~!~ cherry chan ~!~ (seresa) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-05-20 11:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [05] may, cherry chan, max mendelson |
Who: Cherry Chan and Max Mendelson.
Where: Hamilton Pool National Reserve.
What: Fishing and wading and birthday revelations.
When: 5/6, mid-day.
It was Max’s 31st birthday and instead of feeling jazzed and excited, Max was feeling a little bummed. It wasn’t the normal kind of birthday blues; Max wasn’t the sort of dude to lament over getting older but even if he was, this wasn’t that sort of feeling. He had plenty to look forward to today; he figured there would be some sort of birthday dinner with the family later on and he’d probably give Dani a call sometime in the evening and thinking about both of those things made Max glad. But, even with those amazing to look forward to, Max felt weird. Definitely un-birthday-like. He tried to think of reasons as to why he could be down but when it came down to it, Max knew. He missed Cherry. Or, rather, he missed how they used to be when things weren’t wonky between them. He still didn’t quite know what he had done wrong at Vic and Marina’s wedding and why she seemed to be mad at him. They’d talked since that day, hung out around the bonfire, but something was decidedly off about their normally awesome and natural give-and-take. Max had formulated all sorts of ideas to try and get their friendship back on an even keel. He pondered all sorts of intricate and elaborate plans to make her laugh and that somehow would magically revert their friendship back to where it was supposed to be. But everything he thought of seemed dumb and desperate and in the end, Max got to the point where he really couldn’t go another minute feeling this way. He popped up from his lying position on the picnic table bench, immediately went to his place to gather some supplies, and marched straight over to Cherry’s (formerly Demi’s) Airstream and knocked. His idea wasn’t cool. It wasn’t smart or unique or epic or sweeping. It was lame, by all accounts, especially coming from him. But when it was the two of them, it somehow worked. Cherry was what made it worthwhile, made it fun, and it might not be the perfect plan to fix what he had somehow broken but he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do with anyone else in the entire world at this exact moment. Cherry opened the door, her surprise clear in the way her eyebrows drew together and her mouth opened slightly in a near-gasp. Sure, things were 'okay' between them, but what had happened at the wedding had put an end to unannounced visits and conversations. She was silent for a moment, trying to get her heartbeat to calm down at the sight of him -- when had she become like this, and why couldn't sex with others assuage the longing she still felt? -- before finally managing the barest of greetings: "Hi." “Hey,” Max said, tackle box in hand and hopeful smile lighting up his face. “Do you want to go fishing with me?” "Fishing?" Her gaze moved quickly down to the box, up to the pole, then settled finally on his eyes. The novelty of the suggestion was just enough to break through the surprise and nerves, though, and it was so quintessentially and randomly Max that Cherry couldn't help but smile. "If there's a place we can go, yeah. I'd love to." “Awesome,” Max replied, beaming. His birthday didn’t need to be about cake and parties and presents, although he certainly wouldn’t say no to any of those things. But if he could mend his friendship with Cherry, that would be the best gift Max could ask for. It wasn’t as if clean water was abundant; obviously it was quite the opposite but Max knew there was a second spring separate from the secret underground source the Dog Park got the majority of their water from. Hell, he didn’t even know if there was any fish to be had there but he knew the area was mostly unbreachable by crawlers and they would be able to be by themselves. “If you hold the poles I’ll even give you a ride over there,” Max said, juggling the tackle box to one hand and passing the poles off to his friend. He turned around, gesturing to his back. “Hop on, and try not to hook me with one of the lures. I’m not sure I can pull off the eyebrow ring look.” This was a calculated move on Max’s part. A lot of what had made their friendship cool before was the easy and affectionate physical gestures between them and how they hadn’t felt weird at all. It was something Max had missed a lot after the whole wedding debacle and he was trying to fix. He wasn’t sure why it felt weird to hug Cherry now, or touch her hand, but surely a piggyback ride would be fine. Max was determined to power through the awkward, transcend beyond the weird, and enjoy the day with Cherry no matter what. And after a moment of obvious hesitation, he got what he wanted when she climbed onto his back, carefully holding the fishing poles in one hand. Max wasn't the only one missing the closeness they'd once had, of course. She'd felt its absence keenly, but any inadvertent contact between them over the last few weeks, while they'd tried to make their friendship