"This one's pretty cute. Nah. Oh, this is even cuter! Or, this red one? But I wore this last week. Hmm."

Max watched as Rachel rummaged through her closet, looking at various outfits, and talking to herself. All the rejected outfits, she piled on the carpet creating a huge cluster of clothes. She had a lot of them, and they all ranged from various styles. They were punk, girly, preppy, and sophisticated. No matter how unfitting they'd be put together, it always looked as if Rachel could easily pull it off. I guess it's true what they say about style. The manner of how you present your ensemble trumps the symphony of what you wear. Rachel had that grace.

Max sat on the edge of the bed, and still sitting against the headboard was Victoria, scrolling through her phone as she loudly chews gum. Rachel had sent Trevor downstairs to wait in the living room while they dressed up, and Chloe must have probably followed. Chloe hated makeovers, so that wouldn't be a surprise.

Victoria groaned. "Ugh, you are taking forever."

"Don't rush me! I'm trying to make sure Max and I look super hot for tonight", said Rachel, as she playfully winked at Max. "Give me ten minutes."

Victoria glared at Max, looking at her up and down. "I think you mean ten years." Max glared back. Victoria stood up and walked to the door. "Screw this, I'm going downstairs. Hurry the fuck up. The party's booming right now, and I'm going to kill you if all the tequila's gone." She banged the door closed.

Rachel laughed. "Don't mind her, Max. Eventually, you'll be able to tune out her bitchiness."

"Haha, yeah, totally." Max forced a smile, but it was clear she was uncomfortable.

She couldn't stop thinking about what happened in the bathroom. It was so intense, and it was something Max had never felt before. That hunger to have someone. How could Max be herself around Rachel after everything that happened? It felt wrong, but why did it also feel so satisfying. Then again, it's Chloe. Max wasn't sure if she should even allow herself to feel anything about it, much less satisfaction.

She finally admitted to herself that she had feelings for Chloe, and that wasn't okay, at least, she didn't think it was. How could she fall in love with her best friend? Her best friend who's also seeing someone else. It's bound to be a disaster.

Max looked down solemnly.

Was it just my imagination, or was she about to kiss me?

She shook her head. There's no way. Chloe doesn't see me like that.

"Max, this is perfect for you!" Rachel turned to Max and held up the hanger that displayed the outfit. "You would look H-O-T, hot!"

Max eyed it with hesitation. "Rachel, I really don't think I can pull that off. And I don't know if I want to show that much skin. Maybe you should wear it instead, you'd look way better than I would."

Rachel grabbed Max's hand and pulled her up. "Don't be silly! You are so wearing this tonight. Come on, try it on." She shoved it into Max and walked to the other side of the room. "Go ahead, I'll give you some privacy."

Max looked down at the clothes and got nervous. It was a black, lacey off-shoulder crop top, and some denim shorts. This definitely wasn't Max's style. She sighed and began to take her clothes off. I'm going to look so stupid.

As she was removing her clothes, she noticed Rachel sitting on the other side of the bed looking over the shots that Trevor took of her. Even though Max and Rachel barely knew each other, the silence between them was not awkward at all. In fact, there was something about Rachel that had a calming effect. Max saw this as an opportunity to make some conversation. Though she felt a little uncomfortable from what happened earlier, she still wanted to be Rachel's friend.

"So Rachel, how long have you wanted to be a model?"

Rachel smiled when she heard the question, still looking at the pictures. "Oh, this was actually pretty recent. I know there are many things I can do that I'd be better at, but there's something about modeling that makes me happy." Her expression turned somber. "It's the only time I can be myself."

Max stopped and watched her thoughtfully.

"Sometimes I feel like everyone has this certain expectation of me and who I'm supposed to be. Everything thinks I'm like this, wholesome person. When in reality, I'm not as perfect as everyone thinks I am. I'm flawed. Just because no one can see that doesn't mean it's not there. And to keep up with this façade, I have to try to be this whole other person and it's exhausting." Rachel put the pictures down, and looked at Max. "I just want to be normal. I want to be like everyone else, and I want to make mistakes. Is that weird?"

Max put the clothes down, and sat on the bed. "Absolutely not. Sounds like you just want to be yourself all the time, and not just when you model. That's not weird at all."

"When I model, I never have to worry about how I look. It's ironic, isn't it?" Rachel giggled. "It feels so natural. I feel like I'm actually me." She smiled at Max.

Max smiled back at her. "That's beautiful, Rach. Wait, can I call you that? Sorry, boundaries", said Max.

