Its been far far too long, and I can't say I'll ever come back to this story.

I had this chapter 99% complete, so I edited it a bit, wrote a quick wrap up and posted it.

I'm not happy with this story, but I'll leave it up, I am happy I wrote it even if the content isn't my best work and is a general mess.

Thanks for reading, sorry to update after like 6 years and call this an ending, but I lost the drive for it awhile ago.

I hope you all are well, all two of you who are going to log in and be disappointed it was this fic and not the one you're actually waiting on updating haha!

Bang! Bang!

"Aaah!"

Max shot bolt upright in her bed as her heart leapt out of her chest. She flinched as a cruel, pale face flashed across her vision, lit from below by a handgun firing. Her hands raised as if to ward off the expected pain, but it didn't come.

Instead a familiar voice called out through her door.

"Max! Are you coming to the party or what? You said you wanted my help, don't leave me hanging!"

Dana.

With a groan Max sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, blearily wiping sleep from her eyes. She'd taken a nap that had turned into actual sleep at some point and fully dressed to boot, and it took her a little while to wake up from it.

She hadn't dreamed of anything, a nice change of pace, but now she felt more tired than ever. What was it about a late afternoon nap that left you so well rested, yet you feel like you could sleep for eight more hours?

The pounding on the door stopped for a moment, and then her phone began to ring on her dresser. Dana must've been worried that Max wasn't home. Considering that she'd been staying at Chloe's for a while it wasn't out of the question.

"Hold on a sec, Dana!" Max called through the door. "I'm not decent!"

"Good, you're still here! I came to help you get ready. You are not wearing that jeans and a tshirt routine you get away with, so cover your bits and let me in, I need to see what I've got to work with!" Dana tumbled back, teasing but somehow deadly serious. "Time's a-wasting!"

Max laughed to herself, and hurriedly threw a few pairs of underwear and dirty clothes into her hamper, shut it, then tidied a few random items she'd left lying about. Her room wasn't exactly a mess, but she'd neglected to clean it since she started coming back here during the day. Others might not have cared, but she was always conscious of making sure wherever she stayed was presentable when people came over.

Finished, she opened the door to find Dana playing on her phone, tongue sticking out as she twisted it this way and that. A sad tone played as she growled in frustration and put the phone up.

"Game not going well?"

"Stupid tenth level makes me want to throw the damn thing…" The taller girl moved in for a gentle hug as she stepped through the doorway. "But that's not important! How've you been Max? Get enough sleep for tonight?"

"I still feel like the Sandman dumped a bucket of sleep on me, but I'm so ready to have fun with everyone." Though on the inside Max was a bit nervous still. She'd gone to parties before, but not really anything like a Vortex club party, which were closer to actual club events than a high school bash, or so she'd been told. "This is all a little... new to me."

"Well that's why I'm here! We'll get you fixed up and ready to paar-tay! Now let's see what you've got besides the classic hipster chic…"

Together they pulled Max's closet apart, separating her wardrobe into possibilities. Max pulled out what she was thinking of wearing, but it was shot down instantly. It was cute, but not Vortex Party material according to the fashionable Dana.

"It's better than street clothes, but not party attire Max."

Most of her clothes seemed to fit that description, of being 'Max' but not 'Party Max', whatever that meant. Even her fancy outfit, the one she picked out with her mom, was deemed unfit to be worn. Max didn't think the blue strapless was bad, she'd worn it to Junior prom at her old school after all!

Dana almost fainted when she'd heard that

"Don't you own a single skirt or dress that isn't funeral wear? Anything?"

Dana had been getting frustrated as they worked, both at Max and the lack of options she found. Something was bothering her, but any time Max would try to think of a way to bring it up she changed the subject instantly.

"Not really ... Dresses and such aren't really my style you know." Max mumbled back, a bit down from what she thought was a perfectly acceptable wardrobe. "I…just want to wear jeans anyway, that's fine right?...or maybe this was a bad idea…."

Dana's head snapped around at her tone, and she immediately looked abashed, grasping Max's uninjured hand in both of her own and squeezing gently.

"Y-yeah! Of course it's fine! I- sorry Max, I don't mean to be pushy. I get a bit too passionate sometimes. I wasn't thinking of how hard this might be!"

