Chapter 5: School and other problems

October 17th, 2008

Dear journal, I always asked myself what has been going on inside of Chloe after she'd lost her dad. And I think that I've got a glimpse now. Since my parents left for Seattle I feel an inner emptiness, like a part of me is missing. I was crying for hours after they left, and for the next two days I kept on crying regularly, especially when I was on the phone with my mom. But Chloe was there for me. She comforted and tried to distract me as much as possible and it helped a bit, but...

I don't know, everything feels wrong. Being apart from my parents: wrong. Leaving Chloe alone: wrong. Telling Chloe about my visions: wrong. These stupid feelings: wrong. Everything just sucks! Damn, and now I'm crying again. Shit, I just can't...

October 18th, 2008

Hi Journal, it's me...again. Had another stupid breakdown yesterday. I just hope that it won't become a common thing. Maybe my head just needs some time to process everything, I mean, so much happened these last few weeks and it is hard to wrap it all up. Anyway, I borrowed one of Joyce's Yoga-meditation-stuff-books and try to use some techniques to calm down, hopefully it'll work.

Let's see, what else happened? Oh yeah! I moved into the guest room (very much to Chloe's displease), because my parent's were very adamant about that I need my own space and I think they're right. I mean, try to do some homework while Chloe is jumping up and down beside you like a puppy, because she wants your attention. One answer: fail. No, I think it's a wise decision and truth to be told, I want to be alone from time to time. Sorry Chlo, but this girl needs some space!

See! There she is again! I can't even write in my fucking journal for 5 minutes. *insert groan here and sorry for the curse* But honestly though, it is still cool to live with Chloe in one house! Max Caulfield, signing off.

P.S.: I tried to bring up the kiss once or twice (when I wasn't a chicken), but every time Chloe just changed the topic. Looks like she really just fulfilled her dare and that's it. It makes me kinda sad, but also I'm happy that everything is back to normal, or is it? I don't know. I start to hate these stupid feelings! Maybe I should just ignore them, which would be the best way.

October 19th, 2008

Wowser! Yesterday evening a package from my parents arrived, packed with some of my important stuff that was already in Seattle. And guess what else was in it: a brand-new Laptop! Yes, a new Laptop! Can you belief it? My dad said that it would've been way more expensive to ship my old desktop PC (obviously exaggerated) and boom, new tech. Chloe was soooo jealous! Need...to...test...it...now.'

But first things first! Tomorrow, school starts for me and Chloe again...after a 3 week vacation. I think I could fill whole pages with my groans here, but that would be a waste. Just to catch up all the missed stuff is gonna be a pain the butt and a buttload of work! Let alone that I have to see Jasmine Graves, the über-bitch of Junior High, again. I bet a million Dollars that she's gonna bully me the first thing she sees me. Thank dog that Chloe's at my side to fend off the evil! Let's just hope the best. Max Caulfield, going to bed now. Good night, ol' journal.

A constant and loud beeping noise woke Max from her deep slumber. Still half asleep, she reached for the clock and with a groan she threw it into the next corner, turning the beeping into a clattering sound of bits and pieces. 'Shit, now I need a new alarm clock. Joyce won't be happy about it. Ugh!'

With another groan she turned to the other side and tried to fall asleep again. As, suddenly, her room door is opened and Chloe stormed in.

"Wakey, wakey, Maxi!" the blonde cheered, jumping on Max's bed and shook her like crazy.

"Weave me awone, 'loe." she mumbled into her pillow as she covered her face with it.

"C'mon sleepyhead, mom made breakfast and we need to move if we don't wanna be late." Chloe said, got off the bed and pulled away the covers.

Max shrieked and rolled into a ball as the cold air hit her warm body. "Jeez Chlo, it's freezing!"

"Then get your ass in gear to warm up!"

The brunette girl threw her pillow at her friend, missing her only by a few inches. "Missed!" Chloe snickered as she left the room.

Slowly Max struggled herself into a sitting position, took her instant camera and made her daily morning selfie. The picture emerged from her cam and as always, she looked at it with distaste. 'Still looking like shit. Wow, I have such a high opinion of myself. Thanks, oh dear bullies, for giving me such an amount of self-esteem!'

"Are you still in bed?" Chloe asked her friend as she entered the room again, this time fully dressed in some black jeans and a white t-shirt.

