Chapter 3: Rumors

She focused, target in the sight of her viewfinder. Angle and light were optimal. The young girl was ready to take the shot.

"Perfect!" she spoke quietly, softly squeezing the trigger.

CLICK!

"Mmmh…" groaned the slight older girl in front of her camera, scrunching up her nose while she slowly woke up, "…you did not just make a photo of me?"

"I actually did, 'cause you look so cute when you're asleep!"

"I don't do cute, you mushy weirdo. Now photo-stalk someone else and lemme sleep!" Chloe said with a drowsy voice, turned around and waved with her hand, signaling Max that she should go away.

"Alright," replied the brunette nonchalantly with a shrug, "But FYI, it's already past 8 am and we need to be in school soon, Chlo."

Immediately, Chloe got up with a start, looking at an already fully dressed Max with eyes wide open. "What?! Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"Because you looked so peaceful and I figured that, after yesterday, you could need a bit more sleep."

"Ugh, don't remind me of yesterday," said the blonde with a groan and let herself fall onto the mattress again, "Tell mom that I'll get some grub at the cafeteria, 'cause I'm so not in the mood for a rant in the morning."

"No need to," replied Max, which made Chloe to look at her, "Joyce already left way early. She just pinned a note at the fridge and left a pile of sandwiches."

"Huh. Well, I guess she's not in the mood for an awkward conversation, either."

Being reminded of yesterday's incident, Max blushed deep-red in an instant. "Y-yeah…me neither."

"It kinda makes me wonder, though," mumbled Chloe, gazing at the ceiling thoughtfully, "How it feels to have sex."

"Did you say something, Chlo?"

"Hmm?" the blonde answered, raising her head to look at Max, her cheeks slightly reddened, "No…uhm…shit, I should get ready or else we're gonna be fucking late."

"Y-yeah. I'm…uh…g-gonna pack us some sandwiches for the way."

"Thanks, Maximus! And I'm gonna do some wake 'n' shake."

After Max had left her room, Chloe stood up and browsed through the CDs beside the stereo.

'Let's see…too slow. Too mushy. Too chilling. Blech, why do I still have this shit?' she thought with a scrunched up nose, while holding up a CD containing children songs with her thumb and index finger, tossing it away a moment later, 'Too old. BINGO! Firewalk rocks!'

She opened the tray of the player with a smirk of anticipation, cautiously took out Max's CD, giving it a slight kiss after she'd put it back into the case, and inserted her chosen one.

The loud music blared from the speakers of the stereo right after the blonde pressed the play-button. Knowing that her mom wasn't home, she turned the music even more up and started to dance wildly, banging her head to the rhythm of the rock song, while she forgot everything around her. She took off her tank top and threw it into one corner of her room. She stripped off her pajama shorts and tossed them into another one. Now entirely naked, Chloe jumped onto her bed, played an air-guitar and sung along the text.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Firewalk presents: Chloe Price, the butt-naked guitarist! You may now drop your jaws in awe and throw your panties on the stage!" the blonde girl announced to the imaginary audience after the music abated with one last guitar riff. Breathing heavily, Chloe stood on the bed, not noticing that Max was standing in the door, staring at her with eyes and mouth wide open.

As the next song started and Chloe wanted to go wild again, she saw Max from the corner of her eye and shifted her sight to the more than blushing girlfriend. As soon as their eyes met, Max let out a loud gasp, turned on the spot and ran into her room, slamming the door shut.

Since Chloe and Max had left the house, both walked beside each other in silence. Even at home they'd only shared few words.

"So…uhm…h-how long were you watching me?" Chloe asked with some hesitation, giving her girlfriend a shy, brief glimpse. But instead of receiving an answer, Max just shrugged, averting eye contact. "Y'know, it became kind of a morning ritual when my mom's already at work that I thrash a bit to wake up, and…uhm…shit, I totally forgot that you were there and the door was still open and…"

"I-it's okay, Chlo. It's just…" Still not looking at Chloe, Max let out a big sigh. "It's been so long since I saw you and e-every time I see you now my body goes rampage, and then my stupid anxieties…sometimes it's just too much and I get kinda panicky. But," with a wry smile on her lips, she finally raised her sight to look into Chloe's deep-blue eyes, "Someday I'll have to get used to it, right?"

