A work in progress

Chapter 13

Max opened her eyes, glancing to her right. Rachel was curled up beside her, body pale and frail.

She was like glass, one wrong touch and everything would shatter. She had been that way since yesterday when she told Max and Dana everything that had gone down.

'I'm going to kill her.' Dana had said once Rachel finished.

'I deserved it.' Rachel said quickly, 'Besides, she felt bad for it. She couldn't even look me in the eyes afterward.'

Dana still looked pissed but she relented beating Chloe into a bloody pulp and opted for helping Rachel to her dorm so the blonde could sleep.

Max had followed and the blonde easily pulled the hipster into sleeping with her, not the wisest choice when Max definitely still had homework she needed to do but she figured she'd worry about that later as the scent of jasmine flooded her senses.

"Max?" The hipster snapped out of her memories at a small voice. Hazel eyes were boring into her and Max was surprised she hadn't felt them staring at her.

"Hm?" Max hummed.

Rachel moved closer to her, leaning her forehead against Max's chest and tangling their legs together. Max's hands came to wrap around the blonde as if it had been drawn by an ancient instinct, rubbing slow circles in the muscle of her back.

"I don't want to go to class today." Rachel said softly.

"You don't have to." Max murmured, "You can sleep in here."

"Stay with me?" Rachel looked up into Max's eyes and the hipster knew that she couldn't refuse this girl. Not now, not ever.

"Always." She replied softly, not really caring about the implications.

Rachel's lips curled into a soft and tiny smile, making Max's heart skip a beat and soar simultaneously before she drifted back off to sleep, her breathing slowing as she slipped unconscious.

Max didn't know how long she laid there staring at Rachel, her mind was wondering with conflicting thoughts. She wondered how Chloe was doing and made a mental note to check-up on the punk later before she heard a shuffle.

Her eyes refocusing, she was swept into a hazel sunset, golden rays and green flecks of the sea. Max's breath hitched. God, this girl was gorgeous.

"Max?" Rachel murmured softly, her fingers lightly grazing the hipster's arm. Goosebumps followed their wake, along with electric tingles. "Why are you doing this?" Her voice was small, weak- but not weak in the physical sense- emotionally weak. "Why are you helping me so much? I don't deserve it."

"Yes, you do." Max replied quickly, her hand moving on its own to move Rachel's hair out of the models' face. "Chloe's just angry and hurt." Max hesitated, "I'm going to check on her later." She said softly. "Maybe I can talk some sense into her."

Rachel trembled, "I don't deserve her." Rachel said softly, "I hurt her so much.." She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "All because I didn't care."

"I don't think that's why you did it Rachel." Max said softly, making Rachel open her eyes and look at the hipster in confusion.

"What?"

Max bit her lip, "You care about Chloe so much, it's obvious even to an oblivious starfish like me." Max pointed out, "I don't think you slept with Frank because you didn't care about Chloe. Even when you guys had that fight in the car before, you came back. Even though you were upset, angry, hurt, whatever, you came back Rachel." Max's voice was filled with conviction, "Why didn't you just go sleep with someone else? Chloe didn't come to you, Chloe left you alone like before. Yet, the outcome was different."