What Kind Of Monster Are You?, from the single by Slant 6
"Hey, Max! Could you get the door? I'm not really...no, don't move...I'm not exactly at a point where I feel comfortable stopping what I am doing!" Chloe shouted at Max from the living room, the buzz of a tattoo gun emanating from her direction.
Sliding off the bed where she was situated with a number of different headshots from various people that she had worked with over the past week, Max bundled them all up and slid them back into the manila envelope she had packaged them in earlier. They're...alright, I guess. I dunno, I'm a pessimist when it comes to my own stuff. Stretching after having sat cross-legged for hours, Max a hand through her slightly unkempt hair and strolled through the apartment, getting a wink from Chloe as she looked up from the small workstation she had in the corner of the living room alongside a window.
Max flashed her a grin back, popping her fangs playfully for a second, before Chloe gave mouthed Stop that! and gave Max a look of reproach before gently placed her client's head back on the chair's head rest. Popping her neck as she continued to loosen herself up, Max heard someone knock on the door and pulled out her phone to see what time it was. Oh crap, it's probably Kate. Maybe Dana and Juliet, too. Ugh, the place is kind-of a mess! Sighing, Max unlocked the door and cracked it open, wincing as the Sun smacked her in the face with its rays.
"Uh, hey," Max said as her eyes focused after their momentary blindness, "Oh! Hi, Joyce. Um, come in," Max said with a grin as she opened the door to let Joyce in. Hearing someone else approaching, Max saw Kate come around the corner and look up as Max coughed, "I don't think right now a good time, Kate. Sorry. Chloe's mom just...well, she actually just showed up. Come by later, maybe?"
"Sure, Max. Just send me a text when you're ready for me to come over? Max...do I really have to let Chloe give me a henna tattoo?" Kate asked from the ground, looking up as Max leaned over the railing on the apartment landing.
"Nah, you don't have to. But I think she wants to give you one. You've kinda been our matchmaker/couple's counselor and she wants to show you her appreciation, that's all. Plus, she likes you," Max said with a grin as she saw Kate's shoulders slump.
"A pizza is thanks, Max. A tattoo, even a temporary one...what if my parents somehow find out? What if someone from school sees it?"
"You do get to pick where it goes. You know that, right? Get some angel wings on your back or something like that, something that can't be easily seen. She's not going to mark your face or give you knuckle tats...at least, I don't think she will," Max said, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously. Seeing Kate stick her tongue out before waving and heading back around the corner, Max chuckled to herself before she heard an "Ugh, Mom! Can you not make me jump when I have a giant mechanical needle in my hand? Fuck!" from inside and closed the door behind her.
The apartment had gone through another renovation over the past week, Chloe gradually moving more of her stuff over from Joyce's until Max had 'surrendered' and told Chloe that she should just stop sleeping at Joyce's altogether and actually move in. Max couldn't stop grinning when she saw Chloe jump with glee before pouncing on Max, covering her face with kisses. It had been like that most of the time between since Max had come back in her bloodied state, with Chloe trying to spend as much time as she could with Max. In turn, Max had not only increased her workload but also made a point of answering some of Chloe's questions. Knowing that keeping things from Chloe was toxic for the two of them, Max was unfortunately still torn at how much she wanted to confide in Chloe. I know that keeping things from her won't end well, that it's toxic, but I just want to see her happy like she is now. Am I wrong? Ugh, I'm just…so tired of pretending like everything is alright.
Max walked through the hallway and plopped onto the old couch that had taken the place of the cheap replacement that had been "Couch 2.0". Grinning as she sunk into the old upholstery, Max ran her fingers across the old couch she and Chloe had played on as kids. Joyce, wanting to make some changes to her house, had bought some new furniture and offered to let them have the old couch. While Chloe had looked at Joyce questioningly, Max leaped at the chance to take it. It was nostalgic, representing a piece of their lives that she wanted to preserve desperately. Not taking no for an answer, Max had promised Chloe some 'fun' in exchange for letting them put the couch in the apartment.
"So, how are you Joyce?" Max asked, sitting up as she saw Joyce leaning forward in the chair across from her on the other side of the coffee table, "You look kinda beat."
"If it's alright, Max, I'm going to just sit here for a moment until Chloe's done. There's something she needs to know, and I feel it would be better if she heard it from me and not secondhand from you," Joyce said with exhaustion.
Nodding sympathetically, Max leaned back in the couch for a second before springing out of it and walking over to where Chloe had set her small business up. Ink, needles, disinfectant, and all the other accessories for being a tattoo artist were scattered across a long wooden table set up underneath the window near the a corner of the living room. The smell of incense and pot smoke emanated from 'Chloe's Little Corner', as Max lovingly referred to it, strong enough that Max could smell it as though Chloe were in the middle of operating a head shop. Seeing that Chloe was starting to wrap up the tattoo she had finished with some plastic wrap, Max caught her attention with a small cough.
"Just gimme a sec, Max. Okay, so, be sure to use some petrol jelly on it to keep the skin moisturized and be careful with how you wash it," Chloe said as her customer got up and handed Chloe some money. Tipping her beanie, Chloe called out "Come again, dude!" to the departing gentleman. Looking over at the smirking Max, Chloe waved the small collection of $20s like they were a fan, "Oh, it's so hot in here. Lemme cool down with some greens."
"C'mon, Punky Smurf. You're mom wants to talk to you. She looks pretty cereal," Max said, hoisting Chloe onto her feet as the other girl held her arms out for Max with a silly grin.
"Shows how much I pay attention when I'm working," Chloe said, absently wiping her slightly ink-speckled hands on a faded pair of jeans she wore primarily during her 'bidness hours'.
"You do tend to stay in the zone, Chlo," Max said, nodding in agreement with Chloe's words, "But you're also good. Hella good."
Snickering, Chloe let Max lead her away from her workspace and over to where Joyce was patiently sitting. Bending down to give her mom a quick hug, Joyce seemed to brighten up a bit at the look of genuine happiness on her daughter's face as she curled up next to Max on what had been her old couch. Chloe laid her head against Max's shoulder as she cuddled up against the smaller girl.
"What's up, Mom?" Chloe asked, oblivious to the look of exhaustion on Joyce's face.
"Well, I thought you should know. Both of you. I'm…I'm getting legally separated from David," Joyce said, taking out a tissue from her purse to dab at her watery eyes.
Max and Chloe both immediately sat up, noticing the seriousness of Joyce's demeanor. Leaning forward, Chloe watched her mother intently for a moment before speaking up.
"Are you…are you okay?" Chloe asked, concern in her tone.
"I don't know, Chloe. We're still talking, and we are still trying to work…work some things out. He's just…he gets so upset and then to take it out on others, on you and almost Max…well, I just can't really deal with that," Joyce said, thanking Max as she took the small wad of tissue paper over to the kitchen to throw it away. Max sat back down on the couch, holding Chloe's hand as she noticed her body trembling slightly.
Chloe got up from the couch a moment later, disentangling her fingers from Max's to walk over and hold her crying mother. Chloe looks so heartbroken, Max thought as a frown creased her face, I know that she hated David, but Joyce has been a wreck since the day David almost hit both Chloe and me. Getting up from the couch herself, Max walked over and joined Chloe in hugging Joyce.
"You two, you're so precious. Thank you, Max, for looking after Chloe since coming back," Joyce said, patting Max's hand while wiping her eyes dry with the back of her other hand.
