Chapter 1: Blue-haired Girl

September 3rd 2017, Arcadia Bay, Oregon

"Hi, my name is Max Caulfield and I'm your campus guide today!" said a small, skinny, brunette girl with chin-long hair and a freckled face to a small crowd of young people. They stood in front of a big fountain which was situated right in front of the main building of the famous Blackwell Academy, a private school for Art and Science.

The brunette girl pointed at the big metallic statue in the center of the fountain that stood high above them. "This is Jeremiah Blackwell. He founded our school in 1910 with the goal to bring out the excellence in everyone, who visits these hallow halls of wisdom." she continued with a smile, which faltered instantly as she realized that most of the budding students were either chitchatting with each other or playing with their smartphones.

'Ugh, at least they could pretend to give a fuck about what I'm saying. Assholes!' Max thought and sighed internally. 'Okay, calm down, Max! This is the last time you're doing this. Next year, Wells can look for some other idiot, who guides these fucking freshmen all around his stupid school!'

"If you have any questions, don't hesitate, just shoot."

'As if…'

As predicted, nobody seemed to have noticed her, so Max just continued.

"Okay, no questions so far. Then, let's move on into the main building," the small girl spoke and the crowd followed her as she headed for the stair which lead to the main entrance. "Inside this building you'll find the class and activity rooms, labs, as well as the administration, the cafeteria and the faculty lounge."

"Hey, yo, wait up!" a female voice suddenly chimed as Max was about to climb up the steps. She turned around and saw a tall girl, who wore punk-rock clothes and a dark-blue beanie, running towards her.

"Hey…sorry…I'm a…I'm a bit late." the punk girl gasped as she tried to catch a breath, resting her body with her hands on her thighs. "Can…can I still join the tour?"

"Sure thing! It's not like you'd need a reservation." Max answered the unfamiliar girl with a smile and a shrug, and walked towards her. "You need a minute?"

The taller girl nodded frantically and ripped the beanie off her head, revealing shining blue chin-long hair. "Fuuuuck, I need to stop smoking!" she said, raised her head and gave Max a wry smile. "Thanks for waiting!"

As the freckled girl saw the punk-girl's face, her heart skipped a beat. Heat crawled up into her face and a wild bunch of butterflies gave a crazy flight-show inside her belly. "N-no p-problem….uh…" she stammered as her gaze dropped and her right arm took a hold of her left one.

'Wowser! She's hot as fuck! And I just turned into a pathetic pile of shyness. Great!'

Noticing that the other people were already staring at them, the bluenette gazed back with an angry glare. "What the fuck are you looking at, huh?!" Instantly, everybody returned to the activity that they were doing before. Satisfied with the result, the tall girl straightened herself, cracked with her neck and touched Max's shoulder softly. "Yo, dude, wanna go on with the tour?"

"Y-yeah…sorry!" Max cleaned her throat and tried to continue the tour, without sounding too nervous. "Uhm…a-as I said, this is the main building and….I-I…" Her gaze falls onto the mischievously smiling punk-girl again. "…w-wanna show you my roo-…uh…shit! I mean, I wanna show you some of y-your future class rooms and labs now."

'Ugh, hold it together, Max. She's just a girl…well, a pretty cute girl…with blue hair and punk attire…and she's sexy…and…ugh, fuck! I crush on her!' Max thought while they went on. Another soft touch on her shoulder almost made her jump scare and as she turned around she was looking into a pair of intensive blue, almond-shaped eyes.

"Hey, dude, are you okay? You seem a bit off." the bluenette whispered.

"M-me? No!"

"Then why did we just walk past two class rooms and labs, if you wanted to show them to us?"

Max scanned her surroundings and realized that she indeed walked too far, but only the bluenette seemed to have noticed this fact, telling her that she was the only one who's actually paying attention.

"Yo, midget, this tour sucks!" a tall, blonde guy spoke from within the crowd, earning him some snickers by his fellow freshmen.

