my best friend."
"I don't know if I could ever love her any other way. I mean, yeah, we've kissed but… I don't know. I don't like her that way. You're the first person I've had this feeling towards. Like, not just a crush, but actual feelings towards."
"Wow Max… I… I don't know what to say," Victoria finally spoke up after minutes of awkward silence from Max's confession.
"It's true."
"But… I dunno, I was really nervous even just thinking about asking you out. I've thought about it all week and my heart was racing every time I saw you. I didn't— I knew I couldn't just ask you out, but I really wanted to," Max added. Words just kept slipping out of her mouth, leaving her more and more embarrassed the more she spoke.
"Because of my reputation?"
"And Courtney and Taylor. They can be a bit… harsh sometimes, even if all three of you have lightened up."
"Oh… yeah…"
"And you're… never mind," Max said, bright red yet again, letting out a flustered, annoyed sigh.
"What?" Victoria asked. What was Max so embarrassed about saying?
"Well, I mean… I could be wrong, but I just thought you were straight," Max peeped out, nervously looking up at Victoria, who looked taken aback.
"I'm not."
Silence filled the air in the bus. Whether the driver was listening or not didn't matter to the girls, all that mattered was this one moment in their conversation.
"Courtney and Taylor know, that's it. And you, now."
"You wouldn't mind if I asked how you feel about me, would you?"
"You're really cute and you have a great eye for pictures. And you have this… amazing confidence. You let nothing faze you and sometimes it seems like you can do almost anything. I really envy that."
Max was now bright red, she almost felt like she was burning up.
"Thanks, Victoria…"
A few more moments of silence passed by as they finally started to reach town, it wouldn't be more than a few minutes until they were at the bus stop.
"So is this like, our first date then?" Max asked, breaking the silence yet again.
"I guess it is, Maxine," Victoria finally said, and Max let out the biggest sigh of relief possible— internally, of course.
"And if this date goes well, maybe we can have a second one," Victoria teased with a wink as the bus stop. Now at the stop, Victoria got up, stepping past Max and heading to the door to exit the bus, Max was frozen.
What?
If Victoria was for real, Max was going to make sure this would go off without a hitch.
Though now she couldn't tell if she was being desperate and pathetic or not.
Hopefully not.
Max quickly got up and ran off the bus, as Victoria was already off by now. Giving her thanks to the driver, she stepped out next to Victoria.
"You— were you serious? About the second date, I mean," Max asked. Thank god there wasn't anyone around, they probably looked absolutely ridiculous in their pajamas.
"If we have a good time I'd love to go out with you again," Victoria said with a smile. It felt genuine and real. And what Max didn't know is that Victoria was hoping that Max would ask her out again after tonight.
"Well let's get going then. The exhibition is just down the street. It shouldn't be more than a five minute walk," Max said as the two were on their way.
"What kind of stuff is going to be there?"
"A lot of nature shots of Arcadia Bay. The beach, the forest, it's supposed to be really cool. People started taking pictures after all the weather badness that was happening, I've heard a lot about it online since the planning stages of the exhibition," Max explained.
"That sounds like such a you thing, Maxine. But I'm looking forward to it. You have a great taste in photography… and if you think I'll like it, then I trust you," Victoria told her. Max once again blushed, and she noticed Victoria was red too.
Tonight was going pretty well, all things considered.
The walk was silent, though partway through, Victoria lightly grabbed onto Max's hand, eventually wrapping her fingers around the brunette's. Max was now bright red, and almost felt like she needed to take her hoodie off with how hot she felt all of a sudden.
This was really nice. This was a great night. And they hadn't even "officially" started their date yet.
The warehouse was small, dingy, with bright fluorescent lights and low, bass-y electronic music pumping out at a steady beat. The two wandered in, though Max was getting a bit more nervous— it didn't really seem like her scene.
Max and Victoria were vastly under-dressed compared to everyone else. Sweaters, jeans, scarves, all compared to their slight outerwear and pajamas.
"I didn't know this was your scene, Max!" Victoria said, trying to talk above the music as they looked around. Art types filled the area, drinking red wine from glasses or cheap beer. Max wasn't a drinker, and luckily for her Victoria wasn't opting to drink tonight.
They stopped on one photo, black and white, days after the lighthouse fell apart. Dirt and plants, the top of the lighthouse nearly teetering off the cliff.
