Chapter 1: First Impressions

Max reluctantly peered into the science classroom and saw it was crowded with numerous Blackwell students; all occupied with some specific task.

Thank god, I'm not late.

Max sighed and hesitantly entered the room; avoiding all eye contact by staring at the floor. She approached the back corner of the room and leaned on the wall; twiddling her thumbs in anxiety.

Relax, Caulfield. Just act like you're not a cliché dork and you'll be fine. Just act, I'm good at acting, right? Ugh.

"Okay class, take your seats." Ms. Grant's voice made Max jump; shaking her from her thoughts. The students obeyed and scrambled to their seats, but Max realized that she had yet to be assigned one. Ms. Grant's attention was brought to Max, who still awkwardly stood in the corner. "I'm sorry, are you in the wrong class?"

Shit, she's talking to you. Say something!

"Uhh…"

Are you cereal, Max?! Brain, work!

Ms. Grant only continued staring at the shy girl; awaiting a response. Max could hear the members of the class snickering at her stuttering, and she mentally groaned.

"No. I'm uhh…in this class."

"Oh. Can I see your timetable?" Max began to fumble around her messenger bag for her timetable to no avail.

Worst time to lose your timetable like, ever.

She furiously dug around the bag's contents but still couldn't find the folded sheet of paper. She felt her cheeks grow red from embarrassment and could almost hear the other students whispering about her.

"Pockets?" Ms. Grant's suggestion caught Max by surprise, causing her to jump again. She dove into her pockets at the teacher's request and felt the urge to smash her head into a concrete wall repeatedly when she felt the folded paper in her left pocket.

Max handed the timetable to Ms. Grant and could only observe as the older woman began scanning the document.

Her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the back of a blue-haired girl's head; a navy blue beanie perched on top. Max couldn't help but smirk at the bold choice of colour. She internally shrieked when the girl turned to face her and she swiftly turned her attention to the floor.

"Okay, that checks out. Take a seat." Ms. Grant handed back Max's timetable and turned around to head to her desk.

"Oh um…I don't…have a seat."

"Oh, right. Umm…" Ms. Grant studied the room for any empty seats until a voice broke the brief silence.

"She can sit next to me." It was as if a massive neon sign had appeared over the bluenette's head once she spoke. The entire class turned their heads in synchronised fashion as the girl subtly raised her hand to catch Ms. Grant's attention.

Max couldn't help but stare at the girl's face. The colour mixed with her beauty was beckoning her.

Oh man. She's…she's really…Ok stop gawking at her, it's totally creepy.

"Oh. Well then, I guess that's settled. You can go sit next to Chloe."

Chloe. That's a nice name.

Max grinned as she silently shuffled to the seat next to Chloe's; her eyes not leaving the floor for even a second.

Her lack of attention caused her to trip over her own foot and nearly collapse onto the floor. Laughter erupted throughout the classroom from everyone except for Chloe, who simply watched in amusement; a wide grin across her face.

Max blushed in humiliation and speed walked to her new seat. She sunk her head down onto the desk with her hands planted on the back of her head.

Nice going dork. Great first impression.

Ms. Grant began teaching her lesson but Max could only focus on the rather eventful first minutes of her science class.

Max soon got sick of the darkness of her thoughts and shifted her head to her left; her sight being greeted by Chloe staring at her with an amused smile.

Max's face grew hot and her eyes widened.

She's looking at me. Why is she looking at me? Why am I still just staring back? Why am I thinking about this stupid shit when I should be doing something? Do something!

Max could only throw her head back down into the desk. She heard the muffled sound of a chuckle from her left.

The rest of the class was rather uneventful; or at least Max thought since she hadn't paid attention for the entirety of it.

She bolted out the door to avoid any conversation to rush to her next class; photography. Just as Max had left the room, a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Hey, wait up!" The voice was too familiar.

Oh god, is that Chloe? She's gonna make fun of you. I know it.

There was a gentle touch on her shoulder that made her jump. Chloe immediately retracted her hand as quick as she placed it from Max's reaction.

"Whoa, sorry I scared you." Chloe apologized as Max slowly turned to face the bluenette. It was the first time she was able to behold the girl in her entirety.

