"Chloe"
Her voice was heavy and her mind worried, but her body didn't respond to these emotions. The lack of energy prevented the anxiety to be shown through body-language, making her feel stuck in her mind. A terrifying feeling of immobilization.
"I'm so tired" Max sighed. She couldn't handle it anymore. She had been tired for a while, it was not surprising, well-knowing that she missed hours of sleep last night, given that she stressed about her relationship with Chloe, but when she knew something prevented her from sleeping, it created an opposite reaction from her mind and body, her mind telling her to stay awake, but her body expelling every ounce of energy, making her feel like she weighed a ton.
Chloe who had grabbed Max's phone, looked intensely at it, over-analyzing every word posted.
"But, Max. We need to check the link, and you have like, 3 other notifications that could be something similar or maybe even worse" her hands were tense and her eyes were nearly shooting beams of concentrated fire.
"If we don't do something about this," she quickly looked up at Max.
"You could be in serious-"and just when her eyes saw the expression on her friend, she stopped talking. Her mouth remained open, but not a single breath passed through. Chloe noticed the slight bags under her eyes, her red eyes and still body, casting a lazy shadow on the wooden floor behind her. A thought passed her by and even though there had been no talk about it, this was the time that it really hit her. The tired, brown-haired girl before her, was her girlfriend. The one person whose well-being was more important than her own, and the only one who had watched her stuck on the ground and was able to bring her up and make life so much more than what could be imagined. And that person before he was in agony.
"Go to bed," she whispered without changing her expression.
"Go to bed," she said again, only louder to emphasize how she meant it.
She saw Max look up with her tired eyes, looking confused.
"I'll… check the link and the notifications" her body felt numb and the words came from nowhere.
"I'll make sure everything is alright" she took a step close to Max and let her hand with the phone fall down her side as she placed the other on the side of her friend's face. "Don't worry" she let out with a breath as she moved her head closer, only giving Max a single second to prepare before Chloe lightly pressed her lips up against hers.
Closing her eyes and moving her hand down Max's face, Chloe held her lips for a few more moments, embracing every second of it when Max kissed her back. It filled her with determination. To keep everything in order. Chloe moved her hand quickly down and nudged her index finger against Max's before locking it around. She slowly moved her head back and shortly stared into the big brown eyes before her, shuffling slightly from side to side.
"Thanks Chloe" Max said quietly as she sent an alluring stare back.
She didn't want to. To get Chloe to do the work, but she could see that it would calm her and she felt it would calm herself as well.
She regrettably slipped her finger out from the comforting grab, took a step back and gave a small nod before turning around towards the bed. She heard Chloe tapping on the phone just as she sat down on the left side of the bed and sighed. The light in the room revealed the gray shirt on the floor more clearly. It was the shirt Chloe sometimes wore as pajamas. It was something she never questioned, even though Max felt more comfortable sleeping in her underwear, and tonight was no exception as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head and aimed for the gray shirt when she threw it on the floor. She took a glance at Chloe who had her back turned to her, the phone sending a blue light onto her face as Max proceeded to loosen her pants and lazily kicking them off. She then turned her attention on herself and looked down her body. The black bra she was wearing, didn't fit her too well. It was not too big nor too small, but the cup didn't fit her breasts, but it was comfortable nonetheless, so she paid no mind to it. Finally, she took her socks off with the help of her feet and laid down on her back on the bed and felt the soft fabric up against her body, making her feel even more tired.
How is this even going to end? Either we somehow make Ethan give up, or I… give in and do as he asks. Even though I still don't know what his goal actually is.
As she closed her eyes, Max ran the palm of her hands along the bed, then curled her thumb and pressed down on it with her other fingers.
He wants to make sure I use my powers correctly, but what the fuck does that even involve? He doesn't even want me to not use my powers at all… he wants me to use them for situations he deems justified. I guess. Is my morality really that bad?
She began adding more pressure on her thumb, eventually cracking the knuckle.
And when will he even be happy? When I think like him? When I become… someone I'm not. It can only end with me going insane, him giving up… or Chloe actually killing him.
A tenuous chill ran down her spine just as Chloe turned around with her arms down her body and the phone loosely in her right hand. Her face quickly shifted from looking perplexed, to showing a calm expression.
"It was nothing. The notifications was just some random, unrelated stuff" Chloe gave a sideways smile as she began walking close to the bed with lazy steps.
Max lifted her upper-body and straightened her back.
