A/N:
Hello everyone! And here comes the long awaited Chapter 48! Will Chloe choke on faint at Max' question? How will the Relationship between Marsh and Chase progress? What new drama will be coming along?
Find out it this new installement of your favorite story!
Review :
DebraSmith: Well Chloe does have a rather colorful language isn't she? Anyway I know many have Kate fantasies (I do too) And I hope they will find this story to their taste.
Razogoth: Indeed a new chapter! I usually post 2 times a week sometimes 3. The chapter aren't that big so it doesn't take too long to type. Thanks for the support and enjoy the story!
GrimTReaper: Well I'd say yes and no. I won't tell more than there is a reason behind Azumi's response and you will find out as the story goes on. As for Kate and Victoria, well it would be the usual approach right? But I'm not sure I'll do that. I haven't written that part yet so can't say whether Chloe will slap Victoria silly or not. But it will get resolved soon, no worry.
200000 Words Special Announcement :
As I said previously, in a few chapters I will hit the 200 000 words for this story. For the occasion I'm planning a special bonus. I'd like to make a chapter that would be some kind of interview of the "Life has No Meaning Without You" cast. Basically, I'll imagine that every character mentioned in the story are actors having a special episode as we sometimes see in TV series when they reach 200 or 300 episodes.
To write this I'll need your help!
I would like to ask you to send me questions through PM or in reviews. The questions shall be directed to one or a small group of characters (2 or 3 at most) Every character mentioned in the story can be interviewed, from Max and Chloe to Jefferson or Officer Jones and Cooper (cf chapter 8). You can even ask question to Azumi!
I'll ask you to submit those before Chapter 49 is released so I have time to work this out.
depending on the numbers I get I'll make a selection and keep the remaining questions for a futur bonus.
A few already sent me their questions so I have maybe a dozen of them, some simple and some will give me a good time to put a fun response to it. Please do not hesitate to send your questions or to direct them to secondary or tertiary characters!
XLVIII – The Talk(s) – part I
"What does sex feel like?"
Chloe had been sipping at her beer when the bomb she would dub Little Boy hit the room. Completely taken by surprise, her first reaction is to spurt out her beer, the bubbly drink spraying on the floor from both her mouth and nose, leaving a burning foamy feeling in her nostrils.
She turned to face Max as she coughed. "What the Fuck?"
Max face was red with what Chloe recognized as embarrassment, her hands fiddling with the bottom strings of her black N7 hoodie as she repeated her question in a soft barely audible mumble. "What does sex feel like?"
Chloe shook her head trying to clear her mind from the shock. "Err… Where the hell does that come from?" Her voice started slightly panicked but slowly turned calmer, shyer.
Max kept her eyes trained on her feet, her legs slowly balancing, her hands fiddling with her hoodie nervously while she tried to respond without stammering. "I… I … I just wondered… I mean, I'm your girlfriend and… we are a couple… so, I … figured you'd want to do couple… stuff?"
Chloe frowned a moment and then chuckled softly at her friend's shyness. "God Maximax, you're too cute sometimes." She dropped from the desk and hopped to sit beside the pink-haired girl putting an arm around her shoulder. "Well yeah we are a couple, and yeah I'd want to do stuff with you." She put a kiss on the freckled girl's cheek. "But why are you asking me how sex feels like? I mean surely you have your own experiences, no?"
Chloe didn't think Max could have turned even redder - to her the girl already looked like those thermometers in cartoons that starts to swell with red before they explode - yet she did. "I… I… don't…"
Chloe frowned a moment, her voice soft although confused. "What do you mean you don't?"
Max bit her lip and looked away with what seemed like shame. "I… don't … have experience…"
"What?" Chloe pulled back a little, her hands reaching to grip Max' shoulders and turn her so she could look at her friend's face. "Max…. Are you saying? Are you… still a virgin?"
Max looked like she wanted to sink in the bed and disappear turning beet red as she nodded.
Chloe just looked at her friend, her eyes wide opened, her mouth gapping in shock as she processed the information.
Holy fucking smoke of a dirty fucking cracker! She's a virgin! Max is a VIRGIN! The Max who made the fucking first sexy move not a week ago!
She blinked a few times as Max' head slowly rose up looking at her with shy concerns. "Chloe?" the girl asked with a slightly afraid voice.
Fuck she's just to fucking cute!