"Of course, Joyce. I'm an expert at Chloe-sitting," Max said, lifting her head up to match Chloe's tongue sticking out with a smirk, "Do you…do you want some water, or some more tissue? I have a box of Kleenex in the bathroom."
"No, no. That's alright, I have some more in my purse. I just felt that you needed to know what was going on, Chloe," Joyce said, looking up as Chloe hovered over her, "I know that you two didn't get along but-"
"He made you happy, Mom. Well, some of the time. I'm…I'm here for you," Chloe said, patting Joyce on the shoulder as she stood back up. Joyce took a moment before standing up to join the two girls in another hug, looking at them with a warm, tired smile.
"I'm glad that you two have each other," Joyce said, putting a hand on each of their cheeks, "and I'm very happy for the both of you. Come and visit some, okay? With…with David more decidedly gone, you don't have as much of an excuse."
"We never felt that the situation at your house was an excuse, Joyce. We just didn't want to make things worse," Max said with a sad look of concern.
"Nice save, Max," Joyce said before letting them go. Sighing, Joyce looked over at the clock before gathering her purse from the chair, "I've got to get going, one of the new girls called in, but come over soon, ok?"
"Absolutely, Mom. We'll make breakfast for supper and totally chill while munching down on some pancakes," Chloe said, scratching at her beanie with a faint smile. Chloe's expression changed in one of mixed feelings after her mother left the apartment, however.
"Dude, I don't know how I feel about…about all that," Chloe said, plopping down into the couch, "I mean, David was a douche, but he did make my mom happy. She needed that happiness after…after Dad died." Chloe wiped at her face in exasperation as Max moved from the behind the chair over to where Chloe was sitting. Gently prying Chloe's hands from her face, Max carefully took a seat in Chloe's lap and rested the other girl's head in the crook of her neck.
"I can't imagine how you're feeling, Che, but if you want to talk you know that I'm always here for you," Max said, running a finger through the blue hair sticking out from under the beanie, "I love you, Chloe Price."
"Oh? That so?" Chloe said with a smirk, "To what do I owe the sudden confession of heartfelt affectionate mush?" Max shook her head with, grinning as she playfully punched Chloe in the shoulder.
"Dork, I'm trying to be supportive," Max said with a rueful chagrin, "I know that we both say that we love each other every now and then, and that we are in love. I just…it just felt like you needed to hear it right now, okay?" Max said, tucking Chloe's head back into the crook of her neck. Max smiled as she felt Chloe nuzzle up against her.
"I did need it, I still do. How much do you love me?" Chloe asked, a playful tone in her voice.
"Enough that I traveled across half the world to be with you," Max said nonchalantly, teasing Chloe with her bland tone.
"Only half?"
"I'm saving the other have for you and me, dork," Max said, pulling Chloe's beanie down so that it covered her face all the way down to her nose. Catching Chloe as she was about to speak, Max planted a soft kiss on Chloe's lips, feeling Chloe push herself into Max's lips in response. Shifting her sitting position, Max swung a leg over so that she was straddling Chloe as the kisses became more passionate. It had been like this since Max had come back from the woods outside Arcadia Bay. Chloe's offering of herself, coupled with Max's feeling of liberation at being left alone by the other vampires, had left both of them feeling less encumbered. Pulling away from Chloe every now and then to let her take in a breath of air, Max swatted Chloe's hands away every time she tried to pull her beanie up. No touchie.
"Um, I would like to be able to see sometime, Maxaroni," Chloe said with a chuckle as she began to slap at Max's swatting hands, "Dude, fucking stop!"
Ceasing her swatting of Chloe's hands, Max opted to yank the beanie off in a single pull, tossing it all the way back to the bedroom. Max snorted at the unkempt hair that sprouted out of Chloe's head in all directions.
"Oh," Max said, stifling a laugh, "It's like a psychedelic bird's next, oh my Dog!" Max couldn't restrain herself anymore and laughed even harder when Chloe clamped a hand on one of her breasts. "Did you just try to shut me up with foreplay?"
"No. Yes. Maybe. Shut up, fucking nerd," Chloe said, her face turning red as she blushed from the awkwardness of her hand still hanging onto Max's clothed chest, "We were having fun sexiness and you ruined it with sarcasm and giggles, so bite me."
Chloe realized what she said a moment too late and clamped down on Max's legs. They had played this game before, and while part of Chloe loved it part of her also fucking hated it. Seeing the mischief in Max's eyes, Chloe looked at her with an expression that Max could only read as Don't you fucking dare. Giggling with a type of mad glee, Max jumped back from her position on Chloe's lap, easily escaping her hands, and slid over to where the light switch was.
"Don't!" Chloe said anxiously, standing up just as Max cut the lights, "Goddamnit, Max!"
Max giggled, the sound coming from the kitchen. Looking over in the direction of the giggle, Chloe stumbled around the apartment with her arms outstretched. Feeling the fridge, Chloe swung the door open to flood the area in front of her with a dim light. Max was nowhere to be seen.
"Psst!" Max whispered from another area of the apartment and Chloe jumped slightly before slamming the fridge shut.
"I have a shotgun filled with iron buckshot. I will use it on your cute, undead ass, you little shit!" Chloe said with a playful menace, starting to get into their little game as she always did.
Max hopped around, making light sounds to attract Chloe's attention, before leaping into the corner of the living room where Chloe's workstation was located. Pressing her back against up against where the walls connected, Max began to climb until she was nestled in the corner. Watching Chloe slowly make her way to the bedroom, Max fought back a giggle as she playfully stalked her.
"Marco!" Max shouted, dropping down to the floor and sprinting to the Asian blind that divided the bedroom from the rest of the apartment. Max heard Chloe clamp her hand over her mouth as she yelped, grinned as she heard Chloe curse under her breath. Paralleling Chloe's movements, Max entered the bedroom from one side of the blinds as Chloe left from the opposite. Stepping on her tip-toes to go completely silent, Max controlled her body and stopped the instinctive intake of air. Her body absolutely still save for baby steps, Max was only a foot from Chloe as the blue-haired girl fumbled around in the dark.
"Did you go silent? Ugh, you always do this! I swear, powers are fucking cheating!" Chloe said in frustration, trying not to laugh. Picking up on Chloe's diminishing enjoyment of this round the game they played, Well, I play. Chloe just…kinda participates, Max ended it the way she usually did. Closing the distance between them to inches, Max leaped onto Chloe's back in an instant and began to pelt her neck and jawline with small kisses. Chloe's shriek dissolved into a few short breaths before falling under the spell of Max's lips connecting with her skin.
"You did say 'Eat me'," Max chided between two kisses, grinning, "But I may settle for a scratch-n'-sniff." Max relented after one final kiss, leaving her mouth partly open as she lightly grazed her lips and tongue across the right side of Chloe's jawline. Dropping off of Chloe's back, Max sprinted the short distance to the light switch and re-illuminated the apartment with a soft glow.
"Oh, I hate you…and also kinda love you," Chloe said, walking over to punch Max on the shoulder.
"'Kinda'?" Max asked, arching an eyebrow.
"…I hella love you," Chloe said, wrapping her arms around Max's neck before leaning in and kissing her. The kissing continued as the two girls tried to direct each other toward the bedroom, only for both to freeze as Max's phone began to go off. "Don't do it."
"But it could be important," Max implored between instances of her tongue connecting with Chloe's.
