Chloe felt Max's hand brush against her thigh as they approached the town they so recently fled from. Flashing lights from emergency vehicles seemed to echo through the streets. Blackwell Academy had been left untouched by the storm and it had become the town's refuge centre. Chloe pulled her car up onto the curb and turned off the ignition. She looked at Max, both showing fear in their faces for what they were about to walk into. Max grabbed Chloe's hand and shuffled towards her slowly. She pulled Chloe's face towards her, their foreheads rested together, noses grazing each other softly. Chloe lifted her hand to Max's cheek and pressed her lips to Max's. Just a small, soft, brief kiss was all Chloe needed to gather the courage to exit the truck. They both got out and walked towards the classroom wing.
Chloe looked frantically through each classroom for her mother. The people here didn't seem to be seriously hurt; she figured those who were worse off had been transported to nearby hospitals. Cuts, bruises, scrapes, arms in slings – to Chloe, these just looked like skateboarding accidents. At the next room, Chloe saw a familiar head of blonde hair, pulled back into a casual pony tail. A man, with short dark hair and a mustache, comforted her. She gasped and grabbed Max's arm tightly.
"Joyce, David," Chloe stammered, tears of joy threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"Oh, thank God," Max sighed with sheer relief. Chloe bustled through the room towards the couple, hands covering her mouth and stood before them. Joyce had a bandage wrapped around her right wrist, resting in a sling, along with a black eye and a small cut next to it on the left side of her face, whereas David looked completely untouched.
"So fucking good to see you!" Chloe shouted at her mother and step-father.
"Chloe, that's the only time I'll let you get away with using that word," Joyce chuckled as she stood to hug her daughter with one arm. David stood and joined the pair for a hug, resting a small kiss on top of Chloe's head. Max walked over and patted Chloe on the back. She let her join the hugging circle, which didn't last too much longer.
"What were you two doing up at the light house anyway?" David asked as the group all took a step or two back.
"Well, uh, you see," Chloe stammered, unsure of what to say, eyes darting between David, Joyce and Max.
"You know me," Max butted in, false confidence lighting her voice,
"I wanted to get a photo; the light house seemed like the best vantage point. And, well, Chloe, she was worried about my safety and came with me," Max lied through her teeth, but Joyce and David either didn't notice, or didn't care.
"We're just glad you girls are safe, is all," Joyce smiled, stroking Chloe's shoulder.
"David, you don't look hurt, where were you?" Max's curiosity got the better of her.
"I was at the house, working on my car in the garage," He spoke quietly.
"What? Our house?" Chloe interrupted.
"Yea, it's not looking too bad, considering everything. The yard's been trashed, few broken windows, but mostly, its fine. FEMA got here today, an old service buddy works for them now, I asked a favour, he's gonna check out our house pretty soon," David explained flatly, rubbing Joyce's back.
"If all goes well, we should be able to go home tonight," He added, with a little more cheer in his voice.
"Mom, where were you?" Chloe pried, watching as her eyes shot open.
"I was working at the Two Whales, something collapsed onto the side of the diner, then I got knocked out, I didn't see too much." Joyce trembled.
"Oh, Joyce, I'm so sorry," Max cried out, tears formed in her eyes.
'Max, chill, it's not your fault. I don't blame you, no one is going to blame you. It was a fucking storm,' Chloe thought as she grabbed Max's hand and shook her head softly.
"Oh, Max, honey, it's just a sprain, few bruises, I just need some rest, is all," Joyce smiled softly.
"They gave you the good drugs, hey, mom?" Chloe winked, eliciting a small nod from Joyce.
'It's seriously fucked seeing all these people here, injured. Like, I know these people, I see them every fucking day. And they're all just wandering around here like zombies, well, some people just aren't here, where the fuck are they? Are they alright? Did they make it out? Or….'
"I need nicotine, now," Chloe muttered, in an attempt to stop her thoughts, tears threatened to spill out, her gaze fixated on the floor.