Chloe quickly engulfed the smaller girl in her arms, hugging her tightly. "Wow… Max… just wow… I… That's something I didn't expect…" she stammered. She pulled back again looking at her girlfriend. "How come you never…?"
Max looked down. "I just never got interested… I just always thought boys were gross."
Chloe pursed her lips. "Boys are gross, period. Trust me on this." She pondered a moment "What about girls?"
Max looked down again. She's so fucking cute when she's all shy like that! Chloe's lips couldn't help but slowly curl into a smile. "No girls… I never thought of girls like that either…" The pink-haired girl blushed even more. "I … I always thought about you… although not like that either… not before that, week."
Chloe felt as if an explosion of feelings had suddenly taken place in her body. Fucking nuclear bomb of cuteness! "Gosh Caulfield… you're just a fucking mushiness bomb!" she finally said before pressing her lips softly on Max'.
As they broke the kiss, Max leaned and pressed her head on the taller girl's chest with a purr. "You still haven't told me…"
Chloe chuckled softly kissing Max hair. "I know… I just don't know how to describe it. It's… It's so different from one person to the next… whether you have feelings or not…" She softly caressed a hand on Max' back. "I don't think describing it will help because… with you it would be so different anyway."
Max moved a hand softly brushing a finger along Chloe's collarbone. "Good different?"
Chloe smirked. "Hella good different!" She responded happily. She then pulled back a bit and pondered. "Max. Why did you ask about it now? Is it… Is it still that thing with your mom?"
Max looked at her for a moment before leaning along her chest again. "Maybe a bit… But mostly… I want to be with you totally Chloe… To be yours fully…"
Chloe smiled and hugged Max. "It's okay… I understand. Just, I don't want to push yourself, Max… Not like you did Friday. Not because you fear you lost anything or you have to do it." She kissed Max' forehead softly. "We will do it when the time is right for both of us and not before, okay?"
Max nodded softly.
"Good! Besides, we haven't even had a date yet! And this is 3rd date material! So chillax Max!" She said with a soft chuckle.
Max chuckled too, drawing circle with her finger on Chloe's shoulder. "Well we already kiss so I suppose we already do the 1st date material."
"I reckon you're true! Tell you what Maximus!" Chloe said with a smile. "I take you on a date tomorrow evening okay!"
Max nodded softly.
"I take you on a date and then, we see." She paused and reached out, placing her hands on Max' cheeks and directing her head so they stared in each other eyes. "We see how far it goes. But I want you to promise me. You promise me that if at any moment you feel uncomfortable, you tell me! You tell me, and we wait for another time, okay?"
Max smiled and nodded softly. "Okay."
Chloe kissed her nose softly. "It's your first time, and it should be special. I want it to be special. For you." She frowned a bit. "You should have no regrets afterward; I'll make sure of it."
Max stared at the girl's eyes raising a hand to brush her thumb on the punk's cheek. "Thank you Chlo… I love you."
Chloe smiled softly and pressed their lips together for a soft peck. "I love you too, Maximush." She then pulled the girl's head to her chest, hugging her happily with a hand brushing the fuzzy part of her pink hair. Love that tennis ball feeling! She snorted a bit as she added. "You totally owe me a beer though!"
Both girls burst in a loud cheerful laugh.
Kate was sitting at the cafeteria, mulling over her Cesar salad. She kept pushing a piece of tomato around with her fork, not paying attention to the buzz of the conversation between Daniel and Mickey North on her left and Dana, Juliet and Trevor on her right and across from her.
The day didn't feel right to her. She had barely slept all night, spending most of her time sobbing as she hugged a pillow. She could have used the absence of the English teacher to catch up on the lost sleep, but sadly slumber had not found her. And to make it worse her first class of the day had been PE. Nothing like trying to run the track without any sleep.
She had spent the whole hour half running, half walking way behind the rest of the group, unable to find a pace, her legs screaming at her for restful sleep. And to put shame to the injury, she had not been the only one lagging behind, even if she had been the worst. Victoria had also been struggling although a few strides in front of her. And Kate had been forced to watch the focus of her sorrow hover in front of her for the complete hour.
It had been a cruel reminder of her week. All these days, she had been running after the taller blonde in hope to simply be able to have an honest discussion, to be able to sort things out; without ever being able to catch her.
PE had ended, and she had hoped to see the taller blonde during lunch break. But it seemed like Victoria had taken Taylor and Courtney out. Probably wanted to avoid me again…
Kate sighed softly, the frustration she felt at not being able to even talk to Victoria, the void she felt in herself as her heart was kept apart from what it longed for, everything kept piling up like water in a cup, and she felt close to the last drop.
