"It feels like we're on a stakeout," Max laughed quietly, drawing her legs beneath her as she rested back on her palms.
"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for being up here?" Kate asked, looking to her left to take in the sight of the campus. "We...probably aren't supposed to be."
"I mean, there was a ladder underneath it so clearly it's okay," Chloe said, giving Kate a small pat on the shoulder. Victoria cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her.
"You put the ladder there. Just wait until Samuel notices that it's missing," she said. She glanced at her phone and sighed. "It's not even noon yet. What...are we even doing?"
"Waiting for friends!" Max replied, slowly reclining onto her back. "I...think, anyway. Who's coming back today?"
"Taylor and Courtney," Victoria said, situating a cigarette between her lips. "Warren's a maybe. Said either today or tomorrow." She lit it, took a few quick puffs, then handed it to Chloe. "Probably other people too but I think that's like, our little group."
Aw, it feels good to have a 'little group.'
"You ready to tell them the big news?" Chloe asked, lighting a cigarette of her own off of Victoria's. "You know, about..." She narrowed her eyes and handed it back to her. "Whatever's going on here." She lazily gestured at Kate and Victoria.
"Uh..." Victoria shook her head, then pulled her knees to her chest. She scowled. "Not really, no."
"I think Chloe was subtly trying to get info out of you," Max chuckled, staring up into the mellow, gray sky. "Like, how's the kissing thing going and all that." Victoria huffed frustratedly, resting her cheek on her knee.
"We're taking it slow," Kate interjected, saving the girl from being flustered further.
"You know," Chloe laid down next to Max, "this isn't really how I pictured this dynamic working out. I figured you'd be the shy, awkward one with Vic being..." She grinned. "Well, Vic."
Me too. It's kind of cute how overwhelmed Victoria is about it. Guess it just means she really cares.
"You expected this to happen?" Kate asked. She puckered her lips. "It was a surprise to me."
"We knew months ago," Max replied. "So frustrating. It was like watching Sims bump into each other and then go off doing something completely irrelevant to what I wanted them to do." She made a 'tsk' noise. "You guys were peeing all over the floor for months." She snickered as she raised her hand. "You know, metaphorically." Kate 'hmm'd' thoughtfully.
"Well," she said with a small shrug, "I don't know. I guess it just feels nice to not...hide it." She gave a tiny smile. "There's plenty of time for me to be awkward. I am pretty new to this, after all."
"This conversation sucks so much, oh my god," Victoria mumbled, angling her face into the crook between her knees. "I'm right here, you know." Kate turned to her, the smile building a bit bigger.
"Are you embarrassed?" She asked. It seemed like an honest question, though the tone of her voice prevented it from dragging the mood down. Victoria raised her head with wide eyes.
"N-no, I'm not...I'm not embarrassed! I just... There's a lot going on." She switched the cigarette to her other hand and, with a rather grumpy expression, took hold of Kate's. She exhaled forcefully through her nose and stared out at the parking lot. Kate's face lit up and she happily wound their fingers together.
"Hm..." Chloe bent her leg at the knee and rested her wrist on it. She turned to face Max. "Are we this cute? We're still the cutest couple around, right? I mean, I didn't incubate this thing for months only to be upstaged." Max sat up and gave Kate and Victoria an analytic look up and down.
Uh oh. They may be formidable adversaries.
"I...think so?" She scooted a bit closer to Chloe and snaked her hand behind the girl's knee. "Maybe it's like a Highlander situation? Or..." Her brow furrowed. "Or Frankenstein. Have we created the monster that will be our eventual demise?"
"We need better friends," Victoria sighed, pulling Kate's hand a little closer to her. Kate rolled her eyes affectionately.
"Well, how many times have you kissed?" Chloe asked. "If we're going to fight to the death, we should keep a scoreboard." Kate thought it over for only a moment before shrugging innocently.
"Five," Victoria said plainly. Chloe's eyes got bigger as she burst into laughter.
"Wait, are you actually counting? I didn't expect a specific number." She kept laughing and turned back to Max. "They're coming for our title!"