"Uhm…y-yeah! I mean, you should get used to that your hot gee eff likes to thrash around the house butt-naked!"

This was something Max always loved about Chloe and made her chuckle every time. No matter how serious or embarrassing a topic was, she always managed to let it shine in a bright, sometimes even funny light.

"Hey, Chloe!" a brown-haired boy suddenly shouted from across the street, running towards the girls.

"Hi, Eliot! 'Sup?" Chloe greeted Eliot Hampden with a more forced than honest smile, and what followed was a very awkward moment, as Eliot tried to hug the blonde girl, who, on the other hand, kept her distance and instead just shook his hand.

Completely ignoring Max, not even giving her a hi, Eliot just focused on her girlfriend and started to talk. "I got accepted into Blackwell on a full scholarship!"

"Wow…uhm…that's great, congrats, dude!"

"How about you? You said you wanted to go there, too."

"Well…yeah," Chloe replied, scratching the back of her neck, "But I haven't filed in my application form, yet."

"But you know that the deadline for scholarships is getting close?"

"Yeah, I know," Chloe sighed, "Listen, Eliot, I…"

"So, what about Wednesday? I got us two seats for your favorite restaurant."

At first, Max was just overwhelmed that Eliot had entirely ignored her, but hearing now that he wanted to go on a date with Chloe on her birthday made the young girl more than just furious.

"Sorry, dude, but I'm gonna celebrate with Maxi here," Chloe answered, flinging one arm around Max's shoulder.

Now finally recognizing the brunette girl, Eliot gave her a short smile, before his expression as well as his voice got emotionless. "Oh! Hi, Max! Didn't know you were back."

Max just stared at him with a stinky eye, her arms crossed, the jealousy burning deep inside of her. She knew about Eliot; knew that he and Chloe knew each other since kindergarten; knew that they both were into science. Also, Chloe had told her that she used to hang out with him while she was in Seattle, of course just platonically; at least from Chloe's point of view. But right now it seemed like Eliot wanted more than just to be a friend, and this drove the young girl almost insane.

"Of course she's back, 'cause she'd never bail on me! Right, Max?" cheered Chloe, pressing Max even closer to loosen up the tension that was hovering above them, but it was a lost cause. Max just kept looking at the boy with an agitated glare, not saying one word, and, to her own surprise, with the wished result.

Eliot stopped looking at her, clearly becoming nervous. "Uhm…th-that's cool…uh…yeah. We see us in Chem?" he stammered, already moving away from the girls.

"Yeah, see ya!" the blonde replied with a faint wave of her hand, before shifting her attention to her girlfriend. "Okay, Maximus, you acted kinda rude there."

"I was kinda rude?!" the brunette snapped back, "This asshole didn't even give me one tiny hello and I'm the one who acted rude? Let alone that he made a move on you."

"Who? Eliot?! Pft, no way! We're just friends and he knows it. So, don't be so jealous."

"Oh, really? Granted, I'm not an expert concerning this whole dating stuff, but asking you out for dinner in a restaurant on your birthday? Sorry, Chlo, but that's just too obvious."

"You really think that he tried to make a move on me? I mean, yeah, he always wants to get a mushy hug, which he'll never get, but somehow I can't imagin' him trying to hit on me."

Taking a deep inhale, Max calmed down, not wanting to let out her rage on Chloe, who clearly tried to keep Eliot at a distance. "Chloe," she said with a calm voice, "I trust you with every fiber of my being. It's just…"

"I get it, Max. And I think you're right," Chloe interrupted her girlfriend and took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze paired with a wry smile, "I promise you that I'll have a talk with him as soon as he tries to make a move on me again, okay?"

"Mh-hm," Max answered with a nod, before both shared a tight hug, whispering how much they loved each other. Unaware that a pair of green, jealousy radiating eyes were watching them.

It had now been nearly six months since Max had attended school. After the incident with Jasmine Graves in October 2008, the young girl's parents had taken her back to Seattle in order to recover from the injuries. During this time Vanessa and Ryan Caulfield had hired a private teacher, who taught their daughter at home. But in order to still participate the Blackwell-Junior-Talent-Program, Max formally stayed a student at Arcadia Bay Junior High.

