Chapter 5

The infirmary. Back in her reality, Maxine hadn't even seen it once from the inside. But in this timeline, it was the second time within two days. And again, Chloe was the cause Max had ended up here.

The blonde teenager sat on the bed, arms wrapped around her angled legs and face pressed deep into her thighs. She was done, yet Max didn't feel the need to comfort her, because he was pretty angry about what his step-sister had done.

Sure, it had been evident that Chloe didn't get along with Rachel in this reality. But beating her unconscious was something not even Maxine would've expected from her best friend.

But truth to be told, up until now, Chloe hadn't told anyone what really happened. Not even her step-brother. So, nobody really knew the circumstances of this incident. And from everything what Maxine knew about Rachel from the other reality, the possibility was high that two bold characters simply had collided and Chloe – edgy as she was in this reality – eventually threw the punch.

'I can't let her alone with this! You promised yourself to protect her, Max! Now woman…uh, man up and talk to her!' chided Maxine herself internally as she tried to overcome her anger.

"Chlo?" Max spoke softly, his tender touch on her shoulder making Chloe to look at him with puffy, red-cried eyes.

"I hurt her," she replied with a trembling voice, new tears emerging from the corners of her eyes. "Max, I'm so sorry! I…I never meant to…I-I snapped and…"

"Ssh, it's okay!" soothed Max, sitting down beside the crying girl and stroked slowly over her back. "What happened?"

This was the point, Chloe averted her brother's gaze again and started to sob. "I'm so sorry!" she whimpered, "I…I was so stupid!"

After some time of intense crying, she eventually managed to speak up again, her voice still brittle.

"Rachel asked me if we have something going on and I…I just…I told her that there's nothing and then things got fucked and I…I kinda lost it!"

Maxine – and probably even Maximilian – knew Chloe way too well to tell, if she's lying or just telling half of the story, and it wasn't different this time, which made Max somehow furious.

"Bullshit, Chloe! You're not the type to smack someone because of something that trivial! Now, spill!"

Chloe had always been like a tiger: strong, but lonely and also feisty when being cornered. So, instead of telling Max how Rachel had thrown the truth right at her and Chloe simply reacted with violence to silence her, the punky girl saw red again.

"Why don't you ask your precious Rachel?! You care more about her anyway. So, go and maybe she'll moan it out loud while you fuck her bunkhole!" yelled Chloe, with so much hate and venom that even the school's nurse was staring at her with a dropped jaw.

Max, however, was hurt very badly. With watery eyes and trembling lips he got up again, hardly able to suppress a sob as he spoke "What happened to you, Chloe?"

"Life, Max!" she blurted back, "Life happened to me. But someone like you, who always got his ass carried by his still alive mother won't ever understand!"

This had been the last straw. With a quiet "Fuck you!" Max turned on the spot and stomped away with angry steps, almost colliding with William.

"Whoa, Max! What the…?!" he said, but couldn't even finish to ask what happened as his son-in-law just walked past him. Yet, he already had a very good idea of what had been going down.

"Chloe, what's going on here?"

"Fuck off! Leave me alone!" retorted the blonde, giving her father an angry glare.

Yes, William Price was tired of this behavior. Yes, he would've loved to go all berserk on his daughter, yet he didn't, because the tall man knew it would end up in a disaster. Therefore, he took a very deep breath.

"Chloe…what's going on with you? First you break away from me and Vanessa, and now even Max? Granted, you've all right to be pissed at me, but Vanessa and Max? They both care about you a lot and never did anything wrong."

It boiled inside of Chloe. She didn't know why or how to suppress it, and was almost about to burst again, as the infirmary's door swung open again and Principal Wells – a broad, baldy, Afro-American man in his fifties – stepped in and gazed at the young blonde patronizingly.

Instantly, Chloe realized that a lot of trouble was heading her way, personified by the head of this school. All her rage was vented by a hissed "Shit!" as Mr. Wells spoke out her name in a mixed tone of 'a matter of fact' and satisfaction.

"Miss Price…Why wasn't I surprised to hear your name as Mrs. Boreas reported this outrageous incident?"

Though she wasn't about to explode anymore, Chloe never was able to suppress any witticism when talking to authoritarian persons like the Principal.

