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Victoria slumps down the hallways with a large grin on her face, her messy steps taking her down the bright hall and towards her room. But she is not going to her room because she wants to see Maxine – Maxy Max, the best Max of all Maxes – Max’s? Maxs? Maxines –
She knocks on the door lazily, her fist thumping at the wood a little louder than she meant to, she thinks, she wonders, wonders if she hit it as hard as she meant to or harder than she had thought she had hit it, or maybe she had hit it less hard than she had thought she had?
Maxine opens the door, and the first thing Victoria thinks is how cute she looks in her little vest top and shorts, her eyes squinting and her voice all quiet and sleepy ‘cause she was sleeping and being all cute and Max-like. “Victoria?” Max says, rubbing at her eyes.
“Maxine!” Victoria yells in reply, smiling, opening her arms wide and pulling the small little hipster in for a hug – “I have totally missed you, you know, I was telling Taylor that your stupid smile is the prettiest stupid smile I’ve ever seen, and that your stupid selfies totally capture how stupidly pretty your stupid eyes are and your smile, and you’re just so pretty Maxine and how -? I mean, your polaraid – polaroid – is so cool and it’s – that you don’t need to digitally edit stuff, you know?”
Max is dazed when Victoria finally pulls away, her breath stinking of alcohol. “Alright, Victoria,” Max says, grabbing a hold of her arm to steady her – smiling in amusement, but also not smiling, because this is her regular bully. “we should get you to sleep.”
“I fucking love sleep.” Victoria says, “We just have so much in common Maxine –“
“It’s Max.” Max replies, but her voice is a sigh, because trying to get a sober Victoria to call her Max is hard enough, but a drunken one is near impossible.
“I am so sorry –“ Victoria slurs, “and sleep is so fucking good.”
“I know it is, Victoria.” Max replies. “So let’s get you to bed –“
Victoria laughs triumphantly, punches a fist in the air. “Alright!”
“-and get you some water.”
“I fucking love water.” Victoria says, barging past Max into her room. “See?” Her voice takes a whiny tone, a sort of solemn, sad tone, but also this weirdly happy one. “We are just meant for each other, Max, I thought you totally felt it –“ she collapses onto Max’s bed, looks up to the white ceiling and smiles, rocking her head back and forth. “Holy crap the ceiling is spinning, Maxine, can you believe that alcohol actually does this stuff? I mean, like, I could totally –“ Victoria’s gaze locks on Max’s wall of photos – “I love your photo-photography so much, it is just so amazing and I want to own all of your pictures, especially your selfies –“
“Okay, Victoria.” Max says, because she knows this is just the alcohol, but some part of her, a worried part, a confused part, knows that not all of what she is saying and doing is totally the alcohol, because in every drunk person is a tiny little sane person calling out. “You know this isn’t your bed, right? I was gunna take you to your bedroom –“
“Do you not like me in your bed, Max?” Victoria says, shooting Max her best alluring look, but her eyes just end up twitching. “I love being in your bed.”
Max blushes. “Well I – I mean it’s –“
“You can’t tell me that only I feel this; you’re just so cute and small and hipster, and your eyes are so sparkly, Maxine, where did you get such sparkly eyes?”
“Well – I – I mean my mother –“
“Aw!” Victoria laughs, kicks her legs up in the air. “See? You’re just too cute!”
“Victoria –“
Victoria sits up, grabs at Max’s vest and pulls her into her. Their faces are practically touching, Max’s body landing uncomfortably against Victoria’s. “Don’t you see how much I want you, Max?”
“Okay –“ Max says, pulling away and feeling her face heat up. “you’re very, very drunk right now. Did the Vortex douches spike your drink, or something?”
Victoria laughs again, over-exaggeratingly. “Oh my God, Max, you’re so funny –“ she snorts – “Vortext douches –“
Max sighs, and patiently reaches forward and grabs at Victoria’s leather jacket, trying to pull it off her gently but given Victoria’s squirmy, drunken nature, it ends up being more of a struggle than necessary. “Tori, just lay down now –“
“I can sleep in your bed?!”
“Yes, Victoria, you can sleep in my bed –“
“Are you gunna sleep with me?”
Max blushes again, pushes Victoria down against her pillow and pulls off her shoes. “I wasn’t planning on it –“
“No, pleeeaase, Max – a single is big enough for two and it’ll keep us super warm.” She giggles.
Max has never heard Victoria giggle before. It’s surprisingly cute, but slurred because of the alcohol. “I’ll sleep with you if you really want –“
“It’s all I want.” Victoria says.
“Then budge over.” Max says, smiling. She doesn’t expect Victoria to actually do it -
But, almost as if she’s sober, she does it, and rubs at the open space on the bed with a grin. “I really want to snuggle with you.”
Max’s whole body feels hot in embarrassment. This is a whole new Victoria – and she is so flirting with Max, and Max doesn’t know what to do about it –
So, she just crawls into the bed, and pulls the covers over them both. Victoria immediately snuggles into her side and attaches herself to one of Max’s arms, her right leg lazily swinging over Max’s two and her head lulling against Max’s shoulder.
“You’re so warm.” Victoria sighs. “You’re such a good person, I don’t – I don’t deserve such a good person.”
Max hears Victoria yawn heavily next to her, her hot, intoxicated breath hitting Max’s cheek. “Please sleep, Victoria. You’re going to regret this in the morning, but I’ll take care of you.”
Victoria snuggles further into Max’s, their bodies entwining into one without Max ever meaning them to. “I know you will, Max.” Victoria says. “It’s why – it’s why I – why I’m so crazy about you.”
Max turns off the light. Pretends Victoria didn’t just say that –
“I love you, Maxine.”
And then Max freezes. She waits – waits until her chest has stopped pounding, her hands have stopped sweating – waits until she can move her eyeballs again – “What did you just say?” Max asks.
But Victoria was already sleeping softly.
She wondered how much Victoria would remember tomorrow, and if there was any chance of an explanation.