A/N: Hey! Don't worry I'm still alive! So, every chapter has been written out and this'll be the final edit. Sorry for the wait! Thank you so much for whoever was patient and, if you're new here, hi!
Enjoy!

There was yelling when I came to again. My head was pounding, my vision was blurry, and my entire body felt so numb. I was disoriented, still trying to catch up with that I saw. Was that…? It couldn't… But, it could be. I stayed still as my hearing was becoming clearer. Rachel and Chloe's words were becoming audible.

"Don't fucking do that right now!" Rachel was furious, a growl in her throat.

"I'm fucking angry, Rache! That fucker thinks he could just walk around here, around Max, like it's okay!"

"Max needs us!"

"I need this! I fucking hate him!"

I turned my head towards them, squinting my eyes. In Chloe's hand was a brown bottle, a familiar glass bottle of beer she always drank. Shit... I need to get up. Everything hurt so much; I could barely move my arms.

"Max?! Max, we're here." I felt Rachel's hands on my face, trying to get me to wake up faster.

"W-wait…" I groaned in pain.

"Chloe, put that shit down!"

"No, fuck off!"

The sound of glass shattering and breaking broke the whole room. Rachel screamed out as the glass shattered, as if throwing it with all her strength.

"What the fuck, Rachel!"

"You can't do this while Max needs our help!"

"I needed that!"

"Max! Needs! Us!"

The fight escalated, it became louder, the words were merging, and all it sounded like was gibberish. I got up, forcing myself, to get them to stop. I wanted words to come out of my mouth, but nothing wanted to. The fight led to Rachel groaning and storming off into the bedroom. Chloe followed as they continued to yell at each other, still clear after they slammed the door closed.

It was quieter now. Rachel and Chloe were not talking, but instead, spoke just to me. It wasn't ignoring each other anger, they still shared the bed and were still in each other's presence, but they weren't speaking. I felt like a child stuck in between my parents' fight. I wanted things to be better right away, but there was anger all around us. There was a stain of beer on the wall to prove it. I wish I knew what to do. All I can do is let them figure it out on their own.

On Monday, I told Chloe to take me to school. I spent a majority of my day on campus, printing and running around to talk to professors. It was getting closer to the end of the quarter—finally on week nine—and then every student gets a week off. After running around so much, a week off was calling my name. It helped that I finally got coffee from Chloe at lunchtime and I was able to do everything without getting sidetracked. In the end, I ended up in the library, actually reading the book I took last time I was there.

March was getting warmer; I wished I wore the sweatshirts Rachel bought for me. I just wore for the weather, even put my hair up so I wasn't so sweaty or in the way of my eyes. I kept my earphones in, listening to Tegan and Sara, and tapped my foot to the music.

I saw Kate walk in, but went through the aisles rather than come to me like last time. I could see her in the aisle in front of me and saw she grabbed a book and held it to her face. I took my earphones out and continued to watch to see what she was gonna do. She started to peer over her book, looking at me and then hide in the book again.

She was making fun of me for what I did the first time. I was laughing too, but another part of me felt humiliated. It did look ridiculous. Except, I knew she was doing it purposely. She laughed and then came over to my table.

I shook my head. "Ha-ha, very funny," I said to her first, "I didn't know it looked that bad."

"I didn't think it looked bad at all," she sat down across from me, "It was just clear that you wanted to talk to me."

She was still rocking a braid and a black shirt with a little pocket on the side. It had a little cartoon dinosaur poking its head out of it. That's cute. It's like her to wear that. I tried not to look for too long, because I would look perverted. My eyes guided up to her eyes again, passing what I saw was a gold necklace poking out from under her shirt.

She opened her sketchbook to a new page.

"Big horror fan?" She asked. She started to sketch out someone. I don't know who, though, but it was someone in this room. There were about fifteen people inside studying; It could be anyone.

"You could say that," I looked at the cover, "You're not?"

I felt calm again, not thinking about humiliation or shame, unlike the other time I spoke to her.

"I'm okay with them, but I get scared easily." She was getting through her drawing fast. I wasn't surprised that she would be easy to scare.

"So, what do you like?" I asked instead.

"I love animated movies. Both full length and short films." She started to shade and add small details. I just nodded. She started to lift her sketchbook to the point I was staring at the black cover.

It was only pencil scratching when we both focused on what we were doing. I put one earphone in, just in case she was gonna talk again. It wasn't so quiet with the sound of Chvrches in one of your ears. I could see her taking quick peeks at me, but chose to ignore them. She couldn't be drawing me; I wasn't pretty enough to be drawn.

"What major are you, by the way?" She spoke again.