work again, had only served to make those silly metaphorical butterflies go crazy in her stomach. He wasn't interested, though, and had made that fact plainly clear at Vic and Marina's wedding. All she could do was work to get over them as soon as she could and hope that pretending everything was okay -- when it still clearly wasn't -- would eventually lead to things actually being all right again. This was a good start, she thought. Her free arm was wrapped around his neck as he carried her to the usual beater truck he borrowed from the motor pool, giggling on and off due to the sheer ridiculousness of the transportation method, and once she was back on the ground she grinned over at him. "Thanks for the ride, babe," she said, though she instantly regretted the phrasing as her totally helpful mind conjured up an image of her on top of Max. Max, who heard the suggestive quip, busied himself with locating the car keys and putting them in the ignition while his blush subsided. Cherry bit her lip, sticking the fishing equipment in the backseat, and got into the passenger side of the car. "Thanks for taking me out," she added then, once she could trust herself. “It’s totally my pleasure,” Max replied, and he meant it. Cherry could hang out with anyone and yet she chose to spent time with him. Everyone loved Cherry but why bestowed him any sort of special attention, Max would never know but he wasn’t about to question it. “I mean, being knee deep in a muddy fishing hole isn’t exactly the most sophisticated outing around but if you don’t mind, I know I don’t.” "We live in a giant dust bowl," she replied good-naturedly, glancing over at Max as he drove. "Don't tell the patches, and it's not that I don't love it at home, but sometimes I think being anywhere else -- even a muddy fishing hole -- is a real treat. Just for the change of pace." The second spring was pretty close, and so it was only a five to seven minute drive from the Dog Park. The natural geography of the area meant they were relatively safe from walkers, which Max was grateful for because while he certainly wasn’t a lover, he damn sure wasn’t a fighter, either. “I kind of had these grand fantasies of us walking back to the Dog Park with like, a million fish between us,” Max said, putting the truck in park. He peered out the front windshield while she waited, though her immunity made her bolder than most when venturing outside of the Park, looking for walkers and finding the immediate area clear. Only then did he feel safe enough to exit the vehicle and retrieve their supplies from the backseat. “And everyone's like, ‘OMG Cherry! Holy crap, Max! You guys are amazing and such great providers.’ And you and me, we’d play it off and be like, ‘Pfft, it ain’t no thang.’ But really, while everyone is off enjoying the fish fry, we turn to each other and we have this Vulcan mind meld moment where we nod and silently recognize how awesome we are.” "Fantasies, huh?" Try as she had to ignore the quip she'd made earlier, it was like her mind couldn't stop herself from picking those things out of his words and toying with them. Max, perhaps a bit more comfortable with that kind of talk now that she’d broken the ice, smirked and shrugged as if to say ”What did you expect?”. As much as those instances threatened to throw her, though, she tried to tell herself that being this carefree and harmlessly flirtatious was a good thing. It was a sign that things were slowly getting back to normal between them, maybe. She gave him a bright smile. "I don't know how well we'll do at fishing, but I'll try my damnedest." Max turned to face Cherry, who had exited the truck and was standing in the hot, bright sunlight, looking like something straight out of a fashion magazine. She ran a hand through her hair as she looked around, imagining that due to the spring's close proximity the air felt a little less dry out here. Max found himself momentarily distracted and fumbled with his fishing pole, but quickly recovered. “Honestly, I’m pretty sure the only thing we have any chance in catching is a gnarly case of poison ivy but as long as we’re together, it’s all good.” He grinned, glad they were falling back into their familiar give and take, and pointed to a grassy knoll a few yards ahead. “Pretty sure the spot we’re looking over is right over there,” he said, pointing. “That or we’re about to walk into a big ‘ole sinkhole. Don’t worry, if that’s the case, I’ll throw myself over it so you can get on by. Or, you know, we could just walk around it. Either or.” "Like I would ever let you just die in a sinkhole," Cherry replied, easily spotting the area he'd indicated and leading the way towards it. "I'd fish you out with this pole, first. Way too many people would miss you if I came back without a Max." Max had never really thought of it that way. He’d always considered himself fairly disposable, if not the most throwaway person in camp. Tech’s were a dime a dozen, especially since there wasn’t much for them to do anymore. If Cherry came back without him, people would be coming out of the woodwork all over Austin to make a bid for his position; they’d find