[CLOSED] Don't forget the booze

[mypartnerincrime]

Who: Chloe Price and Max Caulfield
Where: Max's room on the 3rd floor
When: Backdated to March 10 and 11 (after this post, which is backdated to March 10)
Rating: PG-13 (mostly because of Chloe's language)
Summary: The two best friends spend some time watching a mushy film about time travel.
The Story:

Chloe gets up from her bed and grabs her leather jacket from the chair. She's getting ready to watch a movie with Max in her room. Max told her to leave in 20 minutes but whatever, Chloe was never good with time. She can't help but roll her eyes at the thought of sitting through some cheesy flick about time travel. As if we haven't had enough of time travelling, Chloe thinks. Oh well. She knows it can still be fun, hanging out, watching movies with her best friend, just like when they were kids.

Before leaving her room, Chloe goes to her closet and takes out a bag of popcorn and two bottles of beer. Of course there has to be some food involved.

And booze. Don't forget the booze.

Yeah, I know Max doesn't drink alcohol... yet. She grins as she closes the closet door and opens her bedroom door to exit. Chloe approaches the room across hers and doesn't even knock. She turns the door knob.

Comments

[mypartnerintime]

When Chloe enters, Max is totally not ready.

She quickly shoves something under the bed and stands up in one quick motion, which doesn't go well as her foot gets caught in the blanket and she stumbles. Fortunately she doesn't fall down, but it's an annoyance all the same.

Her hair is messed up because she didn't have time to comb it before Chloe came in - and she'd just been chilling, so it's not like she was keeping it neat. There's soft music playing on her hi-fi. Pictures she'd been sorting through are also laid out on the bed, in a big mess.

After finding her balance, she shoots Chloe an annoyed look with narrowed eyes. "That was so not twenty minutes."

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe enters the room as if it was hers. She doesn't notice that Max was trying to hide something. What catches her attention more are the pictures very visible on top of the bed. "No, it wasn't," she says nonchalantly as she approaches Max. Her friend may look annoyed but Chloe is damn sure she isn't. Before she turns her attention to the photos, Chloe looks at Max first and wiggles her eyebrows. "Look what I've got!" She shakes the bottles in her hands.

She opens both bottles, takes a gulp from the first one then offers the second to Max. "It's already open so you have to drink it."

[mypartnerintime]

Okay, not annoyed, though definitely a little peeved. But Chloe doesn't seem to have noticed anything amiss, anyway, and the pictures on top of the bed are just from her time in Wonderland, random stuff she'd been meaning to show.

She takes a step back from the bottle. "Yuck," she says, at first sounding a little irritated, but a moment later breaking out into a sheepish smile. She feels like she's still twelve, sometimes.

Instead she walks over to a can of soda sitting on her desk, next to her laptop, picks it up and shows it to Chloe. "This one's open too," she says, almost like a brag. Eat that, Chloe.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe raises an eyebrow. Seriously, Max can be such a kid sometimes. "Oho no," she starts to tell Max. "You're not getting away that easily." She shakes the bottle a bit harder in front of her best friend. "Come on, Max. A little won't hurt you."

Unless of course Max is allergic to alcohol... but Chloe is pretty sure she isn't. Hello? Best friends for life?

She continues to look at Max then shrugs. "If you're not gonna drink it, I'll spike your cola with something much stronger than beer and you wouldn't know what hit you."

You're in for one hella night, Max. Chloe grins, the same smile she wore when she first showed Max David's spare school keys.

[mypartnerintime]

That impish smile, again. Max's eyes narrow again in what she hopes is a threatening expression, but really is just amusing because she has a half-grin plastered on her face at the same time. "You wouldn't dare," she says, in an equally threatening voice. Which is to say, not at all. She holds the can back and away as though to protect it from Chloe, giggling.

A moment later her smile falters, because... that was actually kind of a bad joke. But she ducks the awkwardness by talking over it. "I will make you watch something terrible as revenge. Like... like The Artist!" Max likes it, yeah, but she's sure that twenty minutes in Chloe would be begging her to stop. She grins at the thought, satisfied with the threat, but steps back another time anyway.

[mypartnerincrime]

Poor choice of words, Max, Chloe thinks. "Oh I'd definitely dare, don't you think Maxfly?" Chloe laughs but puts the second bottle down anyway. She spreads her arms and sways slightly, some of the beer spilling from her own bottle. "We are in fucking Wonderland. Do something wonderful for once!"

