Chapter Text
Max breathes in deeply, savouring the salty tang of the evening ocean air as she tries to steady her tripod in the sand. I forgot how cold it gets at night in the bay. Maybe I should have brought my jacket.
Using her feet to pile up some sand, she makes a little mound so she can look through the viewfinder properly and start lining up her shot. If landscapes are what Jefferson wants, landscapes are what he shall get. I just hope he’ll be okay with me using my Polaroid instead of the digitals we can borrow.
Biting down her lip a bit, she starts making minute adjustments to the setup. No, no, that’s still not right. Just gotta wait for the sun to set some more to give me the gradient I want.
She steps back from her camera, kicking off her Converse and pulling her socks off so she can wiggle her toes in the sand. Nostalgia rushes back. There’s been so much of it since she got back into town for Blackwell just a week or so ago. Flashes of her happy childhood, favourite hiding places, the trees that were the best for climbing, old stores she’d used to visit. So many memories with…
Chloe. The nostalgia is drowned with regret. Her greatest regret. The best friend she bailed on her time of utmost need and- “Shit!”
Max groans as she feels a familiar trickle of warmth dribbling down from her nose to her upper lip. Tilting her head back, she reaches into her trusty messenger bag and pulls out a tissue as the blood starts to run down over her lip. She reaches up a hand to keep it from flowing down to her shirt as she presses the tissue into place. I’m so sick of these fucking nose bleeds. Fucking doctor just handing me iron pills. Maybe I should have gone out east or something, or down south where it’s dryer.
The blood continues it’s trickle, so she twists up one end of the tissue and shoves it up her nose. Great, now my hand is covered in blood, ugh. At least the shot isn’t ready, I can just go wash it off in the surf.
As quick as she can without dislodging the tissue slowly soaking with blood, she jogs down to the surf and rinses off her hand in ankle deep water before jogging back to her camera. Huh, I don’t remember that truck being there. Looks like a total junker, what kind of maniac would drive in something like that?
“Alright, let’s see how this is coming along.” She mutters to herself as she gets back onto her little sand mound and peers through the viewfinder. “So, so close.”
Her hand snakes up to gentle rest on the shutter button as she waits for that perfect moment, when the barely remaining sliver of sun is catching the waves in just the way she wants it to.
Click.
Whirr.
“There we go.” She sighs with relief, pulling her head back.
“Guess Blackwell has started up again.” Says a bored sounding woman’s voice from behind her. “The sun setting beneath the waves, totally gonna get you top marks.”
Max bristles at the unasked-for criticism. If she had any confidence, she’d wheel around and shout at the peanut gallery about how every photographer can capture the same scene differently. Instead she slumps her shoulders and turns to face this person.
In the amber glow of the dusk light, the woman leaning against a faded and battered beach garbage bin with her arms folded looks down right pretty. Blue hair topped with a dark blue beanie cascades down over a pale face, her leather jacket, patched jeans and several sizes too large tank top giving her this air of danger and adventure. But there’s something oddly familiar about her face, but she can’t quite-
“Holy shit, Max?!”
“Chloe?!” Max gasps, nearly falling over at the shock of recognition.
A moment of silence stretches out. There are a billion things she wants to say. She’s imagined this moment millions and millions of times. It all log jams in her throat as she stares open mouthed at her old best friend.
Chloe seems similarly dumbstruck, but she manages to figure out something to say first. Her hand lifts and points to the bloody tissue on the ground and then Max’s face. “You’re, uh, bleeding.”
“Shit!” Max feels the blood rolling over the clotted up stuff on her upper lip, filling her mouth with that familiar copper tang and rolling down her to her chin. She cups her hand under the chin to catch the dropping blood, reaching for her bag with her free hand.
“Where are the tissues?” Chloe asks, suddenly at her side in the blink of an eye.
“Zipper pouch.” Max replies as best she can while catching the flow of blood.
Then Chloe’s hand is in her face, a tissue in her grasp as she starts mopping up the blood. Max tilts her head back so Chloe can get better access.
“You get these a lot?” Chloe asks, a slight waver in her voice.
“Yeah, not long after…”
“Oh.” Is all Chloe can say as she finishes mopping up Max’s face and grabs a fresh tissue, twisting it up and gently holding Max’s face in place with her fingers as she moves to push the tissue up to stop the bleeding. The sudden intimacy of the moment causes Max’s breath to catch in her throat, her eyes wide as she can feel Chloe’s fingers trembling against her chin. Years apart, and then suddenly this?
Just as suddenly as it happened, the moment is past. Chloe lets go of her face and takes a step back. Her eyes wide and looking away from Max. Did she feel it too? I felt her fingers trembling. I’m not making that up, right?
“I’ve, uh, got some water in my truck if you need to wash up. Don’t want to get blood on your pic, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Max nods dumbly, her hand moving up to hold the tissue in place. I feel way more woozy than I should… I guess it was really bad. Wait, did I eat anything for dinner? I think I skipped dinner. Crap. I need to stop doing that.
“Back in a sec.” Chloe mumbles before she dashes off towards her truck.
