Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail
Song by A Day To Remember
Off to get some new ink for my half-sleeve, so I started this at 8am. Yeah, I'm pretty committed...meaning insane...
"Oh my Dog, you're the best dad ever!" Max squealed with delight at the register as her father handed the store clerk the money for Max's Polaroid camera.
Sitting in the back of the car as her father and mother sat up front, Max was messing around with her latest obsession. Opening and closing the camera up in succession, Max was beyond happy. She was exuberant, practically bouncing in her seat with energy as she leaned down to grab a package of the film needed to start her photography up. Looking at the camera while loading it, Max paused as she thought of someone else that had the same camera as her. Had, Max thought with a feeling of sadness at the image of William Price.
Max had fought with her parents in the car as they'd left the Price residence a couple days after William's funeral. She'd been in tears the entire day, even more so when they had gone over to the Prices' to say their goodbyes. Chloe had locked her door and refused to come downstairs, relenting only when Max and her parents were getting ready to leave. Sprinting down the stairs, Chloe had clutched onto Max in a tight hug with tears in her reddened eyes that matched Max's own. Looking into each other's faces, Max and Chloe realized that neither girl wanted this to happen, to be separated from their best friend.
Chloe. I want to call, to write you and tell you that I miss you. I'm just scared that you'll hate me, Max thought as the image of her smiling friend and the grief-stricken girl she'd left collided with one another. It wasn't fair, and Max had been on thin ice with her parents until only a couple weeks ago. Her crime? Sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night to try and get on a Greyhound that was headed for Arcadia Bay.
Her father had been driving, as he is at the moment, when the Caulfields' old SUV pulled up onto the curb next to where Max was on the sidewalk. Sporting her backpack, Max was pulling her suitcase behind her when her father had sprang out of the vehicle and come around to stop her. He hadn't been mad, not even disappointed. Chloe meant so much to his daughter that he understood, which made it all the more terrible when Max finally looked up at him and cried.
"Max? Honey, you okay?" a voice called out to her, bringing her back to present day.
"Er-" Max started to say when she realized something was terribly wrong.
She was seated in the backseat, like she was every time she had this nightmare, looking down at her black-nailed hands as they cradled the same camera she'd owned for the past five years. Pulling at the seat belt, Max grunted as she tried to escape the car. Escape her nightmare. The restraint wouldn't budge. Feeling herself on the verge of a panic attack, Max's eyes darted around as she tried to find some means of escape or redirection only to watch the world outside the SUV fade to black as the vehicle was suddenly slammed into.
Max watched with a terrified seizing feeling in her chest as the next series of events played out in the dreadful slow-motion she had come to associate with this moment. The front of their family car began to crumple towards her parents, like an accordion Max had seen on YouTube. Moving at an incremental speed, Max felt the car reverberate and herself gasp as the dash began to push into her parents. The steering wheel smacked Max's father in the head as it was pushed in and up towards the driver, her mother already unconscious from her head smacking against the passenger side vehicle.
Max tried to scream, but nothing audible would come out. Instead, she would hear a whirring noise and a click as the camera went off and took a picture. Having slipped from her hands after the impact, the device had shot a single photo before it seemed to shatter before Max's eyes and freeze in time. Max didn't want to see what was on the developing film; something compelled her to look down at the film. Her father reaching out for her, his mouth open as the blood ran down his forehead.
"Don't be scared, sweetie. I love you, Maxine."
Max's head jerked up and she was alone in the broken car, absolute silence permeating the entire scene for a minute. Max couldn't even hear her own breathing, and then it began again like it always did.
"Oh. Oh, no."
18 years old Max Caulfield watched the next series of unfolding events through the eyes of her 13 years old counterpart. She can't remember everything in her dream but she remembers different her thoughts were then compared to now. Even if I could save them with what I know now, I can only move forward with what is gained. Why can't I just be a kid with all the memories of who I will be in five years?
Because such questions are the stuff of dreams.
Somewhere in Max's mind, a favorite quote of her father's from Yeats was read aloud from somewhere in this mess as the metal was twisted and misshapen to peel away for something greater than the Sun. Max knew what it was; it was Death. Not a person, form, or even a theory; Death was a presence and as Max found herself carrying a slip of paper, she offered it to Death. Taking the scrap of knowledge with utmost courtesy, it examined the contents of the exchange before shuddering.