"I don't know. Maybe because you secretly wished for me to fuck up big time?"

"Mr. Wells!" spoke William to the Principal and reached him his hand, hoping to step in before things got worse.

Luckily, William's intervention worked as Raymond Wells shook his hand and gave him a kind nod. "Ah, Mr. Price! As much as it's a pleasure to see you, I also dread every moment we meet. Though, I fear that it will be the last time under such circumstances."

The room was filled with a dense silence as everybody realized what was about to happen. But – though he knew how adamant Principal Wells was in his decisions – William wouldn't let his daughter get that easily expelled.

"Mr. Wells, please don't let us get ahead of ourselves. My daughter hit another student, yes. But before we take any irrational actions, we should at first find out what really happened."

"Mr. Price," the bald main said, over-vocalizing every word to underline his statement. "Your daughter did not only hit just a fellow student, but also one of our most aspiring one."

"Oh, so now you're categorizing your students into normal and aspiring, too?" Chloe threw in, her arms crossed and her demeanor stern. "And I thought grouping them into normal and high-risk was fascist enough. But I guess it was just the tip of the fat iceberg. What's next, rich and poor?"

"High-risk? I hear that word for the first time. And, indeed, it's more than questionable to make the kind of punishment dependent on the social status of the victim!" supported Will his daughter, crossing his arms as well.

"Mr. Price, I won't discuss any school-internal procedures with you!" was the principal's answer as he tried to avert this topic. But knowing that he had Wells in a vulnerable position, William kept on firing.

"Mr. Wells, I'm actually shocked to hear that you allegedly categorize students after their social status. Especially from a person like you, who's supposed to be exemplary, this is nothing more than pathetic! And I don't wanna hear any decisions regarding my daughter's future at this school until we know all the facts…OR I'll report these more than discriminating methods to the school board!"

Raymond Wells was a person, who had to deal with a lot of things, and threats of rich parents, who demand a special treatment for their children, was one of them. So, it didn't come as a surprise, when the principal didn't show any sign of being intimidated by William's words. Yet, it was also clear that they had at least some effects on him, evident by a rather long pause and the following answer.

"Miss Amber will be in hospital until tomorrow, so I'll set an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, 4 pm. Nonetheless, will Miss Price be suspended from any classes until then."

"Then we'll see us tomorrow!" replied the red-haired man, but only received an emotionless "Have a good day!" by Wells, before he left the infirmary.

Another long moment of silence occurred, which was broken as Chloe jumped from the bed and stuck out her middle-finger towards the door.

"Stupid fascist fucker!" hissed the strawberry-blonde before she gazed at her father with a slight smirk. "Nice going, Dad!"

But William was everything else but happy with his daughter, neither did feel the need to team-up with her at the moment. "Chloe…" he sighed and shook his head, "…just get in the car!"

"Uh…what?!"

If anything, this reply, consisting of a befuddled sound and a word, made the tall man even more furious.

"Chloe, I said: get in the damn car! And I don't wanna hear any complain or stupid remarks from you for the rest of the day, because I'm tired of this! I'm so tired of fighting for you all the time, only to get your ungratefulness in return! When were at home, you'll go into your room and stay there until Vanessa comes home and then we will discuss what happened yesterday and today, and after that about your future in general! Now, move it!"

But Chloe didn't move. She stayed in place, her arms crossed again and her demeanor sour.

"Oh! So, you're tired of me?! Want me to jump off the cliff, so that you and any other motherfucker in this fucking town can celebrate and piss on my body, huh?! Should I cut my wrists right here?! Want me to…"

"Stop talking such nonsense!" interrupted Will his daughter loudly, grabbing her shoulders to make her look at him. "For once, just try to do better! For once, stop ranting against everybody and listen to me!"

Violently, Chloe wiggled out of her father's grasp and started to yell at him, her eyes getting wetter with every word.

"The hell I will, 'cause everybody hates me! You, Max, everyone at this school…you all wish me dead. But tell ya what: fuck you! I hate you all! Just get out of my life!"

Though he wanted to say something, William didn't get the chance to as Chloe ran past him and out of the infirmary.

For Maxine, the hospital had always been a creepy and uncomfortable place. She still remembered this one time, she had swallowed her Teddy's button-eye and had to spend a few nights at that very clinic.