"Something bothering you, Katie?" Dana's voice startled her, and she dropped her fork.
"What? Oh! Sorry!" She stammered as she quickly moved reaching for the silverware.
"It's all good, Kate. Don't worry." The brunette looked at the smaller blonde with concerns. "Are you all right? I mean, you looked like you were distracted."
"Yeah, I'm good! Just feeling a bit tired." She half lied not willing to explain all the things she had in her mind.
The cheerleader was obviously sceptic at her response. She quirked an eyebrow exchanging stares with Juliet for a moment before looking at the smaller girl again. "Do you need to go lay down a minute?"
Kate pondered a moment before she nodded with a soft purse of lips. "I might, yes… I'll go rest in my room before classes." She stood up and picked up her tray hurrying out as her friends just looked at her confused.
"Okay, see you in class!" The brunette's voice called back with concern.
Kate walked to dorms and entered her room, letting herself fall on her bed. She curled up holding her pillow close to her as she felt the tears building at the corner of her eyes. She felt so depressed, not in deep dark desperation as she had been a couple months ago, but out of profound frustration at her inability to get a concrete response to her turmoil. She reached for her phone.
Kate: Max! Can you meet me in my room before classes?
Max: Hey Kate! Sure, I can come! I'll see you in a bit!
Kate: Thank you Max!
Kate laid back again, closing her eyes trying to rest a bit as she waited. She wasn't sure how long she had remained there curled on her bed when the knock woke her up.
"Come in!" She called raising her head softly, watching the door as Max entered followed by Chloe.
"Hey Kate! Are you okay?" The pink-haired girl greeted warmly. "I brought Chloe with me. I hope it's okay."
The punk girl happily strolled in the room with a bouncy step. "Hey there Katie honey!" She looked around and smiled. "Nice room!" As a soft rattling could be heard, Chloe quickly bounced toward the cage. "How rad! Hey there bun-bun!"
Kate couldn't help it and she giggled at the taller girl's antic. "Hi Max! Hi Chloe!" She smiled softly. "Thank you, and this is Alice."
The blue head jerked up and around, looking at Kate. "Serious? Alice? And she goes into rabbit holes? So amazeballs!" her grin wide like the Cheshire cat making Max chuckle softly.
Max moved softly with the help of her crutches and sat on the bed carefully looking as Kate sat up in a corner raising her knees against her chest trapping her pillow. "How are you Kate? You look sad."
The words seemed to bring the tall punk from her giddiness and she quickly dropped to sit cross-legged on the floor as blonde responded softly. "I dunno, Max."
Chloe frowned a bit. "Still that thing about Victoria?"
"Yes… I mean she isn't mean or anything!" Kate quickly said searching to defend the girl they were talking about. "It's just, she's been avoiding me… and… I dunno what to think."
The two guests looked at each other with a slight wince. "Do you think she knows how you feel?" the pink-haired girl asked softly as she reached to place a hand on the girl's knee.
"Why else would she avoid me? I mean, she would have no reason, right?" Kate looked at the two other girl's her eyes red and puffed from the crying. "She must know… And she must be disgusted and hate me!" Her voice broke as she pressed her face in the pillow sobbing.
Max shifted and moved to hug the small girl. "Shhh, I'm sure she doesn't hate you, Kate. No one could hate you!"
"But… But…that's the only possible reason!" The blonde cried in the pillow. "She must have guessed I… I … I love her!" Her voice came stronger than she thought, surprising her into pulling her head up. "I love her… It's like you said Max… The more I'm away… The idea she won't want to talk to me again… It's crushing me, Max!"
"Oh dog! Poor Kate!" The pink-haired girl pulled Kate's head to her, hugging the crying girl comfortingly. "I'm so sorry! You should not feel like that." She softly brushed the lose strands of blonde hair behind the girl's ear. "But, at least you now know what your feelings are. Isn't it something good? All you have to do is tell her!"
"But what if she hates me! What if she doesn't love me?"
Max kissed the girl's head softly. "Then you cry, and you move on."
"I dunno if I could do that, Max."
"You can, Kate… It's the uncertainty that is the worst." The Pink-haired girl looked at the blue haired girl for a moment as she kept talking. "The moment when you don't know if your feelings will be met, the dread of rejection, thinking you should move on something else without being able to because you also fear regretting not trying." She looked at Kate softly. "You have to tell her, Kate! You can't stay this way, trust me!"