"But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
Looking down at the girl, the sheer gravity of its omniscient state went over everything in her past, present, and future before returning her to where she needed to be. Max felt herself pulled in some direction in the blackness, but she would not know where until she were-
"Aaghhhhhh!" Max screamed as she put her hands to her eyes while desperately trying to forget the images still waiting for her. Sitting up in bed, it took a minute or two for the disorientation to pass before Max realized where she presently was. Feeling dampness on her cheeks, Max rolled her eyes at the realization that she had been crying while asleep. Is this going to happen nearly every damn night now that I'm back in Arcadia Bay? Pushing her back up against the wall, Max folded her knees up to her chest and stared off into space as she began to calm down.
Her room was more decorated than when she had walked in for the first time Friday evening. Now Sunday morning, Kate had gone with her to an outlet store for some furniture and decorations. Paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling with music posters and photos from Seattle scattered about the walls, Max's room had become increasingly less a shell and more a sanctuary as Saturday had come and gone. Getting some help from Kate's friends Stella and Alyssa, the introductions had been a little awkward for the pinkette as she wore a tank-top that showed off the tattoos on her arms. Not feeling up to another description, she had told Alyssa and Stella to ask Kate if they wanted to know what they meant. Maybe I was a little too harsh. I did apologize, though, so they should at least be thankful for that, Max thought as she reached over to grab her phone from the bedside table.
"5:23 in the morning? You have to be fucking kidding me." Max groaned as she gently head-butted the mirror next to her bed out of frustration. She wanted a single night's sleep with no waking up, no nightmare. A peaceful oblivion with her eyes closed away from the world sounded perfect to Max. Lying back down in bed, Max looked up at her newly started photo wall and took in the new memories. Half the pictures were of her and Chloe, the bluenette making good on her word and not leaving Max alone all Friday. She had even stayed over, curling up next to Max only to wake her up ridonculously as she had tried to slide out of bed.
"Where're you goin'?" Max's eyes had been half-open when she saw the fuzzy image of Chloe sitting up on the bed as she tied her shoes.
"Going to get a run in, probably go to the junkyard and blaze a bit. Me being here is not the best idea, Max." Chloe sounded weary, but not from sleep. "You know…you know you cry in your sleep, right? Like, a hella crazy amount of crying."
"What…?" Max's eyes snapped open at that revelation, but even more so from the fact that someone had witnessed such an event. "You're not going to make fun, are you?"
"Fuck no, Max. Just surprised is all. Spent a chunk of the night calming your punk-ass down, Pinky."
Chloe had then looked down at Max with a compassionate smile and kissed the embarrassed girl on the forehead, surprising both of them. Wowsers, Max thought before her usual cynicism crept in, Awkward, cute, awkward, and back to cute. Yep, all the bullshit is in its proper goddamn place. Sitting up in bed, Max had leaned herself against Chloe's back and closed her eyes at the warmth the other girl seemed to radiate.
"You set to broil or something?" Max had asked her blue-haired friend, "You're so warm."
"Nah, you're just hella cold. Seriously, you need to learn to keep your feet under blankets, Max. Fucking icicle."
Chloe had left shortly thereafter, pausing in the doorway to take Max's phone and punch her phone number in before leaving. Took you long enough, Max had thought with a smirk before she had nodded off back to sleep.
Now sitting in bed, leaned up against the wall, Max scrolled through her messages and couldn't help but frown. Chloe hadn't responded to any of Max's messages or sent any of her own. I wonder if I overdid it, popping up and latching myself onto her without any warning. I bet that went well in the Price household. Setting the phone down, Max walked over to the window and grabbed a bottle of water that was sitting on her dresser. Insisting that Max have something nurturing in her room, Kate had bought her a plant. Naming it "Lisa", Max watered her plant and looked outside. Too early to dawn to even remotely begin, the night sky still twinkled with stars as Max wondered what Rachel were up to.
"So many stars. Forgot what they looked like when there're so few lights outside," Max said as she let her mind wander, "I wish Rachel were here. She'd probably get a kick out of, well, everything."
Max had spent an hour yesterday on the phone with her friend/sister, trying to get the erstwhile girl to find a time for a trip to Arcadia Bay in her "tragic schedule of nothing" as Max had put it.
"I promise I will, Max. I've just got some stuff going on here that could actually get me going," Rachel had responded to Max's request, Max rolling her eyes only to catch hell for it as Rachel deduced what she was doing.