Another negative memory was, when Chloe had tried to slide a rail, fell and had broken her wrist. She remembered how she had cried out of pain; remembered how lost she had felt, not able to help her best friend.

After Max had heard what happened in the dressing room, he originally wanted to look after Rachel, but the first thing he was told, was that his crush had been unconscious and on her way to the hospital.

So, the first thing that came into his mind after Chloe had raged on him was to visit the only person he wanted to see at this moment: Rachel.

Taking one last deep breath, Max fought down the last remnants of anger he felt towards Chloe and buried them deep inside, so that they wouldn't overshadow his visit.

A bit nervous, the young boy walked into the hospital and approached the reception. In his right hand, he had a bunch of colorful flowers, which he had bought in town on his way to the hospital.

"Uh…hi!" he said to the nurse, who was sitting at the counter, doing some paperwork.

"Hello, how can I help you?" spoke the mid-aged blond woman with a friendly smile, easing up the tension a bit.

"I'm looking for Rachel Amber."

"Are you family?" she kept on asking, still a smile on her lips, which grew even wider as Max answered.

"Uh…n-no. Just…just a friend," he stammered, blushing and averting his gaze as the nurse let her sight switch between the flustered boy and the bunch of flowers.

"Aww! That's sooo sweet!" she sighed with a high-pitched voice before typing some words into the computer, and as some of her colleagues where now looking at them too, Max wished for nothing more than to sink into the ground. "Room 315, my dear!"

"Th-thanks!" was everything Max managed to say and then tried to reach the elevator as fast as possible. He even punched the call-button several times in false hope that the doors would open faster and was simply relieved when he was finally on his way up to the third floor.

A soft sound indicated that the elevator had reached its destination and the doors slid open. With every step towards Room 315, Max's nervousness increased, and as he finally stood in front of Rachel's room, Max almost wished to turn around on the heel and run away.

'No, Max! You ran away your entire life, now get some hold of yourself and knock!' spoke Maxine to herself, inhaled deeply and knocked.

"Come in!" chimed a friendly voice from the other side and with some last deep breath, Max grabbed the handle and pushed it down.

The door swung open almost by itself, revealing the small single-room behind it.

Rachel Amber lay in bed, her body up to her breasts covered with a blanket, while the top of her head was wrapped with a bandage. The young girl's green eyes gazed at Max with a sparkle, while her mouth was forming a friendly yet insecure smirk.

"Hey!" she whiffed, not sounding a bit self-conscious or bold.

"H-hey!" replied Max, his sight once more pointing at his feet.

And again, both stayed silent, until Rachel said "Are those for me?" which almost made Max jump-scare.

"Uh…oh…yeah!" the nervous boy answered, but as he wanted to approach the blonde, he stumbled over his own feet and fell forward, landing directly with his upper body on Rachel's bed. Or better said, his head rested right between the girl's breasts.

It took Max a few seconds to realize what had happened and where he was, but as soon as he became aware of the situation, he gasped and took a few steps back.

"Shit! I'm so sorry! I…"

But while Max was busy panicking, Rachel simply chuckled, picked up the slightly battered flowers from her lap and sniffled on them, whiffing a soft "Thanks! Can you please close the door?"

Dumbfounded, the brunette boy gazed at Rachel. Although not able to form any words, he at least was able to nod and do as she had told him.

"Sit!" she then said with a smile, patting the side of her bed and, once more, Max complied in silence.

'Gosh! That's so pathetic! I'm eighteen and acting like a fifteen-year-old. Wait…is it possible that my age in this reality influences my doings?!'

"So…" started Rachel to speak, sounding a bit glum. "Um…sorry for fucking up our date!"

"Uh…what?" was everything Max was able to reply as his brain had a lot of trouble processing the apology and especially the word date.

"Max…I know you're probably pretty pissed at Chloe like everybody else, but…" Rachel sighed and looked for a few seconds at the flowers in her hands before continuing to speak. "It wasn't her fault. I provoked and said really mean things to her…I guess, I deserved that."

