Chapter 10: The Pit
Max awoke to the unfamiliar touch of her blankets on her skin across her entire body. She groaned but immediately gasped in shock once she lifted her bed sheets. She was naked.
Under the covers next to her lay the bare backside of another figure, and Max turned her head to see the rear of Chloe's head, her blue hair greeting her vibrantly.
It wasn't a dream. Holy. Fuck.
Max began recalling everything that had occurred last night. If understanding the night she had first kissed Chloe was compared to now, that night would be considered as a first grade math problem, while this was aerospace engineering.
The events began crashing down on her head like a tidal wave; the rush of ecstasy, the million different sensations she felt throughout her body, all caused by her own pirate captain.
It was surreal, and Max was left in utter disbelief. She pinched herself in the hip to be completely certain if she was dreaming and immediately winced in pain.
I'm definitely not dreaming.
The memories of last night were ones that she never had once imagined that she'd be reliving.
She began to get giddy, blushing at the recollection of the event.
Max then jumped at the sound of a groggy moan coming from beside her. She turned to see Chloe's body begin to stir awake, and her head began to subtly explore her surroundings.
Max held back giggles as she saw Chloe do exactly the same as she did when she awoke, lifting up the covers to see whether or not she was clothed.
Max took the opportunity to surprise her waking girlfriend, so she sunk her mouth onto Chloe's neck and sucked on it like a thirsty vampire.
Chloe chuckled at the wake-up call, and she turned around to face Max eye-to-eye.
"Hey you." Max softly greeted. Chloe leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. "Last night was…"
"Amazeballs? Out of this world? The greatest night of your life?" Chloe offered Max some suggestions to finish her sentence, and she giggled.
"Not exactly what I was gonna say, but sure, we'll go with that."
Chloe rubbed her eyes and squinted to focus on the clock across the room.
"What time is it?" Max asked, still adjusting herself to the brightness of the morning light.
"Half past ten." Chloe informed.
"Ugh, we hella slept in." Max groaned.
"I love it when you say 'hella'" Chloe giggled and so did Max. "You know, for a virgin, you know your way around a girl." Max blushed at the rather sexual compliment.
"I just realized that I'm not a virgin anymore. God, if my parents found out my first time having sex was with another girl…" Max began imagining the various possible outcomes to the scenario, but given her paranoid nature, most of them consisted of furious yelling. "Good thing they're in Seattle." The fact brought some relief to Max, but she knew that telling her parents was inevitable. "We should probably get up." Chloe whined at Max's words.
"But I'm laaazyyy." The punk's complaints only prompted an eye roll from Max who was already leaving the bed.
Chloe's initial pout swiftly transitioned to a devilish smirk once Max was standing up and looking back, and the brunette was confused as to why.
"Hot." Chloe remarked. Max stared down and immediately realized why. She quickly ripped the sheets off from over Chloe and usedit to cover her naked body in embarrassment. The room was filled with Chloe's laughter and the blushing girl shyly hid her face with the blanket.
"Get dressed you dork." Max peeked from behind the sheets and saw her clothes lazily tossed by her feet on the floor. Chloe was already dressing herself, but Max couldn't help but watch her naked girlfriend fumble with her clothes.
Wowser. That's…
"Max, you need to stop staring at me while I change." Max jumped at Chloe's voice.
"How did you…" Max was flustered, this obviously wasn't the first time Chloe had eyes on the back of her head.
"I just know these things. Now get dressed, ya perv." Chloe bantered as she clipped on her bra.
Embarrassed, Max picked up the clothes that Chloe had seemingly picked out for her; a t-shirt with an instant camera on it, her typical grey hoodie, and a pair of blue jeans, along with some underwear.
She shrugged and began getting dressed, obviously not complaining at the choice of fashion since it wasn't something she much cared for.
By the time Max had thrown on her hoodie, Chloe was already fully clothed in the attire she had worn yesterday.
"Can we hurry? I don't wanna be in these stank clothes any longer." Chloe complained.
"Why don't you try some of my clothes?" Chloe scoffed at Max's offer.
"Okay, first of all, there's no way I'd fit, and second, I have a reputation to live up to. Hippie is not part of that." Max rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, your loss. Anyways, I need a shower." Max reached over and retrieved her small bag of shower supplies.
"You want me to wait here again?" Chloe asked, and Max immediately noticed her girlfriend's eyes being drawn to her guitar.
"Obviously. I'll be quick." With that, Max left the room and headed for the showers, where she was greeted by Kate brushing her teeth at the sinks.
"Morning, Kate." Max waved, and Kate turned and smiled with her toothbrush still in her mouth. She spat into the sink to greet back.
"Hey, Max. How was your birthday?" Kate asked.
"Amazing. Chloe had all these surprises set up for me; she got me the new Foals album." Kate's eyes widened and she became giddy.
"Ooh! You're inviting me sometime to listen, no buts." Max giggled.
"Of course."
"What else?" Kate continued.
"Well, she gave me her father's old instant camera. I still can't get over how sweet that was." Recalling the emotional moment almost brought a tear to Max's eye, but she held it back.
"Oh gosh, that is so sweet of her. I heard about her father from Rachel. It's so sad." Kate frowned at the thought.
"I know. I'm gonna take extra good care of it. I can't wait to try it out, I bet I could take some cool shots." Max imagined the thought of framing all sorts of great landscape shots with her new camera, but she especially looked forward to photographing the junkyard once again.
"I know you can, Max. By the way, everything going alright with Chloe?" Kate asked before rinsing her mouth with water.
"I think 'alright' is an understatement. I've never been more happy." Max smiled.
"That's so amazing to hear, Max, I'm so happy for you. Anyways, I need to get back to my room, I'll see you later." Kate picked up her toothbrush and waved goodbye to Max who did the same.
Okay, let's hit the showers now, don't wanna keep Chloe waiting for too long. Oh, my poor guitar.
Max removed her clothes and entered one of the empty stalls, and quickly, she began to cleanse her body as she routinely did every morning.
Once she finished, she made her way back down the hall towards her room, where expectedly, she heard the faint sound of guitar strings being played from behind the door.
Max giggled then entered the room, where she saw Chloe concentrating hard on the strings of her guitar with her tongue sticking out, gingerly plucking each string to see if they made an audible noise.
"How's it going there, Jimi Hendrix?" Max joked to get Chloe's attention. "What're you playing this time?"
"Uhh…I actually have no idea, to be honest." Chloe admitted.
"Since it's the weekend, I could teach you a couple things if you'd like."
"Thanks, but I got plans with Rachel today, sorry." Max frowned once she heard the news, but she obviously didn't want to display her disapproval.
