Chapter 14

31st of December, New Year's Eve.

Rachel loved New Year. The anticipation for the end of this special day, which would peak with the last ten seconds of the final countdown. The nearly infinite number of little stars, produced by countless fireworks. The beginning of a new year, almost feeling like a fresh start and the hope that everything would get better automatically. The celebration, where she was – at least since two years – allowed to have a glass of champagne.

Yes, New Year was something really special for Rachel. But this year, it would be even more awesome! And the reason was that she was about to celebrate it with her boyfriend as well as with Chloe and Steph at her place and her mom would be gone for the night to spend it with her colleagues and friends.

But of course this kind of freedom wouldn't come without a few rules. She still heard her mother's voice in her ears as they went over the upcoming evening.

"…and remember: no alcohol and no drugs! And, most importantly,…"

"…stay out of my room. Yes, Mom, I got it!"

"I mean it, Rachel! My space stays my space! Don't lemme regret this decision to let you kids have a party here."

"Don't worry, we'll behave. Big promise!"

"And don't forget to clean up your mess afterwards!"

"Yes, Mom!"

"And use those condoms!"

"MOM!"

One last time, the young girl checked her appearance in the mirror. Especially, her new haircut, which she got extra for this evening.

Her blonde hair was now short cut to a few inches on top and very short at the sides.

'Max said he likes short hair, so…'

A smirk appeared on her lips as she brushed one last time through her mane before leaving the bathroom.

Freshly showered, she wore nothing else than her white bathrobe. But this would change soon as she entered her room and approached the pile of clothes that was neatly sorted on her bed.

For Max she had picked her most sexy underwear: a black tanga and a lazed bra. Her other garments consisted of red leggings, a red top and a black skirt.

After getting dressed, Rachel checked her appearance once more, brushing out some unwanted wrinkles and making sure that everything fit perfectly.

She felt nervous. Very nervous to be exact, causing that her heart was hammering rapidly in her chest. Additionally, a constant tickling sensation in her belly and made her legs and hands shake. But why was she so nervous, anyway? Where were her cheekiness and her courage?

Thankfully, the doorbell rang which gave the teenage girl at least a bit of a distraction. And a few a moments later, Steph made her appearance, giving Rachel a big hug.

"Damn, nice getup, Rach! You look so rad!" said the nerdy brunette, taking off her thick winter garments. Right after doing so, she turned towards her friend and scanned her appearance once more, one hand on her hip. "Okay, now I'm really jealous of Max!"

"Oh, c'mon!" replied Rachel with rolling eyes and a slight blush, nudging the other girl's shoulder. "You already got a hot girl."

"True." Both then walked into the living room, where Steph eventually put down her big backpack and started to pull out her entire tabletop game equipment. "Now fun aside," she said while unpacking. "You got something planned tonight…with Max?"

Blushing once more, Rachel slumped down onto the cozy chair, sighing "I don't know. Maybe…probably… I'm…" She paused for a second, her hands now entirely cold and wet. "I'm actually afraid, Steph."

Now even the brunette stopped her doings, eying her friend once more. She already had heard that some girls were scared of her first time upon not knowing what was awaiting them. Chloe had mentioned that her first sex had hurt and that she had hated it. Thankfully, that cup had passed Steph.

"I…I understand. Well, kinda. But you love Max, do you?"

"Yeah, of course! But…"

"Maybe it doesn't suck if you're doin' it with the right person. I mean, Chloe told me that her first time was total fucked up because she felt uncomfortable and rushed."

"You mean if I'm relaxed it won't hurt?"

"Well…" was everything Steph could reply while timidly scratching the back of her neck as she had to admit that she actually had no idea about this topic. "I…I don't know…maybe?"

"How was your first time?" Rachel suddenly asked curiously, leaning in to show her interest.

Now being the one in the spotlight, Steph felt kind of uneasy, yet she didn't want to leave her friend standing in the rain with such an important topic. So, she leaned back against the headrest of the sofa, reminiscing about her past.

"Truth be told, my first time was kinda…surprising," she began to tell and let a chuckled scoff follow. "Gosh, back at that time I hadn't even been aware that I prefer girls. It just…happened."

Now being interested in the story, Rachel wanted to know more details.

"Who was she?"

