Sandstorms, Part 3
“Oh, Christ - do you have to have a nosebleed the second we get you in a decent dress?”
Max couldn’t stop the crawling, embarrassed sensation in her skin, like fire ants searching for food inside her. She dabbed at the blood leaking down to her bottom lip, and grimaced just a little when she automatically licked at it. It tasted like dimes, and something just a little bit salty.
She had always liked the taste of copper as a kid. She still liked it. But people called her a weirdo when she put a penny in her mouth, and they called her a freak when she said she didn’t mind the taste of blood - so she grimaced and wiped at the red staining her lips like it was a bothersome cobweb.
A moment later, though, a gentle hand was dabbing the blood away with a tissue. Victoria’s fingers brushed her lip, and she tried not to shiver too obviously.
“What is up with you and nosebleeds, Maxine?”
The blonde’s voice was softer than usual, considering the girl was so close. She fumbled for a response, for a moment, before Victoria pulled back - seemingly satisfied that she had stopped bleeding.
“I had thought you were faking them, for a while.” Victoria’s voice had sharpened into its usual no-nonsense tone as she trashed the tissue. “But no, you apparently just get them constantly. Do you have blood pressure problems or something?”
“No…”
She didn’t mean for her tone to come out so weak and needling. It was just her normal speaking voice at this point.
Victoria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Max sent her a confused glance, but the blonde was already moving on.
“Anyway - the dress.”
Victoria inspected her image in the mirror, sidling up to stand behind her. Max looked into her reflection’s eyes, suddenly aware of her own breathing with her friend standing close enough for their shoulders to brush.
“Hmm…”
Victoria peered at her reflection. She tried not to fidget.
“Well, it works, I suppose… what do you think, Maxine?”
“What?”
Her voice came out uncharacteristically strong - volume at a normal human level for the first time in a week at least, and tinged with surprise. She tried to repress the automatic flinch at the sound of her own voice.
If Victoria noticed, she didn’t say anything.
“What do you think?” Victoria repeated, just a little impatience seeping into her tone - though she had been oddly composed this whole trip. She had never been patient - and she still wasn’t - but this was the closest Max had ever seen her come. “I mean, you’re the one wearing it, you should get a say.”
“I…”
She stared at her reflection.
Something almost like a stranger peered back.
Her hair pulled back to expose her face. Just enough makeup on to hide her freckles and the bags under her eyes. Cherry lipstick. Clip-on earrings. Victoria clearly wasn’t quite happy with what she could do just in the store with the supplies on hand, but she had been working at sculpting her into a stranger the past ten minutes or so.
The only thing Max could recognize were her eyes - still weak and petulant, wide and maya blue.
“I look… different.”
That wholly unhelpful statement made just a little of the usual impatience flash in Victoria’s paris green eyes. And yet, it vanished a moment later - expertly smothered.
She almost stared at the girl, wondering when Victoria had learned to control her temper - and why she was doing it now.
“Good different?” The blonde prodded, raising a sharp eyebrow.
“Uh…”
Was it a good different?
She didn’t like it. At all. She looked too… noteworthy. Nothing but her posture blended in, like it should have. Nothing hid her.
She stood out like a sore thumb. Maybe if the line of her spine was confident, and her eyes were steely, she would’ve stood out in a better way. But as it was, she just looked like she was failing to be noteworthy.
She didn’t even have any jewelry. That would have been nice. Instead, the only thing she had was her exposed shoulder - sharp and thin.
It wasn’t a good different. She liked the old Max - the real Max. The one with clothes nobody glanced at, with no skin exposed outside of what had to be exposed. The one that eyes slid over.
It was a bad different.
“...It’s… good. I mean, I should look different, right?”
Victoria blinked.
And then, a slow, steady, pleased smile worked its way onto her face. An approving smile.
Like I’m a pet that just did a trick.
The phrase darted across her mind again - once again, smothered in a moment.
“Good. I’m really glad you like it, Maxine.” Victoria had a full-blown grin on her face now, sparkling and proud. “I was afraid you wouldn’t - you’ve got the whole not wanting to be noticed thing going on most of the time.”
“But this time, you’re going to make a splash. Enough skin showing to be confident, a straight back-”
Victoria grabbed her shoulders and righted her posture as she said this.
“-Head held high-”
She tilted Max’s head up, forcing her to look right into her reflection’s eyes.
“-And finally confident.” Victoria finished, voice full of that very thing - confidence.
The one thing Max didn’t have.
“...Yeah…”
Her voice was full of wavering uncertainty. But she couldn’t refuse - not with Victoria grinning at her like that, prideful and sharp and happy.
“You look great.”
She felt horrible.