"It's okay. I'm just…nervous, I supposed? I haven't been to a party like this, and I guess I don't have the clothes for it really…I'm glad you're here to help."

"Okay. I'm still sorry! As for the clothes problem…hmm. Lets see what I've got for you to wear."

Max could feel her heartbeat slow from where it was racing before. She'd not noticed how close she was to breaking down, but Dana's steady presence and her apology had recentered her. She was a bit embarrassed that her entire wardrobe was deemed unacceptable, but if Fashion Expert Dana said it, it must be so. Max took a breath and consigned herself to being dressed in someone else's clothes for a little while.

"You're the boss Dana!"

Together they put her closet back together and moved down the hall to the other room, talking about who was going to the party with whom and other gossip. Or at least Dana was, Max kept quiet and let the other girl talk as much as she wanted. She was happy to just let her mind wander a bit. After all, if tonight was about not thinking about all the terrible shit that had gone on recently, why should she have to think about anything at all?

Dana started pulling out clothes from her dresser and closet immediately, muttering about how she must have something. Most of the items were obviously not going to work, either making Max look like a child dressing up as her big sister, or didn't fit the look the cheerleader was going for. Their difference in size wasn't too much, but it definitely limited their choices. Still they forged ahead, mixing and matching to find the perfect outfit.

By the time Juliet, Kate and Victoria called for them, they had something put together.

It was nothing daring, just a simple light blue dress and white wool vest, but Max felt oddly good about wearing it. She was not a fan of dresses, much preferring her jeans and sometimes shorts, but with the black leggings she had on underneath she could pretend that she was just wearing a very long shirt. Borrowing a dreamcatcher necklace from Juliet, and wearing her nicest boots, she was like a new person in the mirror, though she still privately felt like a dress up doll for the other girls.

Still, they must have done something right because even Victoria had something nice to say about it and she got a few looks from their other classmates as she walked with the group towards the gym. Compared to the looks Victoria or the other two got, she and Kate were almost invisible, but any attention was more than either one was used to. One of the football players even did a comical doubletake that had the whole group laughing on their way to the gym building.

"So Kate, where is your boy toy tonight? Anything special planned with you two all alone on the roof together?" Victoria asked suggestively, trying to dig for gossip.

"Um, Warren said he was going to set everything up to record while he was away and then meet me here…" Kate blushed a bit. "I think he wants to give me a chance to have fun without him, since we're together all the time…"

"I think that's nice Kate. You should have a night out every once in a while."

"At least you have a date. Fucking Trevor left me to go hang out with some hussy! Grr!" Dana griped

"I was wondering why you were a bit distant today. do you know who it was? Do we need to murder someone?"

"I dont know! But when i find her, she's so damn dead!"

Victoria gave her a look that bordered on panic, and then wiped it away the second she saw Max looking. Was that guilt or just surprise?

"What about you Max? You have a date besides us? I know you've been hanging around with what's her name."

"Chloe? I know you know who she is. Hard to miss the blue hair, Victoria." Juliet said, always the source of knowledge about goings on at BlackWell. She'd met the punk rocker at the hospital during one of her visits, and recognized her from school before. "The one that Rachel used to hang out with? Before she left?"

"If I wanted to say that loser's name I would have used it!" Victoria snapped. "She's a dangerous bum and I can't believe that anyone would want to hang out with her after what she did!"

Max felt a sudden flash of protectiveness for her friend, and was just about ready to launch herself at the other girl, injuries or no. How dare she talk that way about her friend! It's not as if her best friend was a shining example of how to act! Chloe was a thousand times better than Nathan Prescott!

She opened her mouth to retort, when Kate of all people beat her to the punch.

"That's not very nice Victoria! You don't know her circumstances or anything about her really. I've actually met her and she's quite nice. I can see why Max was her friend for so long."

"Thanks Kate." Max said, smiling at the blonde before turning to the other. "And she's right Victoria, you might even get along if you gave her a chance."

"No. You need to think about who you hang around with Max, she's trouble." Victoria said, stepping ahead of the group and trading glares with Dana and Juliette. "I need to check on the club before Taylor gets too trashed to remember who's on the list."

She sped up and disappeared into the growing stream of students around them, leaving the group high and dry. The popular girl didn't even look back once, just slipped through the door and into the party. Max was glaring at her back the entire way, and ground her teeth at what the other girl had said.