Though she had been through a lot since the last time she walked these halls, Max felt very intimidated. She'd have loved to stay together with Chloe, but sadly her girlfriend had classes in another part of the building and therefore wasn't able to at least walk her to the classroom. Without Chloe at her side she felt kind of weak and vulnerable; felt like everyone was looking at and talking about her. There was no doubt that every student at this school knew and talked about what happened last year. Chloe had told her that a video, showing how she'd stopped her girlfriend from beating Jasmine to death, went viral. That was another reason why her parents wanted her out of Arcadia Bay.

Max arrived at the classroom and stopped in front of it. Nervously, her one hand clenched tightly around the strap of her camera bag while the other one grabbed an object that was hidden under the girl's shirt. With one last deep breath, she moved on and entered the room, walking to her seat in a bee-line with a lowered gaze. Now it was pretty clear that everyone in this room shifted their attention towards her, because as soon as Max walked through the rows of tables the loud chitter-chatter of the already present students abated and was replaced by constant whispering.

Trying to ignore the other students, Max just sat down, took out everything she needed for her history class and waited for the lesson to begin.

"Max?!" a girl suddenly gasped in surprise. Max recognized the voice, and instantly looked at Taylor Christensen with a soft smile.

"Hi, Taylor! I hope you don't mind that I sit here."

At first, the blonde just stood in front of the table, not even moving a limb. Max could see that she was unsure whether to sit down or search for another seat, but the ringing of the school's bell practically forced her to take a seat. Only a few seconds later the teacher entered and started his lesson.

Though history still wasn't her lecture of choice, Max tried to focus on following her teacher.

"I'm so sorry for everything that happened!" Taylor whispered unexpectedly, making the brunette shifting her attention towards her.

"It's okay, Taylor. I…"

"It's not okay, Max!" the blonde girl told her, now gazing at the smaller girl with watery eyes. "What I did was just stupid and…and selfish, and…"

Losing her composure, first tears ran down Taylors cheeks, dripping onto her notes, while her face grimaces and she had to muster everything not to sob loudly. Only Max's soft touch and warm smile let her calm down again.

"Taylor, I'm not mad at you. I know that Jasmine tricked you. That you never wanted me to get hurt." She took a deep breath as some memories of this day six months ago rushed through her mind. "Taylor, what happened that day was just so fucked and it took me some time to put the pieces together, but the first thing I realized was that you did something on this day that no one else had done before. You testified against Jasmine." She paused a short moment, rested her hand on Taylor's and gazed at her deeply. "Taylor, you not only brought justice upon this bitch, but also helped me and especially Chloe. You protected my best friend from being expelled or worse, and…I'm just so thankful for that! Thank you, Taylor!"

Her lips were trembling, unable to form any words. During the last six months of Max's absence she imagined every possible scenario if they saw each other ever again, and non of them were positive. They ranged from a slap to a barrage of insults, short: everything that would've broken her heart. But hearing a Thank you was something Taylor never would've expected. It surprised, even overwhelmed her. And only the teacher's strict voice prevented her from crying out of joy.

"Miss Caulfield, Miss Christensen, is there any problem?"

"N-no, sir. No problem." Taylor answered after shaking off the first surprise.

"Then pay attention!" he said and continued his lecture. Once more a whispering chimed from the other students, and instinctively Max knew that it was about her again, but she tried to ignore it.

After a while everyone had calmed down again and the lesson continued normally. During the whole time, Max and Taylor shared some friendly glimpses until the brunette leaned towards the other girl, reaching the blonde her hand. "Friends?"

Without hesitation, Taylor shook it, a wide smile of happiness on her face. "Friends!"

"Ugh, it really starts to annoy me!" Max told Taylor with a groan on their way to the art-room.

"What do you mean?"

"The whispering. I know that they're talking about me; about this stupid video. But I thought after half a year they'd finally move on."

"It's not just the video, Max." Taylor replied with a low voice and a dropped gaze. She felt those chiding glances, too, as well as the whispering. She realized what a big pressure it was and couldn't even imagine how it must feel for Max.

"Huh? But what else is there to talk about?"

With a big sigh, Taylor stopped moving, before she grabbed the brunette girl by her sleeve and dragged her into the next restroom where she made sure that nobody was there.

