Max's Ladder (фемслэш)

“How could you transfer to Blackwell without letting me know you were coming back?!
Why? WHY?! What do you want from me?! Do you even want anything from me?!”
Max just stood there, growing redder and redder on the face, to the point her freckles stopped being visible.
Out of breath after her tirade, Chloe was panting. And then Max, the last person Chloe expected to see that day, told Chloe the last thing she expected to hear from her. In the event she ever saw Max again, Chloe expected indifference. Perhaps even mockery. But not this.
Max was stammering, her eyes on the floor. “I … I mean … I was …” And then she lifted her gaze and looked Chloe deep in the eyes. Whatever Max’s train of thought had been, it clearly left the station without her. Forgetting whatever excuse or explanation she was trying to articulate, Max stated matter-of-factly, simply describing objective reality in front of her: “You look very pretty, Chloe”.
Now it was Chloe’s turn to blush.
The classroom erupted into laughter, hooting and less-than-subtle comments about Chloe’s and the new girl’s romantic preferences.