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[analogthis]

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COMMENT W/ A STARTER, TEXT, OR PROMPT. CODE BY TESSISAMESS

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au where storm and trauma never happens ?? ok

[moshpits]

[ It's half past midnight on a Friday, which means Max is probably getting ready to wind down for the day. Making this the ideal time to bombard her with texts, of course. Quick! Before she falls asleep! ]

mad max
hey
what up
i'm bored

[ Chloe, the ever-generous, graces her with a seven minute cooldown period, and when Max still doesn't reply, presses on. ]

don't ignore me i know youre just watching cat videos in bed like the nerd that u are

whatever works!!!

[analogthis]

what do you have against cat videos
but just fyi it's cat and dog and assorted other animals videos too
I don't discriminate against cute animals
NEways how can I entertain you this very late evening chloe

[moshpits]

nothing against wholesome animal videos, i respect your grandmotherly pursuits 100%
just sayin i should take precedence

[ But now that she has her attention, Chloe is pleased. Looks like Max has her priorities in order, after all. ]

tell me smth
i dunno
how was your day

[ ... No, she didn't come.prepared. 'Get Max's attention' was really about the extent of her plan. ]

[analogthis]

[Well, at least her plan seems to be working so far, even if it wasn't a well thought out one. Chloe does indeed have her attention.]

I don't know if telling you about my day is going to relieve your boredom any
it was pretty ordinary

[She realizes that doesn't really help along a conversation though, so tries to think of anything in particular about the day she could relay.]

I did get some cool photos actually

[moshpits]

[ In all honesty, Max could be talking about dirt and Chloe'd still want to hear it. And not just because it's pushing one AM and she's exhausted her playlist of TED talks.

That'd feel pretty goofy to admit, though. ]

oh yeah??
show me

I'm so sorry for this tl;dr

[analogthis]

[Show her? And this was the biggest problem with her preference for analog over digital: harder to share her work when people wanted to see it.

Thankfully, she's got her photos in her bag nearby, and can reach them without having to get out of bed. She flips on the string of lanterns on her wall for some light before holding up each photo individually and taking a picture with her phone camera.

She sends the first, one of the fountain in front of Blackwell: a close up of the water with the coins underneath and a torn piece of paper floating on the surface, centered in the middle of the photo. The paper appears to be part of a letter to someone, the torn words that were still readable talking about how they had something important to share but couldn't find the right words to say it. The implication here would be either the writer tore up the letter and discarded it because they couldn't find the courage to send it, or the recipient of the letter had torn it up because they hadn't liked what the writer had to say.

The next is a profile of Kate Marsh, her eyes downcast but she seems to be trying to hide a small smile as she sips from a pretty, delicate teacup. It was clearly taken outside, the sun lighting up the girl's face and turning her blonde hair golden.

Then she sends the last one: a candid of Warren and Brooke, the two of them sitting close in the science lab and talking animatedly about something. It's from far enough away from them that their legs can be seen under the table, Brooke clearly bumping her knee against Warren's. They're framed by the outline of a beaker, the photo taken through the glass.]

they look better in person....

<3

[moshpits]

oh sick. i dig em
i like how your photos always look like their own self contained world. a lil max bubble
it's cool

[ She's not so hot at artsy speak. But she's always liked Max's photos. At the very least, that should come across. ]

wonder what that note was about tho
seems pretty juicy

[analogthis]

[Max can always get artsy speak from people in class. Chloespeak is still a language she's pretty good at she'd like to think, and she's happy to hear her opinion. Her never-ending support of Max's photography has always helped with her confidence in her photos.]

"max bubble" is exactly what I was aiming for

I was super curious about it too!
There were a few more pieces of it floating in the fountain but it was all vague, and no signature.
I did think the handwriting looked familiar, but can't place it

[moshpits]

ok max you know what to do
we gotta break into all your classmates' lockers and compare the handwriting in their notes to the photo

[analogthis]

sure Chloe that sounds totally feasible
wouldn't it be easier to just pass around a birthday card or get well card for people to sign and then use that to compare?