"Actually, you can come with if you want." Max's eyes lit up at Chloe's offer.
"Sure, what're you guys doing?"
"We're gonna-actually, you'll see." Chloe gently rested the guitar down and leapt to her feet. "Let's go."
"This is what you kept a secret? Two Whales?" Max felt disappointed as Chloe pulled over next to the familiar sight of the diner.
"Chill, I just need to pick up Rachel here." Chloe honked the horn rapidly three times in quick succession, and seconds later, Rachel emerged from inside and hopped inside.
"Alright, let's go get wast-Holy shit, hey Max." Rachel was caught by surprise as she saw Max sitting comfortable in the center of the seat.
"Hey, Rach." Max nervously waved at the girl.
"She comin' with?" Chloe nodded at Rachel's question.
"I haven't told her where we're going though." Chloe confessed to Max's annoyance; she was still desperately curious.
"You little devil. Has she ever been to one?" Rachel asked, maintaining the vagueness.
"I'm pretty sure she hasn't, we'll find out soon enough." With that, Rachel hopped into the empty seat so that Max was now sandwiched in between the two other girls.
The truck accelerated and began cruising down the tranquil streets of Arcadia Bay, and Rachel was quick to start conversation.
"So, I need deets on you two."
"Dammit, I knew you'd start with this." Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I needs ta know, girl!" Rachel pleaded. "So, talk!"
"What do you mean by 'talk'?" Max asked, reluctant on speaking due to how vague the question was.
"Fine, lemme help. First date. Tell me 'bout that." Max just sat speechless, looking back at Chloe looking for salvation.
"We went to Two Whales, ran into Queen Bitch Victoria," Rachel scowled at the mere mentioning of Victoria's name. "Then we went to the junkyard had some photo fun with Max's rad photography skills." Rachel's eyes widened.
"You went to the junkyard?" Rachel asked, but Max was unsure to whom she was asking to, her eyes darted back and forth between both her and Chloe.
"Hell yeah. Don't know why, place just came to mind." Chloe lightly shrugged.
"Did you like it?" This time it was clear Rachel was asking Max.
"Oh yeah, that place is perfect for taking some great shots. I love going there." Rachel fist pumped joyously.
"I swear, all the photography chicks dig American Rust, it's uncanny." Rachel threw her hands up in excitement.
Max was beginning to grow impatient, the truck was now far gone from Arcadia Bay's limits, and given Max's inexperience outside the town, the roads around her were worryingly unfamiliar.
"Guys, where are we going?" Max scanned the passing surroundings out the window past Rachel's head. Dense forests surrounded the narrow roads that the truck travelled down, and though it made for some enjoyable scenery, the lack of recognizable sights continued to concern Max.
I think I'm being kidnapped by my own girlfriend and her crazy sidekick. HELP!
"Shh, babe. We're almost there." Chloe patted her girlfriend lightly on the head.
Max pouted, but gave up in trying to dispute. She would just need to be patient to find out what this amazing secret that Rachel and Chloe kept from her was. Unfortunately, patience wasn't her strong suit, but curiosity was. Obviously, this wasn't the best pair of personality traits to carry in this situation.
After what seemed like eons of rapidly tapping her fingers in wait, the truck pulled out of the thick forest and into a clearing that was occupied by what seemed to be a vast abandoned sawmill.
Despite the evident neglect the building had seen, the area was bustling with crowds of punk rockers boasting vibrant tank tops, t-shirts, and tattered jeans.
Oh my dog, I think I found Chloe's natural habitat.
The car veered into the packed parking lot, and as soon as Chloe switched off the engine, the two girls next to Max bolted out of the vehicle to join the masses.
"Max, come on, let's go!" Chloe excitedly reached her hand out towards Max, and despite the uncertainty festering in her mind, she reluctantly accepted Chloe's hand and exited the truck.
"Chloe, are we at a mosh pit?" Max anxiously questioned as she was tugged along by her enthusiastic girlfriend towards the crowds.
"No. Not yet we aren't."
"What do you mean?"
"Okay, might as well break it to you now. We're going to see Firewalk." Chloe beamed excitedly, but Max was left dazed and confused.
"I have no idea what that is."
"Max, Rachel and I fucking love this band. They're having a concert here tonight, and it was all she and I were looking forward to this year!"
"Tonight? Then why are we here so early?"
"'Cause everyone here is impatient and can't wait to have their fix of booze and weed. This is just a pre-concert party."
Max's shy nature was beginning to kick in. Parties and mosh pits were far beyond her comfort zone and her social awkwardness had already begun to take over. She felt out of place, somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. While everyone around her, including Chloe and Rachel were dressed in punk rock attire, Max was still stuck in her generic t-shirt and hoodie.
These people probably think I got lost or something. This is sooo humiliating.
"Chloe, these people are the polar opposite of who I'm used to! I don't fit in at all!"
"With me you do. Just trust me, as long as you stick with me, you'll be hella cool." Chloe held out a reassuring hand in front of Max.
Come on Max, it's Chloe. If it were anyone else, you'd walk back to Arcadia Bay. I mean, you're young! Go out and do something fun with your life instead of take selfies every morning. I am going to hate myself for this.
Knowing that she would likely end up regretting her decision, Max hesitantly grabbed Chloe's hand with a tenacious grip, holding on for dear life.
The two merged into the forming crowd that had gathered to enter the building where the real party had emerged. Chloe seemed to be intent on getting inside.
The two dodged their way through the cluster of people and Max felt herself getting suffocated by the stench of alcohol, marijuana, and sweat. She held her breath as she waded through the ocean of party-goers and she eventually squeezed herself out and into a completely different scene.
She had emerged into the interior of the sawmill, but it had been completely refurnished and redecorated to better suit the tastes of the punk rock lifestyle. Graffiti, posters, and vulgar trinkets lined the walls while broken bottles and tattered shirts were strewn across the aged wooden floor. At the end of the room was a bar that had been set up to cater to the flooding demand for alcohol, and the limited number of tables and seats that were available in the building were already occupied by completely wasted individuals.
This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea.
"There you two are! I've been waiting forever!" Rachel placed her hands on her hips in a sassy manner as Chloe and Max brushed themselves off.
"We came in literally seconds after you." Chloe disputed.
"Well, I'm an impatient bitch. Deal with it, Price." Chloe simply rolled her eyes.
"Guys, I hate to bring this up but…I don't have a ticket." Max shyly raised her hand to attract the attention of the other two.
