~December 23-

"So, what do you want for Christmas, kiddo?" Chloe asks as we drive home from one of out many adventures. I smile slyly, "What more could I want when all I've ever wanted is you?".

A deep blush settles on her cheeks, making Chloe's face almost glow red. "Dear, God. I'm in love with a nerd. You know what I mean, Max. I wanna buy you something special". "Huh, you don't have to buy me anything, Chloe. Honestly, I'm fine".

"But I wanna,".

I smile at her sincerity, "Okay, fine. *sigh* I'd like a new pack of film".

"Pfft, figures," Chloe says with a friendly scoff.

"But not just any film. 'Black and white film. It's kinda expensive and a little hard to find, but the pictures I can take with them will be phenomenal". Chloe smiles and taps me under the chin, "Now there's the confidence I like to see. You are a great photographer, Max. Like I said before, you just have to stop being afraid of putting yourself out there".

"Well, when I'm with you I don't feel afraid. Y- you make me feel like I know what I'm doing," I say, looking up at her with big bright eyes.

"And you make me feel like there's still a reason for me to stay in Arcadia Bay," Chloe replies, reaching out and squeezing my hand.

She opens her mouth again, seeming to have something more to say she's hesitating a bit. "Max?" Chloe finally says, "I- I think… I think you're what I've been missing from my life. I've never… I've never felt complete, and when I'm with you, I do. So thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance." We smile dumbly at each other until the truck comes to a stop a little ways away from my house. "So uh...you… you wanna make out for a bit before heading inside?". I nod a bit and smile slyly, "I thought you'd never ask".

Chloe's aggressive style of make outs; the pulling and grabbing; is something I'm still trying to get used to, but there's something about the raw energy that flows between both of us that keeps me wanting more. But the memory of Chloe panicking over the brief mention of sex keeps me from going too far.

"Heh, you're gettin' better at this," Chloe says, pulling herself off of me for a second. I'm lying back on the seat, still sorta starry-eyed about how amazing it feels to be kissed by her. "Well, I learned from the best," I say, wrapping my arms around her neck. She blushes again, "Well, I am the best, aren't I?". I nod and pull her down until her lips meet mine. "The very best". She giggles and continues to kiss me, her lips moving softly against mine.

I close my eyes for a moment, enjoying this sensual experience and listen as Chloe whispers things to me. "I love you," she says, "You are the best thing to ever happen to me" "I don't know where I'd be without you". I wrap my fingers through her hair as she sits up, kissing me with more of an open mouth. "I love you, too" I reply.

She chuckles again, "Dork".

"Punkass,".

"Nerd".

"Hottie" I say, allowing Chloe to pin me up against the truck door as we continue to make out.

Time ceases to exist when I'm with Chloe, and everything just seems… okay. Nothing feels wrong in the world, or in my life, I'm with her. It's like... she's this drug that makes everything okay. And I'm addicted to her. She's a drug, and I'm addicted to her. Chloe pulls away for a second to allow both of us to catch our breath, and freezes, "Oh, shit". I blink, " 'Oh shit'?. Is that a new nickname or something?" I say, lost on what she's saying 'oh shit' to. Chloe shakes her head and points behind me at something out the window.

I slowly turn around and realize in horror that Melissa is standing outside, staring in at us with utter disgust. "Max?" she mouths, taking a few steps back.

"Oh no,".

I panic and try to get as far away from Chloe as I can and somehow grab the handle, pushing the door open and tumbling out into the snow. I land hard, my head catching the edge of the sidewalk as I go down. "Fuck," I cuss, scrambling to my feet. Melissa starts backing sway some more, making her way back to her house at a light jog. "Holy shit, Max! Are you okay?!" Chloe asks, jumping over the seat to join me.

I nod and grab my head, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I-I… I need to talk to Mel".

"Dude, no. You hit your head, okay? You need to fucking take it easy". I push her away when she tries to see if I have a cut or something on the back of my head, "No, Chloe. Y- you don't get it. Mel saw us kiss! She'll tell my parents and then what'll we do?! I'll be toast! Dead! Worse than dead! I'm sorry, but I have to go!".

And with that, I start running off in the direction Mel headed off in. "Mel! Melissa!" I call when I finally catch up with her. "Leave me alone, dyke" she snaps, turning to me with steely gray eyes.