"There's a rumor going around, Max."

"What rumor?" Max asked with a frown, almost afraid of the answer.

"A rumor about your absence," the blonde said with a sigh, "They say that you've been in a loony bin."

"Figures." Max scoffed, shaking her head with a wry smirk.

"B-but that's not everything," Taylor continued, her expression growing darker, "It's also said that Chloe abuses a-and forces you to be her friend."

Normally, Max never gave anything about rumors, because they usually were simply wrong and used to bully people. So, hearing that she used to be a patient in a psychiatric ward wasn't that surprising for her, sadly not even something new. But this story about Chloe was an entirely new dimension of gossip.

'What the fuck?! That's not only not true, but also some pretty heavy sort of bullshit. I can't imagine that Chloe didn't know about this crap, but why didn't she tell me about this? I need to ask her as soon as I see her!'

"Listen, Taylor, this is all complete bullshit. I've been to Seattle to recover and Chloe…she'd never hurt me."

"I-I know. I never believed them, but…" Taylor took a deep breath, clearly mustering some courage, and gazed into Max's eyes deeply. "Max, please tell me if some eff-ed up shit's going on, 'cause I really worry about you!"

Taken aback by this statement, the smaller girl's eyes opened widely. "Uhm…th-thanks Taylor! I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Max," the blonde said with a warm smile, "just know that from now on I'll cover your behind, too. C'mon, class is about to start."

Grabbing Max by her hand, Taylor dragged the smaller girl to the art room, where they luckily arrived right on time.

Lunch break. As soon as the bell rung, Max stuffed her belongings into her cam bag, totally excited to see Chloe again.

"Hey Max, wait up!" Taylor said, following Max before she was out of reach, "Wanna grab some food?"

'I'd like to have some lunch with Taylor and talk with her some more, but I also need some quality time with Chloe. Sorry Taylor, but Chloe comes first!'

"Sorry Taylor, but I'm already meeting with Chloe and…"

"Oh, that's cool. I can tag along, if it doesn't bother you."

"Well…"

"Yo, Maximus!" chimed Chloe's voice through the hallway, letting a wave of pure joy run through Max's body. With a big smile on her face she turned towards her girlfriend, having a hard time to suppress the need to jump at Chloe and kiss her. Instead, both gave each other a tight embrace.

"Ready for some grub?" the strawberry-blonde girl asked with a wry smile, which faltered in an instant as she looked over Max's shoulder. "What the fuck do you want?"

As the brunette girl turned around to see who Chloe meant, she saw that Taylor was looking at her feet, clearly intimidated.

Max eyes opened wide as she realized that there was some tension between the two girls. "Y-you know each other?"

"Of course," answered Chloe, crossing her arms, "We spent a lotta time together during detention. She's one of Jasmine's bitches."

"Actually, she was one of her bitches, Chloe." Max replied, taking position beside Taylor, "Taylor apologized and is really sorry for what happened. Jasmine tricked her and she even saved you from being expelled. Chloe, please, give her a chance!"

At first, Chloe just looked at her girlfriend and then suspiciously at Taylor. But as her sight caught Max's pleading doe-eyes again, she let out a big sigh. "Fiiiine, I'll give her a chance. But only because you ask me for it! Now c'mon, I need some food or…"

The school's PA cracked and the typical sound chimed through the halls, letting everyone pay attention.

"Miss Maxine Caulfield, please report to the Principal's office. I repeat, Miss Maxine Caulfield to the Principal's office, please!"

"I don't know about you, but I have some kind of a Déjà vu thing going on here." mentioned Chloe, exchanging gazes with her girlfriend.

"Ugh," Max huffed, "you better grab some food for us again and…"

"Nope, this time I'm coming with ya, dude. Need to speak with Hargrove anyway."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. Wanna ask her if she could cut me some detention since I've been such a good girl and you're back now."

"I'll be on my way then," said Taylor and gave Max a slight hug, "Maybe tomorrow the three of us can have some lunch together, okay? And Chloe," she reached the blonde girl her hand, "Thanks for giving me a chance!"

"If you hurt her, I'll hurt you even more." replied Chloe dryly, giving Taylor's hand a hard squeeze while shaking it.

Then, Chloe and Max made their way through the crowded halls, side by side, heading for the Principal's office.

