First of all, thank you to everyone for your continued support and wonderfully positive comments! It's because of these reviews I'm able to find the resolve to keep writing as best and quickly as I can to get out new chapters, so thank you to everyone who's read this fanfic so far ^o^ Secondly, on a less positive note, I've unfortunately also had some rather negative and borderline threatening comments and reviews sent my way - which I anticipated would happen soon or later, but am still disappointed just the same. Please know that this is a story exploring the relationship between characters Max Caulfield and Mark Jefferson, and if you are against or dislike anything to do with this development, please quit while ahead and stop reading now. Remember, liking and/or being interested in a character is not the same as accepting and excusing what they have canonically done. And furthermore, as the saying goes, if you have nothing nice to say, then don't say it. Empty threats to 'report me to the police and/or DONTNOD' for the 'support' of an abusive relationship will get you nowhere.
But aside from that, for those that do support this work, happy reading ^.^ and enjoy!
_
The vibration of his phone from atop the dash was abrupt and violent, and the brunette found herself near on jumping out of her skin as its obnoxious buzz resonated throughout the car.
"Sorry," he shot her an apologetic look, picking the phone up to swipe his thumb across its screen, bringing the device to his ear. "Give me a minute."
The shift in his tone as he spoke those four words was alarming, and Max had to withhold the frown working its way on to her face as he looked back up at her, his other hand moving to cover the speaker on the phone.
"Do you mind if I take this outside? Duty calls."
"No problem." Though she spoke lightly, her body felt heavy, thoughts sluggish as she processed the change yet again as he addressed her once more. Why when he spoke to her, did his voice sound so much warmer? The way he spoke to whoever it was on the other end of the call…Max could almost feel the temperature drop at the cold chill in his voice as he muttered quietly, watching as he slid quickly out of the car, not looking back at her as he closed the door behind him.
He didn't wander far, and with nothing else to do Max simply observed him as he spoke, curiosity burning dangerously hot as she watched his mouth in the dim light, wanting to know what he was saying. His expression was one of irritation, mouth turned down in to a rather deep grimace as he paced back and forth, free arm moving from his hip to his pocket in a fidgety manner. He was clearly uncomfortable talking to this person, and the longer the call dragged out, the angrier he seemed to get.
Suddenly remembering the glasses still on her face, Max couldn't help the small grin that crept on to her expression, realizing mischievously that this was the perfect opportunity to snap another picture for herself—while making sure that this time he didn't take it from her. Ducking down to dig her camera out, the brunette hurriedly positioned herself and lifted the camera in front of her face, smile tugging up a little as she snapped the photo. The flash was bright, too bright, and she winced at the few seconds blindness it rendered upon her. Blinking rapidly the girl waited impatiently for her sight to come back—
And nearly screamed when she saw him looming over the front of the car, eyes glued to her face, phone still pressed to his ear. His smile widened as she lowered her camera, and she watched him as his eyes followed it as she placed it gently back down in her bag. Lifting her hands back up to her lap, without any better way to react, the brunette waved. He did not wave back, but lifted his hand, mouth still moving as he spoke in to the phone. His fingers curled, his pinkie and ring fingers curling downward in to a fist held by his thumb, his index and middle fingers the only two remaining straight. What was that supposed to be? The sign for peace?
A moment later and the man had lowered the phone from his ear, hitting the end call button with another swipe of his thumb.
"Sorry that took so long," he ducked back in to the car, gripping the steering wheel to swing himself in to his seat. "It's probably okay for you to slip back on campus safely now. You ready to head back?"
"Y-yeah."
The car hummed warmly as it was brought back to life at the turn of the key in the ignition, and he reversed back out of the junkyard slowly, bringing them back on to the road and out from under the darkened undergrowth.
Breathing a small sigh of relief, Max let her gaze wander from the window to her teacher's profile as he drove, focused on the road ahead. He really was quite attractive. For a middle-aged man who just happed to be her teacher, that is. If he noticed her looking, the man never said anything about it.