"Maxine Caulfield-" Chloe started before clamping her mouth shut, mouthing Fuck! as she realized her sexually-fatal mistake.
"For the use of 'Maxine'," Max said with a flourish as she disengaged herself from Chloe, "The punishment is a cessation of the sexy." At "sexy", Max pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen to answer. It was a text from Kate.
Kate: are you done yet?
Max: Just finished. U want 2 come over still?
Kate: yes. I just got some GREAT news!
Max: spill
Kate: see you soon ;)
Max almost typed "NO EMOJI" back, but caught herself with a wry smile. Chloe had been rubbing off on her, just as she had been rubbing off on Chloe…albeit in different ways. I'm a vampire, but she stays up longer than I do. What the crap? Max thought as she glanced over at the pouting Chloe Price.
"Kate's coming over," Max said, sliding her phone back in her pocket, "I'm assuming she'll be taking the bus so it'll be about ten minutes. Think we should order foo-" Max yelped in surprise as Chloe suddenly carried Max bridal-style and walked over to the bathroom. Setting Max down, Chloe began to furiously strip. "Uh, Chloe, what are you doing?"
"Ten minutes, right? S'more than enough time for something," Chloe said, grinning with intent, as she began to pull at Max's clothes. The two girls giggled as the room began to fill with the steam of hot water.
Kate showed up after about 15 minutes, looking away awkwardly as she saw the flushness of Chloe's face and the bashful glance of Max towards Chloe. Realizing that they had been busted, Max walked over with apologetic grin and lightly pulled Kate out of the doorway and into the hall. Closing the door behind them, Max let Kate walk herself into the living room while fiddling with her laptop.
"Food?" Max asked, looking first at Kate, then Chloe.
"Dude, I am hungry like the wolf," Chloe said, patting at her empty stomach, "What are you down for Kate? Max told me we may be celebrating…something…?"
"Pizza," Kate replied simply, getting a chuckle out of Max as she remembered what Kate had said when she came by earlier.
"Che, sweet Che, I think you need to reconsider your offer of giving Kate a henna tattoo," Max said tenderly, trying to cushion the blow to Chloe's feelings. Chloe looked over to Kate with a slightly crushed expression.
"Dude, no! You'd look so fucking cool, and it would wear off after a couple of days or so. It doesn't have to be anywhere visible!" Chloe exclaimed, trying to convince a stern-faced Kate, "Pretty please?"
"Sorry, Chloe, but I just don't really think that a tattoo is for me," Kate said with a hint of apology in her voice, "But I do appreciate the thought. I would…just appreciate pizza more."
Sarcastically turning her head in a huff, Chloe looked away from both girls before feeling a finger curve around her chin. Looking out from the corner of her eye, Chloe watched Max as she leaned over and gently tugged Chloe's head around to kiss her on the forehead. She's so cute sometimes. I could actually eat her up. Wait. Ew. Chloe watched Max with concern as the brunette seemed to space-out for a moment before snapping back with a rapid blink of her eyes. Max knew that she did this more often lately, flashbacks of blood and violence that in turn spilled into nightmares of water and tight spaces.
"Sweetie?" Max heard Chloe say, snapping her out of her own mind, "Man. Hey, you okay?" Max smiled at the look of warmth and concern on Chloe's face and stood up.
"I'm…going to go splash some water on my face. Feeling kinda drowsy," Max lied, pulling away from Chloe as she headed over to the bathroom. Leaving the door open, as she now did every time she was in the bathroom, Max turned the sink faucet on and rubbed some of the icy water across her face. Looking down at the nearly full basin of water made her twitch for a second. Her mind completely preoccupied, Max didn't notice Kate behind her until she turned around and made a startled noise.
"Sorry!" Kate said, her eyes opening wide as Max's startled exclamation startled her in turn, "We…we just wanted to know if you had an preference to what goes on the pizza."
"Uh, is half-cheese okay?" Max asked, counting backwards from ten in her head to calm down. Dr. Ives had given her a book on relaxation and Max was already on the 12th technique, the other 11 not amounting to much for her.
"Sure. Sorry that I scared you," Kate said in apology before heading back to the living room. Kate smiled at Chloe as the two crossed paths, Chloe heading over to Max with a worried look.
"I know what that spacing out means, Max. Are you okay?" Chloe asked, putting her hands on Max's shoulders.
"I'm…I'm trying to manage. It's like I just randomly get ridiculous amounts of stress…and anxiety. The slightest thing can set off a panic attack, or at least what I'm assuming is a panic attack," Max said, tired, before lowering her voice to a whisper, "Kinda hard to gauge when you don't have a beating heart or the need for air."
"I could always kick Kate out and we could just curl up in bed, watch shitty movies," Chloe halfheartedly offered.
"I-I just need some air," Max said with a chagrin at Chloe's offer to send Kate home, "I think I will go up to the roof, have a moment alone."
"..You do that a lot," Chloe said in a quiet tone, and Max could not help but find herself irritated. Chloe always used that tone when Max would go off by herself, whether it was to hunt or to just be left to her thoughts. Why can't you understand what I'm having to deal with, Che? Why are you so damn stubborn?
"I'm just going to the roof, Chloe, for a few minutes. I..I feel like the apartment is stifling," Max said, looking at Chloe pleadingly.
Max felt a mix of sadness and irritation as Chloe walked off without answering, starting up a conversation with Kate. Walking through the apartment, Max quickly excused herself as she went outside. Closing the door behind her, Max looked out as the sun set over the water. Max had no problem with the coastline or the ocean, so long as it stayed there and she remained here, where she was standing. Sighing, Max quickly looked about to make sure no one was watching before leaping up to the roof with a single jump. Max laid on the corrugated metal and watched as the starts began to slowly make their appearance, counting the ones she could see in an attempt to center herself.
"One…two…three," Max quietly began, not paying attention to anything else. Taking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment, Max slowly exhaled through gritted teeth and sat up, slowly getting to her feet. Making her way to the roof's edge, Max peered down at the landing directly below and stepped off the roof. Landing as quietly as she could, Max opened the apartment door and went back inside. Hearing Kate and Chloe chatting, Max caught the end of their conversation.
"-just don't know what to do," Max heard Chloe say. Pausing in the hallway, Max's brow furrowed as she listened in, "She disappears, even when she's right next to me. I try to get her to let me in, and she has opened up to me some, but there's this wall that she just won't let down."
"She went through something incredibly traumatic, Chloe," Kate said with compassion, "I get that you want to know everything all at once, and I can understand why, but how can you expect Max to share when she all this is like it's new to her again? She was missing for a month." Bless you, Kate Marsh.
"I know that. It's just…she locks herself away, we never really talk, and she's only half here. I love her, I hella do, but the silent treatment is just too fucking much," Chloe said, sounding both pained and a little angry.
"What did the therapist tell you two?" Kate asked, with Max beginning to think their secret pow-wow was needing to end.
"Well…she said that Max was likely suffering from-" Chloe started before she saw Max's shadow from within the hallway. Max heard Chloe's heartbeat speed up and quickly realized that Chloe had figured she was listening in.
"So," Max said abruptly as she walked through the hallway into the apartment, "What'd I miss?"
Max watched Chloe's face go still, Kate suddenly turning silent.
"I see," Max said, trying to mask her hurt with a fake cheerfulness, "What was your news, Kate?"