[moshpits]

ok, sure, that's definitely the most legal take on that scenario, if you wanna be like THAT

but also? damn girl u sneaky. i'm impressed & a lil turned on

[analogthis]

if it means not having to break into a buttload of lockers, then yeah I wanna be like that
tho it could be fun seeing what everyone keeps hidden in there....

I see how it is
I can take a hundred awesome photos but my sneakiness is what REALLY impresses you

[moshpits]

yeah dude, betting you we can find way juicier shit than a torn up love note
i bring my mad lockpicking skills, you bring your rewind, we can make a whole evening of it
just sayinnn

and don't be silly, i'm impressed by your sleuthy ways & photography in equal parts. you're a very impressive individual, max caulfield

especially if u go breaking into lockers with me

[vortexts]

( how many days can nathan go pretending that max caulfield doesn't exist? let's count them:

the week after he cried like a pussy-ass bitch in her bedroom, he doesn't come to school. any and all texts sent to his phone go unanswered, and he can't be found in his dorm.

he'd left max's dorm with murder on his mind, but he he's never wanted to kill anyone, not really. his psychiatrist calls it a "defense mechanism," his tendency to act big and bad when he's feeling small and afraid. he doesn't know what he's supposed to do with this knowledge, so he fires that psychiatrist.

his new one is better, quieter with his analysis, but no less accurate. when he asks why nathan took a week away from school, he pretends to be satisfied with an answer like 'because I do what I want'. they change his meds anyway, which he doesn't mind since these new ones sell for more.

he returns to class on a tuesday and lets the rumor mill spin out about him having an 'episode' or an 'expulsion'. both of those sound better than the reality, being too embarrassed to face max without a week buffer between himself and their last meeting.

and even then, he doesn't talk to her. )

[analogthis]

[It feels a little like karmic retribution. She spent five years ghosting her best friend. The first person who touches her decides to ghost her too. Without a single word as to why. It brings up all those "you suck, Max" feelings of being the worst friend in the entire universe. Because the first person she let touch her was also the person she literally saw kill her best friend. (Even if that didn't stick. Even if she prevented it from happening in their current timeline.) Who the fuck does that? Who the fuck then wants him again? Who cries at night because that person doesn't seem to want them in their life anymore? This bitch, right here. Apparently.

She doesn't tell anyone. She hangs out with Chloe two days, Warren three, and Dana. Dana she visits every single day she can, when she's not too busy with Trevor. And Dana is the one who gets the closest thing to the truth from her. She deserves it for having Max pry into her whole pregnancy scare thing. She doesn't mention Nathan's name and she doesn't mention the crying. She mentions the drunk/high hookup, it having been her first time, and the guy ghosting her. (Her journal, of course, she tells everything.)

Dana helps her feel a little less bad. She's gotta be the sweetest popular girl to ever exist on the face of the planet. They watch silly chick flicks and binge frozen yogurt. Dana asks about her photography, and gets into seeing her photos. They text every day.

At 2am every night, Nathan's phone receives a picture text of Lisa saying and doing various dorky things (including the absolute worst plant puns). She just feels like she needs Nathan to know she's still there, and available. But sending him pictures of herself feels like it would be too much. Maybe he doesn't want to see her face. He has all the money in the world, he could always buy a new phone, a new number. Maybe he has already, and nobody is receiving the plant child pictures. That would be fine. She'd probably still continue to send them, if only for her own sake.

She gets drunk the Friday night after Nathan returns to classes. With Dana, Trevor, Justin, and Chloe. At 2 am Friday night, Nathan doesn't get a picture of Lisa. He gets a single text:

max
miss yuo

...And then very shortly, a slew of them from Dana Ward.

dana
you absolute asshole
I should totally kick your ass for how you've treated Max
you don't pop a girl's chery and then GHOST her
who raised you?!

Someone drunkenly let slip to Dana who the mystery guy was. Whoops.]