Why are you acting like you didn't count at first? I'm pretty sure we both did!
"Five!? Really!?" Kate let out a quiet, yet excited squeal. "Oh my gosh, that's so many!" In response, Victoria's cheeks grew even pinker than they were, but surely she'd blame that on the cold.
As they waited, the conversation drifted from the exciting into more banal topics like school. They'd be starting classes again soon, which is why some students had begun returning. Three students, none of which the girls knew well, had arrived within the span of an hour, leading to some awkward greetings and explanations. Eventually, a car pulled into the parking lot that Victoria seemed to recognize.
"Ooh! It's Taylor!" She pointed at the car.
After a minute or two of watching her bob her head and sing in the car (something Max felt quite guilty about spying on) she got out, opened the back door and slung a bag over her shoulder. Just as she was about to reach the steps climbing up to the gym, Kate called out for her.
"Tay!" She waved her hand enthusiastically. Taylor searched around her for the source of the voice. She took cautious steps forward, climbing the steps with confusion clear on her face. Kate giggled, then called out again. "Taylor!" She looked up at the overhang above the entrance to the gym and raised her eyebrow.
"What are you... Y'know what? Nevermind. This is..." She sighed, then smiled as she walked over to the ladder, placing her foot on the first rung. "This is definitely Blackwell."
It wasn't too long after that that Courtney also arrived, greeted by the same cavalry perched above the gym doors, this time with the addition of Taylor. She offered a similar reaction – one of initial confusion followed by the warm acceptance of bizarreness that came along with a deeper bond of friendship. Kate had suggested that there wasn't much room left for Courtney to join them, so one by one they climbed back down the ladder. As they headed for the dorms, Chloe sneakily returned the ladder to Samuel's shed, making sure to remove the brick she had wedged between the door to keep it from closing.
Max, Chloe and Kate followed Victoria back to her room while the other two girls hastily dropped off their luggage. Once all six of them were in the room, Max couldn't help but feel the familiar happiness of having too many people you cared about crammed into too small of a space. Though she was still dreading the official end of break – knowing Chloe wouldn't be able to spend every night there again sucked – she did have to admit having everyone else back would make it a little bit easier.
"Kill me for saying this, but I'm actually a little happy to be back," Courtney said, plopping onto the couch next to Max. "Like, when I saw my room I got this little...'yay' feeling."
"Mmn, no, I understand," Taylor responded. She was lying on the floor with a small bundle of Victoria' laundry under her head. "It's nice to slide back into routine." She snorted. "Of course, once class starts back up I'll be climbing the walls."
"You guys had a good holiday, then?" Chloe asked. She was on the other side of Max, putting most of her weight into the brunette. "Did Santa get you anything nice?"
Hmm...I wonder if Santa would have me as nice or naughty. Maybe it'd be impossible to decide. Maybe time traveling puts me under the 'what the fuck I don't even know' category?
"It was okay," Taylor said. "Santa didn't get me a private jet so we're not really speaking at the moment." She held one foot up. "I got cute socks though."
"Ooh! So did we!" Max leaned forward from the couch and gave Taylor a high five. "How about you?" She asked, nodding at Courtney. "I've watched that video of Ethan freaking out like ten times. So adorable!"
"Yeah," Courtney snickered, "it was good. That was my favorite part, honestly." She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "New Year's was more fun though. I can't believe 2013 is over. It was kind of..." Her face twisted into something like surprise, "crazy."
"I think that's the nicest way of putting it," Kate said. She was sitting on Victoria's bed fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. "I'm glad it's over."
I think we all are, Kate.
"I bet." Taylor nodded sadly. The atmosphere in the room grew a little weighty, but not too much before Taylor snapped into a sitting position and pointed at Victoria. "Okay," she said with a bit of sternness, "enough with the smalltalk. I want to know about this big thing that you refused to tell us over the phone." Everyone turned their attention to Victoria and an audible gulp could be heard from the girl.
"Yeah..." Courtney said, narrowing her eyes. "What's going on?"