Pulling up in to the car park, the engine was shut off yet again, this time the lights following shortly after. There was a moment of silence as they sat there, just sat there quietly in the dark, the sounds of breath, hers quickened, his steady, the only thing to be heard within the quiet of the car.
Reaching up to play with a strand of her hair, Max gasped as she realized she still had his glasses on. She had forgotten they were ever even there, now used to the little extra weight along the bridge of her nose, the feeling of them tucked behind her ears.
"O-oh…um, I still have your glasses, Mr. Jefferson…did you want them back?"
He laughed at this, glancing sidelong at the brunette. There was something strange in the way he looked at her then, a brief flash of something in his eyes that Max couldn't quite comprehend, though before she could even try to it had disappeared and he was looking away again.
"Yes Maxine, I'll be needing my glasses now if you're leaving."
He said it as though she had a choice. If she did, maybe she'd have liked to sit here a while longer. The silence was comfortable, made better by his presence.
His use of her full name irked her though, and she shot a look of disdain his way.
"Max," she corrected him, folding her arms across her chest huffily. "Never Maxine. The only ones that can get away with using my full name are my parents and my boss."
"So fiery," he chuckled, and this just seemed to irritate her more. Why did he feel the need to do this? Granted she'd been scared out of her mind earlier, she thought she could actually end this night happily, but he clearly was now set on ruining that. "I'm a teacher, Max. Not to mention twenty-eight years your senior. Quite frankly, I can call you whatever I want."
Ugh. As if she needed a reminder of that age gap. Yeouch. What's wrong with your head, Max?
"W-well yeah, but…but that doesn't mean you should call me that. You know how much I hate it…you're just doing it to piss me off."
"Well then by all means, stop me if you really despise it that much…Maxi—"
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up and stop her, and by the time Max realized she'd slid over the center-console in the car and slapped a hand over his mouth, it was too late.
His eyes watched her listlessly as her brain caught up with her actions, and once it finally did, she began to sputter, eyes widening to the size of golf balls.
"Mr. Jefferson I am so sorry, I don't know what happened I just—ouch!"
Hand flying back off his face, Max glanced between it and him, looking back and forth multiple times before settling on just staring at him.
"D-did you just…bite me?"
"I'll do it again if you don't start behaving, Max. I've let you off with a warning tonight, but next time…"
Not even bothering to conceal the blush that plastered itself across her face, Max turned her head away, clutching the finger that still stung a little as she held it tightly, so tight it began to turn purple.
"…I'm sorry, that was rather rude of me."
His apology took her by surprise, and she shifted just a little to look back at him. The look on his face was sincere, and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. The embarrassment she felt was projected in his eyes, and to know he looked just as self-conscious as she felt, made her feel a little better.
"Does it hurt?"
"Huh?"
"Where I bit you."
"O-oh…not really."
Sighing, he crunched his eyes shut, pressing his fingers to his temples. He appeared…perplexed?
"I'll make it up to you somehow, okay? Just…you should probably get going." Before something else happens and this really gets out of hand.
"Okay…"
"That's a good girl."
Grabbing her bag, Max opened the car door and stepped out, going to close it behind her before his arm shot out to stop it from shutting.
"Max," he whispered, and she turned back, surprised.
"Yeah?"
His smile was soft, amused.
"My glasses, Max. You're still wearing them."
"O-oh!" Taking them off quickly, the brunette folded and placed the spectacles carefully in to his open hand, noticing the way his fingers curled as they brushed hers, almost as though to hold her in place, to keep her from leaving. Nah. She was just imagining it.
"Well…I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Yes. Good night, Max."
"G-good night, sir…"
With a final wave he had driven off, and Max headed for the dorms for a second time that day.
Thankfully there was no one waiting for her at the steps, and no one around the corridors either. People had either locked themselves in their rooms, or were off using up precious the hot water Max had get to get a taste of for the night.
Flopping down on to her bed with a sigh, Max suddenly found herself incredibly tired.
"I'll shower in the morning," she yawned to herself, tugging at her laces and kicking off her shoes before getting changed quickly, ripping back the covers to hop straight in to bed.