Max immediately recognized the punk aesthetic; leather jacket, skull tank top, tattered jeans, and combat boots. Chloe observed as the blushing girl scanned her up and down.

"It's uhh…it's alright. Just a bit jumpy today." Max muttered her response.

"I could tell during science. Anyways, just thought I'd say a proper 'hello' since I didn't get to during class." Chloe extended her arm in front of Max, awaiting a friendly hand shake. Max nervously shook Chloe's hand and chuckled.

"Heh. Hello then, I guess. I'm Max."

"Chloe. But you knew that."

"I do."

"What you got next?"

"Uhh…Photography."

"Ah, you're one of those hipster photo geeks, huh?"

"I wouldn't say it like that…"

"It wasn't an insult. In fact, I find hipster girls sort of cute." Chloe shot Max an impish wink that caused her to blush for what seemed like the millionth time today. "So you're new here, right?"

"Yeah. First day."

"I could tell that too. Don't worry, Blackwell might seem intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, it becomes a piece of cake."

"That's good to know."

"Well, it was good talking to you, Max. Maybe I'll see you around." Chloe sent Max a final wave before walking off to merge with the Blackwell crowd.

Max could only watch Chloe walk through the mass of students in the hallways before disappearing past a corner.

She sighed and turned to face her photography classroom door. She nervously entered the room staring at the ground once again; her head filled with thoughts of her new potential friend.

She's really cool. Way too cool for me. Siiiiigh. Well, at least you have photography to look forward to. I hope.

Max wasn't able to pay attention to Mark Jefferson's lectures for the entire class, just as she did in science; all she could think about was Chloe. Even when she tried to focus on the photography, every term or word would somehow turn into a thought about the blue-haired punk.

Max exited Blackwell and laid her eyes on the students that populated the main campus. Max noticed the various activities the students took part in; from football to sketching to even a drone.

Max walked to her dormitory in solitude; her eyes not leaving the ground for anything.

So much for a great first day. Everything was a total mess. At least you met Chloe, a potential friend. Emphasis on potential.

Max's thoughts were interrupted when she collided with another girl; causing them both to stumble backwards.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" A squeaky voice filled Max's ears as she rubbed her head from the momentary pain.

"Yeah…I'm good." She lifted her head to see a blonde girl reaching her hand out to her; her shiny hair in a bun with a concerned look on her face.

Max took the girl's hand and she was pulled up. She dusted her legs and regained her balance.

"I'm so sorry. I should have paid more attention." The other girl apologized.

"No, no. I wasn't looking; my fault."

"Let's agree it was both our faults." The girl smiled and giggled.

"Sure." Max returned the smile.

"I'm Kate Marsh."

"Max Caulfield."

"Oh wait; you're the new girl in my English class, right?"

"Now that I think about it, you're probably right. I remember seeing you there. I wasn't paying much attention to the lecture." Max rubbed the back of her head in mild guilt.

Kate chuckled. "Who does when it's Mr. Cohen talking?"

"Why, is he boring?"

"The definition of it." Max couldn't help but laugh at the remark. "So where you headed off to?"

"Oh um, just to my dorm."

"You wanna go grab some tea right now?" Max smiled at Kate's kind offer.

"That sounds great. Lemme just go put my stuff back and I can meet you by the fountain in a few."

"Sure! See ya then!" The two temporarily parted ways and Max watched as Kate practically skipped across the campus.

How the hell can someone be so damn cute? I want her as a doll so I can hug her all day. Ok, that sounded totally creepy. Think about something else, Max.

The obvious first distraction thought she was brought to was Chloe.

Okay, don't think about her! Ugh…

Max finally made it to her dormitory and walked upstairs to the girls' section of the building.

Stepping into her rather bland room; Max felt the urge to throw herself onto the bed and sleep forever, but she was reminded of her plans with Kate.

Tea first, nap later.

Max tossed her backpack onto the floor and swiftly left her room as quickly as she arrived.

She hopped down the steps and jogged to the campus fountain; hoping that she hadn't taken too long.

She sighed in relief when she saw that Kate was nowhere to be seen.

Good, not late for once. I guess I can just chill for a little.

Max perched herself onto the stone fountain centered in the campus; the commotion of the other students being drowned out in thoughts.