someone to fill his spot within days. But it wasn’t really about his usefulness; or that’s how Cherry made it seem. People loved him, and valued him, and saw worth in him even if he wasn’t the coolest or toughest dude around and that was pretty darn cool. “Yeah, but if you left me in there, you’d get all the credit for the big fish fry of 2019,” Max said, approaching the spring. He tapped his finger against his temple and then pointed at her. “Cherry Chan: master angler. Something to think about.” Max been half-convinced there would be nothing to find besides dirt and dust and even if that had been the case, it would have been a worthwhile outing all the same. Max walked over the rise and into the natural hidden alcove he’d been made privy to and was pleased as punch to find an actual, honest-to-God spring. Too small to be called a pond and too large to be called a puddle, it was still a sight to see when there was no natural water source to be seen for miles and miles. “Well, will you look at that,” Max exclaimed, turning to Cherry in surprise and delight. On an impulse, Max shucked off his sandals and sat on the water’s edge, dipping his tootsies in the tiny reservoir of cool, clean water. She followed suit without hesitation, grinning as she ditched the shoes and took a seat right next to him. "This is awesome!" For a moment, she could almost pretend she was at a lake up in northern Michigan, with nothing on her mind besides the sun on her face and the boy at her side. "I'm so glad that you brought me here." Cherry turned to look over at him, smiling as the spring worked its magic and continued to relax her. For a moment, it was hard to believe they'd drifted apart. "Thank you." Max smiled back. “You’re welcome,” he replied with feeling. He shielded his eyes as he tried to look up at the sun overhead; he could feel himself start to sweat under the unrelentingly hot spring rays. “Tell you what, this right here is the best birthday gift right here. When did it get so dang hot out?” "A couple of days ago, I think. After that awful rain." But then that word -- birthday -- sunk in fully and she smacked him on the shoulder, an almost comical look of surprise on her face. "Are you kidding? Today's your birthday?! Why didn't you say something, Max?" Max winced; partly because he felt a little bad he hadn’t told her his birthday before now and partly because her smack had kinda hurt. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “I dunno,” he said, kicking at the water. If there were any fish in the spring before now, his and Cherry’s voices and splashes likely were scaring them away now. He’d mind except that this outing hadn’t ever really been about the fish, not really. “It’s just like any other day. Besides, it isn’t even one of the biggies! 31st birthdays aren’t anything to write home about.” Max leaned into Cherry, nudging his shoulder against Cherry’s affectionately. "It is not! The difference is right there in the name. Birthday. How dare you almost withhold the chance for me to celebrate the fact that you're here." Maybe it was a little dramatic, but Cherry had never claimed to be anything but. Especially not when she was feeling this good about their progress towards making sure things between them weren't super weird anymore -- and if the reassuring press of his shoulder against hers and how comfortable their give and take felt were anything to go by, they were making pretty big strides. “You gotta know I wasn’t holding out on you; it just didn’t seem all that important, all things considered.” "Okay. I mean, I guess considering everything that's happened in the last week or so, because shit's always crazy as far as the Dog Park's concerned, I can see your point. But it's way too easy to make that kind of excuse if you're looking to justify. I guess I can just be glad you even said something, right? Because at least now I know, and we can make this fishing thing even more awesome than it was already going to be." Her excited expression, the hand gestures and loud tone of voice sobered momentarily as she looked back at him, forcing a smile even as she wished for her heart to not be so damned confusing. When she spoke again, her cadence was a little quieter, her voice softer. "Because you're a really cool guy, and I'm glad you're here. And that you invited me here with me today of all days." If he were anyone else, she would've kissed him then. But it was Max, and the last time she'd tried that it hadn't exactly gone well, so she didn't want to risk ruining this quiet peace between them. Max rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously and fought the intense urge to say aw shucks. Instead, he busied himself with the fishing pole he’d set aside, checking and rechecking the lure. “Well, I mean, birthdays are for fun and friends,” Max replied. “So being here with you ticks off all those boxes.” In a perfect world, Max would be able to have all his friends visit the Dog Park on his b-day but this was Austin and things certainly weren’t perfect. Still, this nice quiet time with Cherry was more than he had come to expect and certainly more than he deserved and Max