"No," answered Max, taking one of Rachel's hands. "Chloe shouldn't have beaten you, no matter what you said. But…what did you tell her anyway? She mentioned that you talked about me, but…"

Squeezing his hand firmly, Rachel gazed deeply into Max's eyes, underlining the seriousness of her words.

"Max, it's pretty obvious that I want…more from you than just a plain friendship. And Chloe…she thinks, I'm just gonna use and then drop you like a hot potato. But I don't. I'm not like that. And just the thought that I would do something like this to you…it…it made me sooo furious that I…I just lost it!"

Max didn't reply anything. His jaw had just dropped onto his lab as Rachel confessed to him that she wanted more than a friendship. His mouth went dry and his heart thumbed in his chest like it was about to burst out of his ribcage like a Chestbuster from the Alien franchise.

Actually, Maxine couldn't believe her luck at all. Rachel Amber, the school-princess…the most popular girl at Blackwell wanted to date a geek like Maximilian! She even felt so overexcited that the wish to show her affection towards the blonde almost made her lean in for a slight kiss. But a knock at the door immediately stopped those adventurous endeavors before they could be taken into action.

Right away and before the door swung open and a beautiful blond woman, who had a strong resemblance with Rachel, entered, both broke contact and Max got up from the bed.

"Mom!" said Rachel joyfully and spread her arms to take her mother into an embrace.

"Max," the blond girl then spoke after the hug, wanting to make an introduction, "this is my mom, Sera. Sera, this is Max."

'C'mon, Max, you know the etiquette, so stop staring, be a nice girl…uh, boy and great her!'

"Uh…h-hi, I'm…"

"Max Caulfield!" completed the mid-aged woman his sentence and shook the boy's hand. "Rachel has already mentioned you quite a few times."

"Mo-om!" mumbled her daughter, turning away to hide her flustered cheeks, which caused Sara to chuckle.

Maxine felt this embarrassment as well and was on the verge of a panic attack, letting her make the decision that it was time to leave and cope what had happened for the last ten minutes. A practical strategy, which had helped her numerous times in her reality, before she got those stupid powers.

"Uh, Rach," said Max, still sounding very nervous, "I-I need to head back to Blackwell. Miss Hoyda's gonna kill me, if I skip her class."

"Yeah, do that!" the blonde replied with a smirk, adding "I should be out by tomorrow, so…"

"Ice-cream after school?" completed Max this time, an inner joy sparking inside of him as Rachel answered "Ice-cream it is!"

With a reached out hand, Rachel signed Max to come closer once more. And as soon as they made contact again, she pulled the young boy closer, embraced him tightly and placed a peck on his cheek.

"See ya tomorrow!" she whispered, "And thanks for the flowers!"

His body entirely filled with hormones and adrenaline again, Max whiffed a nervous "Y-yeah…uh, see ya tomorrow. B-bye, Mrs. Amber!"

"Gearhardt, Max. I never was Mrs. Amber. But just call me Sera, okay!" responded Rachel's mom and watched with a wide smirk how the 15-year-old boy nearly stumbled over his feet as he left the room. "So this was the cute boy you're crushing on?"

"Yeah!" was everything the flustered blonde could say as she fumbled shyly with her fingers.

"Nice catch! As long as he's not an asshole like your father!"

"Stop trying to kill off Elamon, Steph!" complained Michael 'Mikey' North, an Afro-American nerdy boy with glasses while he was playing Dungeons and Dragons with his best friend, Steph Gingrich.

"As a Gamemaster it is my humble duty to send wave after wave of evil monsters in dire hope that our heroes are strong enough to survive the encounters and successfully complete their quests. If they die, it's simply called natural selection," she announced theatrically, yet added a slight smirk to it.

Mikey simply mumbled a huffed "Yeah, sure!" as he recalled all those monsters Steph had already brought forth against his character. "So, what will be my next quest?"

"Well, the next quest would be The Siege of Alvaron."

"The Siege of Alvaron?!" gasped the young boy. "This is an all-nighter!"

It suddenly knocked at the door and both teenagers shared a frown since none of them was awaiting someone. It knocked again and Steph eventually got up and opened.

In front of her stood Chloe whose eyes were red and puffy from a lot of spilled tears. Both girls gazed at each other for some time until Chloe spoke "Uh…h-hi guys!"

