Chapter Text
01 - Challenges Me
Jones Residence, Arcadia Bay (Oregon)
September 22, 2012 - 11:51 pm
POV Maxine
Victoria Chase looked straight at me, without blinking. I did the same, waiting for the starting signal.
"Chug!" Hayden screamed. My friend and I brought two Tequila shooters to our respective lips, then two more Rum and finally two more Vodka shoots before putting the glasses on the table.
On this Saturday night, I was hanging out at a party organized by one of my friends (reserved in part by members of the Vortex Club), like most weekends. By midnight past, more than half of the guests had drunk their weight in alcohol and few people still had a coherent speech. The most surprising being that I am one of those who still stand, hardened by the accelerated training of my favorite blonde, one of the best people I know.
Nathan Precott, my boyfriend, convinced me to come to this party organized by Hayden Jones, one of our best friend. I gave in and put on a little black skirt, and a red tank top matches my Chuck Taylor converses. My long brown and wavy hair contrasted with my outfit (chosen by Victoria), I knew my boyfriend liked to see me dressed like that, even if I found that my little chest did not fill my tank top enough. But Nathan had never complained.
Sometimes I have difficulties to realize what has become of my life in recent years. My (former ?) best friend Chloe moved away from Arcadia Bay four years ago with her parents, her dad Williams Price landed a job but the only snag is the job is in Boston. Very difficult to keep contact with different time zones, with a distance from the devil and especially now that she studies in Paris with a scholarship, needless to say, we do not really communicate anymore.
But life did not stop for me. Without Chloe, my social life was almost at zero but I got away even though there was nothing easy.
Oh yes, I'm accepted (thanks to a scholarship too) at Blackwell Academy! This is huge news for me because my parents are in financial trouble, even if he hides them from me.
I had the chance to fall on Victoria Chase, a girl a little haughty who won the young artist award but I could talk about my passion for photography with her. I quickly built up a certain amount of self-confidence since I was hanging out with her, I even melted her ice armor after a few weeks and I can tell she's eating in the palm of my hand. Victoria had introduced me to her surroundings, becoming trusted friends (for the most part), she arranged my dress style (my jacket and my generic jeans I miss me) and she introduced me to my current boyfriend, Nathan Prescott.
It would be lying if I said that the first contact went well. Cold, distant, angry, characteristic of Nathan, especially when I was trying to talk to him. I like it a lot but by dint of shouting at me, I ended up giving up. Then Vicky advised me not to give up, she told me about some problems in the Prescott family and she told me that Nathan had confided to her about me.
The months passed until the day "The Tempest" arrived. Despite this great fire that has embraced part of the forest, the play has not been canceled and we can sleep soundly. I was sad that Victoria could not play the main role, she was just the lining, and it was another girl who played it ... But I do not remember her name anymore. It was during those days that I really got closer to Nathan, first helping him repeat his role as Caliban, defending him against Drew North (although he was not very happy that I do, go figure why) and even though I was scared to death, I defended it against his own father. I did not have Nathan until the next week, where he was more nervous than usual and invited me for a drink. With the help of Victoria, who could not help but play matchmaker with her two best friends, we had a few dates and ended up being together as a boyfriend/girlfriend.
My parents, Vanessa and Ryan, have not been very happy that I'm with the son Prescott, but they will eventually get used to it, they do not have control over my life. Nathan's father, Sean, does not like me either, but his mother seems to be more interested in me, probably because I date his big boy.
It's been two years since we went out together, and for my 17th birthday yesterday, my boyfriend decided to make me a surprise picnic in the moonlight. Who would have thought that Nathan Prescott the third was such a great romantic ... Oh yes, me of course. And tonight is a bonus for my friends to celebrate my birthday, in their quirky way, Vortex Club way! YEAH !!!!!!
Around 4:00 am, Victoria called the few survivors to gather and sit in a circle on sofas, beanbags and chairs to play a game. An action or truth, typical Victoria. I slumped into one of the sofas, snuggled against Nathan, while my bestie started the game.
"Come on Dana, you starts!"
"Okay, I choose action!"
Dana Ward was in my World History class. She was a go-getter, head of the cheerleaders, she totally assumed her personality and did not care about people's opinion. A freedom that I envied her enormously. Victoria gave her a pledge to perform a striptease on the table in front of everyone, which she undertook to do with enthusiasm, probably helped (slightly) by alcohol. She slowly unbuttoned her shirt, then threw it on Hayden, before getting off the table and step over Victoria to rub against her. Dana really does not mind to do that, maybe she teases the boys as well.
All she had left was her bra, skirt and heels. She sailed from boys to girls, rubbing at each of them, then she paused. She went up on the table to tear off her skirt and waddle a little before going down and come to caress, with her buttocks, the crotch of a boy who was unknown to me.
I caught myself lingering my eyes on her round buttocks and her breasts, round and firm ... I suddenly had a terrible desire to remove her bra and exposes her chest before I pull myself together. It was probably only unhealthy curiosity. After all, I had never seen a girl, other than myself, totally naked.
The music stopped, and Dana ended her show in underwear. The game continued, to each its pledge or its truth. Of course, the game turned around only one and the same subject, which made me dread my turn ...
"Maxine, action or truth?" Hayden asked me.
"Truth" I replied without hesitation, ignoring being called Maxine again. They all ignored my rule of 'Max-Never-Maxine' so I gave up.
"Aww, please SuperMax, let yourself live!" Victoria groaned.