"Chloe?" Max spoke, her gaze lowered, "Have you heard about the rumors…about us?"

"You mean the rumors about you, being a lunatic, and me forcing you to be my friend?" she asked back, receiving a nod, "Yup, heard 'bout this bullshit."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"It…It doesn't matter, okay?" Chloe told her with a sigh, her expression saddening.

With a hold on her arm, Max brought the blonde to a halt, gazing in to her sorrowful eyes with concern. "Chloe, it matters to me! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was glad that, so far, you never had to take this shit!" she blurted out, making the surrounding students look at her. "Whatcha looking at?" she yelled at them, which made them to look away again.

"But Chloe," Max said with a soft smile, giving her hand a slight, unnoticeable brush, "You know that we always wanted to share our burdens; that we need to protect each other. Especially in situations like these. Please, promise me that, from now on, you'll always tell me if such fucked up shit's going on, okay?"

Nodding and giving her girlfriend another hug, Chloe whispered a soft "Promised!" into her ear.

"C'mon, Hargrove's gonna rage if we keep her waiting any longer."

Standing in front of the door to the Principal's office, Chloe and Max shared another glimpse, before Max mustered enough courage to knock.

'Last time Hargrove invited me to her office it was everything but positive. Gosh, hopefully she's in a good mood and not out to get me.'

"Come in, please!" chimed the secretary's voice.

Her tiny heart thumped in her chest and her hands were all sweaty as Max reached for the door's handle. Only Chloe's reassuring soft squeeze on her shoulder, paired with a wry smile helped her to finally grab the handle and to enter.

The secretary's office was the same as months ago, nothing had changed.

'Chloe's right, everything feels like a Déjà vu. Ugh, hopefully nobody's gonna beat me up this time.'

Before the two girls could walk on to Principal Hargrove's office, the tall, black-haired woman stepped out and looked at the two girls sternly.

"Ah, Miss Caulfield, take a seat in my office, please! Miss Price, how can I help you?" she said with an authority dripping voice as she walked to a file cabinet, opened it und rummaged through the folders inside.

Max could literally feel Chloe's nervousness. Though her girlfriend never seemed to be afraid of anyone, she still had a lot of respect towards authorities.

"Uhm…I just wanted to ask…uh…if you could cut me some detention, please, 'cause…uhm…I-I didn't screw up again and Max is back and…"

"No." was the Principal's short and plain answer, while she pulled out a file and opened it.

"B-but…" Chloe began to reply, but was cut off immediately.

"Miss Price, detention's supposed to be a punishment for your previous misbehavior, not an entertainment program to bridge the boring time during your friend's absence. Therefor, I won't cut you any detention. Anything else?"

"No," answered the blonde, her gaze dropped in disappointment. In order to sooth her at least a bit, Max took a hold of her hand, gave it a soft squeeze and brushed over it with her thumb. The smaller girl knew that it had taken Chloe a lot of courage to ask someone strict like Principal Hargrove for such a favor. Sadly, to no avail.

"Good, have nice break then. Miss Caulfield," she continued, raising her sight from the folder in her hands, "My office, please!"

About to be separated from Chloe again, Max reluctantly let go of her beloved Chloe's soothing hand. "Special spot?" she asked, giving the blonde girl one last glimpse.

"Special spot!" Chloe returned with a wry smile and a nod, turning around to leave.

"Miss Price," the Principal called out for Chloe, making her to glimpse over her shoulder, "The day after tomorrow is your birthday, right?"

"Mh-hm." she answered with a nod.

"Since it is true that you behaved well, I think we can make an exception."

"Y-you mean…"

"Yes, no detention for you on Wednesday. See it as a birthday present."

"Th-thank you, Miss Hargrove!" the blonde girl said in awe, clearly lacking words, while a great feeling of joy rushed through Max's body. She'd have loved to kiss her girlfriend right now, but instead just gave her a wide smile.

"You're welcome," the tall woman answered plainly, shifting her attention to Max again, "Miss Caulfield…"

Principal Hargrove followed the 13-year-old girl into the office, closed the door right behind them and took a seat on her chair, throwing the file on her table where it landed with a slapping sound.

"Miss Caulfield," she began, looking at Max deeply, "Firstly, I want to welcome you back to our school. Hopefully without another incident."