Oooh! Game time, Vic.
"Oh! Right! The...thing I needed to tell you guys..." Her eyes were wide as the gears in her head were obviously turning. She glanced at Kate, who only returned a teensy smile. Chloe clutched Max's knee and shook it, as if to say 'here we go!' "So, um, I got back here kind of early. I've been...hanging out with Max and Chloe and..." she took in a short breath, "Kate. And uh, we had this talk about some...things and we kind of..."
"Oh my gosh," Kate burst into laughter, covering her face with her hands. "You're awful at this!" She slipped off the bed and stood next to Victoria. Taylor and Courtney gave each other a bewildered look. "We're dating!" The girls slowly looked at each other again as if checking to make sure they both heard the same thing.
"Now, when you say dating..." Taylor said, drawing it out as if Kate could complete the sentence for her.
"I mean, I don't know, labels are so-" Victoria started to say.
"Like she's my girlfriend!" Kate proclaimed with a smile. She grasped Victoria's hand and gave her a small nod of pride.
Boom, labeled.
"Are you guys like, pranking us?" Courtney asked. Kate's smile faded.
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Her tone was a bit incredulous.
"Well...I don't know, I just..." Taylor held her hands out. "How would that even happen? What sequence of events could possibly lead to that? I mean, it's just a little hard to wrap my head around." In response, Kate huffed and turned to Victoria.
"Um, come here, okay?" She said softly, touching her hands to Victoria's cheeks. She closed her eyes and pecked her on the lips.
Ohmigod so cute.
"Oh, hey!" Chloe called from the couch. "Six! Nice!" Victoria's eyes shot open and she whipped in her direction.
"Can it," she spat. "Has anyone ever told you that you're great at ruining the mood?"
"Yep," Max said casually, raising her hand. "It's a frequent topic of conversation." Chloe smiled with her tongue peeking through her teeth in response.
"Okay, wait, WHAT?" Taylor shouted. She was on her feet now. "You guys just kissed! With your mouths!" Kate's brows crinkled in annoyance.
"Hey," she grumbled, tugging Victoria's hand, "stop making me feel like I'm doing it wrong! I'm trying!"
"What?" Courtney shook her head. "Nobody's telling you you're doing it wr- no, WHAT is going on here!? What happened!?"
"Yes, explain yourselves this instant, young ladies!" Chloe added with a booming voice. She cackled quietly when Max slapped her shoulder.
"Okay, okay. I know how random this seems," Victoria said, holding her hands up defensively. "But just...I'll explain everything, okay?" She led Kate back over to her bed and sat down. She chuckled somewhat joylessly. "You ask what sequence of events could lead to this? Well..."
The room was dead quiet. On the bed, Kate sat with her head resting on Victoria's shoulder, holding her hand tighter than ever before. Chloe stared at the floor as she picked at the skin around her fingernails while Max rubbed her back comfortingly. Courtney looked as though she was trying her hardest not to cry while Taylor simply looked angry.
"Kate, no offense," Taylor said, breaking the silence, "but your mom's a fucking bitch."
Seconded.
"I know," she responded quietly.
"I didn't...know how bad it had gotten," Courtney added, shifting herself uncomfortably. "I'm so...so sorry for everything. We were such assholes. I didn't know you wanted to..." She clamped her eyes shut and shook her head, then dragged a sleeve under her nose.
"I know that too," Kate said. "I don't blame you guys. It's just how things went."
"So, now you two are all caught up. And," Victoria leaned her head against Kate's, "I know I don't really have to ask, but don't tell anyone about all of that stuff. She doesn't..." Victoria sniffled as her lips bundled together. She drew her fingers through Kate's hair. "She doesn't need anything else tied to her reputation, okay?"
"Of course," Taylor said. "We fucked that up enough as it is, the least we could do is keep it from getting worse..." She turned to Max. "Her mom really said all of that shit? What the fuck?"
"Yeah, it wasn't great," Max replied. She noticed a bright semicircle of blood around Chloe's thumbnail and yanked the hand into her lap to prevent it from getting any worse. "Pretty...not great."