Nathan answered in my place and I felt relieved.
"Hey, be sweet, guys" he said, laughing. "Leave her alone."
"What if you get something easy?" Juliet Watson, Dana's best friend, did not let go of the affair, a small smile on her face. "For example ... Hey, kiss Rachel!"
I looked for the concerned and finally find it, right in front of me. Rachel Amber is a girl my age, maybe a year older. I do not really know her, only reputation. She is pierced in the nose, has a mysterious earring with a blue feather in her left ear and has very dark purple hair that happens to her in the middle of her back. She has a very punk style, wearing black slim pants, and a torn white t-shirt (with a skull design) in several places that hinted at her skin, as well as something like a tattoo, on the inside of wrist.
I had already met this girl on campus, never really paying attention except perhaps once, where I had seen her fight with a guy right in front of the arts class. She had won hands down, a real force of nature, and very mysterious too. From what Victoria told me, she was Blackwell's most popular girl until she had family dramas, Rachel had isolated herself, avoided getting too close to people and she frequented the drug dealers. But it seems that she still has friends if she goes to our parties.
She intrigued me a bit, from what I observed, it also seemed that the time was according to her moods, there was more wind when she was sad. But this is just a foolish theory, I'm not as crazy about science as Warren, so I did not look for more. It's not like she has supernatural powers.
Panicked, I watched Nathan waiting for him to intervene. Only...
"Sorry sweetheart, but there, I can not say no" my boyfriend just said, of course he would be excited to see me kiss a girl. Typical guy to see a girl-to-girl action!
He laughs before bringing his beer to his mouth. My eyes turned back to the concerned, she stared at me and waited, legs crossed and elbows on her lap, a cigarette between two fingers. I examined the situation internally while everyone around me began to encourage me. What did I have to lose? Rachel did not seem to mind the idea, after all, and if that was enough to make sure they leave me alone.
"All right, I'll do it" I said, getting up. "But after, you forget me for the rest of the game."
I crossed the room with a confident step but felt all my confidence fly away when I reached Rachel's height. She had risen, without detaching her eyes from my face, and waited patiently with a slightly hostile expression. But suddenly I had a weird feeling, plunging my eyes into hers, it was as if her hazel eyes were trying to reassure me and encourage me to kiss her. Suddenly, the living room was very quiet. Rachel and I did not leave our eyes and, as hypnotized, I passed my arm behind her waist to bring her closer to me.
Our mouths were more than a few inches apart when I threw myself into the water ...
Her lips were soft and her breath sweet. I opened my mouth a little, urging her to do the same to go caress her tongue with mine. I would have liked it to be a hard time, to keep her hands on my hips but after a few seconds, Rachel broke away from me and I returned to reality. The guests were hissing and applauding as the purple-haired girl turned away from me to return to her seat. I was then back on the couch near Nathan, slightly disturbed by recent events, before the game resumed. Around 6:00 am, no one wanted to play. Some fell asleep during the game, while the strongest managed to keep up all night. But when the sun came out, the majority of the survivors decided to go to bed.
I joined my boyfriend in a room upstairs, we shared with another couple already in bed.
"Can you go downstairs to get my phone, please? I had to leave it in the kitchen" Nathan asked me, continuing to inflate the mattress.
I smiled at him and nodded before descending into the silent house. I crossed the living room, whose floor was littered with dead drunken teenagers and came into the kitchen.
"So, what did he do with his phone ..." I mumbled as I began to search under the empty soda cans or the bottles of spilled beers.
I finally saw her on the worktop right in front of me but by wanting to grab it, I realized that the door to the outside was open and that Rachel was sitting outside on the stairs. I took my courage in both hands and crossed the room to sit next to her. She did not flinch. She stared at the rising sun above the roofs, occasionally carrying her cigarette to her mouth. Such a nice mouth that I was dying to kiss again.
"Congratulations" the purplenette said interrupting my fantasies, she continues without looking at me as I stutter. "I never thought you'd have the balls to do it."
"Me neither ..." I whispered, staring at the floor. "So ... are you ...?"
"What am I ? Lesbian ? Gay ? Queer ? Sapphic ? Dyke ? No, I have a boyfriend. He works in Chicago."
Her tone was hard, Rachel was not looking at me, she was just staring at the horizon. A wave of disappointment overwhelmed me without me being able to explain it. Obviously, she had not felt the same as me during this kiss. I decided to go back to my room, it was clear that she did not want to talk. To talk to me. I got up and went into the kitchen when I heard her voice.
"How long have you know that you love girls ?"
I stopped, and looked back wide-eyed. She got up, followed me into the kitchen and waited for my answer back to the worktop.
"I do not love girls. I'm with Nathan, you saw me with him" I defended myself indignantly.
"Spare me the way you pretend not to understand. I felt it, you wanted to fuck me."
Her tone was assured, she knew what she was saying and did not go with gloves. Surprised, I approached her, a little angry that she speaks to me in this tone and especially ashamed to have hid my feelings badly. I was about to tell her that she was wrong, that she was taking her dreams for realities, but something held me back.
It was that look, her eyes chatting with mine, telling them something totally different from what she had just told me. Something softer. More tender. Something that had nothing to do with this vulgar and tough girl right in front of me. And suddenly, I lost myself.
"What if it was?" I challenged her.
Rachel smiled before biting her bottom lip before answering me.
"I'll tell you to take me, here and now" she whispered to me.