A/N: Before I get into the continuation of this story, I want to offer my sincere thanks to everybody who has liked/favourited/followed this. Very special appreciation to those who offered their comments and feedback. My depression, coupled with several very challenging life events over the past 2-3 months, have taken a significant toll on me emotionally to the extent that I probably wouldn't be here except for the support of several close friends. Thank you for your patience.
"So things are okay, then?"
"Max? Are you still there?"
Max held the phone against her ear, but her attention focused through the glass door into the Price backyard. Chloe was sitting alone on the swing-set that her father had assembled for them years ago. The swing-set that had been their pirate ship once upon a time. And on that one day recently, when things had changed so drastically in Chloe's life.
"Y..yeah, things are fine, dad. School is okay...I got a B+ on a math quiz yesterday." Max said as she watched Chloe swayed side-to-side with every gust of wind and the occasional kick of her foot against the ground. She was staring down at her shoes and wore a look that was unreadable to Max.
"I hope you're helping out with chores?"
"Well, I washed the dishes after supper last night,"
"How's Chloe doing?"
Max looked down at her feet and ran her toes over a scuffed place on the carpet. "She's...fine, I guess. It sucks that we're not going to the same school anymore, but we still do our homework together afterwards."
"If you work hard and pull your grades up, maybe you can apply for a scholarship at Blackwell next year."
Max shrugged and looked out the back door; she saw that Chloe had gotten off the swing and was now sitting on the grass, turning over a big orange leaf in her hand. "Yeah... maybe. Um...I'm going to go now, dad. See you tomorrow morning. Tell mom I said hi." she said, then hung up the phone without waiting for an answer.
The past week had been a roller coaster for Max between catching up on school, keeping on top of homework, and the emotions that continued to hang in the air at the Price house. Life for Chloe and her mother seemed to be settling down somewhat, and Max even saw Joyce smile a couple of times - always when she was making dinner for them and Chloe was helping Max with a particularly difficult math or science question. As for Chloe, Max wasn't sure - and perhaps it was just her difficulty reading social cues sometimes - but it seemed to her that Chloe had grown somewhat distant with her as the week progressed and they had both returned to school. At first, Joyce would pick them both up after school, and they would sit in the back seat of her car talking about their day. At some point, Chloe would inch her hand over and gently squeeze Max's hand; Max would smile at her and nod, and then Chloe and her would hold hands the rest of the drive home while they talked. If Joyce noticed during her occasional glances at them in the rear-view, she never said anything. A couple of days earlier, though, Chloe hadn't talked or looked at her when they picked her up. Max had tried to engage her in conversation a couple of times, but Chloe had given her very short, abrupt answers. Chloe also hadn't tried to hold her hand, and Max didn't manage the nerve to start anything herself. To Max, Chloe seemed angry...or upset in some way. Then yesterday, when they had pulled up in the car, Chloe wasn't waiting in the parking lot. Max had texted her to say they were there, but Chloe had simply wrote back:
"Busy with stuff. Will find own way home later."
When Max told Joyce about it, she had said, "Oh really?" and texted Chloe herself. They texted back and forth a few times before Joyce let out a loud sigh of exasperation and pulled out of the parking lot, driving herself and Max home in silence. Max was curious what was going on, but didn't want to pry. Chloe finally walked in the door a few minutes before dinner, and had gone upstairs without saying anything. Max had slowly padded down the hall and was halfway up the stairs when Chloe came out of the washroom. "Hey." Chloe had said simply, giving Max a nod.
"Hey." Max had responded in turn and the two walked down the stairs together. "I think dinner is ready."
"I know." Chloe had replied with a smirk. Nothing more was said about it, and Chloe seemed close to her usual self afterwards, although Max thought she was a lot quieter than normal.
The air outside was crisp with a sharp, cool breeze that made Max zip her jacket up a little higher. She sat down on the grass beside Chloe and waved her hand through the cold, green grass between her legs. "Hey." she said.
Chloe closed her hand around the leaf, watching the pieces crumble and fall to the ground. "Hey, Max." her lips pulled down in a frown, "Talkin' to your folks?"
Max shrugged, "Yeah. They're doing fine, I guess. They rented a house across town a couple of days ago, so...they're just getting unpacked and dad is trying to get his old job back.."
Chloe nodded.
Max frowned and picked up a handful of grass, "So...they said my room is ready there, and...well...dad's picking me up after breakfast tomorrow."
Chloe let out a gentle sigh and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I know." she said simply and looked over at the swingset.
Her face was hidden behind wavy curtains of her long, honey-blonde hair, but Max could see Chloe's shoulders slumped and it gave her a belly ache. She reached out slowly and put a hand on Chloe's shoulder, but Chloe shrugged it off.
"Chloe...we'll still hang out same as always." Max said, "I'll be a bit farther away, but we'll see each other on weekends."
