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Chapter Four: Three Minutes Earlier
Day 12
Victoria's POV - Victoria's Room – 7:00 pm
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
The sudden knocking causes me to jump slightly and stare at the now ominous looking door. I clear my throat and mentally prepare myself for what awaits me on the other side.
Time to put this plan into action.
I stride over to the door and place my hand on the handle, swallowing hard as I stare at my quivering hand.
It's all going to work out fine. You'll be fine. You're a Chase after all.
I yank open the door excitedly to reveal her standing there holding a couple of pizza boxes. Her head jerks up to face me, her bright blue eyes uncertain as she bites her lip, worrying it between her teeth. I take a moment to stare at her.
Oh god. Why does she have to be so fucking hot? Damn her. It's not fair.
"Hello?" Max questions hesitantly, waiting for me to react in some way other than awkwardly staring.
Shit. I've been staring at her for too long.
I look away from her, scratching my cheek so as to hide my embarrassment and sneer, "What do you want?"
Max shrugs, her face impassive as she holds out the boxes, "Nothing. Here's your food," she mumbles as I take the pizza from her, placing in on the coffee table near my door, "That'll be $15."
I pass over the exact change this time and place it in her outstretched hand, the atmosphere seeming tenser than usual. She thanks me and turns to leave.
What are you doing, Victoria? Say something. Anything.
I reach out my hand and grab her wrist to stop her.
"Wait…"
Max spins her head around, looking down at her wrist and then to me, her brow raising questioningly. I quickly let go of her wrist and begin to play with a stray strand of my short blonde fringe and sigh, "Look, my friend kind of bailed on me. I ordered enough pizza for two," I pause to gauge Max's reaction. She stands there patiently, waiting for me to continue. I take this as a good sign and press on, "Do… do you want to maybe stay and watch a movie and have pizza with me?"
Taylor's POV - Dorm Corridor - 6:57 pm
I walk up the stairs of the Prescott Dormitory to the girl's dorms, glancing at my phone as I do so. I tried to talk to Victoria after class, but she just shot off without a word. As I stare at the screen I see a new message from Courtney.
Courtney: T, have you seen Victoria today?
Taylor: Yes, but not to talk to
Courtney: It's weird, I've been trying to get through to her ever since I got in, but she hasn't been picking up
I had received no word from Victoria either, despite having sent numerous texts and having tried to call her twice. She usually replies instantly to any messages. She never went anywhere without her phone, ever.
It's not like her to ignore texts or calls. I hope she's ok.
Taylor: Yeah, it's weird. I hope she tells us what's up soon
Courtney: Me too. Maybe it's a crush or something?
I stop mid-step, pondering this possibility for a moment.
Come to think of it, there's only been one other time I have seen Victoria like this. It was exactly the same. She was really irritable, kept sighing forlornly and went MIA for hours. That was a crush problem then, so maybe it is too.
Taylor: That is very possible, remember last time?
Courtney: Oh yes, that girl from the coffee shop in Seattle
Taylor: That's the one, even though she tried to deny it for like a week
Nothing ever came of it, despite Courtney and I doing our best to encourage her to act. Victoria is surprisingly shy and clueless when it comes to love.
I smile fondly at the memory, hoping that we will be able to help her out this time.
Courtney: Maybe we should meet up later to work out a plan of action
Taylor: Sounds good. Come to my room in about an hour
Courtney: I'll be there :)
I shove my phone in my pocket as I finally reach the top of the stairs and make my way into the girl's dorm through the double doors. The corridor is empty, everyone holed up in their respective rooms. Dana's door is slightly ajar, upbeat music seeping through the crack. I can also hear Juliet's voice coming from the room as well.
I rarely see one without the other, kind of like with Courtney and I.
I pause outside my room and stare down the corridor to Room 221, Victoria's dorm room. In a decisive moment, I stride down the corridor to check up on Victoria. When I get closer, I can hear the faint sound of a violin coming from Kate's room next-door. I pause for a second to listen, but it is drowned out by Dana's music. I stand in front of Victoria's door and knock. I hear footsteps on the other side rush hurriedly to the door and it flies open. When Victoria sees me, she frowns.
