Chapter 18

Two cups of hot coffee were standing on the table, the arising steam forming random patterns. Normally, Rachel would start the day with a cup of tea, but this morning she just needed a big load of caffeine, as well as her mother, who had her face buried in her cupped hands.

"Ugh, please remind me to never-ever buy this cheap wine again," she spoke with a groan before taking a big sip of coffee. But all Rachel could muster was a weak scoff. She was tired. So tired.

Apart from having been up late, she hadn't slept very well. Nightmares mixed with Anxiety attacks had successfully messed up her sleep. She had dreamed about losing everything. Her mom, Max, this peaceful life. There had been this strange voice, trying to lure her into darkness. Then she had dreamt that she was the most popular girl in school. Drugs and parties were the center of her life. The universe was spinning just around her, until her success had caught up with her. People laughed behind her back, everyone she once loved and had pushed away was now looking down on her, and eventually, she ended up on a junkyard, lying discarded between all the trash where she was now sharing its fate.

A cold shiver ran over the young girl's spine as she recalled those dreams, causing her to gulp down her mug of coffee in one draw.

"Had a rough night, too?" asked Sera with a wry smirk as she looked at her daughter. Normally, Rachel was already a bit styled when having breakfast, but this morning, she looked like she hadn't slept at all. Scruffy hair, still wearing her pyjamas and in a grumpy mood. No, something was off with Rachel.

"Nightmares," was everything she answered before she got up to pour some more dark-brown liquid into her mug.

"My poor darlin'! Luckily, they're just figments of our imagination."

'Figments of imagination?' thought Rachel with some bitterness, the images reappearing in her mind. 'Then why did it feel so real? It was more like a memory. So intense. Like I'd experienced it.'

"Rachel?" chimed Sera's voice and in addition, she felt a soft touch on her shoulder that startled her and caused her to drop the can. Fortunately, it landed just on the counter, but still there was a lot of coffee spread all over the surface, partially dripping onto the floor, since she had been so absently that the young teenager hadn't stopped filling her mug.

"Shit!" she cursed, hastily trying to grab some wipes before it would get worse, and it got worse as she accidently swiped the mug off the counter and onto the tiled floor, where it broke into pieces. "FUCK!"

"Rachel!" her mom called out, wrapping her arms around her panicking daughter, brushing soothingly over her head. "Ssh, it's okay, sweety! Just calm down. We all had a fucked night. How about you take a hot shower and wash away those stupid dreams, hmm?"

Rachel nodded into her shoulder and tightened the hold around her mother. She loved her so much and was just happy that Sera had decided to be there for her instead of living it large in the city with parties and drugs. In her eyes, she was the best mom in the world.

"I love you, mom!" she said with a sniffle as the first tears were pouring from her eyes. But she didn't want to have a meltdown right now. She wanted to look forward. So, she softly broke the embrace and said "I'm gonna take that shower. Sorry for making such a mess."

"It's okay," replied Sera with an honest smile, letting go of her daughter. "But in return you could do some shopping tomorrow, 'cause we're pretty much outta coffee and wipes."

"Sure thing, mom!" returned Rachel with a scoff.

Her mom had been totally right. As soon as the hot water ran over her young body, Rachel felt like she was entering a whole new world.

'Sometimes I wish, we'd have a tub like we used to have in Long Beach, then I'd totally take a dive into it right now. Maybe I should use the tub at Max's place sometime?'

She imagined how cool it would be to take a bath right now. How she would lean back and close her eyes. How Max would be there with her and…

"Rachel?" sounded her mother's voice through the door, paired with some knocks.

"Yeah?"

"Max and Steph are here and on their way up."

Right away, Rachel stopped the stream of water and grabbed her towel. While rubbing the wetness off her body, she called "I'm out in a minute!" Hastily, she put on her pyjamas and wrapped her still wet hairs into a towel before opening the door. And since the bathroom was close to the apartment's door, she was immediately standing in front of Sera, Steph and Max.

Her being now overflowing with joy, the young girl literally jumped at her boyfriend and kissed him with passion.

Rachel didn't know why she was so obsessed with Max. She never witnessed such passionate love before, neither in school nor in public.

Was her love for Max special? Was he special? Or even she, herself? Or wasn't there anything special at all? Maybe this was just some ordinary relationship, yet other people managed to don't show it in front of others?