[vortexts]

( if it helps her conscience even a little, shooting chloe had been an accident, like every other death he's been responsible for. regardless, shacking up with your best friend's murderer is sure to cause some conflicts. nathan feels them, too. beyond his humiliating display of vulnerability, just the act of attempting to get close to max caulfield is doing his head it. max, who hangs out with chloe. chloe, who he attempted to drug and photograph in a misguided attempt at impressing mister jefferson. jefferson, who says he's got potential. there's guilt there, like there's guilt with everything he's come to associate with this place. it's all getting too entangled. none of this was supposed to happen.

victoria is relieved when he returns, and he sticks close to her. she doesn't ask about this new clinginess, instead taking it as an opportunity to catch nathan up on the latest gossip. babe, where'd you go? taylor took some old guy home. like, ew, barf. and max looks even more like a sad face loser. hilarious. but jefferson has been suuuch a grump.

each night, he gets a picture of a plant. he can't bring himself to reply, doesn't know how. still, he shakes with the fear that one day, he won't recieve them, that max will give up on him and move on, that she'll stop trying to reach him. that, too, makes him cry. he stares at 'let’s root for each other,' and he begs through sobs that max never changes, that she never gets involved in this and end up a victim.

no one knows how sorry he is.

when friday rolls around, the vortex club has a party already lined up. the theme is simple, but it's not like anyone outside the decorating committee cares about the theme. parties are an excuse to get high, and get drunk, and not much else, really. it could be a christmas party for all nathan cares.

he's four shots and a few lines deep when the texts roll in. he's feeling too good to let that first one hurt him, but when the string of messages roll in, he has to say something. )

To: Dana
wrong number
fuck off

To: Max
dana???
you told fuckign dana ???

( he didn't know max and dana were friends, but max is so likable, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

and 'ghost' isn't particularly accurate, either. like, yes, he ghosted, but max knows why. after crying in her dorm, he didn't have a choice. )

[analogthis]

[The replies are immediate.

max
HEY
don't get mad at her for that
she's drunk she didn't mean to let your name slip
but she's been hung up over this mystery guy for like a week
I'm not stupdldhdnaadjd

Okay, so, clearly, Dana has taken Max's phone at the moment. (And a drunk Max is attempting to take it back.) Which means, should he actually want to talk to Max...

max
TALK to her
I don't mean text eihter
you come find us or you call
do the right thign nathan ]

[vortexts]

( 'prescott' and 'right thing' are hardly synonymous. he looks up from his phone, takes in his empire of drunken partiers. he and vic have the corner table, a space where they can watch everyone and laugh with impunity. hayden's with them, too.

why would he leave this for anything?

... )

naggy bitch
where are you?

tell anyone about this and i'll fukc you up

( vortex alliances be damned. )

[analogthis]

ugh im not gonna TELL anyone
i wouldnt betray max like that
she's a good bean

parking lot
sending Trevor justn Chloe inside for munchies
youve got a few minutes

[Dana seems completely unfazed by being called a naggy bitch or threatened. She's seen Nathan threaten people before, even if it wasn't her.]

please come
even if its just to tell her gooodbye
she deserves closueer
and sorry for bitching at you

[Medium amount of sorry, anyway.]

[vortexts]

( max being a 'good bean' is sorta the whole problem. and what the fuck is with people apologizing to him? )

whatever
just keep that punk bitch away from me

( it'd be bad otherwise. bad for him, bad for her, bad for max.

vic looks surprised when he stands, but he tells her he's meeting frank in the parking lot for a re-up. it'll be hard to explain himself when he returns empty-handed, but that's a problem for future nathan.

so he makes his way outside, finds where they've made themselves comfortable. it's more chilly than he expected, but it's october, so he shouldn't be surprised. )

...Beat it, Dana.

( whatever he wants to say to max, he doesn't need some nosy prep hanging around to hear it. )

[analogthis]

[The two girls are sitting on the retaining wall in the parking lot, Max's head in Dana's lap and the taller girl is petting her hair. Dana is a little drunk too, and high, if the color in her cheeks and eyes are anything to go by.

She shakes Max's shoulder gently when she sees Nathan coming down the sidewalk, whispers something to her. Max sits bolt upright like she's been shocked, looking wide-eyed at Dana before she turns her gaze around to find Nathan. And her eyes immediately soften.

