Chapter 7

For the umpteenth time, Max checked his appearance in the bathroom mirror and combed some astray locks back where they belonged. He wore a pair of blue jeans and plaited dark-blue shirt over a black band-shirt.

'Am I looking too emo for a nice dinner? But these were the only fancy clothes I found. (sigh) Guess this'll have to do.'

"Lookin' rad, Maximus!" said Chloe, who was leaning with crossed arms against the doorframe, with a wry smirk on her lips.

"Geez, thanks Chlo! Though I feel more like dressed in some garbage bags, considering I'm going to a dinner with Rachel."

"Pft!" the blonde scoffed, shaking her head. "If you'd be my date, I'd rip those clothes off of ya and fuck you senseless!"

Freezing in his movement, Max gazed at his step-sister in bewilderment, blushing deep-red. "Chloe! Geez-Louise, you're so impossible! Aren't you supposed to be at Steph's?"

"Yeah," replied Chloe with a shrug, "but I needed some stuff and decided to give you some advice!"

Now turning around, Max crossed his arms as well and quirked one eyebrow quizzically. "You wanna gimme some advice on my dinner with Rachel and her mom?"

"Yup! 'cause I know how guys are ticking up there and down there!"

"Oh c'mon," countered Max, rolling with his eyes, "I'm not like that! Sex isn't everything and I don't plan to get laid tonight. Especially not when Sera is around. Just a nice dinner and spending some time with Rachel, nothing more."

"Oh, I'm not worried about your intensions, but Rachel's."

With sighed "Chloe," and a head-shake, Max walked past the older girl and into his room. "Can you please stop with this stupid Rachel-bashing? She's not like those other aloof bitches at Blackwell!"

To his surprise, he got embraced from behind by Chloe.

"Sorry, dude. I'm just worried about you and don't wanna see you get hurt!"

"I won't," replied Max softly, enjoying the closeness to his step-sister for a short moment before breaking contact. With a wry smile on his lips he turned around to look into Chloe's eyes. "I promise that I'll take care, okay?"

"Damn!" chuckled the punky girl, giving the boy a friendly push, "Looks like I need to get used to that you got another girl in your life…Though she's not so awesome as me, of course."

"For me, you'll always be one of a kind, dork!" gave Max back, pushing her back before giving Chloe another hug.

His hands were sweaty and his lips already sore from chewing on them all the time.

"Nervous?" asked William, who was driving Max to his dinner with Rachel and Sera, a soothing smile on his lips.

Actually feeling more than nervous, the young boy only managed to nod and as his step-father softly touched his shoulder, Max almost jumped out of his seat.

"Relax!" spoke the red-haired man, "Just remember that, as long as you're being yourself, everything will go smoothly!"

'Yeah, I and being myself…sure, Will. Ugh, I'd like to vomit and then run away!'

Before Max knew it, the car stopped in front of an apartment building in downtown Arcadia Bay.

"You got this, big guy!" said Will reassuringly and, once more, just received a nod before the young boy left the car.

Hesitantly, he walked towards the building's door, almost feeling the need to jump back in the car. But as he heard how William drove away, Max knew that it was too late now.

'C'mon! You can do this, Max!' encouraged Maxine herself as she forced Maximilian's shaking index-finger to push the bell-button.

"Hello?" chimed Rachel's sweet voice through the speaker, which made Max forget to breathe entirely. The spell was only broken as the girl's voice sounded again, saying "Max, is that you?"

Now gulping hard and almost chocking on his spit, Max cleared his throat and answered "Uuh…y-yeah. I-it's me…Max…uh…"

'Oh gosh, how embarrassing!'

Without another word from Rachel's side, the door buzzed, signing the young boy to push it open and enter the building.

According to the name tags, Rachel's and Sera's apartment should be on the top floor. So, Max took the stairs and kept on climbing upwards until he saw Rachel, standing in the door frame. Right away, both embraced each other in a long, tight hug.

"C'mon in, kids! Dinner is almost ready!" chimed Sera's voice from inside the apartment, and as soon as both young lovers had backed away from each other, Rachel grabbed her boyfriend's hand and pulled him inside.

