Notes:
I've reedited this chapter because I wasn't quite happy with the original one. Had a lot of things I didn't like and I'm just updating it. Plot's still the same. Hope you like it moar now.
As I walk through the front yard of Blackwell's Academy I realize how fucked up this whole tornado situation is. A light layer of snow is covering now everything and I feel the coldness of the floor making its way up my feet.
It's making me shiver even though the weather isn't cold at all. Seriously, is this real life? Or is it just Fanta Sea? I smile at my own pun.
I've just spent like ages explaining Chloe everything about my brand new ability to rewind the time. It took longer than I thought, cause she kept interrupting me with her crazy ideas.
I know she doesn't like Victoria, but shooting her in a leg for fun it's off limits. Jeez, she should stop smoking that much weed. It's almost making her a psycho. A funny one, but still…
We decided to call it a day after all the mind-blowing explanation… We'll start looking for some answers after a good night of sleep.
I can't believe how much I've missed Chloe...I should've called her before. I know, I know. I'm like the worst friend ever. We're teaming now with everything that's going on, but alas, I can't help noticing how sad her eyes get when she looks at me.
Losing her father and her then best friend was bad enough to revive everything again by losing the only person who helped her. She didn't really lose me, but I passively chose to put her on the back of my mind and slowly forget her. I mean, I was in Seattle. What was I supposed to do? I know! Call her. I hope she can forgive me. Eventually.
I reach the stairs of the dormitories with Chloe still on my mind and push the door to get inside of the building. I finally feel warm after the short way from the parking lot here. Man, it's really chilling outside with the snow!
Everyone is already in their rooms. Sweetness. Or maybe they're partying in someone else's room? Whatever, my geek ass would never be invited, and this major headache after all the rewinding shit begs me to go back to back to my room.
I'll check later if I have any decent photo for the everyday hero contest Mr. Jefferson wants us to participate. Had one, but those super powers were waiting for me, so I had to break it. Twice. Oh yeah, and I also saved a blue pirate by breaking it. No big deal.
I look at Kate's whiteboard when I pass by her door. They left the peace sign I draw after solving the sexting drama. Glad they did. Poor Kate seemed on the edge today. I don't blame her, the constant harassment of Victoria and her squat is starting to be a pain in the ass.
God, they are the real life Mean Girls. Bitchtoria likes to bully people just for the sake of proving she's better than the rest of us cause she's rich as fuck. And unfortunately Kate and I are her favorite sparrings.
I just hope after the paint incident that I HAD to force to get into the dorms she relaxes a little her I'm-gonna-fuck-you-up-if-you-dare-breathing-in-my-presence attitude.
I get into my room, toss my stuff on the couch and collapse on my bed, craving for some rest. I lie there with my eyes closed, but after a while I realize my brain can't stop going over and over today's events.
Bitchtoria's perfect smile pops up after every freaking thought I'm having about blue-haired girls, tornados and awesomely cool travels in time.
I decided to not make fun of her and her spoiled cashmereshit and I actually saw a human being behind her bitchiness. What if she's an actual human being?
I laugh at the thought like it's a really funny joke. Icky Vicky being a normal girl… and then what? A tornado?
My laugh dramatically ends. Well, apparently somebody ordered a tornado to blow up the town to Amazon. Victoria being a normal girl doesn't seem that ridiculous compared to that.
Maybe she needs a shoulder to cry on and genuinely talk to forget about her façade. Façade… that must be a French work. She said goodbye to me in French after we talked… Maybe she knows French. Yay, I think she's in French class.
Holy fuck Max, stop it. You need to stop thinking about Cutetoria and focus on your own shit…
Wait, what!? Did I just call her cute? What's going on with you Maxine Caulfield? She's been making fun of me since I arrived here! Why should I forgive her just because she deleted that photo she took only because I was nice to her? Plus, she texted me just to make it clear that we are not friends.
I get up and look into my messenger bag to pick my phone so I can check the messages. Nothing. Not even Warren. What a super busy social life I have.
I go through the convo with Warren and I add a little bit more of guiltiness to my day when I see the pic he sent me after Nathan's beating. I told him I would call him later… But don't feel like talking at the moment, to be honest.