"No worries, the security here are hella lazy and really couldn't give a shit. That crowd we just went through was the ticket line." Chloe pointed back out the door at the more unfortunate people that were trapped outside, waiting to be granted entry.
"So I just got in here without a ticket?" Max asked.
"No, we just got in here without a ticket." Chloe pointed at both herself and Rachel.
"Hmm, we need to do something about Max's clothes." Rachel gestured towards Max who stood awkwardly.
"Rach, I'm sure it's fine." Chloe excused, but Rachel was set to argue.
"Trust me, if anyone sees her like this tonight, they'll eat her alive. Think of this as me saving your life, Max." Rachel grabbed Max by the wrist and took her to a van that had parked in an opening in the sawmill wall. Next to it stood a long haired bearded man staring at his phone.
"Yo, you sellin'?" Rachel got the attention of the man, whose eyes were immediately taken away from his device.
"Yeah. What do you want?" His tone was rather impatient, but he seemed intent on earning some quick money so he attempted to hide it as best he could. Regardless, it was still rather obvious that he would have preferred to be anywhere else.
Inside the van was an entire clothing store for punk rockers compacted into a vehicle.
Shirts, jeans, jackets, and even studded bracelets and necklaces were neatly hung inside the back, all available for purchase.
The majority of shirts were Firewalk merchandise, but despite the limited choice in styles, Rachel was quick to jump into fashionista mode.
She intricately picked out an assortment of clothes, and Max could only watch anxiously, wondering if she would actually have to walk around wearing such forbidden clothing.
It was sacrilegious to the hipster culture to don such styled wear, and Max was mentally biting her nails in reluctance.
"Perfect." Rachel's arms were loaded with an entire getup of clothes, and she shoved them to Max. "How much?"
The man counted the items in Max's hands one by one, mentally calculating the final costs.
"95 bucks." Max's jaw fell at the price.
"Wait, Rachel. You're not seriously gonna drop a hundred bucks for me, right?"
"Not a hundred bucks, 95." Rachel winked as she handed the bearded man a small bundle of bills.
"Whoa, wait!" Max held her arm out to argue, but Rachel hushed her.
"Max, chill. It's fine. I have stacks to spend and I'm perfectly happy with spending some on you. Besides, I've really wanted to see you in punk form."
"But…"
"No buts. There's a bathroom down there, go change." Rachel pointed roughly towards the back of the room and hurried Max to go.
Max looked back at Chloe for assurance, and expectedly, her girlfriend nodded with a smile.
Knew it. Bad idea.
However, Max felt a hint of curiosity similar to Rachel's in the back of her head. She had once wondered how she would look like if she wore Chloe's style, and this was a good opportunity to find out.
I guess it wouldn't hurt. It's just clothes, right? It's not like they'll eat me or something.
She gingerly approached the bathroom and entered the cramped space. An unidentifiable stench flooded her nose and she tried her best to ignore it.
She held the clothes in front of her, examining just what Rachel had bought her.
Before her was a black t-shirt branded with the Firewalk logo, a pair of tattered jeans, and a black hoodie with studs on its shoulder pads.
I mean…it's still a t-shirt and hoodie…it's what you wear everyday anyways.
Max gave a look of disgust at the clothes, but at the same time her curiosity began overwhelming her.
Screw it.
Max switched out of her clothes and into her new outfit as swiftly as possible as an effort to get out of the reeking restroom as soon as possible. Once she was complete her make-over, she examined herself in the mirror.
The outfit didn't suit her. Her shy, freckled face seemed unfitting when paired with the studded hoodie and ripped jeans. As well, to top it all off, Rachel had purchased a studded bracelet as well, so Max reluctantly put it on as to not disappoint.
She rotated her body right and left, observing this new look for herself with a skeptical attitude.
However, she then visualized herself with dyed hair, piercings, and tattoos, and the image finally fell into place. Oddly, she felt tempted to transform herself this way, to convert herself to the ways of the punk.
Jesus, Max. Chloe's really turning you to the dark side, huh?
She giggled to herself. At the thought of Chloe, her confidence rocketed up and she felt ready to take on this new crowd.
Max took a deep breath and emerged from the bathroom, scanning the room for Rachel and Chloe with her old clothes awkwardly in her hands.
Expectedly, they were already at the bar, chatting away as they waited for Max to return.
Chloe's eyes caught Max in their peripherals, and she had to do a double take to confirm what she had briefly glimpsed. Chloe's eyes widened and her jaw was agape, and Max felt as if she had just made her girlfriend's dreams come true.
Rachel turned her head to Max's direction to see what Chloe was looking at, and when she noticed Max 2.0, a proud grin took over her face.
"Yes, yes, and hella yes!" Rachel shrieked with glee as she leapt up from her barstool and approached Max.
The brunette stood shyly in her new outfit, hoping that at least Chloe would approve.
"Do…do I look okay?" Max nervously asked.
"Uhh, did you not hear me say 'Yes, yes, and hella yes'?" Rachel proudly observed her new creation, admiring her choice of clothes for someone like Max; subtle, yet still evident of punk style.
Past Rachel's head, Max's eyes met with Chloe's, who had been staring with her jaw collapsed ever since Max had come out from the restroom.
"You think I look okay, Chlo?" Max asked timidly. Chloe just continued staring with her stunned expression for another moment.
"I think I have a lady boner." The punk finally muttered, sparking laughter from Rachel, but a nervous chuckle from Max.
"Is that good?" Max was still left uncertain, wondering if she should have just locked herself in the bathroom until the concert was over.
"Of fucking course it is." Chloe stood up from her barstool to get a closer and more intimate look at her girlfriend's new look. "A couple tats and piercings and you'll be a full-time thrasher in no time." She smiled and Max did too once she heard her girlfriend's approval. Chloe leaned into Max's ear and softly whispered. "You look so fucking hot I wanna go down on you right now." She drew back and gave one final mischievous glance at Max while biting her lower lip.
A chill was sent up Max's spine and she blushed. She felt slightly aroused and couldn't help but imagine the scene of Chloe pouncing on her right there next to the bar.
"Uhh, Max, you okay?" Rachel waved her hand in front of the dazed girl's face to no avail. "What the fuck did you whisper to her, she's on a different planet." Chloe merely smirked. "Max!"
"Huh? Sorry, what were you saying?" Max snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at Rachel.
"You okay, girl? What the hell did Chloe say?"
"Uhh…nothing." Max looked back at Chloe only to see her casually looking elsewhere and pretending as if she wasn't there.
"Okaaayy, whatever. Anyways, you fit it now so we can get fucking wasted!" Rachel exclaimed. "Come on gals, party's this way." Rachel beckoned the other two girls towards a doorway that led into what seemed like another wide open room, so when Max saw Chloe hop up and walk over she naturally followed.
