Max shuddered awake, sitting up with a little start and glancing around the room. The sun peeked through the blinds as she clutched the cheap, slightly itchy covers to her chest and tried to calm down. It wasn't that she saw it every time she closed her eyes or anything, but this was the third time she'd woken up from a nightmare about the Dark Room. It would take time to get past it, she knew.

Time was one thing she had, and in abundance. But after all that had happened, she was happy to leave time to do its own thing for a while. There was no rush, after all. Who knew when classes would start again? Or if Blackwell would even reopen?

She settled back down onto the creaky bed, her breathing steadied. Beside her, her companion stirred and rolled onto one side, stretching an arm across her and pulling her close. Max smiled, and rolled over as well, returning the caress and nuzzling her face into neon blue hair. The arm around her held her tight, and its hand gently stroked her back.

"I've got you," Chloe murmured, giving Max another light squeeze, "I'm here and I've got you." Max just lay in her arms quietly, smiling and letting Chloe's warmth wash over her. She was skinny and bony, and could never quite wash off the smell of cigarette smoke, but there was no place Max would rather be than in her arms, warm and safe and loved.

They lay together for a few minutes. Max buried her face in Chloe's neck, and Chloe ran her hands through Max's hair. In time, the two tilted their faces towards one another, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. Max's heart and breathing sped up again, but for a delightfully different reason, and their lips touched.

"We should probably get out of bed," Max remarked, although she made no attempt to move from the crook of Chloe's arm. The taller girl reached over to the nightstand on her side of the bed and felt around for her phone, before finding it and checking the time.

"We've got, like, two hours before checkout," she protested, "And if we miss that, we just stay another day. No biggie. Not like either of us have places to be." Max sighed, and nuzzled against Chloe's shoulder a little, wanting to just stay there forever. But one of them would have to be the adult, and Max supposed it would have to be her.

"At least text Joyce and let her know you're safe," Max pleaded, "How many times has she blown up your phone in the last few days?"

"This isn't the first time I've been missing," Chloe replied, although Max could see her start a message out of the corner of one eye. A cheery little ring signaled that the message was sent, and Chloe let the phone drop onto the bed, bringing her newly freed hand around to stroke Max's hair some more. Eventually, the smaller girl gently wriggled out of the embrace and sat up, again pulling the covers up to her chest.

"You know I've seen those, right?" Chloe teased, "And more than seen. You may remember; you were there." Max blushed and reached for her own phone, turning it on and checking the Blackwell email headcount thread. "I swear you weren't this modest back when we'd just do normal sleepovers."

"It just feels different now," Max mumbled, "I know you're looking, and I know you're enjoying, and so I just kind of cover up on instinct." She glanced over her shoulder down at Chloe, who had been partially exposed when she'd sat up.

"But you've got no problem staring yourself!" Chloe laughed as Max spaced out for a moment. She sat up and put her arms around Max's waist, peering over the brunette's shoulder to see the email. A majority of students were accounted for, it looked like. She looked away before she got to how many students hadn't made it.

"Well, I'm hella sweaty," Chloe declared after a few more minutes of cuddling, "I'm gonna go shower." She climbed out of the bed and strode into the small bathroom, taking her time and not bothering with any sort of modesty. Leaving the flimsy door open, she turned on the water, stepped in, and closed the translucent curtain.

Max pulled her knees up to her chest and held them there for a moment, staring into space. Being touched, looked at, desired… She hadn't thought about it much before these last few days. Well, she had, but in an abstract way. Was she pretty enough? Would she be good at… it? Did anyone notice her? Those thoughts had never had a face attached to them, until Mr. Jefferson had touched her, looked at her, and desired her, and she hated how dirty it made her feel. But now Chloe was the one touching her, looking at her, and desiring her, and she loved how cherished that made her feel. Except when touching, feeling, and desiring reminded her of before, and things got confusing.

She shook her head and got out of bed, stretching. After all that had happened, covering up in front of her oldest friend, the girl she was pretty sure she loved, seemed like an almost childish thing to do. How could she traverse time and space for a girl, then be too shy to just be naked? "Everyone has a naked body," her mother had told her once, reading from one of those books parents are supposed to read with their kids after their first period or whatever. Chloe had a naked body. A sexy, gorgeous naked body…

"Shower's all yours, Super Max!" Chloe announced, jaunting out of the bathroom. She stopped when she saw Max already up and uncovered, and grinned. Blushing, Max scurried into the bathroom and shut the door. This was going to take some getting used to, she decided as she turned the water back on and stepped into the shower. A lot of getting used to.