Chloe was running late, and even though she knew it wasn't the end of the world, she was anxious. For the last three months, she had always gotten to the school a few minutes before the bell rang, and making Max wait now was frustrating. She certainly didn't choose to get stuck behind an accident, though, and even Max had texted back that she'd be fine. It was a nice day, after all, even if a little brisk for April.

Still, Chloe went a little too fast in the school zone, pulling into the parking lot a whopping ten minutes late. As she got closer to her normal spot, she noticed a group of kids gathered on the sidewalk. She didn't think anything of it, until she noticed a familiar figure standing in the middle of the group. Chloe barely had the car in park, across multiple empty spaces, before she was out the door, engine still running.

"Max?" Chloe called, stepping closer to the group. A few of the kids shifted, watching her with interest. Their movement allowed Chloe to fully see her girlfriend, gripping the strap of her bag tightly. Upon seeing seeing Chloe, there was the slightest look of panic in her eyes, as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have been doing.

The boy closest to Max, presumably talking to her a moment ago, glared at Chloe as she approached. He turned away from Max, squaring up his feet to face Chloe as he crossed his arms. "Who the fuck are you?" he demanded as she drew closer, slightly wary. Chloe could hear the smallest of sighs from Max, as if she was living a personal nightmare. What the fuck does this kid want with Max?

Max shifted closer to Chloe, her fingers wrapping around one of Chloe's wrists. "Chloe, let's just go," she muttered, trying to pull Chloe away. Chloe chanced a look at her, at how red Max's face was. She kept her feet planted, though, not willing to turn away from the kid watching their interaction with a strange glee.

The boy was sneering , glancing at the rest of the group with almost excitement. "What, this your girlfriend or something, Caulfield?" He ran a hand quickly through his brown hair before letting his hands fall to his sides, fingers flexing. "I knew you were fucked up in the head, but-"

Chloe was up in his face before Max could pull her back, slipping out of her grip easily. Chloe was almost the same height as the boy, and to his credit, he didn't flinch. If anything, he seemed satisfied with her response. "Say something else, asshole. See what happens."

"What, you gonna hit me?" He was smirking, although there was now a glimmer of alarm in his eyes. Evidently, he didn't expect Chloe to fire back at him. Probably not used to getting fucked up, the little shit. "I'd like to see what happens after that."

"Don't even tempt me," Chloe growled, her hands curling into fists. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the kid's hands doing the same. The smirk on his face grew wider, almost exposing his teeth. She was aware of Max's hand trying to grab her wrist again, but she shook her off, waiting to see who would move first.

"Hey!" A voice called, and as the the sound of footsteps got louder, the crowd spread out more. The kid glanced at the approaching figure before taking a half step back, composing himself as Marcus, the security guard, got closer. He walked up to stand next to Chloe, facing her but keeping the other kid in his vision. "Chloe, you good?"

There was a flicker of surprise on the boy's face, glancing at Marcus. He finally took a full step back, eyes narrowed as that stupid smirk came back onto his face. "Guess I'll see you around, Chloe."

Chloe opened her mouth to suggest something he could do to himself in the mean time, but Marcus put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back slightly. "Hey, keep it to yourself, okay?" He glanced around the courtyard, where some other kids were still lingering, watching the scene. He shook his head for a second, looking up at the two of them with an apologetic expression. "You guys should head out, yeah?"

"Yeah, I know," Chloe responded, watching the kid retreat. He had stuck his hands in his pockets, almost strolling away, as if his day was made. She felt Max's hand close around her wrist again, and this time let herself be pulled away, back to the still-running car.

They didn't say anything for the first few turns as Chloe drove silently, trying to calm herself down. When she was confident she wasn't about to shout, she turned to look at Max, who was fiddling with her jacket sleeve nervously. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

Max shrugged, burrowing deeper into her jacket. "It's nothing," she muttered, her fingers halting their nervous fiddling.

Chloe felt a little laugh in her throat at the audacity of that lie. "Max, that sure looked like a hella lot more than nothing."

Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat before leaning her head against the window, staring out of it. "They're just jerks, okay? It's fine." There was a tone to her voice, as if she was hoping Chloe would drop it. "Just...high school drama, you know?"

"Max, you're acting like this is normal." There was a panic building up, and Chloe had to take a deep breath to keep herself from starting to yell again. "They don't normally mess with you, do they?" The silence was all the confirmation Chloe needed, cussing under her breath for a second. "Goddamnit Max, why didn't you say something?"

There was a defeated sigh from the passenger seat. "Because I knew how you'd react. That you'd do something stupid and get in trouble, and I'm fine." She put extra emphasis on the last word, as if Chloe might have missed it.