"Um, well…" Kate started to say.
"Mr. Jefferson talked to her after class," Chloe said, catching on Kate's discomfort, "She won the Everyday Heroes contest. He's going to formally announce it tomorrow, when you're there."
"Congrats, Kate!" Max said with a smile. Heh, I already knew you won. Mr. Jefferson told me yesterday before class. You deserve it, Kate. What you don't deserve, however, is Chloe constantly dumping our private life onto your lap. "I had a feeling you were going to win, you're such a natural with a lens."
Seeing Kate blush at the compliment, Max walked over to Chloe's workstation and pulled her stool out so that she was sitting in the living room. All three girls taking note of the awkwardness, the apartment got really quiet.
"I think…I think I'm going to actually head back," Kate said, getting out of the chair abruptly, "Walk me out, Max?"
Getting up from the stool, Max wordlessly led Kate to the door. Going outside after her, Max knew what was coming as Kate turned around to look at her with worry in her eyes.
"Max. Are you okay?" Kate asked. Max stiffened a bit and looked away with a dejected look on her face.
"I'm really tired of people asking me that," Max blurted out, feeling bad at her snapping at Kate almost instantly. Almost. Sometimes I wish you all would just leave me the fuck alone.
"Oh. Sorry. Well, I'll see you tomorrow in class," Kate said softly, turning to head down the steps.
"Kate, wait," Max said, pinching the bridge of her nose as Kate turned to look up at Max, "I'm sorry. It's just…it's like everyone expects me to either bounce back or completely unravel. No one gives a crap about the in-between."
"Chloe cares," Kate said, her voice still soft in tone, "I care. Your friends care, Max."
"…I know, but you don't know what it's like. And me explaining it to every person who asks if I'm okay isn't going to change the fact that I'm not," Max said, letting the fatigue she felt creep into her voice, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Max gave Kate a quick hug before walking back inside. Silence filled the apartment as Chloe just sat at the couch, watching as Max went over to the fridge and took a quick drink from her sports bottle. Max heard Chloe make a sound, like she was about to say something, only to hear a sigh escape Chloe's lips instead. Looking up at the clock, Max figured that it the Sun would be down the rest of the way shortly and decided that she was going to go hunting. Max didn't utter a word as she slipped her combat boots on, but felt Chloe staring at her as she looked up to see the blue-haired girl leaning against the bathroom doorway.
"Are you even going to say anything?" Chloe asked, arms crossed, "I know you heard at least part of what Kate and I were talking about, dude. You might want to hide further back in the hallway, so the light doesn't give away your shadow."
"…I fucking hate when you talk about me behind my back," Max said in a cool tone, her voice quiet, "You act like I'm not even there."
"Sometimes you're not, Max. When you are here, meaning not just physically here, you're so incredible to be with. When you shut down, though, it's like living with a stranger," Chloe said, concern creeping into her voice, "I just wish you would talk to me."
"You just wish that…I don't want to do this right now. I mean, am I wrong to assume if you hadn't spotted me that my therapy sessions would have actually come up in your conversation with Kate?"
When Chloe didn't answer, Max rolled her eyes and walked right by Chloe without as much as a word. Turning around at the doorway, Max looked over at Chloe from across the apartment.
"I know you mean well, and I know everybody else does, too. You have to learn to take the good with the bad, Che. Sometimes I'm just not going to be up for sharing," Max said, sounding somewhat apologetic.
"Then let me just be with you. Let me go hunting with you!" Chloe said, walking across the apartment to stand in front of Max, "If you need to flip your shit, go ahead, but don't shut me out."
"'Flip my shit'? So eloquent, Chloe."
"You know what I fucking mean, brat. I want to be here for you, but I feel like you don't want me here sometimes," Chloe said, looking down at her feet. Oh, goddamnit. I just want some time to myself, that's all. I can't sort myself out if I have to help sort you out, too.
"You really want to come with me? Fine. You can drive me out there," Max said, resigned to the fact of Chloe tagging along. She couldn't help but smirk as an excited grin flashed across Chloe's face, "This isn't a class trip, Che. This is one of those moments where you're going to come away with an 'I've seen some shit' story."
"All the more reason to be excited! I've never seen you do this before!" Chloe said as she wrapped an arm around Max's shoulder and walked them both out the door. You literally just did a one-eighty from sullen and upset to giddy, Chloe. I know you don't want your own individual sessions with my therapist, but you need them as much as I do. You're so…it's like you have to be damn near everywhere I am sometimes.
Max pointed Chloe in the direction of an old dirt road that was about ten miles north of Arcadia Bay. Taking a right, Chloe pulled into the old road and began to drive through the woodland path. Heading into the woods for around five minutes, Max rolled down her window and listened as the slight breeze stirred the leaves around them, making the limbs sway.
"This is good, Chloe. Stop here," Max said, sounding distant.
"Aye, Captain Max," Chloe said with a grin as she put the truck in park and switched everything off.
"I've been promoted?" Max asked, feeling a little more humorous than when they had been at the apartment.
"Only because it's Admiral Chloe, now," Chloe said, still grinning.
"Ah. I liked Captain Chloe more. Sounded like a superhero."
Max stretched after sliding out of the truck, popping her neck, shoulders, and knuckles as Chloe came around with one of Max's empty jugs. Gesturing she didn't want the container, Max saw Chloe look at her with a perplexed face.
"I'm going to drink it straight, whatever I catch," Max said as popped out her fangs, eyes glowing a dim violet.
"I thought you hated that?" Chloe asked, starting to look nervous.
"Yeah, well, shit happens," Max said, not really wanting to go into her feeding patterns. Ever since she had fed off Chloe, Max would sometimes sneak out while the other girl was asleep and go hunting for fresh blood. Max craved the sensation she had from feeding on Chloe, the wildlife an adequate substitute. She also wanted to hunt as a means of cutting loose, venting her frustrations and pain. Chloe's practically bouncing up and down, she looks so excited. You asked for this, Chloe. I'm not going to hold back because you might turn out to be fucking squeamish. Ew. Max pictured Chloe getting sick as she fed and thought Ew to herself one more time before slowly walking deeper into the woods. Max heard the sound of Chloe's loading a shell into her pump-action shotgun and hesitated, then continued on with Chloe following behind from a distance.
Max tracked and sniffed around for around 15 minutes before catching fresh signs of wildlife. Kneeling down, Max looked at a paw print that was relatively new in comparison to the other tracks she had seen. Putting her small hand inside the print, Max couldn't help but grin as she figured out what it was. A fucking bear. Perfect.
"You know how to track animals? I thought you could just hear their hearts or some shit like that. Y'know, like how you are with me," Chloe said, lowering her voice when Max gestured for her to be quiet.
"I can hear heartbeats if I want to. How nuts do you think I would be if I could hear every heartbeat all the time? I learned to track because I need to in order to survive, Chloe," Max explained, irritated as she realized she was going to have to probably explain a lot of things before the night was through.
"But you say you can always hear mine," Chloe said, though to Max it sounded more like a question.
"I choose to hear yours nearly all the time," Max said reluctantly, still pissed, "I…I like the sound of your heart. It calms me down, makes me feel comfortable." Max smiled faintly as she heard Chloe's heartbeat slightly accelerate. Tensing up, Max's smile faded as she picked up on the bear's location. Signaling for Chloe to hang back a little further, Max slowly crept up a nearby hilltop so as to get a better vantage point. "There."