"I'm in photography, but minor in design, that's why I'm in Fundamentals," I closed my book, leaving my thumb in so I don't lose the page, "Judging by you drawing and being into animation movies, you're in animation."

"I like to make it obvious," She puts her book down, turns it to face me, and pushes it, "What do you think?"

It turned out to be me. It had my shirt with the exact design on my sleeves, my hair was exactly how it was styled and how messy it was, and even had my freckles on my face. I was holding my book, but I wasn't reading it, but I was looking forward. I was looking at her.

"Wowser," I breathed, "That's amazing. You did that fast."

"Thank you," She leaned over to look at it, "I usually never draw them so fast or so perfectly."

She made mine perfectly? I couldn't stop looking at every part of it. It had wrinkles in my shirt, thin strands in my hair that were not in place, shadows placed and shaded perfectly, and even the book was detailed with the cover.

"Why did you draw me?" I asked. It could just be because I was the closest, but I couldn't help but ask.

"Well, when I see something pretty... I have to draw it right away," Kate said very timidly, "I didn't want to draw you the other time; I didn't want to creep you out." My heart skipped a beat. I avoided looking at her as I push her book back. I avoided any words, because everything I wanted to say was jumbling together. I looked for a second; she had a small smile as she flipped the page.

I think you're pretty, too. You're sweet. Stop it, you're making me blush. I screamed in my mind.

"T-thanks." Was what I uttered out.

"You're welcome."

I don't know if she was referring to drawing me or complimenting me. We sat there silently for five minutes. I kept reading the same sentence over and over and she was drawing again. What do you do in this situation? I've never been in it before; I was spiraling into gay panic.

"This book is getting boring." I grimaced at it. It really wasn't, but I wanted the silence to stop.

"Would you like me to suggest you one?" She asked. She was still smiling; It made me smile too.

"Like what? Goosebumps?" I closed the book completely and set it down in between us.

Kate put her pencil in the dip of her book and went through her backpack, "If that's what you want."

"No, I'm down for anything." I waited for her to take whatever book she had out.

"I finished this one recently," she took it out and handed it to me, "I really like it."

The cover was a book sleeve. There was a girl in a tank top and shorts standing on top of a messy bed, her back towards me, and was colored in pink. Everything else on the book was blue and black; there were white dots scattered around like snow. "We Are Okay," by Nina LaCour.

"What is it about?" I flipped through it.

"It's about a girl in New York and then her friend she hasn't spoken to in months goes to see her," she explained, "That's all I can tell you, though."

"Is it in this library?" I didn't want to assume she was letting me take hers.

"I'm not sure," she was looking at her phone, "But, you could borrow mine. I finished it pretty fast."

Okay, never mind.

"I have to go," Kate started to pack everything, "My friends want me to go with them to Starbucks. Do you want to borrow it?"

"Yeah, it sounds good," I nodded, "Do I come back here if I have a question?"

It was just a joke, but it would be nice to see her again, more often at that.

"Um," she stood up, "Sure, I feel that's best. Any question you have at all, just come back here. Or in class, or just anytime you see me. So, I'll see you soon, okay?" She waved her hand and left.

"Yeah, see you later." I waved back. I knew I had a dumb grin on my face, but I didn't care. I stared at the book, which was in perfect condition. I grabbed the first page and started to read it.

I was there until six PM; evening classes were at this time. I packed the book into my bag and then left out into humid weather. The sun has already set, but when the sky was blue, red, and yellow, covered in cirrus clouds, it was a picture opportunity I couldn't miss. I angled myself to get a perfect and balanced mix of colors and when some birds just happen to fly across, I took the shot. It felt good to use my Polaroid camera again. I grabbed the picture and shake it like I usually did.

I put the camera and photo into my bag and took my phone out. I called Chloe, she should be out of work or getting ready to. I called to make sure.

"Hey Max, manager is making me work over time," Chloe seemed tired and defeated, "You can come over, but you have to stay a bit. Rachel went out to some last-minute interview thing."

"No, that's fine. Why are you working over?"

"There were some customers I went off on and now I'm doing all the cleaning. Fuck, come if you want, I'll see you." Chloe hung up before I could say anything back.

There were some cars coming up and parking, some cars dropped off students, and some students were even running. I let out a yawn as I walked along the sidewalk.

At Starbucks, I stayed standing up because all the chairs were flipped around and on the tables. There was still another worker, the store manager, texting on his phone. I watched as Chloe cleaned and washed all the utilities.

"Chloe, I'm leaving it all to you." The manager left the keys at the pickup table. He looked a little older than us, but kinda nerdy and did not look like someone who would confront Chloe.

"I thought you said you were going to watch me." Chloe was still angry.

