Chapter 2
Sliding her hands around the cup, Max welcomed the warm sensation from the cider. She couldn't bear to look up at Warren yet. She could feel her ears and cheeks burning from embarrassment. Warren actually suggested that she was interested in Chloe. 'I'm not even sure what I felt when I met her. I've never had that feeling for someone before.' *Sigh* "You wish, dork!", she quipped. Warren just flashed his cheeky smile and went back to his game, taking a quick gulp of his strawberry smoothie.
Max opened her mouth, about to change the subject, when her stomach growled angrily at her. 'Fuck! I forgot to order the muffin!', Max cursed at herself for her mistake.
'Well, at least I'll have an excuse to get to know her better!', she thought optimistically. "Hey Warren, I'm going to go get a muffin, want anything?", she asked him. "Oh, can't get enough, huh? I'm fine, thanks.", he teased. "Insert groan here.", she replied, getting up from the table.
She slowly headed downstairs, gripping the banister a bit harder than was necessary. As her foot stepped onto the bottom floor, Chloe welcomed her almost immediately. "Uh, hey Max! Do you, uh, want something?", she asked awkwardly. She was distressed about something. Max chalked it up to her new job. 'Must be stressful at a new job in a new job.' "Mhm! I'll have a ch-chocolate muffin, please." she asked. "One chocolate muffin coming up.", she replied, still sounding nervous.
She handed Max a slightly oversized chocolate muffin on a plate. As Max outstretched her hand to grab it, she saw that Chloe's hand was shaking, almost violently. "Chloe, are you okay?" Max asked, taking the plate and placing it on the counter. Chloe sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm just really nervous about not fucking up here. I can't afford to lose this job." "I understand that, Chloe. But you're doing a great job here! It'll get much better as time goes on. Try not to worry too much, Chloe. It's uphill from here.", Max said, trying to sound reassuring. "I sure hope it is, Max.", Chloe replied, sighing. "Thanks for that, Max. I feel a little better now, as least." "No problem, Chloe. Thanks for the muffin.", Max replied, smiling. She paid for the food, and headed back upstairs.
The rest of the time she spent in the coffee shop was fairly monotonous. Max spent a while talking about her favorite shows to Warren, and he responded by talking about his favorite video games. Occasionally she would just look out the windows, and stare for minutes at the mesmerizing snowfall. It was truly a beautiful time of year. She felt bad for Chloe. Max knew how hard it was to start a new job, especially when it's such a hard time to find open positions anymore.
*Ding!* Max's phone once again snapped her back into reality. Her alarm was going off, indicating that it was already 1pm. 'Wowser, that went by quick.', Max thought to herself. "Hey Warren, I'm going to go back to my dorm now.", she said. "Alright, catch ya later, Max!", Warren replied, actually looking up from his computer to see her go.
Once again, Max headed downstairs. Before leaving, she went to the counter to see Chloe. During the few hours she spent at the shop, Max had decided to make a plan with Chloe so she could try to get to know her better. She approached the counter slowly, feeling the nervousness building inside her. "Oh. Hey Max. Want something else?", Chloe asked. 'Well, here goes.' "Yeah, I guess so. I was wondering if you would want to hang out with me if you're free.", Max said, quite quickly. Chloe stared at Max, blinking a few times. 'Oh shit... I shouldn't have asked.' "Or not, you don't have to. I was just wondering.", Max added, looking at the floor, feeling a bit lightheaded. She looked up again, and saw a smile forming on Chloe's lips.
"Oh Max! I'd really like that. Thanks for asking me! Actually, I get off work at 1:30, would you be down to hang after that?", Chloe asked. Max relaxed, relieved that Chloe had accepted her offer. "Definitely!", she replied. Chloe went back to washing dishes, and Max slouched into the couch nearest the counter, closing her eyes. It was such a nice atmosphere in the shop. The small fireplace across the room, coupled with the light snowfall, really set a nice atmospheric scene. Max took out her old Polaroid from her bag, and took a quick shot of the room, then laid down on the couch again.