"Th-thank you, Miss Hargrove. I-I hope so, too."

"I must say that I'm a bit surprised to see you this early. Originally, you were supposed to stay another two months in Seattle."

"I-I know, it's…"

"The reasons for your early return are not the cause why I called you here." Hargrove mentioned with a raised hand, "Miss Caulfield, I want to inform you that there have been some changes at our school, since your absence. Because of the incident last year, the school-board started a program to prevent bullying and violence at our schools before someone gets harmed. It's nothing too fancy, just a simple three-step-program. Step one: stop the bullying. Step two: find and take care of the source. Step three: evaluate and treat the victims."

'This program does actually sound very reasonable. I wish they would've had such a program years ago.'

"I don't know how much Miss Price has already told you, but there are some very unpleasant rumors going around in this school, and…"

"I-I know. I already heard about them. But they're all not true! I swear, Chloe would never…" the young said, ready to defend Chloe against everyone who thought ill of her.

"Stay calm, Max, I'm already aware that these rumors are nothing more than a bunch of bullcrap. I read the files about what happened to you and Miss Price in Seattle. Right at this moment we're working on stopping this gossip, though finding the source will be close to impossible. This means that, at this point, we initiated steps one and two, only step three remains and that is why I want you to visit our school's psychologist."

'School's psychologist?! That's new, too. Dammit, Chloe, why haven't you told me about this crap? I don't wanna go through therapy again! It sucks and just brings back those fucked up memories.'

Hearing that she was about to be sent to a psychologist once more let a jolt of panic run through Max's body as she remembers her last psychological treatments. "I-I don't…I don't wanna go to a shrink," mumbled the freckled girl shyly, gazing at her hands, "I already had a therapy and…"

"I think we misunderstood each other, Miss Caulfield. Firstly, Mrs. Reyes is not a shrink, and secondly, she won't do a therapy on you. She just wants to talk with you about your well-being in order to evaluate your status and, worst case, will recommend a therapy. That's all, okay?"

Still reluctant to see the school's psychologist, but also not wanting to answer back her Principal, Max could only muster a nod to show that she'd understood.

"Good. You have an appointment right after classes today," she added with determination, then picked up the folder from her desk and opened it, "Another reason I called you here is your GPA, and I'm glad to see that it has improved greatly from a 3.2 to a 3.8! Yet I know that there's a huge difference between being taught at a common school or by a private teacher. Do you think you're up to hold this GPA in future?"

"I-I hope so. At least I'll try." Max answered truthfully with a shrug.

'Honestly, I have no idea how much my relationship with Chloe will influence my learning behavior. Gosh, I'd love to spent every free second with her!'

"Well," said Principal Hargrove, her lips forming a faint smile, "I have high hopes in you, Miss Caulfield," Then she got dead-serious again as her attention shifted to some paperwork on her desk. "That's it for now. Have a nice break, Miss Caulfield!"

"Thank you, Principal Hargrove." replied Max with a low voice, shouldering her bag while standing up, "A-and thanks again for giving Chloe some space on her birthday!"

The young girl was already reaching for the door's handle as Miss Hargrove's voice made her turn towards the still on her paperwork fixed woman once more. "I see in Miss Price more a victim than a delinquent. She's a very good and quiet student with some lack for discipline. But still, the rules apply to everyone at this school. Violence is and will not be tolerated and therefor must be punished without any exception. Cutting her detention would've sent the wrong signal, and there's one thing I can never afford: losing my authority! It's only a few more months until the end of this school year and I think you and Miss Price will survive this time splendidly. Good day, Miss Caulfield!"

With a big sigh, Max closed the office's door behind her and stood in the now almost empty hall of her school.

'Great, another appointment with a shrink and the big wish that my grades stay high. No pressure, Max!'

'At least Principal Hargrove doesn't see Chloe as a delinquent and cuts her some slack on her birthday. Can't wait to give Chloe her awesome presents!'

While she started to make her way to hers and Chloe's special spot, Max rummaged through her bag and brought forth her phone, sighing again as she saw that she'd received a message from her mom.