"You're not allowed to be fucking psychic, Rach!" Max joined in on Rachel's fit of giggling as the two had slid almost instantaneously into their usual banter. "Seriously, though, it would be pretty cool if you could visit soon. I miss you."
"I miss you, Maxie, and if all goes well up here I'll be able to come down sooner rather than later. Keep the faith, okay?"
"In you? Ehhhh, we'll see."
"Nice, Max. Good to see I have your support, heh. Later, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Moving across the small room to take a seat at her desk, Max reached toward the small crack between where her desk ended and the wall began to pull her vape out. Deciding that discretion was essential, Max had wedged the case into the small space before covering the entire desk surface with a small cloth. Kate, thinking it was cute, hadn't said anything. Yeah, that's me. I'm fucking cute. You're cute, Kate, though a little naïve. Do I look like I do cute? Taking a couple puffs to drive away the lingering dregs of her nightmare, Max leaned back into the chair and plugged in her headphones before playing some music from her phone.
"Guhhhhhh." Was all Max could say as she dragged herself down the stairs with Kate following alongside her. Eyes bloodshot from waking up so early, Max had nearly fallen back asleep at her desk only an hour ago before Kate had politely knocked on her door.
"Max? You up? Today's the first day so you might want to get in the shower a little early; everyone's going to be kinda nuts today." Kate had nearly jumped as a partially-zombified Max stumbled out of her room before pausing to look at the door across the hall from her own.
"…Who lives there? The erase board says "Victoria" but I haven't seen anyone come in or out," Max mumbled as she jerked a thumb toward the subject of her query.
"Be glad, Max. She's…she's pretty evil." Max couldn't help but notice the dour look Kate suddenly made as her friend looked off in the same direction she was, "H-hey, you want to get something to eat before class?"
Heading towards the dining facility next to the dormitories, Kate was nearly dragging Max as the pink-haired girl gently hissed at the encroaching Sun. Pretending that she was trying to wave the daylight off her face, Max looked out of the corner of her eye to see the sign of Kate's pleasant smile returning. That's better, Max thought as she turned her play-fighting to Kate, Smile, giggle, all that good shit. You look like you don't smile enough, Kate. Seeing Kate mock surrender, Max nodded with a cry of victory as it became her turn to pull the other person along.
Two pancakes and three cups of what Max called "the bane of coffee drinkers everywhere" later, Max was sitting next to Kate in their Chemistry class. Mind wandering as their teacher Ms. Grant went on about attendance and grading policy, Max looked out the window and saw a couple rabbits playing around outside with a squirrel. Pulling out her Polaroid camera, Max took a quick snapshot only to gain the attention of the teacher she had been half-paying attention to.
"Maxine Caulfield, right? Since you are already so enamored with Blackwell, why don't you be the first to introduce yourself? You're new here anyway, so the sooner the better," Ms. Grant said with a smile as Max ran her fingers through her hair before wearily standing up.
"Max Caulfield. My name is Max. Lived here when I was a kid, moved to Seattle, came back here. One and done," Max began to slide back into her seat, catching the amused look on Kate's face when she heard Ms. Grant cough.
"Surely there's more to you than that, Max. What are you interests? Hobbies?"
"…You cereal?" Max asked before seeing Ms. Grant egg her on, "Okay. I'm into photography, obviously. I want to make a career of it. I also like music, horror movies, fights, and tattoos." At the mention of tattoos, Max unzipped her hoodie to showcase her ink. Grinning as she saw the look of mild shock on Ms. Grant's face, Max decided to leave the hoodie off and tied it around her waist. "Oh, I'm also into piercings. Wowsers, right?"
Max's exhibition of her body art had garnered the desired response she had wanted; left alone from any further questions for the remainder of class, Max was only called upon by Ms. Grant once more when the bell had rung for students to go to their next class.
"Max, aren't you a little…young to be sporting such a colorful number of tattoos?" Ms. Grant asked, making Max almost feel sorry for how much of a brat she'd been.
"Ms. Grant, you seem really nice," Max started, sighing as she entered an all too familiar discussion, "but I will be 18 in a couple weeks so if anyone's going to make a decision about how I choose to express myself it will be me. I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."
"I wasn't questioning your artwork, Max. I'm just surprised, that's all. I have your grades from the online program you were in and you seem very bright; it's just the tattoos…"
"Make me seem unusual? Yeah, I get that a lot. Honestly, I just want a fresh start here. How about we rewind back? Hi, Ms. Grant. I'm Max." Max stuck her hand out, Ms. Grant smiling warmly as she took the offered hand and shook it.
