Somewhere Only We Know

XXXIII - Such a high!

12:47 p.m., Maxine's Apartment

The sunlight was relentless, streaming through the balcony and straight into my eye. I jolted awake, blinking against the brightness, heart already racing. I almost panicked, sitting up fast and scrambling to find my phone.

It wasn't where I thought it was supposed to be. My fingers fumbled desperately on the nightstand until they landed on it—screen dim, already in low power mode. A surge of fear hit me hard. What if I missed something important? What if I were running late for my graduation?

The thought set off a frantic ripple inside me as I grabbed the phone, eyes darting between the clock and the messages I half-hoped were waiting for me. But no, at first I only saw a message from Diane: "Congratulations, Maxie. Sorry, I didn't make it to your awarding," which was sent while I was asleep. I sighed, scrolling through the notifications, which were mixed with over a thousand follower requests varying from people from my school and Jesse's fanbase. Finally, I saw the message I had been looking for. A simple, but definitely meaningful—on my part anyway—message from Camila. "morning, max :)."

I opened it, noticing it had been sent five hours ago. That made me feel a bit bad. I typed and deleted a few messages, trying to figure out what sounded right. "good afternoon, mila!" I typed, then quickly erased it. "afternoon, friend :D" made me cringe. Finally, I settled on, "morning lol. i just woke up," and sent it.

I waited for a while, unreasonably hoping for an instant response. But nothing came. After a few minutes, I gave up and quickly headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

As the water washed over me, I found myself practicing conversations with Camila, as if I had nothing else to worry about. I imagined her saying, "Hey, Max. I've been thinking, and I wanna try again. Sorry for being an ass. I love you." The thought made me laugh.

I played along with a high-pitched damsel-in-distress voice, "Oh, Mila. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that." I kept going, pretending different dialogues and situations, the kind of back-and-forth that never seemed to get old.

After I finished, I wrapped myself in a towel, grabbing the blow dryer from beneath the sink, still caught up in those imaginary moments.  As I blow-dried my hair, the sudden sound of the front door slamming shut made my heart jump. Panic shot through me for a moment. But then I spotted Mica's familiar silhouette peeking into the bathroom doorway, her casual grin easing some of the tension.

"You know," I said with a mock glare, "one of these days, I will be naked, and you will regret barging into my apartment like this."

Mica scoffed, unfazed. "Oh, please." She stepped inside, stretching out her arms like she hadn't seen me in ages. "Are you ready for the big day?" she asked, her voice a little softer than usual.

I focused back on blow-drying my hair, running the hot air through the strands until they were almost dry. The smell of shampoo mixed with the warmth settling over me made me feel oddly calm. I switched off the dryer and set it carefully back on the counter where I had found it. "Yeah, actually," I said, surprised at the genuine confidence that slipped into my voice.

Mica's eyes narrowed playfully, catching on fast. "You seem happy. Was Kai here?" She folded her arms and waited, expectant.

I laughed, brushing a stray lock behind my ear as I reached for my skincare products. Rubbing the cool cream onto my face, I could feel the roughness of the day start to ease. "Or maybe Camila. You know, I noticed your little hug yesterday." I caught the smirk lurking in Mica's expression and felt my cheeks flush a bit.