Posters and Polaroids

Coffee and Confusion

~Fern's POV~

I blew on my mocha, nervousness creeping in now that I was sitting across from the stranger, Max. God, I'd hugged a stranger! Practically assaulting them, right after making Tillie cry! I was a terrible person.

Max cleared their throat, a half-smile curling their lips. "Why don't we start over." They proposed, holding out a hand. "I'm Max, it's nice to meet you." I took it, shaking once as I smiled shakily. "I'm Fern." Nodding, Max took a sip of their coffee, promptly spitting it out when it burned their mouth. I laughed, handing them some napkins. "Wow, that was smooth of me." They grumbled, mopping up the spill. "Still smoother than me earlier." I said, wincing at the memory.

Max inclined their head, tossing the napkins to the side. "So why were you crying and banging your head against a door?" I nearly choked on my mocha, but swallowed hastily. "Direct." I commented. A smirk crossed their lips, but not an unkind one. "I was crying because I'd just yelled at my best friend over something stupid, which made her cry, which made me cry, then I tried to walk out, but she stopped me, and when I tried to talk to her, she told me to leave, and-- it's a mess." I buried my head in my hands, mumbling, "I'm a horrible person."

Max patted my shoulder, and I looked up, surprised at the contact. "Fights happen all the time, you know. It doesn't make you a bad person." I shook my head. "She was just anxious, and I snapped at her, YELLED at her, I--" I broke off, throat clogged with tears. Max looked at me sympathetically, then shook their head with a derisive snort. "Look, you can't spend all this time wallowing in self-pity. Either take a walk then go apologise to her, or don't." Their voice softened, and they leant forward. "Me telling you that you're not a bad person clearly isn't going to change what you believe, so it's up to you to figure that out. But don't spend so much time worrying about it that you forget what's important."

I looked up, rubbing my eyes and cheeks with the heels of my hands. "Yeah." I nodded, then laughed wetly. "You give good advice, Max." They smiled a bit, taking a sip of their cooled coffee. "How come I've never seen you before?" I asked, taking a deep breath to calm down. Max shrugged, running a hand through touseled hair. "Don't know, actually. I've lived here for going on 2 years now, and I don't think I've ever met you before." Suddenly they leaned forward, hands on the table. "Wait, your friend, is she blond? Petite, kind of loud?" I nodded, a little taken aback.

Max snapped their fingers, leaning back in their chair. "I met her, once, when we were both getting mail. She was on the phone with someone, talking about band merch that had finally come in. I said hi when she hung up, but she fairly ran up the stairs with the package, so I don't know if she even heard me." I raised my eyebrows, crossing my arms absently. "Band merch? It must have been the poster she gave me." Smiling a little, I recalled her excitement when she presented the poster, glossy and stiff. "Poster?" Max prodded. "A 5 Seconds of Summer poster."

Max smacked the table, startling me. "I used to be obsessed with them, back in my parents house." They smiled, a bit nostalgically. "Had the biggest crush on Ashton." Laughing, they continued, "Of course, I loved their music. The album with Don't Stop, that was my favorite." I nodded, smiling. "Ashton does have amazing hair, the kind you want to run your fingers through." Max quirked a brow, and I laughed. "I like Luke though, he's a dork." Max giggled, pulling out their phone. "He is! Did you see that video of them racing, piggyback, through the halls?"

I hadn't, so they pulled it up on YouTube. It was a short video, less than 30 seconds, but it was hilarious. I winced, even as I laughed, when they sprawled on the floor. "God, I remember saving up for every CD, even for concert tickets once." "Did you go?" I asked, a little jealous. I'd never gotten to go to a concert, having never been able to afford it or find the time to go. "Hm? Yeah, I did." Max drained the last of their coffee, and I took a sip of mine, having forgotten it. "It was great, completely worth the lectures I got from my parents."

Max stretched, getting up to throw their cup away. I kept mine, swirling the dregs around the bottom. Checking my phone, I noticed more than an hour had passed since I'd left the apartment. "I need to go." I excused myself, pushing in my chair. "Thanks for everything, Max." I smiled gratefully. They returned the smile, and I was turned to go when they said, "See you around Fern." I nodded, then walked out the door.

It was time to make things right.

~Michael's POV~

Though I mostly ignored talk of the women, Fern and Tillie, I soon found them creeping into my dreams. Fern twirling morphed into my sister, laughing as I spun her. Tillie's soft voice entertwined with the songs Lily used to dance to. I always woke up warm, then confused. A strange protectiveness was growing in me, of the two women who reminded me so much of Lily. I didn't welcome the feeling, knowing that it was silly to become attached to people I didn't even know. But feelings, they do what they want.

I didn't mention it to any of the guys, though I didn't like to keep secrets. I just didn't know how to explain it, especially with how gooey Calum and Luke were acting over the pair. It would've just been weird.

"Michael!" Ashton called, and I shook my head to clear away the thoughts of them. "Yeah, what is it?" He poked his head in my room, and his touseled hair fell into his eyes. "You okay, buddy? You've been kind of out of it lately." I shook my head, smiling reassuringly. "I'm good, just a little tired from recording." A slight frown tugged at his lips, but he didn't press the issue. "Well, pizza's here if you want some."

At that news, I fairly leapt from my bed, patting Ashton on the shoulder as I rushed to the kitchen. "Better save me some!" I yelled.