was determined not to squander it. His paused his unnecessary fussing of his fishing tackle and snapped his fingers, remembering something. “Oh, and, before you can wiggle out of it, you gotta come to dinner tonight with the fam. We’ll probably eat too much, we will definitely drink too much, and I can almost guarantee there will be an amazingly off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday”. It’ll be a hoot. Say you’ll come?" "You really know how to sell 'em," Cherry teased, her words an attempt to downplay the grin on her face. She couldn't imagine a better way to spend an evening, let alone Max's birthday. "It sounds like the perfect kind of way to celebrate. So of course I'll be there, and if we're lucky maybe we'll even be having fish for dinner. It may even be edible." Max cast the fishing line into the water as far away from them as he could and propped the pole up against a nearby rock; once she'd done the same, Cherry secured her line and found a seat along the edge of the spring. He laid down, hands behind his head, and closed his eyes against the sun. His body was toasty but his tootsies nice and cool in the water. It wasn’t quite enough to quell the oppressive heat of the day but it helped. "You're from out East, right?" she asked, breaking the contented silence that had settled around them. "Jersey?" It was so weird to think about her friends, most of whom she saw every day, having all of these details and stories she didn't know about. Cherry supposed that was just the way things were these days, though: you had your life Before Zombies, and After Zombies. “Philly,” Max replied automatically, his eyes still closed. "Oh, okay! Well, close enough. Either way, this makes me think of home, kind of," she added then as a means of explanation. "Michigan, I mean. All the lakes… You were never more than fifteen minutes away from the water, I swear. I always kinda thought the oceans were overrated, too, in comparison. All wild and crazy with the tide…" She moved forward, kicking off her shoes before she immersed her feet in the water. "I don't know how anyone can relax at the ocean. Lakes, though, they're peaceful." She turned her head to look over at Max, then added, "We could go wading here, sometime. Swimming, if it's deep enough. Or even right now! What do you think?" Max sat up and rested his weight on his one elbow, shielding his eyes from the sun with his free hand so he could look at Cherry. Sitting on the edge like this was fine. Wading up to the knees? Totes cool. Swimming, however, was a huge problem. A stab of anxiety blossomed in his chest; visions of fat, middle school Max bombarded him like a bad movie on repeat. Being called Maxi Pad, being pointed and laughed at, wearing a tshirt in the water at the community pool. Sure, he’d lost a bunch of weight since high school and even more so since the apocalypse but a supermodel he was not. “Ha, ha,” he said, trying to keep the rising tide of body-conscience terror at bay. His voice had elevated an octave and Max struggled to sound normal as Cherry's eyebrows raised, watching him with a mix of curiosity and expectation. "Are you sure?" It was hot out; Cherry was sweating already. Max was too, probably. She assumed so. He wouldn't have put his feet in the water like that if he'd been comfortable with the heat, she thought. She stood up with every intention of wading in, ready to demonstrate just how nice the water would feel, when he spoke up again. “I’m, uh, good right here. Great, in fact. If our voices didn’t scare the fish away I’m sure the vast expanse of pale skin and hair that is my torso would definitely do the trick.” Oh. She was silent for a moment, squinting at Max behind her sunglasses, studying him. He was overweight, sure, and maybe once upon a time she'd thought that she'd never be interested in a guy like him. But the way he looked hadn't stopped her from falling for him hard, and considering how hard it was for her to turn off those feelings and make them stop, even after hooking up with other men who were conventionally attractive? She thought that meant something. "Don't do anything you don't want to do," she said finally, her voice soft as she reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head. Max suddenly didn’t know where to look; he looked up at the sky, the fishing poles, the barren trees, his own feet, anything was fair game so long as he didn’t sneak a peek at Cherry disrobing. She was his friend; he shouldn’t notice how pretty she looked in just her bra but her soft, soothing voice beckoning him drew his gaze and then it was really hard not to look. Cherry wasn't wearing a bathing suit underneath her clothing, but she figured getting her underthings wet in the water wouldn't be the worst thing that had ever happened to her. "But it's your birthday, and I think you'll have fun if you come with me." She paused again, unbuttoning her shorts and pushing them down, and bit her lip as she looked back up at him. She'd never been someone to think twice about the things she wanted to do, and her heart broke to see Max want to hold himself back. "And I really -- You're such a