"Taylor?" she questions in a confused tone.
Is she expecting someone?
I beam at her innocently, "Hi Victoria, can I come in?"
She glances down at her phone, looking hesitant and conflicted. Eventually she sighs, "Sure," and reluctantly steps aside to let me in.
The first thing I notice is that her room seems tidier than usual. While Victoria isn't messy, there are usually a few pieces of clothing or a pile of magazines spread out on the floor. Now, everything seems especially spotless. Victoria flops down on her bed and I join her. Her eyes dart around the room and her fingers drum on her leg nervously.
"What's going on with you? You look really nervous," I observe as I join her on the bed.
"N-nothing. I'm absolutely fine," she says too quickly for me to believe.
God, what is with her? She looks like she's seen a ghost. I need to get to the bottom of this. Victoria has done a lot for me and I want to help her if I can.
"Look, Victoria…" I begin but am interrupted by a soft knocking at her door.
"I'll get it, pay you back for the time you answered the door for me," I grin at her as I get up, but am stopped when she grabs my wrist and pulls me back.
"NO!"
I turn to her with a puzzled expression, "No? Why not?"
She looks around frantically, her expression growing more desperate by the second.
What is with her? She is really worrying me.
Just when I'm about to ask her what the hell is going on, she points to her closet and orders, "Get in there."
"What? Victoria, you aren't making any s-" my words are cut off when she starts to shove me towards her closet.
"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! JUST DO IT!" she shouts as she continues to push me.
"Victoria, I-"
She yanks the door open and shoves me in, "NO TIME!"
"Ouch."
She peers in and whispers menacingly, "Don't say a fucking word."
"I don't under-" I begin to stutter, but am silenced by Victoria's threatening glare, "NOT. A. FUCKING. WORD," with that she slams the door shut.
I sit there dazed, trying to make sense of this whole bizarre situation I've found myself in.
What has gotten into her? I guess all I can do is wait and see how this plays out.
Max's POV - Victoria's Room - 7:01 pm
The blonde girl in front of me takes a deep breath and hesitantly says, "Look, my friend kind of bailed on me. I ordered enough pizza for two. Do… do you want to maybe stay and watch a movie and have pizza with me?"
My eyebrows raise in surprise and my mind whirs to try and process this sudden turn of events.
Whoa. What is going on here? I am so confused. First this girl insults me, then she keeps acting really weird and staring at me, now she wants to eat pizza with me. What the fuck?
My brow furrows as I chew my lip.
I don't know why she would want to spend time with me though. I don't seem like the type of person she would usually hang around with. What does this mean? What's she going to do to me? I'll be with her alone. This seems like the plot to the cheesy romance movies. Is this one of those moments?
I shake my head at the absurdity of this notion, blushing slightly for even considering it.
Oh dog, Max. Stop getting so flustered. This isn't a cheesy rom-com, so there is no way she likes you. But what if…?
I glance back up at the girl, who stares at me expectantly with her arms folded protectively across her chest. She looks really vulnerable right now.
You're taking too long, Max. Answer.
"Yes," I squeak out, only making the blush on my cheeks intensify.
Nice job, Max.
I mentally kick myself for sounding so pathetic, but the girl beams at me, "Great, come on in," she steps aside to let me in.
What are you doing, Max? Entering a stranger's room is a real good idea. This just turned from a romance movie to one of those true crime shows. Am I going to end up buried in the ground, never to be heard of again?
I tentatively step over the threshold and am stunned by the sight that meets me.
Wowser.
The room is fairly small, but well-decorated. Fairy lights, posters and photos are dotted tastefully on the otherwise bare white walls. I look to my right and see a couch, some really expensive looking digital cameras sitting on it.
I'm kind of jealous. I do dig my instant camera though. Still I wouldn't say no. Whatever you do Max, don't sit on them.
My eyes continue to scan the room. The full scale photos of her on the wall near her bed catch my eye.