Chloe...
"So, what's happened with your parents?" Courtney asked, angling her head at Kate. "I mean, you escaped to here but...is it any better?"
"I still haven't spoken to her," Kate said. "My dad is trying really hard though and I've been talking to him almost constantly. I think..." She sighed. "I think it could get better, but now it's more complicated." She must have felt Victoria's cringing expression against her head. She moved so she could see into her eyes. "I don't regret this, okay? I'm prepared to leave whatever needs to be left behind for you." Victoria choked back a sob while still smiling and nodded, then touched her forehead to Kate's.
"Wow, that was fucking romantic," Taylor said with a big grin. "I can't believe this. This is definitely not what I was expecting when you said you had to tell us something."
"Seriously," Courtney added, "I thought it was just going to be some bullshit about the new photography teacher. I didn't expect..." She threw her hands in the air. "Whatever the fuck this is! Some kind of Satan magic!" Kate pried herself away from Victoria and looked at Courtney with half-lidded eyes.
"The religion thing is going to follow me for a while with this, isn't it?" She asked.
"It's sort of...too perfect not to, you know?" Chloe spoke for the first time since Victoria began recapping everything for Taylor and Courtney. "I love you but sometimes you just can't let a perfect opportunity get away from you." Kate stared back for a moment as if working it over in her head, then she bared her teeth in a smile.
"I know exactly what you mean," she said, turning to Victoria and adding another tick on the scoreboard.
They stayed in Victoria's room until late in the night, finally dispersing when both Kate and Taylor were having trouble keeping awake. In comedic fashion, they shuffled out of Victoria's room in single file before each shambling to their own. Max found it quite nice to have two more people with which she could squeal in glee at the sight of Victoria and Kate's goodnight kiss. Without much extra activity, she and Chloe snuggled closely together in bed, where she fell asleep peacefully.
"Psst, Max," Chloe hissed, stirring the girl awake. She blinked sleepily and found Chloe on her knees next to the bed, staring at her with huge eyes. There was a glimmer of mischief in them.
This better be a dream.
"What's going on?" Max asked, fighting the magnet pulling her back down into slumber.
"Get up," Chloe whispered, "we're going to have some fun." Max raised her head and scowled.
"Now? We can do that in the morning. I'm sleepy." Her head fell back onto the pillow and her eyes slammed shut.
"Not that kind of fun, you loser," Chloe chuckled. Max opened her eyes again when she heard something jingle. Dangling between Chloe's fingers was a keyring. Max suddenly felt much more awake as she pushed herself onto her back, then sat up.
"What...are those?" She asked.
"Keys!" Chloe replied, giggling when Max wasn't amused with her answer.
Ooh, you smartass!
"I can see that. What are they for?" She felt a nervous excitement bloom within her as she studied Chloe's expression.
"Well," the blue haired girl began, her voice lilting playfully, "earlier when I was in Samuel's shed, I just so happened to find this little stash of keys." She jangled the keyring. "These here are for the gym."
"You took keys out of Samuel's shed?" Max asked, pressing her palm to her face. "Why did you do that!?" Chloe cocked her eyebrow as if confused, then looked at the keys.
"Because...they say gym!" She smiled and pointed to them as if saying 'duh.'
"Okay," Max said, trying to remain calm, "I understand that part. But why would y-" She stopped when she noticed the two towels neatly folded in front of the door. "Chloe, no fucking way."
You are completely insane.
"We need to have a rematch!" Chloe lulled forward and gently pressed her teeth into Max's knee. "Offers verf sharfs."
"I didn't think you were actually serious about that." Max placed her hand on Chloe's head. "What if we get caught?"
"David is the only one working security tonight and I'm pretty sure I can handle him." She stood up and scooped the towels into her arms. "Besides, I've been very well behaved lately. I feel like I've earned a coupon for one free misdemeanor."
Ugh, this is so not a good idea on any level. But...
