A/N: I am still alive!
~ViperTimeline: I'm so glad you're enjoying this! I'm sorry if it's Victoria's story that reminds you of yours, no one should go through anything remotely like that tbh. And thank you for the songs, I listened to all of them and they were so good! I love this kind of music.
~Afroman2580: Hi! Thanks so much for reviewing, I'm glad you're liking my story so far! I know I'm not the best when it comes to updating, life tends to come in the way a lot and I don't have a lot of free time to sit and write. I hope that's not to big a turn-off, though! I am planning on seeing this till the end, after all, however long that takes haha. Thank you again for reading and your kind words, I hope you like this next chapter!

11.

"I'm here! Sorry, I'm here!" Max came to an abrupt halt in front of a waiting Victoria. "I uh… may have overslept a little, I'm sorry," she explained sheepishly as she tried to not look like she had trouble catching her breath. Of all the times her lack of exercise had betrayed her body, this was the worst possible moment for it to do so. She braced herself for the undoubtedly harsh words that would be coming her way but was surprised, to say the least, by what she got instead.

"It's okay," Victoria simply shrugged giving Max pause for a second.

"O… kay…" Indifferent Victoria was not Max' favorite Victoria. "So… Should we get going? If we take the number 4, we'll probably be there in fifteen minutes." Max was about to make her way to the bus station when she realized that Victoria was not following. "Um… or we can… not take the number 4?"

"I figured we could walk." Had it come from anyone else, Max would have taken it as a simple suggestion. The way Victoria said it, however, it was obvious that she had made up her mind.

"Walk?" was all the brunette could say before being pulled by the arm to follow the taller girl. Max chuckled in her head. 'Twice in two days.'

"You're wearing Converse. You can walk there." Max found it impossible not to roll her eyes at the way Victoria had said the word "converse".

Fifteen minutes of either silence or Victoria being uncharacteristically agreeable and nice, and Max couldn't take it anymore. She had to know what had changed and she wasn't about to take no for an answer. She suddenly stopped walking and it took the blonde a full couple of seconds to realize that the shorter girl had suddenly disappeared from her peripheral vision. She stopped and turned around, only to find Max staring at her with her arms crossed over her chest. They simply stared at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to talk first but Victoria wasn't about to say anything.

"What's going on?" Max kept her voice as firm as she could. It dawned on her that she could never keep a strong, certain voice when in the other girl's presence. That would be something to think about later, however.

" We are going on. To the glass garden. Or at least we were; I hope you're not going to throw a temper tantrum right now, I won't stay here and watch you make a fool of yourself."

"Victoria, I'm serious," Max took a step forward and didn't miss the way Victoria's breath hitched ever-so-slightly in the back of her throat. "You're not being yourself," she continued. It was as much the truth as it wasn't. Victoria knew that, to Max, she wasn't being herself but, in all honesty, this was the first time in a long while when she was truly being who she was. The brunette sighed when she got no answer. "Did something happen?" Silence. "With… With your mom?" she tried again and this time she knew she hit the nail on the head as Victoria's whole demeanor changed right in front of her, her eyes growing wide and cloudy, and her skin turning an ashy white.

"Everything's fine, Caulfield. Stop sniffing around for clues, you won't find any." Max didn't miss the way Victoria avoided eye contact or how she had clasped her hands in front of her. She couldn't help but wonder when she had become so observant but figured this would have to wait for later introspection.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" She took a tentative step towards her classmate. "Like… actually talk to me. And I'll listen. I'm good at it, too. Listening, I mean." She felt a wave of heat rushing up to her cheeks at how awkward this was making her feel, but it was too late to turn back now.

