Beams of morning yellow sun rays squeezed through the slits of Max's bedroom blinds, bouncing off the vanity mirror and reflecting straight into her eyes.
Damn you physics, Max grumpily thought to herself. Even though her eyes were closed, she could still feel the intensive sunlight penetrating through her eyelids, swarming her vision with a cloudy red.
Max felt horrible. No, she felt worse than horrible. On top of the annoyingly pervasive sunlight and a terrible nightmare last night of Caroline leaving, Max was plagued with suffocating regret of what had happened last night.
She'll never want you.
You're too broken.
She'd leave you in a second once she finds her perfect man.
Her mind was like poison, filled with toxic thoughts. But she had a ton of things to do today, and she knew that attending to those duties would at least partially distract her from her worries. Max knew that Caroline would still be asleep, and she certainly didn't want to wake her up while baking the cupcakes in the kitchen. So she decided to head to the diner early to make the cupcakes there. Olaf wouldn't mind. Max could easily persuade him.
"Whoa, what are you doing here so early? Can't get enough of Olaf eh?" The slimy cook grinned suggestively.
"Shove it, greasebag. Let me use your oven today." Max replied, unloading the cupcake mixes onto the kitchen counter.
"What? This is my kitchen!" Olaf exclaimed, waving his spatula in the air, splattering grease all over. "Why don't you use your own oven at home?"
"It's broken. And if you let me use the oven today, I'll send you a picture of me in a bra," Max said, raising an eyebrow at him. She had a devious plan, and it certainly didn't involve sending an indecent photo. There is no way in hell Olaf would have enough decency to reject this offer.
"Oven's all yours Max," the chef said, staring lasciviously at her breasts. "I'm expecting the text by tonight."
"You betcha," Max winked, turning the knob on the oven. "Now get out of my way."
Caroline awoke with a start as the alarm screeched music from her iPhone. Of all the shuffled songs in her playlist, why did it have to be hers and Max's favourite song? The music seemed to haunt her now, its sharp notes piercing into her skull. She hated this song now.
Caroline groggily dragged her arm over the side of her bed and fumbled for her phone.
"1 o'clock?!" Caroline gasped in horror, "I set the wrong time!" She jumped out of bed and hastily changed into her greasy diner uniform, skipping her normal hair and makeup routine. As she stumbled her way to the diner in her battered Manolo Blahnik shoes, a realisation hit her like a train.
Max didn't wait for me to go to work. Caroline felt as though she was punched in the gut. She didn't even wake me up.
As she entered the diner, Earl looked up from his counter and gave a low whistle. "You look like you just walked right through a tornado!" He commented while removing his headphones.
"I set the wrong alarm, Earl. Please don't tell Han I came in late!" The blonde pleaded, trying to smooth down her unkempt hair.
"Will do, darling," Earl replied and smiled amicably. After a small pause of hesitation, he leaned forward over the counter and added, "Are you and Max okay?"
The question hit Caroline like a big, fat slap to the face. She suddenly felt an oncoming wave of tears and overwhelming emotion, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Earl, and certainly not Oleg. She bit her lip hard.
"Yeah, we're fine," Caroline faked a bright smile. "Thanks for asking!"
"Well alright then. But if you got any problems, you know you can count on me, right?"
Caroline nodded and added another quick flash of her dazzling white teeth for emphasis. Earl was such a sweetheart. Caroline wished it didn't take such circumstances – being broke – to meet such genuine people.
As she walked into the kitchen, the tantalizing and suffocatingly familiar smell of Max's cupcakes filled the air.
That's strange, Caroline thought, Why would it smell like Max just baked them? The realisation then dawned on her that Max didn't just bring the cupcakes here, she made them here in Han's diner. Confusedly, Caroline wondered why Max didn't make the cupcakes at home as usual. Was Max avoiding her yet again?
It had been several months since their last episode of drama and tension which resulted in them not talking to each other for a few days out of awkwardness and confusion. Caroline definitely did not want that to happen again. When Max was avoiding her, Caroline did not know what to do with herself. She felt as if something was tangibly amiss – like a blank space in the middle of an intricate painting. Something has to be done. The air needs to be cleared.
Caroline opened the freezer and stepped inside the chilly room to retrieve Oleg's marinade. The cold-room was a chaotic mess. The diner would surely be shut down if a health inspector surveyed it. Oleg had total disregard for cross contamination. There were trays of raw meat next to fresh boxes of salad leaves, and uncovered Jell-O sitting underneath a shelf of leaking milk cartons. Caroline cringed her nose and dove her hands in the foray of unknown sauces that Olag made god knows how many weeks ago, until she finally found his 'special' marinade.