Max got up her camera to shoot a picture of her friend, but almost dropped it as she gazed at her. "Chlo, what happened to your hair."

Ruffling through her short blond hair, Chloe smiled wryly. "Oh this, I...uhm...I cut my hair short last night. Y'know, change of style 'n stuff. You like it?"

Max gulped and her heart was going faster. 'Okay, Chloe looks really cute with short hair...of course I meant cool.' she thought. 'I need to go to a barber today, because I hate these stupid long hairs...or I let Chloe do it. She did a great job with her own hair, so, why not?'

"Looking great! Uhm...is it possible that you...I mean..." she started, brushing through her messy long hair.

A mischievously smile formed on Chloe's lips as she understood what Max was about to ask. "Do your hair? Sure! But it has to wait until after school, because we need to hurry now."

Chloe went down the stairs, while Max walked into the bathroom like a zombie. The brunette girl closed the door, stripped off her pajamas and started her morning ritual by looking at her freckled body in the mirror. "Ugh, ugly!" she just mumbled as suddenly the door flew open again and Chloe walked in without any second thoughts.

Shrieking again, Max tried to cover her body as much with her thin arms as possible, turned around and started to yell. "Dammit Chloe, I'm naked! Get the fuck out!"

As Max received no answer, she looked over her shoulder, only to see that Chloe was stunned, blushed and staring at her. "Y-yeah...s-sorry. J-just n-needed some...uhm..." she stuttered, grabbed a pack of tampons and left the bathroom faster than she'd entered it.

Completely blushed from head to toe, Max still stood there. 'What was that? I mean, yes, we already saw each other naked. Gosh, until two years ago we even bathed together and I was just surprised by her sudden enter, but why was she staring at me? She never did this before. Either way, it was embarrassing and in future I need to lock the door.'

After she'd showered and dressed herself in her common blue jeans, a pink t-shirt and a grey hoodie, Max went downstairs to join Chloe and Joyce having breakfast.

"Morning, sweetheart!" Joyce said with a warm smile.

"Hmm, morning." Max mumbled, sat down and began to eat her ham and eggs.

Both girls didn't look or talk to each other, which made Joyce curious, because it was very uncommon for both of them. "Okay girls, what's going on? And don't tell me that you two don't understand each other anymore."

Chloe and Max gave each other a short glimpse. "No, we...uhm...we just had a stupid situation up there and...and...ugh, it doesn't matter, okay?" Chloe said with some agitation, stood up and left the room.

"Care to fill me in?" Joyce now addressed to Max, clearly more puzzled than before.

The small girl sighed. "Chloe barged into the bathroom while I was naked, that's all."

"And that is a reason to act this strange?" the blonde woman said with a raised eyebrow.

Now Max was the one acting agitated, standing up too. "How should I know? I'm not her. I have my own stupid problems!" With these words, Max left the living room, walked to her room in a bee-line, grabbed her stuff and then knocked at Chloe's door. "C'mon Chloe, time to go, you can sulk later."

The door opened rapidly and Chloe walked past Max, her backpack on her shoulders and her skateboard under her arm. "Yeah, let's bail." was everything she said.

The weather was sunny, but the coldness of the nearing winter dominated the temperatures. The two friends were on their way to school. Max by foot and Chloe on her skateboard, rolling slowly beside the brunette girl. Both wore thick jackets and Chloe additionally a beanie.

"Uhm...about the thing that happened earlier..." Chloe began with a slightly nervous voice.

"Chlo..." Max interrupted her. "...it's fine. It was an accident and we both were surprised. I'm even sorry that I yelled at you."

"But..." the blonde tried to continue, but suddenly Max stopped in her tracks and gazed sternly at her friend.

"No buts, Chlo. It...was...an...accident." the brunette said and looked deeply into Chloe's deep blue eyes, touching her arm. "Listen Chloe, the last few weeks were just crazy; so much shit happened. I-I just want everything to be back to normal, okay?"

The taller girl nodded, but seemed to be a bit disappointed. "And the important stuff you wanted to tell me in the park? Is that counting as 'not normal' too?"

This time, Max was the one who nodded; her eyes began to well up. "Chloe, I'm scared! Actually, I'm scared shitless, because I'm afraid that I might lose it. For now, you're everything that holds me together!" she said and embraced Chloe into a tight hug, starting to sniff.