"Mmhm" Chloe mumbled and let out a choked sob.
"I would stay longer if I could, Chloe!" Max put her hand back on Chloe's shoulder; she didn't shrug it off this time.
"I know, Max." She rasped with a sniffle.
Max gently nudged Chloe's shoulder and the blonde girl turned around to face her. Max could see wet streaks on her cheeks and eyes glistening with tears. It broke her up inside to see her best friend like that and she felt a lump begin to form in her throat. "I know, Max." she repeated, "I know that you've got my back." Chloe wiped her eyes with her hands.
"So, what's the matter?" Max asked, her voice a whisper as she held back tears of her own without really knowing why.
Chloe reached up and took Max's hand off her shoulder, holding it in her lap as she let out a sigh. "Do you ever think about death, Max?"
Max shrugged, "Sometimes. I mean...everybody does once in a while, right?"
"I guess. Do you think he suffered...or was it quick?" Chloe whispered as she unsuccessfully tried to hold back her tears.
Max entwined her fingers around the hand that Chloe held, "I don't...I mean...gosh, Chloe. I...I hope he didn't."
Chloe nodded, and, letting go of Max's hand, pulled her hair behind her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, but Max saw the ghost of a smile form on her lips.
"Having you here this past week has been...it's meant a lot, Max. It's helped me forget about stuff and...feel normal again." The smile faded. "Everybody at school keeps treating me weird, and trying to get me to talk about stuff. I've had meetings with counsellors about death, and the Principal asking me if I'm okay, and people hanging out with me like they feel sorry. School feels different than it used to, and not just because you're not there. I feel like...I don't care anymore. I don't care about school...or life...I don't care about anybody or anything."
Max brushed away stray strands of blonde hair that were stuck to Chloe's wet face. "What about me?"
"Why do you think I've been so weird the past few days, Max?"
Max looked away and bit her lip. "Honestly? I was thinking maybe you were tired of me being around all the time." she said barely above a whisper.
"What?" Chloe exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and alarm. Max felt Chloe's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at her again and saw her eyes were glistening with unfallen tears, "Gosh no, Max! I just...I'd see you in the car when mom picked us up...and I'd lay beside you in bed...and…" The tears began to fall down her cheeks again. "I'd hold your hand...and I knew that in a few days...it would be over."
"What would?"
Chloe gestured to her, "This! Waking up with you...going to sleep with you...knowing that you'd be there when I...when I was sad! When you leave tomorrow...it's just going to be me and mom again! And...it hurts my insides to look at you, because I know...that when I go to sleep tomorrow night, you won't be beside me."
Max furrowed her brow, "But...it was like that before, wasn't it? I mean...except for when we had sleepovers and stuff."
Chloe wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, "I know, dummy. And I know I'm being super weird now. I just...I feel like, with dad gone, things are going to be different now. And with the new school...you being here is the only thing keeping me from going crazy, Max."
Max smirked, "I think it's too late for me to change that from happening."
Chloe shot her an irritated look, "Max…"
Max frowned, "Sorry. I know you're trying to be serious. Lookit...I like being here with you too, Chloe. It's really cool to wake up next to you every day, and see you after school, and do homework together all the time. Living with you has been fun. It's like we're...like...sisters or something. But not, because…"
"Because if we were sisters we couldn't make out?" Chloe said with a smirk.
Max shoved her, "Ew!"
"Well...I mean...I'm glad we're not, 'cause...I like it."
Max felt a blush begin in her ears. "Well...yeah. I...like it too." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously and ran her fingers through the grass.
Chloe shifted slightly away from Max and looked down at her hands now clasped together in her lap, "Max...if I tell you something, do you promise not to get weirded out?" she said quietly.
Max nodded and gave Chloe a small smile. "Sure, Chloe. You can tell me anything."
She could see that Chloe looked uncomfortable and suddenly shy; it still surprised her a little to see her look unsure of herself despite this past week showing Max a different side of Chloe that she hadn't seen in the years they'd been friends.
"So...um…" Chloe's pale cheeks shone pink to match Max's ears. She suddenly turned to look toward the back of the yard as the sound of a lawnmower from the house behind them started up. "Actually, could we go inside? I'm...uh...getting kind of chilly anyway." Chloe mumbled as her long legs pushed her upright. Max took a few seconds longer to stand up beside her, and they walked together inside the house.
Max expected Chloe to sit down at the kitchen table, but instead she walked past it, and up the stairs with just a quick look back to make sure Max was following behind her. She followed Chloe into her bedroom, where she closed the door behind her.
"Sorry, it was...um...I was getting a bit cold and...yeah." Chloe mumbled, sitting down on the bed and folding her hands in her lap.
