Me, Myself, and Her

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Paper Rings

By the time Max's birthday rolled around, it had only been about a week since the accident. People were still recovering around town, so the girls stuck with something small to celebrate Max's big day.

Lucky for Annie, she already bought her gift for Max a while ago, so she didn't have to worry about finding one during all of the mess.

Annie knocked excitedly on the door. A couple seconds later, she heard someone running to get it and the door opened to reveal Max. The redhead was dressed in a dress- something Annie had never seen and would never see again- and had her hair down.

"Hey! Come on, I wanna eat cake already!" Max said, dragging Annie inside.

The girl laughed and let herself be dragged through the door and into the house. She was barely able to close the front door with her girlfriend dragging her to the kitchen.

Her girlfriend. Annie was still getting used to it. The others weren't too surprised when Max and Annie broke the news. Will was thrilled, as was El. The others were happy, except for Mike. He seemed kinda grossed out at first.

Nancy pulled Annie aside later and told her it was something their parents had taught. She was super happy for the girls, but Mike might take a bit to get used to it.

Anyway, it had been pretty good so far.

Annie smiled at Max's mom, Susan, as she was putting the last candles on Max's cake in the kitchen. "Hey Annie, how are you? How's the leg?" she asked. Max's mom was really nice.

"Doing well, leg's also doing a lot better!" she answered through a laugh as Max greedily took the bag from Annie's hands and put it with a few others on the couch.

The cover story for what happened at the mall was a fire, so that's what Annie's newest leg wounds were: burns. People knew they were all at the mall so it wasn't like she had to explain the whole thing. No one even cared to question why they were all there, knowing Annie's older brother worked at Scoops.

"Okay this is all fascinating, but cake!" Max said, sitting down at the table where paper plates, napkins, and forks sat. Annie snickered and sat down next to Max.

"Be polite to your mother, Maxine." The mood seemed to die slightly when Neil walked in. Annie hadn't seen much of him during her time of knowing Max, but she heard plenty from Max and outside of her room when she was over.

He simply glanced at Annie before going to the kitchen to talk to Susan. Billy walked in soon after, the mood returning a bit. "Hey Annie," he greeted with a smile.

After she saved his life at the mall, they had a sort of understanding about each other. A respect. She was one of the first people Billy went to on his apology tour, right after Max. Both girls forgave him quickly, knowing he wasn't really himself when everything happened.

He apologized to the Party, too. El forgave easily, having seen inside his head a bit. Will was quick, too, considering he went through something similar. The others came around slowly, partially with convincing from the others.

It was still hard for him to come to terms with, especially with all the missing persons reports popping up around the town.

The men sat down at the table just before Susan turned off the lights. With the blinds being closed, it was pretty dark. The only source of light was from the cake Susan was carrying over to the table.

She kicked off singing happy birthday, Annie and Billy joining in. Neil kind of did, but no one was really paying attention to him so it didn't matter.

"Happy birthday!" They all cheered once Max blew all the candles out. Susan turned the lights back on and it was time to cut up the cake. It was a cute, red velvet circle with some delicious looking cream cheese frosting. Annie hadn't had homemade cake in years.

Susan cut a piece for everyone, Annie helping hand it out. Max dug into her piece first and Annie handed off pieces to Billy and Neil. When everyone had some sitting in front of them, Susan sat down and everyone started enjoying their cake (other than Max, who already started).

It was quiet, no one knowing how to start a conversation. After her fourth or fifth bite, Annie looked up at Max's mom across the table. "The cake is seriously delicious, thank you," she said.

"Yes, this is amazing, mom, thank you," Max added on.

Billy's mouth was full, so he just nodded his appreciation. Neil didn't make much noise. It went quiet again as everyone at their cake.

When Max was done, she quickly scooted back from the table and threw her stuff away and put her fork in the sink. "Presents!" she said, running over to the gifts sitting on the couch and picking them up to bring to the table.

"Maxine, wait for the rest of us to finish," Neil scolded.

Susan quickly shook her head and came to rescue the mood. "No, no, it's okay! She's excited, we can eat and watch," she said. The bright smile returned to Max's face and she continued to grab everything to bring to the table.

She opened them as everyone else ate. In the end, she got a new blue jacket and pair of Vans from her mom (and Neil, but not really), a couple new cassettes from Billy, and three new pair of earrings from Annie, including a pair of cherries that made the girls chuckle.

When they were done with presents, and after they helped get everything cleaned up, Max dragged Annie away to her room to hang out. The girls sat on the edge of Max's bed.

"I saw your note in the card, what's this 'secret present' you're got?" she asked, jokingly putting her hand out flat.

Annie laughed and gave her a high five. "Give me a second, it's in my pocket." She reached in and pulled out a little baggie. It was opaque, so Max couldn't sneak any peaks before Annie wanted her to.

"Okay, now it's kinda cheesy, but you're not allowed to make fun of me for it!" Annie said and Max put her hands up in surrender. "Okay, hold out your hand again and I promise I won't give you a high five."

Max did as she was told and Annie pulled the item from the little bag and placed it in her girlfriend's palm. She watched in anticipation as Max looked at it.

"A ring? I don't think we're allowed to get married, Barbie, but I appreciate the sentiment," she said, already slipping the ring onto her right hand's ring finger.

Annie rolled her eyes but laughed at the redhead's jokes. "Well, I'm not done." Max watched as the brunette pulled another ring from the bag. "See anything special about them?"

Max looked at the ring on her hand- a silver band with a heart cut out. She moved her gaze to the ring being held between Annie's thumb and pointer finger. A silver band with a heart on it.

"Wait..." she said, and plucked the ring from Annie's fingers.

Sure enough, the heart on Annie's fit into the hole on Max's. "Holy shit, this is adorable," Max said. Annie couldn't stop the wide smile spreading on her face. "I mean, oh my god how did you even find these?"

"It took some digging, but I did. Do you like it?" Annie asked.

Max scoffed. "Like it? Annie this is the cutest shit ever- I love it!" She smiled so wide, and Annie did an internal cheer. "Here, let me put it on." Max slipped the ring onto Annie's ring finger on her right hand.

They admired their rings for a second, then fell back onto Max's bed, laying flat on their backs. The ceiling wasn't the most interesting, something Annie figured she should change some day by adding drawings and posters. Maybe polaroids if she gets one of those cameras for her birthday.

"One day, we should go to California," Max said, her gentle voice breaking their silence.

"Oh yeah?" The brunette turned her head to look at the redhead.

She did the same. "Yeah, I want my dad to meet my girlfriend. I think he'd like you."

Annie smiled. "I'd like that."

A/n: I'm so happy to have the chance to write them all couple-y now 😁