Chloe stroked her friend's head, trying to calm her down. "I'm here, Maxi! Don't be afraid, I'm not leaving you!" They broke the hug and Chloe wiped away a tear from Max's cheek. "You're right. The last three weeks were really fucked up. Now, let us leave them behind and move forward...together!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Maxine Cockfield and her pathetic watchdog Chloe. I thought that your sorry ass was supposed to be in Seattle by now?" a voice mocks viciously from across the street.

While Max wiped away the tears with her sleeve, Chloe just rolled with her eyes in annoyance, knowing who just said those mean words.

'Great, the day hasn't even started and I already have to deal with my nemesis. Now I wish someone would've taken my bet.'

"Nope, her sweet behind stays right here, but aren't you supposed to let your fat ass get licked by one of your cronies and keep on failing as a cheerleader?" Chloe responded as she and Max turned their gaze towards a chubby girl with curly black hair in way too expensive clothes, who was flanked by four other girls.

'That was a good one, Chlo! Jasmine Graves is the daughter of Arcadia's second richest family and therefore she always thinks that she can do everything she wants, but she can't do shit. She's bad grades, tries every hobby someone else is good at and completely fails at being better. Her last failed try: cheerleading. Nobody dares to say it our loud...well, except for Chloe.'

Jasmine's face turned deep red as Chloe mentioned her two most hated topics: her weight and her failures. But then the most evil grin appeared on her face. "Hey Price, I heard that your dad took the shit. Seems like he finally got sick of your daddy issues." Her bitch-posse commented her statement with some snickers.

'Oh shit, that's not good!'

Max looked at her friend with concern. She knew that this topic was her weak-spot. Chloe's face was a mixture of pain and anger, her hands were clenched into fists. The smaller girl felt that she was either about to burst into tears or do go all berserk on Jasmine.

As Chloe was about to sprint to the other side of the street, something strange happened. Something that startled Max. Somehow she went into full autopilot, not able to control her next actions.

With an outstretched arm she held back Chloe, while her face showed the most agitated expression she ever had in her life and her blue doe-eyes became piercing daggers. "You are one to talk, miss daddy-issue! At least Chloe's dad was always there for her and didn't just send her some lousy text massage to her birthday while fucking his secretary at the same time." she shot back, referring to a wide-spread rumor about Jasmine's father.

"You take that back, right now!" Jasmine yelled, looking like a volcano ready to explode.

"Only if you take back what you just said to Chloe." Max responded, holding the black-haired girl's angry gaze.

Jasmine Graves now realized that she'd lost. Everyone was looking at her, anticipating her next move. If she would've given in to Max's demand, she would've admitted her defeat. If she would've just walked away, she might have stood her ground, but still had to accept that one of her victims back talked to her, and therefore scratched her reputation.

"Mark my words, Cockfield, you're gonna regret what you just said!" she spoke with gritted teeth, her voice full of venom. Then she flicked with her fingers and her posse followed her steps.

"Yeah, right!" the brunette girl scoffed, flipping her off. And as soon as they were out of sight, Max regained full control of her body again.

'Okay, what the hell was that? I mean, I went full badass on her, but why? I couldn't control it. It was like someone had taken over my body. Am I schizophrenic or such stuff? Either way, it creeps the shit out of me.'

Max's stretched out arm dropped to her side. She gazed at Chloe, who just stood there and stared into empty space, her cheeks wet from tears. "Sh-she made fun of my dad." the blonde girl whispered with a shivering voice.

"Not anymore, Chlo. I think we taught her a lesson."

Chloe embraced Max into another tight hug. "Thanks Max, you were so awesome! You stood up for me like…like…"

Max broke the embrace and looked into her friend's blue eyes deeply. "A real friend?"

The taller girl nodded and pulled her friend into a hug again, whispering in her ear. "Even more."

Max arrived at her classroom a few minutes before school began. As the brunette entered the room, she almost ran against a wall of loud chitchat emitted by all the present students. 'Haven't missed this at all.' she thought and tried to head for her seat in the back row in a bee-line, trying to be as invisible as possible, only to recognize that it was already occupied by an unfamiliar girl with long blonde hair.

