Weirdo //Elmax //

Chapter 8

Max was on the verge of breaking down. Since the beginning of history class, the redhead couldn't stop locking eyes with Jane. The brunette, seated a few tables away, always seemed to be within her field of vision. Every time Max looked away from the chalkboard, her gaze inevitably fell on her friend's brown eyes.

Lately, the girl had been questioning things a lot. She had finally made the decision to distance herself from Jane. Not to the point of completely cutting off communication, but just enough to let her feelings for the brunette fade.

As the bell signaled the end of class, Max
watched the other girl leave the room. At least she wouldn't have to avoid her on the way out.

The redhead quickly gathered her belongings, ready to leave this dreary establishment. Unfortunately, someone had decided to delay her a little longer.

"Hi Max!" Lucas almost shouted. He had positioned himself between Max and the classroom exit. Max could see the way out and was surprised to find Jane waiting there, looking lost.

"Hi." replied the redhead, slightly embarrassed. She had nothing against the boy, but she really didn't want to talk to him, especially when she was in a hurry. "I was thinking, you know, we live almost next to each other." Max nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowed. She had no idea that their houses were so close.

"And I was thinking, if you wanted, we could walk home together and maybe talk about the upcoming math test or something." Max sighed internally. The last thing she wanted to do was spend time chatting with a somewhat annoying boy, especially about a subject that didn't interest her.

"Oh, sorry, but I have something to do, I can't..." Max began.
"I can accompany you then!" exclaimed the young man, a smile stretching from ear to ear. Max couldn't stand seeing him so cheerful after two hours of history. Seriously, couldn't he be like everyone else and just head home quickly, looking glum?

"Uh, no, sorry, you can't. It's..." The girl quickly searched for an excuse to get rid of Lucas. "Private."
The boy's smile faded slightly, and he said, "Oh, okay..." before bidding farewell to the girl and leaving. Lucas exited the classroom and exchanged polite greetings with Jane before walking down the hallway.

The brunette hadn't missed a single detail of the exchange between the redhead and Lucas, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Lucas was nice, that was true, but the girl didn't appreciate how he had asked Max to walk home together. In fact, even if she didn't admit it, she simply didn't like the fact that he had asked.

As she tried to understand why she felt so jealous over a simple interaction between the two, she saw a flash of red hair dart past her. This time, Jane wasn't going to let her get away. She turned quickly toward Max and shouted without restraint, "Max!"

The redhead jumped and turned to face the brunette.
"Hi Jane... I would have loved to talk to you, but I have something to..." Max began to move away as she spoke, but Jane interrupted her. "That doesn't work with me, Max."
The girl stopped abruptly and furrowed her brows. She couldn't back down now. Jane was in front of her, and she wasn't as naive as Lucas.

"We need to talk." Jane declared in a stern tone, crossing her arms over her chest. The hallway had emptied, and Jane knew that if she waited any longer to speak to her, the redhead would avoid her again.

"Wow, you look very serious," Max retorted sarcastically, but it didn't even elicit a smile from the brunette. The redhead, who had tried to maintain a casual demeanor, stiffened when Jane took her hand, gripping it tightly as if afraid the girl would escape again. Max held her breath, surprised by Jane's gesture. Her hand was soft, very soft, and she couldn't help but blush at this realization.

Jane took a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as possible so as not to appear crazy.

"I feel..." she said, fixing her gaze on Max's face. She dove into her eyes once more and couldn't help but smirk slightly. She traced her features and her body, finally focusing on their intertwined hands. Jane suddenly remembered that she had started a sentence and needed to finish it.

"No, actually, I don't just feel it. You're avoiding me, Max. Why have you been avoiding me for I don't know how long!"
Max's expression became perplexed, and the brunette felt a cold sweat. There it was—she was about to be labeled as crazy. Maybe Max wasn't even avoiding her, perhaps she simply didn't notice her. And what if Jane didn't mean as much to Max as Max meant to Jane?

The girl lost herself in her thoughts and loosened her grip on Max's hand, which Max noticed.

"Jane, I'm not avoiding you..."
Jane's eyes welled up, and she said in an almost inaudible tone, "Yes you are."

Max had tried to suppress her feelings and distance herself from this girl. But when she saw her on the verge of tears, she couldn't help but embrace her with both strength and tenderness. The brunette returned the hug in a way that made it seem vital to her. The two remained in that indefinite moment. Jane's tears dampened Max's shoulder, while Max gently rubbed her friend's back, trying to soothe her.

Further down the hallway, Will saw the two girls, wrapped in each other's embrace. He rolled his eyes playfully and muttered to himself, "So gay." Then he tiptoed away, trying not to make a sound.

Jane finally loosened her grip, leaving faint tear stains on her cheek. Their faces were mere centimeters apart, and they could feel each other's breath on their skin.

Max cupped the brunette's face in her hands, wiping away the last traces of tears with her thumb. Jane blushed, but she didn't even notice, too lost in contemplating the redhead and feeling her heart race.

The girls remained like that for several seconds. Both of them knew there were no more tears to wipe away, but they stayed that way because it felt right.

"Jane, know that I don't want to distance myself from you. You... you mean a lot to me." This sentence ignited warmth in the brunette's belly and cheeks.

"Really," she said, her voice breaking.
Max nodded and hesitated for a moment before kissing the other girl's cheek. Both of them felt an internal fireworks explosion, but they didn't let it show. At least, not beyond their flushed cheeks.

The two girls locked eyes and didn't want to look away. They wanted to stay here, alone in the hallways, closely connected for the rest of their lives. But they couldn't. After a moment, Jane removed the hand she had placed on Max's shoulder since their embrace and smiled timidly. The redhead stepped back slightly and scratched her neck, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Well... Do you want to walk home with me?"

Jane asked. Max smiled upon hearing this and nodded quickly, which made Jane laugh. They left high school and continued the rest of the journey, their hands brushing against each other at times, their hearts racing.

(I really enjoyed writing this chapter.)