Victoria nodded faintly before letting her eyes finally land on Max'. "I know," she muttered and Max felt a small smile forming on her lips. At least her efforts hadn't gone to waste. And she knew that Victoria was "good at it" too. She had helped Max in her time of need and the brunette had done the same in return. It seemed like all the two would do lately was to sit and hear the other vent. Did that solve any problems? Not really. Max still felt like she couldn't breathe sometimes and she would still cry herself to sleep whenever Chloe's face would pop in her mind, and Victoria… Well, Victoria obviously had her issues as well, but it helped. Knowing that there was someone there to listen and to provide a shoulder to cry on or a hug or even a joint and an old but surprisingly soft blanket that smelled of lavender helped both of them move forward.

"Come on." Max, who had now taken a few steps forward and closed the gap between them, grabbed Victoria by the hand and led her to a nearby bench. The taller girl ignored the slight tingling sensation that shot through her entire arm at the gesture, rolling her eyes at herself for being so hopeless that even a little bit of innocent hand-holding could make her feel this way.

"It's nothing I'm not used to, it's not even worth mentioning, to be honest," Victoria said after a couple of moments of mostly awkward silence which only got worse with Max' eyes staring expectantly at her, urging her to talk.

Max groaned quietly and rolled her eyes. "It is if it's making you act this way," she stated but immediately regretted it seeing how Victoria looked at her.

"So me being actually nice is weird to you," it was more of a statement than a question.

"That's not what I meant…" Max gulped at the sight of Victoria's eyebrow arching as she looked at her. She wasn't really sure why she felt like she had to apologize and to explain herself to the other girl. "I'm just- well, not used to you being so… agreeable?" she tried again with an awkward smile. "I know I don't have a special blanket or weed, but come on. Tell aunty Max what's bothering you." This coaxed a snort from Victoria, making Max' eyes light up slightly.

Victoria eyed her curiously, obviously trying to put her thoughts in order. "Well, aunty Max ," she teased and chuckled at the red hue that was suddenly adorning Max' cheeks, "let's just say that life in the Chase household isn't exactly... ideal. There's a reason I wasn't too excited to come back here." Max actively tried to stop herself from probing further and let Victoria say as much, or as little apparently, as she wanted, but her natural curiosity was hard to beat. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from letting an avalanche of questions tumble out of her mouth. "I can practically see the cogs in your brain turning," came Victoria's quiet voice a second later. "You may as well go ahead and ask now." With every passing day, Max was becoming more and more certain that the girl next to her could read her mind. And, given everything, she wouldn't be too surprised if it turned out to be true.

"Does it have anything to do with how you introduced me as Maxine to your mom?" she tried. For someone who was pretty much incapable of reading other people, she had been surprisingly perceptive lately.

Victoria nodded. "I called you Max when I told her I had to work on a school project," she explained. "She thought you were a guy," Max could hear a hint of something in the girl's voice that was strangely similar to embarrassment, "she wouldn't be too happy to know that Max is actually a girl…" It took a moment for the brunette to put two and two together, her eyes growing wide when she did.

"Your mom would think we're…"

Victoria nodded. "She thinks being gay is the worst thing in the world, like God is punishing her for something. At least that's what she's said over the years. The funny thing is, I'm not even a lesbian." Max felt her throat dry at that particular statement as she stared into the green eyes of her classmate.

"But you…" she began but the words died before they had the chance to leave her mouth. "We… You're not?"

Victoria shook her head 'no' this time and Max felt like crying. Or screaming. Or both. "Pan," the blonde simply stated. "Of course that's as good as being the biggest dyke there is if you're my mom." She saw Max blink in confusion. "She… caught me with a girl back when I was fourteen," she decided to elaborate. "Gave me the whole 'you're a disgrace of a daughter' speech and then told my dad who- well, he didn't react any better. It didn't matter that I explained to them that I was still attracted to guys, in their minds I was a vile, unnatural human being." She raised her shoulders at her last statement, as if to show she didn't care, that it didn't matter or that she didn't feel hurt by it.

"You like guys?" Max found herself asking before she could stop herself and Victoria chuckled quietly.

"Out of everything I just said, that's what you wanna know?"

