(Hey, everyone! I'm back! So sorry for the inactivity. Just finished finals, and now I can focus on getting more stories out. Look out for 'em! This is another prompt my sister gave me, so hope you enjoy it as much as she did.
prompt 2: Wardfield (Max x Dana); Max's friend, Chloe, convinces Max to start working out at a gym. When Max is there, she has trouble trying out the machines and making a work out schedule. Dana sees her struggling and decides to help her out.
"Slow down, Chloe. What do you need me to do?" Max said to her friend, as she watched her walked to and fro, surrounded by boxes.
"Okay, slowpoke. 'Dad', I mean 'William', is giving me this room as an upgrade to my original secret lair. You see, I've been a good girl who eats her veggies and sleeps when she's suppose to. However, there are a crapload of boxes and they prove to be a problem in establishing a secret lair. So, I need your help in cleaning it out." Chloe said, picking up a box and moving it.
Max nodded and looked around for what to carry out. Max started out with papers, pencils, and other stuff. Max saw a medium sized box, enough to hold maybe a few shirts. Max went down to pick it up, but couldn't. She tried again, but again, she failed.
"Damn, son! You're so weak!" Chloe said. Max turned to see Chloe with the most amused look she had ever seen her wear.
"Move over, princess. Let me show how it's done." Chloe said, jokingly pushing Max aside.
Now, it was Max's turn to watch Chloe, who squatted, sighed, and spat (or pretended to) on her hand. Rubbing them together, Chloe gripped the box, and with all the build she had made, lifted up like it was nothing and walked away with it, clearing up more space for the lair. Max's pride cracked a bit. Nonetheless, Max went on, handling the small things like rulers, pencils, and the occasion dust-bunnies while Chloe handled the boxes and other big stuff.
As Max continued moseying around, she spotted a strange sphere. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a softball. Max picked it up and tossed it around a bit.
"Oh, sweet! I was wondering where that was. Pass it here, bruv!" Chloe said as she walked into the room. Chloe stopped at the door frame and held her hands up, ready to catch the ball. Max assumed the position and threw the ball... a good 12 inches from her arm. Chloe was maybe a good 7 more feet away, and the ball didn't even roll to Chloe the rest of the way. Max saw Chloe's expression change from excited to the most unamused look she had ever seen her wear.
"Damn, son. You are so weak." Chloe said, her disappointment very palpable. If Max's pride was cracked before, it would probably be shattered now.
"Max. Are you alright?" Chloe asked, mouth full of spaghetti. Max just stared at her plate, contemplating.
"Chloe, am I really weak?" Max asked, finally picking up her fork. She heard Chloe sigh.
"Really, Max? I hope you know I was joking." Chloe answered, getting another swirl of spaghetti. Max played with her food a bit.
"Yeah, I guess. But, I sense there is something coming up." Max said. Chloe hummed a bit.
"Well, if you want to know, there are some things you can work on." Chloe said, still eating. Max pouted.
"Do you a plan to solve my predicament?" Max asked.
"Yeah, actually. I'm going to the gym to do my workout. If you want, you can join me." Chloe offered. Max thought for a bit.
"Okay. Sure. I'm up for it." Max replied.
Max stared at the vast space of the gym. Various metal machines and people were operating at once. The place smelled like sweat, floor wax and, oddly enough, vanilla. Max felt a pat on her back.
"Welcome to my home away from home." Chloe said, inhaling deeply the aroma around her. After that, Chloe started to walk.
"Come on, lets drop our stuff in my locker." Chloe said, heading to the locker room. Max followed. After dropping off their stuff, Max followed Chloe around and watched her do some bicep curls.
"Max, I thought you wanted to get brolic. I hope you don't think that just standing around here will somehow get you stronger." Chloe said after she finished.
"Well, I don't know what to do." Max said, rubbing her neck. Chloe thought a bit.
"All right. Lets start off with something simple." Chloe said. Chloe looked around and dropped to the ground.
"Come on, Max. You're going to do you first exercise. Get down." Chloe said. Max followed.
"Have you ever done a push up?" Chloe asked. Max looked mortified.
"Never." Max whispered.
"Explains a lot." Chloe said low.
"Okay. Have you ever seen a push up?" Chloe asked. Max rolled her eyes.
"Yes. I have." Max answered.
"Okay, so copy that. Ready?" Chloe said, then started doing push-ups. Max eventually started, but was very slow about it. Max was shaking all over as she went up and down, just trying to give it her all. Then, when she felt she had done enough, she just dropped.