'Great. I haven't been around for 3 weeks and my place is already taken by another person. Hmm, never seen her before. Maybe she's new in Arcadia?'

"Hi! Uhm…is this seat already taken?" Max asks the blonde girl shyly, pointing at the chair beside her.

At first, it seemed that the unknown girl hadn't noticed Max, but then she glimpsed at the brunette girl and shook her head.

Max took it as a sign to sit down and unpacked everything she needed for her upcoming class. After she'd finished preparing, she waited for the lecture to start, gazing at the girl beside her from time to time.

'She still hasn't said one word. Maybe she's afraid and lonely. Maybe she's a weirdo, but actually, I'm too. So, let's give it a try and talk!'

"I-I'm Max, by the way."

"Taylor." the blonde responded plainly, eyes fixed on the table.

'Well, better than nothing. At least I know her name now.'

"Hi Taylor, nice to meet you! So, are you new in Arcadia Bay?" Max kept on asking with a warm smile.

Suddenly, Taylor gave Max an evil look and almost yelled at her. "Why do you even care? I don't know you, so why should I tell you anything, huh?"

Max was startled by the sudden verbal attack, but managed to respond anyway. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry. You just seemed kinda lonely and lost, and I wanted to be polite, that's all."

Taylor sighed, averting the brunette's gaze. "I'm the one who has to apologize, not you. Look, I didn't mean to be rude, but I'm kinda over humanity today. But if you wanna know, yes, I'm new in town and so are you, am I right?" she said, now giving Max a wry smile.

"Actually, I've been living in Arcadia since I was born here. I just had 3 weeks off, 'cause my friend needed my help and stuff."

"Wow, catching up 3 weeks of missed classes just for a friend? That has to be a special friend then." the blonde said, clearly surprised.

"Yeah, my best and only friend." Max spoke, staring into empty space as she thought about Chloe.

'Jeez, I haven't seen her for a few minutes and I already miss her? Damn, I really need to get a grip of myself.'

"Max? Are you okay?"

Back in reality, Max gazed at Taylor, blushing a bit. "Y-yeah, sorry. I was just zoned out; happens now and then. Something you need to get used to…if you still wanna sit next to me."

The blonde girl just scoffed. "No wonder that they call you a weirdo." she spoke without any judgment or grudge.

"Hmm, that's kinda my reputation here. But how do you know? I mean, I wasn't around and people still made fun of me?"

"No, I just overheard some girls, talking about a Max and that she's a weirdo and such crap. But now that I know you, I actually think that you're a nice girl and not a weirdo or worse." Taylor said with a warm smile.

'Wowser, did she just gave me compliment? That is new, too. Gosh, I guess things will never be normal again. Ugh! Well, at least it's a positive change, so I'll take it and run!'

Before Max could give a respond, the bell rung and the teacher entered the room. All commotion died immediately and everybody took their seat.

The teacher coughed two times before he started. "Okay, last week we began to talk about the civil war. Let's start the lesson with some Q & A. I hope you learned some of the facts. Miss Christensen, why don't you start?" he addressed Taylor, who gasp out of surprise, but stood up nonetheless.

'Shit! A Q & A on Monday morning, that's tough. Let's hope that Taylor learned her stuff.'

"Well, let's start with a simple question. Miss Christensen, please tell me the exact date and the event, which started the war."

'Okay, this isn't that hard. April 12, 1861, confederate attack on Fort Sumter. Ugh, thanks mom and dad that I had to learn this stupid stuff to please your wish for better grades.'

Max glimpsed at Taylor from the corner of her eyes, just to see that the blonde girl stood there, not saying one word.

'Oh no, she doesn't know. If there'd be any way to help her…'

"Miss Christensen, I still wait for your answer." the teacher spoke impatiently.

An idea came abrupt into Max's mind. She secretly took out a pen and some paper, scribbling the date and the event on it. Then the brunette girl faked that she was looking for something, sliding her pencil case with the piece of paper to Taylor's side of the table. With a soft pat on her thigh, Max made her aware of it.

Taylor read Max's notes and answered the question. After she'd given the right answer, the blonde sat down again and gave Max a warm smile, mouthing her a "Thank you!"

"Finally!" Max groaned as the bell rung again, ending the history lesson. "Gosh, there's nothing that is more boring than history."

"Math?" Taylor added as they both packed their stuff.