And while Mikey answered with a joyful "Hi, Chloe!" Steph only whiffed "Hey! Come in!"

Only a quiet "Thanks!" came over the blonde's lips as she walked in and slumped down on the sofa, her head always bowed and her demeanor sad.

Still holding the door open, Steph gazed at the depressed girl for some time. Not once, in these few years she knew Chloe, she had seen her friend that down. Even Mikey sensed that something was off and decided to leave to give the two girls some privacy for a girl-to-girl talk.

"Well," he said and packed a few of his D 'n' D figurines. "I better go. Promised Drew to help with his homework. See ya later!"

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow!" Steph replied and locked the door after Mikey had left. She then closed in on Chloe and witnessed how awful she looked. Plus that she had dry lips, which told her that she was probably thirsty.

"Want something to drink?"

"Got a beer?" scoffed the punky girl dryly as she tried to act all strong again, which caused Steph to chuckle as she was just glad to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Sorry Chloe. No alcohol allowed in the dorms! How about a soda?"

"Then gimme some sugar, baby!" joked the blonde with a wink and a smirk, causing her friend to say "Be cautious what you wish for!" before she rummaged through her backpack and brought forth a can of soda, reaching it to Chloe, who opened and drank it in one draw.

"So," Chloe eventually spoke, after letting out a muffled belch, "Guess you heard about my latest fuck-up?"

"Indeed, I did," confirmed Steph, sunk down right beside her friend onto the comfy furniture and gazed at her sternly. "And I'm not happy about it. Actually, I'm pretty disappointed in you! Always thought you'd only get verbal, not physical."

Normally, Chloe would've gotten on a full rage if someone was talking that patronizing with her, but not when it came to Steph. Besides Max, Steph was the only person who was allowed to tell Chloe her full opinion, but only because she saw in the brunette nerd a friend who understood her and would never give her any shit without a reason.

"I know, and to tell the truth, I was totally surprised by my own actions," responded Chloe, feeling deeply ashamed and close to crying again. "I never wanted this! I wanted to be left alone and then…then this stupid bitch came and called me an attention-whore, who fucks up only to get fame and then…something snapped. I just gave her a smack and then…then she hit the lockers and…and went down. Th-there was blood and…and then…"

This was the point Chloe did something she usually would never do: she wrapped her arms around Steph and cried into her shoulder.

Stephanie Gingrich, who never had any scowl against Chloe, of course returned the embrace and drew soothing, indistinct patterns over the crying girl's back. Only after some time had passed, Chloe had calmed down enough for Steph to continue the talk.

"So, you never engaged this confrontation?" she asked, brushing some big tears from her friend's cheek and handed her a tissue-box.

"Fuck, no!" was Chloe's truthful answer after she'd wiped her nose clean. "I'd have been happy to never talk to this cunt!"

"Chloe…I know it sounds stupid and probably even illogic to you, but you should tell this to Wells, right in the morning!"

"To what use?" scoffed Chloe in despair, shaking her head. "He's gonna kick my sorry ass out of Blackhell and that's it. Bye-bye, graduation! Hello, unemployment!"

"Stop talking such bullshit, Chloe!" blurted Steph in fury and got up. "You stay at this school, period!"

At first surprised by this sudden outbreak, Chloe, however, just shook her head and sighed "Steph…" But her infuriated friend wasn't done, yet.

"Tomorrow, we'll both go to Wells and tell him your side of the story and…"

Only as Chloe got up as well and touched Steph's shoulder, the nerdy girl stopped her flow of words, giving the punky girl the opportunity to say "Steph, I appreciate your effort, but…why don't you just stick to your rule this time and don't get involved in my stupid decisions, okay?"

Then there was silence. Only two pairs of blue eyes gazing at each other. Steph wanted to help Chloe, since she had always been her friend, starting her first day at Blackwell. Yet, Chloe had also kept her at some distance when it came to her actions and Steph had decided for herself at some point to keep out of every drama that was happening around the school. This strategy had worked until this very day and maybe Chloe was right. Getting involved in this incident and even taking Chloe's side could bring her a lot of resentment, because – as a matter of fact – most students liked Rachel, including Steph, herself. On a longshot, it could even ruin every possible chance to make a move on her in future.