Showers could wait until morning…by then there'd be more hot water for her to waste, anyway…
As she drifted off in to a heavy, dreamless sleep, Max didn't see the shadow of a figure that passed by her bed, didn't hear the rustling of hands digging in to her bag, didn't smell the scent of a comfortably familiar cologne. She didn't feel the fingers that brushed her cheek lightly, fingers that traced their way down her collarbone to her shoulder.
She didn't see the smile on his face as he left, or the undeveloped photograph he had tucked neatly in to his breast pocket.
"I can't believe this!"
Tossing her bag at her bed (thankfully she'd placed her camera on her desk beforehand), Max began to pace the small length of her room. At some point during the night or early that morning, the second photograph she'd taken of herself in Jefferson's glasses had mysteriously vanished. She'd searched high and low for it, but the only place it could have possibly been was her bag—she'd never taken it out the night before. But if it really was gone, could that mean…
Her pacing slowed, and the brunette glanced down at her hand—the one she'd had over the teachers mouth the night before. The bite had not been enough to draw blood, but enough to bruise. Feeling self conscious, Max felt she had no choice but to cover the mark with a Band-Aid.
He couldn't have…
No, that was impossible. There was no way the man had snuck in to her room after she'd come back—Max saw him drive away. There was no way he would have…
Swallowing around the lump that had begun to form in her throat, Max decided to leave the matter for later questioning, realizing with a glance at her bedside clock that she'd be late if she didn't start getting ready like, right now.
Grabbing up her toiletries and a fresh change of clothes, Max headed for the bathroom.
And was stopped dead in her tracks by an unwelcomingly familiar blonde.
"Victoria," she sighed, knowing there was absolutely no way for her to have avoided this collision forever, and that it was time to face the music. "Did you need something?"
"As a matter of fact, yes I do." Arms folding across her chest, Victoria glanced down the hallway, seemingly searching for something. Max followed her gaze, seeing that they were the only two out at the moment. Odd.
Ready for the onslaught of insults and death threats, Max braced for impact.
"I need your help."
…Huh?
"What?" Of all the things Max expected to hear, a plea for help was certainly not one of them. Just what was this about, exactly?
The blonde's expression twisted angrily.
"Are you deaf? I said I need your help, what part of that do you not understand—"
"No, no I heard you, I'm just seriously confused right now…why?"
"Why do I need your help?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Because," Victoria sighed, eyes dropping to her shoes. She appeared to be struggling with this, the mere thought of asking someone like Max for help. The brunette could empathize with this. "Because you're the only one who can help me out in this situation. Okay?"
"O-oh…okay."
"So?"
"So what?"
"So are you going to help me or not?"
Max raised an eyebrow. The blonde was acting oddly rushed, she seemed almost nervous about something…the brunette wondered why, but didn't ask in fear of angering her further.
"Can you please explain to me what it is you want me to do first? I can't say yes if I don't know what's going on."
"Alright. We don't have much time, so I'll get right to it. I want you to help me get a job at that little café you work at."
"Why?" Max knew why, but she wanted to hear it for herself.
"You know why."
"Victoria."
"Ugh, fine. You are so nosy. It's to get more time with Mark—Mr. Jefferson, that is. Working at that stupid coffee shop seemed to work for you, so it has to work for me, right?"
"Uh, maybe."
"What?" Victoria shot her a look. "You don't think it'll work?"
"I can't just get you a job, I've only been working a few weeks myself!"
"Then you won't help me?"
"I didn't say that," Max sighed. This was going to get very frustrating very quickly. "Look—no promises right now, but I'll try, okay?"
"Really?" the smile was gone quicker than it had appeared, and Victoria swiveled on the spot. Max couldn't help but grin at this. Was Victoria really that embarrassed to show any positivity toward her? Wow. "I mean, good. You'd better."
"But…"
The blonde froze.
"In return, can you please stop being so bitchy to me? I don't know what I ever did to you but it really grates on the nerves, you know?"
Seeming to think it over a moment, Victoria turned back to face her with a sigh.