"Nah, math just sucks. At least my next lesson is one of my favorites." the brunette spoke with a happy voice, walking out of the classroom.

"Yeah, the next one is my fav, too. I just love art. You can do what you want and like, and still get good grades." said Taylor, who followed Max.

"Are you talking about 'Modern Art'?" the small girl asked in awe.

"Of course. Wait, you chose this class, too?" the blonde responded as they reached the art-room and took their seats.

Max chuckled. "Obviously…Taylor, stop! Don't move!" she said, rummaged through her bag and brought forth her instant camera. The brunette girl changed her position a bit, adjusted the angle and took the shot. With a whirring sound the picture emerged from the camera. Out of a habit, Max shook it and waited for its development.

"Wow, an instant cam? Now you don't tell me that you're into photography, too."

"Yup, it's kinda my thing. But I'm not that good. Mainly, I do selfies and the one or other nature shot, but nothing special." the freckled girl noted, averting Taylors amazed glance.

Taylor snapped the picture out of Max's hand and lacked some words. The picture showed her in front of the classroom's window, enlightened by the sun which made her hair glistening like gold. "Okay Max, if this shot isn't perfect, then I don't know what it is. Dammit, you're a fucking talent!"

'What?! Another compliment from a person who I just met? Now it's getting creepy.'

"N-no, I'm not. Besides, the shot is only as beautiful as the model." Max said shyly and as she looked at Taylor again, she realized that the blonde was staring at her, blushing intensively. "Oh shit, that came out wrong. I didn't mean beautiful…I mean, yes, you are beautiful, but…uhm…you are a perfect model and…uhm…ugh!"

Max let herself fall onto the chair, burying her face in her hands, in order to hide her own blushing face and to hope that she might turn invisible.

Thankfully, the bell chimed again, signing the start of the next lesson. Max was just relieved and hoped that Taylor might forget this awkward moment.

"How's your portfolio coming?" Max asked Taylor, while they were both working on it.

Taylor leaned her head to one side, inspecting the folder in front of her. "Well, it's getting somewhere. But it would be better if my shots were as good as yours."

"Don't say that! Your pictures are great. You have a complete different style. So, technically, you can't compare them anyway." Max told the blonde, touching her shoulder reassuringly. "A-about what I said before…" the brunette girl continued.

Taylor dropped her pen, sighed deeply and then looked into Max's blue eyes. "Max, I know how you meant it and…" She exhaled deeply again. "You are the first person who ever told me that I'm beautiful…well, except my mom…so, thanks for the compliment!"

Both girls smiled at each other for a while, their eyes locked. With a cough, Max broke the gaze and they focused on their task again. "At least you are actually beautiful, I mean, look at me. I only say one word: freckles."

"I think your freckles are cute." Taylor responded, deeply in thoughts over her portfolio.

'Okay, that was compliment number three, and a very heavy one. Ladies and gentlemen, you've just entered the creepy-zone!' Max thought, while her heartrate increased. Now she was staring at the blonde.

Taylor stopped her doing immediately as she realized what she just said and gazed at Max with wide opened eyes and a blushed face.

And again, the ringing bell broke this awkward moment and both girls started to pack their stuff. "Uhm…Taylor, y-you wanna grab some lunch at the cafeteria?"

"I'd like to, but I'm already meeting with some girls in town, sooo…"

Max's heart dropped. "Oh…uhm th-that's fine. I'm meeting with my friend too. But I thought that maybe you two should get to know each other."

Taylor gave her a warm smile. "Sounds great. Maybe we should do that tomorrow. What are your next classes?"

"Chemistry and PE."

"Hmm, shit. I have English Literature and Physics. So, I guess we won't see each other until tomorrow."

"Seems that way." Max said with some disappointment as they left the room.

Suddenly, Taylor gave Max a hug. "See ya tomorrow, Max." she spoke to the brunette girl in a soft voice.

Max didn't know what to do or what to say, she just stood there and enjoyed the hug. Why she enjoyed it so much? She didn't know. "Y-yeah, see you tomorrow!"

Both girls parted again. Taylor gave Max a last warm smile and handed her a piece of paper, before she went on.

Max unfolded the paper and read the message. Here's my number. Text me! As the brunette raised her head from the paper again, Taylor had already disappeared in the crowd of students.