ANNOUNCEMENT: This is the last chapter this story will have. Enjoy.
Chapter 9: This Feels Right
The last few days after Victoria kind of forced what we had to be viewed by the whole of the student body had been a new kind of normal. I wasn't made fun of as much anymore, being that the only reason people messed with me before was because of Victoria. And Victoria isn't as harsh on people as she used to be, most likely because she doesn't want me to be disappointed in her. When she is mean to someone and they come to me about it, I talk to her and talk her into apologizing. As for Nathan, I haven't seen much of him since that last night when I swear Victoria was going to kick his ass if I hadn't pushed him away. Apparently, somebody leaked Nathan's real file and it read like a criminal record. But I didn't have anything to do with that.
It was the weekend now. I was sitting on a bench outside of the dorms listening to music. Victoria was off with Taylor trying to buy hell knows what from some kid that, not surprisingly, hangs with the stoner's. That was their deal and I didn't want to be apart of it. I was just sitting there, watching Vivian, who had made a home somewhere near the dorms, chance after a familiar blue butterfly. If I believed in superstition, I would think it meant something.
"Hey-ya, Max," I hear Chloe's voice and feel her as she puts an arm over my shoulder.
"Hey," I saw with a small laugh. "You seem in a good mood, what's up?" At that, Chloe looks at me with a concerned look on her face.
"I thought I texted you last night," She said and I tried remembering what happened last night before realization hit me. Victoria was in my room with me last night and turned both of our phones off so we could have alone time. One thing I learned about Victoria is she doesn't like sharing.
"Oh, sorry, my phone was off," I admitted and Chloe just narrowed her eyes in an irritated way.
"Victoria?" She asked and I nodded. "Damnit!" Chloe yelled, jumping off the bench and kicking the garbage can before cursing and grabbing her foot. It was honestly hilarious. After she got over herself, she sat back on the bench with her head in her hands.
"Why you so mad?" I asked, putting a hand on her back and she sighed.
"I just got you back and now that bitch is taking over. Fucking hog."
"Aw, Chloe. Victoria might take up way more of my time now, but you're always going to be my best friend. Max and Chloe 'til the end, remember?"
"Max and Chloe 'til the end. We'll fight, kill, and defend," Chloe recited the rhyme like it was a regular saying. She then smiled up at me, crossing her hands in her lap. "Max and Chloe verses the world, right?"
"Right," I replied with an equal smile. Chloe was smiling like a goof ball again and hugged me. A moment later we heard the tapping of someone's foot. I would know that tapping anywhere: Victoria.
"Excuse me," Victoria said. I looked her from her tapping foot to her crossed arms and up to her angered expression and the glare she was giving Chloe.
"What do you want?" Chloe said, releasing me from the hug and leaning back some to look at Victoria with a challenging tone and look.
"I want you to back the fuck up," Victoria said instantly after the question was asked and she said it on a quick breath.
"Hell no. You're gonna have to make me," Chloe said. Another challenge.
"What makes you think I wont?" Victoria quickly threatened, bending slightly to get more in Chloe's face.
"Because you're a spoiled rich little brat," Chloe paused, watching Victoria with a smirk like she could see the rage lifting. "Just like Nathan," Now she's done it.
They almost punched each other at the same time, but stopped just as I jumped between them. I didn't want Victoria to fight with Chloe because I knew that wouldn't end well and I didn't want Chloe to nearly kill Victoria. This was the only way I knew I would be able to stop them. They both stood, staring at each other past me with looks on their faces like they wanted to fight. I just hoped they wouldn't make me choose. A moment of intense staring over and Chloe looks at me.
"Come on, Max, I really want you to meet someone," Chloe paused, glancing at Victoria. "And you can bring your little girlfriend with you," At that, Victoria calmed down a little while I felt my checks get warm.
"Fine," I said and followed Chloe, Victoria behind me.
We followed Chloe to the parking lot. Most of the cars were gone, people gone off campus for the day. But there was Chloe's truck, parked across two parking spots obnoxiously. I could hear Victoria scoff at the look of it. It wasn't until we got closer that we could see the wagging tail of a dog in the front seat. When we got closer, it barked a few times in Chloe's direction happily its tail seemed to wag even harder.
"You got a dog?" I questioned, a bit shocked.
