Having A Crisis
“Kate! And, uhm…”
“Brooke.” She supplied, lifting a hand. “I drove you and your girlfriend back to school from the police station.”
“Oh! Right, sorry. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Don’t mention it.” Brooke said, waving her off.
“Uhm… come in, both of you. I’m having a… bit of a crisis?”
Brooke raised a cool, curious eyebrow - while Kate sighed lowly.
“Hun-”
“Just come in, okay?” Max said, stepping back and gesturing them in.
Kate instantly sat on the couch, shifting a little on the cushion. Max’s couch had never been particularly comfortable - they rarely spent any time on it. Brooke, meanwhile, instantly occupied herself with inspecting her photo wall.
“...Oh, look.” She said, pointing at one of the pictures. “It’s me.”
“Huh? Oh, right, uh - I kinda… take pictures of a lot of people on campus. I… hope it’s not too creepy?”
“I am officially creeped.” Brooke said flatly, sitting on her bed and taking out her phone. “I do hope you don’t mind me being on my phone. I’ve got an important piece of business to attend to.”
“It’s… fine.” Max said, tugging at a stray lock of hair in front of her face. “Uh… right. Anyway - Kate? Could you help me look through my drawers? Find something nice? I kinda want to wear that dress Vic-”
Max stopped talking very suddenly.
Brooke glanced up a moment later.
“...I sense a sudden awkwardness. Is this about the bitch?”
“She’s not a…”
Max’s protest died before it ever really picked up steam.
“There’s a problem at hand, ladies.” Brooke said, tapping something out on her phone.
“Right. I kinda wanted to wear - uhm - my dress, but… it kinda seemed like trying too hard, y’know? Like, I don’t wanna look needy and weird, and stuff. You know?”
“Max-” Kate tried.
“But if I look all casual, and she dresses up, then I’ll look like such a tool! And I don’t wanna mess up the first date - oh goodness, I’m gonna ruin it, I’m freaking out Kate.”
“Max - geez, calm down. Breathe hun. Breathe.”
Max gripped weakly at the bottom edge of her shirt.
“I just - I don’t wanna screw this up. But if I dress up, I’ll look so dumb if she dresses all casual.”
“I… Brooke?”
Brooke glanced up at Kate’s pleading call.
“Tell Max she’s being dumb. Chloe doesn’t care - you know her, right? Tell Max she wouldn’t care.”
“...Max.” Brooke said, voice quiet and full of gravity.
Max glanced at her.
“Yeah?”
“I can solve this whole issue in one minute flat.”
Max blinked.
And then - hope began to grow in her eyes.
“Really? How?”
“Give me your phone.” Brooke said, holding out a hand.
Max, instantly - like Brooke had threatened her - desperately dug her phone out of her pocket, and handed it over.
Brooke turned it on - and turned it around a second later.
“Put in your password.”
Max tapped it in for her.
Brooke turned the phone back around, and tapped on it a few times. She squinted at the screen - which had lit white, and cast a soft glow on her eyes - and then turned back to her phone, tapping something into it, too, glancing back at Max’s screen for reference a few times.
“...What are you doing?”
“Sending the recording I took of you having a gay freakout to Price.” Brooke said, not glancing up from the screen.
“What?! No!”
Max lurched forward - and took her phone back. Brooke made a tiny, frustrated noise.
“Well that was rude.”
“I can’t - you recorded that?!”
“I assume you want it deleted, then.” Brooke said, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Please!”
Brooke sighed.
“...I would like to reiterate that simply asking Price would solve this issue in a hear-”
“Not an option.” Max and Kate chorused - Max, with anxious certainty, Kate with reluctant sarcasm.
“She’ll think it’s cute as hell.” Brooke added.
Max lit red, and Kate made a tiny noise into her hand that might’ve been a snort.
“No.”
“Have it your way, then.” Brooke said, turning around and hanging off the bed upside-down, so her hair scraped the floor.
(They end up spending the rest of the night debating clothing choices. Or rather, trying to convince Max her various anxieties are stupid. The only contributions Brooke makes are the occasional comment about palette choices, and how Max would look absolutely dashing in a tuxedo.
A comment which makes Max light red and Kate feel something very, very weird at the bottom of her stomach.)