Rachel didn't know and, honestly, she didn't care at the moment. All she did right now was to enjoy the closeness and the contact. Actually, she did enjoy it too much as a certain heat started to intensify in her crotch. Thank the universe that she wasn't a boy.

Reluctantly, she broke the kiss and gazed for another few moments at her entirely stunned boyfriend. She found it so cute when he was like that.

Eventually, she of course shifted her attention towards Steph, who she hugged as well, before saying "What're you guys doin' here?"

"We, um…" spoke Max, who was still blushing like a fire truck, timidly. "We were a bit worried since you didn't answer our calls and, uh…wanted to apologize for what happened last night. I know that it was just fu-...uh, messed up and…"

"Thank you, Max. I appreciate the effort, yet you weren't the one who messed up, if I remember right," was Sera's reply. Still, she seemed to be a bit grumpy upon being reminded of last night's events.

"Mom, please…" Rachel tried to intervene, but was disturbed as the bell rang again. "Hello?" she then spoke into the speaker of the opener.

But the real surprise came as a voice answered, which she hadn't heard for months. "I-i-it's Ch-Ch-Chloe."

In stupor, she simply pushed the open-button and turned to the others. "It's Chloe...and she spoke."

Everybody stayed silent and waited until the lanky blonde appeared in the doorframe, shyly looking at the four people that were staring at her. It was pretty clear that she needed a lot of strength to form those next words. "H-hey g-guys! I-I-I w-w-...w-want to a-apo- apologize f-for...f-for…"

Rachel didn't know what the others were thinking - well, her mom was probably still angry - but apart from being astonished, the young girl felt only hate. She hated Chloe for messing up what had been supposed to be an awesome night. She hated her for breaking some simple rules on purpose. She hated her for embarrassing her mom, and especially that - just because of her - she had a fight with her mother and almost drove her back into overdoing it with drugs. Chloe had literally endangered her staying in Arcadia Bay. And all these facts were way too many than to simply ignore them and forgive her. And her mom seemed to see it the same way.

"Chloe," the older woman said with crossed arms and a head shake, "I appreciate your brave gesture of coming here and apologizing, but what you did was so… I can't even say it in words. You literally betrayed us all with your behavior. You embarrassed me in front of my daughter and her friends. You ruined our parties. I'm sorry, but a simple apology won't cut it. Of course, I'm just speaking for myself here."

Pleadingly and with watery eyes the young blonde gazed at her friends, especially at Rachel. But when she had hoped to get a positive response, she was mistaken.

"Fuck you, Price!" was everything Rachel had to say before she turned on the spot and went to her room, slamming the door shut.

The signs were crystal-clear and hard. Rachel despised Chloe for what she had done. And though Max could understand this reaction, it still left a sting in his heart.

He remembered how hard the way had been to let them both bridge their differences and engage in a friendship. How good it had been that the four of them could hang out. But now all this was lying in ruins. Would Steph decide the same way? Would she banish Chloe, too? What was he supposed to do now? Would Rachel be mad at him for forgiving his step-sister?

He heard a sniffle and saw Chloe spilling tears. Yes, she was having a bad conscience and probably the same questions were going through her mind as well.

Chloe was obviously afraid. Afraid of losing everything. Her friend, her girlfriend and even her step-brother. What was he supposed to do? Should he encourage Steph or just let fate run its course. But eventually it was Steph who took the first step by embracing her girlfriend's head with her cupped hands and moving it so that she was looking directly into her eyes.

"If you do something like this ever again, I'm gonna kick your sweet butt so hard that you'll fly straight to the moon and leave a big fuckin' crater! You got that?"

All Chloe could reply was a nod before Steph pressed her lips onto her girlfriend's. This gesture filled Max's heart with joy and comforted him at least a bit and also induced him to give his step-sister a hug as well.

"Sorry about what I said last night," he whispered into her ear and she just nodded into his shoulder as she spilled some tears of joy. But not everyone was happy about this reunion.

"Sorry to be the joykill here, but I'm still pretty pissed at you all and have a headache from outta hell. So, please, take the schmoozing outside and gimme some break!" chided Sera, who was already holding open the door. A simple, yet polite way to tell them to finally leave.

The three teenagers concurred right away, Chloe and Steph taking the lead. But before Max could leave, the door got shut right in front of his nose. Now expecting that he - out of whatever reasons - would get some heat, he gazed timidly at Sera, who however just gave him a soft smile.