Damn, how can she run so fast in boots with heels like that? I mean, she was always way more athletic than me but that’s not saying much. Max turns and starts walking back towards her camera, eager to get a good look at her shot without touching it. At least the wind isn’t bad today, it’s just resting in the camera right now.
“Water?”
Max nearly jumps at Chloe’s sudden reappearance. “Holy shit! That was fast.”
“I have my ways.” Chloe replies in a teasing tone, shooting Max a wink. “Come on, let’s get you washed up.”
Max cups her hands and Chloe dribbles some water out of a disposable bottle into them. The still clotting blood on her hand is washed away quickly and she waves the hand off in the air to flick the water off before pulling out another tissue. Chloe soaks the tissue in some water and Max rubs it on her face, sighing with relief as the crusted blood scrubs clear.
“Hold on, you missed a spot.” Chloe takes the tissue from her hand and scrubs lightly on Max’s chin for a moment before pulling back and nodding. “All cleaned up.”
“Minus the tissue up my nose.” Max grumbles softly as she steps in front of her camera, eager to get a look at her shot.
“So you’re still a photography nerd, huh?”
“As if I could do anything else.” Max mumbles as she holds the still developing photo gingerly in her hands. Exactly what I wanted, but will Mr.Jefferson like it?
“Still selling yourself short, I see.” Chloe says with a laugh. “How’d it turn out?”
“I hope it’s good. Now I just need to pack this all up and wait for the bus back to campus.”
“Bus no more, Max! I can just drive you.”
Oh no, that beat up truck is totally hers, isn’t it. “I-I don’t want to be a burden on you or anything.”
Chloe laughs, but her expression is unreadable in the evening glow. Wait, I don’t remember her teeth looking that sharp. “Five years and you’re still Max Caulfield. You could at least pretend to be happy to see me.”
Oh, no no no, I’m already messing up! “I am actually glad to see you, and I’m really sorry about not staying in touch. Leaving you like that is the biggest regret of my life.”
There’s a bit more silence as Chloe crosses her arms and looks at Max like she’s judging her sincerity before shrugging. “Girl, you came here for Blackwell, not me. It’s been, what, two weeks since classes started?”
Max winces, her free hand going up to rub the back of her neck. “I honestly thought you’d be off at college by now. I didn’t even know you were still in town.”
“I mean you coulda visited my mom, dork.” Chloe snorts and rolls her eyes. “Come on, don’t give me that look. I don’t hate you or anything just…”
“It feels like you should hate me… I was totally going to try and reach out, maybe see you sometime. I just didn’t want to be such a shy cliche geek before seeing you again.”
“Max, I’ve known you since you came up to like my knee. When did you being the dorkmeister herself ever stop me from wanting to hang out?” Chloe shakes her head. “Has your nose stopped bleeding, at least?”
“I think so.” Max pulls the tissue free to check. Sure enough, all the blood has dried up. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Cool, I’m not down for you to bleed all over my truck, hippy. Lets get this stuff packed up and I’ll give you a ride back to the dorms or something.”
Oh wow, okay, so I didn’t totally just blow my chance to catch up with Chloe. “Oh, um, okay. Sure.”
“Want me to carry the tripod up to my truck while you get your shoes and socks back on, then?”
“Yeah, sure, just let me get my camera down.” Max reaches up and starts screwing her camera off of the adapter joint for the more modern tripod.
“Look at you, rocking it old school.” Max can practically hear the smirk in Chloe’s voice. “Bet you’re a total hipster now.”
“Liking old cameras does not make me a hipster.” Max turns and mock-pouts at Chloe, who just smirks at her. “That’s my taste in music and fashion.”
Chloe cackles as Max finishes getting her camera off of the tripod. “She admits it!”
“Yeah, yeah. Help me break this down, O punk queen of the beach?”
“Damn, busting out the sass on me already. I think I like my Caulfield a little more meek.”
Max laughs as she sticks her tongue out, “Too bad you’re in my element now. Careful, or I might just have to start taking pictures of you.”
“Nah, don’t waste your film. We gotta get a move on.”
Breaking down the tripod is pretty quick, and soon Max is walking along behind Chloe, who has the tripod tucked neatly under her arm, her shoes and socks in hand until she reaches the narrow strip of grass between the beach and the gravel parking lot where Chloe’s junker is sitting. Max wipes her feet off in the grass before pulling her socks and shoes back on. I still can’t believe it’s really Chloe. This feels like something out of a crazy yet awesome dream.
Chloe looks great, I’m glad she finally used the blue hair dye we got when we were kids, and the punk stuff really suits her.
There’s a dull thunk as Chloe hefts the tripod into the bed of her truck, seemingly with little effort. Damn, I guess she has upper body strength, then. That tripod is stupid heavy for my noodle arms.
With her shoes on, Max gets back to her feet and trots over to the truck. “You sure this is safe to drive in?”
“Don’t insult my truck if you want a ride, Caulfield.” Chloe replies in a teasing tone, “Now hop in.”
Max throws the door open and slides into the truck. The interior is a mess, full of graffiti, paneling that has definitely seen better days and… “Is that a cooler? Chloe, why is there a cooler between the seats?”