Chloe had to use every ounce of maturity in her body from punching the steering wheel and shouting. Instead, she took another deep breath, hands tight on the wheel. "You never talk about any of the kids from school."

She could see Max's head turn to look at her, and glanced over to confirm that there was a confused expression on her face. "So?"

Don't yell at her, don't yell, don't. She took yet another deep breath before glancing over again. "Are all the kids like that?"

Max sat upright, shaking her head vigorously. "What? No! Landon's just...just an asshole."

Name to the face. "He's the lead asshole? The one that wants a knuckle sandwich?"

Max sighed, leaning back into the window again. Her head bumped against the window as they went over a rough patch on the road. "Chloe, please don't do anything stupid."

"If he's fucking with you, it wouldn't be stupid," she muttered, glaring at the road ahead of them. This fucking kid can take my foot right up his-

"I can take care of myself, okay?" Max was almost pleading with her, a strange, scared tone in her voice.

Chloe exhaled heavily through her nose, still trying to keep her anger in check. Don't fucking yell at her. "Never said you couldn't, babe." She watched a few cars pass her on the left before glancing over at Max again. "What did he want today?"

Her jacket made a scratching noise against the seat as she shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing, really. Just saw me by myself."

She wouldn't have been by herself if you had gotten there on time. "Fuck, that fucking accident-"

Max reached a hand out, gripping her shoulder. "Chloe, it is not your fault."

"The fuck it is, Max! I should have been there!" She knew she was shouting, knew that yelling wasn't going to solve anything, but didn't see the point in bottling her frustration any more. "You've been going to that goddamn school for three fucking months, and you never said anything about these assholes, and-"

"Chloe, I'm fine, okay?" Max's voice was raised, frustrated. "Yes, they're assholes. I only have three months left to deal with them, and then I'll never see them again."

Chloe shook her head as they came up to a red light, stopping quicker than she was anticipating - their seatbelts caught the both of them before they jerked too far forward. "I don't know what I did to make you think you couldn't talk to me about this-"

"Chloe, I know you." There was a tremor in Max's voice, barely noticeable. "If you knew something bad was happening, you'd run head first, no hesitation."

She turned to look at Max, eyebrow raised. "So there is something bad happening?" she asked slowly, watching her girlfriend stiffen.

Max's face was decidedly red, but she was adamantly shaking her head, avoiding eye contact. "It doesn't matter, okay? I don't need you to protect me!"

"You don't need to hide shit from me, either!"

Max closed her eyes, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She took a couple of deep breaths, her voice suddenly breaking as she started speaking again. "What if something happened to you? What would I do?"

Chloe felt a snort slip out, an exasperated sound following. "What's gonna happen to me, Max? I take a hit or two from some asshole? Not every schoolyard bully is packing a gun, you're not gonna have to save me from getting shot!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Chloe wished she could take it back. Max's face just about crumbled, and she leaned her head back against the window, staring outside at the crossing traffic. She's scared of it happening again. "Shit, Max, I'm sorry."

"Now do you understand?" Max asked quietly, sounding broken. For once, Chloe was glad she couldn't read minds - no need to know what imagery was going through hers right now.

Chloe's mouth opened and closed a few times, as she tried to figure out how to respond without calling her girlfriend crazy. "I- Max, like I said, it's not going to-"

"I...can't, do that again," Max whispered, her voice cracking. "I can't be responsible for another storm, I can't. And I know it's stupid, that something like that won't happen again, but what if..."

Chloe reached a tentative hand over, letting Max be the one to slowly interlock their fingers. "I know, Max. I know," she said quietly, somberly. She sighed, glancing up at the light just as it turned green. They were quiet for a few more turns before Chloe cleared her throat. "I still wish you had told me."

Max sighed, squeezing her hand. "I know. I should have."

"How bad is it, really?" Chloe asked quietly, not entirely sure if she wanted to know the answer.

There was a little exhale that might have been a laugh. "Some of the kids might have room temperature IQs," she responded, a brave attempt at humor.

"Oof, fuck, let's just have you get a GED," Chloe joked, shaking their joined hands for a second as she tried to get a smile out of Max.

It worked, even if it was a small smile. "It's not all bad, I just...I'm looking forward to being done with school."

"The offer of a GED still stands," Chloe responded, starting to smirk. "You know, if you dropped out of school, we'd have a lot more time to have s-" She yelped as Max yanked her hand away in order to punch her, probably as hard as she thought was possible. "Hey, I'm driving!"

"You're an ass, that's what you are," Max responded, although there was a wider smile on her face.