Without any warning, the blue-haired punk jumped into the bunch of gasping students and grabbed the guy by the collar of his jacket. "Then why don't you just fuck off? You never gave a fuck 'bout this tour anyway, dickhead!" she hissed with gritted teeth. Everybody was now looking at them, a tense atmosphere filled the hallway, only broken by another soft touch, but this time it was Max's.

"Hey, i-it's okay. Not the first time someone gave me shit during a tour." the brunette spoke a bit shyly.

"But this doesn't mean that you have to take it!" the punk replied and loosened her grip on the guy's collar, giving him a slight push which made him stumble backwards. "And to the rest of ya," she addressed and glimpsed at the others, "If you have any interest in this tour, then shut the fuck up and listen to this girl, or take a hike! Got it?"

Now nodding frantically, Max's audience put away their phones and stayed silent, waiting for the guided tour to continue.

"Th-thank you!" Max whispered and was rewarded with another impish smile as the taller girl turned around.

"No problem, dude! Sometimes you need to kick some butts to get people's attention. Name's Chloe, by the way." the punk-girl told Max, reaching the freckled girl her hand.

"M-Max." was her plain answer and as she shook Chloe's hand, she suddenly had a strange feeling, like some sort of energy was flowing between them.

With a loud click the door to Max's small office was locked. The small girl leaned her back against it, closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

'Gosh, what a fucked up tour! Every year it got worse. Luckily, Chloe was there to safe my ass.'

Thinking about the blue-haired punk-girl painted a smile on her face. She reached inside the pocket of her blue jeans, brought forth a little piece of paper and glanced at it.

'She really gave me her number and she REALLY wants to meet me for lunch. Wowser, I never crushed so hard on someone before. But…ugh…I shouldn't expect too much. In the end, she's just so friendly to me, because she feels pity for my sorry butt and that's all. Why should a cool girl like her crush on a geek like me anyway?'

'Shit, I'm busting my ass again. Distract yourself, Max!'

Max took off her old cam bag, walked over to her desk and sat down. While her PC booted up, she typed Chloe's number into her phone.

'Should I send her a text right away? Nah, that would just look too desperate.'

With another deep sigh, she laid the phone on the desk and opened her email-program.

'Let's see, what help do my fellow students need today?'

After her profile was loaded Max groaned as she saw the enormous number of unread mails. She opened the first one and rolled with her eyes.

'Dammit, Brooke, I'm your student council, not a date doctor. If Warren isn't into you, then just accept it and move on! You didn't want to date me, so it's your problem to get your sex from someone else!'

She wrote a short reply and carried on. The next mail was from Blackwell's English teacher, Miss Hoida.

'Oh no, Nathan, not again! I know Vicky will go all ballistic on me, but this time I won't safe your sorry, rich ass! But I will give him a chance to explain this bullshit.'

Again, Max typed a reply and, additionally, sent a mail to Nathan Prescott.

Her eyebrow arched as she continued her work and read the next messages.

'The rest of these mails are complains about Vortex-Club members. Bullying, harassment, violent behavior…fuck! And school hasn't even started, yet.'

The young girl buried her face in her hands and let out a big groan.

'Shit! And what am I suppose to answer them? "Sorry, my fellow students, but our dear Principal can't do anything, 'cause he has a fucking stick up his ass."?'

'Thanks, mom and dad, for "encouraging" me to become the student council at a school full of assholes!'

The sudden chime of her phone brought Max back from her desperate thoughts. She unlocked it and a big smile was formed by her lips as she glimpsed at the ID.

[Chloe]: yo!

[Chloe]: hippie!

[Chloe]: don't forget our lunch date!

Her eyes widen as she fixed her attention to one word.

'Date? Did she really…No, Max! Don't go there! That would just be wishful thinking.'

[Max]: Nope, lunch is still a go! :-)

[Chloe]: then I hope to see ur sweet ass here in 5 minutes.

[Chloe]: btw: no emojis!