I know I wouldn't be confident enough to do that. I can barely get my stupid selfies out there, let alone display them. They are pretty sweet shots.
On her desk, I see a flyer. I think it says something like Vortex Club on it, but it's hard to see from this far away.
I don't want to just go snooping around her room… well I do want to, but she'd probably kill me if I started nosing through her stuff.
"You can sit you know," she casually comments, bringing me back to reality and making me jump. She points to her bed, signalling for me to sit.
Shit. I wonder how long I've been standing here just staring. Just don't freak out, Max. Sure, something like this has never happened before, but I'm sure it'll be ok… right?
"R-right," I manage to mumble as I take a seat.
Breathe Max. Everything is fine… for now.
The girl sits beside me and hands me the pizza box. I thank her and grab a slice of pizza. She takes the box back and places it on her bedside table.
"Aren't you going to have any?" I cautiously ask before I take a small bite from the slice. As I chew, she shakes her head, absentmindedly expecting her nails, "No, I don't like pizza."
Huh?
Her eyes widen as soon as the words leave her mouth. She quickly retracts her statement, "I mean, I do, I just… don't want any at the minute, yeah, that's it," she mutters.
That was strange. I'm really freaking out now. Maybe I should text Chloe and tell her to bail me out. She's probably in Rachel's room right now. I guess if I screamed loud enough…
I awkwardly take another bite from the pizza, feeling the girl's eyes piercing me. I shuffle uncomfortably, not used to being the centre of attention, "Uh…"
The girl looks at me and smiles, "Yes, Max."
"I…" I begin to say, but my words get caught in my throat as I go over what she just said.
Hold up. How does she know my name? That's a bit freaky.
The girl's smile suddenly fade and is replaced with a mortified look. She nervously bites the inside of her cheek and frowns. I clear my throat nervously, "How… how do you know my name?"
She closes her eyes momentarily, then shrug at me, "Lucky guess?"
Maybe she is a serial killer. Am I her next victim?
"I…"
She looks around the room, her eyes lighting up in triumph, "I… I saw it on the receipt."
She looks so proud of herself. It's kind of endearing.
"I guess that makes sense," I say as I play with the bands on my wrist anxiously, "What's your name?"
"Victoria," she answers confidently.
I wonder if that's her real name, or does she tell all her victims a fake name? Maybe I've been watching too much TV.
She turns to me, a charming smile on her face, "So, what film do you want to watch?"
I shrug, "I'm fine with whatever."
Victoria stands up and grabs a DVD. My eyes fall on the huge TV sat in the far corner.
Whoa. That is a tasty plasma. Want.
Victoria walks over to the TV and places the disk in the player, glancing back at me over her shoulder, "I hope you like rom-coms."
I raise an eyebrow, my lips quirking upwards into a smile, "I didn't take you for a rom-com kind of gal."
She blushes and shuffles her feet, "Uh… well… um," she stumbles over her words.
Oh dog, she looks so embarrassed.
I can't help but laugh at how uncertain of herself she is being right now. She scowls at me, her cheeks bright red, "What's so funny?"
I have this strange feeling that I don't want to annoy her. At least, if I care for my own safety.
"N-nothing."
She goes back to setting up the film.
Is this girl even real? One minute she is an Alpha bitch and the next she is so shy and awkward. I don't even know what to make of her.
I take this chance to look around a bit more from her bed.
I am so nosy. It's going to be my downfall one day.
A sock pokes out of a drawer, stopping the draw from fully closing.
I bet that sock cost more than my entire wardrobe put together… and then some. It kind of makes me feel a bit out of place.
I look over to my left at the photos carefully arranged on the wall near the door.
I guess she's into photography. Is that what she's doing here at Blackwell?
Victoria walks over to her couch, moving the cameras and turns to me. She looks down at the floor, fidgets and clears her throat. It is strange to see her so flustered, at least considering what I had seen of her.
If only I had my camera… it would have made a nice shot. The vulnerability she is showing right now is just so…
"You can come sit on the couch i-if you want. Y-you'll be able to see the screen better," she whispers so quietly that I almost don't hear her. For a second I think I misheard her, but when I see her looking at me with an almost pleading look and flushed cheeks I am certain I heard her correctly.
