Chapter Twenty Five: The Hipster and Richie Vic

…

Stepping off the bus that had taking her to Discovery Park, Max Caulfield slung her pack over her shoulder and waited until the bus had sped off before she sprinted across the road, dodging oncoming cars Frogger style. She probably should have walked the ten yards to the crosswalk, but whatever, it was over now.

Recollecting herself from her death-defying feat of agility, Max walked at a striding pace. She was about twenty minutes late and from everything she had gathered from her brief interactions; Victoria Chase was an extremely particular girl about common courtesy things like arriving on time. She'd probably overlook this, but Max would make sure to do better from now on.

Victoria was…well… she was easily the closest thing to a perfection Max had ever encountered in her short life, and just more beautiful than Max ever could dream of being. She had these hauntingly sharp green eyes that could act as a force multiplier to her words. She was several inches taller than Max (then again who wasn't?) She had an athletic physique, yet she seemed to show little interest in the subject.

Then again how would she know Victoria was not into athletics?

Max had only known her for about thirty odd hours and this was their second physical encounter; but in that time, it seemed as though all the two of them did was text each other. Sometimes it was serious questions, meaningful learning about each other, but mostly the two of them just chatted about whatever they were doing. One driving the conversation, the other inserting a joke or thick sarcasm and it would turn Max into a laughing mess.

It had been a while since she had a taste of this… not since… well… Chloe.

Max exhaled unsteadily as she forced the guilt of her thought for her old friend back into the depth of her mind.

As for Victoria, well, no one should have been such a perfect mixture of snarky, awkward, snobbish, sweet and earnest as Victoria was. To say it had left Max a little shaken up was an understatement.

The fact of the matter was she didn't exactly know how to define this strange little feeling brewing somewhere deep in her, but it was something she supposed was to be expected she felt for a boy she liked or something. She had an idea what it was, but she was far too frightened to voice it, let alone act on it. She wasn't like that… she assumed.

Okay, so maybe it went beyond a feeling. Perhaps Max might have been a little… smitten by Victoria Chase.

It was an old fashion choice of words, but it didn't diminish the strange feeling she got as she watched Victoria spend an hour talking about Richard Avedon's work with Gia Carangi and her failed 1982 photo sessions with detail she never knew existed. The way she could seamlessly segue between her topics and anecdotes and then change course to her personal life was astounding in the level of confidence and grace she had after her initial social fumbling. If Victoria and she remained friends, she hoped some of that confidence rubbed off on her. Maybe not the snobbery though. That Max could do without. She simply didn't have the money to back up that state of mind.

The grace and the intelligence was something which Victoria strived to have at about the same level as her ambition, but with her ambition the cracks in her image of perfection became all the more apparent. As Max looked at the pictures, Victoria maintained a running commentary on her work. Nearly of it extremely critical, like everything she did was not at a professional level. Max had to pause a few times to remind Victoria that in spite of her beautiful amateur work, Victoria was still just that an amateur like her and that the two of them would need a great deal more time before they could achieve any measure of serious professional success.

That seemed to work to relax Victoria, or at least Victoria had decided to shut up and let Max examine her digital gallery.

From what she saw in her, Victoria was sort of a machine in her work. She preferred in the moment work opposed to using models. They captured the life of Seattle and wherever else she shot, but there as a strange sort of coldness to her work. That was not to say her work wasn't beautiful, because it was. On a technical level Victoria dwarfed her. But that coldness… it felt as though Victoria was holding back. Like she feared investing a piece of herself into the work she took.

With that in mind, here they were now at Discovery Park for a photo session. Victoria wanted to something more downtown, financial district oriented. She wanted to capture the collapse of relaxed Seattle life in favour of the city's growing corporatism. Max wanted to go into the suburban jungles, taking candid work of life in suburbia. After two hours of arguing, the two of them settled on urban wildlife.

Honestly it was a little nice… perhaps even thrilling to have someone actively challenge her. It had amped her expectations of a photo session significantly having someone who not only had the shared interest (her friend Kristen had sort of a fleeting interest) but was actively pursuing a career just like she was. It had all the markings of a rivalry minus the bad blood. Perhaps as this friendship grew they would be able to push each other to get better and better.