The drowsiness from a lack of quality sleep followed Max along for the rest of the morning, Max's head nodding during English before getting a nudge in the ribs from Kate. Half-awake, Max had forgotten where she was for a moment and shot her kindly new friend a look that the other girl didn't deserve. Sorry, Max had mouthed when she saw Kate's body tense up. Poking Kate back in the side with a finger, Max stuck her tongue out at the other girl and got a sheepish grin back in response before both girls were called out by the teacher to the murmured amusement of the class.
"…I'll see you in Mr. Jefferson's class," Max told Kate as she headed back towards the dorms, "I'm going to power nap or something, trying and clear my head of the damn cobwebs."
Max waved as Kate headed off to the cafeteria with a couple other girls whose names she couldn't remember at the moment, too tired and needing to a moment to herself. Her anxiety was riding a little too high for her and a few minutes of solitude would do her good. At least I'm too tired and too busy to think about all the drama that I will no doubt endure, if the stares I've received so far are any indication. Maybe I should just wear a hoodie every day. Nope, fuck that. Besides, I'd have to get the dye out of my hair too and that's totally not happening.
Max continued walking across the main courtyard and down into the breezeway before bumping into someone as the other person turned a corner opposite the direction the pinkette was going.
"Uh, sorry," Max said before feeling a hand clamp down on her shoulder, "Excuse me?"
"Let me see some ID," the security guard ordered, a commanding tone to his voice. Nice pornstache, dude, Max thought as she began to fish inside her camera bag for the ID card she'd been mailed while still in Seattle. Seeing a hand start to reach for her bag from her peripheral vision, Max smacked it away before it could get any closer.
"That is not cool," Max said as she waved the ID card in the guard's face, "Do you even have the authority to search students' belongings?"
"You look like a bad element, and I find it likely you're sporting contraband somewhere on your person," the guard said, Max reading 'D. Madsen' on his nametag.
"And you like a reject from war movie, Paul Blart. Doesn't mean I'm going to search you for keys to a Segway." Max pocketed her ID and walked around David Madsen, both people's faces reddening from irritation. What an asshole, Max thought as she looked behind her to see the guard eyeing her. Flipping him off before making it into the dormitory area of the campus, Max grinned at him as he gritted his teeth.
Leaning against her door after she had finally made it to her room, Max sat on the floor for a moment and took a few deep breaths. Looking down at her phone to check the time, Max was glad they were given a decent amount of time for lunch. Thinking of vaping real quick, Max brushed the idea aside for the moment as she yanked her phone out of her pocket and began to type.
Max: U EVER going to actually message me back, Chloe?
Max: 2 days, Chlo. 2 effing days. Did I fucking fart in my sleep or something?
Chloe: …sorry. Just kind-of a shock, you being back. That and, well, I don't kno how to respond to what ur still going through
Max: sry to dump so much on you. bailing is not the best response, tho
Chloe: I DID say sorry, Cauliflower
Max: I know. I just…I want U
Chloe: Wat
Max: I want to hang out, dork. U free this afternoon?
Chloe: yea. I'd like to show U the house, but stepdouche will probably b home about the time U get out of class
Chloe: u run into him yet? He works there, u kno
Max: wat is his name?
Chloe: stepdouche
Max: *grins*
Chloe: David Madsen
Max: fuk I just flipped him off for being a shit to me. gtg c u after class unless I die immediately after this txt
Max smacked her head against the door with a quiet thunk as she rolled her eyes. She could have not been so argumentative, so shitty, to the guy who turned out to be Chloe's stepfather. Noooo, I have to fucking push and push. Because of course I have to. Where's my fresh start? Oh, that's right – I'm pretty much burning it in a trash barrel out back. Hearing muffled voices from out in the hall, Max slid against the door until she was to her feet and opened it. Max remotely felt her phone slip out of her hand as she locked eyes with the girl standing across the hallway at the door marked "Victoria".
"No…no fucking way," Max uttered as the other girl's annoyed look turned into a venomous glare through narrowed eyes.
"You," Victoria Chase replied, her tone the same as Max's, as the punk and the girl from the bathroom line eyed each other. "You're going here? Welcome to my house, punk hipster bitch."