Her full lips forming a slight smile, Steph continued, her voice being soft and full of love.

"Her name was Anna. Red, slight curly hair. Freckles. Full red lips. Very athletic body, since – besides being a geek like me – she also loved gymnastics and was awesome in it. Back in Junior High we'd been best friends. Y'know, hangin' out a lot, doin' game nights and lotsa sleepovers.

Still, we both had our goals in life. She wanted to attend a school, which would support her sportive talent and I wanted to go to an…well, artsy one. So, the last months before graduation, we spent even more time together and soon I felt that there was…more between us. Movie nights got cuddlier, our game-chars started a romance and one night, Anna was suddenly lying beside me, giving me the warmest and cutest smile I've ever seen. I actually dunno exactly what happened after our first kiss, but we kinda went the whole way this particular night."

Suddenly, Steph's warm demeanor faltered and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"We wanted to keep this goin' as a long-distance relationship and…it actually worked. But seven months ago, all contact suddenly broke up."

"Shit! Did she…y'know, found someone new?" asked Rachel, internally already fearing that she might take things too far, which got even more evident as her friend with sadness filled face turned towards her.

"She died, Rach."

Taken aback by this revelation, the blonde gasped, covering her agape mouth. "Steph, I…"

"You didn't know and I don't blame ya for bringing it up. It's just… How fucked can life sometimes be? She just made one false flip and landed on her head. Snap, neck broken! No dramatic last words. No big tragic story. Just like that. And when I think about that it almost happened again with Chloe..."

Not wasting another second, Rachel changed her seat right beside her tear-shedding friend, embracing her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Steph!"

Steph enjoyed this comfort for a few minutes before she backed away again and said "It's okay. I mourned her for a couple of weeks and decided to move on. You, Chloe, Max and Mikey helped me to be strong and accept what had happened."

Rachel didn't even know what astonished her more about Steph. The fact that, despite this tragedy, she still was such a positive character or how she had been able to hide it so well that nobody had even realized it. In the end, it didn't matter since the past was the past and in the recent present the door bell chimed once more, signing the arrival of Max and Chloe.

Feeling totally giddy, Rachel jumped up, opened her newly arrived guests the door. And as soon as her boyfriend saw her, he froze and ogled her appearance.

"Like my new hair-cut?" she asked with a sheepish smirk, getting a few nods in return. Yes, Max was entirely stunned, which caused Rachel to chuckle and pull him in for a long kiss.

Then, it was Chloe's turn. Rad cut, Rach!

After a short hug for Chloe, the four friends finally made themselves comfortable on the couch, awaiting that Steph would be finished to prepare the game.

"Anyone wants some snacks or drinks?" asked Rachel, already moving towards the kitchen.

Whatcha got? signed Chloe in return, getting the answer right away as the blonde came back with some bags and cans.

"Well, we got soda, coke and water for your thirst and chips, nachos and Cheetos for your munchies."

Everybody choose what they desired. Cans were opened with a hissing sound and junk food devoured with crunchy noise while Steph, the gamemaster, started the game.

The atmosphere was filled with laughter and joyful words as everyone was having fun. After an hour and the first quest successfully finished, Rachel declared "I'm gonna hit the loo. Anyone need something?"

"I'm good!" returned Max.

"Me, too!" concurred Steph. "But I think we should take a general break anyway, 'cause the next quest will at least take us two hours to finish and needs some more preparation."

Then I'm gonna take a smoke! signed Chloe, getting up and grapping her jacket before she left the apartment. Only Max and Steph remained in the living room. And while the latter one was sorting some sheets of full-written paper and exchanging some fantasy figurines, Max tried to distract himself by watching his friend's doings. But as hard as he tried, the young boy failed to hide his nervousness. Sweaty hands and restless legs were simply hard to ignore, and so it was only logic that Steph would eventually ask "Nervous?"

The mischievous smirk. This all-knowing gaze. Yes, Steph was aware why he was so edgy, but Max was way too timid to admit it, though they were very good friends.

"I…uh…I-I just need to pee, too."

It was a cheep excuse and Steph could've easily called it, yet instead just shook her head with a soft chuckle.

Slowly, the teenage boy approached the bathroom, already wondering where his girlfriend was.