Okay, maybe this day hasn't been too bad. I mean, you have once possible friend and now you have a date with Kate. Heh, that rhymed. Actually, date sounds romantic. Plan? Agreement? Friendly gathering between two individuals?

Max was interrupted by Kate waving and calling her name.

"Max!" Max stood up and the two met halfway.

"So, where to?" Max asked.

"There's this nice diner a short bus ride from here. You'll love it there. Arcadia Bay may have a lot of flaws, but the Two Whales diner almost outweighs all of them." Kate boasted with a smile.

"Lead the way, Cap'n Kate." With that, Kate and Max left Blackwell to the bus stop; immediately engaging in light-hearted conversation as they left.

"Meet any cool people yet?" Kate's question sparked more thoughts of Chloe.

Oh my dog, Max. Stop thinking about Chloe, it's super creepy.

"Just one." Max shyly answered.

"Who?"

"This girl named Chloe."

"Blue hair?"

"Yeah, you know her?"

"We've talked a little bit before. I have business class with her. We're not friends though. Just acquaintances I guess."

"Hmm." Max sipped from her Earl Grey tea; letting the warm beverage soothe her.

"She seems pretty cool though. I love her hair." Kate remarked as she stirred her tea.

"Yeah. She let me sit next to her in science since I had nowhere to sit. Thought that was nice of her."

"Sure is. I've seen her hang around with that Rachel Amber girl a lot. They seem to have a lot of fun together."

"Who's Rachel Amber?" Max turned her head in wonder.

"She's just another girl here at Blackwell. Lots of friends, totally punk."

"I can see why Chloe would dig her."

"Yup, they're kind of cute together." Max was taken aback by Kate's sudden remark. It threw her off from her claims of being very religious.

"Like, couple cute?"

"Totally."

"I thought you were Christian? Don't you frown upon that stuff?"

"Not me. I have my faiths and beliefs, but when it comes to love; I never judge." Kate brought her mug to her lips and quietly sipped. She lowered the cup and smiled at Max.

"But are you…"

"Gay? No. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that it's not me."

"That's cool." Max nervously replied.

"Why, are you?" The brunette struggled to conceive a reasonable answer to Kate's question. Sexuality was something that Max had trouble understanding when it came to her own.

"I…I really don't know what I am. Sometimes I like boys, but sometimes I'm attracted to girls. It's pretty confusing." The words almost felt relieving to say; a weight that was now off her shoulders.

"That's totally normal. Girls your age go through this kind of thing all the time. Have you ever considered the fact that you may be bisexual?" The term sent Max into a moment of contemplation. It was plausible; being attracted to both genders.

"Not really. Guess I never put much thought into it."

"That's fine too. We don't have to talk about it right now."

The two drank in silence for a brief moment; staring out the window to be captivated by Arcadia Bay's afternoon sky.

Suddenly, the diner doors were swung open and the echoing sound of boots filled the room; colliding with the acoustic track on the jukebox.

Max's eyes immediately noticed the bright blue of Chloe's hair as the punk waved to one of the waitresses behind the counter. She paraded across the floor until she met Max's gaze.

"Oh, hey Max." Chloe innocently greeted the girl and approached the booth that she and Kate occupied. Chloe towered over the two sitting girls and noticed the tea in front of them. "Having a tea date?" Chloe smirked.

"Hey, Chloe." Kate awkwardly greeted the bluenette and sipped her drink.

"Mind if I sit here?" Chloe gestured next to Max which prompted a grin from Kate.

"Oh uh, sure." Max scooted over to let the taller girl sit.

"Hey, mom!" Chloe waved over to the counter where a waitress looked over. "Bacon omelette, pretty please?" She put on her best begging voice and puppy dog eyes. The blonde waitress could only roll her eyes as she entered the kitchen to request Chloe's order to the cooks.

"Mom? Your mom works here?" Max asked.

"Yup. It's kind of awesome." There was a short silence between the three girls before Max rose up from her seat.

"I gotta use the bathroom." Chloe immediately shifted her legs to allow Max to pass. "Uhh, where is the bathroom?" Chloe pointed to the back of the diner where the restroom was located. "Uhh, thanks." Max clumsily shuffled to the back; cautious to not look awkward.

The nervous girl stumbled into the bathroom almost shaking.