"Sorry… That- That was rude." Max laughed awkwardly, her hand scratching the back of her neck as she spoke.

"I like… people, I guess." Max couldn't keep back a snort at that statement, something that made Victoria laugh in return. "Or I don't. I'm not much of a people person."

"Yeah well, no shit." Max felt a playful slap on her shoulder and she wasn't sure if it was meant to be as painful as it was.

"Look, it's not about whether someone is a guy or a girl or both or neither, I don't care about that."

"I know what pan is," Max laughed and rolled her eyes.

Victoria laughed softly. "What about you?" she asked in a serious tone a moment later. "Who do you like?"

"I don't know…" Max raised her shoulders as a soft pink color took over her face. "I don't like putting labels on everything," she explained. She was well aware of her crush on Chloe ever since they were young and she had mentioned it in passing to her parents as well. No one ever made a big deal out of it so it just never came up again. She had crushes on cute skater guys over the years, and she wouldn't be ashamed to admit that she had admired more than a few pretty girls too, but nothing felt like what she would feel for Chloe. And that week they spent together only served to fan the idle flames. She was suddenly so lost in her thoughts of Chloe, she almost missed Victoria's lips moving as she spoke. Her voice sounded muffled and distant in Max' ears as she blinked some clarity back to her mind.

"...nts who understand."

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening…"

"Where are you off to? You keep spacing out on me." The blonde's tone wasn't accusatory in the slightest as Max had expected. On the contrary, she seemed to be genuinely interested and even a little bit worried.

"I was just thinking, sorry. What did you say?"

Victoria squinted, her eyes examining Max' own, but she dropped the subject a second later. "I said that it must be nice to have parents who understand."

Max nodded. "It's nice to have people around you who won't judge you… Speaking of parents," she continued after a short pregnant pause, "I've been informed that mine would love to have you over for dinner." She chuckled a little awkwardly and let out a sigh when she heard Victoria do the same.

"It's a little early in our relationship for me to meet your parents, don't you think?" Max, who had taken out a bottle of water and was in the process of gulping down large amounts of the cool liquid, squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the water suddenly sputter out of her mouth. She had half a mind to turn the other way at the last moment, saving Victoria from the admittedly disgusting shower she would get otherwise. "Holy shit, I'm just kidding Caulfield," she felt a hand patting her back firmly, helping her breathe again.

"Your timing is fucking terrible, Victoria," Max wheezed, water running down the side of her mouth.

"Depends on which end of the joke you're on. It was pretty funny for me," she laughed playfully as she dug in her purse for a packet of tissues she knew was in there. "I don't know, meeting parents is always so… awkward," she said, ignoring Max' pointed look as she handed her a tissue.

"Oh, come on, it's just food, Tori. You do eat, right? I mean… You don't just feed on other people's souls…?" She was left staring as the taller girl suddenly got up from next to her and started walking away. She wasn't sure if that was one of Victoria's games or if she had really taken things too far, though she didn't think she had.

"No food until we actually start on this stupid project!" Victoria half-yelled at her over her shoulder making her stand up, throw her bag over her shoulder and jog towards her to catch up.

"Please tell me you've seen my blue shirt." Max' footsteps rang around the house as she hurried down the stairs and practically burst in the kitchen. "The one with the polka dots on it," she explained, looking at her mother expectantly.

"That's not a very good choice for mid-December, sweetheart. It has short sleeves," the woman replied. "And anyway, I think I saw it in the laundry basket," she added before her daughter had the chance to protest.

"What? What is it doing in there, I haven't worn it in age. It's not dirty," Max groaned when she received no other answer than raised shoulders. She turned around and made her way back upstairs, muttering about how she had to find something else to wear now and how late it was already. Her mother chuckled.

"You can wear this, in case you still haven't found anything to wear." It was about fifteen minutes later when Vanessa made her way in Max' room, stopping dead in her tracks as her daughter's head poked from inside the closet. "What on earth happened here Max?" she asked as her eyes took in the sight in front of her.