"Yup," Chloe laughed, a grin forming on her face as she petted the black lab through the window. "I don't got a name for her yet, but I was thinking about Shilo," She smiled. Not hearing anything from Victoria, I looked at her and was surprised to see her standing back some with eyes wide as she looked at the dog in horror.
"Victoria, are you okay?" I asked and only became concerned when she didn't respond. "Victoria?" I questioned again, a bit louder, and she jumped, looking at me with her wide eyes. "Are you all right?" She nodded. "Then why don't you come stand with us?" She shook her head no and I heard Chloe laugh.
"Aww, is the poor kitty-cat scared of a little-ol' puppy?" Chloe said with a smirk and I knew exactly where this was going.
"Chloe, no," I said to her.
"Why not?"
"Because, it's rude. You shouldn't make fun of people because they're scared of something, Chloe," I explained and Chloe sighed, apparently accepting.
"Fine. You were saved this time, Vic, but next time," She jumped at Victoria with, which made both Victoria and myself jump. "She'll get ya'!"
"I fucking hate you," Victoria mumbled under her breath.
"Oh," Chloe said, stepping towards Victoria. "What was that? I couldn't understand your bitchy mumbling," She added, her words laced with sarcasm. Victoria clicked her tongue.
"Why don't you back off," Victoria said in an even tone, anger trickling through ever so slightly.
"Why don't you fuck off?" Chloe shot back. And then it started. Something I was scared that was going to start from the first time I kissed Victoria, then rewound it because it was too soon in my opinion. Victoria slapped Chloe across the face. The mere sound of it made a few people standing in the parking lot turn to look. A few minutes of initial shock from both me and Chloe eventually ware off and Chloe grabs her cheek.
"Damn," Chloe breathes, looking at Victoria a moment before resting her eyes on me. "No wonder you like her," She adds.
"Your such a cocky person," Victoria scowls, crossing her arms in the process.
"Sounds like me and you have a lot more in common than I thought," Chloe replies, still shocked at the slap. Pissed off, yes, but still shocked.
"Doubt it," Victoria said, clearly not enjoying this conversation.
"You know, if you weren't fucking my best friend, I would end you," Chloe threatened. I know she kind of meant good by that, but just the way she said it brought heat to my cheeks and made Victoria's anger expression redden. "Max," Chloe said, turning to me.
"Chloe, I am so sorry, I had no idea she would do that," I would have went on if Chloe didn't raise a hand.
"Save it. You don't know how to control your bitch and that's fine," I was unsurprised by what she actually said yet surprised she said it. Even Victoria hesitated before scoffing.
We ended up going back to my room after Chloe left. Victoria was laying on my bed while I sat on the couch playing my guitar. I would catch myself staring at her. She had a blank look that she didn't let people see usually and she just looked up at the ceiling. No, more like through the ceiling. She was staring out into space, a space that just happened to be up on the ceiling. I hadn't even noticed I stopped playing.
"What?" Victoria asked, turning her head to look at me.
"Oh, nothing," I said, going back to my playing.
"Max?" Chloe asked a moment later and I looked up at her.
"Yeah?"
"You and Chloe are," She paused. "Just friends, right?" I needed a moment to assess what was happening here. Was Victoria honestly jealous?
"Yeah, we're just friends, Victoria, you have nothing to worry about," I smiled at her and there it was, that spark that twinkles in her eye just before she smirks.
"Of course I do," And there it is, that smirk. She got up and walked over to me, standing in front of me and bending down slightly to look me in the eye. "I need to worry about you," Like so many times before, she connected out lips.
I woke up a while later. It was just starting to get dark outside and my room was in a dark shade with only the hanging lights over my pictures on turned on. Victoria was leaning on my shoulder, her arms wrapped loosely around my mid-section. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady. She was sleeping. We had fell asleep on the couch. The thought of it brought a small smile to my face. Everything seemed perfect. Part of me said to check my phone to see if anyone was trying to get a hold of me, but I decided not to. Instead, I watched Victoria for a moment. She looked so peaceful. Then I closed my eyes and returned to sleep.
The next day, Victoria was in my room making me try on different clothes. It would be one of the last Vortex Parties for the year and Victoria was forcing me to go with her. Of course I folded. I really didn't want to go, but it's hard to say no to Victoria, especially when she uses other methods to get what she wants. But changing the way I dress to fit the atmosphere of a party? No fucking way.