"I think Rachel needs some company right now. Last night was pretty rough for her and I think that some mush from her boy's gonna help her. You're in?"

Being happy and relieved, Max nodded sheepishly with a smile, saying "Thanks, Sera!"

"I just want her to be happy. But please, keep the noise down!"

Right away, the young boy knocked at Rachel's room door. "Rach? It's me, Max."

And not a second later, Rachel opened up, now wearing grey sweatpants and a hoodie. She gave him a wry smirk, eyeballing him from head to toe.

"So, you wanna come in or just stand there?"

Shaking off his stupor, Max of course decided to enter. And while Rachel closed the door, he began to take off his thick winter garments, which wasn't that easy since his body was still sore from this uncomfortable night, causing him to groan.

"You okay?" asked Rachel with worry and received a soft smile.

"Yeah. Just some tension in my shoulders and my back. Lil' tip, never sleep on Steph's couch."

Though it was meant to be a joke, his girlfriend just raised one eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

"Steph's couch?! You wanna tell me something?"

Max knew that Rachel was simply acting jealous to mock him. She knew what Steph's deal was. Still, Max told her everything that had happened last night and Rachel did the same. Though, during all their conversation, the young girl didn't fail to realize how her boyfriend was constantly rubbing his shoulders and stretching his back, until she had enough.

"Should I give you a massage, Max? It's obvious that you're in pain."

"Can you do that?"

"Of course," she replied with a shrug, positioning behind him on the bed. "C'mon, take off your shirt. It'll make it easier."

Max's heart skipped a beat as Rachel suggested that he should undress, but he ended up doing it anyway, since she was already pulling at the hem of his garments. First his sweater and then his t-shirt, and as soon as he felt the soft touch of Rachel's hand on his skin, an intense heat ran through his body. But then, the pain came as the young girl pressed her thumbs on the right place.

"Ouch!"

"Gosh, you're so tense!"

"Well, hadn't planned to spend my night on Steph's fucking couch."

"No, you were supposed to spend it here, in my bed."

Now Max remembered their little make-out session, last night. The hints Rachel had given him.

'Calm down, Max! She's just givin' you a massage. Distract yourself!'

"I'm glad that your mom let me stay, though you're supposed to be grounded."

"I think we spoke a lotta stupid stuff in rage, last night," Rachel returned as she kept on massaging. "I'm just glad that we're back together and everything's okay again."

Suddenly, the painful massage turned into soft, seducing brushes, which sent a slight a shiver over Max's spine. First, Rachel focused primarily on his back, but a minute later her hands had already reached his chest. A shaky breath escaped his mouth as she kept exploring while she leaned in and started to kiss his neck.

The whole wide world started to spin while his stomach was doing summersaults. It felt like a dream. No, it had to be a dream!

And like right on cue, the massaging suddenly stopped, which caught Max by surprise, so that he turned around. But if anything, it caused his jaw to drop and his heart to jump out of his chest as he witnessed how Rachel zipped open the hoodie, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything under it. And then, she also dropped her pants, which left her wearing only a slip.

Now Max's brain was in overdrive. He didn't know what to do or to say. Hell, he couldn't even remember his name, let alone what he was supposed to do now. Luckily, Rachel seemed to know what she was doing as she embraced her boyfriend again and pulled him down onto the bed, so that both were laying there and continued to make out.

Out of a sudden and to Max's surprise, his brain booted up again, leading that he felt Rachel's naked body on his own and his hands started to roam all over her skin.

Internally, Maxine was close to a panic-attack. She didn't know anything about sex or what to do. Of course, she had already watched some porn and fantasized about how it would be to have sex, but apart from this...zip. Nothing. Let alone, that she was in a boy's body. How far was she supposed to go anyway? Just kissing, or…

'Dammit, Max, you can't hide forever in your cocoon. Just for once risk something.'

Slowly, Max's hand glided down Rachel's body. From her side, over her belly and deeper down right to the hem of her slip and a bit further so that he could already feel some pubic hair. But before he could go even deeper, Rachel stopped everything by softly grabbing his hand. Both then gazed at each other, whereas Rachel's expression was a pure mystery, simply unreadable.

"Shit!" she eventually hissed and got up, only to stand beside the bed, back towards her boyfriend, who was entirely taken aback by this reaction.

"Rach," he eventually asked with worry, "are you okay? D-did I…?"