Chloe would like more than anything to dare Max to do something unpredictable again. After all, she's proven herself capable of rising to the challenge. This is just like that morning in her room back in Arcadia Bay, where Max was hesitant to wear her-- Rachel's clothes.

The opportunity to make Max extra awkward is too good to pass off. She could dare Max to kiss her again... but it would be quite a cliche. So instead, she gives Max more liberty to decide.

"Fine," Chloe crosses her arms. "If you don't want some of my booze, then I dare you to at least surprise me with something." She throws her arms in the air and more beer spills. "Anything! Tell me shit, do stuff. Just do something wicked for a change!"

[mypartnerintime]

Max can't help but gawk at all the spilling beer. Like does Chloe not realize Max will have to clean that up? Oh my god is she drunk?

...Or high?

She rolls her eyes at the thought. Actually she gets the feeling that she wouldn't be able to tell if Chloe was on her 'medication.' But then Chloe throws down the dare, and Max's expression falls as her thoughts trail off.

"Something wicked...?" She has no idea what to do; the pause as she thinks is probably only a few moments long, but it feels like eons. "Uhh." She can't help the nervous laugh that bubbles out of her throat. Her arms come up to wrap herself in a hug, as though to protect herself from Chloe's stare, which becomes more unbearable by the second.

Finally an idea (besides smoking, drinking, drugs, and other vices) comes to mind, and she blurts it out before she can really think. Damn that peer pressure! Her voice is soft, really just a mumble. "_Dancing?"

What the fuck did I just- She feels like facepalming, and heat creeps up her cheeks as she blushes. She knows why she said it - they never finished the one dance they had in Chloe's room, and it came to mind as something only Chloe could get her to do.

But it still feels like a horrible idea. "Well, maybe not," she quickly adds.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe doesn't pay attention to Max's hesitation. Instead, she claps her hands together (well, more like her hand and beer bottle) and firmly says, "Dancing it is." She puts down her bottle on the desk (finally) and approaches Max's hi-fi. Whatever she's playing right now, it definitely is not for dancing so Chloe puts on "Tom Sawyer" by Rush and turns up the volume.

The steady beat starts to fill Max's room. Chloe bobs her head and taps her foot to the rhythm. Soon, the tempo picks up and guitars join the tune. She starts swaying as well and raises hers arms. "Come on, Max! Shake that bony white ass!"

"...again," Chloe adds after a millisecond.

Because they've already danced before. But it was in Chloe's room, not Max's. And was so rudely interrupted by her step-prick-- step-dad. Gosh, I have got to get used to calling him that, Chloe reminds herself. Maybe now, away from all the drama in Arcadia Bay, they can finally dance till they get tired, or at least to until the song finishes.

[mypartnerintime]

Any protest Max tries to muster gets washed out by the drums that blast from the hi-fi. Seriously? Probably the entire third floor can hear the music at this volume. Are they really doing this?

Fuck it.

Yes.

Max sets down her soda nervously, but takes a daring step forward and starts to sway and bob with the music. Because forget the third floor, forget almost dying just a few weeks ago, forget all the trauma and bad dreams and memories. Tonight is for Chloe. Chloe, who she still can't believe is here. And tonight is for Max, too.

She covers her cheeks with her hands, embarrassed, but eventually raises her arms too when she sees how much fun Chloe is having. She smiles. Giggles at how ridiculous she must look. And then starts to get into it, dancing because she feels like it.

"Oh wait!" At one point she rushes over to her camera, scoops it up and sets the timer in quick practiced motions, all while still bobbing to the beat. She sets the camera down on her desk facing the two of them, and quickly rejoins Chloe, grinning and laughing like an idiot.

Finishing that dance, this time.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe laughs loudly and dances harder as Max joins in. She starts to sweat beneath her leather jacket (Why the fuck did I even wear this thing? I'm only across her room). From the corner of her eye, she sees the flash from her dad's old camera go off but Chloe hardly notices. She's too focused on the skinny, hipster girl dancing in front of her. Alright, Chloe thinks happily. This is in fact kinda wicked by Max's standards.

The music starts to fade away until all she can hear is her own heavy breathing. Chloe wipes the sweat off her forehead and smiles at Max. She then pulls her best friend in to a tight embrace and says, "Nice work, Super Max. You're ready for the mosh pit."