"Victoria, I'm not wearing this," I said, shame and embarrassment hinting on my unexcited face. Victoria had me in a little, lacy, black dress that looked like something out of a Victoria Secret magazine and I didn't like wearing it at all.
"But you look hot," Victoria said, a hungry smirk coming to her face as she stands in front of me, her hands resting on my hip. I scold her as I cross my arms.
"No," I said sternly and she sighed.
"Fine," She crossed her arms and looked around the room at all the clothes thrown around the place. Then a spark went off. She grabbed some dark skinny jeans and a white dress shirt and threw it at me. "Put those on," She ordered.
"But-" I tried to deny, but she railed on through.
"No. Go try it on," She said again, crossing her arms and waiting.
"Fine," I mumbled before changing. When I was done, I noticed the big smirking grin on Victoria's face. "What?"
"You look amazing," She said and came up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing my lips. It was a strange feeling. This wasn't much different than any of the other times we kissed, but it felt like something more. I felt like apart of a real couple. After she hugged me one last time, she went and got dressed. It was something expensive with a name I would never be able to pronounce, but it was defiantly some leggings and a sweater. But that's all I can say.
The party was like something you would imagine an actual club to be. The music was blasting everywhere, like there was speakers in everyone. A large group of the people filled up one room, jumping up and down to the music, which sounded like something you would listen to at an underground club or a rave. The lights were flashing, people we're sitting around or up against the walls making out, some people even invaded the bedrooms, and when I say people I mean mostly more than two. This was crazy. Some of the people I didn't even recognize from school. They either looked too old or too young. And out of all the people that I did see from school, they weren't people I hanged out with. They were more Victoria's people. I just felt out of place.
Or, at least I did feel out of place, but then Victoria got me a drink. After chugging it down, we ducked into the crowd and started jumping and dancing like everyone else. It was insane, everyone jumping at once to the beat that was way to loud, I couldn't even hear Victoria most of the time. I would be looking right at her, seeing her lips form the words. But all I would hear was the music and even then I couldn't read her lips, I was too distracted by how much I wanted to kiss them, and I did. We ended up being one of the couples on one of the many couches making out. That's where what I remember ends.
I woke up the next day in my bed. I was still wearing most of the clothes from the night before and I had a major headache. I didn't even remember what happened the night before until I looked over and saw Victoria, still wearing her clothes from the night before, and I remembered that we were at the party. That didn't explain how we got here.
Carefully, I stood up. Apparently I wasn't careful enough because when I stood I had to grab my head from the pain, groaning as I did. Then I kept hearing this annoying knocking sound. Upon realization that it was someone knocking on the door, I groaned again and opened it, still holding my head. On the other side of the door was Dana.
"Hey-whoa, Max," She said, her eyes wide a little bit. "You look like terrible. Did you go to that party last night?" I narrowed my eyes at hear as I tried to pay attention to what she was saying. After a moment, the question finally sank in.
"Oh, yeah. Just a minute," I said, leaving the door open as I walked to my desk to grab some Tylenol for just this reason. Dana stood against the door framed, her arms crossed as she scanned the room. Then her eyebrow rose as her eyes landed on Victoria.
"Whoa, you guys really are a thing, aren't you?" She asked, trying not to be loud enough to wake Victoria. I leaned against my desk for a moment, a small content smile coming to my face as I watched Victoria for a moment.
"Yeah," I breathed. Dana glanced at me then shook her head with a small laugh and a small smirk on her face.
"You're really good for her, you know that? No offence to her, but she was a total bitch until you guys happened," All I could do was laugh a little bit at the fact that I even saw Victoria as a complete and utter Queen Bitch, but that changed after I saw what she was like when she was alone.
"Anyway, I came over here to ask if I could borrow one of your gallery books," Dana said after a moment and I nodded.
"Sure, their over here," I said, walking over to the small table beside the couch. Eventually, she found one she wanted and left.
I decided I might as well do something, so I turned on the music, low enough to not wake Victoria, and I sat on the couch going through my pictures I'd taken at the party. I apparently took a lot of them. I must have even let someone else take some pictures with my camera because I had a few pictures of me and Victoria dancing and making out. The last picture I took was of me and Victoria laying back in my bed. We looked wasted and tired. It's a good thing we made it here. I glanced up just as I heard the sound of someone stretching then I watched as Victoria sat straight up, looking around the room before her eyes landed on me. She looked wide-eyed and vulnerable.