Eventually, Steph gave in to Chloe's demand with a loud sigh of defeat. "Alright, I'll stay out of it. But…" her blue eyes became piercing daggers, "…if you get kicked out of Blackwell, I'm gonna hunt your sweet ass down like an Elf some stray Orcs, got it?!"

Raising her hands in surrender, Chloe replied "Alright! I promise I'll try to keep my butt in this fucking school, cool?"

"You betcha!" spoke Steph and exhaled once more, before she tried to change the topic. "Since you're here anyway, wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure, whatcha got in mind?" answered Chloe with a shrug, sitting down on the sofa again, while Steph pulled a DVD from her shelf.

"How about a classic you can't get enough of?"

As Steph held up the movie Blade Runner with a wide smirk, Chloe just cheered with a loud "Fuck, yes!"

The brunette reached the DVD to her friend and said "You put the disc in the player and get comfy, while I'm gonna order us some food!"

'I still can't believe I'm dating Rachel Amber!' thought Maxine, while writing down the events of the day for Maximilian. 'I wonder what the Chloe of my reality would say to this. (chuckles) Oh, she'd probably get so jealous...in contrary to the Chloe of this reality. She's more like jealous of Rachel dating me…and even beat her unconscious for this! (sighs) Gosh, I hope Wells doesn't kick her out of school for this, since it hasn't been her fault alone!'

'But I guess Rachel's gonna be fair and tell the truth, tomorrow. Maybe I should try to meddle between those two and convince them to at least respect each other.'

The sudden buzz of Max's phonesuddenly interrupted Maxine's train of thoughts. She gazed at the display and saw that Rachel had sent him a message, though it was already past 10 pm.

[Rachel]: can't sleep. miss you!

[Max]: miss you 2! can't sleep?

[Rachel]: yeah. shitty hospital. uncomfy bed. need some cuddle.

As Maxine read this last message, she tried to imagine how it would be to cuddle with Rachel Amber, which induced a strong, tickling sensation in Max's body.

[Max]: and I'd love to cuddle you right now!

[Rachel]: just cuddle or…more? ;)

Now the hot feeling in Max's stomach began to wander deeper and was turning into arousal, which literally forced Maxine's mind to imagine even smuttier pictures.

'Oh my dog, Caulfield! Get a freakin' grip of yourself! Your pants are already getting uncomfortable!' thought Maxine with rolling eyes as she tried to control the hormones that were rushing through Maximilian's body.

[Max]: just cuddling!

[Rachel]: yeah. sure. boys and just cuddling. LOL!

[Rachel]: fun aside. mom feels sry that wells fcks over our date and invites u to dinner tomorrow. wanna come?

For a long moment, Max just stared at the display, his thumb hovering over the virtual buttons of the touchscreen. The answer was simple, yet to reply so hard when the need to just crawl under your desk and hide was so strong. Eventually, the young boy typed in three simple letters.

[Max]: yes

[Rachel]: :)

[Rachel]: see ya tomorrow! luv ya!

Once more, Max was just stunned, the butterflies in his stomach going bonkers and the hormones clouding his mind. Barely had he managed to write a plain See ya! before he dropped his phone on the desk.

'Holy shit, I'm such a hopeless wreck when it comes to such stuff! I'd love to stay in here for the rest of my life instead of dating a hot girl like Rachel.'

With a groan, Max buried his face in his cupped hands and tried to steady his labored breathing. But as soon as his eyes were covered and calm quietness took over, pictures of Rachel Amber were popping up right in front of him. At first, it was just her beautiful face; this smug smile on her lips. But soon, it was her entire body.

Though, Rachel Amber clearly belonged to the upper class of Blackwell Academy, her clothing spoke an entirely different language. Wild and a bit punky, it clearly stated I don't give a fuck about you elitist assholes!

But as cool as her normal garments were, Max's mind was more interested in picturing the blonde in her tight swimsuit, which didn't hold back with the details of her body, and not much later, her imagination erased that piece of scarce clothing as well.

"Ugh, fuck it!" groaned Max in his hands and started the browser of his phone, typing in How to masturbate.