"Joyce, David, we'll come back, I'll just take Chloe out for a smoke," Max explained, as she gripped onto the taller girl's hand. Joyce and David nodded as the two girls left the room and made their way back to Chloe's truck.
Chloe and Max inhaled their cigarettes simultaneously, and then breathed out in the same fashion.
"Max, I need a distraction," Chloe muttered quietly, Max smirked towards her, taking another drag of her smoke.
"What do you call a deer with no eyes?" Max started, Chloe held a blank expression.
"No idea!" Max chuckled and nudged Chloe with her elbow. Chloe let out a short laugh and kissed Max on the cheek.
"Not what I had in mind, but thanks, you dork," she said as she nudged her in return. Max raised an eyebrow towards her, still holding a smirk on her face.
"Well, we're in your car, no one else is around," Max held a suggestive tone as she looked around, took the last drag of her cigarette, before putting it in their makeshift ashtray. Chloe grinned sheepishly and did the same.
'Fuck, she's so fucking hot. Take it easy, Price. Just take it slow. She's not fucking ready. She's changed a lot this week, but still, just go easy on her. She's new at this. Fuck, I wonder what she tastes like… No! Bad thoughts! No! Calm fucking down,' Chloe's mind raced as Max bit her bottom lip. Max had turned her body completely to face Chloe, kneeling on the seat, grabbing at Chloe's thigh, encouraging her to swivel her body towards her. Chloe's heart was racing as she changed her position, half lying down in the car. Max had now moved on top of her, straddling herself across Chloe's lap.
"Max… what are you –" Chloe was cut off as Max pushed her way forward and began kissing Chloe. Her tongue pushed its way through and gently grazed the inside of Chloe's top lip. Chloe let out a sharp moan and moved one hand onto Max's hip, the other grabbing the back of Max's head, pulling her in closer. A sharp sigh pushed itself out of Max's mouth as the two of them began to kiss each other more passionately. Chloe felt Max's hand brush against the waist of her jeans, slowly moving towards the middle. She could feel herself becoming more aroused. Max was fiddling with the button on Chloe's pants, popping it open, before sliding the zipper down slowly.
"Max," Chloe sighed out, holding the brunette's wandering hand.
"What are you doing? I mean, fuck, I want this so bad, but, I – " Chloe trailed off as Max moved off her slowly.
"Yea," Max sighed out, brushing her face with her hand.
"It's not really the right place, is it?" Max showed off a half-smile as she tapped the ceiling of the car a few times, slight disappointment in her tone. Chloe let out a long sigh and placed her head in her hands.
"Fuck, I want you so bad, Max," Chloe whined through her hands as she fixed her pants back up, desperation pouring through her voice.
'Fuck! Fuck! Why would you stop that? Fuck! You just fucking cock-blocked yourself! Look at how fucking worked up you are! Jesus, Chloe!' She was screaming at herself internally.
"Just, not the right place and time. I want this to work, Max, I want it to be special for you," Chloe explained both to Max and herself as she sat up properly, still facing Max, and crossing her legs.
"Chloe, I want you. Like, all of you. Fuck, I wouldn't even know what I'm doing though," Max seemed as frustrated as Chloe was. Chloe reached out and gripped Max's thigh.
"Max, I wouldn't know either, I've only ever hooked up with guys, and that was all drunken, stoned bullshit, it didn't mean anything, mostly, I was just bored," Chloe admitted bashfully. Max looked surprised.
"You're the only girl I've ever kissed," Chloe continued her confession, she could feel herself blushing.
"Oh," Was the only thing that came out of Max's mouth.
"Don't fucking tell anyone," Chloe smirked.
"It'd ruin my reputation for being hella badass and shit," She joked, trying to move them on from the lame conversation.
"Well, you're the only girl I've ever kissed too," the brunette blushed as she spoke quietly.
