A/N: So this took less than a month! I'm actually proud of that xD I kind of enjoyed writing this chapter a lot so I hope you guys enjoy reading it! Let me know what you think!
Also, a huuuge thanks to those of you who left followed and favorited, thanks, you guys!

7.

Nathan's funeral was nothing like Chloe's. There was no feeling of familiarity to it, no sign that the person they were saying goodbye to belonged to a happy, loving family. It wasn't for the lack of people, there were more people there than Nathan knew in his entire life; it was exactly because of how many people had attended. His father's associates were there, people who only knew of Sean Prescott and his version of his son. Not the disturbed child in need of help and support, but the poster-child for wealth and privilege. The prodigy with the spotless record and the almost perfect GPO who got into Blackwell Academy with a full scholarship. That was Nathan Prescott, heir to the Prescott "throne", not Nate. The Nate Victoria knew had deep-seated psychological problems, he was far from perfect and definitely far from what his parents wanted him to be.

Victoria sat there, in the front row, right next to an empty seat that she was told had been reserved for Kristine, Nathan's older sister, who had yet to show up. ' If she shows up…' she thought bitterly as she glanced at it and then turned her gaze to the rest of the church. Figured Nathan's parents would have "reserved" a seat at church.

Everything looked so sickeningly flawless, the girl felt as if she stood out like a sore thumb. Not that she hadn't done her absolute best to look the part, whatever her part was supposed to be, but she was beyond certain that she was the only one there who knew that nothing in that family was perfect. And she felt that anyone who looked at her could sense it too. She cleared her throat awkwardly and tucked some hair behind her ear as she turned her attention back to what was going on in front of her.

Focusing on Sean Prescott's words proved to be harder than she expected. He was talking about how much he loved his son and how much he would be missed and Victoria found it really hard not to roll her eyes, groan in disgust or even get up and leave that place altogether.

This wasn't what Nathan would want. He wanted to be cremated and his ashes thrown from the lighthouse. He had told her that during one of the nights they spent together in her dorm room, just smoking and talking, sharing their demons and their darkest secrets. It was the same night that she had told him about her crush on the then new girl Rachel Amber and he had cried because there was finally someone who wouldn't judge him for being attracted to guys as well as girls. And then she had cried because he had trusted her enough to share something that big and important with her. They had bonded over shitty parents and stolen childhoods and it hurt so much seeing him slip away more and more as each day went by.

Before she knew it, everyone began rising from their seats and, soon enough, they were all headed to the burial grounds for a final goodbye to someone they didn't even know. There was sadness in their eyes, but it was the kind you would feel when anyone this young would take their own life; it was obligatory.

Victoria, being the only one who actually knew Nathan and also the only one of the boy's friends who had been allowed by his parents to attend, knew she should probably make her way to the front, behind the Prescotts, but her feet were too heavy, her footsteps dragging her behind. She had wanted to say a few words in his memory, it was the least she could do, but the dirty look she had received from Sean Prescott had let her know that that was not going to happen.

She let her mind wander once again to the only other funeral she had ever attended in her life only a few months before and she felt a fresh wave of sadness rushing over her. She suspected that one of the reasons she couldn't stand Chloe was just how much loved the girl seemed to have been and still was. She didn't have to be perfect for people to love her, didn't have to overcompensate for anything, didn't have to be something she wasn't. She both hated and envied people who had the luxury to be themselves.

"Hey," she felt a hand on her shoulder that caused her to jump slightly in surprise. She turned around hastily at the sound of the familiar voice, her eyes growing wide and her mouth opening slightly in shock.

"Kristine," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "I wasn't sure you'd come," she continued in a hushed tone as she looked at the young woman in front of her in slight awe.

"It's my own brother's funeral, Vic… Of course I'd come…" She softly wiped away a tear from Victoria's cheek, making the younger girl curse softly. "It's okay, your makeup isn't ruined," Kristine joked somewhat awkwardly in an attempt to lift the mood a little.

Victoria chuckled despite herself. "I missed you," she said, sincerity flooding her eyes as she touched Kristine's hand that was still lingering on her cheek.

