After thinking about what I just saw, I shook my head and said, "Does Victoria hate me or something?"
Kate sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Maybe a tiny bit. I don't know why, but she just always has something negative to say. I always tell her to give you a chance, but she's very... not nice, in general."
Ouch. Fuck, my anxiety shot up just at the thought of someone hating me. The fact that Victoria had no real reason to hate me at all, I think, made me feel worse. I shouldn't care much, though. I didn't need her approval or anything! But, it would be nice if she just liked me and not tolerated me…
"Why do you ask?" Kate cocked her head.
"No reason. I just heard her say some things that make me feel like something's wrong with me?"
"Oh, no, don't feel like that." She put her arm around me and pulled me close, my head landing on her shoulder. "It's how she is. I like you, so I hope she'll warm up eventually. Don't be sad, Max."
I smiled and felt my cheeks become warm, "Like or like like?"
She smiled, looking away from me, teasingly, "Who knows."
"Sounds way better when you tell me."
She giggled and took her arm off me, acting like she didn't hear what I said. She did push me slightly, playfully. She placed her book back into her backpack and fixed it to lean against her dresser. "Where are you going to sleep?"
Oh, right, sleeping over meant I had to sleep somewhere in another house. I wasn't sure, because Kate's bed was twin-sized and looked like only she could fit on it. We would be pushed together, back to back, face to face, or some position of cuddling and spooning. Even though we've been in positions like that before, the feeling was still overwhelming. Maybe because now there were more feelings beyond friendship? Maybe it was just me.
"Um, Victoria forced me to sleep on the couch, so I guess I'll squeeze in with Chloe…" I said with a hint of sadness.
Kate was quiet for a second as she fixed up her stuff, like her violin case and some books, until she responded, "Do you want to be next to me? I know what Victoria did was awful, so we could be together if you want."
Well, my stuff was already in the same room. It didn't feel as bad to want that when Kate suggested it. "Sure." I kept my composure as I leaned back on my hands.
"I think you would get sick too if you lie down with Chloe." She chuckled at herself. It made more sense for her to suggest it for my health rather than my gayness.
I chuckled along, "Right, wouldn't want that."
"Do you want to try to lie down together?" She suddenly asked. "I know it's small, but we could figure it out."
I nodded my head and stood up, "Good idea." But I knew on the inside, I was screaming.
Kate got in first and patted the empty spot next to her. She was practically sandwiched between me and the wall and when I joined, her back had to be pushed against the wall. Face to face seemed to work, but whatever-higher-being out there knew I won't sleep with her like this.
"Does this work for you?" She asked.
"... Not really."
She chuckled, "I appreciate your honesty. What do you suggest then?"
"Um..." I lied on my back. "Snuggle buddies?" I knew my smile was awkward looking and seeing Kate's amused one confirmed it. She got closer to me, making my pink cheeks go red and heat rise all over my body. Her arm went over me and I could feel her breath against my neck as she got herself comfortable. I reached under her, hooking my arm around her shoulders, though I really wanted to tickle her sides again.
"I like this one." She continued to push against me, then placing her leg over mine.
"At least there's more bed room than us room." I had no fucking clue what that meant. It was clever in my head, but that was lame and I was lame, I lived up to it and decided to have some confidence in it.
Nonetheless, she still laughed. Light and bubbly, like it really was as funny as I thought it was. It did boost my confidence a tiny bit.
"I should lock Victoria out of my room if she keeps locking me out of hers." Kate said. "What's the problem with sleeping together?"
I nearly choked on my own spit again. I refused to say anything and held both a shocked "whoa" and a burst of laughter. A solid minute passed before she gasped in realization what she had said.
"I mean, sleeping in the same bed!" She pinched my arm; I winced from the pain. "You're really a pervert, aren't you?"
"I'm not!" I argued through chuckles. "But, come on, you could have said anything else other than "sleeping together.'"