"And here I thought she wasn't so bad! Where does she get off saying that about someone she doesn't even know!" Max growled. "Chloe has had it rough, but…"

"I think she was actually trying to be nice, before she turned back into the Queen Bitch."

"Dana! Language!"

"Sory Katie…"

The four of them moved as a group towards the doors, carefully putting Max and Kate away from the bustling students around them. Some of them seemed to recognize Max from the papers or news, since she'd been inevitably identified as word spread, but none had the guts to try their luck getting past her human shields. Not yet anyway.

As they filtered into the doors, Max could already tell the gym building was packed beyond belief, with more students than she thought even went to BlackWell. Of course there were a lot of people she didn't necessarily know that went to her school, but this was well past her expectations. It was the middle of the semester for crying out loud, they hadn't even had midterms yet!

"Holy crap, that's a ton of people."

"Victoria and Juliet really outdid themselves this time. They got, like, a million views on the Vortex Club site once they set up that fundrais-oof!" she cut off as an elbow from Juliet cut her off.

"Shut it!"

"Uh, right. Yeah, no, they got a lot of people to chip in for this one."

"Fundraiser…? Why did they need so many people to pay anyway? Doesn't the Club have a fund for parties?" Max was a bit confused. The End of the World Party had been canceled, but she had assumed that most of the money could have been used for this one. "It's one of the big draws to come, that you don't have to pay, I thought?"

"They do, but it was mostly….well, Nathan, that paid for this stuff, or at least his dad did...it felt kind of wrong to use that to have fun after all...that happened. You might've seen the phrase 'burn the money' at some point? On posters and shit?"

Max thought for a minute and then nodded. "Sure, I guess. I thought it was just some stupid gimmick for socialism."

"You're not wrong Max, not wrong at all… anyway, a lot of the club wanted to just ditch all the money outright, like give it back to the Prescotts. We didn't want blood money funding our good times. But Victoria had a better idea and fucking donated it to, like, the UCLA or some gun control thing. All of it. Prescott was pissed, but he couldn't really take the money back. And then we set up a fundraiser to pay for this!" Dana told her, eyeing the line ahead of them. They were making slow progress, but there were a lot of people still. "Enough of this waiting in line crap. Let's party!"

The two Vortex members grabbed Max and Kate, ushering them ahead of the line as people complained at their actions. The two shy girls tried to protest, but were swept up in the energy as they got closer to the door. Kate still apologized to nearly every person they passed. They reached the door and were immediately waved through without checking for tickets.

Curious, Max leaned over to Kate.

"Since when did the Vortex Club require tickets?"

"I don't think they've ever done that before. I just walked in…last time….. Maybe it has something to do with them inviting people from Portland too?"

"Portland!? How big is this party going to be!?" Max was already thinking about how she could escape, she'd never been a huge fan of crowds, or enclosed spaces.

"I told you Max! Huge! Let's go already!" Dana shouted over the music.

Max was pulled along again, though she was less resisting now that she wasn't actively shoving people out of the way and stepping on people's feet. A curtain was strung across a good fourth of the gym, hiding the VIP section from everyone else. Max smiled at Taylor as she waved them through as well, though the bleached blonde just glowered a bit. She'd never been very friendly before, and nothing had changed it seemed.

Oh well, even Gandhi couldn't win over everyone.

Inside there was a bar, a few couches and tables with chairs, and the DJ stand. People covered the area, making it almost as packed as outside the curtain, though Max doubted many more people would be allowed back here. Flashing lights and fog made the space seem deep and mysterious, making the edges hazy and the walls seem far away, while the music was just slightly quieter behind the curtain. It was still loud though.

The girls immediately made their way to the bar, where Victoria and several other Vortex members waited. Max didn't know most of the people at the party, or really anyone outside of her classes, but that didn't seem to matter much, since she was pretty much invisible even in her borrowed outfit.

"Here Max. Take a drink."

Victoria passed her a cup, full of something strong smelling and Max blinked at the taller girl. She had a proud look on her face, but it softened and she nodded to Max in a quiet kind of apology. It wasn't quite admitting she'd done wrong, but it was something, and Max shakily nodded back. Maybe Victoria wasn't all that bad.