Max smiled and weaved between the piles of clothes and junk accumulating on the floor of Chloe's bedroom. It amused her that, despite being so intelligent and organized, Chloe was still a slob. It was probably the only area where Max was better than her. She unzipped her jacket and, with a shrug, hung it up in the cluttered closet.
"So what did you want to tell me?" Max asked with a smile, laying down on the bed she'd shared with Chloe for the past week and kicking her shoes off.
"Well…" Chloe began, remaining sitting on the edge of the bed, "I was going to tell you...sometimes...when I'm in the shower…or...um...at night when I have trouble sleeping..." She trailed off and turned to Max with her eyebrows raised.
"Hmm?" Max gave Chloe a confused look, "I don't…" Recognition suddenly entered her mind and she opened her eyes wide. "Ohhh!" she said sitting up and scooting down to the end of the bed to sit beside Chloe, "So…?"
Chloe tapped her fingers on her leg, "Yeah. So...lately, when I do it, I've been thinking...uh...of you." She looked down at her lap so her hair hung partially in her face, but Max could see her face had turned pink.
"Are you weirded out?"
Max smiled and put her hand over Chloe's, "Wow! Um...I'm not weirded out, no."
Chloe looked slowly up at her face, smiling with relief. She let out a nervous laugh, "Really?"
Max nodded, "Really. I love you, Chloe. And if I did that too...I'd probably think of you."
Chloe's smile grew larger, "I love you too, Max. You really are the best. I'm so sorry for pushing you away these past few days." she wrapped her arms around Max and squeezed her tightly.
Max closed her eyes and was filled with warmth and the smell of Chloe's shampoo as her face buried itself in Chloe's hair. The past week had been such a roller-coaster of emotions for Max; she initially had been at Chloe's to offer comfort and support to her best friend, but she felt like something more had happened between them. It was something new and different than Max had ever felt before, and while she found it confusing and a bit scary, it also felt right to her. She knew that she loved Chloe, but she was pretty sure that it was more than that now.
Chloe pulled back, her face still flushed from before and smirked, "So...you've really never done it before?"
Max rubbed the back of her neck and felt her ears getting hot again, "Does that make me weird or something?"
Chloe shrugged, "I dunno. You've always been weird to me."
Max smirked, "Thanks, dork!"
Chloe smiled and, leaning forward, gave Max's lips a quick kiss. "You're so cute, Max."
"So...um...when you do...um...it, and you think about me...what do you think about?" Max asked, her face feeling completely on fire.
Chloe shrugged, "I dunno...you know...like...us...doing stuff, I guess?" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes shifting around nervously.
Max fought an internal battle between her natural curiosity and her innate shyness. Her curiosity won...barely. "Like...what kind of stuff?"
"Well...you know? Like...um...sex stuff, I guess."
"Oh." Max said, looking away.
Chloe sighed, "See? I knew you were going to get weirded out. I'm sorry I brought it up."
The two sat in silence for nearly a minute, Chloe shifting around uncomfortably.
"Chloe?"
"Yeah?"
Max turned to her, her chest rising and falling quickly with her breath, "Um...if you wanted to do stuff...I mean, like...sex stuff with me. I think...I'd be okay with it."
Chloe's eyes got wide as saucers, "Oh! Um...when? Like...now...or?"
Max shrugged with a shy smile on her face. She reached forward and squeezed Chloe's hand with as much confidence as she could will herself to have, although her whole body seemed to tremble with nerves, "I think...yeah. I mean...if you wanted to."
Chloe moved closer to Max on the bed and looked at her nervously, "I want to only if you want to."
Max nodded shakily, "Well...if this is our last night together for a little while, then...it should be special, right?"
Chloe's hand closed around Max's. "I...I guess so."
Another minute of silent stillness followed...then another. Max could hear nothing in the room but the sound of Chloe breathing, and the muffled noise of the lawnmower outside. Her eyes shifted to Chloe, "So...um...when you think about...that...what happens first?"
Chloe looked up slowly and her eyes met Max's. She whispered, "Well...usually...I'm kissing you a bunch. And then…" she trailed off with a shrug.
Max smiled nervously, "So? Um...do we start?"
Chloe tried to smile back, but her eyes showed a different emotion. "Max...are you sure? I don't want to...you know...hurt you."
Max gave her hand a squeeze, "Chloe...I'm sure." and to emphasize her point she leaned in and pressed her lips against Chloe's. Moving apart after a several moments, Max gazed into Chloe's eyes and gave her a small nod, silently giving her permission to continue.
Chloe gently stroked the side of Max's face and motioned with her head toward the bed. Max's cheeks burned as she bit her lower lip and lay down with her head on the pillow.
Her heart was beating out of her chest. She closed her eyes tightly and sucked in her breath as she felt Chloe's hand slowly and shakily slide down over her chest and stomach. She let it out slowly in a gentle sigh as fingers began undoing the button on her jeans.