"I've missed you too, dragonfly." The sound of the old nickname made Victoria's breath hitch in the back of her throat. Kristine was about to say something more when her eyes fell on something over the blonde's shoulder making her stop and hastily pull her hand away, straightening her back. "Text me when you feel like it. We have a lot of catching up to do," she stated simply as she slipped a small piece of paper in Victoria's hand and walked away. The blonde turned around just in time to see Mr. Prescott looking at her with disgust and disapproval written all over his harsh features, but she couldn't care less what the man thought of her. She was done caring the moment she had found out just what kind of person the man was and that was not going to change any time soon.

Sighing softly, the blonde pulled out her phone and sent a text to the only other person she knew there. She had caught a glimpse of a familiar head of hair a while ago, but she couldn't bring herself to look at her, let alone to go over and talk. A text was as good as anything. Plus, knowing the person, it was very likely she would end up coming to her anyway. She heard the incoming text sound of the phone a couple of seconds after she had hit the send button and she turned her head slightly towards its direction.

Brown eyes quickly scanned the phone screen reading the message, and then looked around for the sender of the text. Victoria let a tiny smile appear on her lips as their eyes finally met and she received an awkward wave in return.

"Hi," the girl's voice was even raspier now than what it usually was.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Victoria commented quietly.

"Yeah, uh… I hadn't expected you to show up at Chloe's funeral either so… I guess this makes us kinda even…" Max rubbed the back of her neck, silently wishing for the conversation to take a better, less painful turn.

"What, are you paying a debt or something?" Victoria's voice came out harsher than she expected; she apologized a second later.

"Of course not, I wanted to be here. For Nathan… And for you…" she swallowed nervously. "I know that having to attend your best friend's funeral can be really tough, I thought you might need someone to talk to," she explained. "Or to blame…" she added quietly.

"To blame?" Victoria squinted in confusion. "I don't blame you, Max. Especially not you."

"But you do blame someone…" It was as much of a question as it was a realization.

Victoria nodded faintly, "I blame his parents, yes. I blame myself, but not you… Never you."

It was Max' turn to frown in confusion, "why would you- why would you blame yourself?"

"Because, Max! Why do you blame yourself for what happened to Chloe?" Max' breath hitched; she wasn't expecting this kind of answer.

"It's not the same thing," she muttered, her eyes downcast.

"No, you're right, it's not," bitterness was evident in the blonde girl's voice. "You didn't stand by while your best friend's life went to shit. I did. I watched him day in and day out losing himself and I did nothing about it," she took a deep breath and looked up in an attempt to stop the tears from escaping her eyes. She had promised herself she wasn't going to cry. "I thought being there when he needed to talk or to vent or whatever was enough," she continued with a sigh. "You didn't have the chance to save Chloe, and I know that's bad enough," she had no idea how deeply her words were cutting Max. "But I had the chance to save Nate, and I fucking didn't. I could have- I don't know, reported him or something, I knew he was selling drugs to people in this hellhole, I could've stopped him. And you know what I did instead?" Silence. "Exactly. Nothing. God, I'm so stupid." She turned her head away from Max, her eyes looking up once again. She wasn't quick enough to stop a single, lone tear from spilling, however.

Max could feel her head spin and her breath coming in short gasps; she could already sense the stampede of emotions running towards her. "You're not stupid," she mumbled, thankful that Victoria was still not looking at her so she couldn't see the color draining from her face and her eyes suddenly growing unfocused and cloudy.

She heard her classmate sniff quietly and her arm instinctively shot out, landing tenderly on the blonde's shoulder. Victoria stiffened at the touch for a moment, but soon relaxed and turned her gaze to the shorter girl standing in front of her. She slowly, almost as if uncertain, placed her hand on top of Max', enjoying the softness on her fingertips and was about to say something when-

"Victoria." Whoever was calling her did not sound happy. Victoria cursed under her breath and apologized softly to Max before turning around, her face betraying exactly how miserable she felt.

"Mr. Prescott," she greeted formally, her hands clasped in front of her and her back straight. Max had never met Sean Prescott before and she couldn't help but thank her lucky star for spending most of her life ignoring the man's existence.