Max heard the other two girls Victoria was with laugh but ignored them as she continued to lock eyes with the short-haired elitist staring her down in return. This day needs to fucking end. Max clenched her fists and took a half-step forward, hearing the laughter directed at her die down as one of the girls nervously slid into Victoria's dorm room. Taking another step forward, Max stood within arm's reach of Victoria and flashed the snobby girl a bright smile.
"You still smell like beer. You know that, right?" Max asked before winking at Victoria, heading down the hall while hearing an "Ugh!" in response.
Wandering back outside, Max saw a cheery blonde girl standing across the yard outside the dormitory wave at her. Waving back, Max heard a slight chuckle as someone behind her returned the wave not meant for Max. Ugh! Idiot!
"That was an insane amount of embarrassing," Max said before feeling a hand on her shoulder.
"You're the new girl, right? The one everybody's talking about?" the girl behind her asked, coming around so that she was walking alongside Max, "I'm Dana. Can I…Can I see your tattoos? I was thinking of getting one."
Shrugging, Max took her hoodie off again and held her arms out for Dana to examine. Feeling fingers lightly brush against the inside of her forearms, Max bit her lip at the ticklish sensation until Dana looked up at her with a satisfied smile.
"Thanks. That's a lot of work, isn't it, all those?" Dana gestured to Max's arms.
"Yeah, but totally worth it," Max replied with a grin, "I'd like to get the other sleeve-"
"Dana, we're going to be late if you don't get your ass in gear," the blonde from the other side of the yard said as she approached them, "Hey. You're Max, right? Juliet."
Max nodded at Juliet in greeting, then excused herself as she needed to grab something to eat while the cafeteria was still open. Blitzing through the dining hall, Max grabbed a sandwich and a bottled tea before heading outside once more. Settling down on the small wall that overlooked the road heading back into town, Max munched away at her food. Maybe I should've eaten with Kate and her friends. Could've avoided Victoria, if only for a moment. I think I have the shittiest luck on Earth. First Chloe's step-dad and now Victoria Chase. Adding those incidents to all the awkwardness that was her first day at Blackwell Academy, Max sighed before finishing off her food.
Sipping at the tea, Max dangled her legs over the wall and watched a group of skaters messing around over by the steps leading onto campus. Max had tried skating, Rachel being "so pro" pushing her into it, but the hard truth was that Max knew she couldn't skate worth shit. The last board she had owned ended up being used as creep deterrent when she smashed it into a lecher's face in a Seattle alleyway as she and Rachel were coming back from a local rock show. Pulling out her phone once more, Max flicked at the screen to open up her messaging app.
Max: Wish u were here
Rachel: I bet u do ;)
Rachel: Made any new friends?
Max: Maybe. Hanging with an old one. the girl I told u about?
Rachel: Chloe, right? The kickboxer?
Max: af-firmative. A ridiculous amount of awkward, but still good to see
Rachel: can we talk later, Maxie? I'm ridiculously busy right now. TTYL! *heart-heart*
Rolling her eyes at the cheesiness of Rachel's send-off, Max got to her feet and headed inside as the first bell rang.
"Here we go again, Max. A second fresh start!"
Max's next attempt at a fresh start was greater in success, but not without a striking note of failure. Max had stormed out of Mr. Jefferson's class, despite that class being the only one she was interested in. As Mark Jefferson had started to write on the chalkboard at the front of class, Max felt a small wad of paper smack her in the head. Looking over with a grimace, Max saw Victoria flip her off only for one of Victoria's stooges toss another wad of paper. Not wanting to even see if they'd written something on the scraps, Max slid both projectiles onto the floor with a sweep of her hand as she tried to just look forward. Memories came at Max as the small assault continued: strange looks and bullies with every school she had been moved to, stolen backpacks, stolen notebooks, stolen lunch money. One multiple occasions, Max had gone to school hungry only to stay hungry the rest of the day when she not only didn't get any lunch but also didn't get to have any dinner.
"Would you fucking stop?!" Max yelled as she rose to her feet, the momentum enough that her chair fell back. Max glared daggers at Victoria as the other girl's eyes widened in surprise. You might be hot shit here, you evil piece of shit, but I will not be fucked with and just take it. Fuck!
"Max! Ms. Caulfield, is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Mr. Jefferson turned around at Max's outburst, setting down the chalk as he looked toward the back of the classroom with concern.
