"But you don't look like it…"
"I told you already, I'm fine Che, stop being such a worry wart!" Even though Max knew that this was only partially right, she still said it, not wanting to make Chloe feel even worse than she already did.
She thinks that's my panic attack I had in the woods was all her fault…
Of course, Maxine had told the blue haired girl all about the time stop that occurred in the forest just a few hours ago, keeping secrets was the last thing she planned for their relationship.
"Chlo, you told me that you're not angry with me. That is all I really care about, no need to burn yourself on a stake for me."
"I just…" The punk's blue eyes fell onto the ground as she took her beanie off. "Shit…" She grumbled silently to no one particularly. "This sucks."
"Preach it sista." Max retorted, which brought a small smile on the bigger girl's face.
"You almost sound like me finally, proud of me to corrupt you. But there's still something missing… Maybe you really need one or two tats."
"Just because I dyed some of my hair doesn't mean I'll become as punk rock as you are."
"Talking as if you had anything to say in that matter. How cute."
And just like that the two of them overcame this little pebble in their relationship. They loved… needed each other way too much by that point.
"So, all good?"
The brunette nodded quickly. "All perfect… Well, almost… But at least your theory seems confirmed now. As stupid as it may sound now, after talking to you, I was scared about us... or maybe it was just the storm scaring me after all, but I still thought that I might've lost you."
Chloe already stated her opinion multiple times by now, so telling her girlfriend how stupid that idea sounded yet again wouldn't make a difference. So instead, she tried to take this new puzzle piece in. Her forehead creased in thought. "But where does that lead us? Is it really about me, or you just worrying over anything? Maybe it's your worry in general that triggers the stops?"
"I don't know…" The small girl shrugged. "But what I do know is that I am in dire need of cuddling."
Chloe couldn't stop the toothy grin from popping up on her face. She stood up from the sofa and sat down next to her girlfriend on Max's bed. The punk spread her arms, inviting the freckled girl, who obliged, crashing into the bigger girl. The blue haired girl could feel Max's warm breath hit her throat, as she snuggled into the punk's collar.
The two girl's let themselves fall into the mattress. Chloe's sight was full of brown hair which smelled so wonderfully nostalgic. She loved the way the girl in her arms smelled, felt, sounded, and pretty much everything in between as well. The punk's arms tightened around her girlfriend so that she could have more of the sensation.
More of the Maxsation.
She bent her head a bit to the side and whispered into the other girl's ear "Happy?"
Max's face was pressed against the bigger girl's collar, so the only audible thing that came out was a muffled "Uh huh."
It was worth it. Everything was worth this. It was worth it, but Chloe still needed some air.
"Hey, Maximus, mind rolling to the side? kind of hard to breathe when you're squishing down on my lungs."
"Are you saying I'm fat?" The freckled girl just got an eye roll as an answer, but still moved to the side, still resting her head on the blue haired girl's shoulder.
From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw how the small girl was looking up towards her.
"Searching for something?"
"Nah, just found it." And without further explaining herself, she kissed the punk on the cheek.
"... Dork"
…
The next few days were rather boring, and aside from the feeling that both school for Max and work for Chloe felt at least twice as long as it was supposed to, everything was okay.
"Okay" might not be the right word here… I still haven't talked to my mother at all. And time is still fucked it seems…
But aside from those two things, everything was going pretty well. Max had -finally caught up to the other students, and could turn down her afternoon learning sessions a bit, and Chloe was having a good time as a waitress believe it or not. She was actually enjoying to do something. She felt some kind of purpose again. It wasn't her dream to be a waitress forever, of course not, but after such a long time of doing nothing to have work again was surprisingly… fun, even if the punk wouldn't admit something like that.
Right now, Max, Kate, Warren, and Brooke were sitting in the school hall, around a table. Nothing important was going on, they were simply chilling, talking about their science lesson. At least until Brooke and Warren startedslandering, , which of course Kate disapproved of.
"... But it still surprised me." Warren said.
Brooke gave an agreeing hum, supporting his statement. "She seems so 'I can do and be everything' but that she would actually fuck up the test is a real shocker."
"As if you two with your super brains never failed any subject before." Kate retorted, trying to sound not too defensive.
"I take offense in that. As if I, super Warren, could ever fail in science." Warren retort while winking towards Kate.
"He's probably right, Kate." Brooke pointed out. Max was not quite sure if the Asian girl was serious, or if she just wanted to compliment her crush, not that Warren would notice the girl next to him as usual. For a bystander, it was plain as day that there was a sparkling in Brooke's eyes, each time she looked at the nerdy boy.
