Blame

Chapter 9 (Her)

TWO MONTHS LATER

        Max looked up from her psychology textbook and noticed Katie staring at her with a huge grin on her face.

        "Do you need something...," She asked cautiously. 

        "I have fantastic news!" Katie jumped onto Max's bed and waited for her full attention. She closed her textbook and sighed.

        "Okay, so I know you said you aren't doing anything for your birthday, but my favorite band is in town and I went ahead and ordered tickets. And you can't say no, because they're right here!" Katie smiled at her and pulled out two strips of paper.

        "Are you serious?" Max looked at her with utter surprise and grabbed the tickets from her hand, staring at the paper.

        "Grizfolk?"She asked, looking up at her friend.

        "Yes! They're super good. They're a pretty small band so I'm sure you have never heard of them, but I promise you will fall in love with them! I also got backstage passes so we get to meet them!" Katie could barely contain her excitement as she bounced on the bed.

        "Is this a present for me or for you?" Max chuckled and shook her head.

        "They're coming to Seattle so it's very close, and we'll just make a day of it."

        "This is extremely kind of you, Kat." Max said a little more seriously.

        "They're also so incredibly hot, so you won't be disappointed!" Katie winked and grabbed her tickets from Max's hand.

        "The concert is this Friday so we have a couple of days to create super sexy outfits! We are also going shopping!" Katie said with a thrill in her voice. Max smiled at the generosity of her friend and couldn't help feeling a little excited for the concert. She didn't know the band but a part of her wanted to be surprised. Midterms were just around the corner and both Katie and Max were stressing out about them, so she knew this little outing in Seattle will do them both some good. 

        She appreciated the closeness between her and Katie, especially in the passing weeks. Her attention was diverted from Dan and their past together and onto her studies. It was her final year, she was a senior, so she needed to leave with nice and solid grades.

*        *        *

       After the boys were finished, Max still needed to wrap up a few things on their website. But a soft tap on her shoulder interrupted her and she swiftly turned around meeting Dan's crystal blue eyes.

        "You up for dinner with the boys later tonight?" He asked eagerly. She quickly weighed her options; neither of them mentioned last night, and she wondered if going to this dinner would spark that conversation and whether or not she wanted to pursue it.

        "We'll be there." Out of no where, Amy peeked around Dan's head and made a promising face at Max.

        "Ok, great." He nodded uncertainly and went away to meet his mates at the other side of the room.

        "What was that?" Amy whispered at her.

        "I...I don't know. I guess I'm still sort of out of it from last night." Max quickly came up with a lame excuse.

        "Uh-uh... you better spill now. What happened?!" Amy's eyes lit up and she sat down on a chair beside Max. Max shook her head and tried her best to act nonchalant.