Amber Graham cut the hospital's wristband from Max's left wrist while talking to her. "I feel so relieved that you'll stay at our house... I must confess that the idea of leaving you all by yourself tonight was worrying me. When you get there, please make yourself at home and try to rest as much as you can."
Max smiled softly at the nurse. "Thank you so much, I really don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for you and Warren..."
Amber put her hand on Max's shoulder, reassuring the student. "That's what friends are for. Did you get all of your belongings?"
Max nodded. "See you soon then!" Amber said to Max while opening the room's door.
Walking through the main hallway, Max spotted Kate and Warren waiting for her at the reception. Both stood up when they saw her. As she was getting closer to them, she started to feel some butterflies in her stomach. 'I'm so grateful to Warren and his mother... It would feel really awkward going back to Blackwell tonight, if not terrifying... Well, things may get a little weird between Warren and me... But I guess I can handle this sort of awkwardness...'
Warren didn't feel much different than Max, as he saw her approaching. 'Surreal, to say the least. Few hours ago I was just planning to show her my car... And maybe ask her for the drive-in, if there was an opportunity... And now... I'm about to take Max to my house, to spend the night. It was supposed to be the coolest thing ever, but not under the current circumstances...'
Those thoughts saddened him. 'She needs total support now.' Warren thought, striving to smile at Max when she stopped in front of him and Kate. "Hey Max... Shall we go?"
Max nodded yes, and the three friends headed to the hospital's parking lot.
...
"Nice wheels, Warren. Very old school." Max remarked, while Warren opened the car passenger door and pulled the front seat forward.
"1978, to be exact!" He replied, feeling shyly proud.
While they were still talking, Kate entered the car and took the backseat. Max took her place on the front seat and opened her bag, searching for a piece of paper and a pen.
Max was looking down, so she didn't notice Warren not so subtly gazing at her as he entered the car. He couldn't help it: it was probably the closest he got to her since they met for the first time. A few seconds later, he came to himself. 'Focus' He mentally said to himself, while starting the car.
Warren drove fast: it was almost 5 p.m. and he had a lot of errands to run before picking up his little sister Emily at school by 6 p.m. Usually, it was their father's responsibility, but he was out of town for a job, and their mother would have to stay longer at work that evening.
As agreed between him and the two girls, first, he would leave Max at his house; then, he and Kate would head to Blackwell to get some clothes and other personal belongings for Max and herself, and to take Alice as well. Next, Warren would drive Kate to her aunt's place, where she would spend the night. Finally, he would pick up Emily at school and then drive back home.
On the front seat, Max struggled to keep her right hand steady: she was [trying to] write down a list of things she would need for the next couple days. It wasn't much: just a change of clothes, some hygiene items, her cell phone charger and her notebook. The list also included a black dress and a necklace with a doe pendant, for Chloe's funeral.
After a ten minutes drive, Warren parked his car at one of Arcadia Bay's typical streets and announced, sounding a bit nervous: "It's here!"
The three students exited the car. As Warren walked toward the house's front door to open it, Max stood behind, contemplating it for a while. It was a cheerful light yellow house; the door and the windows frames where painted white; colorful flowers decorated the front. 'It matches Warren's sunny personality' Max thought.
As soon as they entered the house, Warren went upstairs to check out the guest room. Max took the chance to speak in private to Kate.
"Kate, here is the list. Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, going to Blackwell now... Things must be pretty bad there ..." Max asked, worried.
The blond girl took the piece of paper from her friend's hands and nodded her head supportively. "I'm glad to be of some help to you on such a hard day."
Max thanked her and took a breath before continuing the conversation. "Kate... I noticed that you've been extra quiet and introverted this week... Listen, I don't want to invade your privacy, I just want you to know that you can count on me for anything, ok? If you need to talk to someone, just call me, anytime... I've got your back, and so do a lot of other people, like Warren and Alyssa. You're not alone, you need to know that."
Kate's eyes became watery and her voice trembled. "Max... You're such an amazing person... Even going through everything you did today, you still look after others. Thank you, that makes me feel blessed for the first time this week."
They hugged, feeling supported by each other.
...
Warren opened the curtains of the guest room to let the sunshine in and quickly made the bed. Before going downstairs he went to his parent's balcony and picked off one white flower, putting it inside a glass vase filled with water. He placed it on the guest room's bedstand.
A few instants later, he called Max. As she walked by the room, Warren explained a lot of things to her: where she could find towels, soap, tooth paste, etc. He spoke fast out of nervousness, making it a little difficult to follow him. It didn't bother Max, though; being the observant person she was, her attention was much more focused on the room's details.
It was an en-suite room, very sunny and spacious; the walls were light lavender and the furniture was white; the bed was covered by a white bedspread decorated with tiny yellow
flowers.