Max glanced at the time and almost fell off the chair as she realized how late it already was.

'Shit! What's wrong with you today, Max? Pft, I know what's wrong with me: a stunning gorgeous blue-haired girl and a year without sex. That's what's wrong with you! Okay, Caulfield, put your hormones back in the box and focus just once!'

Without wasting another second, Max shut down her PC, grabbed her stuff and made her way to the cafeteria in a fast pace.

"There she is!" Chloe cheered as Max approached the table.

"Sorry for being late!" Max answered and sat down, instantly averting the bluenette's gaze.

"No thing, Maximus! It's just been a few minutes. And as you might've noticed this morning my sense for punctuality's hella fucked, too."

"Yeah…" was Max's short, scoffed answer, before an almost uncomfortable silence occurred.

'C'mon, idiot, say something!' she thought, but Chloe was faster.

"Sooo…uhm…wanna grab some munch or…? Max?"

As Max managed to look into Chloe's catching blue eyes again, she felt the need to run away. Her mouth was completely dry and not able to form any words. Her heart raced and she felt sick because of all those butterflies inside of her stomach. Max knew that she was on the brink of having a panic attack. Only the, sadly too familiar, voice of Victoria Chase was able to stop this vicious circle Max was captured in.

"Maxine, we need to talk!"

'Aaand here we go…ugh!'

Max raised her sight and looked at a tall girl with short, blonde hair, wearing some high fashion clothes. Her voice was dripping with arrogance and she was flanked by two other girls, her all-time minions Courtney and Taylor.

"Maxine, I know you're the student council, but this doesn't give you the right to bully Nate!"

"WHAT?!" the small girl yelled and jumped up. "I covered this little fucker's ass more than once! Not for him, but for you. And this is how you thank me?"

Unimpressed by the brunette's outburst, Victoria just crossed her arms. "Nathan has some problems, yes, but he goes through some difficult times and doesn't need more shit on his agenda."

"Then, maybe, he should stop insulting teachers and vandalizing school property!"

"Yo, I don't know this Nathan-fella, but I'm sure he's old enough to take responsibility for his own actions. Otherwise, he's either a crybaby or a giant pussy." Chloe commented the conversation in order to back up Max, earning an evil glare from Victoria.

"And you are…?" the blonde asked condescendingly.

Chloe stayed relaxed and an impish grin formed on her face. Although, she just met her a few hours ago, Max could already tell that this won't go without any trouble.

"The name's Yura. Yura Anassclown."

Max needed every bit of composure she could muster not to burst out into loud laughter, but failed completely as Victoria didn't understand the pun.

"Listen, Yura…what's so funny, Maxine?"

"Y…you…are…a…an…assclown…" Max managed to say between her laughter, while Chloe joined in now. Not even Courtney and Taylor were able to suppress a chuckle.

Victoria's face turned beet-red, like she was about to explode. "Listen, bitch," she hissed, "keep your ugly punk-face out of things you know shit 'bout!"

"Oooh, now I'm scaaared." Chloe shot back with a fake trembling voice full of sarcasm.

"YOU…"

"Victoria!" Max intervened, before things could get out of hands. "Leave her alone! She's right, y'know? Nathan should be responsible for his actions. That's why I want him to come into my office tomorrow and talk about this shit, before I give a report to Wells. Got it?"

The blonde's jaw and her hands were clenched, but she agreed with a nod.

"And another thing is the Vortex-Club. They're already harassing other students and I'm tired to report this shit again and again, and nothing changes. Victoria…" As if the touch by the smaller girl on Victoria's cheek had some magical powers, the blonde relaxed instantly. She locked eyes with Max and her expression became soft. "…please talk to them. Most of the students are here to learn something, not to get bullied or party their shit off. You understand?"

Once more, Victoria nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm gonna talk to them." she said quietly and was about to leave as she gave Chloe one last agitated glimpse. "Stay away from her!" she hissed and walked away.

