Chloe groaned.
She felt shitty.
That was a pretty common thing nowadays though.
Granted, she currently had an armful of a certain doe-eyed hipster that snuggled in close, and that was doing wonders for Chloe's continually shitty mood swings. With Joyce and David gone for the evening, today had been the perfect chance to get some quality time between girlfriends in.
As their eyes locked in on the television, Chloe picked up another donut with the hand that wasn't preoccupied with coddling Max's shaggy hair.
She chewed it slowly, letting the sweet flavor of the glaze settle heavily on her tongue.
Donuts and cuddles weren't something that Chloe had ever thought possible with her childhood best friend, but hey, here she was anyway.
Chloe couldn't understand it. Like here she was, with her girlfriend snuggled up right under her, but there was still something aching within her spirit. Longing, yet desperate.
Chloe didn't feel complete.
She still felt like a loser.
I mean, who was she kidding?
Max was probably just going to bail as soon after she graduated from Blackwell.
And then Chloe would be all alone again.
Chloe wasn't enough.
She was never enough.
She never would be.
She was forever destined to be a-
Okay brain, I get it. I'm a fuck up. You can stop now.
The punk sighed at her thoughts. Self-doubt was a motherfucker.
Feeling how sticky the momentarily-forgotten donut in her fingertips was getting, Chloe hastily crammed it into her mouth.
Junk food was always a good way to numb the pain.
Just then, Max stirred from underneath Chloe's arms and raised up to match their gazes. Skinny, pale hands went to Chloe's blue locks, fingers twisting within the strands.
Max didn't say anything yet, instead she just looked into the punk's eyes and she smiled.
Chloe couldn't deny how adorable it was. The punk just had to let a snarky comment fly.
"You feeling frisky, Maximus?"
Max chuckled at the use of the nickname, and she re-focused her grip in Chloe's hair.
"I just like admiring you."
Chloe scoffed. Why the hell would anyone want to admire someone like her?
"Come on, Max. We both know that you're entirely too good for me."
Max's eyes lowered and her expression got serious. Her hands fell from Chloe's hair and landed down at her shoulders.
"In what way? I'm literally the biggest cliché geek in all of Arcadia Bay."
Chloe brought hand up and ran it underneath her beanie. She had always found it difficult to talk to Max about her true feelings.
But being chickenshit wouldn't make those feelings go away. Might as well get it all off her chest now.
The punk took a cautionary deep inhale, then spoke.
"Dude, get real. You're gonna be a hella famous photographer one day, traveling the world and all that shit. Max, you have real talent, you've got actual dreams and goals. I don't have anything like that. I'm nowhere close to your level."
Truth be told, Chloe didn't really like saying those things about herself, despite the truth to some of it.
Max straightened out her back a bit and brought herself up to Chloe's sightline.
"That isn't true, Chloe. You may not be a photographer like me, but doesn't mean you're not talented too. The only reason I'm even pursuing my dream right now is because of you. You're the one who helped me discover my passion for photography way back when we were only kids. You Chloe, you're my biggest inspiration. You've always been."
Normally, Chloe would've melted under that amount of praise coming from her girlfriend, but right now she couldn't shake that shitty feeling bubbling in her stomach.
"If you say so."
Max chortled softly, eyes glossy with emotion. She brought one of those skinny hands up to Chloe's chin, titling the punk's head to face her own.
"I really mean it though. You're my everything."
Chloe couldn't resist the purity in Max's expression this time. Against her better judgment perhaps, Chloe cracked into a miniscule smile.
"It's not that I don't believe you or anything, Max. Life's just...shitty sometimes."
Max apparently didn't like that for a response cause her face squished up intensely and her hand went across Chloe's body, clearly reaching out for something.
"I think I have a way to cheer you right up." She said cheekily, bringing her arm back over towards herself.
By the time that Chloe caught on to what was happening, Max had already brought the entire box of donuts into her lap.