"What about the link on Twitter?" There was no hint of relief in her voice, only concern.
"It was nothing. Just a blank page. It must have been Ethan trying to freak us out" Chloe placed the phone on the table before walking to the right of the bed and moving a glass on the nightstand a little to the right for no apparent reason. "Aren't you relieved? You can relax now" her voice was hollow and too easy to pick apart.
Max took a breath though her nose and lifted her right shoulder slightly. "Yeah… thanks Chloe. I appreciate it" Even though she saw through her, knowing that Chloe had lied, she let go of the tension and put her legs up on the bed. A silence entered the room as Chloe sat down on the other side of the bed as well and began taking off her pants.
"No worries. We should just get some sleep, right?" Chloe turned her head and sent a fake smile to her friend, one she accepted with a fake smile back as she lifted up the covers and put her legs under it.
Chloe quickly followed and got under the covers as well, before kicking her socks off and leading them off the edge of the bed and in the end, keeping her black shirt on.
"Don't you need to remove your makeup before falling asleep?" Chloe questioned without even looking at Max.
"I guess. It's just some eyeliner and a little powder though" She responded while waiting for her body heat to heat up the duvet she was lying under. She kept her eyes open and took notice to how the lights were still on, but decided not to question it.
"It's weird dating someone who wears makeup" Chloe stated as she put her right hand under the pillow and flipped her head to the side, now looking at Max.
"Why?" Max smiled and turned her head as well, meeting Chloe's still stare while pondering about the word 'dating'.
"It just really drives home the point I guess"
Max was unsure what she meant exactly, but felt it would be touchy to further question it for some reason, so pulled her lips to the side and stayed quiet.
"You're a girl, Max" Chloe continued and saved Max from having to ask her to elaborate.
"So are you" She lifted one eyebrow as her face slightly lit up.
"So am I"
Max suddenly understood what Chloe meant and it made her wonder about it as well, but it only took a few seconds to reach a decisive answer.
"It's rad, right?" Max chuckled as she suddenly felt as if the bed was too big, given that Chloe was barely within arm length of Max.
"Are you actually …" Chloe paused her sentence and made a hesitant look.
"I guess it doesn't matter" not giving a chance for Max to participate in the unknown conversation, Chloe turned her had back and stared up at the ceiling.
Max had an idea of what Chloe was about to say, but she was too tired to try getting it out of her and didn't want to bother her anyway; instead, she looked at the side of her friend's face with half-closed eyes.
"Ehm… this probably sounds stupid, but…" Chloe continued with her nervous voice, as she pulled the covers a little down with her feet.
"I can't fall asleep without music"
Max closed her right eye and rubbed it gently, processing Chloe's words. She first thought to question as to why this was the case, but are more valid and less personally investigating question came to mind.
"But didn't you fall asleep last night without any music?"
Chloe's changing facial expression, revealed that it was not a comfortable question.
"I kinda waited to you fall asleep and then turned on the stereo to a low volume" she admitted, squirming her body and looking away embarrassed.
"But I was awake for like an hour before I fell asleep and I didn't hear you get up" Max tried to catch the attention of her face, but she could only see the side of her head and her messy blue hair.
"I know… I stayed awake as well to make sure you were sleeping" Chloe placed her right hand on her stomach and lifted up her shirt slightly while adjusting her position.
"I didn't want to bother you"
Barely thinking about it, Max smiled tiredly and silently shuffled a little closer to her embarrassed friend.
"It doesn't bother me Chloe. If you want music, then play some music" Just as she got close enough to her friend that only a bendy cat could barely lay between them, Chloe turned her head and looked back at Max.
"Think you could get up and chose something?" She suddenly requested, not showing any hints of surprise of the small distance between them.
The shadow created from the light hitting the side of Chloe's face, casted a shadow down on her, hiding the bruise on her cheek and her solicit eyes.
"Sure Chloe. I could use some jams as well" Max had a small grin on her face just lifted her upper-body and began sliding out of the covers and moving to the edge of the bed. "But don't think that I don't know, that you want me to do it, just so you can look at me in my underwear" She sent a quick smile towards her friend, before getting up and stretching her legs.
"That's not it at all" Chloe smiled back with a sarcastic undertone in her voice, watching her friend taking a few steps away from the bed.
"But doing a sexy pose or something, might help me sleep tighter" A teasing in her voice and her joyful expression was irresistible, as Chloe made no attempt to hide her line of sight towards Max's black panties.