Exhaling deeply, Max let herself fall onto her seat and rested her head with her hand to the forehead on the table. "Sorry 'bout that!"

"What. A. Bitch!" Chloe mentioned. "Seemed to me like this wasn't your first fight with her."

"No." Max huffed and shook her head.

"Like an old couple, ey?" the bluenette tried to mock, but Max stayed serious.

"That's actually not far away from the truth. She…uhm…she's my ex-girlfriend."

Chloe arched one eyebrow, her face radiating pure unbelief. "Ex-girlfriend? You actually dated this bitch?"

"She wasn't always like this, Chloe." The brunette girl straightened her body, a melancholically tone chiming with her voice. "We both went to the same Art-School in Seattle. She, the rich It-Girl, and me, the poor photo-geek on a scholarship. But against all odds, we became best friends, because we both shared the same passion: photography. Over the years we became closer and closer, until…well…"

"You two fucked!" Chloe threw in with a wide grin.

"What?! I-I mean yeah, b-but not right away. Geez, Chloe!" Max blurted out with a blush, earning a snicker from the punk-girl. "A-anyway, she was always nice, and a very good and sweet girlfriend, until…" The freckled girl needed to take another deep inhale. Her lip shivered a bit. "Until we came to Blackwell. From the first day on, Vicky met some of those Vortex fuckers and…changed. She became arrogant, patronizing, took drugs 'n' shit. I tried to tag along for some time, but I always felt out of my league." First tears ran down her freckled face as all those memories rushed through her mind. "As soon as I went my own way, the bullying started and Victoria…she left me hanging, because she wanted to be one of them. I felt left alone, but…I still loved her…" Max's voice broke and it took her a lot to suppress a sob.

"Stupid cunt! Are you okay?" Chloe asked with concern and grabbed the smaller girl's hand softly.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Max said and sniffed. "Anyway, what followed were a lot of fights and a year ago I gave her one final choice: me or the Vortex Club."

"Let me guess what she chose."

"You would've guessed wrong, 'cause she chose nothing."

"What?"

"She never gave me an answer, but I couldn't take it anymore, so I broke up with her."

"Okay. Wow, that hella sucks! And how did she take it?"

"I don't know," Max said with a shrug, "we never talked about it again, but I think she regrets it."

"Really? She didn't seem to be that sad."

"Victoria…she's pretty good at hiding her emotions. But I know her rather well and there are some short moments, like when we see each other during classes or in the hallway, where I can see the hurt in her eyes. Maybe…maybe she hopes I might give her another chance."

"And, would you?"

"No," Max answered fast, shaking her head, "She made her choice as she stayed with the Vortex Club, period!"

"Hey…uhm…I don't wanna be kinda blunt…which I am…sometimes, but can we get some grub now, 'cause I'm hella starving." Chloe said, scratching the back of her neck.

"Yeah, sure." Max replied and wiped away the remaining wet lines from her face. Both girls stood up and walked over to the counter to get their meal. "Sorry for unloading my fucked up love-life on you." To her own surprise, Chloe wrapped one arm around her slender shoulders, making the heat inside of her emerging again.

"No thing, Maxi! Do ya mind if I call you Maxi?"

"N-no, but why Maxi?"

"'Cause you're so hella adorable!"

Yet, another wave of heat flooded the small girl's body as she was dragged along. Pressed so close to the punk-girl, Max could smell a mixture of cold smoke, cheep perfume and a sweet scent, which was probably her personal odor. A scent she'd love to smell for all eternity.

Both girls filled up their trays with food and snacks, and sat back down. At first both ate in silence, because Max was, once more, caught in deep thoughts, and Chloe was busy stuffing the food in her mouth.

"So, tell me something," Max spoke, in order to break this uncomfortable quietness, "Why do you always say hella?"

Chloe stopped chewing and glimpsed at the freckled girl for some time, before she gulped down the food. "Well…some girl at the orphanage always used it and…uhm…I don't know. It became kind of an addiction."