Max pointed down to a black shape at the bottom of the hill. Positioned near a stream, the large bear was preoccupied with something neither girl could see. Max could practically feel the anticipation coming off of Chloe in waves as she stood behind Max. Turning around, Max gave her a stern look as she gestured to where the bear was.
"Are you sure about this? I'm not sure I like the idea of you coming down there with me. I actually don't like it, period," Max said with a grimace.
"Come on, Max. Live a little!" Chloe said, accidentally shouting the last sentence. Hearing a noise from downhill, Max looked to see the bear starting to make its way towards them.
"Remember," Max said, gently poking Chloe in the chest, "You asked for this. Stay out of my way until I'm done."
"When will that be?" Chloe asked, taking a couple steps back as the glow in Max's eyes brightened.
"You will know when I am done," Max said, spinning around to face the oncoming bear.
Crouching, Max bared her fangs as the bear stood up on its hind legs and roared at Max. Meeting the animal's cry with one of her own, Max lunged and shouldered the bear in the side. Max had decided before the bear had begun to approach that she was going to mess around a bit, as she had been doing with each hunt. I could kill it quick, or I could have some fun. Play with my food. Watching the bear stumble, Max let the bear come running at her when she remembered that Chloe was somewhere behind her. Rolling her eyes, Max kicked the bear in the face, sending the beast caterwauling in a different direction. Slowly running after the bear, Max caught up to it and shouldered it again. Knocking the beast over, Max threw a punch at the side of its face before taking a step back. Sluggishly rising, the bear let out a roar. Are you trying to scare me? Poor thing, you're the one that should be frightened. Max was about to pounce on it when she heard the small trickle of water coming from the stream.
Images flooded Max's mind: Antony's face, opening her eyes to find that she had been dropped into the sea, the iron chains that had burned her for a month, the Chloe from her nightmare weeping endlessly, the night she had been killed and turned. Max heard someone call out to her in the distance, but didn't respond until she felt a sharp pain as the bear got a hold of her with one of its paws. Backpedaling, Max came out of her episode and looked down to see a large gash that had opened across her left side. Watching her near-black blood slowly ooze out of her side, Max thought of the pain she had endured at the lighthouse, all the times she had nearly died or wish she had died, and screamed as the hurt of three years began to pour out of her.
Max heard Chloe gasp as Max leaped straight at the bear and break its jaw in a single, savage twist. The bear took a step back, lowering its head against the ground as it struggled to close its mouth. Not waiting, Max screamed as she came at the bear with savage kicks, feeling bone break under her booted feet. Not wasting any time, Max bent down slightly and twisted the bear's neck before it could make another pitiful cry. Watching its head drop with a thud, Max kneeled down next to it and bared her fangs before lunging into its throat. Ripping a massive gash in the dead animal's neck, Max practically shoved the lower half of her face into the bear's flesh as she greedily sucked at the hot, wet blood. Max noticed the death-like silence and looked up from her meal to see Chloe standing a short distance away, the hand holding the shotgun slightly trembling.
"…I knew you wouldn't be able to handle this," Max said, standing up as she wiped at her face with a sleeve, "I told you that you were going to see some shit, some fucked up shit."
"…Max…are you-" Chloe started to ask, her voice trembling slightly.
"Quit asking me that, goddamnit! All of you, quit asking me that!" Max shouted, "I'm not okay, Jesus fuck! I'm a vampire! I'm going to be a teenager for the rest of my fucking life! I drink blood to live, and I'm not even really alive. I'm madly in love with a person who is scared of me at times but doesn't have the guts to tell me so."
"Max, that's-"
"Don't…don't lie to me, Chloe," Max said, her own voice starting to quake from anger and hurt, "I spent years on the run, living night by night in the most random of places. I've killed people. Vampires, sure, but still people. I'm so good at it they gave me a goddamn nickname. And then there's you." Max watched Chloe stiffen. "I love you, Chloe. I really do. But there are times I look at you and just want to cry, just bawl endlessly. I finally get you, get to be with you, and I'm not even fucking alive anymore!"
"But you are with me," Chloe said, the nervousness in her voice giving to heartbreak and concern.
"I am. When I'm with you I'm wonderful, but heartbroken. I'll never get to share in the physicality of us, never feel my heart skip a beat when I see you at the end of a long day. I will never feel the mutual warmth of us as we lie in bed. I don't even need to eat, so it's not like I get the full experience out home-cooked food with you. You do all these things and I am just…I just feel like I'm an echo of how I used to be," Max said, cursing herself as she felt the warmth of bloody tears running down her face, "I sometimes wish I were dead, the pain can be so much."
Max fell to her knees and bent over so that her face was cupped in her hands. Crying, Max shut out the world with her pain. The almost constant isolation, the terror at realizing what she was. Chloe. Oh, God, I ate Chloe. Max cried even harder as Chloe cautiously made her way over to where Max was kneeling. With trepidation, Chloe reached out and put a hand on one of Max's trembling shoulders. Max clutched at the hand on her shoulder, rubbing her tear-streaked, bloody face against the forearm as she desperately tried to cling at anything that could support her.
"I'm j-j-just so tired," Max quivered, falling on her side as she curled into the fetal position on the ground.
Max felt Chloe kneel next to her and begin to run her fingers through Max's hair. Max let Chloe gently put her head in Chloe's lap, let Chloe wipe her face up some with a bandana she had stuffed into the back pocket of her jeans.
"I'm s-s-sorry for being so distant, for getting so upset, Chlo. Please don't hate me, don't be scared of me," Max pleaded, her eyes shut tight as she tried to hold back what she had left to cry.
"I…I do get scared, sometimes," Chloe said quietly, softly hushing Max as she played with Max's hair while deep in thought, "You have these…these crazy powers and you save my life twice in such a short amount of time. You wait five years to tell me you love me. You drink blood. Yeah, sometimes I worry about what the fuck I've gotten myself into. Then I hear you giggle, hear you be the smart-ass I remember from when we were kids, and realize that the Max you are is still the Max you were. I'm not saying this is going to be easy, Max, I never said that. There's gonna be some hella deep feels all over what we've got going. But if you let me in, and I let you in, I think we can have something that will last forever."
Max grew really quiet as she took in Chloe's words, listened as Chloe hummed while playing with her hair. Sniffling, Max thought of how messed up she is. I don't know which way is up anymore. Chloe, please help me. I don't want to be in the dark, don't want you to be in the dark. Slowly sitting up, Max sniffled one more time before turning around to look Chloe in the eye.
"Do you love me? Really love me?" Max asked, her voice trembling in fear.
"Yeah, Max, I totally fucking love you. Do you love me?" Chloe asked, her typical wry grin plastered on her face.
"More than anyone else," Max replied, trying to smile.
"So we work at this," Chloe said, taking Max's hands before wrapping the smaller girl in her arms.
"…When did you become the voice of reason and mushiness?" Max asked, breaking into a fit of quiet giggles.
"You're fucking killing me, Max Caulfield," Chloe said, trying to sound irritated.
The ride back was long, but Max didn't mind. Staring out into the passenger window, Max leaned up against the glass with one hand cradling her chin while the other was laying on top of Chloe's. They had made it back up to the hilltop when Max had latched onto Chloe's hand and not let go the entire walk back. Feeling Chloe tentative squeeze her hand, Max sighed a little.
"I wish I could still blush," Max said, a small pout, "I would be so red right now."