The door closed behind Max, who stripped off his jacket and hung it onto a coat hook. After he also got rid of his shoes, he looked at Rachel, only to realize that she was scanning him from head to toe.

"Max! Welcome to our humble home!" spoke Sera as she wiped clean her hands to give the boy a short hug as well. "Look at you," she then continued, "Nice getup!"

"Um…th-thank you, Sera!"

"Come, I show you around!" suggested Rachel and led Max through the apartment.

It consisted mainly of four rooms and a corridor, whereas the latter was pretty ordinary: A rag for coats and jackets, a shelf for shoes, a commode for small things and a mirror to take a final check on your appearance.

Behind the first door to the right was a small bathroom. Toilet, a sink, a tub with shower, shelves with toiletries, another mirror and a holder for towels. Just everything two persons needed.

Right opposite the bathroom was another door with a violet lily painted on it.

"This is my mom's room. Totally off-limits for us!"

"So, you never go into your mom's bedroom?" asked Max, only knowing that, back in her reality, Maxine had always been allowed to go everywhere in hers and her parent's home. Of course, Rachel somehow expected this question and put on a friendly smile.

"We live like in a commune. Everybody has their own private space and all the social stuff happens in the living room. This way, when I or Mom gets our bitchy times, we can retreat into our refuge and calm down without pissing each other off."

"Sounds reasonable." agreed Max, knowing how bitchy Vanessa could get, adding "And where's your refuge?"

"Can't wait to see my space for some privacy, huh?" replied the blonde with a sheepish smirk, making her boyfriend blush a bit. But with only another giggle she led him to a door with a big yellow star painted on it. "Ready?"

Rachel had already pushed down the handle as Sera said "Rachel! Max! Dinner is ready!"

"Well," Rachel commented with a sigh, letting go of the handle, "looks like we have to continue our sightseeing later," but then immediately smiled again. "Hope you're hungry!"

"I could eat a whole whale!" replied Max, his rumbling stomach underlining his words. So, with another chuckle, Rachel guided him into the living room.

As every modern living room, it had a round dining table, a TV, bookshelves, and a comfy sofa. The walls were decorated with a lot of pictures, showing Sera and Rachel together on numerous occasions. Strange, though, was the fact that those pictures must've been taken in the near past, evident on how old Rachel seemed to be on the photos.

Just as Max and Rachel had sat down, Sera walked from the open kitchen to the table, a big bowl filled with spaghetti and meatballs.

"Hot 'n' greasy, y'all!" announced Rachel's mother as she put the meal on the table and took her seat, as well.

"Thanks, Mom!" spoke her daughter, followed by Max's "Thanks, Sera! And…uh, thanks again for inviting me to dinner!"

"No need to thank me, kids. I just want you both having a good time! Now, dig in!"

Greedily, Rachel put a big load of food on her plate, which landed on it with a squashy noise. Timidly, she mumbled "Sorry!" as both, Sera and Max, looked at her with a stunned demeanor.

Yet not wanting her to feel ashamed or to get chided by her mom, Max did the same and, to both teenager's surprise, Sera didn't say anything, but simply shook her head with a wry smirk.

The first minutes, all three ate in silence, simply enjoying the meal, until Sera gulped down a bite and said "So, Max. What's your major at Blackwell?"

"Uh…Arts."

"Max is an awesome writer!" threw Rachel in without waiting, adding right away, "You should read his fics! Or you remember last year's play? Max rewrote the script and wow! Everybody loved it, and I…"

As Rachel realized that both, Max and Sera, were looking at her with wide open eyes again, her flow of words came to a halt with a quiet "Sorry!"

"So, I guess, you and Rachel share some classes?" Sera then continued, like nothing unusual had happened.

"Uh…yeah. Quite a few." confirmed Max, sounding a bit insecure upon Maxine not knowing exactly how many lessons Maximilian shared with Rachel, which ended in complete silence as Rachel's mother asked the wrong question.

"And when did you two fell for each other?"

'Shit! I don't have any idea when Maximilian fell for Rachel or how much interaction was between them, before I barged into the picture.' thought Maxine, just realizing that she could easily talk herself into a trap, which could endanger her relationship with Rachel. Lucky for her, the blond girl loved to talk about her love-life.