"Orphanage?" Max said with eyes wide open, dropping her fork.

Instantly, the blue-haired girl stopped eating. Her expression became stern. "Yup, Orphanage. Got a problem with that?"

"N-no! It's just…You're an orphan?"

"Yeah, my…my parents died in a car crash when I was a little girl. I had no relatives who could take me in, so…"

Wasting no time, Max leaned forward and grabbed Chloe's hand. "Oh my god, that's just horrible! I'm so sorry, Chloe!"

"Why?" Chloe responded with a shrug, now lowering her gaze in sadness. "You didn't kill my parents and…I can't even remember anything that happened before the accident anyway. Some sort of PTSD-shit, y'know?"

"But…damn! And nobody adopted you?"

"No…well, kinda…but…" She exhaled deeply, took off her beanie and brushed with one hand through her blue hair. "Can we please talk about something else, 'cause I'm about to get hella depressed, and when I'm depressed I start to rage and I don't wanna go all berserk on you."

"S-sure." Max said, but stayed silent, because her head was still busy coping what she'd just heard.

'Holy shit! Both parents dead, childhood spent in an orphanage, no family. And I thought my childhood was a mess.'

"So, student council, huh?"

Ripped from her deep thoughts by Chloe's nonchalant off-topic question, Max needed some time to snap back to reality. "Wh-what?"

"Student council. You. Icky Vicky mentioned it. How come?"

"Ugh, it's a long and rather fucked story. I don't wanna bore you with the details right now."

"Believe me, Maxi, you're everything else but boring." Chloe mentioned, adding an impish smile and a wink.

'Did she just flirt with me, or…'

"Hey Max!" another female voice chimed through the cafeteria, but in contrast to Victoria's, this one painted an actual smile on Max's face. She turned around and saw a beautiful, blonde girl with a feather-earing, walking towards her table in a bee-line.

"Rachel!" Max jumped up and took the blonde into a tight embrace. "How was France?" she asked after they parted.

"Très magnifique! Bummer that you couldn't come with us."

Max's expression became a bit sad. "I know. But you know my parents…"

"Yeah." Rachel shifted her gaze to Chloe now, who looked at the two girls with a slight agitation. Trying to stay positive, Rachel gave the punk-girl a friendly smile. "Who's your new friend there?"

"Oh, right. Sorry! Rachel, meet Chloe Price. Chloe, this is Rachel Amber."

"Hi there, Chloe!" Rachel said, reaching the punk-girl her hand.

At first, Chloe just changed her view from Rachel's face to her hand and back, but in order to not be an asshole, she decided to shake it.

"Heya, Rachel!"

For a short moment, as their hands touched, Rachel's smile faltered, but instantly reappeared. She frowned. "Say, Chloe, have we met somewhere before? You kinda look familiar."

"I don't think so," the bluenette snorted, "Unless you've been to Portland lately."

"No, never been there…sadly. But maybe we three should make a road trip to Portland and you could show us around, Chloe!"

"Sorry, but nothing will ever drag my ass back there!"

Realizing that there was a lot of tension between the two girls, Max intervened. "Maybe we should rather make a road trip to Long Beach. Sun. Beach. Non-alcoholic cocktails."

"Non-alcoholic?" Chloe said, scrunching up her nose. "You need a hella better influence, girl!"

"And I thought that's what you are here for now!" Max returned with a flirting tone.

Rachel's gaze wandered between the blue-haired punk and the brunette girl for some time, a wide smirk growing on her lips. "Okaaaay, I think I'm gonna leave you two alone now. Need to prepare some shit for tomorrow anyway. Max, girl's night out is still a go?"

"Yup, but…uhm…c-can I bring Chloe, too?"

"What?!" Chloe blurted out, almost falling off the chair.

"Of course! C'mon, Chloe, it's gonna be fun!" added Rachel.

Max looked at her with pleading eyes, eventually making her sigh in annoyance. "Fine, I'll be there. Happy?"