"Max, you're sitting on my bed, talking to me in your bra and underwear. I don't think we have to worry about boundaries." They laughed together.

"Thanks for listening to me, Max. I can see why Chloe likes you so much."

Max stopped and gulped. She stared at the clothes on the bed. Rachel was watching her.

"Well, you know", said Max, casually. She got up from the bed and proceeded to put the outfit on. "Chloe also likes pulp with her orange juice, so I won't be taking that to heart."

Rachel watched her intently. "No, really. Chloe looks up to you. When you were away, she talked about you all the time. She always mentioned what a wonderful person you were. I mean, yeah, she was angry. But you can love someone and despise them at the same time, don't you think?"

Max stayed silent.

"In fact, she talked about you so much – that I felt a little intimidated."

Max looked at Rachel.

She felt intimidated? By me?

Rachel looked to the side coldly, then back at Max with a sweet smile. "But that was ridiculous. I mean, we all just want Chloe to be happy, right? It's not a competition."

"Yeah… totally."

Something was off. The tension in the room was intense. Neither of them spoke. Rachel kept her back to Max. Max couldn't see her face, and she wanted to because maybe then she'd understand what was going on. But Rachel didn't move. Instead Max focused on wearing the outfit. She had already put the shorts on, and they fit her perfectly. She tried on the top. It exposed her shoulders and her mid-section.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Okay, this is pretty cute. But I've never worn a crop top in my life. People are going to see my stomach. I don't think I can do this.

Rachel turned to look at her. "You look great."

"This is a bit too much for me. I've never worn something like this."

Rachel stood up, walked to her, and put her hands on her shoulders. "Live a little, Max. Feel beautiful, own your body, and have fun. Okay?"

Max took a deep breath. "Okay, you're right."

Rachel moved to the closet. She picked out a blue tank top. She removed her top, and put the tank top on. Then she moved to the dresser, and put on some hoop earrings. She turned to Max. "Ready."

Damn, that's all it took? And she looks like a freaking goddess. Wow.

She grabbed her purse, and smiled at Max. "Shall we go downstairs? Victoria's probably lost her shit by now."

"Yes, let's go. And thank you, Rachel. Really."

"Hey, don't thank me. What's mine is yours." She walked over to the door and Max happily followed. Rachel opened it, then stopped causing Max to stop in her tracks. "That doesn't apply to everything though." Then she kept walking, leaving a stunned Max behind.

What?

Max caught up with her, and they made their way down the stairs. Chloe and Trevor's voices could be heard as they made their way down. It seemed like they were conversing about something. Chloe's laugh emerges.

Max starts to feel nervous. Chloe's going to see me like this. What is she going to think? Gah, is it too late to change?!

They reach platform, and right next to them, the living room. Victoria was scooped up in the recliner scrolling through her phone again. Chloe and Trevor were facing each other, and Chloe's back was faced towards the stairs so she couldn't see them, but Trevor could. Trevor stopped talking and his attention moved to the two ladies who just entered. Chloe followed his gaze and turned around. She was speechless.

Victoria shouted. "Oh my god. Fina-fucking-lly! We've been here for forever! What were you two doing up there, reenacting Hamlet?" She got up and walked to the door. "Let's gooo!"

Trevor gets up from the couch. "You two look great. I'll be waiting outside. I should probably also make sure Victoria isn't having a breakdown." He walked out the door.

Rachel skipped to Chloe. "Hi baby, did you miss me? I hope you guys weren't too bored down here." But Chloe could not pay any attention. She was too busy looking at Max.

She looked at her as if she didn't know where to start. Her jaw was open, and her eyes blinked profusely. She made her way up. From Max's legs all the way to her freckled shoulders, then back to her exposed stomach. Chloe gulped. Rachel interrupted her. "Hello?" Chloe snapped out of it and looked down at Rachel.

"Yeah, hey… uh, no, not too bored", said Chloe, trying to focus on Rachel. It seemed like the hardest thing to do at that moment.

Max noticed Chloe looking at her and immediately wanted to crawl into a hole. God, she probably thinks I look like an idiot. This is so embarrassing. I can't even look at her.

A blush formed on Max's face. Chloe continues to watch her. She blushes even harder.

Chloe. Stop looking.

Rachel followed Chloe's gaze, and her face fell. She turned back to Chloe with her eyebrows scrunched up, and a very annoyed look on her face. "Chloe?"

All of a sudden, the front door bangs open and Victoria's voice echoes through the house.

"Can we go already?!"