Max checked the time on her phone, finding 2AM to be sufficiently late for Blackwell Ninja activities, and hung her head as she sighed.
"Not...for too long, okay?" At that, Chloe's face lit up. She pulled Max to her feet and squeezed her in a hug.
"Don't worry, we'll be in and out with no problem." She wiggled her hips a little bit. "I am the master of stealth."
"Uh huh, sure," Max responded. She worked up a smile. "Lead the way, delinquent."
"I don't feel great about how easy this is now," Max giggled as she turned the lights on in the pool. She turned to Chloe, who was resting against the door frame, and shook her head. "You've turned me into quite the criminal."
"I know, right? It's pretty hot." She stepped away from the wall and began walking toward the pool, pulling her shirt over her head as she did so. "Be grateful. I was going to suggest skinny dipping but even I'm not that bold." She tossed the shirt on the floor. "I also don't think I'd have the self-control to not maul you and, worst case scenario where we do get caught, I'm not down for having David see all that."
Just thinking about it is making me cringe.
"You're so virtuous," Max mocked, hurrying up behind her to slap her rear. Chloe squealed and spun around.
"If you're so nervous, maybe don't make me make loud noises, eh?" She snorted and tugged her sweatpants off. "That's why we're keeping our underwear on, after all." Max removed her shirt, then regarded Chloe seriously.
"Are you baiting me?" She asked with dry suspicion in her voice. Chloe laughed as she stepped to the edge of the pool.
"Honestly, no. You know me well enough by now to know that no matter how badass I seem, I'm still nervous about getting caught. Let's..." she glanced over her shoulder and smirked, "not do that. Mkay?" And with that, she dove into the pool.
"Copy that," Max replied while Chloe was underwater. She tugged off her remaining sock and, with a running start, jumped into the pool.
"Oh man, feels so good!" Chloe laughed in excitement. She ran her hands through her hair, slicking it backward to get it out of her face. "So warm and nice. Why do they keep the heat on all the time? That's gotta be such a drain on money."
"Don't know, don't care," Max said, letting her buoyancy take her onto her back. "It'd kind of suck if we went through all of that and it was cold. We're already going to be freezing on our way back to my room."
"I'll keep you warm," Chloe said softly, drifting over to Max and pulling her against her. Max sighed dreamily and locked her legs around Chloe's waist, placing her face in the crook of her neck.
"This is...a bit different than last time, huh?" Max mused. She could feel the breath of a silent chuckle graze her ear.
"A bit, yes. Though, I can't say I wasn't thinking about it then. I was...so fucking nervous." She squeezed Max a little tighter. "I remember thinking how beautiful you looked."
Same... You threw me off so bad when you just...took your clothes off like no big deal.
"You could have fooled me," Max responded. "I never knew you were nervous about anything. I always thought you were too cool for school." She groaned. "Can we pretend I didn't use that unironically?"
"Nooope," the blue haired girl said. "Totally going to tease you for it for at least a week. Though, you're not technically wrong." She was quiet for a moment. "You know, I really thought that whole 'otter in my water' thing was like, me confessing. It seemed really obvious in my head. But it...kind of wasn't, was it?"
"What!?" Max burst into laughter. "I mean, it was adorable but you seriously underestimated how tone-deaf I was with that stuff."
"Mhm." Chloe turned Max in her arms so that the girl's back was against her chest. She circled Max's waist with her arms. "That's why the next morning I was like, okay no, I'll really make it obvious this time. I'll dare her to kiss me!"
"And I still was ninety percent sure it was just you being crazy," Max admitted. She leaned her head back and stared at Chloe. "I'm pretty glad we ended up getting to the bottom of that mystery."
"Ooh? Me too..." She made an annoyed sound. "We're still not playing otters versus sharks. This is all dirty strategy on your part." With a grumble, she moved in to press her teeth against Max's neck. The brunette squirmed in pleasure and reached behind her to tangle her hand in Chloe's hair.
"I like your hair long like this," Max said. "I like it all ways, of course, but it's nice."
