I have a whole day before the party tonight. I've had my wake and bake, I took a shower and did all of that fun stuff. My bruise was still a dark purple and not in that nasty green part yet. It was grosser looking than before.

Me:
Max

Time Maxine:
Yeah?

Me:
Two Whales?

Time Maxine:
Come by my room. I'm still getting ready. :)

Me:
NO

Me:
EMOJI

I jumped off my bed and pulled my beanie on, leaving to go two doors down to Max's room. Her slate thing had a drawing of nyan cat on it. Just a sad poptart cat with a shitty rainbow, only drawn in black. I grabbed the marker and put "Chloe Price was here" on it.

"Max." I banged my fist on the door.

She opened the door and she barely put her shirt on. Ah yes, the pink Jane t-shirt. "Chloe."

"I see your room is still a hipster's wet dream." I walked in. The polaroid pictures attached on strings, the lantern and Christmas lights (it was not anywhere near December), the bunch of pretentious photographs by other photographers she looked up to: just Max Caulfield for you. It wasn't clean but it wasn't messy like mine. I wish she'd let me fuck it up a little bit.

"I'm glad Lisa's still alive over here."

Her plant for like, I dunno, hipster aesthetics? Oxygen? A friend? She did name it.

"Oh yeah, Kate reminds me to water her on the correct days."

"She knows the schedule better than you?" They could tell me they weren't dating all they want, but I have eyes and a gaydar that kinda works. I'm still haunted by Kate calling their hang outs "dates" instead of anything else. Every time too!

"I'm busy taking pictures of things for my portfolio. You know I can forget things sometimes."

"You're such an artsy, hippy nerd, Max."

"And you're a skater, asshole punk, Chloe."

"You're getting good at that."

"Thanks!" She hung her messenger bag around her body and nodded. "So, Two Whales?"

Max was the best friend I could ever have. Since birth, I liked to say, going through our pirate phase together and being able to get into crazy shit, I couldn't imagine another person replacing that. Now, we were going through a new phase and we weren't the same anymore. But, it worked. I mean, it was one of those situations where, if we didn't know each other until now, we wouldn't be friends, but we worked!

"I thought of this before when I was high as shit," we were pressed close as we rode the bus, "or, whichever time I was high, but is it called sand because it's between sea and land?" Not a random question! We're passing the beach right now!

"I'm not even fighting you on that one."

"Three-zero, Max. It's not looking good for you."

"Chloe, think of more while we eat some waffles so I can think of good comebacks."

"Good idea." I patted her on her back. "My mom is gonna pinch my ear and pull it for that accident."

"Your mom is just being a mom. Plus, you think that Rachel somehow made you do it. Don't tell her that part."

"Hell no! Shit, if she finds out the princess, the queen of Blackwell made me do that, she'll think I've gone off my ass!"

"You're being delusional with all of this, you know that, right? Rachel isn't the reason for all of this is happening to you."

"Say what you want. I don't give a shit. She has witch cash and she buys curses—"

"You're overdoing it, Chloe. You can't say all of these things but go to her party."

The bus stopped, right next to Two Whales.

"There's beer; that's all I need to show up to shit. That, weed, or bands. No argument if it's all three."

We got off the bus and went into the diner; there were lots of truckers inside already.

"I just don't want you to get hurt or those Vortex people messing with you."

"If they do it again, I'll knock their fucking teeth out. What are those fake teeth things called?"

We sat down at our favorite table near the jukebox machine in the corner. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think they're fake—"

"Whatever! Make them unrecognizable!"

She didn't want to, but she was laughing.

"Hey girls, here for breakfast, I see." My mom came up with a coffee mug, one ready for Max.

"Hey mom." I nodded at her. "Are you gonna mom me?"

I was already ready to take whatever she was gonna do. The worse it could be was a full slap to the face in the middle of this place. I doubt anyone would care if that happened! Most people knew she's my mom and I'm her troublemaker.

"I already did on the phone." She pinched my cheek hard, making me flinch. "I'm working, Chloe! Will it be waffles or eggs today?"

"Waffles." Max and I said it at the same time.

She left, and I turned to Max. "That wasn't that bad."

I was just prepared! She could be crazy fucking mad if she wanted to! Thank fuck she didn't.

"I feel like that would be different if she was still with her boyfriend."

"Oh, he would beat the shit out of me. I would fight him too; I've done it before."

I had a black eye and my cheek had a bruise from that fucker. I looked cool, but he was such an asshole! He was like in the military or whatever, I get it, but it was just so fucked up that my mom wanted me to suck it up! I think he would've shot me if he had the chance.

"Glad he's gone. I wouldn't know what to do if he stayed around."

"Maybe my mom woke up one morning and was like, "shit… why are you here?" I'm not that much of a punk to need that kind of management."

"You are, but I'm here to stop you from worst case scenarios. Who was that one guy again? Nathan?"

"You mean, Nathan "Mister-my-dad-paid-for-this-whole-school-did-I-mention-I'm-rich" Prescott?"

"Yeah, and that one guy… he doesn't go to our school."

"Frank. I just get my shit from Justin. I knew I'll never be able to pay that son of a bitch. All that tabs, debts, and owes are a pain in the ass."

Those two sons of bitches just disappeared into thin air or some shit. I wasn't complaining, I never will, and I nearly forgot those two until just now. I don't even remember when they disappeared.

"Where exactly is Justin getting his?"

"From—"

My mom placed two plates of waffles in front of us. "Here you go, you two. What did you want to drink, Chloe?"

"Coffee too."

When she walked away to get it, I answered Max. "He has a plant in his room."

She had a piece of waffle in her mouth already; she nearly choked.

"It's not that shocking, Max, stop being dramatic." I stabbed the strawberries on the side and dropped them on her plate. "You know none of those security guards give a shit."

"Sorry," she drank her coffee, "I know. I wasn't expecting it."

"You shouldn't be shocked anymore about anything we do."

"I really shouldn't."

"You don't wanna go to Amber Manor with me?"

"Parties aren't my thing, Chloe. I'll probably hang out with Steph and Mikey at a game of Catan."

"Like a sleepover? Fucking nerds."

We were back in Max's room, watching these weird videos she found when she didn't wanna do homework. Or she forgot to do it. I was just here because I didn't wanna do it either.

"No, we just wanna get together and play a fun game about being settlers and building land and cities. Maybe Clue or… King of Tokyo—"

"Play Monopoly while you're at it."

"We don't have that, but she has Risk."

I chuckled. "Well, have fun with that. I'm sure you have plenty of games to make your raging-nerd-boner go crazy."

She pushed me, barely enough to make me move.

So fucking hilarious, it's so easy to imagine those three in a circle playing these board games while that one Final Fantasy movie played in the background. Not because they all like it; only Max likes that awful movie.

"You're gonna watch the "best sci-fi movie of all time?'"

"I hope so." She replied a lot happier than I thought she would. "We actually started with planning on playing World of Warcraft, but—"

"Stop, I'm about to barf all over you from all of this shit."

"The video?"

"No, your nerd shit."

A/N: Review and shit!