To say Warren Graham was excited was an understatement. He had just aced all of his finals, and had ended the semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA. In fact, he did so well that Mrs. Grant said he didn't have to take the final to pass with an A!
Warren smiled. Any time he could pass a class without doing work was great to him.
In fact, recently, life had been looking up. He had recently just gotten a job at the Smoothie Shack in the strip mall downtown. And his parents had been more than happy with his grades, saying they had a surprise for him when he got home. He had finally been able to purchase that new PC he had been saving up these past few months and he couldn't wait to install and play Gary's Mod and finish Teen Titans (the original, not the horrendous Teen Titans Go!).
In speaking of Teen Titans, he had promised Max that he would finish the series with her. They both couldn't wait to watch Trouble in Tokyo together, even if they both had seen it.
Not for the first time, and certainly not the last, he worried about her. She had thankfully been opening up the past few weeks. Slowly but surely, she had been starting to smile and talk more, while crying and sulking less.
After the shooting in October, she had drastically reduced the amount of pictures she was taking. It didn't make any sense to him, and he learned not to ask her about it. It worried him, even more so when he saw she absolutely refused to take selfies.
However, he had recently spotted her taking more and more pictures with her camera, and not just for school work. Sometimes, although rare, she would ask Warren to take her to different places to get a photograph. He even saw her sneak in a selfie or two.
Also after the shooting, she was rarely seen leaving her dorm. Except for classes or food, he hypothesized that she only left her dorm a half a dozen times in the first month. (At least from what Kate and Brooke told him. He was afraid he was annoying them after all the times he asked about her).
Thankfully, in the last few weeks she had started socializing more. She had been talking to Dana, to Kate and to himself. She was still quiet, (although she was always a little quiet), and still a little shy, but it was good to hear her laugh again and be nerdy with him. He even let her break him down and watch Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. (Which although he protested throughout, he actually enjoyed).
He couldn't say much about whenever she hung out with Kate and Dana, but after a time when she was with him, she was breaking out of her shell more and more. She and him would crack jokes throughout the movies they watched, they would talk about the school and about upcoming movies and games and anime. It was just like nothing ever happened in October during those times.
It made him smile seeing she was making progress.
Hell, he especially knew she was progressing when she talked about Chloe. He admittedly didn't know much about Max's best friend. In fact, the only thing he did know was that she was a former student who had gotten expelled. Turns out, this was the only thing he knew that was true. All the other things he heard about Chloe were rumors that were most likely originated from one Nathan Prescott.
Max would share stories about the two of them when they were younger. He laughed at the stories where they played pirates. He "oh shit"ed on stories of them getting in trouble. And he awed and laughed at the story of Chloe's first childhood relationship. The fact that she was starting to open up and find closure really made him happy for her. It made him happy that she was getting better and was trusting him to help her.
Although, sadly, she was starting to regress. She was drawing more and more into herself again. Warren guessed it was the upcoming winter break. He knew that she felt isolated with the departure of the other students. He tried asking if Kate would stay, but it was fruitless knowing Kate's family's religious traditions. He thought about staying at Blackwell. The two of them could hang out, watch more movies and finish other Netflix series they hadn't finished. (They both couldn't wait to finish Twin Peaks).
As much as he wanted to stay, he also missed home. Sure, he only lived a little more than 10 minutes away, but he enjoyed spending time with his parents. He enjoyed waking up to the smell of waffles and pancakes freshly made for breakfast. He enjoyed seeing his cat, Nikola, wander around the place. And in the nerdiest way possible, he missed the chem set in his room, the one he got when he was a child.
He knew when he got home, he'd have to deal with his parents and their jibes at him not getting a girlfriend yet. They always ribbed him on it, because he had told them since September that he liked Max. His father had been endlessly trying to give him advice to ask Max out. Most of it was crap, but he had suggested to take Max to a drive-in. It's where his dad took his mom Jessica on their first date.
Warren was all set to ask her to go, but then tragedy struck. Of course, he never knew if she would accept the invitation or not, but he wished he had the chance to ask. He had taken a bunch of jokes from his mom and dad because he hadn't told them about the situation. It wasn't their place anyway.