"I was into him the first time we met. You remember that?"

Answering the question with a fake smile and a plain "Yeah," Maxine made a mental note to find out more about some details, regarding him and Rachel.

"Steph, our stage-manager, one day brought Max into acting class and introduced him as our new script writer, since nobody wanted to play an original Shakespeare book and we needed to pep it up a bit."

"Oh, I remember! I already wondered who turned The Tempest into Star Wars." said Sera, gazing in astonishment at her daughter's boyfriend. "Good work!"

'Maximilian turned a Shakespeare classic into Star Wars and didn't get expelled for this blasphemy…?! Wowser, that's really awesome!'

"Anyway," Rachel continued, "The first moment I saw him, I knew that he was special and I…I tried to make a move, but…ugh, I was such a chicken!"

Now seeing an entirely new facet of Rachel Amber, Max simply stared at her entirely stunned while Sera gave her daughter a warm smile and a reassuring touch on her shoulder.

"Don't worry! Nobody said that love is an easy ship to sail. Eventually, it worked out for you two and that's what matters! Now, how about some dessert?"

Saying "Yeah!" in unison, Max and Rachel nodded in confirmation.

"Max, you gonna help me with the dishes?" Sera then asked, already standing up and gathering the cutlery. Of course, Max couldn't say no and already felt that there was something going on.

Both had arrived in the kitchen and while filling the dish-washer, Sera glimpsed over her shoulder to make sure that her daughter was still in her seat before speaking quietly to the timid boy.

"I hope you're not playing games with my daughter, only to get laid!"

Though this allegation came out of nowhere, Max understood Sera's worry, shook his head and answered truthfully "N-no, I…I really like her."

"Then, when did you fall for my Rachel? If you really care for her, you'd remember such things and not just stammer while your girl is all fire and flames."

'Okay Max, stick to your version of the truth. In the end, I'm the one in love with her right now, not Maximilian.'

"Actually, I somehow had a crush on her for some time, but…I-I think I never intensified things, because Rachel always seemed out of reach. I-I mean…you know how awesome your daughter is a-and then me…and her…Ugh, it seemed so unrealistic, until…"

"Until…?" kept Sera on pushing, greedily waiting for the truth with a frown.

"Until last Monday," spoke Max with some relieve, somehow glad to finally have it off his chest. "It was like an epiphany as she walked into Chem and our sights met. Gosh, that smile she'd given me…"

Out of a sudden, Sera's stern demeanor vanished and was replaced by a warm smile.

"That's what I wanted to hear."

"Hear what?" Rachel's voice suddenly chimed. The blond girl was leaning with her hip against the counter that was separating the kitchen from the living room, her arms crossed and her glimpse stern.

Sera knew this expression way too well, telling her that her daughter had already overheard most of the conversation and trouble was inevitable.

"Rachel…" she eventually said with a sigh, trying to defuse the situation, but didn't get any further as the 16-year-old cut her off.

"Spare your breath, Mom! I heard enough!" she spoke and closed in on the other two. Max almost felt the need to run away or at least talk his own way out of it, until he was surprisingly taken into a tight embrace and received a faint peck on his cheek. With some reluctance, Rachel broke the hug, yet still kept her arm flung around her boyfriend's hip while smirking at her mother.

"And I hope it showed you how hella awesome my boyfriend is."

A collective sigh of relieve went through the kitchen as the tension fell off of Max and Sera while Rachel simply giggled.

"Now c'mon! I wanna eat some of that ice-cream!"

[Chloe]: I'm at the dorms

Chloe put down her phone and kept on looking at the entrance of the girl's dormitories, knowing that it was only accessible when you've got a room, and therefore the fitting key.

Nervously, she walked up and down the concreted way in front of the building, waiting for Steph to finally emerge.

Truth be told, she was nervous…very nervous! Originally, the blonde had thought that she and Steph would spend the evening in the nerdy girl's room, playing some games, watching a movie and do some talking, before eventually going to bed and having some nice girl-on-girl action. But before Chloe had even headed towards Blackwell, Steph had texted her to wait in front of the dorms.

Multiple times the door swung open, but every time it wasn't Steph. Most students ignored Chloe, busy with themselves or being in a conversation with a friend. Only Dana and Juliet stopped for a short chat, but then still walked on.