"Oh, sure. Anything to help you sleep better. Something like this?" Max said in an obvious forced lewd voice as she arched her back, placed her hands on her hips and stuck out her bottom in the direction of Chloe, who quickly pulled up her upper-body slightly with a lit face of happy excitement, watching her friend's rear gently waving from side to side.
"Something like that, yeah. Maybe you could just… turn around for no apparent reason" Chloe made a poor attempt, but Max enjoyed the way she could excite Chloe, and for some reason, she began feeling slightly excited herself when she turned her body around and looked at Chloe trying not to make a flustered face.
"Happy?" Max lifted an eyebrow as she smiled with puffy lips and pulled her arms close to her body as she bend slightly forward, leading her breasts to be pushed together and the neckline of her bra to be lifted.
Chloe began looking completely lost with a distant stare and red cheeks. "That bra really looks like it's gnawing. That can't be comfortable" She continued to try her luck as her eyes were pinpointed on one particular area.
"Says the girl sleeping in a shirt" Max smiled just as she turned around with loose arms and walked towards the stereo, leaving Chloe taunted and desiring, and even though it was rough to get worked up and then shot down, Chloe couldn't help but to give off a quiet chuckle as she leaned back down on the backside of the bed, amazed by both Max's moxie and cheekiness.
"So, what do you usually listen to when you want to sleep?" Max questioned as she made her way to the corner of the room, with the black stereo box placed on a single shelf attached to the wall.
"Just what I usually listen to I guess. Maybe some grunge?" Chloe suggested, pulling the duvet over most of her body and stretching her arms down her side.
"Oh, like that band, what was it called… Snow White Restrained?" Max stared in Chloe's direction with a completely blank stare and a face that made it seem like she was floating around in space with no objective.
For this one, Chloe had to take a pause with only her head popping out from the covers before she took a breath.
"Do you mean Alice in Chains, Max?" Coping with the unbelievable guess, her voice was rusty and her eyes closed themselves.
"Yeah! That one!" Max perked and let off a goofy smile, as if she had just won the 'close one' award.
Chloe had to keep in her laughter, seeing how Max tried, but inevitably knew close to nothing about Chloe's music. "Mhm. Sure, put that on" she let out with a voice of acceptance as she made small nods.
"And then swing your onion booty back to bed" she just added before turning her body to the side and throwing her arm up in the air.
Max deliberately decided to ignore that sophisticated remark and looked around the cd-covers either stacked in a bundle of scattered around the floor. On top of the bundle laid a cover showing the words "CAGE THE ELEPHANT" with different colors and a font making it look like strokes from a brush on a white background, and underneath, red letters saying "THANK YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY"
She looked around some more, until she saw the familiar cover, showing a transparent girl lying under some sand in the desert, with the band name "ALICE IN CHAINS" at the top, with the album name "DIRT" underneath. These artistic covers always went right by Max's head, making her wonder if there was actually any meaning to it at all. She bend down in the least revealing way she was able to and picked it up before opening it and placing the disc in the cd-played hooked up to the stereo. Immediately a fast-playing and heavy bass started playing with the drums following and a man quietly singing "Knowing me broken by my master. Teach thee on child of love hereafter"
Seems just like Chloe's kind of music.
Turning around, revealed that Chloe was already subtly moving her head around to the beat. As she began walking back a mixed sense of bliss and agitation passed through her. She wanted to appreciate this moment of tiredness, with weird music playing and a weird girl waiting for her to lie beside her. But there was one matter that has to be attended to before she could fall asleep.
As Max got back in the bed and under the warm covers, she caught Chloe's attention, making her stop her soft head-banging and looked earnestly into her eyes.
"There's a high chance we'll meet Ethan again" Max said with a neutral tone, and it was clear to see Chloe disliked the subject being brought up, but she kept her attention and listened seriously to her friend.
"And when we do, I want us to be prepared" She began moving a little closer, noticing Chloe's right hand resting in the middle of the bed.
"We need to have a plan" She said quietly with a down-hearted voice as she placed her hand onto Chloe's and held it loosely.
Chloe quickly looked at their hands that were now locked together before looking back at Max.
"Should I bring my gun?" Chloe asked with an intense undertone as she tensed her right arm.
"You should" Max was quick to respond as she bend her legs and looked past Chloe to see the naked, grey wall behind her.
"But for other reasons than you might think"
The music being played slowly began fading out, with the last words being sung.
"Have I gone and left you here alone? If I would, could you?" and then it stopped.