talk too much | max mayfield

*36. make-up? make-out?

MAKE-UP? MAKE-OUT?

✧･ﾟ: * "Your lip," Max says as the two girls walk into the hallway, then leading Nora into the bathroom and grabbing a hand towel.

"What do you want, Max?" Nora is sick of Max dragging these conversations out. Why can't she just let her wallow in self pity?

"I hate that you're mad at me," Max gets the towel wet, then holds it to Nora's lip.

"Then, don't make me mad at you," Nora replies around the towel, looking into Max's bright blue eyes but physically restraining herself from getting lost in them.

Nora's never understood how people in books could describe every emotion a character's going through just by looking into their eyes, but as she looks at Max's right now, it's like she can see her whole life's story in them.

She sees the vague excitement Max has from being in California again in the gray undertones of the blue, a small freckle on her lower eye lid shows the imperfections in Max's past, there's grief in the red tinges of the white in her eye, and Nora doesn't know what do with herself as the girls' faces are centimeters apart and she can feel her breathing, and is her heartbeat normally this loud?

"I changed my mind," Max's voice is quiet, like she's scared to distill the tension between the two of them.

"What?" Nora's not thinking straight at all. How does Max always manage to do this to her?

The towel is gone from her lip now and Nora barely has anytime to register the fact that it's quickly replaced by Max's lips.

Nora wants to kiss back, she's sure she does for a half a second, but she has to pull away.

"You're doing it again," she says the same words she said earlier when Max tried to hold her hand as they were taking El away.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Max's voice is still soft and the two of them are still incredibly close to each other, neither willing to take a step back.

"Because you keep doing it. You keep getting my hopes up, and kissing me, and holding my hand, but you said it yourself, Max. It's short-lived."

"No," Max brings a hand up to Nora's cheek and Nora almost swoons at the act. "No, I'm an idiot, Nora. Nor. Please, listen, okay. Everything I said at the roller rink was true-"

"You're not helping your case right now," Nora knows she's not about to cry.

"But I don't want it to be," Max continues. "I want to get better, I want to be better, and I want to be with you while doing it."

"Then, why'd you say all that?" Nora isn't ready to let her guard down yet.

"Because I-" Max takes a step back suddenly, and Nora barely notices the towel drop to the ground.

"What?" Nora stares, more and more confused by the redhead's actions by the second.

"I don't wanna hurt you," Nora knows Max is lying a little as she says this, but cares for her too much to risk it by pushing her too far. "But I can tell it's hurting you more for us to not be together."

"Someone's a little cocky," Nora tries lightening the tension and it seems to work as Max smiles softly.

"Fine," Max gives in. "It hurts me too when we're not together."

"I knew it," Nora says to herself, but knows Max'll have a reaction too. "You couldn't last 24 hours, Mayfield."

"Okay, you could barely do it too, Harrington," the girls laugh together. "Get over yourself."

"I lo-" Nora starts as the girls step closer again, but doesn't even finish her own sentences as she presses her lips against Max's.

"Me too," Max pulls away to look Nora in the eye again, and although Nora didn't say anything, Max still knew exactly what both of them needed to hear in that moment.

"Hey," Will's voice comes through the door as he knocks. "What are you guys doing in there?"

The girls step apart quickly, both laughing slightly at the way they both jumped at the sudden noise before Nora goes to open the door for Will.

"Girl stuff," she answers, as her and Max are still giggling softly. "What do you want?"

"We have a plan," Mike says from beside Will.

a/n:
it hurts me too when they're not together