What seemed like an eternity had passed as Max trudged down the hallway of her dormitory. It was later in the afternoon and the empty rooms left an eerie silence as Max scanned the numbers beside each door. She took in a deep breath, holding it in as she peered down to a small crumpled paper in her hand.
Chloe Price.
Max kept her eyes glued on the paper, repeating the familiar name in her head, as if her anxiety would unscramble an accidental anagram. She knew she'd have to face her old friend eventually, but she had hoped the situation would have been under her control. After moving back to Arcadia Bay to attend Blackwell Academy, Max hoped to have an anxiety free first few days before school. However, life never seemed to give her the control she longed for.
Finally she reached her room - Room 219. Max exhaled nervously and pulled out her key. There was music coming from inside the room. 'She's here,' Max thought to herself. The small glimmer of hope that she would have more time before their encounter quickly faded. The rest of the year would be spent in this dorm, so she knew she had to adjust to what the future was going to bring.
Max shook her head and nervously unlocked the door, opening it slowly and peering inside the room. There were two beds against the walls on the side, with only one desk in front of the room. The left side was completely dull and quaint, lacking any sense of creativity and life. She knew that was inevitably her side of the room. Her eyes trailed the floor and followed the papers and clothing scattered across to the right side of the room.
The music was much louder inside the room, coming from a stereo on a desk in the back. Max fully entered the room and glanced to the side she had yet to explore. Her breath hitched in her throat as she stared fixated on the bed. There were two girls, both in nothing but their underwear and bras, laying on top of each other and crashing their lips against one another.
The girl on top had bright blue hair, it would have fascinated Max if she wasn't already experiencing so much sensory overload. The girl beneath her was harder to see as the two toppled over to switch positions, keeping their lips hungrily connected.
Max became completely self-aware and suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. 'What do I do? Should I leave?' Max thought to herself as she quickly examined the room. 'I'll just go, and act like nothing happened, I don't think they know I'm here.' Max turned around quickly and in her clumsy twist, her backpack knocked into the nightstand and caught onto the strap, knocking her to the floor.
The girls on the bed bolted up from their position.
"What the fuck!?" The blue haired girl called out as she sat up and stared at Max.
Max nervously looked up at the girl and her eyes widened, her mouth dropping slightly, "Chloe…?" Max uttered softly under her breath.
Chloe's shock matched Max's as her scowl softened, "Max?"
The girl beneath Chloe scoffed loudly and sat up, "Another girl? Really Chloe?"
Chloe shook out of her stupor and looked at the girl, 'What? No wait, it's not like that."
The girl sat up and grabbed her clothing off the floor, throwing them on and grabbing her bag from the nightstand, "Let me know if you can pencil me in without any interruptions." She glared at Max on the floor and stormed out of the room. The door slammed behind her and echoed in the room.
The stereo's music filled the room, engulfing the silence between the two. Chloe got up from her bed and walked over to the stereo, clicking a button on top which immediately cut off the music. The sudden stillness had a much louder effect than the slamming door did.
Max stood up from the floor and looked over at Chloe as she turned around and pulled a shirt over her head. She was completely captivated by the familiar stranger before her. This wasn't the same girl from five years ago. Her incredulous look was not received well by Chloe, who had crossed her arms and glared at Max, "So, Caulfield, looks like we finally meet again."
Five years. It had been five long years since Max and Chloe had seen one another, or even spoken for that matter. Max was aware of the time that had passed, but she underestimated how much it could change a person.
"Chloe. It's really good to see you." Max finally spoke up, she didn't realize how long it had been since she had spoken. Chloe's glare didn't falter, causing Max's heart to start thudding harder in her chest as Chloe stepped toward her
"Good to see me? If you hadn't been assigned as my roommate I probably still wouldn't have heard from you." Chloe had walked right up to Max, eyeing her and biting her bottom lip into her mouth. She didn't look angry as much as disappointed and hurt. Max couldn't look at her in the eye as she turned and held her arm with her opposite hand, "I know, I know I was awful to you…" Max's face felt warm, her mind scrambling to explain without making Chloe any more upset, "I should have been there for you and check in. I just-"
"-Left your past behind you?"
Those words caused a sharp pang of guilt to run through Max, animated by a chill through her spine. Max wanted to apologize and let Chloe know how much of a mistake she had made, but she couldn't find the right words.
She couldn't win this battle, but this was one she deserved to lose.
Chloe's face softened and she sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she walked to her bed, "Well, I won't poison your food or anything like that, but don't expect us to just be besties again." Chloe used air quotes around the word 'besties.' She plopped down on her bed and leaned back on her elbows with her legs hanging off the edge.
Max followed her with her eyes and realized that Chloe put on a shirt, but was still in her underwear. A blush warmed her face and she quickly looked down to grab her backpack off the floor.
Chloe smirked and crossed her legs, "Oh and about that girl…" She gestured to the door with her thumb, "You might have ruined my chances."
Max looked up from her bag and thought for a moment before turning to face Chloe, "Was she your girlfriend?" She knew small talk wasn't going to fix everything, but it was worth starting to try to pick up the pieces and begin where they left off.
A laugh was all Max got in response, she tilted her head in confusion at Chloe, 'Was that stupid?' she thought to herself. Chloe shook her head and smiled lightly at Max, "Oh god, fuck that, no way. I don't date."
"But...you two were…" Max began, getting more questions than answers at this point. Chloe turned and laid down completely on her back, "Come on Max, we're teens in school, no one dates or does anything serious. Fuck the norm. "
"Was that her name?" Max replied quickly, hoping her nostalgic snark would be well received.
Chloe laughed under her breath and rolled on her side to face Max, "Nice one, Caulfield. Keep up the jokes and I'll consider moving the pigs blood from above your bed."
Max rolled her eyes and continued to place her things on the shelf. The two didn't speak again for some time and Max finished putting up her photos and posters on the wall, as well as unpacking her clothing and school supplies. She looked over her shoulder at Chloe and saw that she had drifted off to sleep.
"She better not be a snorer." Max mumbled under her breath as she looked back at her side of the room to gaze at the unpacking progress she had made.
Her first day of school was tomorrow, at a school she had dreamed about attending for years, and here she was sharing a room with her old best friend. This was going to be a long first year, but Max knew this was going to be more interesting than she could have imagined.