Do I go over?
She sighs and impatiently taps her foot, "Well, are you coming over or what?!"
Now we switch back to corny romance film.
I get up from the bed and stumble over to the couch, sitting down. Victoria sits down beside me, her arm rubbing lightly against mine. She is so close I can feel the heat radiating from her. She turns her head towards me and smiles.
It's such a weird sight. I've only really seen her with a disgusted expression before. This suits her way better. She may look pretty normally, but she is really something else when she smiles.
I feel the ghost of a smile beginning to tug at my lips.
"Um… are you ready?" she asks, pulling me back to the moment. I look away quickly, embarrassed at having been caught staring.
Shit. Was I staring? I bet I was smiling like a complete dork too. Now who's the weirdo?
"Y-yeah," I mutter as my cheeks began to heat up. I glance back over to her as she fiddles around with the TV remote.
Max, stop over-analysing things. There is no way in hell that someone like her would like you. You are polar opposites. Stop being such a creep.
She finally manages to get everything sorted and the film begins to play on the TV. As we watch, I feel something warm brush my hand for a brief second. I cast a sideways glance at Victoria, who keeps her eyes fixed on the screen.
I probably just imagined it.
"You know…" she begins to say, but stops herself. She looks down at her hands and sighs.
"What?" I ask, looking over at her. Neither of us seem to be really paying attention to the film anymore. She appears to be conflicted about something, then shakes her head and mumbles, "Never mind."
"O-ok," I stutter as my eyes wander back to the screen.
This is so awkward. I bet it's because I was staring.
I reach over to grab another slice of pizza from the box on the coffee table. I take a bite of it, automatically regretting it.
"Ah, wowser, it's hot," I breathe.
"Kind of like you," Victoria hesitantly remarks. My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline as I stare in disbelief at Victoria, who refuses to meet my gaze.
"W-what?"
I hear stifled laughter coming from her closet. Suddenly, the door burst opens and a girl falls out, cackling maniacally. Victoria looks horrified as she stares at the light blonde haired girl rolling around on the floor.
"Oh my god, Victoria…" she sniggers, hitting the floor with her hand, unable to keep any form of composure.
"Taylor!" Victoria shouts angrily. Taylor finally manages to restrain herself and gets up, still laughing every now and then, "Oh man… that was… I don't even have the words to describe it."
Victoria stares daggers at Taylor, her expression darkening considerably as she howls, "TAYLOR! YOU ARE SO DONE FOR!"
Fear appears in Taylor's eyes, her smile quickly disappearing. She begins to back up towards the door, her hands held out defensively, "Oh shit," Taylor exclaims as she makes a mad dash for the door in an attempt to escape Victoria's wrath.
"COME BACK HERE, BITCH! YOU AREN'T GETTING AWAY WITH THIS THAT EASILY!" Victoria roars as she storms out of the room in pursuit of Taylor, leaving me alone and completely dumbfounded. I can still hear the echoes of their confrontation in the corridor as Taylor makes her escape. I get up and peer round the door to see Taylor half way down the corridor, Victoria hot on her heels.
"I'm sorry Victoria, but that was terrible," she shouts apologetically over her shoulder as she runs.
"COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE, WHORE!" Victoria fumes, her long legs carrying her ever closer to Taylor.
"I'd rather stay alive thanks," Taylor mentions as she bursts through the double door to the stairwell leading outside. Several confused faces pop out from the doors lining the corridor as Victoria storms after Taylor with murderous intent. She hisses at them as she passes and slams the door shut on her way out, the sound echoing in the silent corridor. Within a few seconds, almost everyone in the dorm has convened at the end corridor, all trying to piece together the spectacle that just occurred.
"What the hell just happened?" a blonde girl I vaguely recognize asks. I remember Dana describing her when we had talked about Blackwell before.
I think her name is Juliet and she's the journalist at Blackwell. Of course she'd be eager to find out the gossip.