Nodding frantically, the brunette girl gave her a wide smile. "Hella happy!"

"Okay, then it's settled! Drinks are gonna be on me. See ya tomorrow, girls!" Rachel spoke overjoyed, gave Max a short embrace and Chloe a wave and left.

Max continued eating her meal, Chloe didn't. She just kept on gazing at the freckled girl.

'Why is she looking at me like this? Should I say something?'

"So," Chloe suddenly began, "another ex-girlfriend?"

Totally taken aback by this question, Max quickly gulped down the food in her mouth. "Who? Rachel? Girlfriend? Pft, I wish." Realizing that this answer wouldn't bring her any points with Chloe, Max coughed and continued in order to reach safe ground. "I-I mean no. Rachel's just a friend. She's…uhm…how should I say…pretty aloof when it comes to intimacy. At least, nobody has ever seen her with a boy- or girlfriend."

"You're shitting me, right? You tell me that this chick never banged anyone at this school?"

"Jeez, Chlo, I don't know. Why do you even care?" now Max blurted out, furiously.

Chloe leaned in very closely. "I don't fucking trust her, that's all."

"But why? Rachel's cool, everybody likes her."

"See, and that's the fucking problem! She manipulates people. Believe me, Maxi, she's hiding something."

"Okay, so you're a bit paranoid and jealous."

"Just hella cautious when it comes to people like her. Life experience, y'know?" Then, Chloe took Max's hand softly and looked into her eyes deeply. "Max, I don't wanna see you get hurt. You're a nice girl and…" She sighed. "You just don't deserve to get hurt, got it?"

"Thanks for your worries, Chlo! But Rachel's definitely not like that. And how do you even know people like her? I mean, were there a lot of High Society kids in your former school?"

Chloe leaned back, another impish smirk on her lips. "I just love it when people underestimate me!" She paused for a while to let her comment settle in. "Y'know, Maximus, this isn't the first private school with oh-so-privileged assholes I'm a student at. Everyone thinks, just because I have this punk style and attitude, that I'm a deadbeat. Well, I'm not. I'm a science-nerd. Straight-A. On a full ride since Junior High. I get some dough from the state for food, clothes 'n' shit, but that's not nearly enough to pay tuition for such shitholes."

Max rested her head on both hands and looked at the blue-haired punk deeply with a smile. "You're so strange, Chlo."

"How so?"

"You're like Ying and Yang. Black and white. Fire and ice. But all in one person. On one side you seem to don't give a fuck about everything and even hate these oh-so-privileged assholes. But on the other side you care about others, and visit private schools where assholes are abound. You're a mystery."

"Well, looks like I'm a box of chocolates…you never know what you're gonna get!"

'I already know that you're sweet!' Max thought, but didn't say it out loud. Nevertheless, she instantly blushed has her fantasy was about to go rampage.

"So…uhm…you wanna hang out a bit more. I-I mean it's Sunday and my schedule's hella empty."

Max's gaze dropped and she sighed out loud as she recalled that her schedule wasn't empty at all. "Sorry, Chlo, but I still have to write a shitload of reports and need to organize a meeting with the faculty for Friday." She exhaled again. "I fucking hate this job!"

"Okay, then maybe I could keep you some company…y'know, lighten up the mood, help you out 'n' stuff."

'I know exactly how you could lighten up my mood!'

"Thanks, Chlo, b-but you'd distract me too easily and Wells would bust my ass if I don't file in my reports in time."

'And I'd throw you on my desk and…goddammit, Max, why are you such a horndog all of a sudden? Shit, I need to go now before things get out of hand!'

As her freckled face blushed even more and the butterflies in her stomach were about to go crazy, Max stood up rapidly. Her breathing was fast and as she was about to walk backwards she almost stumbled over her chair. "S-sorry, Chlo, b-but I really need to go…uhm…we'll see us tomorrow, 'kay?"