"I have nothing to wear," Max complained, plopping down on her bed with a defeated sigh.

"Your entire wardrobe is on the floor…" The woman's words were mostly an observation and not aimed at anyone in particular. "Here, put this on, run a brush through your hair and clean this mess up cause I'm not doing it for you."

"Is this yours?" Max couldn't help but ask as she grabbed the shirt her mother had offered her. "I don't wanna wear something… Well."

"Something an old woman wears?" Vanessa joked. "Be happy I'm even letting you borrow this after seeing how badly you treat your own clothes, Maxine. I mean honestly…" she sighed. "You know, I've never seen you so… nervous about something like this. And god knows I've never seen you worrying about what to wear before. If I didn't know you, I'd think-"

Max felt her face flush as she got up and pushed her mother out of the room. "Yes, thank you mother, I really appreciate it, I am forever in your debt, however will I ever repay you?" she exclaimed dramatically. "And don't call me Maxine!" she practically slammed the door on her mother's face.

It was almost twenty minutes later when Max could be heard running down the stairs yelling "I'll get it," to no one in particular as she made her way to the door. It was still fifteen minutes too early, but somehow this didn't surprise her in the slightest. She paused with her hand wrapped around the doorknob to take a deep breath and compose herself, the last thing she wanted was to seem too eager, and she threw the door open a moment later.

"Hey," she greeted, mentally patting herself on the back for managing to not sound as awkward as she felt. She shrugged slightly under Victoria's examining gaze that traveled up and down her body. The blonde smiled slightly as their eyes finally met.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, not making a move to walk inside.

Max eyed her in confusion. "You're… fifteen minutes early…" she informed her as she moved to the side to let Victoria enter and reached out to take her cardigan.

"I make it a point to never actually be late," Victoria stated and Max blushed at the subtle accusation.

"Well, the food's not ready yet, as far as I know… We could go up in my room if you want?" her mind thought back to all the childhood memorabilia that was stored away in her room and, suddenly, she didn't know if that was such a good idea after all. "Or we could just hang out in the kitchen or the living room…" she tried lamely.

"Your room is fine, I suppose." Victoria sounded nonchalant as she walked around a little, curiously looking at every little detail of the area. The house, though definitely smaller than her own, seemed warm and welcoming. It gave off an air of familiarity and the blonde didn't know if she loved it or hated it for that.

"Mum's in the kitchen," Max informed a second later. "She's waiting to meet you."

"Well then let's not deprive her of that joy," Victoria chuckled. "Lead the way, Maxine." She smirked when Max rolled her eyes at the name.

The kitchen was just like Victoria had it expected to be. Where the kitchen in her house was big, and seemed sterile and impersonal, looking more like something you would see in a hospital, this one was small, cute even, full of warm colors and, Victoria was willing to bet, family moments and memories. And she was right if the pictures on the fridge were anything to go by. The sole occupant of the room, Max' mother as she had come to know, turned to look at the two girls with a beaming smile on her face.

"Victoria!" she exclaimed wiping her hand on her apron before reaching over for a handshake. "Hi, it's nice to officially meet you." Victoria was forced to stop thinking of how cliche this whole thing was and turn her attention back to the woman.

"Hello, Mrs. Caulfield," she greeted politely. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, call me Vanessa, darling. No need for such formalities." Victoria let out a laugh and nodded. "Max, why don't you two go up to your room? The food won't be ready for at least another half an hour."

"That's what we were about to do," Max nodded. "Oh, hey. Where's dad?" she wasn't sure if she wanted her father to meet Victoria just yet. Knowing him, he would make jokes about Max and try to embarrass and that was something that could wait. "The house feels unusually quiet," she joked.

"I sent him out to buy some wine. You drink wine, right, Victoria? We don't usually keep any around but I figured that would be the safest choice," her eyes turned to look at their guest.

"Oh sure, yeah. Thank you," Victoria smiled.