She huffed, annoyed but still smiling, "Whatever, Max."
We were stuck together at this point. The position was so comfortable and I got used to it, so we were just lying there on her bed, listening to Alice move around in her cage and Chloe still reading through magazines. I really wanted to fall asleep from how Kate always smelled like vanilla, or anything sweet at all, whenever I got this close to her. It almost made me insecure, because I was sure I smelled like freshly-cut grass constantly. I blinked and yawned once, returning back to reality.
"How's that movie going, by the way?" I asked.
"Great," she replied. "All of us have been working really hard and I'm glad the final story was good enough. I was becoming tired of it."
"That's good." I nodded. "But, are you really sure those actresses don't look like us?"
"You can blame everyone else for that." She pointed to her stack of books on her bedside table. "The truth is, I showed that picture you took of us to them and they made it their goal to find girls that looked like us. Sorry for acting like I didn't think so; that was also their idea." The picture I took on our first technically-date was leaning against her bedside lamp and angled so it could be seen while lying down.
"Damn... I thought I was going crazy, Kate."
"Me too... It's like looking in a mirror with those two."
"I don't think I'll be able to watch the movie without thinking it's us." I chuckled.
"That's how I feel right now watching the filming."
"What's a scene you filmed recently?"
"Oh, we decided since the library's incredibly gorgeous, we filmed the final kiss scene in front of the entrance."
"Kiss scene, huh? How does that play out?"
That on top of both actresses being nearly identical to us, thinking about kissing Kate wasn't new but was intensified. Kate took her arm off me and rested on her other one, leaning over close to my face.
"Would you be okay with me acting it out? It's kind of a tense scene."
"O-okay." I felt my body stiffen up. Kate nodded and her smile went away, getting into the tone of the scene.
"Girl One, the one who looked like you, runs after Girl Two out the library door and grabbed her arm." Kate grabbed mine, recreating the emotion. "One admits she really liked Two, even though she has been avoiding talking about it. Two holds her hands, looking deeply into her eyes." Kate's hand trailed down to hold my hand. "One thought she was going to get rejected, shutting her eyes tight. Two grabs One's chin, slowly pulling her closer..."
She copied her words. She was taking control as she pulled me in at an achingly slow pace and I instantly closed my eyes as she closed the gap between us. My hand reached up, holding her cheek to pull her in faster. As soon as I felt Kate's breath against my lips, there was shocked and angry voice exclaiming "What the fuck!" at the door.
Kate jerked back. We both followed the voice. Anxiety spiked in my entire being, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to.
Talk about Déjà vu... What did that mean? Was Kate really going to kiss me? Or... was it just a tease and she was going to back away? Kate really sent mixed signals sometimes...
Victoria stood at the door, arms folded and eyebrows furrowed, staring into my soul. She seem to have come home early, judging by her tight, red dress and black stiletto heels.
"Victoria, you're here!" Kate sat up right away, fixing her dress on her lap.
"I came back early to get my drinks because the bitches wanted a pre-party buzz. I see you've been busy." She squinted her eyes at me, stabbing right into my soul.
Chloe ran to the door, eyes wide and crashed semi-hard into Victoria's side, "I tried to stop her! Really!"
I doubted her. We didn't hear the front door open and we didn't hear Chloe and Victoria fighting each other or talking at all. I knew that Chloe would do pretty much anything to stop Victoria in her tracks.
"Fuck you, you were in the bathroom." Victoria growled at Chloe. She released an exasperated sigh, "Okay, I don't have time to tell you to fuck off, so I'll just leave with my drinks. If I catch you again, I will lose my shit and you'll be sleeping outside. Got it?"
I sat up too, nodding my head rapidly in fear. She stomped away, leaving Chloe speechless at the door. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "What the hell were you guys doing?"
"Nothing!" Kate and I said in unison.
"Uh, Chloe," Kate got out of bed, fixing and straightening her dress again, "Have you taken your medicine again? It's been a couple hours."