The entrance led into what seemed to be the main concert stage; there was a sizeable floor that seemed ideal for a mosh pit as well as a makeshift stage for the band to perform on. Max visualized the arena being packed with concert-goers thrashing their heads and raving while being packed together in such a confined space, and Max would be somewhere within that crowd.
Another chill ran up Max's spine, but this time it was from fear and anxiety.
The floor was populated by a less densely packed crowd that was divided into separate groups, each occupied by various tasks, most of which included alcohol and drugs.
Rachel led the group to an empty spot near the corner and she sat down and immediately settled in.
"Fuck, I forgot my beer back at the bar. Try not to get too naughty while I'm gone." Chloe halted Rachel just before she left.
"Can you take Max's clothes back to the truck while you're gone?" She tossed Rachel the keys to the car and the girl simply rolled her eyes and agreed. Rachel left back towards the bar with a wink, leaving Max and Chloe alone.
Once Rachel was gone from her sight, Chloe mashed her lips onto Max's, taking the girl by surprise as she usually did.
The kiss was rough, aggressive, full of desire.
Chloe only partially drew back so that their noses still touched.
"Wish we didn't have to be in a public space." Max's face flushed red again as she was sucked back into Chloe's lips. "You have no idea how much I've dreamed of you wearing clothes like this. You're making my legs shaky."
"I'm…I'm glad you liked it…" Max breathlessly spoke through shivering lips before she was once again dragged into Chloe.
"For fucks sake, you two!" Rachel's voice from behind made Max jump. "What did I say when I left?" Chloe rolled her eyes and flipped Rachel the bird. "Now I can't leave you two alone without having to worry about you guys getting arrested for public indecency."
The following few hours consisted of light-hearted conversation between the three, mostly Rachel pestering Chloe and Max about their evolving relationship.
Rachel downed a few beers as they talked and Chloe had no choice but to not drink due to her role as the designated driver. Max, on the other hand, rejected the alcohol which she absolutely despised, but she obviously didn't express her dislike towards the beverage violently.
Eventually, Max started to get into the swing of the conversation, occasionally telling jokes and laughing along, and soon enough, she was telling tales of her own; most of which involved her adventures in Seattle.
"That'd be a great place to go someday." Rachel dreamed of driving an RV into the city and observing the Space Needle up close.
"You putting off our trip to Portland, Rach?" Chloe leaned back with a hand on her chest as a sarcastic sign of offense.
"We'll still go, chill." Rachel promised.
"Wait, you guys are gonna go to Portland?" Max curiously asked.
"Hoping. Rach and I planned it around the time we first met. Started as a joke but evolved into a pretty decent idea."
"What's getting in your way?"
"Well, for starters, school exists. Rachel won't dare leave Arcadia without her precious honor roll degree from Blackhell. Secondly, we're broke as fuck."
"Well, she is." Rachel pointed at Chloe. "My dad seems to be willing to throw money at me for anything but leaving town."
"Yeah, so we've been thinking of ways to scrape up some quick cash."
"I see." Max hung her head in worry.
She wouldn't just leave me, right?
"Max, I'm not just gonna leave you." Chloe seemed to have read her mind. It appeared that her face had made it quite obvious as to what was going on in her head.
"What? I…I wasn't thinking that."
"You hella were. Of course you'd come with us." Max's eyes lit up.
Before their conversation could resume, an unfamiliar voice interrupted them from behind.
"Excuse me ladies?" They turned around to see three rather attractive men standing over them, all of them seemingly their age, no older than their early twenties. "My friends and I were just wondering if we could join in with you guys and share some beers maybe?" He had sleek dirty blonde hair and a piercing in his left ear, while one behind him had shorter brown hair and a growing beard, with the last one boasting a faux hawk and a nose piercing. A sleeve tattoo was visible on his right arm.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Rachel invited the three to sit down.
"Sweet. So this your first time here?" The blonde one asked before taking a quick swig of his beer.
"Not for me and her," Chloe pointed at herself and Rachel. "but for this young padawan, it's her first mosh pit." Chloe patted Max's head.
"We've been to mosh pits a plenty. Vincent here's been attending them since he learned how to walk." The brown haired one pointed back at the one with the tattoo sleeve.
"Shit, where are our manners, I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Adrian," The brown haired one greeted. "that's obviously Vincent, but we call him Vinnie," The tattooed arm was raised in a light salute. "and this gorgeous hunk of a man is Carson." The blonde haired one raised up his central finger at Adrian's sarcasm.
"Cool. I'm Chloe, that mess over there is Rachel, and this shy little bunny is Max." Chloe introduced the group respectively.
"Awesome. So you girls from around here?" Carson asked.
"Nah, we live about an hour's drive from here. Just came down to see Firewalk." Chloe replied.
"Nice. We were just cruising through Oregon this fall and thought we'd take a chance to thrash."
"Just how we live, we hear about a pit, count us there." Vinnie proudly remarked.
"Respectable." Rachel nodded in agreement for such a lifestyle.
"So where exactly are you gals from?" Carson asked.
"Small town north-west of here called Arcadia Bay. It's where we go to school." Chloe responded, pointing in the direction of home.
"Oh, that's where that fancy art school is, isn't it?" Vinnie recalled.
"Yeah, Blackwell Academy." Chloe confirmed.
"My brother went there."
"What does he do?"
"He does photography." Chloe's eyes lit up and Max's attention to the conversation was heightened.
"Well, we happen to have our very own star behind a camera right here." Chloe placed her hand on Max's shoulder.
"That's awesome. What kind of shots do you take?" Vinnie turned his eyes to the shy brunette.
"Uhm…I just capture whatever catches my eye. I don't really like to restrict myself to one subject." Max nervously explained, slightly balling herself up.
"Respect. My brother does model shoots. Like, for fashion and shit."
"Hey Rach, maybe he should take shots of you." Rachel sent Chloe the clear distasteful gesture of the middle finger.
"You a model?" Carson asked.
"Trying to be." Rachel humbly replied.
"Well, you definitely look the part. You're real pretty." The blonde flirtatiously complimented and Rachel gave him a simple 'thanks'.
"So, Max is a photographer and Rachel here's a model. What do you do, Chloe?" Adrian's question brought a moment of contemplation upon Chloe.
"I uhh…Not gonna lie to you, I have no fucking clue right now." Chloe admitted.
"Well, what do you like to do?"
"I used to love a lot of things. Drawing, skateboarding, manga. Right now, I don't really know."
