Chapter 1
"I can't believe you, Max."
"Chloe, I-"
"You know what, I changed my mind. I shouldn't even be surprised after that five-year bullshit you pulled on me."
"This has nothing to do with you!"
"Yeah, whatever. Why don't you go and have nothing to do with me too."
--
The halls of Blackwell were filled to the brim with students who just finished their last class for the day. Max walked past a couple of cliques, minding her own business, as she headed to her locker. She had to subtlety nudge a person away as she opened her locker and stuffed some books into it.
Everyone seemed preoccupied with at least one other person, while Max stood alone. Not that she minded. She was never that sociable to begin with, leaving her with only a handful of actual friends. She was always fine being alone and in her own world. Her pretty comprehensive journal showed that she was an introspective, observant person who could sit and just watch the world pass her by. Of course, that bit has changed recently.
Max couldn’t get over her falling out with Chloe. Sure, they had disagreements now and then, but never as bad as this one. This particular fight felt final. And Max could not understand why. She never expected Chloe to react so vehemently. A sigh escaped Max as she slipped on her earphones and shut her locker. There was only one person that Max wanted to be with right now.
She turned around and felt a sudden force slam into her shoulder, followed by the hard impact of her locker behind her. “Watch where you’re going, you fucking moron,” she felt Nathan’s spit. Behind him, a couple of Vortex members snickered. Her right hand instinctively reached for her left shoulder as she slowly felt pain creep through it. “Why the fuck are you standing in the middle of the damn hall, you dumb bitch?”
“Fuck off, Nathan, I don’t have time for this today,” Max hissed, surprised at her own bravery. She was just so tired of confrontations. All she wanted to do was to find –
“Vic.”
Victoria, the Queen Bee of Blackwell, stood behind Nathan. Just the person Max wanted to see, though she’s not sure why she didn’t spot her sooner.
“Vic,” Nathan repeated, turning around to look at her. “Did this dumb hipster just tell me to fuck off or was it you? Cause I’m pretty sure that I beat the crap out of anyone who tells me to fuck off unless they were you.”
Max sees Victoria hesitate just for a second before replying, “Leave her alone, Nathan. When have dumb hipsters with an ugly sense of fashion ever been worth our time?”
Ouch.
“Since we started seeing each other!” Max wanted to scream. The look she gives Victoria was full of resignation and disappointment. She should have known that Victoria would do this. As if it mattered that she and the Queen had been sleeping in each other’s arms for the last week. As if it mattered that she comforted Victoria the night she stumbled upon the crying Queen, who had just found out that her own parents had rejected her artwork for the Chase Space. As if it mattered that she stayed up all night three days ago, to hold the Queen as she puked after drinking herself drunk as she cracked under the extreme pressure of living up to her parents standards and her own.
No, Max knew the rules. It did not matter that come night time, Victoria would be telling her about the other losers of Blackwell. It did not matter that Victoria would be holding her as she would hold Victoria in return when they fell asleep. It did not matter that she stood up for Victoria and chose her over her own childhood best friend. It did not matter how stacked the favours were against her, rules were rules.
“Fuck you both,” Max spat instead and she sees Victoria flinch so slightly that only Max notices. This time she felt her entire body slam into her locker and winces as the pain is sudden. That would bruise for a couple of days. Nathan has her grabbed by her collar and his snarl is so close to her face she can feel his breath. By now, they have the attention of every student in the vicinity.
“Nathan, stop!” Victoria is assertive, if not a little too forceful, with her command. Nathan cranes his neck to look at her questioningly, the way a snake would when approached from behind. “Look at her,” Victoria rolled her eyes at Max. “She’s pathetic and miserable enough; we don’t need to get ourselves in trouble to laugh at her,” Victoria tries to cover. It took a little consideration before Nathan looked back to Max. Suddenly, Nathan is laughing. The kind of laugh that sends chills up your spine and spreads goosebumps over your skin. Hysterical and maniacal. A few Vortex members followed and laughed along, but those were more like uncomfortable chuckles. Victoria stayed still as stone, arms crossed in usual Queen Bee fashion.
“You’re probably right, Vic.” Nathan lets go of Max’s t-shirt, already crumpled like her spirit. Max immediately pushed past Nathan and his crew, not bothering to look at Victoria at all. She rushes past the rest of the students, face red with anger and embarrassment and a lot of hurt. She makes sure she’s far away enough that she can’t hear the hyenic laughter of the Vortex club before she lets the tears that were already swelling behind her eyes fall.