"Ah, I got things to do."

"It's fucking Monday."

"Do you want me to stay here?"

Chloe scoffed, "No. Fine, I'll close this place."

"Thanks, see you tomorrow. Get up early in the morning to open and set up." He left nonchalantly and left the both of us.

I walked closer to the counter, "Are you sure he's the manager?"

"I ask myself that a lot." Chloe went back to drying blenders.

I chuckled, "What did you do to customers? You mentioned it earlier."

"Fucking hell, this one motherfucker just wanted a latte, right? I make the shit and then he fucking spills it on himself. He tried to blame it on me! I don't hand them to people, I leave it on the table! I was ready to fight him. He was trying to be a big fucking guy, but his bitch ass bought a latte at Starbucks two shot espresso shit! I called him out on his shit, but I yelled at him in the middle of service, fuck this smile and walk away crap!"

She threw the blender into the sink, clattering against the metal and other blenders in it. I could only blink. Her anger from the fight might've been projected onto them…

"Sorry, man, there's more but I'll save it."

It was quiet for a while, except for Chloe's heavy breathing. After some time, Chloe spoke again. This time, she was calmer. "I saw Kate here," Chloe walked over to the front counter with a rag, "She was sitting with three other girls. She sure loves those cake pops; I think she ate like a thousand."

I chuckled at the exaggeration, "Oh, yeah, I knew that. We were in the library and then she had to leave."

"Alright Super Max, I see you," Chloe had a smirk and then looked over for a second, "Anything, I dunno, gay happen?"

"She drew me. It looked just like me, too. It was crazy! I wish you could've seen it."

"Proud of you for hanging out with her and not dying!" She held her fist out and I quickly went up to her and bumped our knuckles together.

We laughed together. Her face then fell, into a mix of a sad and angry expression, looking down at the counter she was wiping down. Fuck, I have to think of something. Something, Max, to make her feel better.

"Want to do something fucking crazy?"

She paused, then smirked, "I'm listening."

"Um, there's a blender, here are ingredients, cameras are off," I named off, Oh dog, what am I saying? "Are you getting what I'm saying?"

It was usually Chloe who had crazy ideas; the first time was at Blackwell in the pool. It was a similar situation: we're in a place after hours, she had the keys, and she had her mind.

"Well, fuck it. Welcome," Chloe greeted as she opened the employee door, "this is my personal hell."

"You say that about a lot of things." I reminded her.

"This is top tier personal hell."

I couldn't stop looking the espresso makers, grinders, pots, and presses on both counters. I would go crazy if I had to stare at these shiny machines for hours on end. I applauded her in my head for dealing with this job for a year.

"It must get annoying to use all these every day." I touched the espresso machine, observing the buttons and handles.

"Yup, I wonder how I get through a whole day. I used to switch with someone, but here I am."

"I remember that. Are you being overworked?" Doesn't help her stress at home too. I wonder what she's thinking right now.

"To be honest, I don't even remember how this happened."

"You need to tell that to someone. I'm totally fine with you quitting and then getting time off."

"I need more time with Dana. Being there and watching just reminded me of learning this stuff. At least she was cool with me leaving before."

"She was?"

"Yeah, I walked out there too, but she said it was fine. I just have to go again on Saturday again and then the next night, I do it myself and the owner will be there. I'm really tired."

"Would mixing things in a blender help?" I asked.

She paused, "... Maybe."

"I'm thinking of grabbing ingredients and blending them with no cap on the thing."

"That's evil, I love it." She stopped everything she was doing and ran towards the fridge.

It was so evil, yet it ended so fast.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Chloe yelled as she turned the blender off. Everything was covered in all the different coffees, milks, whipped creams, and yogurts we threw in there. We were both covered in the mixture from the waist up. The counter, the walls, and little splatters everywhere covered in this horrible idea.

"That was hella rad!" She cheered. She was jumping for joy as she looked inside the blender. We started mixing everything into liquid first and then we took the cover off.

"We have to do that again!" She grabbed my arm.

"As much as I would love to, now we have more work to do." I wiped my face as much as I could. If only Rachel could see us now.

She rolled her eyes, but groaned, "Fine."

"I'll help." I continued to try to get the mess off me.

For the next hour, we were scrubbing everything down and making sure we got every spot. It was turning eight when we finally left.

"Shit, we gotta go." Chloe started the car. I got a call on my phone from Rachel; I answered it right away.

"Hey, where are you? I thought you'd be home now." Rachel sounded more normal than worried.

"Chloe and I are at Starbucks, had a terrible idea, and we had to fix it." I said as general as possible.

"Tell me all about it when we're home," she was still not bothered, "I just left my interview and I'm just... UGH!"