That word stings in my chest almost as bad as it does in my head.

"Please! Give me a chance to explain," I try to tell her, but Melissa cuts me off mid sentence. "No! Let me explain something to you! I came out to have a nice, quiet walk before supper and find you macking on that… that... ugh, I don't even know what to call her. I don't make friends with queers, Max. So, consider our 'friendship', terminated ".

"Mel, don't do this… please," I beg, reaching out to her.

Her reaction is the exact opposite of what I expected because the next thing I know Mel punches me square in the face, knocking me clear to the ground.

"Fuck you, Maxine Caulfield," she says, standing over me, "Fuck you".

I grab my face, still completely stunned that she actually hit me. I sit there and watch as Mel walks off into the night, leaving me alone in the bitter cold. I don't know how long I sit there, but at some point, I hear Chloe's truck pull up to beside me.

"Max!" she says, running up and kneeling in front of me, "Hey, hey… you okay?".

"Y- yeah… I- I think," I mutter quietly.

"Did she hurt you?".

I shake my head, not really wanting her to know that I basically just got assaulted.

"*sigh* Come on then, we gotta get you home".

I blink and shake the fuzz out of my head, "But what about you?" I ask, getting the feeling she's not coming with me.

"I'm going to a motel for the night, okay. You're right… I don't know what we'll do if your parents catch us, but I don't want to make things worse. So, when you get home I need you to pack a bag and hold out for the night and in the morning I'll be there to pick you up and we'll drive. Drive right out of this shit pit. Can you do that?".

I nod a little and grip Chloe's shoulders as she helps me get to my feet.

"Sure you're alright?" she asks, resting a hand on my cheek.

I shrug. "A kiss might help,".

Chloe chuckles a little, "Best not risk it, kiddo. Tomorrow I'll give you all the kisses you want, okay?".

I nod and press her hand closer to my cheek,

"Okay".

Chloe drops me off in front of my house and drives off into the snowy night. I shiver and hug myself, the cold air seeping through my thin parka. I can tell that tonight is going to be a lot colder than most, like a winters storm is brewing. I sigh and shake my head, making my way up the walk and through the door.

"Maxine, is that you?" Mom calls from the living room as I close the front door behind me.

I swallow hard, wondering if Melissa already ratted me out. "Yeah, it's me," I say somewhat calmly, "Sorry I'm late".

"Dinner is in the oven in case you haven't eaten yet".

My stomach grumbles at the thought of food, but I don't want to risk being seen scene since, after all, I just got punched in the face, "I- I um… I'm not that hungry but uh, think you could get me a Tylenol? Got a bit of a headache," I say, continuing to rub my head.

"Upstairs medicine cabinet, sweetie. Say, I don't hear your friend. Is she with you?".

"Uh, no actually. We uh… we kinda had an argument so she's going to stay at a motel tonight," I lie, continuing my way upstairs. "Anyways, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. I think I might be coming down with something".

"Well, I'll call the doctor if you don't feel better in the morning, okay?".

I nod even though I know she can't seem me. "Sure,".

"Good-night, Maxine".

"G' night" I reply dully as I enter the bathroom.

I flick on the light and see my reflection in the mirror. At first, I don't recognize myself because of the bruise forming on the edge of my jaw. Sighing deeply, I touch the tender patch of skin and wince, "Shit".

Welp, I've looked worse… heh…*sigh*.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and yawn, reaching up and tearing my beanie off my head and throwing it to the ground. I rub the back of my neck, letting my hand brush over the spot where I hit my head. It feels damp and I panic, worrying that it might be blood, but when I look at my hand I see it's just wet from the snow.

*sigh* Thank God.

I take my scarf off and discard it with the beanie and grab the pill bottle from the medicine cabinet, popping too off the pills into my mouth and swallowing them without water.

Ooh, Max. You're so edgy.

I yawn again and shuffle into my room, closing and locking the door behind me. "What to pack, what to pack," I mutter, looking around my room. First, I decide, I need clothes. Then, toiletries, maybe even some food. My stomach grumbles again and I shake the thought out of my head. I give myself 15 minutes to pack everything we might need for the trip back, including some money in case we need gas, and by the time my time runs out I have two fully packed bags. I yawn again and stretch out like a cat, feeling exhausted.