[mypartnerintime]

This is about as wicked as it gets for Max. She breathlessly lets Chloe hug her, still kind of amused at herself. She laughs at Chloe's comment, and holds her hand up in the classic shakah brah gesture, shaking it near Chloe's face.

With a huff she pulls herself out of the hug, still grinning, and goes over to the camera. The instant photo is sticking out of the slot at the bottom, and she takes it. It's... actually a really a good shot. She sighs, staring at the photo, content. Never forget this moment.

"I'm glad we got to finish our dance." She holds out the photo to Chloe. "This one goes in my journal." That's actually a bigger deal than it going up on her photo wall.

Hey, and Max didn't end up drinking or anything. That was fun.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe takes a look at the photo. It is indeed a great shot. She is tired from all the dancing and is ready to flop onto Max's bed when she notices all the pictures laid out. Chloe doesn't recognize any of the shots because most of them seem to be from Wonderland. She picks up the photo nearest her and asks Max, "What's this?"

[mypartnerintime]

The photo of them dancing gets very carefully tucked away between the pages of Max's journal which happens to be on her desk. She then walks over to look at which photo Chloe's looking at:

Max, in some pretty plain vintage clothing, leaning against a stack of hay and smiling at the camera, which she's holding in outstretched hands. Next to her is a skeleton, in similarly old fashioned clothes, grinning up at the camera. They both seem to be in some sort of stable, in the middle of a storm.

"Oh, that." She laughs under her breath. "That was from an event. You know, when Wonderland changes every once in a while? We were all in this tavern, in vintage clothes and... I met this... skeleton. Named Sans." She takes the picture and points out the skeletal figure. "He's really cool. Loves puns. And ketchup."

She realizes how crazy it sounds, but get used to it Chloe, that's how it is in freaking Wonderland.

[1/2]

[mypartnerintime]

Max's voice is slow and sharp in the dark.

"My, that was a Wonderful evening, wasn't it?

"Let's recap. One point for dancing. No points for zero kisses. No points for somehow getting both of you to cry. And pissing Chloe off at the same time? That's negative one, Maxine.

"So let's see. Zero out of five? Oh, no, no wait. One point for effort.

"One out of five."

"Wh- where the fuck am I?" Max says, this time her voice wavering and mousy. "Who... who are you? What the hell do you want from me?"

"Oh, no," Max says, "Don't tell me you don't recognize me. It's only been about two months. Two months for you to get it, which you haven't yet. So now someone has to spell it out for you.

"Write this down. You lost her. You let Nathan shoot her, Max. Do you think you just get to wish her back? Oh, it's so cute you're sharing a bed, but that's not actually her, is it?

"You definitely kissed your Chloe, right? Definitely," she says, followed by a high-pitched chuckle in the dark.

"...F- fuck you. Shut up!" She wishes her voice was more solid, without all the shaking. "Of course that's her."

"I wouldn't be so sure. It's not like you two BFFs are all hunky-dory. Fuck, you've lost her anyway. I wouldn't be happy either if you let our dad drive himself into a truck."

"God that's... that's n- not my fault. I tried everything, okay?"

"Oh puh-lease. The moment you saw your blue-haired partner in crime all okay and sexy, you completely forgot about saving William. Don't even pretend everything came out better. You're just lying to yourself."

"No. You're... you're so wrong. Chloe gets it. She knows what... what I had to go through. And she'll f- forgive me someday."

"That's so fucking selfish. Shit Maxine. Wow.

"You're living a hell of a lie."

[2/2]

[mypartnerintime]

Max suddenly jerks in bed, waking with a sharp gasp and propping herself up on her elbows. It takes her a while to understand where she is: it's really dark, there's smoke in the air, and music in the background, the second verse just now winding down.

And Chloe is next to her. Before the other girl can react, Max lies back down with a defeated groan, covering her face with her hands.

The nightmares haven't gone away. They never even missed a night, including this one. Normally she would wake up without any crazy movements, nothing to startle Chloe, and it would be enough to just watch her best friend sleeping for a while. That would be enough to calm herself down into a shaky sleep.

Not this time, apparently. After this newest nightmare, Max can't even bring herself to turn and look at her best friend. At least, judging by the amount of smoke in the room, Chloe's been up for a while.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe's been awake since Max turned the TV off. She's probably now on her fourth cigarette and she keeps herself entertained by watching the gray clouds swirling above her. She lets nothing but the smoke fill her. No thoughts, no memories. She is tired of thinking, tired of reliving the worst day of her life. She's been doing it ove the past few hours. And each time Chloe revisits that day, she thinks of different ways she could have stopped her father from leaving... but she didn't. Because she didn't know what was going to happen.