"From holding hands?" Chloe asked, looking over at Max in bemusement.
"From holding hands."
"You fucking nerd."
Max led Chloe up the steps to the apartment landing, fatigued by also feeling relatively content. She's never seen how I get like…like how I can get. Another baby step, Max. Just keep taking them, and maybe we'll meet halfway. Max headed straight for the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack as she turned on the shower. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, Max ran a hand under the sprinkling water for a moment before climbing in. Max lost herself in the heat, the feeling of cleanliness as the water pelted her perpetually cool skin. Shaking her hair as it was drenched by the shower head, Max saw a silhouette take form on the other side of the shower curtain.
"Chloe?" Max asked, her eyes squinting through the water and soap.
"Yeah, just me," Chloe said in a soft, uncertain tone.
"…What's wrong?" Max asked.
"Uh, just thinking about everything you said earlier," Chloe said in the same tone as before.
"…Okay…," Max countered, starting to feel anxious, "Is it your turn to pull back?"
"Ugh," Chloe let out a slightly irritated sigh, "No, Max. I'm not going to fucking shut down. It's just…I get so wrapped up in all the hella crazy shit you can do that I don't tend to think about how it must also hurt you. You really think about those things, about sometimes wishing you had died or feeling bad about not being able to feel how I feel?"
"…Every day," Max said in a low whisper, arms now at her sides as she just stood under the running shower while looking over at Chloe. Peeking around the shower curtain, Max saw Chloe pull out a joint and proceed to take in a drag from the freshly lit pot.
"I need to get fucking burnt," Chloe said, a weak smile playing on her lips as she saw Max's peeking from behind the shower curtain. Chloe blew smoke rings toward the shower curtain only for Max to withdraw into the safety of the closed-off.
Max heard Chloe's light footsteps recede as she left the bathroom, and Max quickly wrapped up her shower. Stepping out, Max toweled herself off and walked out into the apartment to find Chloe flipping through her phone.
"Whatcha doin'?" Max asked, sitting on one of the couch's arm rests, leaning over to peek at Chloe's phone.
"…I want…I want to do something nice, just the two of us," Chloe said earnestly, "Aside from 'hunting trips', we've yet to actually leave Arcadia Bay for anything fun."
"Mmm-hmm," Max said, eyebrow raised as Chloe looked up from her phone, "And just what is your idea of nice?"
"I'd like to take you out for dinner. I mean, I know that you don't actually need to eat but we could…well, you could get hella fancied up and I-"
"Chloe Elizabeth Price, if I am getting 'hella fancied' then so are you," Max said, getting up to head over to the bedroom for a fresh set of clothes.
"Ugh."
"Yes," Max called after Chloe as she got changed into a pair of black cargo pants with a black and pink flannel shirt.
"Urghhh," Max heard Chloe groan in reply.
Max was about to reply to Chloe's incessant groans when she saw that her phone's alert light was flashing. Having left her phone behind when they had left for the woods, Max picked it up and switched it on. Wowsers, five texts from Dana. What the crap? Max swiped the screen to unlock the device, quickly opening the messaging app. Reading the texts, Max quickly read them a second time, a third.
Max made Chloe jump in the couch a little as she was still going through her phone to find something nice for them to do together. Seeing Max clutching her phone in one hand while holding her boots in the other, Chloe sat up and looked at Max with a questioning expression.
"K-Kate's in the hospital," Max quickly spat out, dropping her boots to the floor as she slid her still-bare feet into them, "Dana shot me some texts while we were out. She says that Kate showed up to their dorm all bloody and beat up."
"Dude, what the fuck-" Chloe said as she sprang off the couch.
"I don't know, Che, but we should head over to the hospital now," Max said, stuffing the laces into the boots to expedite her being dressed, "Are you not high enough that you can't drive?"
"I'm not that goddamn high, Maxaroni. C'mon, let's go," Chloe said, grabbing her jacket from the coatrack near the hallway as the two of them dashed out of the apartment. Not bothering to take the steps, Max grabbed a hold of Chloe from behind and hopped the railing, landing on the ground with a soft thud. Half-carrying Chloe, Max rushed them around the building and across the street to where the truck was parked.
"Max, dude, you can let go now," Chloe said as she tried to disengage her hand from Max's vice-like grip, "Hey, I need to drive."
"Oh. Sorry," Max said, absentminded as she let Chloe go next to the truck. Both girls climbing into the vehicle, Max barely had time to get situated inside before Chloe lurched the vehicle out of the lot and onto the street.
The hospital was a maze of white walls and the smell of antiseptics as Max and Chloe made their way through the sliding double doors, Max crinkling her nose at how powerful the cleaning solutions used by the hospital were. Ew, it smells like detergent and rubbing alcohol. Maybe it's just…well, it probably is just me that smells it so strongly. Vampire senses, woo. Seeing Dana and Juliet sitting anxiously in the waiting area of the emergency room, Max rushed over and hugged Dana as the two girls got up from their seats. Reaching over to include Juliet, Max squeezed both girls as Chloe trailed behind. Seeing Chloe look somewhat awkward, Max waved her over to be included in the hug.
"I'm good," Chloe said, scratching at her beanie as her face turned slightly red. Of all the goddamn times to be shy, Chloe. What the crap.
"What happened? Is Kate alright? Did she say anything about what attacked her?" Max asked, frantic. Images of Kate being slashed apart flashed through her mind, making her wince at the idea of her quiet, beautiful friend being hurt in any way.
"She passed out in the hallway of our dorm before she could say anything. Brooke called 911 while-" Dana started.
"-the rest of us just kinda stood back in shock. Even Victoria looked concerned, which must make this a sign of the Apocalypse," Juliet finished, lightly squeezing on Dana's hand, "She had some deep scratches on her arms, like she had been fighting with something, and I could've sworn…I thought I saw bite marks on her neck, Max!"
"W-what?" Max asked, feeling her body tense. Bite marks? Oh…oh, fuck no. Fuck fuck fuck!
"It looked like that," Dana said, looking over at Juliet with a grimace, "She was also coughing up bile or something. I dunno, Max, it was all just terrifying. We thought she was dying."
Chloe put a hand on Max's shoulder as she picked up on the smaller girl's tenseness. Taking the hand into her own, Max and Chloe left the other girls in the waiting area as they went out into the hallway that led to the ER. Chloe tightened her grip on Max's hand as she saw Max's expression change from shock to fear.
"Hey, she's in the hospital. She'll be fine," Chloe said, trying to reassure the now-shaking Max, "Calm down, Max. Calm down."
"This is calm, Chloe!" Max whispered, her tone biting, "…I'm going to find what did this…and I'm going to fucking murder it!"
Max didn't care about Chloe's suddenly taking a step back, didn't care about the way her heartbeat picked up at Max's words. She was fixated on how beat up she imagined Kate was, which led Max into a downward spiral as she remembered her own scars from the iron chains that had held her prisoner for a month and the memories of all the other vampires she had slaughtered to make it another day. Sliding down the wall, Max sat on the floor, grabbing at her hair as the traumas continued to smack away at her mind, leaving her angry and vulnerable.
"Max, please…please talk to me," Chloe said, worry overtaking what fear she had as she sat down next to Max, "Open up."
"I-I think of Kate and it's like e-everything comes flooding back in, all the pain and blood and memories," Max said, her voice quivering, "I…I need something t-to hit."
