The Punk and the Photographer
"Hey, nerd, wanna go on a date?"
Wide-eyed, Max looked up from her book, pink dotting her cheeks. Chloe lounged next to her on the bed, arms behind her head and one thin leg casually draped over the other. She grinned from ear-to-ear, obviously happy with the response her simple question had garnered.
"Uh... that came out of nowhere," Max responded slowly. The punk chuckled.
"Really?" she asked, pushing a piece of blue hair out of her eyes. "I figured that you'd be expecting something like this by now."
"I mean...," the brunette trailed off, biting her lip and placing her book on the nightstand.
"Are you embarrassed?"
"No..."
"Huh. I'd think a little ol' date would be, like, twenty times less embarrassing than what we did last night."
"Chloe!" Max screeched, pushing the girl at her side so hard she nearly fell off the bed. The photographer's cheeks flushed a dark crimson as Chloe snickered. Max huffed, crossing her arms, trying to hide her face with the fringe of her hair. Chloe allowed her girlfriend to sulk for a few more seconds before offering an apology.
"Hey, you know I'm just joking," she said, tucking part of Max's hair behind her ear. The punk then flashed a wicked grin. "Kinda."
Max let out an annoyed huff, turning her face away again, and Chloe instantly took this moment of distraction to nuzzle up to her side, resting her head against the brunette's shoulder.
"Sorry!" Though Chloe said this in a sing-song tone, Max knew that she was being more or less serious this time. The photographer rolled her eyes, uncrossing her arms only to drape one of them around her girlfriend's back.
"Where would you want to go?" Max asked, and Chloe flashed her another grin.
"I'll take that as a 'yes,' then! Hmm..." She tapped a finger to her chin, thinking. "Well, the Two Whales is definitely out; my mom's on another dayshift, and there's no way in hell I'm gonna suffer through her gushing over us while we're trying to eat. I'd rather keep my food in my stomach, thanks."
Max laughed, and Chloe's smile widened at the sound. She glanced up at the brunette, eyes soft, suddenly overcome with just how beautiful her former childhood friend really was.
Max may have stepped out of her life at the most inopportune time, but Chloe knew this wasn't done intentionally. It had been hard for both of them. Now, after all they'd been though, Chloe no longer needed an explanation of Max's former absence; she was content enough to know that, for as long as they stayed on this Earth, the photographer would be by her side.
"Let's just take a walk around town," the brunette suggested, and Chloe blinked out of her mini-daydream.
"Sounds good, Maximillion," she responded, flashing another brilliant smile. Playfully, Max pushed her away, only to be caught by the waist and pulled even closer. Without warning, the punk planted a brief, firm kiss on the photographer's lips.
"Okay!" Chloe exclaimed after releasing Max's mouth with an overly-dramatic smooching noise. She jumped off of the bed and held out a hand. "Let's go!"
"O-Okay..." the dazed brunette responded, her mind pleasantly foggy from the sudden display of affection. She took Chloe's hand and allowed the teal-haired girl to pull her to her feet. As soon as she was fully upright, Max gave Chloe a quick peck on the cheek and ran to the door with a giggle, leaving her girlfriend to deal with the whiplash of the kiss-and-run. Luckily, the punk was quick to recover and soon caught up, grabbing Max's hand as they ran, laughing, downstairs.
Swiping her keys off the kitchen counter, Chloe pulled the photographer outside to her truck. With no set destination in mind, the girls hopped in the vehicle and drove towards town.
It didn't matter where they ended up, as long as they got there together.