This day was a roller coaster, but at least in the end, I got to hang out with Kate and Chloe got to do something crazy in a place she hated.

We met up with Rachel at the apartment. Coincidentally, she was just getting out of her Uber when we arrived.

"What are you guys covered in?" Now she was concerned. She was still in heels and a pencil dress.

"Sweetness, want a taste?" Chloe teased. Rachel held her hand out, stopping Chloe's advances. It sounded like not even Chloe wanted to say that.

She shook her head, no flirty remark or smile to be seen, "We need to get in. These shoes are killing me."

We did so, Chloe called shower first and Rachel took over the couch. She let out a groan as she fell onto it. She took off her heels and yelled out, "Thank fuck!"

I just sat down on the floor, my back against the couch by Rachel's head.

"You should tell your story first." I said to her.

"I was called in by my manager today for an interview. I was okay with it at first, I was like "sure, I haven't been doing anything." So, I was given the location and shit, made myself look pretty, and I was ready to take some questions. I wish, I swear to god, I wish I could've slapped her. I was okay with confronting the gay rumors, like fine, but if it's every single question, I will not take that."

Managers just weren't shit today, weren't they? Everyone is so stressed today.

"But," she let out another sigh, "I kept my composure. That's going to air soon. Now, what happened with you?"

"Chloe's manager made her work overtime after yelling at some customers. We were left alone at the place and, for whatever reason, I said let's fuck some stuff up with a blender," I turned around to look at her, "All the stuff got on us and everything around it, so we cleaned for an hour."

"What was the stuff, exactly?"

"Coffee, milk, yogurt, and whipped cream," I named off, "There were other things she wanted to use, but we compromised."

"I wish I was there instead. You guys are always having fun."

"Cleaning that was the worst. And then, Chloe has to open tomorrow, she'll have to be up even earlier!"

"This day has been all bad, hasn't it?"

"Well, not all bad, I hung out with Kate today! It wasn't interesting or anything, but it happened!" I sound so… pathetic. In a lonely way.

"Good on you, Max," Rachel laughed, "Anything happen?

"Hanging out in the library again; Kate drew me too. It was awesome."

"Good job. It makes up for ruining the shirt I got you. I didn't really like that one anyway."

"You don't think the flowers looked that good?" I looked at my sleeves.

"It's not that. It's just not you. It was worth a shot to try it out."

I was glad she wasn't super upset. If it was a shirt she did like on me, she would tear me apart. I've seen her angry before and I would like to avoid it as much as possible. At least it didn't get on my pants.

"What questions did they ask at the interview?"

"I told you. They were only about me and Chloe at the club and at dinner, which good on them for getting other photos. I guess I have to come out now. Hey world, I'm bi! Take a good look."

"I'll yell too if it makes you feel better." I gave her a side smile.

"You know what? It would." She smiled back at me. The shower finally stopped. It was another thirty minutes before Chloe came out in a loose black shirt and shorts.

"My apron is fucked." She said firstly.

"You think yours is bad, look at me." I stood up and took off my beanie.

"Look on the bright side..." She stopped her sentence and only nodded.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, I just didn't want you to feel bad anymore."

I could only shake my head and laugh, "Well, my turn now."

It felt good again to be in my hoodie and sweatpants. I had to wash my beanie in the sink, so that was a loss. I bundled up the shirt and threw it away; it was nice while it lasted.

I left the bathroom; Rachel had changed, but she was back in the same position on the couch. Chloe sat on the floor by Rachel's feet. I sat in the same place I was and watched what was on TV. Huh, TMZ again.

"Who is this chick that Rachel Amber has been seen with? For the past couple of weeks, she has been seen with this blue-haired punk rock girl out and about in San Francisco."

"She's on a break right now. It could be some little fling for the time."

"Rude, we've been together for almost five years." Chloe snapped at the TV. They can't talk to each other's faces.

"This show really is something. They usually confront you directly." Rachel pointed out. That was true, then again, this was news that had no details.

"Do you people recognize you at work yet?" Rachel tapped Chloe's shoulder with her foot. Chloe shoved it away and caused the both of them to chuckle, but it ended too soon.

"Nope," she replied, "What the hell do you do then?"

"Just reply and then walk away. You could do that."

"Can I just tell them to fuck off?"

"You could."

I don't like this. They're not looking at each other. They're not close to each other. Their conversations feel forced. I can feel so much unspoken anger. The feeling so overwhelmed me, I had to leave the room. As soon as I closed the door, they spoke again, in an angry tone, getting ready to start their fight again.

I was so tired, I just grabbed Kate's book and read through it. I couldn't deal with them anymore.

A/N: Review and shit!