"That's good to hear but you're still trying to distract me," Chloe replied. She bit Max again, a little harder this time. She had a similar response.
If this is losing, I'm totally okay with it.
"Fine, whatever, you win. You can do this all you want," Max snickered.
"Ha! Yes! Victory for the sharks!" Chloe rocked side to side, moving Max with her as ripples spread out from them. "I win fair and square."
"For a change of pace," Max snarked.
"Oh, you want to talk shit?" Chloe chuckled. "Fine. You want to see unfair..." She brought her teeth into the brunette's neck once again, and Max could feel Chloe's hand slip a little further down her stomach. Her fingers snuck beneath the band of her underwear and for a moment, Max was lost in the sensation. Then her head seized in alert and she sprung out of Chloe's grasp.
You tricky bitch!
"Wow, okay, that really isn't fair!" Max swam a few feet away and turned around. "Miss 'Oh-We-Must-Remain-Chaste-In-The-Pool!' Give me a break, you hypocrite!" She drew both arms back and splashed Chloe.
"Hey! I never said I wasn't one!" Chloe laughed as she splashed her back. "You know I have bad impulse control!" She submerged herself underwater and Max watched the distorted image of her wriggle toward her.
"Alright, Jaws, there's no need to be a sore win-" Max was sucked underwater by a surprisingly strong tug on her leg. Suspended there in the quiet of the water, she was struck with an odd feeling of calm. She opened her eyes and could make out the chlorine altered visage of Chloe right in front of her face. Softly, her hands found their way to Max's cheeks, and a second later, they were kissing.
They resurfaced at the same time, gasping for air and blinking the burn from their eyes.
"Tag, you're it," Chloe said, her voice strangled and breathy.
"Well, that turned out okay!" Chloe said victoriously as they approached the exit of the gym. "Shit, maybe we should make this a thing. It's kind of cool, right? The star-crossed lovers secret hangout!"
"We'll get caught eventually," Max laughed, pulling the door open and immediately shivering from the cold. "I mean, we're really lucky we didn't this time." She nudged Chloe in the ribs. "Do you need to lock up with that key?"
"Ooh, probably a good idea." Chloe patted her pockets, then pulled the keyring from them. "That way no one knows we-"
"I'll get it," a voice came from beside them, causing them both to yelp in surprise. David stood against the wall, his arms crossed as he stared at them. He held his hand out. "Keys." Sheepishly, Chloe dropped them into his palm.
"Uh, so, what's up Da-"
"Get your ass to sleep," he responded dryly, though the crinkle of his eyes showed a smile. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Um, okay, yes sir," Chloe stammered, locking her fingers around Max's arm. They hurriedly took off across the campus.
"Dude," Max whispered as they got closer to the dorms, "our secret hideout sucks."
A/N: I feel like the "WHAT YEAR IS IT!?" meme has become pretty appropriate for this story's update status. Anyway, hey! How's it going? Ouroboros is "officially" back! I can't make any promises that I'll be able to do the once a week thing again, but we're back on track for a somewhat steady release schedule. Decided to start off with a pretty chill chapter. Do forgive me if the rust is very noticeable. I might need to readjust to writing it.
Reason being that I'm now able to put more focus on Ouroboros is because Play Crack the Sky is finally out! Some of you have even already read it, but for those that haven't, it would mean the universe to me if you'd check it out! MaiQueti and I are pretty freakin' proud of that thing, and we'd love to hear your feedback. You can check it out at the following links:
archiveofourown (dot org) /works/11195988/chapters/25001742
fanfiction (dot net) /s/12530547/1/Play-Crack-the-Sky
Ooh! Something else pretty insane happened while I was away! Some of you have reached out to me about this, but Ouroboros got a shoutout on the official Square Enix E3 stream for Before the Storm! That is TOTALLY CRAZY and is honestly all because of you guys. That would never happen if not for all of your support, so thank you so much for once again providing a moment of surrealism in my life. So cool, I still can't believe it!
I gueeessss that's really all I have for now! Hope to see you guys soon with another update and as always, thanks so much for reading!