Finally, Steph stepped out of the building, dressed in some normal blue jeans and wearing her typical grey beanie. But instead of a plain shirt or hoodie, the brunette now wore a flannel button shirt to spice up her getup.

Upon seeing her girlfriend, Chloe's heart began to race while butterflies performed a flight show in her stomach. It was actually the first time she felt like this and it kind of scared her. Luckily, Steph's warm smile, her embrace and her soft lips ended the panic attack and let the blonde girl simply enjoy the moment.

As both backed away a bit, the taller girl took a deep inhale of her girlfriend's flavor with closed eyes.

"I missed you!" she eventually whispered with a lovestrucked smile, which earned her another peck on her lips.

"Missed you, too!" was Steph's reply, adding "Ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Our first date," was the plainly spoken and with a shrug underlined answer, which made Chloe quirk one eyebrow dumbfoundedly.

"A date? Like…y'know, candlelight 'n' shit?"

Being used to Chloe's bold side and already suggesting that she never went on a real date before, Steph simply gave her a playful bump, a smile and reached out with her hand, which the blonde took immediately. Hand-in-hand, both then walked over the campus and headed towards the town's center.

"Chloe," Steph then started to explain, "though the sex with you was awesome and I'm already totally into you, I'd like to start our relationship by getting to know each other better, and a nice dinner is the perfect opportunity for some Q 'n' A."

"Sounds reasonable. Soooo…watcha wanna know about that awesome gal here? Always thought, I'm an open book to everybody."

"Well, if you consider yourself an egocentric, misanthropic asshole with drug-problems, then this would be true, but…I know there's more to you than this. So, just tell me what's goin' on this big head of yours!"

"Actually…" replied Chloe after a short pause, as she not really knew what to answer, which was also evident how she scratched the back of her head and searched timidly for words. "Not that much."

"Huh!" was everything that came spontaneously out of Steph's mouth as they kept on walking. "So, you're telling me that your head is totally blank right now?"

"Well…I, uh…" started the blonde, but suddenly stopped walking any further, sighing deeply. "UGH! I'm not good at this feelings-stuff, okay!" it suddenly blurted out of her and then wrapped her arms around her body as self-doubts overwhelmed her. "Maybe…maybe we should end this right here, right n-…"

Chloe's panicky spoken gush of words was eventually silenced as Steph pressed her lips on her mouth. And once again, the butterflies in her stomach went wild. This intense flood of feelings became so much that she then wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pressed her closer.

A few minutes passed until the kiss finally was broken and Steph whispered "You were saying?"

But Chloe didn't reply anything, but just buried her face in the brunette's shoulder and sniffed as all emotions became too much to bear.

"Welcome to my domain!" announced Rachel as she opened the door to her room and turned on the light.

Max, who was now stuffed with a lot of ice-cream, followed with insecure steps and got immediately overwhelmed by the interior.

'Wowser!' gasped Maxine as she saw the room's getup. The clear main motive was stars. Wall-stickers, a big map of star constellations, astrology charts and many other references that showed how much the blond girl was interested in that topic. The other theme was acting, depicted by movie- and musical-posters, tickets and so on.

Furthermore, on the right wall was a queen-sized bed and a closet while on the opposite one was a desk and bookshelves situated.

"Wowser!" now Max spoke out in astonishment as he spun around to take in the entire decoration, while Rachel slumped down on her bed, following him with her gaze and a big smirk. "It's obvious you like stars."

"What's not to like about stars?" answered the blond girl, gazing dreamily at the ceiling. "When the sun has vanished beyond the horizon and it's dark outside, the stars are still there for us. They give us light, hope and guidance to our destination and through life."

"So, you think that the stars are defining our fate?" asked Max back, sitting down beside his girlfriend and gazed deeply in her catching green eyes.

"Destiny, Max. Like guidance on our path through life to our final destination."

"Does that mean that all those fortunetellers on TV are right?!"

With a chuckled "No, dummy," Rachel gave Max a soft push letting him fall onto the mattress. "What I wanna say has nothing to do with this hocus-pocus on TV. The stars aren't telling us our future. They're just guiding us to our destiny. They're telling us who we are and where're we going, not our destination."

