Hell I Need
Chloe pulled into the parking lot of a cheap motel and parked the rusty dust covered truck before excitedly bouncing out of the driver’s side door. She practically ran into the lobby to get a room before coming back out to get their bags and Max.
“Maximus! Come on we gotta get ready for tonight!” Chloe exclaimed eagerly as she pulled their bags out of the bed of the truck. “Good news, we are on the first floor so we don’t have to haul this shit up the stairs” She added as Max got out of the car with a yawn. Chloe grabbed most of the bags and did most of the heavy lifting as they made their way to the motel room. As they got into their room Chloe let out a loud sigh as she dropped their bags “Thank god they have air conditioning.” She said as she stood in front of the air vent. Max wondered farther into the room and eyed the single bed. It all looked clean despite what she had expected to see in the run down cheap motel. She flopped down on the bed and gave a wide smile.
“This bed feels like a cloud compared to sleeping in the bed of the truck.” Max said gleefully.
Chloe walked over and flopped down next to her, propping her head up on one arm to look at her “Hey don’t hate on the truck. She gets the job done.”
“I can think of better ways to get the job done Che.” Max responded.
Chloe shook her head and gave a devilish grin “Alright that’s it, you dissed the truck and must suffer the consequences!” She said as she rolled over and pinned Max down, tickling her sides mercilessly.
Max shrieked and flailed in an attempt to break free amongst fits of laughter. After multiple failed attempts at escaping Max was clearly out of breath. Chloe showed her mercy and stopped tickling her, but didn’t yet move from her position above the girl. Max gazed up at her sparkling blue eyes and suddenly found herself breathless for another reason. She made the mistake at glancing down at Chloe’s lips for half a second too long, knowing immediately that she hadn’t been subtle while doing so as the girl above her gave a toothy sharp grin like the Cheshire cat.
“See something you like Maximus?” Chloe asked in her classic flirting tone as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“N-No! I J-Just…” Max’s face flushed red as she looked anywhere but the girl above her. Chloe let out a snicker before pushing herself up off of both Max and the bed.
“You’re adorable when you’re flustered” Chloe stated with a smirk before making her way into the bathroom “Anyway, I’m gonna take a shower” she added soon afterward.
“Yeah you are starting to smell pretty bad.” Max joked as she sat up.
Chloe turned and gave Max a challenging look “And yet I still can’t keep you off of me at night” she shot back before swiftly shutting the bathroom door.
Max’s face turned an even brighter shade of red as she thought over the comment. She had always been the cuddly type, with the nightmares and the added affection towards Chloe, Max couldn’t seem to help herself when they settled in at night. Chloe lately was her only sense of normalcy, and even more so her sense of comfort. As the shower water turned on with a hiss Max found it best to turn on the TV to avoid dwelling on the thought. She flipped through stations, but little was playing on the extremely fuzzy cable. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed until Chloe staggered out of the bathroom in a towel and started rifling through the duffle bag of clothes. Max swallowed and attempted to lock her gaze onto the fuzzy TV.
Don’t look, don’t even think about it.
“Hello earth to hippy! It’s your turn Maxi-pad.” Chloe said breaking Max’s focus.
Max wondered how much she had said while she was zoned out due to the annoyance in her voice. Chloe was dressed now in a pair of jeans so ripped up you really couldn’t call them jeans anymore and a T shirt with the sides cut out hanging loosely around her abdomen.
Max pushed herself off of the bed and slowly made her way into the bathroom for her own shower and to get ready soon after for whatever the night held for them.
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Hours later, Max found herself staring out the window of Chloe’s truck as the older girl drove. Chloe had insisted on Max wearing shorts and a tank top to the rave for reasons unknown to her, but she soon would found out she would be amongst the few people attending that were wearing more clothing than absolutely necessary. Max glanced over at the Lanky girl next to her, her eyes lingering over the exposed skin of Chloe’s side and exposed bra, suddenly feeling very warm. Before she knew it the truck had come to a stop outside of a large warehouse like building and Chloe was looking at her, a smirk plastered across her face.