He told himself his crush could wait. He wanted to be the best friend imaginable for her while she was grieving. He wanted to do more for her, but, he knew the best thing he could do was be there when he needed her.
He thought about all of this while sitting in his car in the parking lot. He had just gotten back after taking all of his stuff back to his place. He was going to stay one more night at Blackwell before going back home officially. But, he had wasted an hour thinking about Max in his car. Usually he wasn't this distracted, but, he was getting worried about her. Again.
He hugged his winter coat closer to his body and braced himself for the cold. He wasn't the biggest fan of the cold and wished he could stay in his heated car forever. He thought he would text Max and ask if she wanted to come over to his dorm, but he thought against it. He thought he would get to his dorm and get more comfy, maybe already play with his new PC before he texted her. Besides, by this point they were used to texting each other late at night/ early in the morning. Their mutual lack of sleep had even become a running gag.
He finally convinced his hand to shut the car off and to open the car door and was met by an onslaught of harshly frigid wind. Even in his heavy winter coat, he shivered. He locked his car and briskly walked to his dorm. As he walked, he tried to distract himself by mentally running through a checklist of the different shows that Max and himself had binged. If she chose to stay at Blackwell, they would have to watch a new series, or a new movie. The only question was, what should come after Teen Titans? He knew not to suggest anything related to time travel. He had suggested both Back to the Future and Groundhog Day and was quite aggressively shot down.
Warren couldn't help but be curious about why Max hated the idea of time travel so strongly. Warren found the subject quite fascinating, and he once accidentally made the mistake of asking a question starting with: "If you could travel back in time…"
"No."
"No? I haven't even finished the question…?"
"No. I'm not going to answer any question about time travel. Whether hypothetically or realistically, I just don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry."
Warren entered the boys' dorm and had started quietly stomping his boots on the ground to free them of snow. He decided that he would find out about why she hated time travel so much, but he decided that he just wanted to get to his dorm room as quick as he could.
He started to stroll through the dark hallway of the boy's dorm, his phone's flashlight lighting the way.
"Second home, sweet second home," he muttered. He turned his flashlight off and walked through the threshold of his room. As his hand searched for the light switch, he tried to remember if he thought to close the door earlier. Apparently, he did not.
He thought he heard a whimper, or the intake and outtake of breath. But he dismissed it, thinking he watched too many scary movies, until he turned the light switch on.
And he saw a girl sitting on his bed.
"Holy shit!" They both said, startling one another.
A moment passed between the two as they looked at each other and recovered from their mutual surprise.
"You scared the shit out of me," Warren said. He started to take off his boots and jacket and hat. He was wearing the Periodic Table of Elements shirt she had given him for his birthday. Seeing him in his shirt and seeing his smile shot a sense of familiarity and relief through Max that made her cheeks flush.
"Are you cereal, Warren! You scared the shit out of me!" she said smiling. "I thought you left!"
"I did leave, technically," he said slowly sitting next to her and dropping his PC bag to the floor. She scooted over slightly to make room for the two of them. The two teenagers sat next to each other on the bed. They looked each other over for a few seconds. Warren couldn't help but notice how wet and bloodshot her blue eyes were.
"Were you crying?" he said quietly.
"Yeah," she mumbled, looking away from him. "It's not really important."
"Max," he said, unwittingly scooting slightly closer. The fabric of their jeans almost touching. "It's important to me."
"I don't even know," she said truthfully. "I came here looking for you, and when you weren't here… I guess I freaked out."
He smiled sympathetically. "Maximum Ride, you know I wouldn't leave without at least saying goodbye. I had a day off from the Smoothie Shack, so I moved all my stuff to my house. I thought about coming back for the night and we can watch the last episode or two of Teen Titans."
"Oh, shit. I forgot about that. You don't even have to ask, Warren. Let's watch it now. It'll take my mind off of some things."
"Sure thing, Max!" He replied, getting off of the bed. Max found herself a little disappointed. She didn't want him to leave the bed for some reason. He pulled his PC out of the bag and hooked it up to the TV he still had in the dorm. He plugged his faithful flash drive into the port and selected the second to last episode of Teen Titans.