Sean Prescott was by no means an intimidating-looking man. He wasn't particularly tall or muscular; not handsome or impressive in any way. Yet there was something about him, about his presence, that made a chill run through Max' spine. Maybe it was the way he had called Victoria's name. Maybe it was how Victoria's attitude seemed to disappear completely in an instant when she saw him, or it could have been the way his small, beady eyes had scanned Max up and down or how disgusted his face looked and how harsh his tone sounded now that he was talking to Victoria.

A few minutes passed when the conversation suddenly grew heated and Max did her best not to eavesdrop. She was rather unsuccessful, however, as the less than hushed voices easily reached her ears. She could hear Mr. Prescott blaming Victoria of caring only about herself, to which she clearly saw the girl trying to restrain herself, her knuckles white from how tightly she was clenching her fists. The blonde replied something to that that Max was unable to make out, but whatever it was, it caused both her and the man to turn and look at her. The frown that had immediately appeared on her face at the sight of Victoria's apologetic look was quickly overshadowed by the strange feeling of dread Mr. Prescott's gaze caused her. A second later, they both turned to look at each other once again as Max was left staring in confusion and worry. She wasn't certain how much time passed after that, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes when she heard Victoria raise her voice suddenly before turning around and walking away, her head held high and her stride as proud as she could muster.

"Meet me in my room at eleven. This is non-negotiable," she muttered as she passed by the brunette, giving Max no time to reply or even to think about what she had just heard. The taller girl threw one last look of disgust over her shoulder at Sean Prescott and continued walking away, the loud clicking of her heels fading.

Max had no time to relax as Mr. Prescott made his way towards her. The man audibly snorted at her before he too left, seemingly to talk to some of the people how were still there, leaving the young brunette to deal with the tangled, foggy mess that was her mind. 'What the fuck…?'

"Put this on." She had no idea how or even why, but at precisely eleven o'clock that same night, Max had found herself knocking softly on Victoria's door. Not only that, but Victoria had just thrown a dress in her face, one that looked way too tight and way out of her comfort zone. The blonde had mentioned something about the two going out, but she hadn't said much else about it, something that left Max both intrigued and kind of worried.

"Victoria…" she grabbed the dress from the floor and held it out in front of her. 'Nope.' "Listen, if you need to talk about… everything, you know you can do that." She carefully placed the dress on the bed and took a step away from it in an attempt to let Victoria know that she wasn't actually planning on wearing it any time soon.

Victoria let out an annoyed huff, "I don't need to talk, I need to drink," she stated as she grabbed something else from her closet. "And I'm not going to do that unless you get fucking ready so just put this on so we can go." It was a shirt that landed on Max' face this time followed by a skirt that she hadn't seen the blonde wear before.

...

Her hair was in soft, pretty waves and she was wearing makeup. Both courtesies of Victoria who had so skillfully made her look like a different version of herself. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she definitely didn't hate it. They left soon after the blonde had finished applying her own makeup. She looked flawless as ever and Max couldn't help but stare if only for only half a second.

They ended up leaving the campus grounds. With Victoria behind the wheel, Max had no clue what to expect. She had expected, or at least hoped, that they would stay on campus and they wouldn't have to drive anywhere. True, she wasn't aware of any Vortex Club parties going on currently, but she would never put it past Victoria or her posse to organize one in the last possible minute. Maybe in honor of Nathan's memory… Yes, that seemed like something they would do. Max knew deep inside, however, that Victoria would never take her to such a party. If she had proven anything to the brunette, it was that, despite her best efforts, she was neither heartless nor insensitive. There was no way she would make her attend a party thrown in honor of the person who had killed her best friend.

Max let her mind wander as she felt the cool air hit her face; she had her arm dangling outside of the window, enjoying the feeling of the wind around her fingers. It always brought back memories of road trips she had gone to with her parents. There were more memories that made their way in her mind this time, however. She wasn't exactly certain if 'memories' was the best term to describe them since she was the only one remembering them, but it would have to do. Memories of her and Chloe in her beat down van driving to the blue-haired girl's house for the first time after the incident in the school parking lot, them driving to the junkyard, them driving away from Blackwell that night they had broken in, both of them reeking of chlorine but neither caring in the slightest… Them reaching the bunker and, finally, them driving to the junkyard for the second and final time… So many memories she wished she could simply forget. She couldn't imagine living the rest of her life remembering things that had never happened. 'But they did happen.' She closed her eyes. 'They happened and they were real, everything was fucking real.' She cursed herself for wishing that she could wake up in the morning and remember nothing of that cursed week. She would never want that, she would never want to forget Chloe even if that meant she would have to live the rest of her life in pain. It would fade away eventually, she hoped. One day she was going to think back and be able to smile at how happy Chloe seemed to be when they were together. She was never going to be able to forget what happened, but she didn't mind; and she couldn't believe that she had let such a thought enter her mind in the first place, even for just a second.