'Maybe she's in her room, just checking her appear-…' he began to think, as the bathroom's door got ripped open and he got pulled inside. Before Max even knew what was going on, the lock clicked twice and he got pushed against the wall. The impact was harder than expected, but as soon as Rachel's lips collided with his, all the pain was gone and replaced by pleasure.

"Gosh, I thought you'd never come," spoke the blonde between those hot kisses, pulling her boyfriend's crotch closer by grapping his behind in order to feel his arousal. In her mind, images about what she wished to do with him later that night started to form, letting her emit a shaky sigh.

For a moment it seemed like Rachel couldn't control herself anymore until it banged loudly on the door. And since no voice sounded, it was more than probable that it was Chloe.

After breaking the last kiss, Rachel said with a labored breath "Let's continue this later!"

"Y-yeah…!" was everything Max could answer, his brain close to shutting down. After Rachel brushed away some wrinkles on her dress and corrected some stray hairs, she gave her boyfriend one last kiss and left.

For good over a minute, the young teenager didn't move at all and it was only due to Chloe's abrupt intrusion and that he got shoved out of the bathroom that he changed his position. Taken aback and ripped out of his stupor, Max just looked at the closed door, hearing the splashing of liquid and the flushing of the toilet, before Chloe emerged again and walked past her step-brother with an expression of relief.

Now that the toilet was free again and Max in a state of being able to pee, he finally took the opportunity to empty his bladder.

Upon his arrival back from his journey, he got greeted with a lustful gaze by Rachel, a knowing smirk by Steph and rolling eyes by Chloe, each and everyone making him blush more and more.

"Alright, peeps! Ready for a new, awesome quest?" announced Steph and started to tell the story as soon as everybody had answered with a positive cheer.

One hour before midnight, the last dices were rolled and the game ended with the death of Rachel's character.

"Damn!" she muttered, kicking the figurine over the table with a snip of her finger.

"You were poisoned, Rach, not thrown by a troll," was Steph's reaction to that act as she grinned victoriously. "It was a hard case, though. So, don't be mad!"

But Rachel wasn't the only one who wasn't in a good mood anymore.

This game sucked hard! signed Chloe, pouting as well.

"Oh c'mon, guys! You can't always win. Max, what do you think? It was fun, right?"

"I died in the first 30 minutes," he answered with crossed arms and a grumpy demeanor. "So, you can imagine how much fun it was for me."

"Oh gosh, you're such a bunch of grumpy orc-pussies!" was Steph's easygoing reply as she packed her stuff.

In the meantime, Rachel went to the toilet again while Max refilled the snacks, whereas Chloe suddenly pulled out a can of beer from her backpack.

"Uh, Chloe…" her step-brother spoke with quirked eyebrows. "What's that?"

Beer. was her reply, her nonchalant demeanor telling everyone that she obviously wasn't even a bit worried to ignore one of the party's rules.

"No beer, Chloe!" added Steph with a stern demeanor. "You know what Rachel said."

Oh c'mon. It's just one tiny beer. Nobody'll get hurt.

But Max stayed adamant, ripping the can out of his step-sister's hand. "Rach's mom said: No alcohol and we'll respect that wish, okay!"

Normally, this discussion should've been over, but not for Chloe, who had a big problem with rules whatsoever, which she deemed nonsense. So, she got up and literally towered over her younger and smaller step-brother. With another swift move, the can changed its owner again.

"Don't. You. Dare!" threatened Max as Chloe took a step back, ready to open the beverage. And even Steph agreed with Max.

"Chloe!" chimed her voice in as well, telling her girlfriend that this was serious.

Two pairs of eyes gazed deeply at the punky girl, telling her to be reasonable and not to do it. But eventually, Chloe's rebellious side took over and she moved her finger so that the can opened with a hissing sound. Having been shaken during the slight struggle, most of the beer started to splash out, covering Chloe and everything around her with beer.

"Seriously?!" exclaimed Max, brushing some big droplets off his garments.

"Dammit, Chloe! Was that really necessary?! Rachel's mom's gonna freak!" added Steph as well, already trying to wipe some of the spilled drink with a napkin.

His fault, he shook it! the blonde tried to defend herself, which made Max even angrier.

"How could this be my fault? I told you not to open it! But you knew it better…as always."

