"Uhm, Max?"

Kate closed her door softly behind her, worry etched on her face. Max jumped slightly and turned from her own closed door to face Kate. The blonde quickly noticed Max winding a scarf around her neck, as per usual these days, and it was barely hitting fifty degrees outside. She held back a frown and stepped timidly towards the other girl.

"Hey, what's up, Kate?" Max smiled softly and moved towards Kate, meeting her in the middle of the hallway. She finished tucking one end of her scarf into the knot she made and adjusted her jacket to accommodate.

Kate opened her mouth but paused and closed it, seeming to be in deep thought. Max raised an eyebrow and cocked her to the side a little, waiting to see if Kate would say anything.

The shorter girl coughed slightly and smiled back at Max. "Hey. Are you busy right now? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Max blinked and seemed confused, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, of course! Anything for you, Kate." Kate gave a big smile and turned to go back into her room, gesturing for Max to follow, who had whipped her phone out and was typing away for a second, shaking her head before moving to Kate's room.

Victoria's phone buzzed in her skirt pocket but she finished off her cigarette before grabbing it. She gave a small smile when she saw it was from Max, contact ID under "Waifster".

Waifster 4:18: Hey, I'm gonna be a little late. Kate asked to hang out real quick.

Victoria quickly typed back a response, ignoring Nathan's whining about her ignoring him for Max or some shit.

Victoria 4:20: K, cool. Tell bible thumper I said hi.

She pocketed her phone back in her skirt and went back to reclining in the grass in front of the academy, Nathan still ranting.

"You and her spend all your free time together. I hardly ever see you anymore!"

Victoria sighed, rolling her eyes. They've had this conversation multiple times since her and Max revealed their relationship to their friends. She understood that, other than Hayden, Victoria was Nathan's only close friend; of course, her and Nathan had a much closer bond than Hayden could ever have with him, but still. The girl thought he was being a little dramatic to say she never sees Nathan anymore. Didn't they just hang out the other day? Well, it was because they had class together… but that should still count, right?

"Nate, you're being dramatic. We are not that bad."

Nathan sat up from laying on the grass and squinted at the blonde girl.

"Oh, really? When was the last time we hung out outside of school?"

Victoria opened her mouth.

"And NOT counting Vortex shit."

Victoria pressed her lips together.

"That's what I thought. What do you two even do with all that time? Take pictures of each other while scissoring?"

Victoria gapped at Nathan, her face turning bright red before shoving the boy to the ground. She covered her face and groaned into her hands, trying to ignore Nathan's hysterical laughter.'

Max hadn't been in Kate's room very much, at least not with Kate there. Man, she really needed to work on minding her own business. The photography nerd stepped in and closed the door behind her and Kate and scanned the room, smiling when she saw Alice perk up in her cage. She went over and wiggled her finger at the white bunny and letting out a little chuckle when Alice sniffed and licked it, feeling very carefree.

Kate, on the other hand, was not feeling so jovial. She worried her bottom lip as she contemplated how to bring up a certain topic that plagued her mind since the other day.

Tuesday 10:48

Kate had finished washing up and walked out of the shower room to go change when she noticed Victoria's door closing and Max stepping out of her dorm. Max hadn't seen her yet as she was busy looking down, trying to adjust a scarf around her neck and it was then when Kate noticed some strange marks on the other girl's neck. She only had a split second to see a few peppered on her skin when Max blocked her view by tying up the scarf and finally noticing Kate standing there.

"Oh, Kate! Good morning, I didn't notice you there." Max stammered out quickly, subconsciously tugging at the cloth around her neck.

'Oh shit, I hope she didn't notice the hickies. I knew I should've told Tori to cool it!'

Kate smiled back gently, internally debating if she should say anything about the obvious bruises. It would be the Christian thing to do, she decided.