Chloe, who had just opened the driver’s side door, shrugs. “Yeah, what about it?”
“What’s in there?”
“Just some beers. I was planning on going to a party later tonight.” Chloe answers as she gets into her seat.
“Ugh, yuck, I hate the taste of beer.”
Chloe laughs loudly as she starts the engine. “Yeah, you’re definitely still Max Caulfield alright. So, to the dorms, then?”
“Yeah, thank you so much for the ride. I guess there’s going to be a party on the beach tonight.”
“It’s cool, and nah, it’s up at the old mill, I was just killing time. And it’s seriously good seeing you again, Max. This town was hella shitty without you.”
“Hella?” Max giggles a bit as Chloe backs out of the gravel parking lot. “Where’d you get that from?”
“Just a girl I used to know.” Chloe sighs softly, an index finger tapping on the steering wheel.
“Oh yeah?”
“Jealous much, Caulfield?”
“No, just curious.” Max sighs as she fidgets with her bag.
“It’s cool. I picked it up from Rachel Amber.”
Max jerks upright in her seat, as the recognition hits her. “Wait a minute, the girl from the missing posters?”
“Yeah, yours truly put them up.”
“I’m so sorry, Chloe. You two must have been close.”
There’s a few moments of silence followed by a sigh as Chloe sags in her seat. “That’s putting it mildly. She was my angel, and just poof, vanished. I miss her.”
“I can’t imagine…” Max turns to stare out her window and her partial reflection stares back at her, full of the icey guilt she feels in her stomach.
“Look, I don’t want a pity party, alright? I imagine you feel hella guilty already.”
How can I not? I bail on you for years right when your dad dies, you replace me and then she up and vanishes… “Alright.”
“Tell you what, if you really want to make it up to me, we can hang out and maybe look for her or something.”
The offer to just hang out with Chloe again, to rebuild those lost bridges and see the kind of person her old best friend had become, fills Max’s heart with renewed warmth. “I’d love to, and I don’t mind staying up late.”
Chloe laughs and shakes her head. “Says the one who used to fall asleep watching movies all the time.”
“I can be full of surprises. Like maybe I want to go to one of those parties you were talking about.”
The laughter dies instantly, Chloe’s lips drawing thin as she grips the steering wheel tight. “That is a hella bad idea. So not your scene, Miss ‘beer is gross’.”
“I swear, if this is an ‘I’m older than you’ thing...”
“No, more of an ‘I know this isn’t for you thing,’ unless you turned into a mad punk thrasher when I wasn’t paying attention.” The truck lurches a bit as it pulls into the Blackwell parking lot. “Anyways, this is you. Do you need my number? I never changed it.”
“I’ve still got your contact…” Max admits softly, and Chloe just kind of stares at her before nodding.
“Some things never change I guess.”
“Maybe, or maybe there’s a thrasher in me just waiting to be born!” Max says with as much of a smile as she can muster while she starts getting ready to get out. “And seriously, thanks for the ride, I would have been out there for like an hour if I’d taken the bus. See you tomorrow?”
“You bet your boney white ass on it.”
Max shuts the door, grabs the tripod from the bed and waves goodbye as Chloe wastes no time peeling out of the Blackwell parking lot and off to the night.
As the truck leaves her view, Max leans against a nearby car, her breath suddenly short and her head woozy. Whoa, my heart is pounding. What was that? I was all… confident? What? Is it just being around Chloe that does that to me?
Come on Max, just get it together. It’s been a stupid long day and you’re just overwhelmed from whatever the hell that was with Chloe. It’s so crazy to think that was actually her, after all these years. She’s really not what I expected, but in a good way, a great way, even. The punk stuff is totally a great fit for her.
After she’s caught her breath, she hefts the tripod and walks across the nearly deserted nighttime campus. Fortunately, none of the security guards hassle her and she makes it to the dorms in peace, although her arm carrying the tripod definitely aches. Maybe I should have asked Chloe to come with me to the dorms to carry this stupid thing. Maybe we could have hung out more? I really should check the visitors policy for the dorms so she can swing by and hang out. Also I really wish we had an elevator. Taking all these stairs with a stupid heavy tripod is such a pain!
By the time she’s reached her floor, she’s panting and bracing a hand against the wall. Whoa, I wasn’t this woozy when I brought it to my dorm after class. Guess that’s what I get for skipping dinner.
Opening the door, she finds the hall empty and starts heading towards her room, when Kate comes out of the bathroom with her tooth brushing kit in hand and spots her. “Oh, hi, Max!”
“Hey, Kate.” Max musters a small wave as she keeps trudging forwards with the tripod.
“Are you okay, Max? You look pale.”
“It’s just been a crazy night.” Max shrugs and sets the tripod down for a moment.
Kate gives her an odd look. “Crazy? I thought you were just doing landscapes.”
“I mean, I did, but things also took a turn for the unexpected. I, um, bumped into a pirate I used to know.”
Kate’s expression softens into a bemused grin. “A pirate, huh?”
“Yeah, come to my dorm and I’ll tell you all about Captain Bluebeard.”