"Snacks?" He said, looking at her.
She debated for a moment. She looked to her right and spotted the mini fridge. She thought about the usual popcorn, but that meant he had to go grab the microwave from the closet in the hallway.
She didn't want him to leave the room for some reason. So she just said, "Maybe something to drink. Like water, maybe."
"Of course." He smiled again. He was always smiling, especially around her. She always made sure to appreciate it, even if she didn't say it out loud.
Warren grabbed her a water and himself a soda from the fridge. He also snuck into a drawer in his desk and grabbed a bag of chips, ("Just because you didn't want food, doesn't mean I don't."). He sat down beside her and placed the chips between them. He handed her her water and he taped the play button with his toe on the laptop.
The two friends sat in silence as they watched the opening of the cartoon. It was a comfortable silence. Max finally felt relaxed to the point she felt she could breathe easier, while Warren was just happy to watch this episode with her and enjoy his chips.
Part of the way through the episode, Max interrupted. "I don't remember this episode."
"It's a lost episode," said Warren through a mouthful of chips.
"A new one then? I'm pleasantly surprised."
That was a lie. Because despite how much she appreciated the Teen Titans and its art style, she couldn't get into it. She felt guilty leaving him behind for Seattle. In fact, she didn't know if she would just stay in Seattle for winter break. If she were honest, she was considering leaving Arcadia Bay behind all together. It didn't help when she remembered that the only reason she came to Arcadia Bay was for Mark Jefferson. Not even for Chloe. In fact, she had run away from Chloe to Seattle, just the same as she was running from Warren and from Kate.
She was a terrible friend.
"Hellooooooo, earth to Max…"
"What?" she said, startled out of her reverie.
"Glad you picked up my frequency. It just looked like you were zoning out."
"I was. I'm sorry, Warren. I didn't mean too."
"Are you sure everything's fine? You know Dr. Graham is always willing to make house calls for his favorite patient."
"I know, I know. You won't even prescribe me medicine. Can I ask you a small favor?"
"You know you can ask me anything Max."
Max hesitated a little. She decided the only way to get it out, was to just say it. "Can I stay here tonight?"
Warren blushed. And Max blushed right back at him. She hadn't ever stayed the night at his dorm before. Sure, when she went to his dorm room or he went to hers, the other would leave really late at night. But the two had never slept in the same room before. Their friendship aside, neither of the two teenagers had ever slept in the same room as someone of the opposite sex before. Especially when their relationship was so close.
Warren thought for a minute. He was sure it was worth the risk. After all, they were real good friends, and it was his last night here until January. What could happen?
"Okay…" He said finally. "I'll sleep on the floor. You can take the bed."
"No, I'll take the floor. I'm the one bothering you."
"No, no. You're the guest. I got the floor."
"Warren," she yawned, "let's just compromise."
"I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor, Max."
"I know. Chivalry isn't dead, Sir Warren," she chuckled. "I wasn't going to say that. How about we share the bed, but we put a pillow or something between us. Sound fair?"
He contemplated the suggestion before reluctantly agreeing. He went into his closet and grabbed a spare pillow. He pulled apart the two pillows that he had stacked at the head of his bed and placed them side by side. Max expressed her gratitude and laid down and pulled the blanket over the both of them. She made sure that she was closest to the door in case she had to hide (which she doubted. David had been pretty lenient to her since the incident).
Warren maneuvered his way around her and laid down opposite of her. Max shut her eyes and almost immediately fell asleep. Warren stayed up for awhile. He watched movies quietly and listened to the sound of Max's sleeping. He hoped that she wouldn't find that creepy. It sounded to him like that was creepy.
After a little more than an hour, Warren could feel his eyes starting to droop. After some resistance, he fell asleep, Max's hair tickling his nose.
He awoke to the sound of Max screaming.
One moment, he was dreaming a strange dream about his cat gaining the Red Ring from the DC Comics and becoming to a super villain. Just when he got the point where him and Nikolai would have their final battle, he woke to Max screaming about something to do with a tornado and saying the words, "My fault" over and over.
