(Ugh. For all of the new readers and stuff because I'm going to delete the note, my deck collapsed. So, I feel better about the whole deck thing, but then my boyfriend goes and breaks up with me. Yay. I want to write because it makes me feel better. All of your nice reviews make me feel better too. Thank you everyone for understanding, and your well wishes. Please read on and enjoy.)

It's Monday, and I'm standing outside of Jefferson's classroom. I've made up my mind about the trip to San Francisco. I don't want to go. Well, I want to go and I don't want to go at the same time. Too much shit going down at the moment.

Right now I'm just trying to gather up the courage to go in there and talk to him. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm sorta intimidated by Jefferson. I don't exactly know why, I just am.

But at least I have some good news to reassure me. Yesterday Dana told me that she was pushing her party back until the 31st, Halloween. She said that she really wanted Chloe and me to come, because we deserve some fun after the shit that we've been through lately. And because Halloween is cooler and pushing it back will give her more time to get decorations.

I clear my mind of that, knocking on the door and stepping inside. Jefferson is sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer.

"Um, hi, Mr. Jefferson. I needed to talk to you about something." He looks up and smiles, standing.

"Hey there, Max. Please, come inside. What did you need?" I walk in, pushing my hands into my jacket pockets.

I glance around the room. "I want to talk about the contest." He nods, sitting on the edge of his desk. "Mr. Jefferson, I'm really sorry about this. But I have a lot of things going on right now, and I can't go to San Francisco." I stare down at the floor while I speak.

He sighs, standing up again and taking a few steps closer. Why do teachers always stand up and sit down every few minutes? "That's a shame, Max. Your photography really is amazing, but I understand that you're going through a lot. I'm sorry."

I look up at him. "I wanted to go, really. I just... Can't."

"I understand, Max. I'll announce the new winner in class later today." He smiles reassuringly, then walks back to his desk and sits down. I wave at him before walking back out into the hallway.

Well... That went smoother than I had hoped. Which is a good thing. It's one item off of my list. Now comes the dinner with my parents and the Price family. And David.

It's only two days until Chloe finally gets out of the hospital. Finally. She'll probably be ecstatic. I know how much she hates being cooped up in her room for more than a few hours. I can't even begin to imagine how torturous this must have been.

The bell rings for the first classes. I go to my English class.

And now it's time for Jefferson's class. I walk into the room, sitting down at my desk. Victoria walks in with Taylor, gossiping about Dog knows what.

I shouldn't be so catty. Taylor is actually nice when she's not with Victoria. And as for Victoria... Who knows? I sigh softly, turning my attention back to Jefferson.

He clears his throat. "Alright guys, listen up. Max here has decided to step down as the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest. So I had to pick another winner. Drum roll please!"

Everyone just sits there. Jefferson rolls his eyes. "Alright, whatever. The second winner is... Quite a shocker, Victoria Chase!" She gasps over-dramatically, standing. I roll my eyes, while Victoria's cronies clap and cheer and some brave people boo her.

"Alright, guys, settle down. It's a shame that Max didn't accept, but Victoria's picture was also amazing. I just hope that she'll be able to go, before I have to go through the rest of the class."

There's scattered laughter. Victoria walks up to the front to make her little victory speech. "Thank you so much, Mr. Jefferson. I'm looking forward to going to San Francisco with you." She looks at him with total flirty eyes. Ew. "It's such an honor to..." I tune her out after that.

She probably blackmailed Jefferson. Who knows what kind of dirt she has on him? Probably all of it. I can't wait to get out of here and go to the hospital to see Chloe.

Now there's a sentence I never thought I would say. I still fucking hate hospitals.

My phone buzzes. I grab it and read the text.

Chloe- "max ur such a huge gay dork"

I smile softly. Real mature, Price.

Max- "I know that I am. You are too, Che."

Chloe- "when i get out of the hospital we should totally have hot lesbian sex"

I blush hard. Jesus, Chloe. I glance up and pretend to pay attention for a minute so Jefferson doesn't catch me texting. Stupid no phones rule.

Max- "Shut up. In class, see you soon. :)"

Chloe- "NO EMOJI"

The next few days go okay, I guess. I saw Dad a few times, visited Chloe, and went out to get tea with Kate. But today Chloe is getting out of the hospital and we have awkward dinner with the parents.

Yay.

Joyce and David said that they would come, of course. Right now I'm just getting ready. I walk out of my room when I'm done, heading to the bus stop. I catch the next bus and head to the fancy restaurant that my dad told me to meet them at.

I get off of the bus, walking down the sidewalk until I get there. My parents took me here a few times when I was little, I think.

My dad's truck pulls up and my parents step out. I walk over to them, smiling kinda awkwardly at them. Dad walks over and hugs me. "Hey, baby. Your mother has cooled down quite a bit. She's not as upset." he murmurs.

I nod, hugging him back. "Thanks, Dad." I pull away and walk over to my mother. "Uh, hi Mom. How are you?"