But she simply shook her head, saying "I-it's not you, Max. You...you actually did great, but…" She then turned around to face him, her eyes welled up. "I'm scared, Max. I'm so scared about this. I-I mean, yesterday, I was so sure that I wanna have sex with you. Fuck, even five minutes ago, all I wanted was to do it already, but then… FUCK!"

Max immediately jumped up and embraced his frustrated Rachel without any hesitation. Actually, both were frustrated at the moment, but in Max's case it was just his arousal and the need for some relief and not something so deep.

"It's okay, Rach!" he tried to soothe, but only got a blurted answer in return.

"Nothing's okay, Max! Right now, we're supposed to lie there and fuck each other's brain out and not...this!"

Maxine understood her. Back in her reality, she had heard numerous stories about other girl's first time. How it had hurt. How it wasn't fun at all. How some guys right away wanted to do some humiliating kinky stuff, though the girl hadn't even become clear of her own sexuality. No, Maxine entirely understood this fear and that was giving her an advantage. Or did it?

"Y'know, I get it. And fuck, I'm scared as hell, too."

But Rachel just frowned upon this comment, her eyes ogling at her boyfriend's still aroused crotch.

"Really? Why should you be scared? You just stick your dick in and hump."

Being met with such a snarky and also unfair comment, Max's answer was of course a bit harsh.

"How about that I care about you, Rach? I-I mean, yeah, I just stick it in, but I'm...I'm scared that I might hurt you, okay. That our first time would suck. That I literally fuck things up and you don't like me anymore."

Now Rachel's rage abated more and more. How could she lack so much empathy? Max had feelings too and was also allowed to be afraid. She felt sorry and desperate and so she once more wrapped her arms around Max and pressed him even closer.

"Shit, Max, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out on you. It's...It's just… Fuck, I dunno why I always freak out. Sometimes it just boils inside me and then...I lose my shit."

"Rach," Max eventually said, breaking the embrace and giving his girlfriend a soft smile while brushing soothingly over her cheek, "after all that shit that had happened, it's okay to freak out. And it's totally fine if we take our time. We both are supposed to feel good, not just me."

This was too much for Rachel. She simply couldn't hold up her current state anymore, not when so much love was filling her being. With welled up eyes and a warm smile she leaned in and kissed Max so deeply that both stopped breathing. The only time she took a break was when she softly whiffed "I love you so much, Max!" and then continued.

Max felt great. So great in fact that he forgot everything around him. Only as Rachel's hand wandered from his back deeper down towards his pants, he got catapulted back to reality.

"R-Rach...wh-wha-...?!"

"Relax," she whispered between the kisses. "I'm just...gonna...make away...your frustration."

Her hands fumbled on his pants to open them before she dove into it. Max felt how she was softly yet with some insecurity touching his privacy, and it felt so good and arousing that it didn't take much to push him over the edge.

Rachel froze as she felt how a warm liquid was squirting over her hand and arm. It was a strange feeling and she actually didn't know what to do right now. Max on the other hand, turned even redder as he already had been, burying his face in his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Fuck!" he cursed quietly, not daring to look at Rachel, who had already freed her spotted arm and was now staring at it.

Was she disgusted now? Would she chide him for spilling his sperm without a warning? But the blonde just mentioned with some fascination "So that's how it looks like in real life." and then sniffed on it. "Blech, but it smells weird."

"Rach, I'm so…" Max tried to apologize, but stopped as he heard his girlfriend giggle.

"Oh gosh, you're not just apologizing for coming on my arm, do you?"

"But…"

But Rachel gave him simply another kiss and then said "I loved this!" which left Max entirely bedazzled again.

Rachel was such an enigma to Maxine.

'One moment, she seems like she was the angel of wreath, killing everyone in her path, and the next, she's totally happy and the sweetest angel on earth. Does she have bipolar disorder? Or is this how she is? But no matter what, I kinda love this about her. I love her!'

The young teenage-girl had just wiped her arm clean as she reached her boyfriend a box with wipes, which Max gladly took.

'Being a boy is so messy. Thank dog that Rachel isn't grossed out by this. I would.'

After she was done, the blonde laid down on her bed, covering her still almost entirely naked body with a blanket and signed Max to join her by keeping it a bit lifted up. Of course, he joined her and soon, both were cuddled under the cover, enjoying their warmth and closeness. Eventually, the exhaustion from the night before took its toll and both teenage lovers fell asleep in merely minutes.