"Only person, Hippie, and I won't let you forget it," Chloe responded as she leant forward and kissed Max on the forehead.
"Shit, it's getting dark," Chloe started, noticing that the sun was beginning to set.
"We should probably get back to Joyce and step-dou- David," she corrected herself as she stumbled to open the door.
"Fuck." She muttered as she fiddled with the door.
"Too distracting for you?" Max laughed at Chloe.
"Shut up," Chloe teased as she finally got the door open.
Chloe's house was more or less still in-tact after the storm. A few shingles from the roof missing here and there, a couple of broken windows, the fence, swing-set and mail box was totalled, and the driveway had become a mess, broken, up-turned concrete jutted up from the ground, but somehow the house was still ok.
'How the fuck does that happen?' Chloe thought to herself as she taped cardboard onto the broken glass of her bedroom window, Max carefully collecting the broken shards from the floor behind her. There was no electricity, so Chloe had light a few candles in her room, giving the girls some source of light. David had taken care of the rest of the house, Chloe had offered to sort out her own room.
"Chloe," Max started curiously, Chloe turned to her, eyes fixated on the floor.
"Mmm…" Chloe responded.
"Is this – is this a joint?" Max whispered as she pulled up a thin cigarette like object from the ground that had been poking out from under the bed.
"Uh, let me see," Chloe snatched it out of Max's hands and ran it under her nose, she could see Max smiling through her peripheral vision, as the shorter girl had sat down on the end of Chloe's bed.
"That is what this is, yes," Chloe confirmed at the mild aroma through the paper. Max's smile widened and she threw Chloe a lighter.
"Nice catch!" Max was sarcastic as Chloe fumbled, almost dropping it.
"Max, I can't, I can't smoke this here! I just got back into David's good books!" Chloe's voice was a little raspy, she cleared her throat.
"No big, we'll just tell him it's mine again!" Max laughed as her hands moved towards her face and motioned the action of lighting it.
'Fuck she looks beautiful in candlelight,' She thought as she shook her head, placed the joint and the lighter on the desk and started walking towards Max slowly.
"You are being really naughty, Max," Chloe teased quietly, as she dropped to her knees in front of the brunette and started to stroke her legs.
"Oh, you think so?" Max smirked as she leaned backwards, putting her weight onto her elbows.
'Fuck, her confidence is really throwing me off,' Chloe swallowed hard. Max bit her bottom lip as Chloe's hands trailed up to the pockets of her jeans.
"You're doing that on purpose! I knew I shouldn't have said anything!" Chloe whined as she stood up, pushed Max down and straddled her. Max let out a little gasp, she was breathing heavily. Chloe slowly moved her face in closer and softly bit Max's bottom lip. Max grabbed the sides of Chloe's head with both her hands and pulled her in roughly and they began to kiss each other passionately. Chloe let out a soft moan and pushed her hand up Max's shirt, and ran her blue fingernails across her skin.
"Chloe, I – oh fuck! I want you!" Max gasped into Chloe's ear. Chloe felt herself heat up everywhere. She bit softly on Max's ear, eliciting a low moan from the brunette. Her hands trailed down to Max's pants, she managed to undo the button and zip swiftly. Max lifted up the lower part of her body so Chloe could remove her pants easier. Chloe flung the pants to the floor beneath her. Max had started taking off her own shirt, Chloe did the same. Max looked Chloe up and down, biting her lip again.
"Holy shit, Chloe, you're so beautiful," Max whispered as she started to undo Chloe's pants.
"Max, you're fucking gorgeous! Holy shit, I am so into you. Fuck, you're really sexy," Chloe whispered back excitedly, taking in the details of Max's body, running her hand along the inside of her thigh, stroking up, just touching the edge of her underwear. Max gasped and grabbed Chloe's hair, pulling it slightly, their faces coming together once more, kissing each other with desperation. A soft knock at the door startled the both of them.