Calm down, Max. She's just another student at Blackwell. Who's really pretty…

Max buried her face into her hands and unleashed a frustrated groan. She switched on the tap for cold water and splashed her face to refresh her mind.

Okay. You're cool. Just go back out there, and have a nice chat. Don't be awkward. God, I'm such a mess.

Max pouted at her own reflection before returning back to her booth; where Chloe and Kate were giggling about something. Chloe noticed Max returning and rapidly nudged Kate, and the two immediately stopped laughing.

Were they talking about me? Oh dog, she was talking about what happened in science, I bet. Grooooaaaaan.

"Welcome back." Chloe greeted with a smile before scooting over to let Max return to her seat.

The three girls conversed about various topics; music, movies, art, and even boys; although Max got a light hint that Chloe felt uncomfortable with that final topic.

"Favourite song?" Chloe shot Max a surprise question; catching her off guard.

"Oh umm…" Max stuttered; digging through her brain to pick a single song she would consider her favourite.

"Tick, tick, tick…" Chloe taunted as she swung her upper body left and right to impersonate a ticking metronome.

"Hold on, I'm thinking…I mean, I really like To All of You by Syd Matters."

"Indie?" Chloe asked as she raised her eyebrow.

"Yep."

"Typical hippie." The bluenette remarked as she leaned back. Max stuck her tongue out and Chloe returned the playful gesture.

"What about you, Kate?" Max's eyes turned to Kate'; the innocent question surprising the girl.

"Huh?" Max giggled at Kate's bewilderment.

"Your favourite song."

"Oh, umm…I don't really have a favourite song." Max frowned at her unamusing answer.

"Fine, what songs do you really like?" Chloe butted into the conversation.

"Hmm…I really like this one song called Mt. Washington, it's by-"

"-Local Natives!" Max interrupted Kate with a gleeful tone.

"Do you know it?"

"Hell yeah! I love that song!" The two erupted with laughter as Chloe rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Ugh, hippie alert!" Chloe sarcastically complained.

"Digging like you can't bury…" Kate broke into song, and Max instinctively followed.

"Something that cannot die…"

"We could wash the dirt off our hands now…"

"Keep it from living underground…" More laughter arose from the two singing girls as the other customers simply stared at the booth in confusion. Chloe could only break the silence with the next lyrics of the song.

"Lazy summer goddess…" The punk embarrassingly continued the song; muttering the words out which only sparked even more laughter from Max and Kate.

"What happened to 'hippie alert'?" Max asked as she wiped tears of hysterics from her eyes with her hoodie sleeve.

"Hey, never said I didn't like hippie music." Chloe shot Max a wink. "Like I said, I find hipster girls cute."

"Well then, now it's your turn." Max pointed at the blue-haired punk with her fork that had a cut of bacon on the end of it, before inserting the food into her mouth.

"My turn for what?"

"Duh, your favourite song."

"Oh. Hmm…" Chloe leaned back into her seat and extended her index finger and thumb across her chin; imitating the universal gesture for thinking. "Probably Piano Fire by Sparklehorse." Max and Kate could only glance at each other and shrug as neither girl knew the song.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with more laughter and joy as the girls continued to share stories and opinions as they ate their meals.

They had only realized how long they had chatted for when they noticed the diner being painted a relaxing sunset orange. They finally decided to call it a day.

Kate offered to pay for the three of them and Chloe and Max thanked her for the thoughtful gesture; even offering to pay her back only for Kate to smile and decline.

The girls emerged from the quiet diner and were immediately hit by the gentle wind of September.

"Damn, it's starting to get late." Chloe said as she stared up at the late-afternoon sky; the cool autumn breeze running through the strands of blue hair that snuck out from underneath her beanie.

"Time flies when you're having fun." Kate remarked as she smiled.

"I can drive y'all back to Blackwell if you want. I got my truck parked down the road." Chloe offered as she pointed a ways down the block.

"That's fine. I gotta go pick up a few things from the convenience store the other way anyways. I can catch the bus later. Thanks though." Kate gestured the opposite direction of Chloe's truck.

"That's cool. Max?" Chloe turned her attention to the brunette beside her.

"Oh, umm…"

Come on, Max. It's just a ride.

"Sure, thanks."