I peer over at my alarm clock and see it's not even 8:00 yet.

Well, might as well go to bed now so I can be up with the sun, not wanting my parents to find out what I've really been up to with Chloe. I empty my pockets out onto my nightstand and take off my parka, leaving it on the floor amongst all my other dirty laundry.

Too tired to dress into pajamas (or take off my shoes for that matter) I flop down on my bed, a dream forming at the edge of my mind.

Chloe.

I wake up with a jolt when I hit the ground, seemingly thrown from my bed. "Whoa, what? What's going on!" I say, scrambling to sit upright.

"I raised you better than this, Maxine!" Dad yells from the darkness above me.

I blink, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting, "What? What are you talking about?". Something hits the side of my face again, sending me tumbling across the floor.

"Don't fucking play dumb with me! I didn't raise you do be a DYKE, Maxine!" Dad screams, the smell of alcohol wafting off of him in thick sheets.

"DAD!" I cry, trying to protect myself when he strikes me again.

"NO! You don't get to fucking call me DAD. you've brought nothing but disgrace to this family, Maxine. Do you hear me?! DISGRACE!".

Next thing I know, he grabs me by the collar of my shirt and yells obscenities at me, using his free hand to deliver blow after blow to my face. I know better than to fight back, but I can't just sit back and let him do this to me anymore… not anymore. I kick my leg out and hit Dad right between the legs. He drops me and wails out in pain.

I take too long to get up, my face stinging from the punches and slaps. He must have his wedding ring on because I can feel small cuts all over my face. When he recovers, Dad smacks me upside the head. I fall to the ground, blood filling my nose and the room spinning out of control. "I want you OUT of my house. NOW!" Dad yells, his voice full of rage. When I don't respond, he kicks me in the gut, knocking the wind right out of me. I grunt and start gasping for breath when someone rushes into the room and yells Dad's name.

"Ryan!".

"Stay out of this woman. This isn't your problem," Dad says, pushing Mom away when she jumps in front of him.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I think she's going to help me.

She doesn't.

"You need to go, Maxine. Your father's right, there's no place for you here anymore" she says, trying to hold Dad off of me.

I slowly get up on shaky limbs, my head aching. "W- what?!".

"How could you do this to us? After everything we've done for you?".

I stumble on my feet and move towards my already pre-packed bags, "Can… I at least get… some things... to take?".

"What part of NOW do you not understand you dumb cunt?!".

Dad lunges at me and aggressively shoves me against the wall.

I go down like a weight.

"Now, Maxine!" Mom yells, restraining Dad again, "Don't make this harder than it has to be".

I struggle to even keep my eyes open let alone my whole body upright, but somehow I manage. I stumble out of the room and down the stairs, struggling with each step.

Cuts and bruises and blood cover my face, making it hard to focus on the doorknob in front of me. Everything is still spinning around and my chest stings like I can't breathe. I quickly check myself to see if I have my inhaler with me, which of course, I don't. I don't even have my phone. Shit. I cough painfully and push the door open, the harsh, bitter cold slapping me right in the face.

It's snowing, it's not a blizzard but the wind is blowing hard enough to cause a flurry. I step out into the porch, thankful that I fell asleep in my heavy snow boots.

I'm just about to step all the way outside when someone shoves me from behind.

I fly forward into the ground, getting a face full of snow, "I never want to see you here ever again, you hear?!" Dad yells again, "I don't want to see you ever again!".

I jump to my feet and scramble away, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! J- Just please… don't hurt me!".

"Then get the fuck out of my face!".

And with that, Dad slams the door, leaving me in total darkness.

I stand up, my legs feeling like jelly, and start making my way up the street, catching a face in the window of the house across the road.

Melissa.

She's probably looking down at me with a smile, knowing that she single-handedly ruined my life in one night.

Don't think about her! Keep going and find a way to reach Chloe!

I shake my head and continue to shuffle down the sidewalk, my vision swimming before my eyes. "Gotta find, Chloe. Gotta find, Chloe" I mumble.

I'm not sure how long I've been out here, but at some point I stumble into the road, the cold and the fuzz in my head starting to take over. I look up with just enough time to see the car and hear the brakes screech, watching as the bright headlights engulf me.

Then, everything goes white.