"How come you don't like that stuff anymore?" Max could notice a pang of hurt in Chloe's eyes.
It's 'cause of her father. Poor Chloe…
"I uhh…I don't really like talking about it." Chloe seemed to be trying to hide her sorrow, but her trembling voice made it evident that it hurt to even think about her father.
"That's cool, didn't mean to put you on the spot, sorry." Adrian rubbed the back of his head.
"It's hella cool. Uhh, what were we talking about?" Chloe's voice returned to normal. "Oh right, my future. Uhh, I mean, I know my way around an engine."
"Hey, maybe you could be a mechanic." Carson suggested. "Vinnie's an engine guru. Genius under the hood."
"Maybe I could, never thought about it." Chloe held her head up in thought. "You a mechanic, Vinnie?"
"Nah, I'm a barista at the moment, but I got a project car in the works."
"Awesomesauce. What ride?" Chloe asked.
"'70 Chevelle SS. Beautiful machine." Chloe let out an 'ooh' of approval. "7.4 litres and it runs about 380 horsepower give or take a few. Haven't done a proper dyno test in a-"
"Okay, that's enough geeking out about cars. Can we move onto something we can all talk about?" Adrian interrupted the brief conversation to Vinnie's annoyance.
"So what're you girls doing after the show? If you're not too busy we could go for some drinks." Carson offered.
"That sounds great, but I don't know if Max would be okay with that." Rachel looked over at the girl in question.
"Oh, uh…That's okay, it's not like I have to drink or anything." Max nervously chuckled.
"You don't drink?" Adrian asked.
"Uhh, yeah. In fact, I don't really do any of this." She gestured to her surroundings. "Parties and raves aren't really my thing." The three seemed confused. Max's outfit seemed to contradict what she was explaining.
"Really? Then why are you here, not to sound rude."
"Max has never been to a mosh pit before, so I decided to bring her along to this one." Chloe explained, erasing most of the confusion from the three guys.
"Yeah, without my consent." Max joked.
"Then I'm gonna guess the getup's your work too?" Adrian gestured to Max's outfit.
"Not me. That was Rach's masterpiece." Rachel bowed her head slightly for acknowledgement.
"Well you certainly had us fooled." Carson chuckled. "So this is all new to you, Max?"
"Yeah…and waaayy out of my comfort zone." Max softly admitted.
"It's fine, there's a first for everything. I remember Adrian's first mosh pit." The three men laughed at the memory, leaving the girls confused and out of the loop.
"Sorry, don't wanna get into too much detail, but let's just say it wasn't the best night for Adrian to try beer for the first time." Chloe and Rachel giggled and the implication, and unexpectedly, Max let out a sharp chuckle herself.
"Anyways, if it's alright, I kinda wanna move onto Max." Adrian's mention startled the girl. "I'm interested to hear what else you're into, besides photography and all that."
"I uhh…" Max's social awkwardness came into play and she felt rather anxious.
"I mean, we know Chloe and Rachel here are hardcore punks at heart so we probably share their pastimes. I wanna know what type of stuff you like to do, if you're okay with me asking."
It was discomforting, having five pairs of eyes trained on her at one moment. She felt rather overwhelmed by it all.
"I uhm…I like to…doodle…I guess…" It was the first thing that came to mind, and the thought of her sketching pictures of Chloe in her notebook immediately entered her head.
"Oh, uhm. That's cool. You uhh, you draw anything in particular?"
Yeah, you're definitely not telling him you spend classes drawing countless doodles of your girlfriend. Not even Chloe knows that.
"Just…stuff I see. Whatever comes to mind." She nervously chuckled.
"Sounds fun. Hey, You look a bit pale, you okay?" Adrian asked, slightly leaning in.
"Oh, yeah. Just uhh…the air. Not used to it." It was obviously an excuse. Just anything to help her escape the situation.
"Oh shit, you wanna go outside, maybe get some fresh air?"
"Uhh, yeah." Max felt it was a good opportunity to relieve her nose of the stench of alcohol and weed.
"I'll come with you." Adrian stood up as Max did, but she didn't feel the need to refuse his offer.
"Maxaroni, you want me to come?" Chloe began to stand up with a look of concern on her face.
Shit, if she sees me chicken out like this, she'll be totally disappointed by me. No way.
"No, it's totally fine. I'll be okay, be back in a sec." Max's tone remained casual and slightly upbeat.
With her new escort, Max sauntered out of the sawmill and immediately inhaled a deep breath of fresh air.
Breathe, nose! Breeaaathe!
"You doing okay?" Adrian asked with a look of worry.
"Yeah, totally fine." Max sent him a reassuring smile.
"Cool. Just don't want you to be in a spot that you don't wanna be in."
"Thanks." As Max began huffing in breaths of air to refresh her lungs, she noticed Adrian blatantly staring at her in her peripherals.
"Uhh, is something wrong?" She asked.
"No, not at all." He began stepping closer towards Max, slowly backing her into the tailgate of a parked SUV. Adrian had eventually closed into Max, compromising her into a rather intimate position. "I just think you're absolutely gorgeous." His voice was a seductive whisper, and Max immediately began searching for exit routes.
"Adrian, stop. I…" Max began to argue, but the dominant man began to close his face into hers.
"It's cool, Max." His words were more creepy than they were comforting. His hands trailed up to her hips and began grazing her body.
"Hey! Get your hands off my girlfriend, you fucking freak!" A familiar voice came from the distance, and Max noticed a touch of blue sprinting towards her past Adrian's head.
'Girlfriend…Oh fuck." His attitude quickly transitioned to embarrassed and guilty, but before he could apologize, Chloe grabbed him by his shirt and ripped him off of Max. "I didn't…I'm sorry!"
"You didn't know? You still don't fucking pressure her like that, creep!" Chloe defiantly stood between Adrian and Max, asserting her dominance in the situation.
"I didn't mean to…"
"Max, you okay, babe?" Chloe swiftly turned her attention to her startled girlfriend and placed her hand on her cheek.
"I'm good, just a bit freaked out." Max cleared her throat. "Thanks."
"What the fuck is going on?!" Behind them, the rest of the group had followed them to the parking lot.
"Your perverted bro pal here was laying his hands all over my fucking girlfriend!" Chloe's voice was impressively able to alternate from a reassuring soft tone to a furious roar.
"Adrian? What the fuck, man?!" Carson surprisingly was against his own friend.
"Hey! I didn't know they were a thing, okay?!" Adrian argued, but Chloe was having none of it.
"You don't just make a move on her like that, dude!"
