Dreamcatcher

Chapter Forty-Five: The Sub

A few weeks later...

Days when Clark would visit his mother after school, he couldn't bring himself to look at her in the eye and say that he failed her, that he failed his father.

It was merely out of the kindness of his heart that he checked up on his mother who was worried sick about the sudden disappearance of her daughter. She'd already lost her husband, and now she was terrified she'd lost her daughter too.

In spite of him being a nuisance for not treating David, his step-father, with a modicum of respect prior to the last big argument between he and Chloe, Clark had fully set his attention on David under a different light. Once upon a time, he'd actually bothered to care for the ex-soldier's struggles, but now he absolutely loathed his presence in his and his mother's life. But only for the fact that she made him happy, did Clark consider that the only reason he hadn't unleashed all of his hatred for the man.

Clark had become distant with those he was close to, even his best friend, Kate. She knew all too well that something was wrong but she didn't dare to push him for answers.

Even in his classes, Clark had lost focus and was always zoning out.

Times when Max tried to talk to him, she was given the cold shoulder. It hurt all the more to see Clark so cold and distant; even more so that she could do nothing in her power to help him. So she took an alternate route instead of trying to approach him directly.

She decided to seek his friends to see if they could help her with her queries. Going out of her way to get out of her comfort zone, Max sought out one of the boys she saw Clark connect with the most.

On a Thursday, Max spied the friend in her English class and plotted how she would approach them. It wasn't exactly ideal to just go up to them and speak without any thought of what she would say. So every moment she wasted was a moment she devised the means of coming off as friendly.

Surprisingly enough, the friend also had her on their mind.

At the sound of the bell, Max packed her things at a calm pace whilst subtly glancing at the friend who was still doing some work right before they would leave so that they had less homework to complete. 

A boy with messy brown hair and a blue t-shirt that had a box on it with an illustrated speech bubble that said 'Meow,' had been so focused on his work that he failed to notice a captivatingly timid brunette approaching his reserved desk. The eerie presence of a figure standing next to him ominously startled the boy to tear his attention away from the book in front of them, to find Max Caulfield itching to start a conversation with him. 

"H-Hi there. Hey. You're Max, right? I'm Warren Graham." The boy waved coyly. 

Max was a bit iffy when she suddenly found herself momentarily incapable of speaking. In an attempt to speak, all that came out of her mouth were stutters and judders until she found comfort when he offered his hand for her to shake. 

By taking his hand, she grabbed it with minimal effort for a firm grip. But to her surprise, Warren took ahold of her hand very gently and with care as he stared deeply into her eyes. 

"I'm Max. M-Max Caulfield," she introduced herself sheepishly. 

"Do you watch a lot of movies, Max?" 

"Umm, n-no. Not quite. I don't really have time for that stuff." She confessed shyly. 

Max raised a hand up and rubbed the back of her head out of embarrassment. Her biggest hobbies were photography and music, as well as being perceptive of the world around her rather than participating in social events and such due to being quite introverted and also being nosy at times too. Some would assume that at first glance, Max was just another weirdo. They weren't wrong, of course, but she was intellectual.