Looking down, she pondered the drink in her hand, and realized she had no reason to really refuse to drink, other than she didn't like alcohol, but what was tonight for if she wasn't going to enjoy herself? And Victoria might be mad if she didn't at least try her not-apology drink…

Her heart was pounding, and she felt hot and cold, prickly across her neck and shoulders…but that was just because she was nervous, right? It was normal to feel like the room was starting to close in and spin a bit, totally! And…didn't people drink to calm their nerves?

She took a tiny sip, but the taste almost knocked her flat. What was that, pure rubbing alcohol?

She must've pulled a face, because Victoria rolled her eyes and took her solo cup, taking it for herself and handing her another. This one smelled just as strong, but when she ventured a sip tasted like a jolly rancher, though there was still a burn at the end. Still, it was better than what she'd had before and Dana cheered her on as she had some more.

Soon most of her little group had drifted away from the bar, dancing or trying to find their other friends, even Kate, who said she was going to meet Warren. Alone and awkward, Max could only watch the crowd fill up outside the curtains and laugh at her friends' antics. She didn't mind being on the fringe of the party, not at all, but Juliet quickly came to pull her into the knot of people on the dance floor.

Her heart jumped again, and the room rushed around her, but her half-cup of jolly rancher booze had her feeling a bit uncontrolled, and she laughed it off, determined to have a good time!

Dancing with the other girl was mostly just thrashing around on her part, and Max felt more than a little silly trying to emulate her friend's actions, but the energy was infectious. She found herself smiling, laughing and dancing with the crowd, letting the beat of the music thud in her ears.

She wasn't as wild as those around her, but she thought that swaying and giving little hops up and down was pretty good considering the state she was in. Her arm only throbbed a bit, and she was careful to keep it out of the line of fire.

Finishing her drink while she danced, she went back for another one, wanting more of that candy sweet taste. It was amazing, whatever it was. Why hadn't anyone told her drinking didn't have to suck? Maybe it was like coffee, and she'd learn to love it!

She must've been dancing for at least an hour before she checked her phone to see a message from Chloe. The punk was running late, but promised to be there soon. The message was about twenty minutes old, so she half expected to look up and see her friend, but had no such luck. Not that she could really see that well at that point, between the haze of the room and her own swimming vision.

The party was in full swing now, dozens of people dancing and thrashing around, jumping and having fun. The lights were off in the gym, but the strobes and lasers made everything glow anyway, especially anything white or reflective. Max's vest was practically a miniature LED for the glow it put off. At least Chloe would be able to see her easily enough. She wondered if blue hair glowed under a blacklight, then decided that she really wanted to find out.

As the song ended and another one began Max started to feel a bit uneasy, tilting a bit as she scanned for anyone she knew. The beat of the bass was intense, hitting her chest and making it ache, the air jumping against her skin, prickly and cold. Sharp noises and flashing started up, distorted music fit for a club blasting her from all sides as the walls leaned inward and the heat of the crowd pushed against her. It felt like everything was a thousand miles away, and an inch from touching her.

She was blinking hard, and things started to seem sharp and contrasted to her eyes, like the world was flattening into its most basic shapes. Her body felt like it was receding and she couldn't tell how fast she was breathing, just that it wasn't enough. No one was paying any attention to her, and they just became shapes in the corner of her eye, moving almost in slow motion.

She started to feel tight in her chest, a lead weight in her stomach. The room felt colder, the heat of the bodies around her leeching away. She could reach out and touch at least a dozen people, but they might as well have been on the moon to her. They had no color, and weren't real…

Turning, she shakily tried to take a seat in one of the lounge chairs, but stopped. Even when she closed her eyes and tried to focus, her mind was reeling. The sound wasn't blocked out by her hands, the lights flashed faster and faster through her eyelids and her entire body rocked from the movement of the crowded building. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry until it was over, but the idea of being under all those people, the stomping feet, made her feel worse..

She needed to get out, now. She was having a panic attack, or close to it.

Max pushed her way to the edge of the crowd, not caring when her drink was struck and drenched her dress and vest. She hoped that she could follow the wall to an exit, or another room maybe, but she had no such luck, the normally familiar gym was now a maze of things she didn't want to face.