"Not yet, thanks for reminding me."
The front door loudly shut, causing all of us to flinch. Chloe scoffed again, adding, "Fucking bitch."
Chloe and Kate left together into the kitchen, leaving me in my own confusion, horror, and small bit of sadness. I had to conclude that Victoria really hated me, whatever that reason may be, and really did tolerate me around Kate. She somehow places the blame on me, even though Kate was the one about to kiss me. She would lose her shit if she knew that it has happened before and it was also Kate that started it. I sighed and got out of bed, walking into the kitchen, where I witnessed Chloe downing a purple liquid like a shot.
She physically shivered and groaning from the taste of the medicine, "Holy shit, that's awful!"
"It's worth it! You're becoming healthy again." Kate twisted the medicine cap closed again.
"Can't smart people make this shit taste, I don't know, hella good?"
"Maybe some time in the future. But for now, you deal with it and only know that you're making yourself better again."
"Guess you're right."
I snickered to myself and decided to go to the bathroom too. I walked in and locked the door behind me, walking into a very clean and organized bathroom. Both sides were filled with various products and different colored towels, but I could tell which side was Kate's and which one was Victoria's. Kate's was simple and only had a few bottles and containers and Victoria's was overflowed and had about a hundred face masks and five towels. On Kate's side, a small orange bottle caught my eye. I couldn't help but grab it and read the label:
Marsh, Kate. Sertraline 100 mg tablet. Take one pill every evening. May cause drowsiness.
There were still about two months' worth of pills inside. Maybe this was why she wasn't texting me late at night anymore? It caused drowsiness, so maybe it was recommended by her doctor so she could also sleep. I put the bottle down and went to wash my hands and face, not wanting to waste my time inside. I dried with Kate's towel and left out again.
Chloe and Kate were sitting on the couch, deep in conversation and Chloe looked very passionate about whatever they were talking about.
"I think they're working pretty well. I feel more motivated and I want to do more things throughout the day."
"That's awesome. I never looked into shit like that. I never felt like I needed it."
"That's fine. It's a decision you make, so I won't say why you should go."
"That's hella cool of you."
I interrupted them, clearing my throat, "Hey, what're you two talking about?"
"Oh, nothing much." Chloe folded her arms. "Maxwell Sheffield, you really need a haircut."
I grabbed a lock of my hair, twirling it around my finger. It barely passed my shoulders, but I didn't think it looked that bad. "Is it that bad?"
"It's just... not you." Chloe stood up and started touching my hair. "Kate, you got scissors in your bathroom?"
"Yes, in the right drawer." Kate replied.
"Tight," Chloe then pulled me along back to the bathroom I came from. "Alright, back to your old self again."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I resisted a tiny bit. She was kind of out of her mind from all the cold medicine she had been taking for two days straight and lack of alcohol in her system.
"Trust me! I got this."
So, I did. She shoved me into the bathtub and made me sit inside while she found the scissors. She turned me around and had a firm grip on my hair. Judging by how close her hand was to my head, she was trying to match the length I had a year ago. Without warning me, she started to cut my hair. I shut my eyes and listened to the sound of my hair being cut, which was somehow relaxing.
"Your hair was too long, bitch." She reached her hand out, holding a fistful of what was once a part of my head, "You want to keep this?"
"Actually," I got up and grabbed my analog camera from my bag and went back, "I need a photo for this."
I took a couple photos of Chloe holding scissors and my hair and looking very proud of herself and I took another while I sat in the tub and she cut my bangs. The longer it went, the more relaxed I was and the more I trusted her. When Chloe was done, she fixed small details on me and said, "There you go, Max Goof, you look like a Max again."
I chuckled and hopped out of the bathtub. I looked into the mirror above the sink and it really did feel like seeing my old self again. My hairstyle was the exact same one I had in high school and it was better than the long hair I tried to have moments ago.