"Great! Now off you go," the woman ushered the girls away. "I don't want anyone clumsy in my feet," she said knowingly causing Max to groan.

"I'm… sorry. They can be a bit- much sometimes," Max began as the two made their way upstairs and into a room that screamed 'Max' from miles away. Victoria had to hold back a chuckle at how hipstery everything was. "And you haven't even met my dad yet…" she mumbled, shutting the door behind her.

"It's fine, I don't mind," Victoria sounded distracted. She was too busy taking in every detail of the room she was in and that only served to make Max feel exposed and self-conscious.

"So uh… this is my room…"

"No shit," Victoria rolled her eyes. "You might as well have written Maxine on the walls." Her tone was playful, knowing exactly what the next thing out of Max' mouth was going to be.

"Max. Not Maxine," the brunette stated, confused when she heard Victoria laugh.

"Oh shit," she said after a few more moments of exploring and Max turned her head to see what it was she had seen. "Is that fucking Final Fantasy Spirits Within?" Victoria had crouched down in front of the small TV and was eyeing Max' DVD collection which ranged from cheesy rom-coms to… well, Final Fantasy Spirits Within.

"Uh… Yeah? It's only one of the best sci-fi movies ever made!" she said defensively, blushing at the way Victoria was staring at her.

"One of the best sci-fi movies ever made…" the blonde mumbled as if trying to let the words sink in. "Have you ever seen like… Any other movie?" she asked a second later. "This shit was a technical milestone, sure, but its plot was nonexistent. The whole thing was so awkward." Max blinked, the only thing in her mind was the fact that Victoria had watched this movie; and she had a… not too great opinion about it too, apparently.

"It came out in 2001, Victoria," Max defended. She wasn't just going to stand around and listen to Victoria bash one of her favorite movies in her own house.

"And Alien came out in 1979, what's your point?" Max huffed in annoyance. She wasn't about to get in an argument with Victoria over this, but she would make damn sure the blonde knew she did not like her attacking one of her favorite movies. "Where's Paprika?" came the blonde's voice again as her eyes scanned the rest of the DVDs.

"Uh… What?" Based on the look Victoria just threw her, one would think Max had just offended her in the worst way possible.

"You don't…" she shook her head in disbelief. "You have no idea what I'm talking about," her eyes grew wide as realization came.

"I mean… I know of paprika?" Max' lame attempt to save herself was futile.

"I'm willing to bet money that you're talking about the spice right now."

"Am not!" the brunette's voice rose slightly as she once again tried to defend herself. "I'm… talking about the… movie…?" she wasn't even able to convince her own self, let alone someone else.

"Sure you are," Victoria rose to her feet and made her way towards Max. "I'll tell you what." She took a step closer. A couple more and it would be too close. Max averted her eyes awkwardly. "You tell me what Paprika is about…" One more step. Max could feel the waves of heat coming off from Victoria's body now. "...and I'll give you whatever you want in return." Max gulped. Loudly. She could have sworn Victoria had heard it as a small smile appeared on her lips.

"I uh… I…" It took Max everything she had in order to concentrate and for coherent thoughts, and yet this was the best she could come up with. She felt herself getting flustered and he cheeks going red as Victoria's breaths hit her lips. She was so close; too close.

"Knock knock." The door suddenly began to open and time sprang forward. The moment was gone as Victoria took a couple of steps back, leaving Max to deal with her uneven breathing and flushed face. "The food is ready, come on down when you're ready," Vanessa's head peeped through the half-opened door as she informed the two girls, seemingly oblivious to what was happening only a couple of seconds before.

"Saved by the door…" Victoria's voice had gone down an octave, Max was sure of it. "We'll discuss this later," she continued as she made her way to the door, her shoulder purposely brushing against the shorter girl.