The blonde girl stepped forward and looked at Max so intently that the photography nerd got a little scared and started fidgeting in her spot. When Kate was inches from Max, she leaned forward and opened her mouth-

"Hey, Kate! Can you come here real quick? I need help with something." Kate jumped and turned to see who had called for her, seeing Dana leaning out of her doorway and waving her arm excitedly. Kate sighed and turned back to Max, who seemed suspiciously relieved.

"Well, seems Dana is in dire need of your services. We can chat later, maybe over some tea?" Max was already moving around Kate and heading down the hallway before she even finished. Kate only had time to wave goodbye when the other girl was exiting the hallway. The blonde girl stared at the entrance for a few seconds before noticing Dana still standing there waiting, so she decided to get Max alone another time before trying again, heading towards Dana.

"Hey, Dana. What did you need?"

Dana merely smirked and pulled Kate into the room, surprising her with rest of the girls sitting in the room, minus Victoria.

"Wha- what's going on? Is this a study session?" Kate glanced at everyone, confused.

Alyssa, Juliet, and Taylor laughed. Brooke and Dana smirked, while Courtney was busy playing with her hair. Taylor got up from her spot against Dana's dresser, using Courtney as leverage who ended up falling over, and walked over to Kate, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Kate was still getting used to Taylor's friendliness towards her, which started happening ever since Max and Victoria got together a couple months ago and Max lectured the taller girl about her and her cronies bullying her friends, saying she would end their relationship if Victoria kept up the act. Kate was very relieved to say the least when Victoria herself apologized to her and promised to keep an eye on Taylor and Courtney, mostly Courtney because that girl was so desperate to be better than everyone. In the end, Courtney mostly just kept her distance and barely ever said hello to Kate while Taylor treated Kate as though they were always close. Kate wasn't sure yet how to feel about that.

"Oh sweet Kate, this is not a study session. We all know what's going on." Taylor grinned down at the girl, giving her a look as though she knew something that Kate didn't. Actually, now that Kate thought about it, everyone was giving her that look.

Juliet patted the spot next to her on Dana's bed for Kate to sit down and held back a laugh as the girl hesitantly stepped around everyone and stiffly sat down. Brooke and Alyssa sat on the couch and put away their phones to give Kate their full attention, as did the rest of the girls, Dana closing the door behind her and leaning against it.

"W-what do you mean? I don't understand what's going on." Kate was confused on why Taylor said everyone knew something was up. What was up? Was there something that Kate was missing? Yeah, Kate kept to herself to a degree but she was really pretty good at reading people and knowing when something was amiss.

Juliet patted Kate's thigh to relax her. "Oh, come on! You know… Max and Victoria? We've all seen the looks you give when they're together, which is all the time."

Everyone nodded in agreement while Kate sat there feeling even more confused than before.

"Looks? What are you talking about?" Kate was starting to get desperate for answers and slightly annoyed that everyone was beating around the bush. "Someone please just tell me what's going on."

"It's so obvious!" Taylor shouted. "You want to get in on some of that Maximum Victory action!"

Kate sat there with a straight face before finally catching on to what Taylor was implying. "WHAT!?" She jumped up, her neck and face burning with embarrassment. "Maximum Vi- Wha- Action? I don't-" She went off into a ramble, holding her steaming cheeks and looking at the floor, the girls hooting and hollering.

"Damn, Kate! Back at it again with the voyeurism!" Alyssa slapped her knee, laughing and falling into Brooke's laugh, who was trying exceptionally hard to keep quiet for Kate's sanity.

"Voyeurism!? I do no such thing!" Kate hollered back, quickly turning into a tomato.

"I'm surprised you even know what that is…" Courtney muttered under her breath. Taylor heard and glared at the girl, pinching the skin on the back of her arm, making Courtney yelp and rub the reddening spot soothingly.

"That's not- I'm not- It's just- Ugh!" Kate gave up trying to talk and went to storm out of the room. Dana grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, hey, it's ok! We're sorry, we didn't mean to embarrass you or anything. Right guys?" Dana squinted at everyone, the girls shrinking in fear and nodding furiously, spilling out apologies to Kate. The cheerleader figured that was good enough and rubbing Kate's shoulders soothingly, hoping the girl would relax and come sit back down. Kate had her eyes closed and was repeating mantras in her head, trying to calm down before she finally nodded and went back to her spot.