[Mom]: Maxine Caulfield! Joyce told us what happened yesterday! Prepare for a serious talk tonight! Mom

'Ugh! Great, this day's getting better and better. Though I already wondered when my parents would contact me for an appointment to receive my rage. At least these bastards couldn't sue Chloe, so I can live with the consequences.'

As soon as she stepped out of the building, the warm spring sun shone on her face and swept away this vail of negative feelings that had been laying over Max the whole morning. She took in the scenery of the school's yard with deep inhale, closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth.

'I'd like to spend such beautiful days entirely with Chloe. Just the two of us. Only nature and silence. No bullshit, no worries.'

"Hey Freak, go back to the looney bin!" a boy, who Max knew as Logan, shouted over to her.

Max opened her eyes again and let out another sigh as she had to face reality once more.

'Chloe's right, everything feels like a big, fucking Déjà vu; nothing has changed. Well, at least not at this school, but Chloe and I…we're different now!'

With a mischievous smirk on her lips, the young girl pulled the instant-cam out of her bag, posed with a stuck out tongue and middle finger, and took the selfie-shot. After the picture was developed, Max put her cam away and walked over to Logan Robertson. The other students – all of them jocks – took a step aside as Max approached with angry steps and an agitated expression. With a hard push she pressed the photo against the brunette boy's chest.

"What the…" he began to say in surprise, but was cut off by Max immediately.

"Here! If you ever feel the need to open your stupid pie hole again, spare your brain the hard work and just look at that photo, dumbass!"

Though it never had been Max's style to fight back, it felt exceptionally good to make someone like the High School's star-quarterback to finally shut up. With a satisfactory smile on her face, the young brunette continued her way. And again the whispering was following her, but this time the topic would be something entirely different.

Making sure that nobody else had followed her, Max arrived at the abandoned stairs, where Chloe was already awaiting her. And as soon as the strawberry-blonde girl saw her girlfriend, she jumped down the steps and took Max into a very tight hug, followed by a long kiss.

"Damn, I missed this so much!" whispered Chloe, brushing over Max's freckled cheek.

"Me, too." answered the smaller girl, giving her girlfriend another peck on the lips.

"C'mon, Maxi," Chloe said with a warm smile as she broke the embrace, "Let's eat something!"

The girls sat down at the top of the stairs and began to eat, while Max told Chloe about the conversation with Principal Hargrove and the incident with Logan, making Chloe to burst into loud laughter.

"Dude, you really did that? That was pretty badass!"

"I know," said the smaller girl and brought forth the necklace with the three bullets from under her shirt, glancing at it with a warm smile.

"Hey, the necklace I gave you!"

"Mh-hm," she replied, shifting her gaze to Chloe, "I wear it each and every day. It gives me strength; reminds me that you're always at my side; helps me to accept who I am." Then her warm smile changed into a wry smirk. "Besides, I'm officially declared insane and you're a thug, so nobody should give us some shit anymore."

"Yeah," Chloe scoffed, now grinning, too, "The insane badass-pirates of Arrrrcadia Bay are unleashed! Though," she sighed, her gaze dropping, "It hurts me to hear such bullshit about you. You don't deserve it and…"

Instantly, Max grabbed Chloe's hand, squeezing it reassuringly, "Let them talk, Chlo. I don't give a damn about these rumors. You're everything that matters to me, and we will pull through this bunch of crap. Together!"

A new smile was formed by the blonde's lips as she looked into her girlfriend's blue eyes with determination. "You're right! Together we're super-awesome. And one day we'll show them why they're so wrong about us; that they can stick their rumors into their fucking asses until…"

Another, but a bit harder squeeze interrupted Chloe's beginning rage, making her listen to Max again. "I get it, Chlo. And…I-I'm just so glad that I made the right decision; that I fought so hard to stay at your side. It was worth it! I love you, Chloe! I love you so much that I…"

Max couldn't even finish the sentence as Chloe pressed her lips against hers again. She realized that this kiss was her girlfriend's answer; that it told her how much Chloe loved her, too. Her whole body was now flooded with joy and excitement, letting her forget everything else for this magical moment.

Sadly, this wonderful time was merely disturbed as Max had that eerily feeling that someone was watching them. She broke the kiss, turned her head and gasped the name of the most hated, familiar girl with the curly black hair, who gazed at them with a wry grin.

"Jasmine!"