“Caulfield, you do know it’s impolite to stare don’t you?” Chloe’s voice rang out, dripping with her snarky charm.
Max’s face flushed as she tore her gaze away from the taller girl, the blush extending down her neck as Max shifted in her seat before looking up at the building in front of them and then scanning the other cars parked in the area. Chloe broke the silence again with the laugh as she opened her car door.
“I know, I’m pretty irresistible” She added with a wink before sliding out of the truck and slamming the door shut behind her. She rounded the front of the truck and opened the passenger side door for Max, who slid out hesitantly. Moments later they made their way toward the poorly contained booming EDM style music, Chloe paid the door man and led Max inside and down a thin hallway. It opened up in a huge warehouse space full of moving, sweaty, and hardly dressed bodies. The blush on Max’s face only grew and she suddenly was thankful for the low lighting in the building.
Chloe pressed herself closer to Max and spoke into her ear “I’m gonna go grab a drink? You want anything?”
All Max could do was shake her head and attempt to get a hold on her overwhelmed senses. Chloe yelled over the music what Max could only have assumed was something along the lines of ‘I’ll be right back’ before finding herself standing alone. Max scanned the sea of neon stretched out in front of her and began to realize that she may have gotten herself in over her head. By the time Chloe returned it felt like an eternity had past, if you could consider 15 minutes to be an eternity that is. Chloe passed her a drink before taking a sip out of her own and then attempting to shout over the booming music.
“Sorry it took me so long, a girl at the bar slipped me her number and then paid for some drinks for us. Can’t turn down a free drink right?” Chloe smirked and nudged Max lightly with her elbow.
Max took a sip of the drink and was suddenly grateful to have something to calm her nerves and to drown the pang of jealousy she felt at the thought of a girl at the bar flirting with Chloe. Max couldn’t help but think about how much cooler the girl must have been in comparison to her and if Chloe had found her attractive or not. She quickly began to work on the drink in her hand at the thought.
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Quite some time later Max’s drinking had tapered off and she was starting to level out once more despite a few lingering effects. Chloe on the other hand was a very different story. Multiple drinks in by now Chloe had been drunkenly mingling for quite some time. Much to Max’s displeasure she was also doing a painful amount of flirting, even having gotten 4 to 5 phone numbers and dancing with another girl while Max had gone to get her another drink. Max had nearly had enough and decided to go take a breather and splash some water on her face. Weaving her way through the crowd she attempted to make it to the bathroom, bumping into someone along the way.
“Oh dog! I’m so sorry” She blurted out as she was met by snow white teeth and a charming smile.
“No harm no foul!” He said before adding “Didn’t spill my drink so I have nothing to complain about”
Max studied him for a moment, his shaggy blonde hair and soft brown eyes paired with that smile made him seem oddly inviting.
“So surely a girl like you isn’t here alone? Here with friends?” The boy asked snapping Max out of her daze.
“Like…..Me?” Max questioned glancing back to look at Chloe before looking back at the boy only to see his smile grow wider.
“Sorry, I meant that I couldn’t see a girl as cute as you here alone.” He spoke with unwavering confidence.
“Oh… I um…” Max glanced back in Chloe’s direction, only to see she was no longer there. She swallowed down the lump she felt forming in her throat and nodded slightly “I- I’m here with a friend” She glanced around quickly trying to set her sights on Chloe as she grew increasingly uncomfortable and nervous. When she turned back to the man in front of her he was closer than before.
“So…wanna dance?” He asked with a wide grin.
“I um…” Max began to stammer before being cut off by a pair of arms wrapping their way maybe a little to lowly around her hips causing her to tense up. A familiar silky smooth voice speaking up from just behind her ear.
“Sorry bud, but she’s taken” The voice spoke.
Max quickly recognized it as Chloe and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. The man looked at them with disbelief, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. However, his domineer quickly changed as Chloe very convincingly kissed along Max’s jawline to her neck before peppering it with a few more kisses. By the time she had finished he had rolled his eyes and sauntered away. Max felt extremely weak in the knees and short of breath as her heart raced. Max once again thought about how there surely must be something more to this than friendship, or she hoped anyway.