"Okay…too high for my simple brain," scoffed Max and shifted his sight to the ceiling.

"I think I can help with that," returned Rachel, got up and turned off the light, ditching the room in darkness. Immediately, Max's heartrate increased and his breathing became a bit shallow as he didn't know what was about to happen. Deep inside, the 18-year-old Maxine wished that Rachel would do lewd things.

'Gosh, Max! You became such a horndog…UGH!'

"Ready?" chimed Rachel's voice through the darkness and not a second later a click followed.

From one moment to another, the entire night's sky was projected throughout the whole room. And while Max looked at the awesome scene in front of him, his girlfriend laid down beside him and grabbed his hand.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" spoke the girl softly and as the brunette boy answered "Like you!" she gazed at him dumbfounded, with blushed cheeks.

Both teenagers' heads moved closer while blue eyes kept staring at green once. Their slightly pursed lips had almost touched as a knock on the door broke this solemn moment.

"Rachel!" sounded Sera's voice through the door, "Sorry to disturb you guys, but your dad is on the phone, complaining that you don't answer yours."

"Tell him, I'm calling back later!" her daughter shouted back angrily, clearly frustrated.

"He said it's important. And I don't wanna hear his babbled complains that I'm trying to keep you away from him, again. So, move it!"

"UGH!" groaned the blonde loudly, hammering with one fist on her bed and jumped up. "Stupid motherfucker!" she additionally mumbled before leaving the room without another word and slamming the door shut.

Max simply stared at the closed door with wide open eyes.

'Damn, what was that? I've never seen her like this. It was like an entire different, angry person had taken over.'

It didn't take long until Rachel returned. Still being agitated, she sat down on her bed with crossed arms and said "Y'know what I hate? When someone changes a plan from one day to another and assumes that it doesn't bother me."

"What happened?" asked Max in concern, sitting up and brushing over the blonde's back in an attempt to calm her down. And surprisingly it worked pretty well as Rachel's tension immediately abated.

"My dad. He's going on business travel next week's weekend and now wants me to spend this upcoming one with him."

"Well, I guess it could be worse, couldn't it?"

"I hate my dad, Max," sighed Rachel in return, "and I don't want him to ruin our date, so…" Right away, like switch had been turned, her demeanor instantly changed into the other direction, letting her smirk and speak with anticipation. "Let's play a game!"

"A game?" spoke Max with a frown, being kind of confused, which didn't bother his girlfriend at all.

"You know Two Truths and a Lie?"

'Two Truths and a Lie?! Wasn't this some kind of a party game? Bummer that I never was a party girl.' thought Maxine, answering truthfully "Uh, no. Not really."

"No prob, it's pretty simple." commented Rachel and started to explain. "I'm gonna tell you three facts about me, whereas two of 'em are true and one is a lie. And you have to find out which one's which. Got it?"

"Aaand what if you're telling me more than one lie?" was Max's suspicious question, which got answered as his girlfriend leaned towards him with a mischievous smile.

"Well, looks like you have to trust me on that."

And only a slight nod later, Rachel began the game.

"Okay, first fact: I was born in New York, the city of Broadway and opportunities. And one day, I'll return back there and perform on the greatest stages of the world!"

Immediately and without waiting for the second fact, Maxine already started to think Rachel's words through.

'Okay, the last part I totally stamp to be true, 'cause Rachel is stage-material. Be it as an actress or model. But the fact about her, being born in New York…absolute bull. I know for a fact that Rachel was born in Long Beach. Reading school files for the win!'

"Fact two: I'm a Cancer-Lion cusp, which makes me creative, passionate, loving, devoted, and diplomatic, but also self-centered, volatile, possessive, and dramatic. So, prepare yourself for a full package!"

'Thanks to the school files…again, I know that her birthday is on the 22nd of July. Let alone that Rachel Amber is one of the most complex characters I've ever met. Not even Chloe comes close to that. So, definitely a truth!"

"Third fact: I'm not a virgin anymore."

'Uhm…okay, I should stop looking like a drooling, horny idiot right now! Actually, it would've surprised me, if Rachel would still be a virgin, because damn! Who wouldn't hit on her?'