Even though it was meant as a joke, Kate didn't feel like kidding around about her newfound friend. "And she would be offended if she knew you guys were bad mouthing her."
"Don't you think you're being unfair?" Brooke intervened.
"Why?"
"She did the same thing for the last year. Just because she now plays the nice girl, doesn't mean she doesn't deserve it for what she did before."
"That's… not right."
"Tell that Victoria first."
Until now Max hadn't said much, after all, she had enough she was brooding about even now, but now this conversation caught her attention. "You're wrong here Brooke. See, repeating mistakes, repeating history is leading nowhere. Change is the only step forward."
That comment earned the brunette a nasty glare from Brooke that said pretty much this: Who do you think you are?
Max didn't even notice, as she didn't really care about the whole conversation, to begin with.
"Exactly!" Kate appreciated the help she got from Max. "You can't say 'Oh Vic was mean so I will be mean too, but I am innocent for doing it…' That doesn't make sense!"
But there was no witty answer because the freckled girl was already lost in her mind again.
It's the way I saved Chloe, otherwise, all of you would be dead….
Of course, the brunette couldn't say that out loud, but it still somewhat shattered her mind. She remembered things she hoped to be forgotten by now. They weren't.
But the problem really was not her past, or at least right now it wasn't. Max still had her moments where she got thrown back in nightmarish scenarios that never happened here, but still left scars. What really occupied her right now was that it wasn't over. It was still not over. Even after all she had been through, time was still stopping as soon as she got a bit worried. She had weird as dreams about snakes and there was still this damn key that made no sense at all.
Just what is it good for?! What do these fucking numbers mean anyway? 9412? That supposed to be a warning?
Then, there was a surprising call.
It was a good timing for it actually because now none of her friends could be able to notice the change in Max's expression. Now, the worry was cast away as her face was full of surprise. The only person she could imagine that would call her at the moment would be Chloe, but wasn't she working?
It actually is Chloe!
She realized as soon as she looked at her screen. Not wasting any time, she answered the call with "What's up Chloe?" So that the others would know who it was. It also somewhat counted as an excuse to leave the group for a moment. To be honest, Warren and Brooke nitpicking everything Victoria was doing was getting on her nerves. She was a bitch yes, but -or at least Kate was convinced that- the queen bee was trying to be better. Wasn't that worth at least something?
Anyways, as soon as she was a few steps out of hearing range from the others Max said, "Okay seriously why aren't you at work?"
"Lovely to talk to you too. I asked my Chef if I can have my break a few minutes earlier."
"More like a few hours."
"Whatever Maxy sassy. What's really important is that your freaking mother called me while I was working."
"What!?" The freckled girl said, voice high thanks to the surprise.
"Exactly! I couldn't answer, of course, standing right before a customer. I also… It's a bit embarrassing, but I'm kind of scared to do."
"N-No, we should do that together, you did right by not answering alone. She would've used that for to her advantage."
"Y-Yeah, right. When I'm done I'll drive to yours?"
"Naa, I will just come to yours, we got more privacy there than here with those thinner-than-a-model-walls."
"Okay, sure. I'll try to get off a few minutes earlier today too."
"Che…"
"Yeah?"
"Don't stress yourself."
"What? But… It's your mom and all…"
"That's exactly why."
"Babe, don't come at me with some 'I will work through it alone' bullshit."
Chloe could hear a cute chuckle coming from the other end of the phone. "No, of course not. As if I would get away with something like that."
"Hmpf!"
"But you said it yourself, it's just my mother. She is not a kidnapper or a natural disaster. She's just my mom."
"... Heh, We really had it though."
"I guess… Let's not lose ourselves over something trivial like a parent child conflict."
"They can be brutal though."
"The veteran is speaking."
"Bite me."
"Later. You're still working, right?" Max quipped back, a small laughter accompanying her words.
Chloe was still surprised how much her childhood friend had changed. She was getting sassier, and way more open minded than ever before.
Making me proud young padawan. The punk thought to herself while letting out a small chuckle of her own. "You little dork, for real now see ya later."
"Sure. Drive carefully."
"Yes, mom."
The call ended right after, and Max put her phone away, shaking her head, never losing her smile.
As the brunette came back she found Brooke and Warren still sitting at the table but Kate was gone. But she didn't even need to ask why the blonde girl had disappeared because Warren's shadow didn't wait a second to tell Max that she had gone off to talk with Victoria. Even the nerdy boy was frowning now by now.
"I didn't think Kate would choose her over us," Brooke said, not hiding the toxicity in her voice.
