Chapter Text
Max wasn't a victim of boredom often, at least not of this kind. It was a Friday night when Max realized her loneliness. She lay in bed, fresh comfy sheets wrapping around her tightly, phone in hand. Her thumb dragged across the screen, its glow the only source of light—bright and lonely in an otherwise dark room. Doomscrolling in bed had never been more depressing.
Lavender, and minty toothpaste flooded her sense of smell. And frankly, she was growing tired of that, too. Maybe she'd change her softener. Or maybe she'd finally reply to that girl on Tinder. Max sighed and rolled on her back, the bed creaking lazily. It felt too big. Too empty. Max missed having someone to sleep next to. She licked her lips and tasted mint again. Smoke wouldn't be too bad of a flavor to have on them now.
She gave herself a light tap on the cheek in an attempt to push that thought away. She gripped the phone tighter, her brows knit together. Not today, Max, she thought to herself.
Somewhere at the edge of the bed her mattress dipped. Even before the little trill, Max knew it was Meowsers, her cat. She smiled, though the cat couldn't see it nor know what that meant. Max waited patiently, still like a rock because she knew the slightest movement would scare Meowsers away. Paws tentatively stepped on her legs before she settled between them. The warmth of her made Max feel less lonely.
Too distracted by the grey furball at the edge of her vision, Max barely noticed the phone light up with a new notification. Once she was done scratching the cat's little head, she checked for a new message. Her throat dried when she saw the Tinder logo. Another match, which could have led to yet another awkward date. She wasn't sure whether to thank or kill her friends for pushing her to download that godforsaken app. Truthfully, she was happy to step into the dating scene again. But another truth was that Max didn't want a serious relationship. After Chloe, there was nothing. And it was hard to fill the space she held.
Max took a deep breath, her thumb hovering over the notification bubble. Finally she tapped on it, mainly out of curiosity. She held her breath as she looked through the woman's profile. Sometimes Max couldn't even remember who she swiped right to.
Thirty-two.
Fitness instructor.
Dog lover.
Lots of pics of her holding a beer.
Max groaned.
Great. Another gym freak. Another dog. Another person who would preach to her about her sedentary life. Boring. Maybe Max was just a snob, but God knows she liked women who were loud and bold. Maybe with some edge to their look. This woman was hot though, and maybe Max could put away her prejudices for once…
But surely she wasn't texting first. Initiating a conversation with a hot stranger? Max would rather jump in a fire.
So she tapped back to the home page and decided right then and there how she would spend the rest of the evening. Maybe she could find some company to spend Saturday night with. Or maybe she was just bored out of her mind and wanted someone to tell her she's pretty.
Both weren't particularly thrilling.
It was becoming quite a mechanical routine rather than genuine interest. Whoever she found to be slightly intriguing, she'd swipe right to. It wasn't smart, and the failed dates told her that plenty of times. Deep down Max knew why she kept doing this—why she didn't commit fully to this dating app's bullshit.
But she kept scrolling, one after the other a few matches kept popping up here and there. Slowly, sleep started getting the best of her—her eyes were heavier, she could barely keep them open enough to recognize the shape of people's faces. Her cat stretched, claws digging in her thighs like tiny daggers. Max didn't even bother to flinch.
Another swipe.
She was pretty sure that was a hot punk lady with bright colourful hair on her screen—hell yes, that sounds hot.
It's a match!
Or Max thought so, maybe she was dreaming already. Not the first time her subconscious threw hot punk women at her.
A little more swiping. Her cat started snoring. Or maybe it was Max herself, nothing made sense anymore. Then she was lulled into a deep sleep with the sound of another match ringing in her ears. Maybe it was the best match of her life, and Max just slept through it.
The next morning one would think Max stumbled upon a gruesome murder. Well, not quite—Max wasn't one to yell. But for her standards, the scream she let out was dramatic enough to scare Meowsers away from the bed. At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Or maybe she was still dreaming. But no matter how many pinches she gave herself, or how many times she closed and opened the app—the message was still there.
“No, no, no, no…” Max kept muttering under her breath, her heart jumping in her throat. Two years of silence. Seven hundred and thirty days all collapsed under that single, ridiculous Tinder match.
Bright as day, sure as death. One message stared back at her, mocking.
Chloe: fancy seeing you here, super max. thought we were no contact?
Her phone dropped from her hands with a dull thud on the mattress, bouncing dangerously close to the edge. Her cat glared at her from the corner of her room.
How the fuck did that happen? And most importantly, why was her heart beating like she wanted this? She fell forward on the bed, sinking her flushed face in the mattress. If only she could die like this.
Memories she tried so hard to bury in the back of her mind kept flooding back. She couldn't stop them and they were so loud and warm. The road trips, the kisses, the shared single beds in motels… that life seemed decades away now. Max sighed, and reached blindly for her phone. She raised her head high enough to look at the screen.
She tapped on the text, her fingers shaking. Her thumb hovered over Chloe's profile. She shouldn't look. She shouldn't even engage. But Max wanted to, every fiber of her being screamed Chloe's name. Just one text had Max sweating—that part of herself she thought she buried for good was just dormant, waiting to come back stronger than ever. She craved the attention only Chloe could give.
With barely functioning self-restraint she managed to merely close the app. She wasn't about to get sucked back in. Not like this. Not now.
Max groaned and buried her head in the mattress again. She inhaled deeply, that nauseous lavender scent forcing its way into her nostrils. She could do this. She could ignore Chloe, act aloof and… mean. Easy.
She rubbed her forehead into the bed, like she could scrub Chloe away if she put enough force into it. Then, right on cue, Meowsers’ desperate yowl echoed from the other side of the apartment.
At least she had Meowsers to distract her.
“Coming, your highness…” Max mumbled into the sheets. She rolled out of bed, leaving her demonic device to light up with yet another notification.
Max swore to herself she'd delete the app. Maybe later. Maybe tomorrow. Or…
“Ah, fuck me…” Max groaned and reached for her phone. A little diving into Chloe's profile wouldn't hurt anybody, right?
Meowsers yowled again. More desperate now, almost mournful. Max sighed and slipped the phone in her pocket.
No peeking until feeding.