"What happened last night?" She said, concern in her eyes as she looked to me for answers, so I gave the best I could.
"I honestly have no idea," I shrugged. "The last thing I remember is us suddenly being back in my room and I took a picture of us," Victoria gets this look like she knows exactly what happened now.
"Ooh," She said, avoiding my eyes now. She suddenly looked at her hand and her knuckles were newly scabbed all the way across. "I think I punched someone," She added, a bit of confusion in her voice.
Before I could say anything, my phone started ringing. I picked it up and it was Kate. She said after she talked to us last night, she couldn't get a hold of us so she called Chloe. I asked her to explain more and she just put Chloe on the phone.
"Hey, Maxi, how's your head feeling?" Chloe asked, sarcasm on her voice.
"Fine now, I guess, how did you-?"
"I came and got you guys from that party, Max. Don't you remember?" I thought as hard as I could but I couldn't. Chloe sighed.
"I showed up to the party after Kate called me. I found you guys hammered and surrounded by even more hammered douches. I couldn't leave you there, Max. I didn't want you to get lost like Rachel, even if Queen V of the B's is capital B-A-E," She paused a moment, waiting for me to say something, which when I didn't she continued. "I grabbed you guys and tried getting you out, but your girlfriend puts up a real fight. I thought her slap was hard, but her punch was worse, it even broke skin, mine and hers."
Chloe goes on to describe that she eventually gets us to listen and she piles us in the truck and drove us to the dorms. From there, she talked us up to my room, which Victoria refused to leave without me so she just stayed. Chloe said she knew I was at least a little coherent when I picked up my camera and took a picture, but right after that me and Victoria passed out almost on time.
"It was so cute I almost vomited," Chloe ended her little story with intense sarcasm. "Did Victoria hear any of this? If not I refuse to explain this shit again."
"Yeah, she heard, I put you on speaker when you started explaining," I said.
"Alright cool. Talk to you later."
"Wait!" Victoria yelled, jumping up and grabbing the phone, pushing it off speaker and putting it to her ear. "Thanks," She said and I could hear Chloe give a sarcastic sounding response. "No, I'm serious. It was my fault for getting us in that situation in the first place. So, thanks. Thanks for cleaning up my mess," More inaudible voices and Victoria hangs up and hands the phone back to me then sits beside me on the couch, snuggling up next to me.
"Victoria," I said softly.
"Yeah?" She answered, not looking up at me but laying her head on my shoulder, her forehead against my neck.
"There's something I need to tell you," I said and I explained everything. I explained how I had this power I couldn't describe. This power that allows me to rewind. I tell her of the real first time I kissed her and how scared I was. I told her of how I felt throughout everything we've been through, only focusing on the important stuff of course. I explained how at first I thought it was a whole ploy for her to get under my skin and rip my heart out. I even went over the little things that people told me about how happy they are that we're together because now she's not so bad. And when I was finished, Victoria smile up at me.
"I'm happy too, I don't care about anyone, just you," I smiled at how sweet she was being and how sweet her smile looked. "If I could rewind time," She said, smiling into my neck. "I would do it just to fall in love with you all over again, Max," I smiled big at this.
"Victoria, I think I love you."
"I already love you."
And we sat there in each others arms for a while. Going over all the crazy things we did just to get here, I really would do it all again. Before, I was an outcast. I really had no hope for love or anything, nothing other than Warren but I saw him as more of a brother than anything. Before, I was jealous of Rachel Amber for taking my place with Chloe, but now that I'm here and with Victoria, I don't care. It feels good. It feels right.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, reading the text from Chloe. It reads:
"Max, it's Rachel..."
"She's back."
A/N: That's right, a cliffhanger for the very end. Aha. You're welcome. ^ u ^ I love you guys. I hope you enjoyed this story and, yes, there is going to be a sequel. But, I have a question for you guys. Would you like the sequel to be in Max's point of view, like this one, where it's focused more on MaxXVictoria? Or would you like it in Chloe's point of view and focused more on ChloeXRachel? O 3 O It's just a question about what you guys would look more forward to seeing. (Of course, there will be mention and scenes of both MxV, CxR, and vise versa) Anyways, thank you for supporting this. Sorry it took so long to get posted, but I wanted to make it as best as I possibly can with time to sleep and take a break here and there.
See you next story!
~ X