"Just so we're clear on this, I don't hate you. You're just…"
"Nosy?"
"A threat," the blonde corrected her. This took Max by surprise. Did Victoria really see her as a threat? A threat to what, exactly? Her relationship with Mr. Jefferson? Her chances in the Everyday Heroes Contest? A mixture of the two? "I see you as a threat. The art world is harsh, and right now you're the best amateur photographer in the school I know of. But that doesn't mean I like you."
"You don't have to," Max shrugged. "Just don't go out of your way to knock me down."
"I'll try," Victoria grit her teeth, holding a hand to her forehead. "So we have a deal?"
"Yeah," Max nodded, holding out her hand between them. "I guess so."
Hesitantly, the blonde took her hand in her own, giving it a firm shake before letting go completely, heading off down the hall.
"I expect results soon!"
Shaking her head, Max turned her attention back to the matter at hand: deliciously hot water.
"Yeah, yeah."
When the brunette walked in to class fifteen minutes later, she didn't expect to see Nathan waiting around at the door.
"You," he sneered, and Max stopped in her tracks, gripping the strap of her bag tightly.
"Me?"
"Yeah you," he continued, taking a threatening step toward her. Holding her ground, Max bit her cheek nervously. He wouldn't attack her out in public with all these people around, right? Right? "Stay the fuck away from Victoria."
"Victoria?" Max raised an eyebrow. "What business is it of yours whether I talk to Victoria or not?"
"Then she already…" the boy looked away, seeming to think something over a minute. "Dammit," he swore, looking back up to glare at her. "Why the fuck did you have to stick your ugly fucking nose in where it didn't belong, huh? Victoria doesn't need your help, she doesn't—"
"Something the matter here, kids?"
Max jumped at the sudden intrusion of a third voice. Looking up, she was unsurprised to see Mr. Jefferson standing over them, arms folding across his chest in a show of intimidation. Grumbling under his breath, Nathan shot the brunette one last glare before storming down the corridor, hands thrust in his pockets as he shoved and elbowed people from his path.
"M-Mr. Jefferson…"
"Good morning, Max. Did something happen that I should be worrying about?"
Ignoring the prying tone in his voice, Max shook her head quickly. She just wanted to head inside and sit down, melting in to the shadows in back of the room like she always did. She didn't want to do this right now.
"No. Nathan was just…telling me about something."
"Something?"
"It's nothing," she confirmed, and though he appeared dissatisfied with her answer, he did not drill her any further. Gesturing for her to head inside, Max did so without any hesitation, rushing over to sit in her seat, keeping her head down. A few moments later, Victoria entered the classroom, shooting her an almost friendly look. It was daunting.
As Mr. Jefferson talked on about this and that, Max found herself unable to concentrate. Cheek pressed in to her palm, the brunette settled on staring out the window, watching the greying clouds that began to form in the darkened morning sky. It looked like rain was coming. Glancing down, the brunette frowned as she saw what was drawn on a blank page of her open notebook. An inky black spiral sat pressed in to the bottom left corner of her page, a spiral that certainly hadn't been there when she'd first opened her book. She certainly didn't remember doing that. Yet upon rubbing a finger across the paper, she found that it smudged—meaning it had to have been done just moments ago. Had she been so zoned out she hadn't noticed doing it? It really was odd.
"And what was your response to this particular reading, Max?"
Jumping at her name, Max looked up to Mr. Jefferson, who now stood over her. Glancing around, she was thankful to see most others writing away in their own notebooks, not paying any particular attention to the fact that the brunette had just been called out. Victoria, from the corner of her eye, lifted a book up and waved it, and Max then realized what she had just been asked.
"O-oh! I found chapter two kind of interesting, especially the part where…"
Sending a thankful smile in Victoria's direction, the blonde simply shook her head before returning back to her own work. She had said just earlier on that she didn't like Max, but…was that entirely true? Helping her out in a pinch certainly was going further than being 'less bitchy', as Max had requested.
At the smile Mr. Jefferson gave her once she had finished her explanation, Max ducked her head, rubbing her taped finger absentmindedly. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.