The freckled girl's mouth was already open, ready to defend her religious friend, but there was no need to. "What? Wait a second Brooke, she didn't choose anyone. Don't make it sound like she betrayed us."
Did I just hear that right? Warren told Brooke to shut up? This day is getting crazier and crazier… Max thought, and only now noticing that her mouth was still open. She quickly closed it and then risked a peek at Brooke.
"Why didn't she? She ran to the people we hate, probably telling them that we just talked about Miss Chase failing her test."
"Hate? Gee, I don't like her, but that doesn't mean that I hate her. Why are you even deciding something like that for me?"
"I just…"
"Oh and also, it's not our business with who Kate hangs out. Right now you're acting just like Victoria used to."
Ouch, that hit home.
Brooke was speechless. But that wasn't the problem. The tears running down her face were. She hissed an "Asshole." turned on her heels, and stomped off.
"What's her problem?" The naive boy said, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
Max couldn't believe it. Was he cereal? How could he not get it? "You're an idiot, even if you were totally right to tell her off."
That didn't help his confusion at all, but the brunette didn't even think about explaining that to him and left him standing there as well.
…
"Oh hello, Max. Didn't know you were coming over, but there's surely enough food for the five of us."
"I'm not feeling hungry anyway. But thanks for the offer Joyce."
Chloe's mother narrowed her eyes. "You saying that because you don't want to be a bother?"
"Well I-"
"You are not. Just making that clear." Joyce then turned towards the stairs yelling "But my daughter never telling me when someone comes over that is a bother!"
Just moments later Max heard a "Sorry mom!" being yelled back. A few loud steps, followed by a door being swung open and there she was. Chloe Price was looking down on them with a big grin on her face.
"At least you apologize for it now."
"C'mon mom, give me a chance. Next time I will tell you when Maximus comes over, okay?"
"Sure darling." Joyce retorted not even listening really while heading back into the kitchen.
"You will forget it again, won't you?" The freckled girl asked as soon as she climbed half the stairs.
"Of course, but it's all about selling oneself."
"You're a dork."
Then, finally, Max swung her arms around Chloe, giving her the best bear-hug she could manage. Moments later they were making out until they noticed that they were still standing next to the stairs.
"Ahem… Maybe we should eat first?"
"S-Sure."
Half an hour later the food was being served, and Max was of course not able to stop Joyce from giving her something as well. She simply got a frown and a head shaking in response.
Joyce is a mother through and through.
Despite her efforts to not be a bother to the Prices, Max couldn't keep the moan of satisfaction as she tasted the potato salad.
"How can this be so good Joyce?"
"Experience, sweetie."
To both Max and Joyce surprise Chloe asked something unusual. "By the way, where is David? Working late again?"
"Yes, I have left him some in the refrigerator, for when he comes home."
"Ah. Okay."
The freckled girl blinked a few times looking at her girlfriend, who was already focusing again on inhaling her food. But Max didn't miss the small smirk of Joyce, hidden behind a fork full of food.
They helped to clean dishes for a bit, while Chloe received one or two comments about how she never helped when Max wasn't around.
"Max is just too good. She would help you even if I went upstairs, so the only way to get her in my room is if I speed things up."
"Whoa, I didn't expect any logic behind your laziness to be honest," Max commented from the side. Joyce agreed with a chuckle.
It was too easy to tease Chloe when Joyce was present.
But maybe I should hold back a little more, or she will pay me back later... Maybe I wanna see that.
A few minutes later the couple was sitting in Chloe's room. Both felt how the mood was worsening as neither of them really anticipated the call they had to do.
"Hey listen Chlo, I think... " Max stopped for a moment, looking onto the floor. "I'm sorry that my mom is making such a fuss. We've both much more important things to do and I-I really appreciate that you're here."
The punk looked at the girl that couldn't even face her skeptically.
Looks like some of the old shy Max still is inside of her. Chloe thought. But that's okay. She was always a worry-head
"You sound like the Max from October again, right now."
The freckled girl was quite taken aback by that statement. "I-I just… want everything to work…" Max responded with a gloomy tone in her voice.
It took the blue haired girl a moment. She looked at her girlfriend, frowning. "I didn't mean that in a bad way Maximus."
"Oh, um…"
"I mean just take a look at me now, and compare me with the Chloe a month ago. I got everything I could wish for."
"That's cute, but you-"
"I'm quite serious. After I nearly punched you the first time I saw you, everything in my life went for the better. All that hate, that I couldn't even take out on anyone just poof. Well, I ain't perfect, but-"
Before she could elaborate the smaller girl had already embraced her in a tight hug, burying her face in Chloe's chest.