Someone taller than her stumbled into her path, a blurry shape that was all leg and tight cotton. They slurred something that sounded vague even to Max's buzzing ears, putting their hands on her shoulders and shaking her slightly. She froze, scared, arm throbbing and unsure who, or what, had grabbed her. Her skin buzzed as she dumbly stared straight ahead, afraid to move.

Luckily the crowd shifted again and the tall girl, because short shorts and long hair meant it had to be a girl, stumbled away cheering at the newest song. The same motion sent Max spinning, but she finally found the wall she'd been looking for.

She closed her eyes a moment, leaning heavily on the sealed bricks. This had been a very bad idea.

She needed to leave.

She wanted to go, to find someone...

She wanted Chloe.

Deep breaths, don't get any worse, don't panic and more than you are now. She thought. Oh look, there's the VIP curtain.

Wandering towards the curtain ahead, still dazed and not seeing Taylor at her post anymore, she poked her head through to find an even larger space, with even more people. But she saw an exit sign just to the right, the red letters promising her relief. Just twenty feet, no big deal.

She wove between some dancers, getting bumped around as someone lost their balance. Max was the one who apologized, breathlessly muttering her excuse as she stumbled a bit. Maybe she'd had more than she thought. It felt like the world was shaking a bit, twisting around her head and she was shaking. That sounded like being drunk right?

She had no idea.

Max didn't like this, it was awful.

A hand snaked out of the crowd, touching her uninjured shoulder and turning her head. It was gentle, but definitely there to get her attention. Max wanted to groan. What now? Why couldn't she just leave!?

Chloe

"Hey, where are you off to Max? I just got here!"

Max pulled her friend into a hug, wanting something warm and solid to latch onto. Chloe was, and always had been, both.

"Whoo, you've been drinking! I can smell that vodka! Good on you Maxaroni, cutting loose." She pulled away, looking down at her, blue hair bright under the flashing lights. "Are you all good? You feel cold, and you were kinda running away…"

"S-sorry. I just feel...nervous as hell….like everything-"

"-Is closing in. I gotcha. Come on, we'll get some air."

She seemed to know exactly what Max was thinking, what she was going through. Small wonder after spending the past month glued to her hip and at the hospital. And a lifetime before that.

Chloe led her to the door, brushing past a group of college bros with a glare at one in a backwards hat. He raised his hands, like he wanted nothing to do with the two girls, though he'd been staring before. Max was glad Chloe was there, the last thing she wanted was to deal with some drunk dudebro right now.

Outside Chloe dragged her to the side and made her stand still, cupping her face as she forced Max to look at her. Her blue eyes sparkled as she started a slow count of "in….out...in….out" that Max tried desperately to follow.

It took awhile but with Chloe helping her along she started to see more of the world again, black edges receding from her vision. Spots still swam by every once in a while, but she was feeling better after a few minutes of grounding herself with Chloe's help.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she took a peek at where they were standing, just to the side of the doorway, but far enough she couldn't see back into the party. It was far brighter than Max had thought it would be, nearly as bright as day. She looked up and gasped, tapping Chloe on the shoulder to get her attention.

Bastrieter, that rogue planet roaming through the solar system, was brilliant above them, shining orange and silver, almost as bright as the sun on an overcast day. It was twice the size of the moon and looked cracked, rivers of light shining on the surface, one side of the errant planet still glowing days after wrapping around the sun. Ridges of mountains dotted its surface, bumps of fiery light, their flanks running in rivers as they oozed lava and rocks like meteors. Whatever atmosphere there was must have burned away, because there were no clouds, no smoke or haze, nothing to block the Earth's view of the errant planetoid as it crossed the sky.

She could see its movement across the sky, sliding slowly towards the horizon as dots and lines of silver crossed beneath and around it. The rogue planet must have been traveling unbelievably fast through their system, even a science noob like her knew enough to understand that. To see something so massive moving so fast made her head spin.

It was one of the most breathtaking sights she'd ever seen. It made her worries seem tiny, for just a moment, as she stood in the dew covered lawn.

Whoa

"We have got to see this from Warren's telescope Chloe."

"I think you're right…but first, how are you doing?Did something happen back there?" Her voice was thick with concern. "I should have been there sooner, but the truck...