Warren felt any sort of grogginess melt away when he finally realized his friend was having a nightmare. He knew he had to wake her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
She wasn't waking up. He silently thanked whatever deity there was that there was no one else at the dorms, or else it might be awkward. Shrugging away that thought, his brain scrambled at other things he could do, but the best he could hope for was to pour some of the last of the water on her face.
I hope you don't mind backwash, he thought ridiculously.
"Chloe!" Max shouted, thankfully opening her eyes before he could grab the water.
Unfortunately, she seemed as if she didn't know where she was. She started to hyperventilate. Luckily, he had some experience in this area and quickly got up and grabbed a paper bag. In his best soothing voice, he explained, "Max, you had a nightmare and you're hyperventilating. You need to breathe into this."
After a second, Max seemed to become more aware of where she was and started to breathe into the bag. Warren placed a reassuring hand on her back as she started to breathe just a little easier second by second.
"Are you going to be okay? Should I bring the wastebasket over?"
"No, no," her voice came out shaky. "I should be okay… I don't usually throw up after nightmares. I just hyperventilate and get dizzy. And now my head feels like it's crawling out of my skull."
"I see. Is there anything else I can do? Maybe some Advil?" He looked at the clock on the table beside his bed. It read 3:38 a.m. This would usually be the time she would leave.
But this wasn't any ordinary night.
She thought for the moment and replied quietly, "I don't need any medicine. But I think there's something you can do. Two things, maybe…"
"Name them," he said. He just wanted to be helpful and do whatever he could. He knew Max wasn't unreasonable, anything she needed he knew she would absolutely need.
"I still want to stay for the night…"
"Done." He said emphatically.
"But I need you to… hold me?"
"What?" he said. For once, he was dumbfounded.
"It's stupid." she answered quietly. Her cheeks were vermilion red as she spoke. "I don't know. I just want to feel safe, you know? I just want to feel protected. I know it sounds selfish and awkward… Actually, you don't have to. I'm probably asking too much, I should probably go and…"
Warren stopped her rant before it started. "It's fine, Max. I understand how you feel, and I want to help in any way I can. I was just surprised is all." He said reassuringly.
"Thank you." She lifted her eyes and looked into his. She noticed how deep and brown they were. She could see a little fleck of gold in them she never noticed before. It almost caught her off guard. "Y-you don't know how much this means to me."
It was Warren's turn to blush. "Anything I can do to help, right?"
"Right," she said and turned. A part of her was relieved she wasn't looking at him anymore. There was a moment in the air that she couldn't put her finger on. It kind of scared her in a way. But it also excited her. It made her heart speed up a little faster. The other part of her wanted to keep staring into his eyes and be lost in them. But she was so exhausted. She just wanted to have a night sleep without nightmares. She was hoping Warren would be the answer. Even if they had to cuddle.
His arms slowly went around her torso. "Is this okay?" he said. She felt his breath on the nape of her neck. The sensation rose goosebumps on her skin and she almost shivered.
She found herself smiling in his awkwardness. She even felt a little brave. "Yes, Warren, it's perfect. But can you pull me a little closer?"
He obliged, and now it felt perfect. He had held her before, but not in this way. Before, it was quick and friendly. At the time he was a shoulder to cry on, a ear to listen.
Now, this was something more. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could feel this was special. Despite the circumstances, it felt right. His body felt warm against hers, but mostly it felt safe. It's the sense of security that she had been craving.
She felt sad that she was going to throw it away.
But she wanted to put that out of her mind now. She was going to let herself enjoy this moment. At least until she fell asleep, which was not long after that thought crossed her mind.
In his mind, he felt relaxed. It was strange. He was always so energized, so wired that he never really knew what it was to unwind. Now that he was holding Max, he found he could breathe a little easier. Her body was surprisingly very warm against his, and he welcomed the warmth. He was grateful that she felt she could turn to him, and he liked feeling like he was helping.
In a selfish way, he hoped that she would never ask him to let go. That she would never leave.
He could hear her breathing getting lighter and lighter and hoped she had fallen asleep again. He could feel his eyes start to droop and thought about the Christmas present he had for her. He hoped he would have enough time to give it to her in the morning. Brooke had said she found it in the girls' bathroom the day after the incident and he had snuck in and grabbed it. He had taped it together in hopes of gifting to Max.