For now, however, they would have to focus on the personal side. If they jumped into the deep end… well, it probably cause a strain before their relationshi- friendship was solidified enough to withstand it. She would probably have to explicitly point this out to Victoria. Max doubted very much that Victoria eased into anything in her life.

There sitting on the hood of a Mercedes C-Class sedan which Dad would probably murder Mom and her to have was Victoria Chase, leaned back, she was clearly bored as she scrolled through her phone with one hand and a cigarette in the other. She was apparently waiting for her. Max watched in silence as the wind ran through Bangs pixie cut, billowing her side swept bangs gently.

She was not at all dressed for outdoors in a park. Honestly Max doubted Victoria had ever been out in nature at all. She was wearing a black skirt and tights with a light white knit and dotted undershirt. She looked like she was dressed for a gallery opening. She was dressed in a similar fashion on the day they met, but Max had assumed that was just for then. Apparently Victoria liked to dress a decade or two older then she actually was.

… Not that Max minded… she looked… well, stunning.

Without Victoria Chase noticing, Max raised her camera and took a photo of the girl. She gave it a good shake and hid the polaroid in her bag. Ignoring the small bundle of nerves forcing her to remain locked in place, Max exhaled and stepped forward towards Victoria. She would be cool and collected. As charming as Victoria was the other day. Victoria Chase wasn't the only one who could be cool.

"Hey Victoria!" she blurted out, waving her hand wildly as she instantly regretting just how stupid she must have looked.

Victoria looked up from her phone. She thankfully had missed Max's… well… Maximum Dork Mode and issued the red tinted girl a small, almost predatory grin.

"Hello Max," she said as she pushed herself off her car, her phone returning back to her purse. "Did you have trouble getting here?"

Her tone was not judgmental or upset, but there was a question Victoria definitely wanted to have answered after being stood up for nearly an hour. Sighing, Max joined Victoria, who immediately flicked her pretty much unsmoked cigarette to the ground and stamped on it as though she feared Max's judgement, or perhaps (off chance) the health of Max's lungs.

"Yeah," Max sighed as she stood next to the tall girl who was tilting her head down on her. "… I missed the bus so I got delayed, I'm sorry about that."

Victoria blinked once, her brow arching as she seemed unable to process the idea of having to use public transportation. Max had her licence, but Mom and Dad weren't exactly okay with her using their cars whenever she liked. So it was bus life for her.

"It's fine, Max," Victoria dismissed with a wave of her hand. Max watched as a small frown formed on Victoria's mouth as she gestured to the car.

"You know you can call me up or whatever when we got plans to chill. I have a car; and there is this great new invention; it's called a passenger seat," Victoria added, her voice now growing a little shriller. "You see, having a passenger seat means I am able to carry more than just myself in it… like, I don't know… perhaps a hipster who would rather get shuttled around in a stinking bus packed full of people and make a trip that takes five minutes last forty-five minutes."

Not exactly sure where the biting sarcasm ended and the humour began; all Max could tell for certain was that the small smile Victoria had held no resentment. It was just Victoria breaking her metaphorical balls.

"Yeah… I guess I could," Max shrugged casually, deciding not to let Victoria go unchallenged. "It's just I wouldn't want to cause you any sort of inconvenience. Rich girls have such busy lives; what with you owning an entire gallery all by yourself and all."

Max's heart skipped as she watched Victoria flush pink at the mention of her fumble the other day. She watched –silently celebrating her small victory - as the tall blonde crossed her arms over her chest and lightly tapped her foot on the pavement.

The embarrassment vanished off Victoria face. She uncrossed her arms and stepped closer to Max, and she only stopped moving until she was well within Max's personal space. She reached out, gently touching Max's forearm as her smile returned. There was something different this time and Max wasn't entirely sure that she liked it.

"If we're going to be friends, you've got to be comfortable asking things from me," Victoria informed her in a low, breathy voice. "… Because I promise you, I'll be undoubtedly asking things from you…"

As the two of them stood there, Max willed herself not to turn away from the extremely confident platinum blonde whom had effectively cowed her into a state of shocked silence. Her bright emerald eyes gleamed as Victoria refused to blink.

"… And exactly what would you like from me?" Max had to ask her, unable to hide the small tremble building in her voice as an alien sort of feeling washed over her and lead her to thoughts which Max never had before.

