DELUGE! MAX MILLS

TWELVE !

CHAPTER TWELVE:
THE RIGHT THING.

MAX HAD LEFT hours ago, leaving nancy alone to deal with a very shocked cassidy. a half-hour passed before the brunette could form any sort of words following the sight she just saw. nancy was patient, only thankful the silence wasn't shaming her the way words would — though the quiet in a sense elicited feelings of guilt. if it had not been for her and max's crimes, her best friend wouldn't be so frazzled.

cassidy was perched on the sofa of nancy's family room, not wanting to sit in the scene of the crime, still processing the information. she inhaled deeply, turning to face the wide-eyes red head, brimming with nervousness and concern. "so you're saying this has been going on for weeks?"

nancy frowned, unable to deny the immense shame she felt. she nodded, "almost a month now. i never intended for it to happen again after the party but we just couldn't help ourselves."

"and jake has no idea?" at the sound of his name, the guilt weighed heavier on nancy's conscience. she shook her head. cassidy huffed, "i don't know what to say, nance. i mean, you're meant to be my better half, the responsible one-"

nancy's nostrils flared and she exhaled deeply before interjecting, "stop doing that! you and everyone else hold me to these unrealistic standards, making it impossible for me to make mistakes."

"mistakes? nance, if this was a mistake to you, it wouldn't have happened again after the party," her best friend chided back.

nancy's gaze lowered, knowing the brunette's words held a great deal of truth. "i just got tired of feeling so reserved and chained to jake's idea of a perfect relationship. since we've been together i've always followed his rules and tried to meet his standards. but, cass, this thing with max — it's more than just making out to me. it's about me, kind of. it's about me acting on what i want, no matter how irrational or reckless," she explained, hoping her explanation would ease the disappointment lacing her best friends features.

cassidy flickered her eyes to the couch and shook her head lightly. she took a deep breath before locking eyes with her best friend again, sitting up a little straighter, "look, nance, i love you, okay? i'm your best friend and i would never judge you. but, as your best friend it's my job to look out for you and give you my honest opinion, even if it's not what you want to hear," she began. nancy pursed her lips and nodded. "what you and max are doing is wrong. you're in a serious relationship and i don't know how serious he is with his girlfriend but, he's still taken. neither of them deserve this and it won't end well. someone is going to get hurt, whether it be you, max, jake or whatever her name is."

"how would me and max get hurt?" nancy asked, "it's not like we're dating behind their backs, it's just sex."

cassidy ignored how foreign those words sounded in nancy's voice and clarified, "it's never just sex, nance. you can't be intimate with someone and expect never to feel something for them."

nancy strongly disagreed, "but it is. you just don't understand what we're doing. when i say it's just physical i mean it."

"i believe you believe that, but i don't. your feelings might not have caught up to you yet which is good. you can end this whole thing now before anyone finds out and gets hurt. jake and the blonde never need to know," cassidy claimed, feeling quite accomplished that she had solved the problem.

knowing tonight's crime of passion definitely wouldn't be their last, nancy shook her head. "i know it's wrong, cass. i know it's so, so incredibly immoral but i can't stay away. i realise how desperate i must sound right now but, it's different with max. not just the sex, but the before and after." she looked down to her hands that fiddled around in her lap. "it's like i don't have to pretend to be perfect when i'm with him. i don't know if that's because of how flawed the circumstances are but whenever we're together i just feel so — free," nancy concluded with a small shrug.

cassidy sighed, "what about jake?"

"i love jake, i do, but when i'm with him i feel like i have to pretend again. like i have to attend all of his stupid parties that i don't enjoy and laugh at all the inappropriate jokes his friends make. i feel like i have to sit up straight and act like the perfect girlfriend. it's just all so suffocating," the red head groaned.

cassidy's eyebrows drew together, "have you considered, i don't know, breaking up with him? just an idea."

nancy didn't laugh at the joke, instead she shook her head vehemently, "i can't, cass. he would be so heartbroken and i do love him, really. i couldn't stand hurting him like that."

"nance, just because you love him doesn't mean you're in love with him. plus, if he were to find out what was really going on he would be a million times more hurt than if you just ended things on a good note," cassidy tried to sway her. she reached out and grabbed one of nancy's hands, "do the right thing."

the ginger pulled her hand away with the blow of air from her lips, running her fingers through her locks in distress, "i'm tired of doing the right thing, cassidy! i just –– i want them both but in different ways." she saw cassidy go to speak and so hurried to remind her, "you said you would never judge me!"

cassidy nodded, "no judgment here. i just want you to be careful, okay? especially with max."

nancy was confused by the last three words, "why?"

"he has a rep. the last thing i'd want if for you to become another girl added to his list," the brunette sighed. nancy averted her gaze from her best friend to the ground. "shit, it's 2am! mind if i crash here?"

nancy nodded, "of course."

"thank you," cassidy smiled.

nancy knew everything cassidy said had been true, yet she refused to believe it. she felt different went she was with max - happy. not to say she wasn't happy when she was with jake but max made her feel uplifted. all of her worries melted away in his presence and she allowed herself to let loose.

she needed that more than she once thought.

NOTE! what we thinkinnnn??
x, amelia