Chloe groaned as Max shook her awake and pulled the sheets from her body.
"Nooooooooo"
"C'mon Chlo, you can't sleep the entire day." Max put her hands on her hips as the punk buried her face under the pillows.
A muffled "Yes I can, and I will" came out and Max rolled her eyes.
"I swear to god Chloe youre such a potato." Max pulled open the blinds and ripped the pillow from Chloe's hands.
Chloe covered her face and hissed like a demon. "NOOOOO! NOT THE LIGHT! I'm dying~!"
"If you have enough energy to be a dork then you should wake up. Don't make me get the squirt bottle." Chloe spread her fingers and glared at Max.
"You wouldn't."
"Try me." Max was a sweetie but damn was that girl hard to persuade. Chloe groaned and rolled out of the bed before disappearing into the bathroom. "Thank you~" Max sang to the closing door.
"Oh shut up you dick." Max laughed at her friends grumbling and started making the bed. She had already gotten dressed and checked the weather. With no school and a sunny day ahead she was hoping for adventuring in town and getting a few photos here and there. She knew Chloe would want to look for more clues as to what happened to Rachel but Max wasn't in the mood to break into the school anytime soon.
The sound of a toilet flushing caused Max to look back at the door, where a confused Chloe gave her the strangest look.
"What?" Max cocked an eyebrow.
Chloe held up a tiny crumb of...dirt? Maybe it was mold. Or moss?
"I found weed in my underboob." Chloe started laughing.
Max threw the blue haired girl her pants with a laugh. "You are so wierd!"
Once Chloe was finally dressed Max insisted they walk around.
"So where exactly do you want to go?" Chloe asked, lighting up a cigarette.
Max glared at the others bad habit. "I don't know, I haven't been back in a long time. What's changed?" Besides you she thought.
"Nothing much. Oh, but Rachel and I did have this cool hideout, come on!" Max couldn't help but feel a little vacant as Chloe pulled her down roads and into trees and bushes. It always seemed Rachel would show up in their talks, even when she was never there.
I shouldn't be upset if Chloe replaced me since I did leave when she needed a friend most. But why Rachel? Why did she have to love her?
Chloe's talking dragged Max from her thoughts as she found herself in a small room filled with random junk. The walls were littered with photos and news clippings, and Chloe was rummaging in a suspicious bean bag in the corner.
Max noticed the writing on the wall too.
CHLOE WAS HERE
RACHEL WAS HERE
She pulled a pen from her bag, looked at Chloe who was still occupied with finding something, then wrote her own name on the wall.
MAX WAS HERE
She smiled, then frowned noticing her name was not next to Chloe's because of Rachel's. Jealousy stirred in her stomach as she chewed on her bottom lip.
"FOUND IT!" Chloe raised a bag of used blunts and matchs.
"Please don't tell me that it's-"
"MY GOOD SHIT!" Chloe laughed, cutting the shorter one off. "This was from the batch of the good kush, the messiahs marinara, the weed that scares the strongest of weedwackers." Chloe motioned Max closer and showed her a half smoked blunt before shoving it in her pocket. "Rachel and I would get so lit on this stuff, I could have sworn we had some left but I guess not."
Max rolled her eyes and rearranged her bag so Chloe could easily close it after her addition. "Is that all you two did? Party and get high?"
Chloe looked at the other in slight shock. She had sounded so negative, so upset, like she was biting the words so they'd hurt.
"No that's not all Max. She wasn't a bad influence on me if that's what you think." Chloe put a hand on Max's shoulder, the shorter refusing to make eye contact.
"I think I'm jealous..." She mumbled, finding interest in Chloe's scuffed boots instead of looking up.
"What?" Max puffed her cheeks at Chloe tilting her head to the side like a confused puppy.
"I said," Max stated a little louder, making the punk smirk. "That I think I'm jealous."
"Jealous? Of who, Rachel?" Chloe looked at a loss for words for once, watching the hipster nod. They stood there like that for a while, face to face, their eyes glued to anything but each other's.
Chloe caught sight of the wall behind Max and smiled at her handwriting beside hers and Rachel's. Rachel's handwriting was crazy and full of energy, but Max's screamed peace in a cliche way. She looked back down at the shorter girl, noticing the lack of shadows falling on her face.
"Max, I-"
Bzzzzzzzzz
The bluenette was cut off by Max's phone going off on her in her bag, multiple text messages filling her inbox. Max pulled her phone out and sighed, it was just Warren. Before she could respond to a text a call came through showing the boys smiling face.
"Hey Warren." Max turned away as she answered the phone. Chloe just raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Hey Max, want to go to a drive through movie with me tonight? I know this perfect place where we can watch the sun set before it happens if you want, you probably miss the sunsets here in Arcadia-"
Chloe was unamused, before Max replied with a yes or no Chloe pushed her head close to Max's.
"Sorry Lover-Boy, But she's all mine tonight, good luck getting her back." Max started sputtering jibberish as Chloe ended the call and put the phone in an open bag pocket.
"Chloe! Maybe I wanted to go, he's my friend too. I don't want to be mean to him." Max crossed her arms.
"Well you weren't, I was. And if you want to see a sunset you can watch it with me, duh. Besides, he's just trying to date you." She turned on her heel, expecting Max to follow her as they headed back to a road.
"If I start daring someone I'm not going to disappear on you again, I'm still going to be here for you Chloe. You don't have to worry."
"It's not about you leaving."
"Are you sure?"
"Well, part of it is..."
The sound of twigs snapping under their steps added tension to the sudden quiet.
"And the other part?" Max was shifting her bag on her shoulder when Chloe looked back longingly.
I think I love you, she thought. But held her tongue and went back to staring at the foliage around her.
"I just, need to figure some things out."
Max didn't push it after that, and silently followed Chloe until the found the original path and headed back towards town. She eyed the back of Chloe's neck. She remembered reading somewhere that staring directly at someone's neck triggers their sixth sense and they can feel the eyes. Max was really just hoping she could see Chloe's face, know if she was angry or happy or sad or numb.