"That's not going to solve anything," Chloe said in a cautious tone, hooking her arm over Max's shoulders so that she could pull the shaking girl next to her, "Sure, it's probably hella nice, but it's not like you can just keep finding things to hit. And I don't think that I could accept that."
"…I know, Chloe," Max said weakly, leaning her head on Chloe's chest, "But I get so angry-"
"-and we'll deal with that. Together," Chloe said, cutting Max off, "You don't have to do all this, go through all this alone. I am sitting right here, brat."
Max got quiet as she let Chloe just hold her, Chloe's heartbeat calming Max somewhat. Max closed her eyes and tried to shut everything out except the rhythmic beat of that single heart. The flashbacks and images that usually kept her from managing to get any decent rest began to recede and fade as the pulse of Chloe's life filled Max with a calming sensation. Max was about to lean in and nuzzle at Chloe's neck when she smelled something familiar. Her eyes opening wide, Max watched as a doctor came through the ER's double doors and looked down at them. Chloe signaling over to Dana and Juliet, the doctor waited until all four girls were standing close by.
"I'm assuming you're Ms. Marsh's friends…?" the doctor asked, Max looking in horror at the blood on his scrubs. When Dana mutely nodded, the doctor continued.
"Kate is going to be okay. She lost a lot of blood, and some of the scars were pretty deep, but we luckily got to her before anything life-threatening presented itself. We're going to keep her for a couple days to monitor her."
"Can we see her?" Max asked in a meek tone, anxious to see her friend.
"Briefly," the doctor conceded after taking a moment to think over Max's request, "She's sedated. The only thing that was possibly worse than the blood loss what whatever it was that she had ingested."
"Ingested…?" Chloe asked, looking confused.
"We don't know what it is, some type of viscous substance. We managed to pump out most of it, but I believe that her system may have absorbed some of whatever the foreign substance is by the time she got here. Do any of you know what she might have gotten her hands on?"
"Kate doesn't do drugs," Dana snapped, "She barely even drinks a soda. She doesn't do drugs."
Seeing the doctor cringe at Dana's open hostility, Max's mind leapt to the worst possible scenario and went through the double doors before anyone could stop her. Searching through each room, Max heard the others slowly catching up to her as she finally found Kate lying in a dimly lit room all to herself. Sniffing the air around Kate, Max was repulsed by the familiar odor of Feral blood, remembering the brackish substance from her fighting in the woods outside town. Drawing back a couple steps, Max let Chloe's open arms wrap her up as the doctor looked at her with a look of mild irritation before reluctantly leaving the four visitors a brief moment to see their sleeping friend. Dana nearly fainted from the sight of a scarred, unconscious Kate, Juliet holding onto her as they took one more moment to look at Kate before leaving the room.
Max gingerly left the comfort of Chloe's embrace to walk over to stand beside Kate's bed. Looking down at her wounded friend, Max felt herself begin to cry and quickly wiped the few drops of blood away with a sleeve from her shirt. Max nearly jumped when Kate's eyes flashed open and she looked over in Max's direction.
"M-Max…?" Kate asked groggily, "Max…I'm so hungry…"
"Uh, I'll go get a candy bar or something," Chloe said as she left Max and Kate alone in the room.
"Shh, Kate. You need to rest," Max said, cupping Kate's cheek affectionately, "Just…Kate, what are you doing?"
Max looked at Kate quizzically as the bedridden girl sniffed at Max's sleeve. Licking her lips, Kate spotted the few droplets of blood that were soaked into the sleeve of Max's shirt and began to lightly suck at them. Pulling her arm back with a jerk, Max looked at Kate with a mixture of horror and revulsion. Seeing the look on Max's face, Kate became crestfallen as she realized what she had just done.
"Oh God, why did I do that?" Kate asked in horror, and Max feared that her friend might go into shock.
The pit in Max's stomach twisted as something crossed her mind. I've never seen or actually been told what happens when a human lives after drinking vampire blood. Is this what it is, a hunger for the stuff? Max watched as a cut across Kate's left cheek became mottled for a second before starting to heal. It looked like it was suddenly infected, and now it's closing up. What the hell is going on? Max stood still for a moment before cautiously putting a single finger in her mouth. Lightly biting down, Max felt a slight pinching sensation as she broke her own skin. Max slowly moved her cut finger towards Kate, her suspicion growing as Kate's attention snapped towards the small drop of blood forming on the tip of Max's finger. Pulling the finger back, Max's worst possible outcome came to fruition as Kate lunged for her bleeding finger.
"Oh my God. Nonononono," Max said as she stepped back from Kate, watching as the girl came back to her senses slowly, Kate beginning to cry as she again realized what she had just done.
"Max, what's happening to me?" Kate asked, a tremor in her voice.
"I…I don't know, Kate. I really don't," Max said in complete shock.
"Am I…am I a vampire or something now? No, that's stupid. There's no such thing, right?" Kate asked, sounding desperate as she tried to rationalize what had just happened.
"Right. No such thing," Max blurted out. Smooth, dumbass. Also…awkward, "It's probably whatever you swallowed down, messing with your head or something. Just relax, okay? I'm going to see what's taking Chloe so long."
Max walked slowly out the open doorway, speeding up her pace as soon as she felt she was out of Kate's sight. Oh shit, oh fuck, oh fuck! Chloe, where are you? I fucking need you right now! Max spotted Chloe after a minute or so, trying to shake a candy bar loose from the vending machine she was standing in front of.
"Forgot to bring change," Chloe side with a grin, trying to tilt the machine back and forth, "Care to lend a helping, super-strong hand?"
Max shoved the machine with enough force that a few candy bars smacked against the display, looking at Chloe with an intense expression.
"Max? What's wrong?" Chloe asked, realizing that something was very wrong.
"She wanted my blood, Chlo. I watched her suck at the few drops I had wiped off my face with a sleeve," Max gasped in a low tone, "I pricked open a finger and she lunged at me, then got all confused after a moment. I think she was given the blood of a Feral."
"Uh, what?" Chloe said, stopping halfway with her acquisition of the candy bars Max had helped her liberate, "Those things that you fought outside town? She drank their blood? So…so she's a vampire-"
"No. No, she's not. She's still alive, still has a pulse. I think…I think it makes her crave it now. I watched one of her wounds get all infected for a moment only to suddenly heal up," Max said in exasperation, the image of Kate sucking at her blood making her mind reel, "I'm afraid, Che. What if…what if she needs it from now on, like I need blood? What if she needs to feed from a vampire?"
"Then, uh, she can have a drink from her Max-sized juice box?" Chloe said, trying to inject some humor in the situation.
"Not the time for jokes, Chloe."
"I know. It's just…what the fuck, Max?" Chloe pulled her beanie off and scratched at her hair, "Like, what the actual fuck?"
After taking a moment for both of them to calm down, Chloe walked into Kate's room to drop off her small collection of candy. Saying that Kate needed to get some rest, Chloe left the room as Kate watched her go in befuddlement. Grabbing Max by the arm on the way out, Chloe blurted out "Later" to Dana and Juliet in the waiting room before exiting the hospital. Both girls walked to the truck so fast they were nearly running by the time they got to the vehicle. Max felt absolutely dejected, looking down at her feet from inside the truck as Chloe took a few deep breaths before starting the vehicle.