Chloe released her and let out a chuckle “Did you see that guys face?!” She spat before attempting a poor impression of it and laughing again. The kind of light hearted laugh that Max wanted to smile at.
“Chloe what the hell was that about?” Max asked with disbelief and a weird sense of anger after having watched Chloe with other girls all night.
Chloe didn’t answer, instead snaking her arm around Max’s hips again with a toothy grin not unlike a shark “Dance with me Max” She said in that flirtatious tone that sometimes made Max feel as though she was drowning. Her glazed ocean blue eyes looked down at her an intensity that made Max feel like she was about to be eaten alive.
“Chloe I can’t da-“ Max started only to be cut off by Chloe pressing a finger gently against her lips signaling that she wouldn't take no for an answer. Max suddenly felt her mouth go dry and couldn’t help but agree, giving Chloe a light nod.
Chloe’s smirk only grew as she took Max’s hand and led her farther into the crowd. At first it started off as Chloe guiding Max in a light hearted flurry of movement not unlike what she had experienced in Chloe’s room just last week, but over time Chloe began closing the distance between the two of them. What had previously been goofy dancing turned into Chloe grinding on Max. Max felt lost in the moment and unsure of what to do. However, the longer Chloe continued this, the more Max found herself enjoying it. This continued for some time, Chloe’s hands occasionally lingering over Max’s skin in ways that made Max feel like she was on fire. Although it seemed to go on for an eternity yet somehow still too soon, Chloe finally pulled away and spoke.
“Hey, you wanna get out of her?” She asked and Max nodded slightly in response to avoid attempting to yell over the booming music.
Chloe took her hand and led her though the crowd stumbling often and making Max wonder just how drunk she was. Once back at the truck Chloe dropped her keys and Max decided it would be best if she drove them back to the hotel. On the drive back a very intoxicated Chloe curled up on the bench seat using Max’s thigh as a pillow. Max had been sure she was asleep until she felt her hand move to lightly squeeze her knee, lightly running her thumb in circles.
“Well someone is feeling a little affectionate all of the sudden” Max said jokingly.
“Mhm” Chloe hummed back before speaking “I wanna be a lot more than a little affectionate right now” Chloe muttered, somewhat under her breath, making Max wonder if she was supposed to hear it or not. Regardless Max felt her face flush a bright red once again. They sat in silence for the majority of the ride from then on, Chloe never ceasing her actions.
Once back at the hotel the two of them sat down to watch some shitty TV until they had wound down from the night. Chloe seemed restless and continued to find ways to brush up against Max, rather she was grabbing the remote or simply brushing her hand against her for seemly no reason.
“You’re pretty touchy tonight aren’t you?” Max stated as she started to get mildly annoyed by the whole thing.
“Hm and since when is that a problem Maximus?” Chloe asked in a thick tone.
“You’re so drunk still” Max stated with a somewhat annoyed sigh.
“That doesn’t change anything” Chloe responded and Max couldn’t quite put a finger on what she had meant. Chloe moved her hand from her lap back to Max’s knee and gave it a light squeeze.
“Alright Che I get it, but I’m not really in the cuddly mood right now” Max responded with a light sigh.
“Are you pissed off at me?” Chloe asked only for Max to shake her head “Then what’s your problem?” She asked with a little more bite to her tone than she had meant.
Thinking back on the majority of the night watching Chloe with all those other girls Max realized that she was harboring more anger than she would have liked to admit, but the tone in Chloe’s voice struck a chord somewhere in her.
“Maybe I’m just not feeling all that affectionate after watching you flirt all night with random people” Max said flatly, but she should have known better since Chloe was drunk.
“Oh so you’re pissed off because I talked to other people and was trying to get to know people in the area? Which is what the original point of going was.” Chloe retorted. “Besides that’s bullshit. It’s not like I fucking made out with them we just talked.” Chloe added.