I simply send him a text. I know I owe u BIG time. Crazy day, see ya tomo!
I'm more like a quiet girl. I'd rather observe the world and take photos than actually getting involved. Duh, people. But I have to admit that I'm quite cheeky if I can hide in my room and talk through my phone or my laptop.
Yay, I'll give it a go and reply Victoria's message. Worst-case scenario, she'll keep bullying me. I'm sure her plan was doing that anyway so…
I type a kind of sassy message to her.
I know we're not friends, wasn't looking for it anyway!
Is it 9:46 pm a bad time to send the great Victoria Chase a message? If I wake her up she'll come here and strangle me with one of her designer's scarfs…
Whelp, delivered. There's no turning back.
She's just replied, so she's obviously not asleep. Why do I feel like I'm pathetic compared to her? I scroll up and down the messages interface, hesitating before opening it.
She's probably super busy having fun with all the Vortex Club's fuckers she hangs out with and I'm here worrying about my incredibly awesome superhero life. Without actually anyone to talk to in the dorms right now… Whoo me!
What do u want? Hope u didn't think u could actually be my friend, SAD FACE.
Lovely. She's still the lovely bitch we all know. I'm not going to back up now. Nope. I'm going to push a little further to see what happens. I could always rewind if she decides to come and punch me in the face. My head will explode if I rewind again, but whatever. I wanna try.
Just cause you're used to people wanting something from u doesn't mean I'm like 'em. Just saying.
Why does she like so much to call me Sad Face? I look at my selfies on The Wall. Gulp. Maybe my face actually looks a little bit sad. But hey! There's nothing wrong with sad faces. Right?
I'm not going to play her game, I'm just going to be me. Dweeb, geekie Max Caulfield. It's the only person I have been for my whole life. I'm used to me, and I know I'm awesome… deep inside.
I don't really care about what she thinks of my face. Seriously, how could she possibly text something like that and have a Gandhi quote on her whiteboard? All hail the Queen.
Well then hipster. I'll give u a chance to explain yourself. Come to my room. Now.
Whaaat? Victoria. Me. Her room. I'm clearly missing something here…
Am I ready to deal with her mean side? And anyway, what does she want me to explain?
I blink and suddenly find myself grabbing the doorknob, ready to go. That was fast. Not only I can rewind time but apparently I can also go fast-forward now.
I gulp while I cross the corridor and stand in front of her door. It's open, but I raise my hand to knock before getting in. She must have seen me cause she says, "Just get in, loser".
I get into her rich ass room and find her sitting on the ridiculous couch. Why expending so much money on a couch like that when you can spend it on Polaroid films? Oh yeah. Cause she's so rich she could even buy a pony to go from the dorms to the main building. That's why.
Victoria's looking at the window while the radio is playing one of my Syd Matter's favorite songs on the distance. Since when she enjoys this kind of music? I thought this was emo garbage for gals like her.
Anyway, she's almost copying the pose she had this afternoon in the stairs when we had that little situation. Her legs are crossed and her body weight is resting half on her bony ass and half on her elbows. Flawless Victoria is flawless.
"What do you want, Max? You think you can fool me with your caring attitude, but everybody wants something in exchange. Always. So spit it out before I change my mind".
I can't say I want anything from her at all. I don't even know why I didn't make fun of her when she was a living piece of art, covered in white paint. In fact, I don't even know what I'm doing here.
Well, I'm going to keep it genuine, and if it doesn't go well I'll rewind and find another way.
"I don't want anything from you. I… I thought it was bad enough to be covered in white paint to have someone being mean to you".
She doesn't reply, but she stares at me, completely lost in her thoughts. Her lips are closed, and her jaw is a little bit clenched. I've only been here for like, two minutes? And it seems like I'm already bothering her. Best idea ever, Max.
Under her intense gaze, I can't lock eyes with her anymore. I manage to look at my feet before she realizes I'm blushing. I should do something other than staring at the floor grabbing my arm as I usually do.
"Look, Victoria… I know you don't want to be friends with me, and I'm not sure if I would ever want that after everything you have done to me. To us."
Did I just say that? Wow Max, rewinding the time is not the only thing you've learned to do today.