It was tough to look at for Max.
"This is beautifully framed," Victoria said.
Max shuffled close to Victoria and closed her eyes.
"Yeah… it's a really grim reminder, isn't it?"
"Are you ok Max?"
"Yeah, that lighthouse has just been an important part of my life. It's hard to see," Max sighed, opening her eyes. There it was again. Memories of her and Chloe that could never be relived now.
"I'm gonna go look at something else…" Max said quietly, she'd barely be able to be heard over the noise in the warehouse.
"I'll go with you," Victoria said. To Victoria, this was all unusual and new. She was close with Courtney and Taylor, and they both knew she was gay and were totally cool with it, though she had never been close with a girl otherwise. She had never dated— she told herself her career would come first… though that seemed to be crumbling before her eyes as her arm was wrapped around Max's shoulders, leading her over to another photograph.
This one was a simple forest shot, scattered rocks and debris in between trees and flowers and bushes. It felt almost serene. The calm after the storm had ceased. Max breathed it in.
"This is a great photo."
"It really is. Almost like something you'd take, if you weren't so busy taking selfies, that is," Victoria joked, and Max looked up at her, bright red.
"I happen to like my selfies," Max said with a small laugh.
"You'll have to show me some, sometime," Victoria told her, as Victoria finally pulled her arm away.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah… thanks," Max said, a small smile on her face.
The two continued to look at various photos, making simple small talk, judging the composition of the photos, what they might have done had they been the ones taking the photos, their assignments, and were having a good time.
Max was so relieved, and Victoria was a bit surprised— though, as she thought about it more, she wasn't really surprised that if anyone were to take her out on a nice night, it'd probably be Maxine Caulfield.
The girls finally stepped out of the warehouse, they had been there for about an hour, and it was now after midnight.
"Should we head back to Blackwell now?" Victoria asked.
"Well, don't most dates end with food? Or like, have food as part of it somehow?"
"Maxine, it's like twenty after midnight, where do you expect us to get anything to eat?"
"There's always the Two Whales," Max suggested, as she pointed down to the diner that wasn't that far in the distance, the sign on the outside still lit up, seeing as it was open twenty four hours a day.
"…Really?" Victoria asked, folding her arms and quirking an eyebrow.
"Come on, it's really good. You've been there, haven't you?" Max asked as the two were already on their way.
"Yeah. It's… it's good," Victoria admitted with a small huff.
"You can really be something, Victoria."
"W-What's that meant to mean?"
"It's ok to just admit you like things that aren't cool and expensive, Victoria," Max teased.
"Well, I like you."
"…Really?"
"This was a nice date so far, Max. The best first date I could ever ask for, really."
"You're not like… messing with me, are you?"
"Going to an underground photography show is better than some stuffy dinner and a movie with some jock from Blackwell who's tripping over himself to impress me."
"Thanks… So you'd be up for going out again?"
"I'm leaning towards yes right now."
Max was feeling great. This somehow managed to turn out great. She couldn't wait to gush to Chloe in the morning.
The brunette held the door open for the blond, and entered in behind her. They took a booth in the corner as an older woman— thankfully not Joyce— handed them menus.
"Coffee please? Decaf, and water," Victoria said, glancing up to the waitress with a smile. So unlike the Victoria she knew at the beginning of the school year.
"Same for me, please," Max said.
"I'll be back in a minute to get both of your orders," the waitress said, walking off to get their drinks.
Aside from the waitress and the cook who was in the kitchen, there were two truckers getting a late night meal at the bar, both talking to each other about their day, and then the two young women from Blackwell.
"I never thought I'd see you here," Max laughed, as the waitress brought back their drinks.
"So what can I get you two?"
"I'll get… a bacon omelette. With cheddar and extra bacon, please?" Victoria asked kindly, daintily handing the menu to the waitress. Max quirked an eyebrow as she briefly looked at Victoria, who blushed.
"I'll have the same, please," Max said, handing her menu. The waitress nodded and walked off. Max set her arms on the table, leaning in.
"I can't believe Victoria Chase is a bacon omelette kind of girl," Max laughed, and Victoria let out a huff.
"Shut up," she said jokingly. "They're really good, just because I'm rich doesn't mean I only eat caviar or something."
