Work Text:
Hating Maxine Caulfield is easy. There's a rhythm to it, a clarity, like Victoria has been doing it her whole life. That's who she is: she snaps pictures, sucks greedy gulps of her parents' rare attention, hates what she sees in the mirror, sinks her teeth into soft little girls like Caulfield. Simple.
In the beginning, she hates Caulfield for being weak, for dipping her head and smiling so gently at Jefferson's praise, the little fucking slut, probably blowing him after class like Rachel Amber did. She offers a soft thing to dig into when Victoria gets sick of Marsh, to roll her tongue and dig her teeth before she moves onto the main course.
Then everything starts to change, slowly at first before it hurtles all at once. Marsh goes looney, for one thing, which isn't Victoria's fucking fault no matter what people whisper after they take Marsh to the hospital. Victoria's left spinning, gasping, desperate for something to sink her claw into.
But Caulfield's soft edges have peeled away in a blink, growing sharp enough to cut. She looks Victoria straight in the eye, cold and sharp and knowing in a way that makes Victoria's skin crawl. She knows things she couldn't possibly know, she digs her fingers into Victoria's weak spots with lethal precision.
Victoria hates it, Victoria hates her, so much that she can barely breathe. Physical violence isn't her style, Victoria prefers subtler methods of breaking people, but Caulfield breaks all the rules. Why shouldn't Victoria do the same?
So it's not her decision, really, to grab Caulfield by the shoulders and slam her against the wall with a dull thud. She's been compelled, pushed beyond her limits. The hallway's empty, but even if it wasn't, who'd blame her?
"What the fuck," Caulfield yelps, scrabbling to get away. Victoria's got height her, she's stronger, taller, and fucking electrified with rage. "Victoria, let me go, what the fuck--"
"Tell me how you do it," Victoria rasps. "Tell me how the fuck you're been spying on me, you useless, sniveling cunt." She leans close to Caulfield's face, close enough that she can feel Caulfield's warm breath on her skin. "Tell me or I'll swear to fuck I'll--I'll--"
She never decides what she'll do, because Caulfield's face twists, hardening into that new resolve Victoria is so damn sick of. She wants to snap at Caulfield not to look at her like, but before she can, there's a blur of movement and lips on hers, biting down hard.
"What the fuck!" Victoria yells, or tries to, but it sounds more like a muffled squeal. She lurches backward and Caulfield follows, her lips still glued to Victoria's like a fucking sucker bass. She got her fingers tangled tight in Victoria's hair, pulling her closer with every breath.
Her mouth...her mouth is...it's the first girl-mouth Victoria ever kissed while sober. It's soft and sweet-tasting, with a fine minty flavor. Victoria wants to press closer, so of course she has to pull away, although of course Caulfield fucking follows, her jaw flexing as she bites.
Blood, fuck, and pain, enough to make tears roll down Victoria's cheeks. Her brain is screaming at her to pull away, but that would only make it hurt more, and even as the thought crosses her mind she's already leaning forward. Closer, closer, iron staining her throat as her chin drags against Caulfield's.
Almost as quickly as she struck, Caulfield pulls back, blood glistening on her lips. Victoria moves to chase her mouth, because there's something deeply fucking wrong with her, before she remembers the whole fucking situation and pulls back.
"What," she manages, rubbing her stinging mouth frantically. "What the actual fuck, you fucking freak."
Caulfield blinks slowly, thoughtfully. Her right hand rises gently into the air by her head, like she's about to slap Victoria or some stupid shit like that. Instead, she waits a second before dropping the hand back to her side, face resolved.
"Don't grab me again," she says, voice soft. Then she turns and fucking books it down the hall before Victoria can say or do anything. Her shoes clap against the cool, drumbeat ringing in Victoria's ears, and it takes everything Victoria has not to crumble where she stands.