"Eat." Max directed, holding one out in front of the taller girl's nose.
Though she was a bit thrown off, Chloe certainly wasn't about to turn down the chance to nosh on some more sweets. Besides, she was pretty sure that Max had gone into her concerned "talk some sense into Chloe" mode, so there was little the punk could do right now to object.
Chloe did as instructed, purposefully opening her mouth as cartoonishly wide as possible.
Max guided the donut into Chloe's jaws and the taller girl bit down on it softly.
Boston Crème. Good stuff.
Chloe chewed as softly as she could, letting Max do all the heavy lifting. It took all of her willpower not to just devour the whole fucking thing in one bite. It was that damn good.
Getting fed donuts and snuggling with a hella cute girl? Maybe life doesn't suck so bad after all.
Once Chloe had finished, Max didn't waste a moment. She took another donut from out of the box and brought it back up to Chloe's waiting mouth.
The punk took a bite of the thing and sighed lazily.
Vanilla Frosted. Not as good, but still pretty tasty.
Max took the chance to use one of her hands to rub Chloe's neck softly, while the other simply continued to usher more donut into Chloe's gullet.
"That's my Chloe." Max said breathlessly, clearly pleased to be treating her captain so well.
"Seeing you happy makes me happy. You shouldn't doubt yourself so much. Don't you see how much I love doing these things for you?"
Chloe just groaned happily through mouthfuls of pastry, relishing in the encouragement. It wasn't often when Max got in these type of moods, but that just made the rare moments all the more sweeter.
Not as nearly sweet as this fucking donut though...
Chloe ate some more, giving into the temporary vulnerability and allowing Max to guide her through. She felt the warmth travel down her throat and land comfortably in her belly.
Donut number three came and went as did number four. Chloe really wasn't focusing anymore, she was just enjoying the moment for what it was. Being spoiled rotten by the girl that Chloe had been in love with since all the way back when they were children.
Max was firm in her motions, but still somehow so gentle and nurturing. The girl had a true knack for this sort of thing, it was almost shocking how buried underneath all her shyness, Max could be really fucking bold when she wanted to.
Or at least whenever she was with Chloe. That was a whole different can of worms all together.
Max spoke up just then, eyes glossed over and hazy.
"How are you feeling now, Chlo'?"
Chloe thought for a minute. In the time elapsed, her mind had gone foggy.
"Fuckin' stuffed."
Max rolled her eyes playfully and poked Chloe in the belly. "I already know that, you goober. I meant how do you feel mentally?"
Chloe smirked at the cute reaction. Concerned Max was far too precious.
"Hella relaxed, I guess." She yawed between words, "Also like I want to take a nap."
The photographer leaned upwards and cupped Chloe's cheek. Her eyes were just about burning through Chloe's soul at this point.
"Well, as long as I took your mind off of things for a moment, then I'm satisfied. I just want to see my best friend be happy some more."
Chloe smiled again. This girl was far too caring for her own damn good.
"Dude, I've got a belly full of donuts and a hella adorable hipster that I'm in love with. I think that qualifies as being pretty damn happy right now."
Hearing those words, the brunette took that opportunity to caress Chloe's cheek some more. Max's eyes were full of love and light, every inch of her lost in affection for Chloe.
"Speaking of which, it seems like there's only one donut left. Do think you'll be able to eat it?"
Chloe weighed out her options in her mind, then made her decision. So yeah, the punk's stomach was decently full at this point but that really didn't matter too much. The possibility of spending more sensual time with Max tended to always overrule any further judgment.
"I think I got enough room for one more in me. I may require some...specific encouragement though."
Max wasn't dumb, so she knew what Chloe was hinting at. She leaned up close and pressed her lips right up to Chloe's own.
Max pulled away from the kiss seconds later, leaving the punk gasping for air.
"How was that for encouragement?"
Chloe smiled for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight.
"Hella perfect."