"I know, I know, I'm messing around. It's nice to get to know you. You're so much different than I thought you were back on move-in day," Max said. She never would have imagined the Victoria who had a crew moving everything into her dorm room would be sitting across from her in pajamas, ready to eat a greasy omelette in an old diner past midnight.
"This is really nice. I'm glad I came with you," Victoria said, as the waitress came back with their food. Nice thing about being in a small diner past midnight was that your food was going to get to you quick.
"Enjoy girls," the waitress said as she walked away. Max and Victoria looked at each other briefly before both digging into their food, remaining silent except for sighs of satisfaction as they ate.
Max never imagined she would be at the Two Whales past midnight with Victoria Chase, but she was glad this was happening.
It was the best first date she could ask for.
After finishing eating, Max paid, and the two left, holding hands again.
"Thanks, Maxine."
"You had a good time?"
"I really did."
"Do you want to go out again?"
"I'd love to."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think it'll be as exciting as tonight, though," Max warned as they reached the bus stop, the bus there, like it was waiting for them. The last for the night, probably.
"If it's with you I'm sure it'll be worthwhile," Victoria said, a grin on her face. She had to be doing this to get Max blushing, because it was really working.
Max was quiet, with no clue what to say, as they got on the bus, their fare paid, this time sitting on the front of the bus.
"Are you going to tell anyone about this?" Max asked after minutes of silence, the only other noise being the rumble of the bus on the road.
"I'll tell Courtney and Taylor. They'll probably want to know why I'll be so tired in the morning anyways," she smirked.
"What do you think they'll say?"
"Probably ask if we fucked," Victoria said without missing a beat. Max was bright red and pulled her hood over her head in embarrassment.
Victoria looked over at her and giggled.
"You're such a dork, Maxine," Victoria said, pulling the hood off her, Max still red, eyes closed shut, as if to hide away from the blond's comment.
"That doesn't make you uncomfortable?" Max asked, finally opening her eyes.
"It's whatever. Just a thing for them to gossip and giggle about."
"Oh, ok…"
"You don't have to worry. I'll tell them you came to my window and we went out and had a great time."
"Ok."
"And that if you asked me out again I'd probably say yes."
Max let out a small "eep" and Victoria grinned again.
"You are an adorable, dorky hipster, Maxine."
"And you're… really beautiful and cool, Victoria."
The two intertwined their hands and fingers, and remained quiet and nestled up to each other. They were both fighting to stay awake, burned out from the night's events.
A half hour later and the bus finally reached the Blackwell Academy bus stop. Victoria had been nodding on and off, so it was Max's job to nudge her awake. She almost couldn't bring herself to, though.
She was too beautiful and peaceful in that moment.
Waving good night to the driver, Victoria leaned on Max, heading back to the dorms.
It was, for once, a nice, quiet, serene walk. No David Madsen around to ruin the end of their date. Just the two of them slowly walking back, stars killing the sky.
"Chloe is going to make fun of me so much for this. This is the most hipster, romantic comedy thing ever," Max thought, letting out a sigh of happiness.
The two reached Victoria's window, closed, but thankfully not locked, Victoria now more awake than before.
The two worked together quietly to open the window. After doing so, Max helped get Victoria up and into her room. When Victoria was safely in her room, she leaned over, setting her arms on the windowsill, face to face with Max.
"I had a really fun time tonight, Victoria."
"I did too, Maxine."
"Thanks for coming on this little adventure with me."
"I'm glad you thought of me."
"Sleep well."
"You too, get to your dorm safely."
Max stayed still for a bit, hands clasped nervously behind her back, squirming a bit.
"Are you ok, Max?" Victoria asked, quirking an eyebrow at the brunette.
"Would you, uh, want to be… like… girlfriends?"
Victoria stood there for a minute, contemplating, before a smile came on her face.
"Ask me that again on our second date," she said before closing her window.
Was that a yes?
Max quietly walked into the dormitory building, unlocking and opening her while making as little noise as she could. She collapsed onto her bed and sighed, a wide smile on her face. Before she'd fall asleep, she had one more thing to do.
Grabbing her phone, she went to send a text to Chloe.
"I just got back from a date with Victoria Chase and it was amazing."
"I really want to go out with her again."
"I think I'm going to ask her out tomorrow."
This was a great, if unexpected night.