He hoped she would appreciate it. It looked so much like her work. Warren was not the type of person who could identify a photographer by their work, but something told him that this was something Max would appreciate.
Hell, maybe it was even hers.
He dozed off not long after this thought. He just hoped he would wake up before her to give her her present.
Max woke up before him. The unfamiliar setting confused her for a moment. But as her eyes adjusted to the morning light, she became aware of Warren's sleeping cheek resting on her neck. The realization made her entire body heat with embarrassment, awkwardness, and… adoration. The thought of cuddling with Warren all night perplexed her yet strangely excited her.
She didn't want to get up. She wanted to get up.
She knew she had to get up though. Before Warren had nearly given her a heart attack, she had texted her parents about her decision to stay in Seattle. Her dad, Ryan, had answered her. He was already up late grading papers and had promised that he and her mom would pick her up that evening. She didn't have much time to pack before her parents came. The sooner she got back to her dorm, the sooner she can get a hold of Kate to say goodbye.
That's the hardest part, saying goodbye. How was she ever going to say goodbye to Warren?
She suddenly felt uncomfortable and overly hot. She wiggled herself cautiously out of his grip. She didn't want to wake him, but she knew she had to let him know that she was leaving for Seattle. She grabbed her dead phone from the floor and placed it into her pocket.
Now what should she do? Max could wake Warren up and tell him that he wouldn't be seeing her, but one look at his sleeping face and she knew she wouldn't have the heart to do it. She couldn't help but stare at him sleeping. He looked… peaceful. For once, he was quiet when he was usually loud and excited. She thought he looked...
Well, she thought he looked cute asleep like he was…
Max swallowed the guilt in her belly and approached the door. She thought about just leaving all together. It was certainly cruel. She knew how he felt about her, whether previous timeline or not. She had accepted the invitation to "Go Ape" in the other timeline, but would she go again, if given the opportunity, if she weren't grieving?
The answer was yes.
Max couldn't wake him up. It would break her heart, and likely his, to tell him this. But she couldn't stay in Arcadia Bay. There were too many memories, too much pain. She needed a break. She needed Seattle.
She would leave a note. Yeah, a note. It would still break his heart. It would still hurt her, but this had to be done. It was easier this way. Easier for the both of them. She hoped.
Max searched in his desk for paper and a pen. She found some, and set to writing.
Warren,
I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me. You really are my White Knight. You've always been there for me when I needed you most. I appreciate everything you've done for me, and I know nothing I can do will ever repay you, Dr. Graham.
With that being said though, I have to go back to Seattle. Arcadia Bay just reminds me of Chloe so much that… it's painful… And I know you've seen it.
I hope someday I can be okay enough to come back. I hope you and me and Kate can go for some Two Whales and eat and laugh with Joyce and just be friends again. Maybe we can go to the Planet at the Apes Marathon at the drive-in. (I see the flyer on your desk. Kek .)
I'm sorry I had to say goodbye like this. I wish I had the courage to wake you up and give you your present and see you smile when I do. But, you look so peaceful that I don't want to disturb you.
I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy your Christmas present(s). When I come back, I promise to treat you to all the blueberry pancakes you want. (I know they're your favorite)
Again, I'm sorry,
Max, Never Maxine
MAXOXO
Right by the note, she left a photo of the two of them together taken on his birthday. He had been so happy when she had given him the shirt. If she were honest, Max thought that was her favorite selfie she had taken recently.
She took one more picture of him sleeping for the road. She wanted to have today as a memory. He had helped her so much, she wanted the photo to remember how much he meant to her.
She took one more selfie of herself in his room, with him in the background. Despite the goodbye note, she wanted to leave in a good natured way. On the back of the photo, she wrote,
Oh, look. A wild Warren asleep in his natural habitat. Til next time, Warren Peace.
She smiled sadly at their inside joke. At last, it was time to leave. Max left the pictures on his desk next to the note and grabbed her jacket from the floor. On an impulse, she kissed his cheek before headed to the door. Without looking back, she closed the door quietly and left him behind.