Inhale.
Exhale.

It is a steady chant inside her head, the only thought Chloe's permitted to enter her mind. This keeps her awake, alive. The soft music is still playing in the background and she catches a few of the lyrics.

"And I can't say that I am thankful for the things I have.
I'm a hell of a guy.
Living a hell of a lie."

Chloe thinks of the things she is thankful for in her God-forsaken life when Max suddenly sits up gasping, then eventually lies back down without a word. She can still hear her best friend's heavy breathing. Without looking at her, she asks, "Bad dream?"

[mypartnerintime]

"The worst." Max rubs warily at her closed eyes, wiping away the sandy sleep and the after images of the other Max, sitting in the brightly lit diner, a sweet and knowing smile plastered on her perfectly copied face.

Her thoughts calm down slowly. She's content to let things be silent for a moment, except for the typical Max-esque song playing on her hi-fi. But something nags at her, until finally she sits up in bed.

"Chloe?" She scratches at her scalp, shaking her fingers through her hair to get it back into order. "What time is it?"

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe exhales another puff of smoke before answering. "Beats me." With her cigarette between two fingers, she points at the light switch near the door. "You can switch the lights on to check if you want."

[mypartnerintime]

Ugh, thanks for the help Chloe. Max actually manages to shoot her a bemused smirk before sliding off the bed to hit the light switch... and then going over to the window to open it and wave out the noxious fumes. She pretends to bat out smoke as she checks her phone.

"About half past twelve." That's hardly even late! She grins (almost halfheartedly - almost) and actually gets on her hands and knees to start rummaging under the bed. She gets into a coughing fit as she inhales a bit too much smoke in her excitement.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe gets up to look at her best friend, who is now on the floor. She notices that Max is looking for something under the bed. Chloe places her finished cigarette on the ash tray before asking Max. "Uh Max? What are you doing down there?"

[mypartnerintime]

"Wait for it..."

Come, on, you stupid box, while Chloe doesn't sound so wistful.

She reaches in - wow she really shoved the boxes in far, earlier - and finally pulls out a crumpled, colorful box, with a bow haphazardly tied on top. "Oh..." Max says, obviously taken aback at the condition the package is in.

Err. Whatever. She holds it out to Chloe, an amused expression on her face. "You're new, so... you have no idea what date it is, do you?"

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe raises an eyebrow at Max before grabbing her phone from the side table to look at the date.

12:34AM
11 March

"Holy shit!" Chloe exclaims. "It's my fucking birthday!" For a moment she forgets the sadness that consumed her earlier that night. She grins at the poorly wrapped box in Max's hands. "Is that supposed to be my gift?"

[mypartnerintime]

"No," Max emphasizes, because this poorly wrapped thing in her hands (which she is struggling to keep from unraveling) is not Chloe's gift. "It's... supposedly it's a cake." It probably won't look like a cake - they shouldn't have used the bed after she stuffed it down there. Drat.

"I decorated it myself," she adds. She didn't bake it because it would probably have come out inedible or poisonous if she had. "Come on, open it," she says as she wiggles the box at Chloe, grinning. God, Chloe looks happy. Just... take it and keep being happy, please, Max thinks.

[mypartnerincrime]

Chloe shakes her head in disbelief. Only Max would think of shoving a cake box under the bed and expect it to be okay after a few hours. She rolls her eyes but smiles anyway as she takes the box from her best friend. "Thanks Max. You didn't have to."

"...I'm just kidding, you totally had to," she adds after a while and laughs. Chloe hurriedly removes the ribbon from the box and lifts the lid.

[mypartnerintime]

Max laughs along too, nightmare forgotten for now. "You still like chocolate, right?"

Inside the box is a cake that seems to be pure chocolate fudge, slightly squished, with frosting on top that looks somewhat like a blue haired-girl in a classic superhero outfit and cape, flying into outer space. Across the top is an electric looking sign made out of more frosting: Power Girlz! Underneath is simpler sign: Happy Birthday Chloe! Spirals and squiggles decorate the remaining portions of cake. Of course all of this is smudged, but Max looks pleased with it nonetheless. A candle is taped to the inside of the box.

Max grins before getting down on the floor again to reach under the bed. "There's something else, too, wait..." she says, hurriedly looking for her gift before the happy moment can slip away.