"Stop. It's not your fault. I...I would say I'm fine, but I honestly don't know what to feel right now." She wasn't feeling the most stable at the moment, still breathy and twitchy. Her body was light and felt barely tethered to the world, like she had nothing to her but she was still there. "Just need some time, I think."

Chloe looked at her for a long moment, concern written on her face, but shrugged a second later.

"Alright, if you're sure. Walk slow though, ok? If you pass out it's gonna be a bitch to carry you home."

Max just sighed and shook her head. Truth be told, she still felt like she was going to fall apart at any moment, held together by Chloe and her own battered willpower. It was like holding onto the moment in surfing, when you were either going to be crushed by the wave or catch it perfectly and ride it in, no middle ground.

And I already know that there are rocks underwater, waiting for me...

Not that she was very good at surfing, but that's what it felt like, just inside her head. She was pretty sure that was the vodka, making her feel floaty and open, but all the rest of it was there too. A howling bowl of emotions in her gut, waiting to be riled up again. She just snuggled closer to Chloe as they walked, her damp dress sucking the warmth from her thin frame.

It took them less time than she would've liked to reach the boys dorms, giving her little time to gather herself, but that was alright. It didn't seem like anyone was even interested in telescopes with the party going on, and even Warren was gone from his perch. Ms Grant was there, but she only nodded at the two girls and went back to her laptop, typing away madly as she watched the planet scroll past. Max idly remembered that she'd said she was going to write a paper on Bastrieter, or try to contribute to the scientific community or something.

"Wonder where nerd boy went? Wasn't he all hyped for this?" Chloe asked, guiding Max to the corner furthest from the teacher. "I wonder if Kate's alright..."

It took a second for Max to blink and register her words.

"Wait, why wouldn't Kate be ok?"

Chloe glanced at her and winced, regretting that she'd said too much.

"Uh, shit. Look, this isn't really something that I'm supposed to tell anyone, but...Kate gets depressed sometimes yeah? Like when she feels helpless or something, I don't know. And when you were in the hospital…"

"What Che?"

"I-i might've gone to church with her?…. during that first week, you were still asleep, and it was the first time I'd left your room in like, four days." She took a breath, looking down at the lawn below before continuing. "I didn't want to go home, but my mom and the doctors kicked me out until I got some sleep. But I knew I couldn't or I'd just end up lying there awake the whole time."

She smiled at Max, reassuring her that everything was fine.

"So I just wandered around like a ghost. Thought I could go to your room but the dorms were locked, and I really didn't want to go anywhere near that fucking bathroom, and I ended up in the chapel. Did you know that BlackWell had one?"

Max could only shake her head, blood pounding in her ears. She wasn't freaking out anymore, but she definitely wasn't feeling normal, and she was struggling to keep herself upright. Maybe indiscriminately knocking back candy-flavored booze was a poor choice. She did her best to listen to Chloe, but her rambling was a pleasant buzz in her ears. And she was so warm.

"Well I didn't know it did. So I walk in and Kate is there, all pious and shit, and the second she sees me she's right there, holding me and asking what's wrong. I don't think she even knew my name at that point but she really sounded like she gave a shit. And I- Max? Hellooo? Earth to Planet Max!"

With a jerk Max came back to herself. She'd almost dozed off.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit tired is all. And I slept all afternoon too…"

Chloe chuckled and shifted so that Max was tucked underneath her arm, letting the smaller girl rest against her body.

"Thats alright Max, just rest a bit. I gotcha."

"M'kay…"

Drifting off, Max curled into her friend, feeling like she'd found a rock to cling to after sliding down a cliff face. Her best friend, someone who'd always been there, and somehow still was, even after she'd treated her like garbage for years…

She just, couldn't get the courage to reach out back then! It had eaten her up for years…and before they'd moved if she was honest. Max had always wanted to reach out to tell her…well…it didn't matter. As much as Chloe was with her now, it was because she was a good friend, her best friend.

Max sank deeper into her slumber, the world above slipping away faster and faster, time running out. All her worries, all her fears and challenges still pressed against the edges of her mind, but were held at bay, for the moment, as Chloe sat with her, peering up at the sky as it brightened and dimmed unnaturally.

For the first time in awhile, Max dreamt of the future, and it didn't seem so dark with her friend by her side….