"You okay, Maxine?" A firm hand shook her shoulder bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"We're here." The car had come to a stop in front of the only nightclub in Arcadia Bay. Max should have figured out that this was where they were going. "Are you okay? You spaced way out." Victoria actually looked concerned.

"I'm fine," Max replied hastily, "just thinking I guess."

Victoria nodded slightly, not pressing the subject further. "Come on, then. There's a bottle of Vodka in there with my name on it." With that, she unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car, leaving Max to do the same. This was not the brunette's idea of fun but she knew they both could use some drinks after everything that had been going on.

They had danced; together and by themselves. Mostly together. And Max had enjoyed it, she knew that much. And they drank. They drank a whole fucking lot. They even took a selfie together at some point, but Max couldn't remember much after that. At one point, they found themselves in the back of the club, a glass of Vodka in one hand and a joint in the other.

Max could feel her mind growing hazy, the telltale signs of drunkenness setting in for good. She didn't have much experience with drinking and her alcohol tolerance was definitely not as high as Victoria's who had drunk triple the amount she had and was now beginning to feel the familiar and most welcome buzz. It was quieter out there, the two girls could listen to one another without having to scream in each other's ear all the time. Not that they were saying much to begin with. It had to be more than twenty minutes since either of them opened her mouth to speak. The silence between them was easy and homey. Gone were the days Max would actively try to avoid being in Victoria's presence in fear of being on the receiving end of one of the latter's infamous verbal lashings. Victoria's jabs, though still there, felt different now, friendly even.

A few more minutes passed, and Max' drink was left forgotten on the steps next to her. The dizziness had faded slightly and she was all of a sudden more aware of her surroundings. She didn't mind too much as she was very well aware how bad she would end up feeling in the morning had she kept going. Victoria, on the other hand, showed no signs of stopping or even slowing down. She needed this, Max knew that, and Victoria always got what she needed. From her place on the steps, Max silently observed the taller girl who was standing in front of her, her head tilted back a little and smoke coming slowly out of her mouth. She looked like a character from a movie with the light falling on her just right and the girl wished she could take a picture to capture the moment.

"Take a picture, why don't you? It will last longer." Max froze. Victoria could read minds, there was no other explanation for this. There was a soft chuckle as the blonde made her way to the steps and took a seat next to Max offering her the half-burnt joint as she did so.

"Sorry," Max mumbled as she accepted the blunt. "I was just-"

"Thinking, I know." They both nodded. "Care to share? Or is it gonna make me blush?" It was not Victoria who ended up blushing.

"N-no, what? No, I wasn't thinking anything like that," she stumbled upon her words.

"Relax, Caulfield, I'm just teasing," Victoria laughed a little before suddenly growing serious. "Listen… I wanted to thank you. You've been amazing and I know you didn't have to. Coming to the funeral and then now coming here with me… It really means a lot. And I'm not only saying this because I'm drunk and high off my ass, you know. I really do mean it." Victoria smiled and Max could have sworn she felt the wind getting knocked out of her. She was so distracted that she failed to notice the taller girl slowly moving in closer. The only thing that managed to pull her from her daydreams was the feeling of a soft, ever so cold pair lips upon her own.

Red, flashing lights went off in Max' mind as she stiffened, her back straight, her eyes wide open and her arms slightly raised, as if ready to push herself away. It was slow and timid but it felt so right. Before she knew it, her lips started moving of their own accord and she felt herself melting into the kiss. Things grew heated and Max felt Victoria's tongue on her bottom lip. She didn't even think about not opening her mouth and soon enough they were both fighting for dominance. Victoria let out a small moan as she suddenly pulled Max on top of her, their lips never separating. The thought of actually straddling Victoria Chase had never crossed Max' mind before, but she had to admit it wasn't as unwelcome as she once thought it was going to be. She felt a hand traveling up to her cheek and another making its way under her shirt. This was moving too fast.