"Dude, not fucking cool. Ever tried just talking to the girl?" Vincent joined in. It was five against one. "Hey, Max. This asshat didn't hurt you or nothing, right?"
"No, he was just trying to kiss me."
"The fuck were you thinking?" Carson began stomping closer to Adrian, pushing him back.
"Hey, I thought that she'd like it!" Adrian disputed.
"Did it fucking look like I liked it? Max jumped in to defend herself.
"Adrian, maybe you should just go back to the car or something." Vinnie suggested, but Adrian threw his hands up in frustration.
"Come on, guys! We're friends!"
"We are, but that wasn't okay. We'll talk about this later." The group began making their way back to the sawmill and Adrian was just left to watch his best friends and previously potential friends leave him behind.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about that. I don't know what got into him, he's never done that kind of shit before." Vinnie apologized on Adrian's behalf.
"It's cool. That just freaked me out a bit." Max's heart rate began to calm down.
"We'll talk to him after the show. I think he needs to cool off a bit." Carson said.
The gang walked back to their spot with Chloe having her arm wrapped around Max's shoulders.
"Listen, you should know that Adrian wasn't the only one who was planning to make a move on you girls." Carson admitted nervously. "In fact, the three of us were interested in getting your numbers. But trust me, Vin and I would have never even thought of jumping in straight like that, it's not us."
"Totally. We had no idea that you two were a couple, and if we knew, we'd back the fuck up." Vinnie tried to back Carson up, hoping that the girls would be able to forgive them for this whole situation.
"Don't worry about it, we didn't tell you." Chloe raised her hand up to assure them.
"Glad it's water under the bridge. Hey, we'd still love to be your friends. You guys seem like really cool folks and we'd still be willing to take you three out for that drink we talked about. It's cool if you don't want to anymore, though." Carson offered politely.
"Don't be crazy, we'd still love to." Rachel looked back at Chloe and Max and the two nodded in agreement.
"Awesome. We'll just have to drop Adrian off back at the motel. There's no way we're letting him near you girls after what happened." Vinnie scowled.
"Man, imagine what he would've done if you hadn't stepped in like that." Max shuddered at the mere thought of it. She had a lot to thank Chloe for.
"Excuse me, I uhh…I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Chloe suspiciously excused herself and stood up, prompting concern from Max. Without another word, she left the room towards the bar and Max felt the urge to follow her.
"I'll be right back." She leapt up and made her way out, and when she turned the corner, she saw Chloe sitting alone at the bar with her head hung low.
Max sat down next to her and placed her hand on Chloe's back.
"You okay, babe?" She softly asked.
"I fucked up." There was a sense of regret hinted in Chloe's voice, one that confused Max.
"What do you mean?"
"If I had just followed you out in the first place, you wouldn't have had to deal with that fucking lunatic." Max sensed a burning pain lingering in Chloe's head.
"But you still came just in time. You didn't fuck up, Chlo."
"Yes I did. I don't even know what I was thinking, bringing you here. It could've been a lot worse than some dirtbag trying to get an easy kiss from you. You don't even know how to defend yourself from that kinda thing." Chloe's fist slammed onto the counter, prompting a slight jump from Max.
"Chloe…Don't ever think that you fucked up anything. You've tried so hard to make me happy and that's all I could ever ask for. The fact that you still came out despite me telling you I was fine shows how much you care for me. So please, don't discredit yourself." A slight smile peeked its way from Chloe's hidden face.
"Thanks, Max. I'm sorry for being such a fucking drama queen. I just…I just have issues with this stuff."
"No one's perfect. But to me, you're pretty damn close." Chloe chuckled at the flattering compliment and raised her head. A small tear had formed at the corner of her eye, so Max gently wiped it away. She held her girlfriend's head in her hands, gently grazing her cheeks with her fingers.
"And I'm glad you brought me here. I've always wanted to see what the punk life is like."
"Couple more mosh pits and you'll be joining the dark side soon enough."
"Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves." They both laughed before exchanging a soft kiss.
"You know I'd do anything for you, right?" Max whispered.
"Tell me something I don't know." The brunette just rolled her eyes at the cocky return.
"Let's get back before they start losing their shit."
The band stepped onto the stage without warning and the crowd immediately went ballistic at the sight of them.
Excited cheers filled the room as the band began making their final preparations before kicking the show into action.
The anticipation was insulated within the walls, and Max could smell the impatience from the waiting crowd.
In an instant, the drummer jumped straight into a wild beat and the rest of the band immediately started to break into song, sending the room into a mad rave.
The crowd was deafening, and it was rather intriguing to Max to see such synchronised head bobbing throughout the room.
"Fuck yes, I love this song!" Rachel's hyped up and slightly drunk body began thrashing to the music and she immediately kicked herself into rave mode.
Chloe joined in and the two had joined their fellow punks and to the eyes of Max, they fit in like it was their home. For herself, she wasn't sure how well she'd be able to follow suit.
"Come on, Max! Don't just stand there like a clinically depressed zombie, get in here!" Chloe gestured to her as she threw about her body to the sound of the music.
No. I can't fucking do this! This isn't you, Max. You do Polaroid photography and tea sessions, not parties and raves.
Before she could turn and return to the slightly less overwhelming scene of the bar, she was sucked in by the wrist by none other than Chloe, who maintained a reasonably firm, but reassuring grip.
Max blushed in embarrassment and tried her best to hide her face as Chloe began doing the work for her, moving her arms and hips to the sounds of electric guitars and drums.
An unexpected fear began flooding the girl and she felt her ears become drowned out and the sound around her faded. Every sound was muffled but the sound of Chloe's voice.
"Come on, Max! Shake that boney white ass!" Her voice felt oddly comforting, and before she knew it, Max began to pick up momentum and let the music take over her body.
The mix of instruments was strangely engaging, and Max felt herself rocking out to the music.
"There you go! You're doing it!"
Her whole body let loose, and Max began discovering a side of her that she had left in her sub-conscience. She felt guilty for letting herself be influenced, but she couldn't care. She couldn't care at all.
All that mattered was finally relieving the stresses of life by allowing punk rock overwhelm her, and with Chloe by her side, it felt normal.
Her body moved back and forth as if she had done it before, and her hair swung wildly as she threw her arms up in delight.
She shared uncontrollable laughs with the bluenette and felt her heart exhilarating from the intensity of the soundtrack.
This was quite the kick to Max's metaphorical shell, and she felt herself slowly cracking her way out of the bubble that she had been confined in for so long.
She had never felt more alive.
It felt great.
"Goddamn, Max! You're hard-fucking-core!" Chloe panted as they left the stage room alongside Rachel, Carson, and Vinnie.