He tells Dana to beat it and she rolls her eyes. "I was gonna. But if your truck is here, maybe take her over there? You'll have more privacy, less chance of running into Chloe. But if she doesn't call me in fifteen minutes, I'm coming to find you both."

She stands up, earrings dangling with the movement, and helps Max up as well before she essentially hands her off to him and walks away. The look she passes him as she leaves isn't threatening or a glare, it's gratitude. She's glad he's here to talk to her. She even gives him a nod as she heads back inside the building.

And Max...]

Did you get Lisa's pictures? Was that too stupid?

[vortexts]

( nathan isn't sure what to do with someone looking at him like he's done something good, so he looks away as max gets hefted into his grasp. she's lighter than he remembered.

when she speaks up, he considers lying. maybe he should say he doesn't know what she's talking about. but she's so earnest when she's drunk, she asks about these photos like they're the most important thing in the world. he's drunk, too. fortunately, nathan's better when he's fucked up than when he's sober. drugs take the edge off, dull the voices in his head. )

No, they were... ( endearing, precious, perfect ) ...the right about of stupid. Or whateverthefuck.

( god, he doesn't know what he's doing. taking max back to his truck, he considers just talking outside, but privacy is what he's after. fifteen minutes to make this right, as if he knows what 'right' is. he takes a moment to dig into his pocket for the keys, then begins to lift her up into the cab. )

Dana, huh? Didn't know you fucked with her.

( he didn't know chloe still fucked with anyone at this school, either. anyone outside of max, anyway.

he knows he just needs to say sorry, but nathan's certain that once he starts apologizing, he won't be able to stop. )

[analogthis]

[The "right amount of stupid" is the perfect answer apparently because Max momentarily grins at him, opening her mouth to respond before she gives a soft "eep" sound at being lifted, then laughs, her face lightly flushed.]

Wowsers. Wasn't expecting that. Thought I was flying for a second there... [And wouldn't that be funny. Triggering a second superpower. Still wouldn't make her a hero, not even close.] Oh, Dana! Right. Yeah, I... couldn't talk to Chloe or Warren.

[For obvious reasons. She didn't want Chloe finding out it was Nathan and though she tells Warren a lot of stuff, she does not feel comfortable talking to him about losing her virginity. For one, it might just hurt him. She doesn't want to hurt anyone.]

Dana's been through some shit, and she's so sweet. Didn't know her that well before... last week? We've hung out a lot recently. We have a froyo date tomorrow. Oh my god, I never meant to tell her your name, I swear, and I didn't tell her about my room, just that I had my first time with someone who wasn't responding to my texts anymore. Are you angry with me?

[vortexts]

( once max is safely housed inside, nathan planned on shutting the door and walking around to the other side to let himself in. but max is drunkenly rattling on with so much enthusiasm, it'd be shitty to slam a door in her face now. after taking a glance behind him, he figures it'd be easier to just follow her inside by climbing over her, which he does with some effort, because he's still drunk himself.

from an outsider's point of view, it looks suspiciously like nathan has pushed a drunk girl into his car, checked if the coast was clear, then entered in after her. what a goddamn creep.

he settles beside her just as she ends on 'are you mad at me,' and he's not sure if he is or not. not entirely. he's more angry about having people in his business than he is with max specifically. )

Not mad, just...

( he wants to be her pillow. he wants to be the person who walks her home. )

...freaked out. All this shit, it's fucking... Wait, did you say 'wowsers'? ( it takes a second for the absurdity of that to register. his laugh is nice, and soft, and devoid of malice. ) Are you nine?

[analogthis]

[Oh. He's climbing over her. She's momentarily interrupted in her drunk rambling, and by the time he's settled on the other side of her, her face is considerably redder. For a split second there she'd almost gotten the wrong idea.

She watches him as he answers, shifting to lean back against the car door so she can face him. And laughs at his question.]

Yeah. I say that. I really like your laugh, I wish I could hear it more often. I've been wanting to say that you're allowed to show your emotions in front of me, Nathan. You're human and emotions are normal.