"But how?! I can't tell her anything if she doesn't let me talk to her!"
Max looked at Chloe searching support. "I dunno, Kate… I'm sorry…Chloe?"
The punk slammed a fist in her opposite hand. "I could smack some sense in the bitch!" Her tone while half-joking still showed the bluenette was angry at Victoria's behavior.
"No! Don't hurt her!"
"Relax Kate! I won't hit her." She sighed and leaned back resting on her arms. "I dunno how to make it happen though… Maybe…" She paused looking at the ceiling and Max could almost see the cogs spinning in her girlfriend's brain. "Okay I got it! Max, call up Waldo and nerd girl, Diana, Juliet, all the peeps!"
Max frowned unsure. "Why?"
"We're having a movie night tomorrow!" the punk announced as she stood up.
"How will that help?" Kate asked softly.
"Well we invite Bitchtoria without telling her you will be there, … might have to invite her two goons too…. Anyway, she doesn't know you will be there, and when she comes we set it so you have a moment with her and BOO-YAH! The bitch is confessed!" Chloe raised her arms in victory before bowing majestically like an actor at the end of a play.
Max and Kate chuckled. "I suppose it could work. But where do we all meet?"
"It's obvious! My place!" At the pink-haired girl's sceptic glare, Chloe smiled. "Chillax Max! David has to work night and mom has the evening shift. We'll have the house to ourselves till at least 1 or 2 am."
"Okay… I guess it could work… I suppose I should invite Victoria too then… I mean Kate cannot and if I let you do it, she won't be able to come." Max winked at Kate.
"Hey I'm offended! I said I won't hit her!" Chloe huffed crossing her arms pouting.
As Kate giggled at the punk's feigned outrage, Max slowly stood on shaking legs and leaned to put a kiss on the bluenette's lips.
They were sitting in her Prius, driving back to school after a lunch in a small restaurant on the beachfront. Courtney and Taylor kept talking, chatting about their usual concerns, fashion, boys and parties. To their dismay though, Victoria barely took part in the conversation.
"Okay, Tori. Enough, I want to know what the hell is going on!" the blonde sitting in the passenger seat finally exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Victoria grunted, her tone already annoyed.
"I'm asking what's bothering you, Tori! You've been lost in your thoughts all week, barely talking with us, staying locked in your room! You've been avoiding Kate who I thought had become our friend!" The blonde turned on her seat and looked at Victoria. "So, what happened?"
"It's nothing. Doesn't concern you! And I don't want to talk about it."
Courtney frowned and leaned forward. "Sorry, Tori but it does concern us too. You are our friend! And Kate became one too after YOU invited her to spend time with us."
"I told you it's nothing! Leave it alone!"
They remained quiet for a moment, both girls looking at each other then at Victoria. "Did something happen at Kate's house?"
The pixie blonde's hand tightened on the wheel. "How should I know?"
Courtney shook her head. "Victoria, we know you went to spend Thanksgiving with her. We were there when she invited you, remember?"
With a sigh the girl took a glance at the mirror. "Fine! Yes, I did go and yes it sucked! Her mom and Aunt are assholes who kept blabbering their vile on all of us, Kate included! So, I told them to shove it and I left!"
Shock could be seen on Taylor's face. "WHAT? You left Kate there alone?"
"Who do you take me for? When she ran I took her with me!"
"Then what's the problem?"
Victoria growled. "I don't want her to lose her family because us… Even if they suck… I know how it is to have parents who ignores you."
Courtney sat back in her seat as she mumbled. "You're stupid."
"What's that your saying?"
Taylor came to the brunette's rescue. "She's saying that if you think having such a band of assholes as parents is better than having friends then you're stupid! And I'm sorry to say but she's right, Tori! What if we all ignored you on the hypothetic chance you may spend more time with your parents?"
The blonde at the wheel sighed deeply. "It's not the same…"
"True! It's not the same! Your parents never insulted any of your friends. And even if they did, I doubt Katie would suddenly treat you like a pariah!"
No one said anything else for several minutes. As she parked her car on the campus, Victoria finally sighed. "I know I'm not fair with her… but… I just can't deal with it now… I just need time…"
Taylor opened her door and looked at Victoria. "Well you better not take too much time! After what happened last time, I'm not sure Kate will easily be our friends again if you hurt her!"