"Ah fuck!" Chloe whispered sharply as she jumped off the brunette, tossed Max's pants back at her, quickly fixing her own pants, throwing her shirt over her head and rushing to the door.
"Chloe, Max, are you hungry?" Joyce spoke through the door with another knock.
"Just a minute, mom," Chloe shakily called back, holding herself against the door, watching Max struggle to put her clothes on. Both girls looking frustrated at yet another interruption. Chloe tried to straighten out her hair hurriedly as Max finally got her shirt back on.
"Just come down if you're feeling peckish, David's thrown some burgers on the grill," Joyce called through the door. Chloe listened to her mother's footsteps trail down the stairs.
"Un-fucking-believable," Chloe muttered with frustration as she ran her hands through her blue hair. She dragged her feet back over to the bed and sat down next to her girlfriend, who held her head in her hands. Chloe rubbed her back gently.
"I guess it's still not the time, right?" Chloe said lightly, Max groaned loudly.
'You're fucking kidding me. Damn it, Joyce! Ah, fuck, at least you're still alive. Hella grateful for that,' Chloe tried to calm herself down. She looked over at Max and smiled softly.
"Hey, maybe we should go downstairs, have something to eat? All you've eaten today is one fucking doughnut, Max. You gotta be hungry, dude," Chloe squeezed Max's shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. Max threw herself back onto the bed, still holding her head in her hands, and once again, groaned loudly.
"What I need, after that, is a fucking cigarette," The brunette muttered, pulling her hands away from her face. She'd gone bright red. Chloe couldn't tell if it was from anger, frustration or embarrassment. Maybe it was a combination.
"Mad-Max, the man with the plan!" Chloe laughed as she slapped Max's leg playfully before standing up.
"You're a dork," Max smirked before bringing herself to her feet and clutching on to Chloe's hand.
"Maybe so, but I'm your dork," She gripped the shorter girl's hand tightly before they exited the room together.
"What do you mean the food's not even ready yet?" Chloe whined towards Joyce, David peered through the window and shook his head, still flipping burgers on the grill. Joyce just sighed, rolled her eyes and threw her non-injured arm up into the air and walked away from her.
"Chloe," David called from outside,
"What?" Chloe unintentionally snapped back.
"Get me a beer! You and Max can have one too, it's been a shit couple of days. Unwind," David trailed off, focused on the grill.
"Amazeballs!" Chloe chirped and rushed to get three beers from the not-so-cold fridge. She grinned as she handed a bottle to Max and motioned for her to follow her out the back. Chloe opened a bottle and held it out to David.
"Thanks," he murmured and took a large gulp. Chloe opened her own beer and did the same thing. She was used to beer not being so cold, so the temperature didn't really phase her.
"Max, did you need me to open yours?" Chloe teased as she watched Max struggle to twist the lid off the bottle.
"No, I got it," The brunette replied, determined to do it herself. Chloe sat herself down on the concrete steps leading to the garage and pulled out her packet of cigarettes. Max shuffled over, sat next to her and sighed as she handed Chloe the unopened bottle. Chloe laughed as she opened it for the shorter girl.
"I loosened it," Max muttered as she winced at the first sip. Chloe lit up two cigarettes and passed one to Max. Max smiled and took a deep draw.
"Maxine Caulfield!" Joyce cried from the back door. Both girls whipped their heads around and stared blankly at the woman.
"Are you smoking?" Disappointment poured out from Joyce's mouth as she sauntered over towards them.
"Uh, well, yes Joyce," Max stammered and took another mouthful of beer.
"Mom, it's been a rough couple of days, we're hella stressed," Chloe tried to explain.
"Chloe, this is your influence, I'm sure," Joyce approached the girls, hand on her hip.
'Clearly, the painkillers are wearing off,' Chloe thought as she took a draw and glared lightly at her mother.
"No, Joyce, it's ok, I made this choice on my own," Max spoke softly in the voice Chloe knew always worked on Joyce. She looked like she was still on the war path. Chloe took a big swallow of her beer.