While Max gathered his thoughts, silence filled the room, which was eventually coming to an end as Rachel said "A penny for your thoughts, Max!"

"How about a Dollar?" joked the 15 years old boy with a wink and got another playful push and chuckle by Rachel in return.

"Just tell me what you think, Scrooge McDuck!"

"Okay, fact one," began Max, pausing a short moment to keep the tension high. "You wanna conquer the stages of the world and make New York bow…totally a fact, but you weren't born there."

"What makes you think that?"

"Your accent and the usage of the word hella. So, definitely a lie!" he said self-confident, always in mind that Maxine had read the file. Yet, it was impossible to tell, if he was right or wrong since Rachel kept on her poker face.

"Oooh, someone's looking at the details. Fact two?"

"Cancer-Lion cusp? Yup, totally buying it! You're so into stars and astrology that you'd never mess around with it. Besides that the description fits your deep character on the spot."

"Hmm…sounds reasonable, Detective Caulfield, and I take it as a compliment. But what about fact number three?"

At first, Max hesitated to give an answer, not knowing how to approach the topic without insulting his girlfriend and therefore endangering the fresh relationship.

"Uh…well…um…" he stammered, inhaled deeply one last time and then said "I-I think it's true."

Right away, Rachel's neutral demeanor faltered as she gave the young boy a frown. "And what makes you think that?"

'Fuck! I think I've hit the wrong nerve.' cursed Maxine, already preparing to get a lot of heat as she was sailing those hostile waters. 'Maybe I can somehow calm her down. So, talk for your life, Max!'

"Well…" Max began, clearing his throat to gather the right words. "As a fact, y-you already told me one lie and one truth. And…uh…y-you're so beautiful a-and…"

"You think I'm a slut?" spoke Rachel quietly with a dropped gaze, without any anger or scowl, like she was already thinking this of herself.

"N-No!" spoke Max quickly as he was taken aback by the girl's comment and already was about to blame himself for this. "I-I actually meant that you're so beautiful that even only by chance s-some guy must've already been the lucky one."

"But it's a lie," solved Rachel the enigma, looking with confidence at into Max's blue eyes. "I only had one kinda boyfriend back in Long Beach and we…we never went past First Base."

"First Base?" asked Max with a frown, not familiar with the nomenclature of dating. Yet, the revealing answer didn't come in form of words, but with a sudden and rather long kiss on his lips, which stunned him entirely. His mind went blank and his body went haywire as raging hormones were flooding the young boy's system.

Slow and cautiously, Rachel stopped the kiss, whispering softly "That's First Base."

Already yearning for more, both teenagers wrapped their arms around each other and let their lips softly touch each other multiple times in short pecks.

It was a special and peaceful moment for them, which let both forget the world and its problems. Wells, school, Victoria Chase…everything just became unimportant. For Maxine it was like the first mental vacation since she had moved back to Arcadia Bay. So, it didn't come with a surprise that she never wanted to leave this reality ever again.

Sadly, this little bubble of peace and quietness got popped as Max's phone buzzed and rang constantly. At first, he wanted to ignore it and was already paying all his focus on Rachel. But as his smartphone kept on ringing, the brunette boy backed away from his girlfriend with an annoyed groan and gazed at the display with a skeptical frown.

"Steph?" he gasped in surprise and, to Rachel's displease, took the call.

"Hey Steph, 'sup?"

[Steph]: (with a trembling voice, whaling of a siren in the background) "Max…Some-…something happened. We…we were attacked. Chloe…she's hurt, pretty bad. I…We're on our way to the hospital…and…and…" (sobbed heavily)

"Steph? STEPH?!" yelled Max into the speaker before the call got canceled. With trembling hands he held the phone and stared at the display. Right away, all those horrific memories flooded Maxine's mind, reminding her how often she had already lost Chloe, only to revive her with her powers eventually and then to see her die again and again.

"Max, what happened? Is something wrong with Steph?" asked Rachel with worry and brushed softly over Max's arm as she realized how devastated her boyfriend was.

"I-I'm sorry, b-but…but I need to get to the hospital. Steph…Chloe…they…" he said hastily, almost failing to speak at all.