Chloe followed Max's clumsy try to leave the cafeteria with an amused smile, giggling every time, the brunette girl almost fell over something.

A long and deep sigh emerged from Max's mouth as her body entered the hot water. Unlike the most students of Blackwell, Max had the luxury that her parents owned a house near campus, and therefor was still able to live at home.

Like predicted, it took her the rest of the day to finish the reports and prepare the meeting. As she finally arrived at home at around 7 pm, the only thing she wanted was to get rid of her clothes and take a relaxing dip in the bathtub.

'Wowser! What a day!' Max thought, while she took a deep inhale and closed her eyes. Suddenly, her phone, which was laying on a stool right beside the tub, chimed. She grabbed it and her eyes sparkled as she saw that she received a message from Chloe.

[Chloe]: yo photogirl! whatcha doing?

[Max]: Taking a hot bath.

[Chloe]: u got a tub in ur dorm?!

[Max]: No, still living with my folks.

[Chloe]: really? kudos!

[Max]: It has its perks, but sucks sometimes too.

[Chloe]: can I come over and hop in too?

Instantly a warm feeling ran through Max's body as her imagination went wild again. Faster as she could think straight again, her fingers had already typed: It's big enough for two, but deleted it right away.

[Chloe]: not right now. but in general. my last hot bath was millennia ago.

'Shit, I need to change the topic!' Max thought, almost unable to hold her composure.

[Max]: Maybe.

[Max]: So, what you're up to?

[Chloe]: just finished my room. want a picture?

[Max]: Sure!

A few minutes later the first picture appeared on Max's screen and showed her how Chloe had decorated her room.

'Hm, wild and punky. But also a bit artsy. I like it!'

[Max]: Coolcool, Chlo. Kinda like your style!

[Chloe]: thx! got some more!

A new bunch of photos was send on the brunette girl's phone. With her well trained eye for photography, Max looked on every detail. From one moment to another she blushed beet-red and her breathing became shallow as her gaze caught Chloe's reflection in a mirror, which brought back this intense warm feeling, but this time it was overwhelming.

'W-wowser! Sh-she's just wearing a purple panty a-and a lose tank top…without a bra!'

[Chloe]: so, whatcha thinking?

Max gulped and zoomed in on that special part of the photo, ignoring Chloe's new message. The warm feeling turned into a hot throbbing between her legs.

[Chloe]: max? u still there?

'Shit, I can't hold back anymore! I…I need to do it!'

While she held the phone in one hand, her other one dipped into the water and wandered softly over her body, beginning from her small breasts deeper down over her stomach, before making a slight detour over her thighs and finally reaching her center. With slow movements she started to massage her nether region, letting out a loud moan.

'Fuuuck! It's been ages since I did it. A release is definitely overdue!'

[Chloe]: maaax? hello? my taste that bad?

With her thumb, Max tried to write a quick reply.

[Max]: ssrry clo. neeed to gio.

[Chloe]: ok. see ya 2morrow.

[Chloe]: p.s. dude, you should turn off autocorrect

[Max]: kk

As soon as she'd sent the last message, Max fully focused on that picture and let her fantasy finally go crazy. "Oh yes, Chloe! Y-you're so awesome!" she moaned and spread her legs apart.

With every passing second her groaning intensified. The pure feelings of lust that were released with every brush over her sensitive spot increased, until they turned into hot and intense waves of pleasure, that made the small girl groan out loud.

After the last wave had passed, Max's body went limp, so that she barely managed to keep her phone in her hand and not drop it on the floor, or worse, into the tub. "Wow…ser!" she gasped between her heavy breathing, while her heart raced and she felt like she'd run a few miles.

'Okay, that was absolutely awesome! And necessary! Damn, I really need to do this more often from now on or I'll wet myself and explode only by seeing Chloe. But next time I have to tune it down or else I'll have another awkward conversation with my parents. Thank dog, my mom has to do the late shift and my dad's on business travel.'