great guy, Max, and who gives a shit what the fish think?" Cherry stepped into the water then, hissing slightly at the coolness against her skin, then turned to look back at him. "Besides, I think you're special. So don't listen to them, listen to me." Max, rendered cotton-mouthed and slack jawed by the slow, confident way she stripped down to her lovely underthings, was slowly drawn out of his stupor by Cherry’s kind words. Except it wasn’t just the things she said; it was the way she said them. There was no judgement in her voice, no ridicule. She meant the things she said about him, which baffled and confused him even as it made him feel warm and fuzzy and weird. The way she talked about him made him sound like he was someone important. Someone who mattered. Someone who shouldn’t be embarrassed to enjoy a moment like this with a girl like her. Max looked at Cherry, then down at himself, and then back to Cherry. She looked like some sort of crazy-beautiful mermaid and she was looking up at him like he was a real, honest-to-goodness man. Max chewed at his bottom lip for a moment and, before he knew what he was doing, stood up. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, worrying the hem of his teeshirt for a moment, trying to psych himself up. Before he lost his nerve, Max pulled the garment up and over his head and tossed it to the ground. He waited, even now expecting jeers and laughter. When they didn’t come, Max felt bolstered and heartened enough to toy with the idea of stripping down to his boxer briefs. With his hand at the zipper, he hesitated. Cherry, who'd been watching him all the while, couldn't help but notice the pause as readily as she took in the details of his physique. She knew he was anxious about his body; for a moment, she considered opening up to him again, reiterating the way she felt about him just like she had at Vic and Marina's wedding. Surely knowing that she cared about him and wanted him would bolster his confidence? But the words caught in her throat as she remembered how his rejection had felt, and there was also the question of that girl at the hospital that he liked. So instead of a confession, she smiled and brought a hand up to shade her gaze, her eyes still on him. "Get in, birthday boy," she called, hoping the jovial approach would work here. "I don't want you to miss out any longer." Well, in for a penny, in for about 15 pounds too much. Max kicked off his cargo shorts and before he could be seen for too long, eased himself into the cool spring. “You know, there is literally no one else that could convince me to do this,” Max said, his nerves still all over the place despite being effectively hidden by the water. This was probably the first time he’d been in his underpants in front of a woman in any way, shape or form in years. The fact that Cherry was encouraging, complementary and really just so cool about everything was certainly making him feel some sort of way; it wasn’t exactly “at ease”. It was some emotion just outside Max’s realm of understanding that he just couldn’t put into words. "Oh, yeah?" She took a couple of steps further into the spring, joining Max in the deeper water, and reached a hand out for his shoulder to stabilize herself. “Yeah,” Max answered, automatically putting his hand to her waist under the water to help her find her footing before he could think about it. Her skin felt smooth and slippery in the water and it was all Max could do to keep his mind from going completely off the rails and into NSFW territory. He thought about baseball, walker guts, and the fact that he had only just rekindled his friendship with Cherry and how easily he could screw it all up. That sobered him up pretty effectively and so he let her go, floating close but not close enough where they might accidentally rub against each other. “You got a way of making me think I can do just about anything. There is only one Cherry Chan. You are something special.” She made no attempt to hide the pleased smile that was on her face. Girl at the hospital or not, at least she and Max had this together. "I'm just glad you asked me out. And that we're even doing this in the first place! My afternoon -- your birthday -- was going to be way boring for me, otherwise. So thank you for even thinking of me in the first place." “How could I not?” Max asked, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. He swam out a little bit and floated on his back. This was way better than sitting out in the hot sun, sweating his tuchus off. He’s glad he jumped in, despite being so incredibly nervous about it. It sort of made him wonder about what other kind of stuff he’d missed out on by being scared. “You know, we’re gonna have to do this when it’s your birthday,” Max said, paddling. “It’s coming up soon, right? July? It’ll have to be a tradition. What do you think? Is it a date?” "It is!" Her smile broadened at the fact that Max had even remembered. It was just another sign of how thoughtful he was, and it made her happy despite how bittersweet it really was. She pushed it aside, following him and swimming further out, then added, "So yes. It's a date." |