"Hey Max? You awake?"
Max felt a soft hand lightly shaking her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes, to see Chloe right in front of her. "Wake up, sleepyhead! It's 1:30, let's jet!", Chloe said. Max groaned, getting to her feet. "I can't believe I fell asleep! I'm so sorry, Chloe!", Max apologized, hoping that Chloe wouldn't be too annoyed with her. "Haha, it's okay, Max. Besides, you're pretty cute when you're asleep." 'Oh my dog! She actually called me cute!' "Oh, hehe! Thanks, I think.", Max replied, her nervousness showing.
Max grabbed her camera bag, put on her scarf, and followed Chloe out of the shop. The brisk air was welcome, a nice change from the stuffy interior. "Whoo! It's fucking cold!", Chloe exclaimed. "So what do you want to do? I'm down for anything." "Well, I was thinking we could just go on a walk and get to know each other better. Unless you have another idea.", Max suggested. "Sure, that sounds good." They started walking down the sidewalks, talking about anything and everything. From childhood adventures, to future plans, to favorite types of coffee. Max finally had someone she wanted to spend her break with.
They had been walking and talking for hours, and the outside temperature was dropping. Max checked her phone, and it showed 6:47pm. "Hey, there's a bus stop over there. Want to come to my dorm room and we can watch a movie or something?", she suggested. 'Jeez, Max. You're really pushing your luck here.. be careful.', she thought to herself. To her surprise, Chloe agreed, "Sure, Super Max! Sounds like a plan." They trudged through the snow, to the bus stop, and had a short wait for the next bus.
By the time they got off the bus at Blackwell, the sun had set, and it was getting darker by the minute. Max showed Chloe into the dorms, and to her room. Max fumbled for her room key, her fingers numb from the cold. Once she got the door open after a few tries, she went straight for the space heater on her floor. Max turned it on, and shed her coat and hung it up on a hanger. Chloe was hesitantly waiting by the doorway. "Come on in, Chloe! I don't bite.", Max teased, flashing Chloe a smile. Chloe came in, and sat down on Max's bed.
Max took a couple minutes setting up, which entailed unloading her camera and pictures from her back, finding and turning on her computer, and getting a few more blankets for the bed. When she was busy doing the later task, she heard Chloe exclaim,"Amazeballs. This is sooo comfy!" Max turned around, a couple blankets draped over her arm, and laughed. Chloe was all tucked up in Max's bed, ready for some movie watching.
Max, eager to hop into bed with Chloe, had to restrain herself. 'First things first, Maxine. Don't get ahead of yourself.', she warned. She bent down and shut off the space heater, since the room was starting to warm up. Max then then playfully threw the blankets at Chloe. "Put these on the bed while I get the computer ready, silly.", she said, laughing.
Once Max had grabbed her computer from under a pile of homework, Chloe had neatly spread the blankets over her bed. Max plopped the computer on her bed, and then slid quickly into her bed as well, next to Chloe. She propped up her pillow to lay against, and turned on her laptop. "What do you want to watch?", she asked Chloe.
"Mm, I dunno. You can decide.", Chloe responded, already sounding a bit drowsy. Max smiled. Chloe was pretty cute when she was tired. Not that she wasn't cute all the time. Her multiple shades of blue hair shimmered against the light emanating from the screen. For a moment Max just stared at the blue-haired woman in her bed. Max turned her head away, and quickly selected a movie from the list of her favorites.
The movie spent a few moments buffering, and then is started playing. Max leaned back, and enjoyed the moment. She was so happy that she had decided to ask Chloe out today. It seemed to brighten up Chloe's otherwise stressful day. Max sighed, and closed her eyes and listened. She listened to the sounds coming from her computer, the sounds of the wind striking her window, and the soft snoring sound originating from the girl in bed with her.