"She's throwing paper at me!" Max pointed at Victoria, realizing just how childish it sounded but not really caring. Picking up a couple of the wads, Max opened them up to show the words written on each crumpled note. "I didn't come to this school to get 'fuck off and die' or 'freak bitch' tossed at my head on the first day!"
"Did anyone here see Victoria throw these notes?" Mr. Jefferson asked as he took some of the wads to examine them himself. When only Kate raised her hand, albeit very hesitantly, Max looked at the girl with a pained expression. I thought you were my friend, Max mouthed only to see the other girl lower her head down and look away.
"Max, I will talk with you after class about whoever threw these notes. For now, I ask that-" Jefferson was cut off by the sound of Max sliding her things off her table and into her bag.
"Yeah, that's what everybody says every time, Mr. Jefferson. I get hazed, and it's my fault because I look different or act different. I'm gone." Max stormed out of the classroom, almost turning around when she heard Victoria call after her.
Her nerves fried and her chest tightening, Max ignored Mr. Jefferson as he tried in vain to get her to come back. Crossing the open hallway that led outside, Max kicked the girls' restroom door open and went inside. Chest rising and falling in a quick rhythm, Max turned on a faucet and splashed some water on her face before leaning her head against the mirror above the sink she was using. Jaw clenched, Max punched at the wall next to the mirror as she heard the door open.
"Ms. Caulfield?" a baritone voice called out, the door held open a crack, "Max? This is Principal Wells. Can I speak to you, please?"
Letting out a frustrated groan, Max slung her camera bag over her shoulder and slowly made her way out into the hall. The principal was waiting for her a couple paces down the hall, beckoning her over. I don't need this. I really don't. I just want to take my classes, make a few friends, and try to not have a shitty time in my old hometown. Am I really asking that fucking much?
"Principal Wells, I'm sorry if I-" Max stammered, looking away in embarrassment from the man's gaze as his expression softened at the pain on his new charge's face.
"…Look, Max. Mr. Jefferson came and told me what happened, showed me the notes. I'm sorry that your first day here is off to such a…rough start," Wells said as he motioned her through the hall, "How about you get on out of here and tomorrow we can try this all again?"
"You mean it?" Max couldn't hide the relief in her voice as she looked up at him with an optimistic smile. "I'm not in trouble?"
"No. If anything, it seemed like there was trouble already. Go on. Come by the office tomorrow before classes start and we'll talk, okay?" Principal Wells offered her a warm smile as Max left, waiting until she was gone to pull one of the notes out. "Goddamn kids. Can't leave each other the hell alone."
Ten minutes later, Max was sitting in the Blackwell parking lot when Chloe came speeding through. Not noticing her friend's arrival, Max felt her chest flutter slightly when she heard Chloe call out to her. Putting a hand on her chest, Max mistook the moment of giddiness as just excitement to get away from what had been a really bad day.
"That much fun, huh? Told you I called it 'Black-Hell' for a reason, Maxaroni," Chloe said with a smirk as she watched Max climb into the passenger side. "Glad to see me?"
"Dude, I've been waiting nearly three days. I am seriously glad to see you, you fucking dork." Max and Chloe exchanged a brief snicker before Max noticed Chloe seemed to disappear into her thoughts. "Chlo? You okay?"
"…It's been a shit weekend, Max. I…I got into some trouble. That's the actual reason I haven't been around to hang." Chloe turned her face around to show Max her blackened left eye, a weak smile on the blue-haired girl's face.
"Holy shit, Chloe! What happened?" Max hesitantly reached out and gingerly put her hand on the left side of Chloe's face.
"…Fight. Fights, emphasis on the plural."
"Like…like matches in a ring?"
"More like brawls in fucking bars."
Max must've looked too shocked because Chloe gently pulled the pinkette's hand off of her face before she shifted her truck out of park and shot out of the Blackwell lot. Max watched Chloe from the passenger side with a look of concern. She'd gotten into fights herself, seen Rachel go at it sometimes, but something off with Chloe. Of course I'm upset that Chloe's hurt. It's just…I feel like I'm more upset than a person might usually be. Maybe it's just that I remember all the hits from bullies she took for me when we were in school together.
"Sorry if I look so surprised, Chlo." Max's apologetic tone brought Chloe out of the dismal withdrawal into herself. "You've just been so Zen since I've seen you. It's like you have your shit together as much as I wish I did."
"I wish that were the case, Max, but I don't. I hella don't."