'You gotta be kidding me!' gasped Maxine, as she looked and browsed through the results. 'Porn. Porn. More porn. Yuck, even more porn! Ugh, I just need a fucking manual, how boys masturbate!' she yelled internally in frustration, the need for a relief almost unbearable. 'Maybe I should just ask Wikipedia, they seem to know everything,' the inside a boy's body captured girl joked and was even more surprised as, indeed, there was a slight description on how to do it.

'Okay, doesn't sound that…well, hard. Let's give it a try!'

Max slid down his sweatpants and boxers and stopped as he gazed at his erected penis.

'Oh boy!'

After a big gulp, he hesitantly touched it softly, with cold, sweaty, out of nervousness trembling hands.

'This feels so strange, yet arousing and…oh gosh, so embarrassing!'

Reading the article once more, Max started to put the written words into practical use. Being entirely unexperienced and sometimes overwhelmed by additional strength of Maximilian's body, the first stroke was way too rushed and hard.

"Ouch, dammit!" he cursed, trying to suppress the emerging pain and checked if everything was still attached.

'Damn, that hurt! Reminds me of the first time I tried to stick finger inside of me. Maybe I should do it slowly.'

After the pain had abated and no other harm was done, Max tried it again. This time, gentler.

'Okay, that…that doesn't feel so bad. Actually…it…it feels good. Holy dog, it's really been awhile since my last time!'

Soft moans were chiming through the room, intensifying with every passing minute until they peaked into slightly louder, yet muffled groan as the climax approached. Maxine realized that something was flowing out of her sex, but was neither able to hold it back nor to give it any deeper thought.

'Holy fuck! I so needed that!' the young photographer thought, coming down from the high of the climax.

Max's breathing was heavy and time after time his entire senses kicked back in. Just now he realized that his right hand felt somewhat sticky.

'What the…?' thought Maxine and gazed at her crotch, gasping as she realized the mess down there. Max's hand, legs, shirt and even the desk and the phone were sprinkled with a white, sticky liquid.

'Eww, gross! That wasn't part of the description! As a girl I was at least able to keep it secretly in my panties, but this…?! How am I…?!'

Just now, Maxine remembered the box of tissues in Maximilian's drawer and was now realizing that wiping your nose didn't seem to be its only purpose.

'Okay, being a boy is just gross! At least, when it comes to this!'

With a sigh, Max grabbed the first tissue and started to wipe up the mess, starting with his hand. At least, the need for relief was gone now.

Her face was enlightened by the display of her phone, which was held up by her left hand. Her cheeks flustered, soft moans escaped Rachel's full lips as her gaze was fixed on a picture of Max Caulfield. One of numerous pictures she had secretly taken since she had started to have a crush on the one year younger boy.

The blanket which was covering her body moved slightly, where her right hand was tenderly massaging her nether region.

"Oh Max!" she quietly groaned as her body began to spasm so much that she had to roll on her side until her orgasm had been rode out.

Then all that could be heard in the dark room was her heavy breathing. Slowly, she pulled her right hand out from under the cover and wiped it clean on the bed sheets. One last time, she glimpsed at the photo and gave it a tender kiss.

"G'night, Max!" she whispered, closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

A long, deep yawn escaped Chloe as she stretched her limps while the credits of the movie were rolling over the screen.

"What a fucking great movie!" she eventually said, looking with a grin at Steph, who was yawning herself.

"Yeah," she proclaimed, got up and stretched as well with a big groan. "And I think it's time to go to bed now!"

But while Steph started to gather her toiletries and pajama, Chloe stayed frozen on the spot, scratching the back of her neck as she tried to find the right words.

"Uh, Steph…?" she spoke shyly and made her friend to turn towards her. "C-can I…? I-I mean, home's fucked right now and…uh…I-I…well, I kinda…"

"Of course you can stay for the night," spoke Steph nonchalantly with a shrug. "Already wondered when you'd finally ask. Just wait here! I'll fetch you some stuff when I'm back."

The door shut close and Steph was gone. Letting out a long exhale of relief that the brunette hadn't thrown her out – which, in her mind, would've totally fitted this shitty day – Chloe relaxed a bit and sauntered through her best friend's room.

Movie posters, DVD-Collections, half-painted tabletop-figurines, artworks…this was a real nerd-lair and Chloe loved it, because deep inside she was such a geek, too. Though, she never showed it to anyone…except to Max, Steph and Mikey.