"That's not even what I'm worried about." Kate mumbled, everyone glancing at each other, already knowing what Kate was upset about. Juliet started rubbing Kate's back slowly.

"Kate, we know what you're thinking and it's honestly not a big deal." Juliet started.

"How is it not a problem? We all know how Victoria has been." Kate rushed out, catching Taylor's somber gaze and Courtney's quick glare.

"Yes, we all know Victoria is a bitch." Dana agreed and thanked Taylor for holding Courtney back from jumping up. "But, she's not that bad anymore. Max has opened her up and calmed her down. It's obvious that they really like each other, so I highly doubt Victoria would jeopardize that by beating her. Plus, Victoria's basically all bark and no bite…" Dana couldn't help but grin at the irony, almost laughing when everyone else caught on.

"Yes, well…." Kate, of course, didn't catch on and merely nodded slowly, stuck in thought. She wasn't too sure about that. She was well aware of Max and Victoria's rivalry. It had been that way since Max stepped foot in Jefferson's classroom. She never fully understood where Victoria's jealousy and anger came from, but she knew that Victoria would do anything to get her way. Just because she seemed to cool down with her new relationship didn't fully convince Kate that Victoria had completely gotten rid of her need for power… Although it would be the Christian thing to forgive the blonde girl, Kate couldn't help but worry for Max.

"I just- I'm worried, is all. I just don't want anything to happen to Max."

Everyone cooed, making Kate blush again.

Dana smiled and patted Kate's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about Max. She can take care of herself! I just never thought she was that freaky…"

Kate furrowed her brows and looked at Dana.

"What do you mean by "freaky"?"

Dana opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. Everyone looked nervous and started fidgeting.

Taylor coughed slightly, getting Kate's attention. "You don't… I mean, Max and Victoria have been dating for a while now…" She trailed off, unsure If Kate got her meaning. By the confused look she got, Taylor wasn't entirely surprised. "Well…" She looked at everyone for help, but Courtney looked away and messed her phone, as well as Brooke and Alyssa, and Juliet and Dana pretended to be interested in the posters littering the walls. Taylor shook her head and looked back at Kate, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Well… Kate… They've obviously been… you know… Uhm… Like-"

"They've been having sex! Jesus, it's not that hard! I'm surprised you don't hear it what with you sleeping right next to Victoria." Courtney shot out, having gotten fed up with Taylor dragging it on.

Kate gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, face, once again, going red. She sat there in silence for a good minute or so before finally muttering, "Well… I have been hearing noises every now and then. I thought they were just, I don't know, watching a movie or something."

Brooke and Courtney slapped their faces while Alyssa and everyone else started laughing again.

"Oh, man. Kate. You are priceless. So sweet!" Dana laughed and hugged the girl from the side, squishing Kate into her sizeable chest.

"What are we going to do with you, Kate?" Brooke mumbled, holding back a smile.

"Well, thanks for telling me, everyone. I should be heading back to my room now, have to get ready for class." Kate stood up and waved to everyone, trying to tame her ever-present blush. At the mention of class the girls went wide-eyed and shot up, storming past Kate and yelling how they had completely forgotten and were going to be super late. Kate stalked off to her room like a robot, lost in her own thoughts.

Tuesday 10:57

Victoria was applying makeup in her dorm mirror when she suddenly sneezed.

Max moved to go sit on Kate's bed, waiting for Kate to say something. The blonde girl finally worked up the courage and went to sit next to Max, grabbing one of her hands with both her own. Max was a little taken aback and more than confused on what was going on in Kate's head.

"Uh, Kate? Are you ok?"

Kate looked at Max intently, making the other girl very nervous. After another moment of silence, Kate finally spoke up.

"Max, tell me the truth. Is Victoria hurting you?"