"Yeah, for a first time, you really let loose." Vinnie added.
"That was fun. I'm not sure if I could do it regularly, but I wouldn't mind it every once in a while." Max's tone was still shy, but her heart was still beating rapidly, urging her to scream every word that left her lips.
"If it lets me see you in those clothes again, count me in." Chloe's joke prompted laughter from the group.
"Damn. It's already half past nine." Carson's eyes widened when he looked at his watch.
"Not late enough. You boys still owe us beers." Rachel's body had yet to calm down, she still skipped around in the room.
"We haven't forgotten, don't worry."
The group chatted along as they exited the sawmill, and Max realized just how late it was when she noticed the moon shining brightly in the black sky.
"Alright, you guys can follow our car, we'll lead the way." Vinnie pulled out his keys as he waved to the girls.
"Where's the car?" Both men began scanning the parking lot for their SUV, but it was nowhere to be found. "Didn't you park it back there?"
"Yeah, I did. That's where Adrian had to…" A moment of realization hit Vinnie like his missing SUV. He pushed down on the lock button on his keys, hoping he could hear the faint sound of a 'beep' in the distance to disprove his theory. Nothing was heard. "Carson…"
"Yeah?"
"You don't happen to know if Adrian knows how to hotwire a car, right?"
"I don't know. Why would you…Son of a bitch…" It was Carson's turn to realize the gravity of the situation. "That can't be right! Are you sure the car ain't here?"
"Yes, I'm fucking sure! I don't hear the lock sound!"
"Hold up, Adrian stole your car?" Rachel was in disbelief as she heard the story unfold.
"Seems like it. Motherfucker!" Carson let out a scream of fury into the air.
"Do you guys know where he could have gone?" Max asked, hoping to contribute to the situation.
"Uhh…I don't know, maybe he could've gone back to the motel?" Vinnie furiously scratched the back of his head. "That bastard, that was my dad's SUV! Fuck!"
"Dude, call him. Maybe he'll pick up." Chloe suggested.
"He better." Vinnie began angrily tapping away at his phone before swinging it up to his ear. "Son of a bitch, if you hang up on me…"
There was a moment of tense silence.
"Adrian! Where the fuck are you?!" Vinnie screamed with fury the moment Adrian picked up the phone. "Yeah, we're at the god damn sawmill, where else would we be, idiot?!" He began pacing back and forth around the lot. "No, I will not calm down, you…Wait, are you drunk?" His rage just continued to pile up. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?! You're joy-riding in my dad's SUV while you're drunk?! Adrian, I swear to god if anything happens to that car, I will tear your ass in two, you hear me?! Hello?! Mother fucker!" Vinnie threw his arms up in the air in frustration. "He hung up."
"He's drunk?!" Carson needed clarification, he was just as mad as his friend. He groaned in fury when he saw Vinnie nod his head.
"Wait, that means he has to be at a bar, right? Could he be at the same place you were gonna take us?" Rachel asked.
"Maybe, we could try going there."
"Let's go, we can take my truck." Chloe began sprinting for the truck and the rest of the gang followed. "Shit, you'll just have to sit in the back. Carson, you sit in the passenger seat with me and give me directions."
"I'll take the back." Rachel immediately raised her hand to volunteer to ride in the truck bed.
With a fiery determination, Chloe rammed the gear shifter into drive and floored the truck, speeding away from the sawmill to hunt down Adrian.
"There he is. Fucking knew it." Carson pointed at a drunken Adrian who gently swayed his head at the bar. "Jesus Christ, he's fucking hammered."
Vinnie stomped over to his so-called friend and smacked the back of his head with his palm.
"Hey, asshole!" The attention of the bar was briefly drawn towards the two before it had returned to its normal state.
"Vin…Vinnie? Carson? What…what are you guys doing here?" Adrian's words left his mouth as a drunken slur, being close to inaudible.
"Get up, we're going back to the motel." Vinnie tried his hardest not to unleash his pent up fury on Adrian, he would do that back at the motel.
"I don't wanna…I like it here…The bartender is really nice to me…" Adrian's head lightly swung back and forth as if it were a light feather swaying in the breeze.
"Did he come in like this?" Vinnie turned to the bartender, who shook his head. "Good, so at least you weren't stupid enough to drive while you were fucked."
"You don't know me well enough man…I'm smart…"
"Shut the fuck up and let's go, you useless sack of shit."
"No! I'm staying…Go away…" Adrian's head tilted back and he caught Max's eyes in his peripherals. "You…you fucking bitch…" Those words were enough to enrage Chloe, and she lunged forward with her hand clenched into a fist.
"What the fuck did you say?!" Max quickly reacted and held her back, and Chloe released the tension in her fist.
"He didn't mean it. He's just drunk." Max said to calm her girlfriend down.
"You're a humiliation, you know that? Now cut the shit and get in the car." Carson tugged on Adrian's arm, but the drunk pushed him away.
"Can you please do something about this guy?" Vinnie looked back at the bartender who simply sighed. He turned to the back wall and pressed a button, and moments later, two burly men dressed in black short sleeve shirts and cargo pants were summoned into the room. The bartender pointed lazily at Adrian and the security men were quick to react.
"We just need him to get in the car." Carson explained. The men nodded and grabbed him by the arms, pulling him away from the counter.
"Hey! What are you doing? I have the right to be here! I am an American citizen, you pussies!" Adrian flailed his arms pointlessly to try and escape the tenacious grip of the security, but he was just being a nuisance, in no way hindering them.
"What a mess." Carson facepalmed in embarrassment.
"He always like this?" Chloe asked.
"Nope. He suffered a pretty rough break up with his girlfriend recently. Been drinkin' a shit ton since." Carson explained.
"Oh. You think that might be why he came onto Max so hard?"
"Maybe. But I don't see why those two things would correlate." Carson took a brief moment to pause. "I'm really worried about him. Hasn't been the same since the break up. If this is a sign of what's to come later, I'm real scared."
"Ouch. I'm sure he'll pull through though."
"I sure hope so. He's fucking annoying when he's drunk." Carson laughed, and so did Chloe.
"I could tell."
"I gotta go take Captain Morgan over there back to the motel. It's close, Vin and I will be back soon." Chloe nodded and Carson waved goodbye.
The girls sighed heavily and sat down.
"What a night." Max huffed.
"Yeah. Aren't you glad I took you to such a boring mosh pit?" Chloe's sarcasm sparked a brief giggle from Max.
"Thanks for taking me there though. It was a lot of fun."