On the surface, Victoria appeared to be unmoved by her question, but the hand that still gripped her forearm told a different story. It tightened a little and she could feel a faint shake being transferred into her body from Victoria. As Victoria bit her lip slightly, she leaned in closer.

"Your portfolio for starters," Victoria reminded her finally, her eye brows raised as she nodded to Max's shoulder bag. "I showed you mine, it's time you stop holding out, Max."

Max blinked as Victoria released her grasp on Max's arm and the tension in her chest relaxed somewhat.

"Oh… right," Max mumbled as she reached into her bag and desperately tried to push aside the thought that had stormed into the forefront of her mind. "It's nothing special; I think I have a ways to go-"

Victoria snatched the portfolio from out of Max's hands before Max could finish dismissing them on the spot and walked back to her car. She once again sat down on the hood and gingerly opened the folder.

As Victoria's amused expression died and an expression of thought inspection took over, Victoria patted the hood of her car next to her without looking up to Max so that Max wasn't standing there on ceremony for her. Swallowing her growing fears she stepped forward and took a seat next to Victoria.

In silence she waited for Victoria's judgment. She fought ever urge to be like Victoria was prior overly self-critical. Instead she locked her mouth shut and decided that she would just let Victoria examine her work without the critiques which might influence her as Victoria had tried before. She was just an amateur after all. If she was willing to dish out that advice to Victoria, then she had to follow it as well.

"This is…" Victoria spoke suddenly, looking up to Max finally. "Max. You got the gift. Don't you ever… ever fucking squander this talent."

Max blinked and looked for any sort of deception on Victoria's part. She could have easily been humouring her. If she had been, she probably would have taken the platitudes regardless; but instead there was a genuine honesty in her eyes which Max could not help but trust.

The honesty Victoria radiated was not necessarily a warm reception. Instead it was envy, and perhaps even a little jealousy. Why Victoria felt that, she was not sure. They had none of the technical prowess she had. For Max it always felt like trial and error and a hell of a lot of luck. Victoria and her might have been blossoming friends; but that wasn't about to stop Victoria from feeling like she had to filter her agitation.

If anything that was the last thing Max had wanted.

If Victoria felt this way, the last thing she wanted was it to be supressed. Suppression inevitably led to resentment… and since meeting Victoria Chase, the last thing Max wanted was to ruin this friendship simply to feel safe from Victoria's inevitable desire to one up her. As Victoria closed the portfolio and handed it back with a smile returning to her face, it seemed as though the envy had passed.

"I'll take a closer inspection later," she said as she slid off the car hood and turned around. "Come on I need to see you in action, even if you use dead technology like the hipster trash you are…"

Max remained on the hood and silently gave Victoria a sharp look. She watched, her heart rising inside her chest as Victoria's small smirk formed into a widened smile as she extended her hand out to Max. Max exhaled and took the hand felt the strong grip of Chase yank her clean off the car and right into her, staggering both girls and making them laugh.

They stood there; hands still latched to each other and allowed their laughter to die between them, leaving Max grinning and Victoria strangely nervous, perhaps even regretful for her semi-insult.

"Totally teasing, I promise…" Victoria breathed down to her.

Immediately accepting the apology which Victoria did not need to issue her, Max nodded, gently relaxing her hand enough so that she could slip out of Victoria's grasp. There was a flash of strange hurt, or disappointment that crossed onto Victoria's face, but she immediately squashed.

Max was grateful for that. This entire encounter with Victoria so far was starting to eat away at everything she had ever known. While it was thrilling and awesome, the last thing she needed right now was to have some weird identity crisis right here and now.

"Come on," Max spoke up to her new photographer partner as she cleared her throat. "We got work to do, right?"

Seeming to be just as grateful for this escape as she was, Victoria nodded blankly and together the two of them headed towards the nearest trail. The two of them came to a non-verbal agreement to attempt not to making this session anymore thrillingly awkward than it already was.

Wowsers, they were going to fail hard at that promise.

…

…

Driving through the Seattle suburbs gave her time to think. That time to think had helped her come to a conclusion. Victoria Chase might not have believed in a God, but she knew for a fact that Max Caulfield was the fucking devil.