Max leaned back quickly in surprise at Kate's question and how serious she was being.

'Oh crap. Why would Kate ask me that? Victoria hurting me? She must think… Oh crap.'

"Oh crap…" Max said, catching Kate off guard. Kate gripped Max's hand more firmly.

"Max, tell me. If Victoria is doing something to you, I need to know. We're friends."

'Oh, she's doing something all right…' Max pushed the thought away, trying to get serious like Kate.

"Kate, uhm…" Max couldn't look the girl in the eyes and instead focused on their joined hands, trying to distract herself. When she glanced up she was surprised at how deeply Kate was staring at her and immediately blushed and went to playing with the bracelets on her wrist.

Groaning, Max continued. "Look, Victoria's not… She wouldn't ever hurt me. I don't even know where you got the idea."

Kate jumped for Max's scarf and yanked it off, revealing the multiple dark spots lining the side of Max's neck. Max yelped and went to cover them.

"That's what I mean, Max! Those are bruises and I won't sit by and watch Victoria do this to you!" Kate shouted, filled with fear and worry for her friend, eyes slightly watering. Max noticed this and became even more nervous, not knowing what she should do. Should she tell Kate the truth? Could Kate handle the truth? Would Kate think of her differently? Oh god, she hoped Kate wouldn't find her disgusting.

"Kate! It's not what it looks like!"

"Then what is it, Max? You wear that scarf all the time these days and I know it's just so you can hide those marks."

"They're hickies, Kate!" Max stammered out. "They're not bruises… they're hickies."

It was silent in Kate's dorm for a bit; Max looking at her scuffed up sneakers and Kate staring at Max's blushing face. Kate wasn't sure what to make of this. Her friend was having sex with the enemy… or at least heavily making out. Kate blushed at the thought. That kind of stuff never crossed her mind, but ever since that talk in Dana's room with everyone, it had plagued her mind all day and night.

Max was getting physical with Victoria… Victoria was touching Max and Max was touching Victoria. They were kissing each other all over and breathing heavily and leaving marks on each other and-

"Kate?"

Kate blinked quickly and looked away from Max, pulled out of her thoughts. She chewed on her bottom lip and subconsciously clinched her thighs together. After a brief moment she finally looked back at Max, who was obviously very nervous that Kate would react badly. This made her smile. Max was so sweet and kind to her, and even if Max did something horrible Kate would always comfort her.

Max was pleasantly surprised when Kate pulled her in for a hug. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around Kate's waist before giving in and squeezing the girl back. They stayed like this for a minute, both feeling very relieved that it went ok. Kate was happy that Max wasn't being hurt and Max was thankful that Kate still accepted her.

Both had huge smiles on their face when they pulled back.

Max started laughing. "Did you really think Victoria was beating me?"

Kate blushed and nodded slightly. "Well, kind of. Maybe? I was really worried. Victoria did used to bully us."

Max nodded. "Yeah, I know. But Victoria has changed, honestly. And I wouldn't just let someone abuse me."

Kate smiled at that, believing Max would at least say something if she was getting hurt in any way.

"Well, is that all you were worried about?" The brunette was glad they had gotten this sorted out and was ready to get to her girlfriend, not that she didn't want to hang with Kate.

"Oh, yeah, that was it!" Kate had forgotten that Max was heading somewhere. "Sorry for the trouble, and for accusing Victoria of that."

Max chuckled and stood up. "Don't worry about it. I get where you were coming from." Kate got up and followed Max out of her dorm. Max stepped out, Kate leaning against the doorway.

"So I'll talk to you later?" Max asked.

"Of course. Have fun with Victoria." Kate smiled as Max blushed and walked away.

The blonde sighed once she came back into her room and rested her head against her door. She stared into the room, glancing at Alice moving around in her cage. She couldn't help when her thoughts wandered into sin territory. Now that she knew what those sounds were in the next room over, Kate couldn't help but imagine what exactly was going on to produce those sounds. Blushing heavily, Kate jumped into her bed and buried her face in her pillow, trying to stop her perverted imagination.