Max waited until she'd calmed down enough and left the tub, tried herself off, put on her pajamas and went straight to bed.

Despite her exhaustion, she wasn't able to fall asleep, her thoughts still swirling around Chloe.

'I just can't get her out of my head. She seems to be so…special, but I can't put a finger on it. Poor Chloe, she never really had a family…or a real home. Hopefully, I can help her settle in here in no time. And maybe…just maybe…I can be more to her than just a friend!'

A dark room with dimly light. Two men are standing in front of a big monitor. One of them dressed in a suit, the other one wore a military uniform.

The screen came to live and showed the face of an older man with grey hair, also dressed in a suit.

"Colonel, report!" it chimed from the speakers.

The man with the military attire straightened and put his hands behind his back. "Sir, we've set a base of operation at the old shipyard and have the subject under 24/7 surveillance."

"Are we sure it's her?"

"Yes, Mr. Wilcock." said the man in the suit, earning an agitated glare from the Colonel.

"No," he interrupted and shifted his gaze at the screen again, "Though the name and description fits, we were unable to read any omega-waves, so far."

"It is her!" the suited man blurted out. "Let's get this over with, before the whole town finds out what's going on."

"Sir, this isn't just a small mountain village in some fucked up third-world country that nobody gives a damn about. This is a town with a prestigious private school on American soil. If we fuck this up, not only the whole operation, but the whole Organization is threatened to be exposed to the public."

"Colonel Sanders is right, Mr. Prescott. We need a 100 percent confirmation. But…the Board grows impatient. They want results. Colonel, you have two days to get me a positive ID on the subject."

"Yes, Sir!"

"But, positive ID or not, we need to wrap this up and get her. That's why I'll send you one of our Operatives, Mr. Stransky."

Colonel Sanders' expression became cold. "Stransky? As in Viktor Stransky?"

"Yes, Colonel. You know him?"

"He has some kind of reputation in the upper ranks of the military. And it is not positive. Sir, this man is a killer. A cold-blooded son of a bitch. A psychopath. I don't recommend using him for this operation. We need a professional, not an assassin."

"This is neither up to you nor me. The Board decided this."

"I agree with the Board. A firm hand is needed to end this quickly." Sean Prescott threw in, and again, Sanders looked at him from the corners of his eyes with a clenched jaw.

"With all due respect, Sir, but if this is how the Organization does its operations now, then this will be my last mission!"

"Colonel, the Board calls the shots…"

"No," Sanders shouted, "They hire me to plan and run their missions, but if they think they can do a better job, I'm not needed anymore."

The old man on the screen stayed silent for a while, but not because he was intimidated by the Colonel's outburst. He just weighed his next words.

"Alright, Colonel, I take this as your resignation then. This will be your last mission. Nevertheless, I'll join and supervise the operation in two days. Mr. Prescott, as the Board's supervisor, you'll stay in the background and let us do our job. Just take care that the authorities won't interfere."

"Yes, Mr. Wilcock."

"Good! The next meeting will be in 24 hours. Good bye, gentlemen."

The monitor turns black again, leaving the Colonel and Mr. Prescott in the dimly light.

Suddenly, Sanders grabbed Sean Prescott by the collar of his jacket and pressed him against the concrete wall.

"Listen closely, you slimy bastard, if you undermine my authority EVER again, I'm gonna kill you!"

"You wouldn't dare!" snipped Prescott back, but his eyes widened in fear as the cold steel of Colonel Sanders' Colt 1911 was pressed against his chin.

"Tempt me, Prescott, and find out," the Colonel hissed, "I've been running Black-Ops all around the world for over 20 years now. I know how to make an unwanted body disappear."

Petrified by this threat, Sean Prescott didn't move a limb. His whole body was shaking. With a scoff, the Colonel let go of Prescott and holstered his gun again.

"Stay out of my way Prescott or you'll regret it!" said Sanders and left the room, already focused on his mission again: seizing a young girl with potential powers far beyond any imagination.