"Good job, Max. You did, like, 3 push-ups. Not gonna say if they were correct or not, but it's a start." Chloe said, watching over Max. Chloe knelt down and patted Max, a little reward for her effort.
"I'll go get us something to drink. Try to do some other exercises you remember seeing." Chloe said, as she went off. Max picked herself up and looked around. No one seemed to have noticed her display of lack of strength, so that was good. Moseying around, she found a free treadmill.
"This should be easier than push-ups." Max thought, as she hopped up and looked at the control board. A digital display with various bright colors and confusing choices. A bit intimidated, Max was confident she wouldn't fail at this exercise. Looking it over again, she noticed a "start" choice.
"Guess I have to 'start' somewhere." Max thought as she pressed it. Once she did, the treadmill came to life, and immediately went into sprint speeds. Max, caught off guard, almost fell off immediately but was able to start running. She was able to keep up with the machine for the incredible time of 10 seconds. By then, she had had enough. Max grabbed one side of the treadmill's railings and hung there, quickly getting her feet off the tread. Exhausted from the running, Max couldn't bring herself to stop the machine. Just then, she heard a small jingle. Looking toward the panel, she saw an athletic looking brunette with earphones on the other side of the treadmill. The brunette looked to Max and smiled.
"Saw you struggling there and thought you needed he help." She said, moving to Max's side and offering her hand to Max. Max took it, thankful for her savior from the metal menace. The brunette's grip was firm and confident, catching Max by surprise.
"Thank you." Max mustered while looking to the brunette. The brunette smiled, capturing Max's mind. The brunette displayed something Max hadn't really seen in anyone. She couldn't figure out what.
"No problem. If you want, I could teach you how to work the treadmill. It's tricky at first, but you'll get used to it." The brunette offered, breaking Max from her trance. Max nodded furiously.
"Please! I mean, I would really appreciate that. Thank you..." Max said, before realizing she didn't know who the brunette was.
"Dana. I'm Dana." The brunette introduced herself, smile never fading. Max smiled back.
"Thank you, Dana. I'm Max." Max said.
"Nice to meet you, Max. I, uh, might need my hand to show you how the treadmill works." Dana said, pointing to the hand Max was still gripping. Max let go, getting a little red for not realizing she was still holding on. Dana still smiled as she got on the treadmill. Max followed, standing beside her and watched as Dana pointed out the various functions. After about 5 or 6 minutes, Max started to understand the machine.
"You think you're ready?" Dana asked, hopping off. Max nodded, confident in her ability to work the treadmill. Max set the speed, duration and started her first successful exercise. Max looked to Dana, who gave her a thumbs up. Dana then joined in on a treadmill next to Max, but went at a little faster speed. Max watched as she practically forgot about the machine, feeling freer now that she can control her speed.
"This might not be so bad." Max thought.
"Nice job, Max." Dana said, congratulating her on a successful exercise.
"Couldn't have done it without your help, Dana." Max replied, getting off the treadmill.
"You gonna start coming here? I could help with other exercises." Dana asked.
"Actually, my friend snuck me in to help get me stronger. I don't think I'll consider a membership anytime soon." Max answered.
"But I would appreciate if you still helped me out." Max continued.
"Okay. I usually go for runs and some simple exercises at the high school in the mornings. You think you're up for it?" Dana asked. Max nodded.
"Sure, but I can't drive and I live far from the school. Could you pick me up?" Max asked. Dana was about to say something, but a jingle stopped her. Taking out her phone, Dana cursed under her breath.
"I can do that, Max. Just text me your address. I got to go." Dana said, grabbing an index card and pen from her pocket. She jotted down her phone number and handed to Max. Then, she was off.
Looking at the card, she saw some other numbers, probably related to some exercises. Just then, Max felt a poke on her shoulder. Turning to it, she saw Chloe holding two water bottles.
"Hey! Sorry, I got sidetracked a little. Also, the water's no longer cold, so yeah." Chloe said, handing one to Max, which she took. Chloe immediately noticed the card.
"Oh, crap. You got someone's number. Who the lucky girl, Max?" Chloe asked, taking a swig from her bottle. Max pocketed the card.
"Just a friend I made today who will help me exercise." Max said. Chloe scoffed.
"As if I did not help you today." Chloe said. Max just glared.
"Okay, you may have a point." Chloe said, admitting partially that she was at fault. Max just rolled her eyes and drank a bit of water as well.