"What would your parents say?" Joyce sighed out the attempted guilt trip.
"Well, I smoked in Seattle, since I was fifteen, they knew about it, I tried to quit when I moved here, but this last week – everything's just been pretty stressful," Max explained, Chloe hung onto every word, desperate for more information about her girlfriend's life in Seattle.
'Well fuck me, Max has been covering up her bad girl ways. What else is there to know?'
"Oh my, well, I'm still disappointed, Max. But you're right, this last week has been intense," Joyce's expression softened as she turned back and walked over to David.
"You have no idea," Max sighed quietly as she took another draw. Chloe's beer was nearly empty and she was starting to get a warm buzz.
"We should tell them, Max," Chloe nudged the brunette.
"Mmm?" Max projected through her mouthful of beer.
"You know, about us? Being together and shit," Chloe smiled warmly.
"What? Are you cereal? Would they even be ok with that? What if they make me sleep on the couch?" Max spat out hurriedly.
"Well, it's not exactly like you're gonna get me pregnant. I'm sure they know that! Besides, it's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before!" Chloe joked. Max held a serious look on her face.
"But, Chloe, it's different now. And it's definitely not a bad thing. I just don't think I can keep my hands off you," Max smirked at her last sentence. Chloe let out a short laugh.
"Well, we won't tell them that part," Chloe joked again. Max dropped her gaze at the ground. Chloe moved closer to Max, her mouth pressed towards her ear.
"I don't think I can keep my hands off you either," she admitted softly and watched as a tiny smile cracked across Max's face.
Chloe dragged her feet up the stairs, Max following her slowly, both tired and full from the meal. They'd decided not to tell Joyce and David about the new development in their relationship yet.
'Man, I'm kinda glad David's paranoid enough to keep a shit load of canned food hanging around, spam burgers weren't so bad after all,' Chloe thought as she opened her door, letting Max in before her. As she closed the door after entering her room, she was spun around and had her back slammed up against the door.
"Wha-" Chloe was interrupted by a forceful kiss from Max as she went to speak. Max was pulling Chloe towards her body by the shirt, Chloe tangled her fingers through Max's hair with one hand, she smirked as her other hand gave Max's rear a slight squeeze. Max gasped and pulled away, still tugging on Chloe's shirt.
"Chloe, I get this feeling, when I'm kissing you, even when I think about kissing you. Everything gets really warm, and I feel like I can't breathe, and my stomach tightens up, and I get all tingly everywhere," Max bit her lip, her voice as a little shaky, nervous. Chloe smirked.
"Yea, that's a good thing," Chloe held her hand and walked her over to the bed. Max looked kinda confused.
'Oh, fuck, she's too cute. She's seriously never felt turned on before? Holy shit-balls, Price. You gotta take things slow with her,' Chloe cleared her throat.
"Max, it's cool. I feel the same way. Just breathe a little. We'll get there," Chloe tried to reassure the brunette before yawning loudly, Max returning a quiet yawn.
"Just not tonight, I'm kinda tired. Maybe we should take things a little slower anyway? Like, you know, I want you so fucking bad, let's just try to not rush things? You get it, right?" Chloe used her softest tone, hoping not to offend her girlfriend. Max smiled and nodded.
"Yea, Chloe, I get it. I mean, I'll try to cool things down, I've just never felt this way. I'm – adjusting, I guess," Max sighed and brushed her hand across her cheek.
"Don't over think it, let's just go to bed – to sleep – we can cuddle, if you want," Chloe's voice got brighter as she concluded her sentence, Max nodded and yawned. Chloe shuddered at Max's breath.
"I think we should brush our teeth first," Chloe waved her hand in front of her face and smirked, Max hit Chloe playfully before they found their toothbrushes and readied themselves for sleep.
Author's Note: Please leave me reviews. I apologise for my imperfect writing skills. I will try to upload as often as possible. Thanks to those who are reading.