"Warren, when you mentioned a guest room I never pictured something like this. Do your parents rent it for tourists or something?" Max spoke to him, while walking toward the window to see the view.
He smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "No... My grandparents come to visit often, so my parents wanted to provide them a comfortable place to stay."
"It's really nice, very cozy." Max praised.
They went downstairs. Warren showed Max where she could find snacks and handed her a cordless telephone so she could make any call if she needed to.
Max said goodbye to Kate. Then, she went back to the guest room and, through the window, watched her friends leaving.
...
Kate and Warren arrived at Blackwell. They exited the car and carefully approached the school's building. Fortunately, the press and the police weren't there anymore. The place was calm but it felt a little spooky at the same time. Apparently, most of the students went home; however, many teachers' cars were still there.
The two students stopped in front of the girls dorm building. Kate opened the door and held it for Warren, who didn't move.
"You're not coming in?" Kate asked him, almost whispering.
Warren replied, hesitantly. "Uh... I don't know... Max may get upset if she knows I was in her dorm room..."
Kate spoke, trying to convince him. "We don't have much time... Besides that, I need help to carry the handbags and Alice's cage... I think she won't mind, she would've told me if she didn't want you to be in her room. It won't take long."
A bit reluctanctly, he went in. Differently from most of the other schoolboys, he'd never been to the girls dorm before. As he climbed the stairs and walked through the corridor, he noticed that it wasn't actually much different than the boy's.
Warren followed Kate until she stopped in front of the door of room 219. His heart fluttered: for him, it was like he was about to access some sort of forbidden land – and it felt both exciting and frightening at the same time.
Kate entered the room and went straight to Max's wardrobe. Warren took a breath and stepped in carefully. He stopped in the middle of the room and slowly took a look around.
Max's photo wall was the first thing that caught his attention. 'Wow, that's… Beyond cool… I wish I had time to appreciate it.' He thought, as he moved forward, stopping in front of a hanging bookcase. 'She likes Cartier-Bresson and Doisneau... Nice. Hamilton? Intriguing...'
He looked at the opposite wall and walked toward Max's couch. He giggled internally when he saw The October Country, of Ray Bradbury on it; he recalled when he told Max that he'd revoke her geek cred card because she didn't read it. He sighed when he saw her guitar. 'That's so... Max.'
Warren turned his head to the left. He saw Kate facing the wardrobe and opening it's drawers. 'Oh, Kate is already getting Max's clo...WAAAAH PANTIES!?' Embarassed, he turned his eyes away and tried to step back, but ended up stumbling on the couch, landing on Max's guitar.
Kate heard the noise and, without turning to Warren, asked him. "Warren, what are you doing?"
"Uh... Nothing. Just wondering if Max would like us to take her guitar..." He answered, relieved that Kate didn't see him falling.
Kate replied, intrigued by his nonsense idea. "I don't think so... It's not on the list. I'm finished. You should get her notebook and cell phone charger while I go to my room and get my things."
She left the room, leaving the boy alone. He went to Max's desk and took the cell phone charger. When he lifted the notebook, he noticed that the flash drive he had borrowed Max on the week before was plugged into it. 'So she checked it out... Cool!' He unplugged the flash drive and put it in his pocket.
Warren walked toward the photo wall again. His mind wandered, as he took a look at some pictures. 'Max is an artist already. She has her own style, I bet soon she'll be exposing her work at art galleries in San Francisco and New York ... By the way, this room's decoration is so elegant... Nothing like my stereotypical "geek cave". Max is really at another level.'
Those thoughts caused him to feel ashamed. He asked himself what a girl like Max would want with a dork like him. 'She probably sees me like a clingy geek brother that keeps flooding her mailbox and phone with cheesy messages. I'm such a loser.'
Kate came back to the room. Noticing Warren's frown, she asked if everything was okay and he nodded yes, seeming a little vexed though. They took the girls' handbags and Alice's cage and left the dorm, going back to the car.
...
Warren kept silent most of the way to Kate's aunt's place. Imagining what could have made him upset at the dorm, she asked, chuckling. "You really like her, don't you?"
Astonished by Kate's question, he tried to disguise his feelings. "Uh, sure, Max is a... Really cool friend."
Kate looked at him. "You know what I mean..."
'I'm that obvious.' Warren realised, sighing hopelessly. "Okay... But please don't tell anyone, especially her. It will never happen anyway."
Kate tried to comfort him. "Don't be so pessimistic. Only God knows what the future holds. You have a lot in common, I think you two make a cute couple."
Right after she finished speaking, Warren parked his car in front of the convent where she would stay. Men weren't allowed in there, so he couldn't go any further. He took her stuff out of the car trunk and thanked her for the comforting words.
On the way to his sister's school, his only thought was: 'Kate is so naive! I wish things were as simple as she thinks...'