What if she does need to feed now? Max thought as Chloe drove them through Arcadia Bay, Am I going to have to feed her? Oh Dog, am I going to have to tell her I'm a vampire? 'Oh, hey Kate. I'm undead and you might need my blood to live. Do you want it in a Styrofoam cup to go or fresh from the vein?' Ew, fucking felt Chloe's hand reach over and touch her leg affectionately as she shuddered at the idea of Kate latching onto Max's arm with her mouth. Focus on something else, focus on something else, focus on some-fucking-thing else…
"I need to focus on something else," Max blurted out, thought giving way to spoken word, "Give me something to think about."
"Alcohol," Chloe said, her voice one of exhaustion.
"Not now, Chloe," Max said, "Something that won't mess both of us up."
"No, dude. We are going to get hella trashed when we get home. Or, I am. Too much 'wham-bam-thank you, ma'am' for one night. I need to hardcore bake or something that will make all this fade out for a hot minute," Chloe said, shaking her head, "Kate's a…well, what the fuck is she?"
"I have no clue, Chlo, like zero in the way of knowledge regarding this type of crap," Max said, putting her hands to her face as she tried in vain to rub the shock from herself, "Maybe she'll be better by morning?"
"You hope."
"I really freaking do."
Max pulled out her phone as a thought came to her. Opening up her list of contacts, Max selected the one marked "Stephen" and began to type.
Max: SOS
Stephen: ?
Max: need halp
Stephen: ok what's up?
Max: have a prob, epic prob
Max: human friend ingested Feral
Max: wtf do I do?
Stephen: …oh shit
Stephen: Don't let them drink anymore! Their body will become dependent on it!
Max: What about a drop of mine?
Stephen: How much is a drop?
Max: she…she kinda licked at some blood on my shirt sleeve.
Stephen: Jesus Christ, Max, don't fucking let her have any more
Stephen: I'll see if Maeve knows anything
Stephen: email u later. Keep her away from the blood!
"Who you texting?" Chloe asking as Max pocketed her phone.
"A friend from awhile back. From Ireland," Max said, "He was one of the people that showed up that night for the fight."
"Oh. Uh, good news? Bad news?" Chloe asked, frowning for a moment before turning into a grimace as she glanced over at Max.
"I don't know. He's going to talk to Maeve, his sister, and let me know if there's any long-term issues. For now, we just have to keep her from drinking any more vampire blood. Maybe all blood, I dunno," Max said, looking down at her healing fingertip before nearly colliding with the dash of the truck. Max looked over at Chloe to see the other girl staring out the windshield.
"Max! Look!" Chloe said, jutting her chin out as she pulled over to the curb. Max snapped her head forward to see what Chloe was staring at.
Standing a block or so away was a figure in tattered clothing. Long-haired, their face was obscured by shadow save for sickly yellow eyes that glared across at the truck. Max stiffened for a moment before she popped out her fangs in sudden anger. Feeling a hand clamp on her arm, Max looked over to see the concern on Chloe's face.
"Let me go, Chloe," Max said, her vision shifting as her irises began to glow with a violet hue.
"Max, we're in the middle of town. What the fuck are you going to do, announce yourself to the entire world?" Chloe asked in a steely tone. Fucking voice of wisdom. Bizarro Chloe in Bizarro World. Ugh.
Max held her hands up, but refused when Chloe told her to retract her fangs. Max pointed at the now-fleeing Feral and told Chloe to follow it. Chloe nudged the truck forward with a small push on the gas pedal, moving forward at a crawl as they watched the Feral sniff around like it was looking for something. It took a moment before either girl realized that they were heading in the direction of the apartment. Max rolled her window down and detached Chloe's hand from her arm, leaping out of the moving vehicle as they entered the abandoned part of town in which they lived. Her jog turning into a run, Max made a beeline for the shambling creature as they both rounded the corner across the block from where the apartment was located.
Max grabbed the collar of the Feral's tattered shirt and lifted her leg up in a sharp kick, sending the Feral sprawling a few feet forward. Crawling back up, the Feral spun around to crouch at Max. Face mostly obscured by matted hair, the blackened gums and yellowed teeth were bared in a hideous grin as the Feral leapt at Max. Careful to avoid its teeth, Max grabbed it by the wrists and set another kick into the creature, connecting with its midsection before throwing it by the wrists across the street. Looking quickly from side to side, Max took a moment to feel gratitude at the fact that this part of Arcadia Bay was mostly boarded up before running across the street towards her building in pursuit of the creature. Hearing Chloe's truck squeal to a halt behind her, Max sprinted forward to catch up with the creature. Grabbing a handful of its hair, Max let out a low growl as she spun it around and threw it into a boarded up window on the first floor of the building where her apartment was. The flimsy board breaking easily, Max followed after the creature, her vision starting to turn into a red haze at the violation of her friend and her home by this…thing.
"I'm going to fucking split you in half, then in half again," Max uttered as she began to stalk the whimpering mass of tattered clothes and hair, kicking it in the side as it made to scramble away. Hearing a groan escape its lips, Max grabbed it by the hair and dragged it across the empty floor and back out the window. Max heard Chloe approach, and hesitated for a moment as a realization hit her. She saw me hunt a bear and was kinda freaked. What will she do if she sees me rip this thing to shreds? Pausing in mid-stride, Max took a second to collect herself only to watch in horror as the creature started to scramble towards the approaching Chloe. A loud hiss instinctively escaping her gritted teeth, Max's eyes lit up like fire as she sprinted at the thing that was nearing her beloved, grabbing it by the throat and tossing it against the adjacent building with enough force that a dull crack could be heard as its skull connected.
Max looked over at Chloe, the other girl trembling with her shotgun raised to fire. Forcibly retracting her fangs, Max gazed at Chloe with bright violet eyes.
"Is that for me?" Max asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"N-no," Chloe said, lowering the shotgun as she looked in shock at Max, "I-I've never seen you like this, Max. Holy fuck."
Max took a moment to give Chloe a quick, but tight, hug. Turning her attention to the creature twitching on the ground across the alleyway, Max lifted it up by its hair so that she could see its face. Skin mottled, eyes sunken in and yellowed, Max thought that it might have looked beautiful once as they hissed at each other. Max's attention was so focused on killing this threat to her friends, to Chloe, that she almost didn't ear Chloe cry out in horror. Hearing Chloe run over to her, Max looked behind her while still clutching onto the creature.
"What is it?" Max asked. Aside from a lot of things.
"T-t-that's…" Chloe said, falling to her knees as tears began to stream down her face. Puzzled, Max looked at the creature's face and then back at Chloe.
"Chloe…?" Max asked, confused.
"…That's Rachel. Rachel Amber."
Author's Note – Boom. *midcrop* I told you that there would be changes in the status quo. I told you I was coming for your feels. I chose to have Max deal with post-traumatic stress because it is a very real thing in my life and also because Max has been on the move almost constantly for three years. All the things she has seen and done have been pushed to the back of her mind, so now that she is no longer running it makes sense that all the trauma she endured would emerge. Max is struggling with parts of herself that she won't accept with parts that she wants back, creating a situation where she's fighting off-and-on with Chloe as well as herself.
The twist at the end, huh? I had originally planned for earlier, as soon as the junkyard scene with the twins, before I realized that I could play this story out in a different, longer-reaching scope. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and its revelatory ending as much as I did writing it. What's to come, what's to come? *wink*
Read, review, and I'll see you in 12!
Stay hella!