Caroline heard the freezer door slam shut behind her.
"Oleg, this place is disgusting. I feel like I could get salmonella just by breathing in the air," Caroline called over her shoulder.
"Han already did," came the reply. Caroline wheeled around and saw that it was Max. She felt her heart jump and her stomach tighten. All the pre-rehearsed lines that she was prepared to deliver to Max dissipated from her head, and Caroline was left standing there with Oleg's special marinade in her hands looking like a bewildered deer.
"I – I, um…" Caroline choked. She felt as if there was a symphonic cacophony in her head, with everything too jumbled up to be processed and spoken out loud. The air was thick with tension. Caroline could only hear the sound of her heart thumping away in her chest.
"Are you going to just stand there? This crate of soy milk is getting real heavy and my arms hurt." Max complained. Caroline noticed she wasn't exactly looking at her, but past her. She awkwardly moved aside to let Max through, careful not to make contact. Max glided past her with the crate and stopped abruptly in front of the shelves. She craned her neck to look at the top shelf, where the old batch of soy milk were kept, probably turning into soy cheese.
"Do you need me to reach those for you?" Caroline offered, her timid voice cutting through the silent air. Max let out an audible sigh. She rolled her eyes and nodded, lips pursed. Caroline carefully stepped over and stretched past Max to reach the old crate of soy milk on the top shelf. She suddenly realised how close she was standing to her, the intoxicating smell of her perfume invading Caroline's senses. She suddenly felt dizzy. Her head was like a balloon dying to float away.
"Wow, your skin," Max said as she traced her hand along Caroline's arm, sending shocks of electricity down her body. The blonde realised that the surface of her skin was covered in goose bumps, even though she wasn't even that cold.
"What? I –" Caroline stammered. As she hastily shot her arm back, her hand caught on the handle of one of the containers, bringing down the entire crate of expired milk. The containers splattered on the floor, spraying its sour contents onto them and everything around. The girls screamed in terror at the chaotic mess they created.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Caroline exclaimed, frantically wiping the viscous liquid from her skirt, but doing so in vain. Max huffed irritably and grabbed Caroline's arm, pulling her across the sticky floor and out of the freezer room towards the bathroom. She wet her hand towel in the sink and began wiping the stains from Caroline's clothes, her maroon lips set in a straight line. Caroline noticed that Max was eerily quiet again. "Max," Caroline started. "Can we talk about last night?" The brunette didn't reply. She scrubbed Caroline's skirt harder. "Hey, you're going to spoil the fabric!" Caroline exclaimed.
"Why does it matter?" Max suddenly stood up, her hair frazzled and mussed. Caroline fought back an urge to smooth her dark hair behind her ears. For the first time in the day, Max looked right into Caroline's eyes.
"Because I only have one uniform," Caroline replied dryly.
"No. I meant, why does it matter what I said last night?" Max retorted sternly, her blue eyes shining. "It's not like talking about it would make it any less awkward."
"Come on, at least let me say something." Caroline took hold of Max's wrist, once again feeling the soft warm buzz that emanated from her skin.
"Just forget about it." Max sighed, dropping her eyes. She took a slow step backwards, leaning against the edge of the bathroom counter. Caroline's hand remained loosely around her wrist, but Max did not pull away.
Tingles crept along Max's arm as Caroline's fingers slowly moved down her wrist, entwining through her own fingers. Heart beating wildly against her chest, Max closed her eyes to calm herself down. Everything was making her dizzy. Max could feel Caroline's proximity to her - their bodies inches apart. Max mentally chided herself, Nothing is going to happen. Just walk away. But her body did not respond. Amidst the dissonance in her mind, she thought she heard Caroline say something.
"What did you say?" Max opened her eyes bright.
"I said," Caroline whispered, leaning in even closer, their bodies touching. Her fingers trailed up Max's arm, resting just underneath her right jaw. They were now a hair's width apart. Max could breathe in Caroline. She could breathe in everything about her – her scent, her spirit, her voice.
But she didn't. Max held her breath, waiting for Caroline to speak. After a seemingly eternal pause, Caroline finally broke the stillness. The blonde girl lifted Max's chin gently and leaned in.
As their lips touched, everything vanished from Max's self. Her dark past, her black childhood, her heavy burdens, all evaporated like steam. The only thing that remained in her was Caroline. Her feelings for Caroline – a burning red glow inside her, emanating brighter as the kiss deepened. Max felt her body give in to Caroline's gravitational pull. They melted into each other, each kiss gentle and slow. As they briefly pulled apart for a breath, Caroline looked into Max's eyes, her blue eyes unfaltering. She finally spoke.
"I said," Caroline breathed, her voice like smooth velvet. "I love you too, Max."