Chloe spilled to Max about some of her weekend as they drove down the road. Having been bolted out of the house after getting into it with her stepfather, Chloe had driven into the next town to find a bar that would let her in. Flashing some bills at the bartender, Chloe had managed to get three shots of tequila out of the place before the bartender had to cut her off for fear of getting caught selling his booze to a minor. Snorting at how scared the bartender was, Chloe had turned around in her stool to take off when she had bumped into "some random shithead". Trying to apologize, Chloe had ducked when the guy tried to sucker-punch her. Her instincts kicking in, Chloe had driven her palm up into her would-be attacker's face and broken his nose. Feeling the crunch under her hand, Chloe had felt a momentary satisfaction before she saw that the guy she'd just defended herself against brought his friends with him to the bar.
The rest of the night had been a chase, Chloe making a beeline for her truck only to get her jacket pulled at when one of her pursuers had caught her. Spinning around, Chloe had clocked him in the jaw with the back of her clenched fist and jumped inside her truck. Peeling out, Chloe had shot down the road in hopes of them not following. Seeing a couple pairs of headlights begin to speed towards her, Chloe's heart had sunk as a dread took its place.
"That wasn't exactly my first time with this," Chloe explained as she drove on, "I…I kind-of have a hella short temper, Max, and the skills to back it up…"
"…How bad is your temper?"
"Dude in the hospital, but still too macho-shit to admit he got owned by a girl with blue hair."
"Wowsers," Max uttered, trying to picture the level of beating Chloe could actually inflict. I…I think I'll just leave that guesswork be. "What happened next?"
"I got tailed for an hour or so until I finally pulled over and called the assholes out. I guess my lack of giving a shit unnerved them because they peeled out. Not before leveling a fucking beer bottle into my face." Finished with her story, Chloe gestured to her black eye with a free hand before looking over at Max. "Still want to hang out with-"
Chloe's entire face became suddenly very hot to her as Max leaned over and rested her head on Chloe's shoulder, the pink-haired girl looking up at Chloe with eyes that relayed both sadness and concern. Feeling a small hand weave its way into her own free one, Chloe bit her lip at vulnerability Max was showing.
"…You want me to slide back over?" Max asked, picking up on her friend's hesitation.
"Nah," Chloe said in reply, sighing as she leaned her head on Max's as she continued to drive, "I hella nee this. You're just…"
"I'm what?" Max asked, quirking an eyebrow as she smirked.
"You're just too fucking cute sometimes, Maxaroni."
"That's it. I'm sliding back-, oww!"
Max felt Chloe's hand squeeze her own hard for a moment as she pulled Max back over alongside her. Nudging Max's head with her chin while keeping an eye on the road, Chloe smiled when Max slowly lowered her head back onto Chloe's shoulder.
"Satisfied? You're a public menace, Chloe Price."
"Takes one to know one, Max Caulfield," Chloe shot back with a chuckle, "Besides, you're not getting rid of me that easily."
Max felt the fluttering sensation in her chest a second time, paying it no mind as she closed her eyes in contentment of being near such warmth. I missed this.
Author's Note – 6,000+ words in three hours.
*head falls onto desk*
*lives, dies, lives again*
Chapter Three is in the can. Someone asked me if this was going to be a daily and the truth is that I will update as often as I feel that I can and as much as I am inspired. Last chapter marked me crossing over 300,000 words of content spanning all my stories thus far, so it's not like I am not doing alright for distributing stories to you beautiful rolls who are too damn pure. Well, except for you *points* Yeah, you!
I chose to go start this on the Monday after Max got back for two definitive reasons. One, because I liked the idea of Max's first weekend at Blackwell weighing on her mind as she experienced the first day. Two, because I wanted to continue the slow build. The idea is for all of us to acclimate to these new surroundings as Max does, and see how she responds. I don't know if you noticed, but Punk Max has some anxiety and aggression issues which will get laid out in greater detail further on. Chloe's no slouch in the aggro department, either.
Did I hit you in the feels with the opening sequence? I've had near-death experiences but have never written one, so I relied on just how trippy I remember it being and relayed that into a dream/memory sequence. Hope you liked it, even if it was an amazeballs amount of sadface-ing.
Read, review, and see you next chapter!
Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls! :D
PS - Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney were the three girls cutting in front of Chloe at the line for the restroom from Chapter 1. JSYK ;) FORESHADOWINGGGGGGG