She smiles weakly at me. "I'm okay. So, when are the Prices going to get here?"

I shrug. "Soon, I hope." A few minutes later they show up, stepping out of the car. My eyes immediately go to Chloe, who's pretty much bouncing up and down with excitement at being released.

And, holy shit, she looks hot. I mean, she's still just wearing her beanie and a punk shirt, but she's still hot. She pretty much sprints over to me, completely ignoring the doctor's order to take it easy for a while.

She wraps her arms tight around me, grinning. I hug her back, laughing softly. I missed her surprise hug attacks.

"Hey, Maxamillion. I missed being taller than you." She kisses the top of my head, hugging me tighter. I nuzzle her neck affectionately, gently kissing her.

"I missed you being taller than me too. I love you so much, Che." I kiss her neck again, honestly not caring about whoever is looking at the moment. It would honestly be much better if we were just alone in my room right now...

She slowly pulls away, grabbing my hand. I look around, blushing when I see my mom pretty much glaring at us. Oops... No, not oops. I don't care what she thinks. I love Chloe.

I turn back to Chloe. "So... Um, does it hurt?" I gently touch her side with my free hand. She shrugs, reaching up and pulling her beanie off, then putting it on me. I smile at her.

"No. I mean, not when you just touch it like that. If you gut punched me I bet it would hurt like hell." She grins her I'm Chloe Price and everything I say will turn out completely adorable no matter how stupid it is grin.

"Well, good thing that I don't plan on gut punching you any time soon. Hey, we should dye your hair again tomorrow. You're turning blonde again." Chloe runs her hand through her hair, making it even messier than usual.

"Shit, yeah. I need a haircut too. My hair is getting hella long now." It is getting longer. It's about down to her shoulders now.

I nod, smiling softly. "Yeah, you do. I like your hair shorter." While we had been talking our parents were playing catch-up.

"Hey, girls! It's time to go inside." Dad calls, standing with the others by the door. Chloe and I walk over to them.

"So, are we still going with blue and purple or do you just wanna do blue again? Or just purple?" Chloe asks, playing with her hair. "Not just purple. No, that's not Chloe-like." She shakes her head.

I laugh softly at Chloe's out loud inner-monologue. "You're such a huge dork. A huge gay dork." I poke her shoulder. She groans, punching my shoulder.

"You little gay Chloe-fucker." She grins, pushing my shoulder as we walk into the restaurant. This feels so normal and natural, teasing Chloe and having fun with her. Dog, I missed this so much.

"When did it become a thing for us to call each other gay? Also, I like 'Chloe-fucker.' It's creative."

She shrugs, grabbing my hand again and playing with my fingers. "I dunno. It's just fun. And hella true. Cuz we are so fucking gay."

"Yes, Che. I know. It's pretty damn hard to miss, I mean, with you grabbing at me all the time." I smirk, poking her shoulder again. We follow our parents to the table. And luckily we've been talking too quiet for them to hear our little conversation.

"Shut up, Maxi-pad. You know that you absolutely love it. And you know that you totally want to make out with me right now." She smirks.

I roll my eyes. We all sit down at the table. "Yes I do, Chloe. But right now we're in a crowded restaurant. With the Price-Madsen-Caulfield family circus."

"Family circus is hella right. There's us, the gay couple that consists of a shy, nerdy photographer and the punk rock blue-haired law-breaker. My parents, the diner waitress living in Oregon with a Southern accent of all things, the freaky paranoid freaky camera fetishist freaky freak. Your parents, the giant lovable teddy bear and your mom, who is a total hard-ass." My mom glances up at us, and I thank Dog that Chloe was being quiet for once.

Chloe's descriptions of the Pricenfield family makes me laugh. "Hey, you know how all of those couples have ship names or whatever?" Chloe nods. "What would we be?"

"Shit. Our names are fucking terrible for that. Cax. Mloe. Total shit names."

I laugh again. "We can use our last names too. That would be hella better. Maybe Pricefield?" It's the only thing that sounds reasonable, honestly. And I like it.

"Fucking genius, Maxy. We be Pricefield."

Dinner surprisingly passes without anyone being murdered or seriously maimed. Mom shot us some dirty glances throughout dinner, but for the most part Chloe and I were in our little bubble of Pricefield happiness. Like how it was when we had family dinners as kids. It's awesome.

We all walk out of the restaurant, the parents chatting and us, the gay children holding hands and making date plans for tomorrow. Joyce and David drive home, as do my parents. Chloe and I go to Blackwell, snuggling and kissing and just being normal us. Finally.

(Fin. Shit is back to normal for Pricefield. Anyway, when I'm finishing this it is 4:45 AM and I have been binge watching United States of Tara and Orange is the New Black all day. Apparently Netflix and gay people is what comforts me while I'm going through a breakup. Anyway, please leave a review and all that jazz.)