Max scoffed “Oh but you wanted to make out with them didn’t you? Probably would have if I wasn’t around?” Max said standing up now and putting a flannel on over her tank top.
Chloe shot daggers at Max “You know I’m not like that”
"Do I Che? Because you've told me a lot of stories that might make me think otherwise." Max sighed and realized that that had been somewhat of a low blow. She knew this was a stupid thing to fight about, but that pang of jealousy had sunk its teeth into her. She knew she needed to stop taking it out on Chloe when Chloe had done nothing wrong. Chloe was technically nothing more than her best friend in most cases. “I’m going for a walk” Max spat out quickly and made a break for the door. Chloe was on her feet in a flash, stumbling slightly.
“Max you can’t just leave. You don’t even know where the fuck we are out here” Chloe said quickly walking toward her.
“I’ll be fine” she said mostly to convince herself as she reached for the door handle. Before she could get the door open she was spun around and pinned to the wall. Chloe held her hand pressed against the wall above her and her hand on the other side of Max trapping her in. Although the transition was somewhat rough, it didn’t really cause her any pain. Before she even had time to respond she could see the horror on Chloe’s face.
“Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean-“ She stopped taking her hand away from Max’s “I just panicked I- I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Chloe pressed forward and wrapped one arm around Max’s waist and slid the other behind her back to grab a fistful of her flannel. “Please just don’t leave me alone” Chloe begged with her face buried in Max’s neck. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.” She added, slightly muffled by Max’s skin.
Max felt like a monster as she heard a choked sob Chloe let out into her neck and quickly wrapped her arms around her best friend. She wondered how she could have been so stupid not to think about how leaving Chloe alone would have affected her because she was caught up in her own idiotic jealousy. She had no right to be mad at Chloe or pick a fight over such a pointless thing. Max didn’t even feel like herself as she thought about how she had acted. For Christ sake Chloe was just trying to show her affection, affection that Max so dearly wanted as it was. The way she had acted was out of character for her and she wished she hadn’t let herself fall to that. “God Chloe I’m so sorry. This was so stupid I don’t know what I was thinking. You didn’t even do anything wrong” She finally spoke as she pulled Chloe in tighter. Max had started to cry now, emotions set off by being the cause of her best friends pain. “I was just jealous okay? I just wanted to spend more time with you, but I can’t talk to people like you do. I get scared. There was just so many people.” Max added. Chloe had calmed herself now and had moved her head to look at Max.
“God I think I’m starting to rub off on you” Chloe said with a light chuckle followed by a light sniff from the short bit of crying “It’s my job to get jealous over stuff like that Caulfield” Chloe said before squeezing her slightly tighter before moving to brush Max’s hair out of her face and wipe some tears off her cheek.
Max chuckled slightly and wiped her face with the sleeve of her flannel. She sniffed slightly “How are you not mad at me for being such an ass?” She squeaked out.
Chloe smiled slightly and pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead “Well for one thing it wasn’t really that bad, we’ve had worse fights because of my moody ass” Chloe said trying to cheer Max up. Chloe had started more than enough fights over the years over pointless things and jealousy. Like the week prior when she had tried to keep Max from answering the phone call from Kate. Both girls emotions had been wrecked over the last week. “Another thing Mad Max is that you’re pretty sexy when you’re angry” Chloe said with a grin as she wiggled her eyebrows.
Max chuckled slightly and rolled her eyes before pulling the older girl back into a tight hug. Chloe tucked her head back into Max’s neck, her hot breath making Max shiver. The hug lingered between the two of them and Chloe couldn’t seem help herself. She pressed a light kiss onto the younger girl’s neck, followed by another. She could feel Max’s breath catch, but Chloe thought better of it. She was still a little too intoxicated and this was no time to make a move on Max. Chloe pulled back and gave Max a smile.
“Alright, I think we should probably call it a night. I need to sleep off this booze.” Chloe said before she walked back to the bed and flopped down with an exaggerated thud.
Max chuckled and followed suit, curling up under the blankets next to her best friend. The two settled in next to each other and turned out the lights. Sleep took them soon afterwards.