"So much drama, pathetic," a girl with dark red-streaked hair comments as she pushes her glasses up her nose.
"You can talk, Brooke," Juliet offhandedly remarks.
"And what's thatsupposed to mean?" Brooke questions, her eyes squinting at Juliet's insinuation.
"Well," Juliet smirks, "what about all the Warren drama that seems to be revolving around you lately? You literally accuse everyone of trying to get with him."
Brooke goes to retort when the door to Room 217 opens at the end of the corridor and a girl with dark hair tied into a ponytail wearing a pink hoodie and glasses steps out, an annoyed expression on her tired face, "Guys, I am trying to work in here, so can you please keep it down."
As they squabble among themselves, I glance over to Rachel's door, surprised not to see her and Chloe out here.
They must be out, otherwise they'd have been the first ones out here to witness this chaos, maybe even making it worse… no make that definitely making things worse.
A girl with blonde hair tied in a bun wanders out of Room 221 and glances down the corridor to see the chattering mass of Blackwell residents congregating by the exit, her brow furrowing a bit in confusion at the sight. I'd seen Kate a few times when making deliveries to Blackwell and we got talking in the corridor. She seems really sweet and kind.
Her hazel eyes land on me, "Max, what just happened?" she questions with a very perplexed expression gracing her delicate features.
"I was just asking myself the same thing, Kate," I answer, rubbing the back of my neck.
She shrugs, offering me a small smile, "There always seems to be some kind of drama going on around here."
"Yeah, I had realized that," I sigh.
I guess I'll take this as my cue to leave.
Let's all hope that Taylor can evade Victoria long enough to survive.
Guest review: LOVE XD hope to see new chapters
It's great you're enjoying it. I still have a few ideas up my sleeve, since the prompt ideas have come to an end. Hopefully they will turn out to be good ideas. I'll put the actual prompt here so you guys can see it if you haven't already.
Have an amazing day and see you next time.
Prompt (dannysgreenpants)
No but someone needs to write a pizza delivery AU where one night Victoria feels like shit and has her minions over and orders pizza
But she didn't expect the deliverer to be some stupid weird hipster trash
And she sure as fuck didn't expect her to look so fucking cute in her work clothes
And the delivery girl is so flustered when Victoria insults her (because she's totally blushing and doesn't want this stupid girl with adorable freckles to know) and she fumbles when handing back the change and all but sprints away
And now Victoria is like constantly ordering pizza and Courtney is like "You don't even like pizza"
"SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH COURTNEY"
With some Facebook stalking she finds out her name is Max Caulfield
She's really cute and it's pissing her off
Now every Friday at 7 on the dot she always orders pizza
"Here's your change-"
"Keep it."
"B-But it's $30 over I'd feel bad-"
And Vic is like god damn it her rambles are cute and that was too nice of me fuck
"You definitely need it."
nO VICTORIA YOU FUCKING IDIOT
She finds out that she can order online in the little notes thing she gets flustered and aggressively types I want the stupid one with beautiful blue eyes and dumb fucking adorable freckles to bring it
Then one day she goes "I ordered this pizza for two but my friend bailed on me so do you maybe wanna eat it with me and watch movies or something?"
And Max is all blushy and squeaks out a yes because the really pretty rich girl just invited her inside oh my god and they're alone
but it tuRNS OUT VICTORIA FREAKED OUT AND SHOVED TAYLOR IN THE CLOSET BEFORE SHE CAME
"JUST GET IN THE CLOSET TAYLOR NO TIME TO EXPLAIN"
"But Vic-"
"NO TIME"
AND VICTORIA KEPT FUCKING UP WITH HER WORDS BECAUSE SHE CANT GET A DAMN GRIP AND IT MADE MAX LAUGH AND BLUSH WHICH JUST MAKES ICKY VICKY MORE FLUSTERED AND ONE PARTICULAR PUN ABOUT HOW "PIZZA IS HOT KINDA LIKE YOU" MAKES TAYLOR FALL OUT OF THE CLOSET FROM LAUGHING SO HARD