"I think you're simply scared. You're scared of your own problems, like the rest of us. And you pay your frustration with the people you have around, but it won't make you feel any better".
I use the remaining courage I have after speaking my mind to raise my head and lock eyes with her again. I wasn't expecting what I see. She looks like… defeated.
Her eyes are completely filled with sadness. Or maybe it's my imagination. I don't know but my heart skips a beat right before completely crumbling.
She's still silent, but she accommodates on the couch while she moves her hand to tap two times the space to her left. I guess it's an invitation to sit down by her side and talk.
I gladly accept the feedback she's giving me, cause I was starting to feel trapped in the room. The silence and the melancholic mood Syd Matter's album are the main things to blame for it.
I approach the couch and sit down, trying hard to not get too comfortable as the awkwardness of the situation is still very present.
"Thanks for comforting me this afternoon… I… I don't know. You're different, Max. I realized that after we talked", says Victoria.
She moves her hand again to gently place it on my knee. For real? Is Victoria touching me? I have the feeling that I'm going to wake up any minute now.
She locks eyes with me one more time and makes my body shiver and my stomach clench.
Victoria is really beautiful on the outside and she knows it, but she shouldn't underestimate the beauty she has inside. All right. It's not that I can assure that by what I've seen of her, but I guess everyone's beautiful on the inside?
I don't think I'll ever be able to express that if she keeps looking at me with such an intense gaze. Or better said, I don't think I'll ever be able to express that.
I simply move my hand to my knee to softly place it on top of hers, rubbing my thumb against her delicate skin.
Shit, Max. Just say something already!
"I think you are different too, Victoria".
That was pretty lame… Maybe I should rewind and say something else?
Before I can move my hand to do it, Victoria slightly moves hers. She captures mine with her thumb, making me look down for a second due to the unexpected movement. I find her eyes tracing my lips when I finally look at her again.
I think she's leaning closer… Wut? Oh god… I think she wants to kiss me. Worst of all, I think I want her to kiss me! I wish I could turn off the radio. Syd Matters is clearly not helping to stop this weird atmosphere.
Someday we will foresee obstacles, through the blizzard, through the blizzard
She's leaning closer to my face. What now Max? What?!
I stop thinking for a second and my body betrays me. Goddammit. I involuntarily lean closer too and slowly close my eyes, mirroring Victoria.
We played hide and seek in waterfalls, we were younger, we were younger
My lips clumsily crush with hers. I don't have any experience on this, okay? I'll just play it easy on myself.
How am I supposed to breathe with my mouth closed? Oh right. I have a nose. Eureka Max! After this I'll find the formula to bring dinosaurs back to life and start my own park. Jesus…
I snap out of it and concentrate of Victoria's softs lips. She moves her hand to my cheek and traces small circles with her thumb. Suddenly my arms are like weird things I can't control and I stay still. I don't know what to do with them. Should I, dunno, like hold her?
The mixture of her lips with her touch sends an electric spark that runs my entire body. Wow…
"HEY VICTORIA! GUESS WHAT HAPP…." Oh no. Fuckshit no. This can't be happening.
Courtney and Taylor storm into the room without even knocking and Victoria immediately pushes me away.
"What the fuck are you doing? Get away from me, weirdo!" says Victoria jumping from the couch and staring at me with her arms crossed.
She's just violated the laws of physics with that jump. HOW? Is Victoria a cat? That'd explain a lot of things…
I don't think I fully understand what's going on here… I raise my hand to rewind the time, but I hear Victoria say to her mean girls that I tried to kiss her.
We actually kissed and you were the one who started it! That's what I want to scream, but I just manage to make some strange guttural noises.
Plans for tonight? Oh well, the most popular girl on high school invited me to her room and then kissed me, but now it looks like she wants to murder me. Just a normal day in my life, y' know? No big deal.
Between bumbling noises I mutter an almost inaudible "sorry" and get the hell out of her room, almost running to mine.
Boo hoo… She fooled me. I thought… Well, whatever. It doesn't matter what I thought, does it?
I lie on my bed and start to cry, trying to suppress the sobs. Why, Victoria? Why?