"You're drunk," Max whispered pulling her head away a little and she cringed internally by how turned on and needy she sounded.

Victoria huffed, her breath filled with the smell of alcohol and cigarettes, "so?"

"You don't want this, Victoria," Max tried reasoning with the girl whose right hand was now rubbing softly up and down her arm while her left rested on her cheek. She tried to ignore the heat pooling in the pit of her stomach as she half-heartedly pushed her classmate away.

"I know what I want," the blonde mumbled, her speech kind of slurred, but her eyes focused and determined.

"Victoria please, you-" she didn't have time to finish as the girl moved in for another kiss, already missing the contact. Max didn't reciprocate this time, however. She felt Victoria hesitate after a few moments at the lack of response and she heard her curse quietly as she gently pushed Max off her.

"Shit," her voice came out muffled as she rubbed her face with her hands. "Fuck, sorry. I… I don't know what I was thinking." She reached to her side where she had left her still half-full glass and swallowed its contents in one go. "We should go," she stated as she got up and dusted off her clothes. "It's getting late, we have class tomorrow." And just like that, all the walls that Victoria had let crumble were back up, even stronger than before. Max was left dumbfounded, staring at the blonde who was now digging through her purse for her car keys and cursing herself for making her feel bad about what she had done. While she found it amazing how quickly Victoria's attitude had changed, she couldn't blame her.

The blonde walked back inside the club and made her way to the bar, leaving Max to push her way to her a few seconds later, just in time to see her downing a shot. She paid for it, probably leaving behind way more money than necessary from what Max saw, and hastily walked off again, this time towards the exit, ignoring the annoyed yells of the people she was pushing out of her way. She was about to enter her car when she felt a grip on her arm.

"I'm driving," Max simply stated and extended her arm out for Victoria to hand her the keys. "You just downed a glass of Vodka and a shot, I'm not letting you drive," she insisted when the other girl showed to sign of even acknowledging her. Victoria let out a resigned and somewhat annoyed huff before shoving the keys into Max' hand and walking to the passenger side door.

The comfortable and familiar silence that was there before had vanished completely, making way for an awkward, heavy one that neither of the girls tried to break. Victoria spent the whole ride back to the dorms with her head pressed against the window, not sparing a single glance at Max whose eyes kept turning to her right, hoping to see even the slightest change in the girl's demeanor. She gave up after a long while and forced herself to focus on the road. It was when they had reached the dorms and they were climbing up the stairs to their rooms that Max couldn't take it anymore.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said, her voice low and apologetic and she heard Victoria's draggy footsteps slow down. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have shot you down like that…" she continued. "It's not that I didn't like it, cause I did, I really did. It's just… I don't wanna do it…" she saw Victoria stiffen. "Not like this. Not when we're both drunk and so emotionally charged. I don't want to be just a means for you to forget about your problems and I don't want you to be the same for me... We've been through a whole fucking lot, Victoria, and chances are we're gonna go through even more. I just don't want us to be fuck buddies just for the sake of it. It doesn't feel right…" She tried to explain as best she could. Victoria nodded and remained silent. For a couple of draining moments, Max was certain that this was going to be it, that Victoria was going to turn around go into her room and slam her door at Max' face. And that was going to be the last time the two interacted in any way.

"I get it," the blonde mumbled a second later, putting an end to Max' irrational thoughts. "I'm sorry for tonight, I know I shouldn't have done what I did and I had no right to act this way." She didn't give Max a chance to speak. "I'll see you around, I guess, Max." 'Why does it always feel kinda weird when she calls me Max?' "Night."

'Fuck…' was the only thing in Max' mind as she watched Victoria enter her room and close the door behind her before she turned around to unlock her own door, ready to face what seemed to be yet another sleepless night. And, this time, she only had herself to blame.

A/N: Again, I hope you guys liked this! Sorry of the more angst, I couldn't help it xD Let me know what you thought!