"Okay, let's go then. Today was hella fun, Kate. We should totally do it again sometime." Chloe suggested.

"Yeah, we should. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Kate waved at the departing girls and began strolling down the sidewalk to the convenience store.

The two girls walked to Chloe's truck in silence, and remained that way during the whole ride back; neither of them knowing what to say.

Holy dog, this is so awkward.

Max nervously bit her lower lip as she stared out the passenger window; watching Arcadia Bay zoom past.

Chloe halted in front of the steps to the Blackwell campus and turned to Max.

"Alright, here we are."

Max's daydreams were interrupted as she awkwardly turned to face Chloe.

"Oh, thanks for the ride."

"No problemo. Anytime." There was a brief silence and the only sounds that were heard were the chirping birds that snuck through the slightly lowered windows of the truck.

"Okay, I'll go now." Max muttered as she opened the passenger door and exited. She began walking up the steps until she was stopped by the sound of Chloe's voice.

"Max!" Max turned to face the other girl. Chloe smiled from within the car. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Max returned the smile.

"You will!" She shouted and waved.

"Try not to trip though!" Max blushed and frowned at the other girl's mentioning of the humiliating incident earlier that day.

I knew she was gonna bring that up!

Max could only turn and sprint up the steps; the echoes of Chloe's howling laughter ringing in her ears.

As soon as she knew she was alone, Max sunk her head down towards the floor and sighed. She had thoroughly enjoyed that afternoon with Kate and Chloe, but it had been a struggle to avoid being awkward.

Max stormed into her dorm room and threw herself onto the bed; letting her screams become muffled into her pillow.

She sat up and reached over to grab the red pillow decorated with her own name adorned with flowers that she and her mother had knitted together years ago; clutching it to her stomach.

What a day. It was totally fun to hang with Chloe and Kate, but every time I see Chloe I just get this weird feeling in my chest. What's wrong with me?

Max could only let out another groan as she fell back onto her bed; the pillow still trapped under her arms.

Maybe it's just a first time thing. I'm sure it'll pass. Like the fever; it comes and goes.

Max brought the pillow to her face and cringed.

She heard her phone buzz from the floor and peeked over to inspect it. She picked up the phone and switched it on and was shocked to find a text notification from Chloe.

Chloe: hey max

Chloe: i sort of added myself as a contact while u were in the bathroom at 2 whales.

Chloe: u know u should really put a pw on ur phone

Max yelped and swiftly covered her mouth. Her face grew hot as she read over the messages on repeat.

Oh god, why didn't I put a password on my own phone? I'm so stupid!

Max had planned on securing her phone after she had purchased a new one recently, but had never got around to doing it because of her hectic move to Blackwell.

What do I do, do I reply? Of course you reply you idiot.

Max gripped her phone and immediately texted back a response.

Max: Whoops (~_~)

Max: But hey, what's up?

Chloe: first of all

Chloe: NO EMOJI!

Chloe: second

Chloe: nm, hbu?

Max: lol, didn't know you had such a bitter hatred for emojis

Max: I'm just about to go hit the books

Chloe: oh

Chloe: do u want me to leave u alone?

Max: No, dw

Max: I like the company :)

Chloe: ok, cool

Chloe: and no emoji

Max could only smile and hold back laughter as she read Chloe's messages.

God, she's so cute.

For the rest of the afternoon and through the evening, Chloe and Max texted each other back and forth; conversing even more than they had at Two Whales. Max's room was filled with light giggles until she noticed the clock on her desk read 11:43 PM.

Max stared down at her mathematics homework which was only halfway complete; with her English work not even started yet. Max couldn't care less. Her first day at her new school had been a total blast and she felt herself feeling more joyous than ever. She was stoked for coming days at Blackwell Academy.

A/N: Welcome to 24/7! So this is my second fanfic and I'm trying to write fluff this time, hope you like it so far. If you've read my other fic, Lost Without You, just know that I haven't abandoned it.

I had the idea for a Pricefield fic for a while and finally got around to finish the planning for it. I'll be alternating between the two and will write them whenever I feel the mood. If I feel like writing angst, LWY. Fluff, 24/7.

Be sure to leave comments and follow and fave the story if you like it so far, otherwise; stay awesome!