--
Max opened her eyes. The change in the shade of her room was as sudden as the knocks on her door. The last time Max had her eyes open, her room was still a bright yellow glow. Now it held the afterglow of dusk. It was still and ominous, which was the usual theme of Arcadia Bay. Max rubbed her dried, tired eyes and rolled to her sides. She dragged her blanket along with her as she snuggled further into her pillow. She was not ready to face the world yet. The events from earlier that day had exhausted her. She yawned and pulled her blanket over her head.
“Max, can I come in?” A knock on the door followed a familiar muffled voice. Not yet, it was too soon. All Max wanted to do was sleep so she could forget her miserable day and life. The last thing she wanted was to talk to Victoria. Because Victoria was right. Max was only a dumb and pathetic hipster. Well, she must be a little dumb, given the recent choices she had made and the circumstances she agreed to put herself in. But she was not ready for her conversation with Victoria. The one where she knew would end with Victoria apologising out of guilt and pity. The last thing Max wanted was to be pitied. She heard a sigh before Victoria’s voice continued, “Max, I heard you yawn, I know you’re up. Open the door, please. You know we have to talk about this.”
“I’m fine. We don’t have to talk right now,” Max says under the cover of her blanket.
“Max, I’ve been standing at your door for way too long. Please let me in before someone sees me.”
Max let out a growl before practically throwing her blanket aside as she hopped out of bed and swung her door open. “If you’re so fucking worried, then don’t stand at my door and leave me alone,” she yells before Victoria was even in her view. Which Max instantly regretted, because once Victoria was in her view, she saw the worry and hurt in Victoria’s eyes. The Queen Bee took a small step back from the forcefulness of Max’s words. Max let out a defeated sigh and hung her head. “Look, what happened earlier – “ Max’s right hand instinctively reached for her left arm, a habit of hers when she’s nervous, “ – I get it. I know how this works, how we work, and I’ve accepted that it has to be this way. I know the rules, there’s really nothing to talk about.”
She looked up and saw Victoria’s glistened eyes. She could see then how much Victoria actually cared. It was not like she did not know that Victoria was trying to protect her from Nathan earlier. She pretty much redirected that beast of a spoilt brat away from Max. But it still sucked that she had to throw Max under the bus. Or car, for that matter. It could have been a lot worse, she supposed. “C-can I come in anyway?” Victoria asked in a small voice. One that was hesitant and lacked the usual authority that Victoria carried.
Max let out a deep breath and stepped aside, consenting reluctantly. She closed the door as Victoria stepped past and she made sure to lock it. She rest her head on the door and took a few seconds to compose herself before turning around, trying to psych herself up to deal with Victoria and her mixed feelings about everything that has happened. That was quickly interrupted though as she felt warm, comforting arms hug her from behind. The smell of Victoria’s latest expensive perfume filled Max’s senses and her breath on Max’s neck made her hairs stand.
“For the record, I’m sorry anyway,” Victoria says as she rest her head on Max’s back the same way Max had hers on the door. Max felt Victoria’s squeeze a little harder around her, as if to emphasise how sorry she was. Max barely lasted a few seconds before giving in. Her hands moved from the door to the arms around her and she gently returned a squeeze. She heard Victoria sniff and Max thinks she feels a teardrop fall onto her back. The Queen Bee of Blackwell, hugging and crying on her. What would the world think?
“Tori,” Max turned slowly and wrapped her own arm around Victoria. Her Victoria. The Victoria that did not think she was just a dumb, pathetic, worthless hipster. The Victoria that laughed at her lame jokes and called her a nerd when she makes quirky references. The Victoria that called her beautiful once when they snuck up onto the roof of their dormitories and lay together under the moonlight. The Victoria who gave her an endearing smile as a heart-shaped seashell was placed against her palm during the one time they snuck to the beach before the break of dawn.
They stood there for a long while, wrapped in each other’s embrace and comfort, fitting into each other’s arms like lock and key. The rest of the world did not matter and they were safe alone here. For a brief moment, the events of the day were forgotten. The loss of Chloe’s friendship was forgotten. The hatred of Nathan, forgotten. The perception and judgment of the rest of Blackwell were all but forgotten. In this moment, there were only Max and Victoria. It is then that Max remembers why she made the dumb choice of falling for Victoria Chase. And she knew then that she would the same choice over and over again if she had to.