Ten minutes later, Steph came back, now dressed in a long, dark-blue pajama. She threw the bundle of clothes in her hand onto the sofa and then rummaged through her closet, bringing forth a blanket.

"Here ya go!" she said, handed it Chloe, turned off the main light and then went to bed. For another minute, the blonde didn't know what to do and just stood in the middle of the from a nightlight dimly lit room until she was about to lie down on the couch. But as Steph said "If you wanna wake up and feel like hit by a train, then sleep on the couch. Otherwise I recommend that you share the bed with me."

As Chloe turned around with big eyes, she saw how Steph was petting the free space on the bed, a wry smirk on her lips. It was her first sleepover at Steph's and she hadn't quite expected that.

"C'mon, I don't bite!"

Gulping down a big lump of shyness, Chloe just nodded and began to strip down her clothes until she was only wearing her slip and a t-shirt over her black bra, before she lay down beside Steph.

"Good night, Chloe!" she said and turned around.

Chloe however kept on lying on her back, gazing at the ceiling while her mind struggled to come to rest. But it was no use. The events of the day had just been too much and – as always – Chloe couldn't find some sleep. Time passed by and her thoughts kept on drifting. She already put into consideration to get up again and take a walk around Arcadia Bay and then probably go home again, but then out of a sudden Steph asked "Can't sleep, too?"

At first being taken aback, Chloe just watched how the brunette turned around to face her.

"Got that since I was a kid. It has something to do with my brain. They prescribed me some pills, but I hate drugs and rather kill a can of coffee in the morning instead of taking that shit. What about you?"

"Got it since my mom died," began Chloe to tell with a melancholy voice. "PTSD-induced. Mostly, it's because I'm afraid to fall asleep and then wake up all alone. But over time it has evolved into becoming some regularly shit. I already tried everything: pills, weed, tea, booze…even fucking yoga 'n' shit!"

"Can't imagine you, doing yoga!" Steph chuckled, which got answered by Chloe with a scoffed "Me neither!"

"Y'know," Steph then said after she had stopped giggling. "Sometimes, masturbating helps."

Not sure if she had heard right, yet still entirely taken aback, Chloe gasped "What?!" But if she thought, Steph would start to laugh and proclaim it a joke, she was entirely wrong, since the brunette stayed serious.

"You never got, that you're lying awake, thinking about trivial and boring things, until your mind eventually wanders off and you start to think about sex?"

"Uh…y-yeah! I-I mean, you always end up with sex, right?"

She tried to sound cool and even a bit amused, but deep inside, Chloe's heart and mind was racing. It wasn't the talking about sex per se, but this was the first pillow talk she ever had with Steph and she somehow felt so excited and nervous about it. But her entire world went completely upside-down as Steph whiffed a warm, shaky breath of easement right into her face.

"St-Steph…? Wh-what the fuck are you…?"

"I'm trying to fall asleep, Chloe." was the brunette's softly moaned answer as she gazed at the petrified blonde with half-lidded eyes. Just now Chloe realized the familiar rubbing sounds and movements under the other girl's blanked, and it aroused her right away.

"You can join in, if you want to!" added Steph with a smirk and, as if a strange force was guiding Chloe's hand, she let it sink deeper along her body until it dipped into her slip. Her excitement was actually so high that she groaned a loud "Fuuuuck!" as soon as she made contact.

And there they were: two girls masturbating beside each other. A situation so hot that, after a few minutes, Steph couldn't hold back anymore, leaned in and kissed her friend.

At first, Chloe didn't react at all, making Steph worry if she had overdone it and therefore let her break the kiss. But, unexpectedly, Chloe took over the initiative, by pulling Steph's head closer again and reengaged the kissing.

It didn't take long before both girls weren't able to keep their hands just by themselves and explored each other's bodies.

"May I?" whispered Steph as her fingers had stopped at the waistband of Chloe's underwear, and with a moaned "Fuck me, Steph!" the last barrier had fallen.

At this solemn night of passion, Chloe forgot everything that had been bothering her. Eliot, William, Vanessa, Max, Rachel, Wells…They all didn't matter as her feelings were only fixed on one person: Stephanie Gingrich!