But the whole mess became entirely complete as Rachel returned.

"Hey guys, what's up with all that…commotion."

The last word literally dropped out of her agape mouth as she saw the chaos and smelled the stench of beer.

"Are you guys insane, what the fuck?!"

But instead of just flipping out, the blonde immediately brought some rolls of wipes, trying to minimize the damage.

"Fuck! My mom's gonna kill me," she said while scrubbing the rug, glimpsing at her friends for a moment. "Where did this beer come from anyways?"

"Ask my dear step-sister!" was Max's grumbled reply as he threw another angry glare at the strawberry-blonde, who in return just rolled with her eyes.

Everybody was busy cleaning the mess and soon, all the stains were gone, yet the smell was still present.

"I think we got some spray that'll deal with the stench," said Rachel, throwing the last wipes into the garbage can before taking out the plastic bag. "Max, you and Chloe should change, since you both got splashed as well. Clothes are in my room. I'll bring out the trash."

"And I'm gonna try to get rid of that smell," threw Steph in and went to the bathroom where Rachel gave her some smell-neutralizing spray while Max and Chloe went into the blonde's room in order to change their clothes.

Chloe had already entered Rachel's room as Max slammed close door, drawing her attention towards him.

"Dammit, Chlo, why did you do that?!" he exclaimed, taking off his shirt and throwing it to the ground angrily. "Do you want her to be in trouble?"

Chill, dude! She won't be in trouble. Her mom's cool. signed the mute girl, stripping off her tank top and jeans, now being only dressed in her blue undergarments. Normally, Max would blush due to this sight, but was now only red out of anger.

"You don't know how Sera will react to this. Maybe she'll flip her shit and ban us all from this apartment."

But all Chloe gave as an answer was a simple shrug and an easygoing answer.

Don't worry, man, you can still fuck her at home.

"This isn't just about sex, idiot!" barked the brunette boy back, pulling his sleeping shirt out of his bag. "What if she doesn't allow me to see her anymore?"

"Pft!" scoffed the blonde, making it obvious that she didn't take this matter seriously, which infuriated her step-brother even more, causing him to speak his words in a threatening tone.

"If you're destroying my relationship with Rach, we'll be done, you selfish cunt!"

Once more the door got slammed shut as Max left, leaving behind a sighing Chloe, who eventually started to rummage through Rachel's clothes, which were actually pretty decent, but sadly way too small.

'Shit, how'm I supposed to fit into this stuff?' she asked herself, standing clueless in front of her friend's open wardrobe. Until she had a brilliant idea.

'Sera's should be size. Maybe she has some rad clothes that'll suit me?'

Thought and done! Still only dressed in her undergarments, she made her way straight to Sera's private space and entered it.

'Neat!' she thought as the punky girl saw the various band posters on the wall. In general, the room's decoration had mostly a dark, purple touch and – at least from Chloe's perspective – looked way better than her daughter's room.

'Okay, I need a shirt and some sweatpants. So, where would I put this stuff?'

And so, Chloe started to search through Sera's belongings for the wanted garments.

First to go for was the closet, which, however, only contained dresses, normal pants and button shirts. Next, she went for the wardrobe.

The first drawer was filled with underwear, reaching from pretty plain panties and bra's up to very hot lingerie.

'Damn, hot stuff! Would Steph be into such clothes? Definitely need to ask her.'

In the second drawer Chloe found what she was looking for: a plain black band shirt. But there was more. Besides a bottle of pretty strong painkillers, there was also a purple, phallus-shaped device that the blonde was ogling with wide opened eyes before taking it out.

'Dude!' was everything that came into her mind as the teenage-girl checked out this obvious sex-toy, already asking herself how it would feel to use it. But she never got the chance to deepen the thought as Rachel's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Chloe?"

Her voice was dripping with unbelieve and shock, even with fear, but no anger. Chloe turned on the spot, her mind racing to come up with a reasonable excuse. But just seeing her friend with such a demeanor of disappointment let her lack any response, especially now that Rachel's gaze had fixed on that object in her hands and the fact that she was just wearing her underwear. Yes, Chloe now realized how much she had messed-up again.

But that wasn't even the worst part. No, this situation was about to get as bad as possible as the lock of the apartment's door clicked.