Max had the raw talent, the looks and could drive Victoria to the fucking brim of babbling like an idiot with just one word. Fuck, just one look. Yet unlike others approaching her, she didn't seem to abuse it or use it to her advantage. She just kept her nose down in her work and everyday life without using it to advance any sort of personal agenda beyond her long term goal of making a career out of her photography work.

Max was not a very technical artist. In fact quite a bit of her work was hit and miss; but what she hit… it was like she had captured perfection in a single photo; but even in Max's worst work, there was more life and earnestness than anything Victoria could dream of having.

Yet, while she might have envied the ability Max shown, Victoria didn't hate it. She didn't fear it or even want to destroy Max so she came out on top out of the two of them.

Instead, she wanted to nurture it… to help Max hone that raw talent into something perfect.

For the past day and a half, there had been words spoken… or rather texted to her years ago that Victoria had tried her hardest to forget which had bubbled back up into her thoughts. Words that destroyed her when she was younger because it was something she had doubted she would ever find, but two years later and here she was driving the silent Max Caulfield to her home, her heart swimming in her chest at the merest glance to Max and fucking Rachel Amber's prophetic text barrage haunting her thoughts.

'One day I hope that you find a friend like I found one in Chloe. Someone who doesn't take you and your rising alpha bitch status at face value, someone you can be vulnerable with and know that your deepest fears can be safe with someone else so you don't have to feel so alone all the time.'

Was this what Rachel had meant? Was what was going on with Max and her that similar to that of how Rachel and Chloe felt for each other? With Max she felt safe to just be herself… whatever that was. She had spent so long living an image that not even the occasional time with Chloe and Rachel could separate the real Victoria from the image. Yet here she was, unafraid to be herself with Max, yet completely terrified by this sway Max clearly had no idea she held over the Chase girl.

"We're here, you can park behind them if you would like."

Max's gentle words broke her out of her musings. She looked to Max briefly before she examined the house Max was pointing to. Max was by no means a poor hipster girl. It was a nice modern two story home, with a cherry red Dodge Ram and a blue Kia Optima in the driveway.

As Victoria put her Mercedes in neutral, she leaned back into her seat and turned to face Max. There was a small smile resting on her lips. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she held those gentle doe eyes on Victoria's. She looked so serene in the fading sunlight hitting through the windows and illuminating her chestnut hair to almost an auburn colour.

Exhaling, Victoria could not help but return her smile with one of her own. She did not know how she could make her feel this giddy, but Victoria was not about to question it now.

"Today was a lot of fun, Max," Victoria spoke first, deciding to be honest rather than guarded. "Keep this up and I may have to drag you out more often. At least until you get bored."

Max shook her head, her lips still curved as her hand grasped onto her shoulder bag. There seemed to be a sudden bout of nervous energy that hit her. Fuck… it really hit the two of them if Victoria was being honest.

"I'm getting to do something I love with someone who shares the passion," Max returned after a moment in a shy tone. "I'll never get bored of this… or you…"

Max fell silent, giving the two of them a moment to stew once again in their strange vibes. After a second or two longer, Max, unfastened her seatbelt and opened the door. Instead of stepping out of the car, Max instead paused and turned back to look at Victoria, a curious sort of smile returning to her face as she seemed to inspect the blonde.

"I was thinking… Would you like to stay for dinner?" Max invited, her voice slightly edged to convey her sincere interest.

Victoria pursed her lips together. It was tempting; it meant she would get more time with Max, and with her Europe trip inching closer and closer, she was starting to see the ramifications of having started a summer… friendship when she only had one month window for it.

"I… I wouldn't want to impose-" Victoria started. She was silenced by Max. With a small smirk she leaned forward and pressed her hand against Victoria's mouth.

"Victoria, If we're going to be friends, you've got to be comfortable asking things from me, because I promise you, I'll be undoubtedly asking things from you." Max said back, throwing Victoria's words tight back into her face.

Max withdrew her hand. She looked close to having a fit of laughter at her expense. Victoria rolled her eyes as she attempted to reorganize what was left of her dignity.

"Fuck it," Victoria sighed as she pulled the keys from the ignition. "Well, lead on Hipster Trash."

"As you say, Ritchie Vic," Max called back as she stepped out of the car.

Victoria lingered for a moment before she too stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her as she followed Max up the driveway towards the house. Right now she was just hoping to God that fucking nickname Max had just used would not stick.