The atmosphere was light and pleasant and Victoria, much to her surprise, loved every second of it. Max' parents, while they did make her feel somewhat jealous, they were good and open people, ready to include her as if they had known her for years. She supposed it did help that they had asked about every little detail of her life, however. Not even her own parents would ask so much about her, not that her parents were anything to go by. By the time Vanessa brought the desert, Victoria felt content and full; both physically and emotionally. She had to wonder if all parents were like this or if that was the exception to the rule hers seemed to always follow. The answer wasn't too hard to find, in all honesty, no matter how much she hated to admit it. 'Some people are just not fit to be parents,' that was the conclusion she had come to.

The girl had received a few questioning looks when her phone had begun ringing at one point and she had merely looked at the name on the screen, rolled her eyes and turned it with the screen facing down, but no one asked anything about that. Just like no one had asked anything about her putting the device on silent and shoving it in her purse after what had to have been the seventh call. She was always a little more tense after the calls, and that was when Mr. Caulfield, "call me Ryan, please", would mention yet another embarrassing story about Max' childhood, one that would make the brunette groan and blush but never failed to lighten the mood.

Soon enough, maybe even too soon for Victoria's liking, it was time for her to say her goodbyes. She didn't particularly want to go and it was obvious by the way Max' face fell that she wasn't too happy either.

"It was a pleasure officially meeting you, Mrs. Caulfield," Victoria smiled politely as she stood at the door, her eyes going from the woman to her husband who was standing next to her and finally to Max who was mirroring her smile. "Mr. Caulfield," she reached out for a handshake that the man didn't accept. Instead, he moved forward, his arms wrapping around the girl whose body grew stiff in surprise. She chuckled awkwardly as the man stepped back. "Merry Christmas if I don't see you again."

"Nonsense," came Vanessa's voice, "don't be a stranger, dear," she said laughing slightly at her husband's antics. "We would love to have you again." Victoria nodded, Max' parents taking that as their cue to move back inside, leaving the girls alone to say their goodbyes.

"Tonight was nice, Victoria," Max smiled. "Thanks for coming."

"Why so formal, Caulfield?" the blonde asked, her eyes suddenly darkening. She held back a laugh at how flustered Max immediately grew. It was too easy to mess with her and too much fun to stop.

"Uh… It- it was… I hope you enjoyed the food, I didn't really know what you would like… If you want-"

Victoria had to laugh this time. "Relax, Max. Everything was great, honest. You… you have a very nice family," she smiled. "I'll text you when we can meet up next for our project? You can pick the location this time." She loved seeing Max eye light up. "Anything but the gum wall," she quickly added as if knowing what the shorter girl was thinking, and, judging by the groan that immediately escaped Max' lips, that was exactly what she had in mind.

"But I love the gum wall…" the girl complained, but she knew Victoria would have none of it. "I guess I could pick another place, though…"

"I guess you could," Victoria nodded and both girls laughed softly. It was Victoria's turn to groan this time as her phone, which she had taken off the silent mode a little bit earlier, started ringing again. "Well, this is my cue to leave," she stated. She raised her hand to wave at Max and had to keep herself back from actually hugging the other girl. She really had to get that touchy-feely side of her under control, it was getting annoying. Max waved back with a smile on her face as she watched the taller girl walk away, phone in her ear and her tone harsh. She couldn't stop herself from wondering what was going on with Victoria as she shut the front door softly and walked back to the living room. She immediately blushed at the looks her parents were giving her from their place on the couch and she didn't even bother actually entering the room, choosing to make her way upstairs instead.

"I like her," she heard her mother's voice and her father's hum of agreement before she shut the door to her bedroom.

"I kinda like her too…"

A/N: Who said I can't do fluff? I did actually. I said I can't do fluff. But this one was kind of fluffy, right? Well, I did my best anyways xD So sorry for the extremely long wait, life finally caught up with me and with college and work and everything it was hard for me to find time to write. I hope this chapter is at least decent though! Thank you for reading and favoriting and following and reviewing! I'll see you in the next installment! ^^