"I wouldn't have taken you if I thought it wasn't." Chloe waved the bartender over and ordered a simple beer as did Rachel. However, Chloe's eyes adjusted back to Max briefly before looking back at the bartender. "You have any non-alcoholic beverages?"
"Yep. We got coke, iced tea-"
"Oh, I'll have an iced tea, thank you." Max interrupted the bartender, but he nodded and headed off to prepare their drinks.
"Iced tea? Whoa, Max, don't want you to get hammered like Adrian." Chloe held her hands up sarcastically.
"Shut up, dweeb." Max playfully shoved Chloe's shoulder.
Their drinks soon arrived so they drank and chatted until Carson and Vincent returned. The girls laughed and enjoyed their temporary girls' night out, but it was cut short by the return of the guys.
"It turned out that I had left my keys in my shorts' pocket when I went swimming," The gang were all intrigued and immersed into Vinnie's anecdote, granted, most of them were rather drunk.
"No way. Your keys were in the lake?" Rachel began laughing.
"Yes." The group all laughed at Vinnie's past failures. "We had to spend four hours looking for those little shits!" The group's laughter howled even louder. Max on the other hand, only let out an amused giggle.
It was awkward being the one of the only ones who hadn't fallen under the influence of alcohol, and at this point it was too late to experiment as she had accepted the role of designated driver for the girls. Vinnie had taken the role for the male counterpart of the group.
Unexpectedly, Chloe's head landed on Max's shoulder for support. The wasted punk looked up into the sober girl's eyes.
"Maaaax…I need to tell you something…" Her words were extremely slurred, the moment Max had claimed the position of designated driver, Chloe let loose and started to down as many bottles of beer as she could. The outcome of her decision was rather stressful for Max, but at the same time, it was fairly amusing.
"What is it?" Max giggled at the tipsy Chloe who paused a moment before tapping Max's nose gently with her finger.
"You're so cute…" The whole group laughed. "You're like a little bunny…" Chloe herself fell into a fit of drunken hysterics.
"I need to tell you something too, Chlo." Max returned and Chloe's eyes lit up. "You're drunk." The bluenette pouted.
"I have no idea…what you're talking about..." A brief hiccup left Chloe's mouth. "I'm not dunk." Max laughed at Chloe's inability to speak words. The lack of an 'R' in the word 'drunk' was just too funny.
"Heh heh. Chloe's drunk…" Unsurprisingly, Rachel seemed to be just as hammered as Chloe was; slurring her own speech and losing balance in her body as it swayed.
"Look who's talking." Vinnie laughed.
"Hey! Don't you dare…I'm not…Ugh…" Rachel simply gave up on the rest of her sentence as she blurted out inaudible nonsense.
Max opened her phone and her eyes widened when she saw that the clock read 12:43 AM.
"It's really late. I think I should take these two home." Max stood up from her seat and Carson and Vinnie did the same.
Compared to the girls, Carson was far from completely wasted. His speech had slightly slowed but he was closer to sober than he was to drunk. Max was slightly grateful for that fact.
"Hey, I'll help you get these two to your truck." Vinnie lifted Rachel onto her feet and Max did the same to Chloe. It was quite the struggle as Chloe's body had seemingly completely shut down so she was no help to the situation. Max tirelessly escorted Chloe back to the truck where she sat her gently in the central seat with Rachel being placed next to her.
"Thanks for the help." Max shut the passenger door and looked back at Vinnie.
"No problem. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah. I can probably find my way back no problem."
"Best of luck. Thanks for tonight. It was some great fun." Vinnie smiled and Max did the same.
"Thought so too. Hopefully we can all get together again."
"I'd totally be down for that. Here's my number, give me a call whenever and be sure to get it to Chloe and Rachel." The two exchanged phone numbers before saying their final goodbyes. They each went to their respective vehicles, and it was now the challenge of driving back to Arcadia Bay.
To Max, it wasn't the dimly lit road that lay ahead or the lack of sleep. It was the two drunkards that would be sat next to her on the journey.
Max panted as she used a free hand to retrieve the keys to Rachel's dorm room. She fumbled around with them before finally unlocking the door, and once she did, she dragged Rachel's dormant body to her bed.
She panted once she had tucked the girl in, and when she was satisfied with her good deed, she left the room and turned her attention to Chloe.
I guess you're sleeping over again.
As she did with Rachel, Max hauled Chloe into her own room where she threw her girlfriend onto the bed. Chloe landed like a sack of potatoes onto the mattress.
Max wiped away beads of sweat that were dripping from her forehead before opening her closet and preparing herself for bed. She switched to her pajamas and grabbed her toothbrush and was just about to leave for the bathrooms when Chloe's sleeping body caught her eye.
Can I just leave her alone? I'm sure she'll be fine. She's asleep, right?
Hesitant, but willing to take the risk, Max bolted for the bathroom and brushed her teeth as if it were an Olympic sport.
Every brush only sparked more concern from the paranoid Max, so in an effort to not waste any seconds, she wrapped up and ran back to her room to be greeted by a rather unexpected sight.
Chloe sat right in the middle of Max's bed with her legs crossed, munching on cookies from the box that Max's mother had sent her. The strangest part of the scene was the fact that Chloe was in her underwear.
Her clothes were strewn across the floor and it was clear that she had simply threw them off carelessly.
"Chloe! What are you doing?!" Max's voice remained a whisper as to not wake the other residents.
"I was…" Chloe let out a thundering burp. "…hungry…" Max put a hand up to her forehead and leaned her head back.
"Put that away and go to bed. Please." Max snatched the box from Chloe's hands which prompted a childish whine from the girl. "And can you please put your clothes back on?"
"Noooo…It's too hot…" Chloe fell back onto the bed.
"It's not that bad, just please put them back on?" Max began picking up her girlfriend's clothes off the floor. She felt like a single mother treating a misbehaving child. "Chloe?" She turned back to see the punk now completely fallen asleep, her mouth ajar and breathing heavy. It was as if she had never woken up in the first place.
Max facepalmed before neatly folding Chloe's clothes and placing them on an empty chair with a sigh.
With no other choice, Max tucked Chloe in and drowsily retrieved a spare blanket from her closet as well as the pillow she had knit with her mother from her bed.
She rested on the couch, barely able to fit on the rather small piece of furniture. She curled her legs in and covered herself in the thin sheet before dozing off to sleep.
A/N: Longest chapter I've ever written, well over 10k words! I just had so much I wanted to put into this chapter and this one's been my favourite so far. Always wanted to have Max experience her first mosh pit and I hope I did well in portraying the whole scenario.
Still more to come so stay tuned, stay awesome folks!