'God, forgive me.'

Nathan had left about ten minutes ago, saying something about meeting Warren or whatever, Victoria wasn't listening too much. She sat back against the tree they had been laying around and closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze ruffling her hair. She felt the heat of the sun lessen slightly and opened her eyes to see Max standing above her, the afternoon light like a halo around her girlfriend's head.

Max moved to sit down next to Victoria against the tree and kissed the blonde on the cheek.

Victoria frowned. "What is that shit?"

Max laughed and went in for another kiss, this time on the lips. Victoria hummed against her lips. Max smiled and pulled away again, scooting down the tree a little to rest her head comfortably against Victoria's shoulder. She opened up her carrier bag and brought out her journal, pen already scratching away against the paper.

"So what did Kate want?" Victoria figured Max was writing about her talk with Kate. She always immediately wrote down anything that happened when it happened in that journal. Victoria would be a liar – not that she wasn't already, but… - if she said she wasn't dying to know what Max wrote exactly, but she respected Max's privacy and looked away while Max wrote, instead focusing her attention on her GRLT-64s camera.

Max stopped writing and chewed on the end of her pen. Victoria noticed the silence and glanced at Max, furrowing her brows. What could have possibly happened with Kate of all people?

"Uh… well, she had some… questions… about some… things…"

Victoria fully turned towards Max now and stared at her. "Wow, I could not have explained it better myself." She droned.

Max elbowed Victoria in the side. "You want to know so bad? Fine. Kate Marsh, local resident angel of Arcadia Bay, asked if the hickies that you gave me were bruises." Max said, putting her journal away to glare at Victoria.

Much to Max's amusement, Victoria looked absolutely horrified and merely sat there with her mouth open. The blonde suddenly felt extremely nervous, and slightly nauseous. Kate noticed Max's hickies? Oh fuck. Well, it's not like it should really matter, right? But still, Kate was one of Max's best friends and she herself was slowly becoming at least a decent friend to Kate, so it still mattered what she thought. Wait, she thought they were bruises?

"Kate thought the hickies were bruises? So she thinks I'm beating you." Victoria went from terrified to angry is half a second, taking Max aback.

"Well, yeah… Kate saw me putting on this scarf and saw the hickies on my neck. You know she's not really one to immediately jump to sex stuff." Max chuckled slightly. Talking about sex in general usually made Max kind of uncomfortable, especially when it was with Victoria since they hadn't had done it yet. So far they had only gone so far as heavy make-out sessions and roaming hands.

"But still! Kate honestly thought I was hurting you? I can't believe it!" Victoria was pretty upset, but she had a good reason to be. Yeah she was known for being a mega-bitch and other shit, but to actually have someone believe that she would lay her hands on someone she loved? It hurt, to say the least. Well, not that she had told Max she loved her… yet. It'll happen when the time is right.

"Tori, it's ok. I cleared it up with her and she apologized for thinking that. Don't be upset with Kate, she was just worried." Max said, laying her hand on Victoria's thigh and squeezing, trying to calm the blonde down.

Victoria chewed on her bottom lip for a bit. Eventually she huffed and said "fuck it," dropping the subject and forgiving Kate. Max smiled and brought her own camera out, still totting around her polaroid that Victoria secretly loved but would never admit to anyone.

"How about a photo to commemorate this wonderful event? It's not every day you get to admit to the lovely Kate Marsh about your sex life."

Victoria snorted, shaking her head. "It's not a sex life if we're not having sex."

Max blushed but smiled nonetheless, holding her camera out in front of them.

"Well… not yet, anyways." Max said, fighting back a grin and blush, heat beat picking up.

Victoria's heart raced at her girlfriend's words and felt her cheeks heat up. "Oh shut up, hipster and take the picture."

Max laughed and obeyed her girlfriend, clicking the shutter when Victoria grabbed her collar and pulled her in for a kiss.