"Wowser, Chloe, how did you do this?" I turned my hair and ran my fingers through it, still in disbelief that Chloe managed to do this.
"I'm hella good at everything. Confidence makes a bitch talented and shit."
I saw in the mirror that Kate was standing at the door, resting on the door frame, and grinning at me. I turned around and smiled back, "What do you think?"
"It looks very nice on you." She nodded at me.
"I actually want to go outside. I feel so good about myself right now." I turned back to the mirror.
"Well, what time is it?"
Kate looked at her wristwatch, "Eight-fifty."
"Then let's go out! Let me change and we'll head to HUE sf for a hella crazy night!"
Chloe changed in her signature ripped jeans, but she wore a different hoodie, which when I stared at the small writing over the left side of her chest, it was white cursive saying "Too Fucking Close." I immediately backed up.
We left and, despite our protests on how we didn't have to go clubbing and that she was still sick, she acted like she hasn't been sick in years. I sat in the back with Kate as Chloe drove to HUE sf in fifteen minutes flat. She parallel-parked in front of the nightclub, next to the end of the long ass line heading to the entrance. It didn't help that it was also Friday and everyone was ready to party their asses off.
Chloe took out a key from her pocket, showing it to us, and then put it back. "Follow me."
We started to walk towards the entrance, but I doubted that the key had anything to do with those doors. As we passed two-thirds of the line, I could hear my name being called from it and I had to lag behind Chloe and Kate. My eyes darted around the line for the voice until I saw an arm waving around to get my attention. Standing in line in a little black dress was Juliet and she looked very happy to see me.
"Max! Hey!" She called.
"Juliet!" I approached her. I heard a voice behind me again; Chloe was calling me to "hurry the fuck up."
"I didn't know you went to places like this!" She was in awe that I was anywhere near a nightclub.
"I'm here for my friends." I had an idea. It was crazy and on the whim, but it was my perfect chance.
"Hey, Max, what's going on?" Chloe took a double-take at Juliet. "Juliet-fucking-Watson! It's been a hella long time."
"Holy shit, Chloe Price! I haven't seen you in forever!" They hugged tightly. "How have you been?"
"I'm fucking sick as a bitch, but I'm still getting fucked up! We're here for a good time not a long time, right?"
Juliet laughed out, "You're so right."
"Hey, uh," I interrupted, "We should bring Juliet along. I'm sure someone in there would love to see her."
I tried to hint it to Chloe. It took a second, but then her eyes lit up and nodded, "I have a key to the back. You should come with us."
"Hell yeah! My friends went in without me, that's fucked up, right?"
"Hella fucked up."
Chloe guided through an alley way and went into a door on the side of building into the room they make the bar food and keep all the drinks in. I went ahead and went through the next door, leading to behind the counter of the bar. Dana was bobbing her head to the music and seemed to have finished serving drinks for the time being.
"Dana!" I raised my voice and grabbed her shoulder.
She flinched and turned around, "Oh, hey Max!" It took a second and her eyes widen, "Max, how did you get here?!"
"I have a surprise!" I told her. "Sit at the bar and put your head down! I'll bring it out in a second."
Dana blinked at me and then nodded, "Better be worth it!"
Then, she walked around the bar and sat at the furthest and last seat on my right. I hurried back inside to Chloe, Kate, and Juliet still standing around inside.
"Juliet, come with me!" I grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind me into the nightclub. I pulled Juliet all the way to Dana, who did as I said and had her head down. I tapped on Dana's shoulder and she turned around and locked in on Juliet.
They were quiet for a moment, like they were trying to comprehend what and who they were looking at. I could only stare at them until they did something. Simultaneously, they went in for a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry for being such an asshole! I wanted to text you, but school was fucking me up!" Juliet cried out.
"Oh, God, I can't believe you're really here!"
"Dana, you still love me?"
"Of course, I do! I missed you so much!"
All I could do was smile at them. Sometimes, nightclubs were fun after all.
