The Calm Before The Storm

Unnecessary Tension

~Chloe~

"Wait, wait, I have to ask you something," I say, pulling away from Max's 3rd kiss today rather abruptly.

She pouts a bit but lets me speak, "What?".

"How many times did you rewind when I dared you to kiss me? There's no fucking way you're better at kissing than I am".

She scoffs playfully and whaps my arm, "You suck, Chloe. You totally killed my vibe,".

I snicker to myself, "Don't avoid the question, Maxie. So, how many times?".

She blushes furiously and looks away, muttering something under her breath.

"What was that? You macked on me, how many times?" I urge with a devilish grin.

"A few times, okay?" Max replies shyly.

I giggle, "How many times is 'a few'?".

Max looks at me and rolls her eyes, but, ultimately smiles, "Enough to almost give me a nosebleed".

My jaw drops to the floor, "What?! You're kidding right... right?".

She shakes her head, curious as to why I'm suddenly freaking out.

"Shit. Were you okay? I mean.... I don't remember anything if you were acting funny, I mean,".

"I was fine, Che... honestly,".

I nod a little and try to calm myself down again, "Seriously though... I thought you said your powers weren't a toy,".

"Well, they aren't but... you're actually very hard to say no too, so... yeah," she says, continuing to blush.

I blush too and settle back in my seat, letting the fact that Max used her powers to kiss me countless times, sink into my head.

"So... what now?" Max asks suddenly.

"Wanna make out?" I ask almost immediately.

She laughs and shakes her head, "Maybe later, Che. I meant, like, where are we going to go, what are we going to do when we get there... wherever 'There' is?".

That's a good point, I haven't really thought about that. We can't just keep running away for the rest of our lives.

"I'm not sure, Max... I was sorta thinking we can stop in Portland for a few days to plan on where to go. I did kinda promise you a road trip there. Beer, weed, doughnuts... books from Powell's! Remember?".

Max nods and blushes, surprised that I remembered the bookstore, "Of course, I remember, Dork. And I think it a wonderful idea,".

We look at each other for a moment, preparing to lean in for another kiss, but get rudely interrupted when a car pulls into the spot next to us and the passengers slam the doors.

It's a young family and Max and I can both tell that they're from out of state, hence all the luggage they have on top of their shitty 'mom van'.

Anyways, we watch them (a mother, father, and younger child) enter the "Burger King", most likely just pausing for a quick pit stop before continuing on to wherever they're going.

"Say, have you called your parents to tell them you're alright?" I ask, suddenly realizing that Max's parents are probably worried sick about her.

"No," she says plainly.

"What, are you serious!? Dude you need to call them. They're probably freaking the fuck out!".

"I just let everyone we ever knew die... your family Chloe. I have to live with the knowledge that I killed them. If you don't have a family, neither do I" Max snaps back.