"Shit!" cursed the blonde and jumped up right away. "C'mon! We take my mom's car!"

Delightfully, Chloe stuffed the last remnant of her pepperoni-pizza into her mouth, savoring every bite.

"Mmh, damn!" she mumbled while chewing, "This place is really the shit! Never ate such delicious pizza before!"

Steph, who was also chewing on the last slice of her pineapple-pizza, replied "Glad you like it. Only few people know how awesome the food here is."

"So,…" continues Chloe, drinking the last bit of her coke to flush down the last bite, "…what have you planned for the rest of the evening."

Being flustered a bit and playing timidly with the straw of her drink, Steph said "Well…I thought, maybe…we can…y'know, get back to Blackwell and…"

"Get busy?" completed the blonde with a wry smirk, which turned into a sheepish grin as her girlfriend answered with a shy nod. "And I thought you wanna go slow?"

Huffing out some air, Steph let her shoulders drop a bit and confessed "Chloe, I wanna be honest with you. You're hot and, so far, everything went perfect and romantic and…ugh, this all kinda made me hornier than a succubus."

Kind of taken aback by this confession, Chloe just managed to say "Umm…" before the waitress interrupted this awkward moment.

"You guys had a good meal?" asked the young, black-haired Hispanic waitress, who was wearing a white-red-green colored uniform. As both teenagers confirmed the question, she put a small tablet with the bill on the table and already picked up the two big plates.

"My treat!" insisted Steph right away as Chloe was about to pull out her wallet.

"Steph, you don't…" she tried to counter, but went silent as the other girl raised her hand as a sign to stop arguing.

"Chloe, I'm on a full scholarship, my mom works as a theater-manager and my dad is an important editor in Hollywood. So, money isn't really an issue."

After putting the cash for the dinner plus a good tip on the tablet, Chloe and Steph grabbed their jackets and walked back to Blackwell, holding hands.

"I wonder how it is to have lotsa money," spoke Chloe out of a sudden, already expecting a rant from Steph's side as she's almost thrown in a bowl with those rich kids of the Academy. However, the answer is entirely different.

"Actually…it sucks! Because of their high positions, Mom and Dad are working late. There were times, I only met them for five minutes during breakfast before they vanished to work again. Missed school-events and trading cards tournaments, Happy-Birthday wishes through the phone…it…it just sucked!"

"Wow, that really blows!" replied Chloe with pity, brushing a few times soothingly with her thumb over her girlfriend's hand.

"At least both of my folks are still alive. Gosh, I can't even imagine how it would be to lose my mom."

'Sorrow!' was the word that immediately came into Chloe's mind. How does it feel to lose your mom? There were thousands of words in the world to describe deep sadness, hurt and despair, but none of them would really fit.

"At first," began Chloe to tell with a heavy voice, "it's like she has gone away without saying goodbye. But soon, you realize that you'll never see her again, and then you start to forget the details. Her smell, her voice, her laughter, her warmth…Everything fades until there's only this fucking husk of an image and old photos left."

"That's…that's just sad!" commented Steph, the brim of her eyes welled up. She suddenly stopped walking and then took her girlfriend into another tight, soothing embrace.

Around them was just silence, nobody was wandering around the dimly lighted streets of this part of the town during this time. Both – Steph and Chloe – were so focused on comforting each other that they didn't realize how a figure emerged from the shadows of an alley and quietly closed in on them, a baseball bat in the right hand.

As the hard wood hit Steph between the shoulder blades, she went down with a groan.

Entirely surprised and stunned by this sudden attack, Chloe just managed to gasp and see her girlfriend crumbling to the ground. And as she rose her gaze again, she looked into the masked face of her attacker, witnessing the hate-filled gaze he was giving her with his blue eyes, before the baseball bat hit her right on the head with full force.

Chloe's world went dark and only faint sounds and feelings still reached her mind as her body fought against the upcoming unconsciousness.

She feels how she's hauled somewhere. How someone was pulling at her clothes. Then she felt uncomfortable, intense pain, accompanied by a strange noise that sounded like a constant groaning or mumbling…she simply couldn't tell the difference. But eventually, all of this faded in the distance as her body gave up the fight.