Before the two of them could reach the front door, it opened, startling Victoria. She watched as out stepped huge man built like a football player closed the door behind him. His hair was buzzed short but compensating was the huge Hipsterish beard covering much of his face. Like Father, like Daughter Victoria supposed.

As the approached the two of them, Victoria could see that Max's Father had giving her those kind eyes Victoria had come to sort of admire. She watched as Max's face lit up as her Dad approached them. Victoria on the other hand felt herself nervous in a way she had never felt before.

She suppressed her fear and watched as the man gave Max a side hug.

"Hello Maxine," he greeted his daughter as he let her go. "You're just in time. I was about to send out the police for you."

As Max rolled her eyes, Victoria could not help but smile. So, Max was really a Maxine all along. She fucking knew it.

"Jeepers, you're funny for an old guy," Max said in faux annoyance. She turned back to Victoria and with a smile, she added. "Dad, this is my new friend Victoria Chase. Victoria, this is my Dad."

As Mr. Caulfield directed his full attention to Victoria, the nervous instinct brewing inside of the Chase increased. Victoria smothered her fear and offered her hand out to the father of her new friend as well as a smile that took more effort than she thought it would take.

"Hello Mr. Caulfield, it's a pleasure to meet you," Victoria greeted Max's bemused father. She watched as Mr. Caulfield took a single striding step forward towards her.

"Please call me Ryan, and Maxine's mother, Vanessa," the man named Ryan requested as he shook her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you as well. Max here has been gushing over you at least a day now."

Letting go of Ryan's hand, a much more confident feeling took root inside of Victoria. She turned and found Max looking up at her Dad as though she had been fundamentally betrayed by him. Ryan, on the other hand, was completely disconcerted by the reaction he had gotten.

Victoria decided she could play with this. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"She has?" she echoed as she turned back to stare at the suddenly bashful Max once again. "This is an interesting turn of events."

Across from her, Ryan laughed. It seemed as though he was ready to play along with her in making poor Max squirm. She may have only known Ryan Caulfield for about 45 seconds, but she liked him already.

"It is, isn't it?" Ryan played along with her. "Anyways, I'm grilling tonight; I gotta run to the store for some Kaiser rolls because someone who will remain nameless and certainly not your mother forgot to go… be back in ten."

As Max nodded, Ryan pecked the top of Max's head and with a smile for Victoria, he stepped by the two of them, leaving the pair of back in a state of awkward nervous energy. The two of them remained this way until Max's Dad had pulled his Ram out of the driveway. As soon as he did, Max reached out and rubbed her neck.

"Is it too late to rescind my asking you in for dinner?" Max asked Victoria, her voice attempting to achieve some measure of casualness.

Victoria smirked properly and shook her head.

"Totally too late now, Maxine…" Victoria teased her, just having to twist the knife in Max. She watched curiously as Max winced like the name was some sort of burden.

"Ughhh… My Dad and Mom are usually the only ones to use my full name. I don't like it very much," she admitted distasteful at even the thought of her own name. "It just feels so… I don't know… prissy or something…"

Victoria shook her head. Sure, Max was entitled to have an opinion, but so was she and Max not embracing her name felt so wrong to her.

"That's too bad," Victoria quietly murmured back to Max. "Honestly, I think that Maxine is such a beautiful name. I think that it could definitely suit you."

Victoria went silent as she watched Max shift in place as she seemed to contemplate what she had said. She held her soft eyes on Victoria's as though she was digging in deep to find any sort of deception or lie. She would not find one. Maxine was a beautiful name and Victoria thought that Max deserved the proper recognition.

Running her hand over her face, Max slowly nodded.

"Well I still prefer Max," Max murmured lowly as she looked back to Victoria properly. "But I… suppose I would not mind it terribly if you wanted to use Maxine if you would like…"

As their eyes locked on to one another, Victoria nodded blankly and allowed herself to be led up to the front door by Max… Maxine. This was an offer she was not about to pass up.

…

…

Hope you don't mind. I've been wanting to bang out a pure Maximum Victory chapter. God knows they need one after the wait. Next chapter we'll have more pairings to pay with. Thank you as always for the support and I'll see you all soon!

PS I know shit all about photography. Basically sorry if I butcher it and sorry if I barely acknowledge it.