talk too much | max mayfield

bonus chapter 3

WHATS-HER-FACE

When Nora and Annie first started. . . hanging out, Nora immediately knew whatever they were doing wouldn't last.

They were only freshmen, they couldn't do anything unless they were behind closed doors, and Nora was still totally obsessed with Max, even when she tried to convince herself she wasn't.

But still, her eyes were closed when she was kissing Annie, and even if it didn't feel the same as it did with Max, it was easy for Nora to pretend she was enjoying herself.

Annie was the one who invited Nora to Jason's Aunt's lake house over Christmas Break. Chrissy was invited for obvious reasons, and the whole basketball team was there, even JV, so invitations got spread around easily enough, and before Nora knew it, she was sitting on the ground leaning her back against the leather couch in the living room, Lucas' legs on either side of her as he sat on the couch beside a few of his other teammates.

"Freshie's up," some rando on the team who Nora was never planning on learning the name of had nudged the glass CocaCola bottle lying on the ground towards Lucas and Nora's direction.

Nora reached for it, the bottle spun for what felt like an eternity - she obviously didn't want to kiss anyone in that room, but, like, when in Rome (or Jason Carver's aunt's house), y'know?

Anyway, so she spun the bottle, it went in circles, almost landed on a senior on the basketball team which would've been hella weird, before stopping and pointing directly at Nora again - or rather Lucas, as everyone else decided to interpret it.

Nora sighed before tilting her head back, and waiting for Lucas to move his head down so the two could place their lips on each other's for no longer than 2 seconds, before pulling away and dramatically wiping their mouths.

That was it. No makeout sesh, no one else even made it a big deal, they just pecked and moved on with their lives.

Annie didn't see it like that though. She had started getting super possessive over Nora. She stood too close to her in hallways, always brushed their hands together when asking Nora for a pencil, and was not subtle at all when the two girls were changing together in the locker rooms.

Nora tolerated it, figuring Annie would get over her soon and she wouldn't have to deal with her anymore, but if anything it just got worse and worse.

However, when Chrissy. . . y'know. . . Annie finally took a break from Nora. The timeline checks out, as the girl is probably traumatized, but with everything going on and the lack of Annie in her life for all of it, Nora was definitely shocked when the strawberry blonde burst through her hospital room minutes before visitor hours were over.

The others had been kicked out awhile ago to take a break from hospital food, and Steve was flirting with girls in the waiting area, so it was just Nora lying on her bed waiting for more drugs to kick in.

"Oh my God, I'm so glad you're okay," Annie rushes to Nora's side, immediately causing the girl to wince and tears prick her eyes at sudden movement. "Right sorry bullet wounds, ha!"

Nora just mumbles quietly, kinda thinking she's hallucinating right now.

"Hey, Nor-" Max comes in the room suddenly, Annie still leaning over the edge of Nora's bed. The redhead freezes at the sight, looking at Nora confused, but Nora just gives the same lost look back.

"Hey. . . Macy, right?" Annie breaks the awkward tension in the room, not picking up on the way Nora's eye was twitching a bit at her voice.

"Max," Nora corrects for her girlfriend, trying to add an edge to her voice so Annie would get the hint.

"Yeah, Amy, right?" Max collects herself and returns to her cold exterior with her arms crossed.

"Annie," the girl corrects for herself, now returning the same glare Max was giving her.

Nora sits awkwardly in the middle, not really sure what to do. I mean, Annie and I aren't together anymore, but we never really officially ended things, but was there even anything really end?

"I just came to get my jacket," Max slips to Nora's other side to grab the coat draped over the back of the chair.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Nor," Max nods down to the girl in the hospital bed, hesitates for a moment as if trying to make up her mind about something, then leans down the kiss Nora softly on the lips.

a/n:
might make a part two for this 🤔 idk we care ab Annie enough for that
the next thing I have planned is a more Steve and Nora oriented chapter would we be into that or...