Chapter Text
Prologue
May, Week 3, 2008.
Chloe and Max ran up the trail, through the forest to the lighthouse on the top of the cliff, laughing all the way up.
“Haha! I win again Caulfield!” Chloe exclaimed as she jumped up and down in the clearing in front of the lighthouse.
“No fair! I’ve only got little legs. And you got a head start by cheating.” Max pouted at her best friend, Chloe grinned back before pulling Max into her arms, both girls giggling as they hugged each other to the ground.
“Now now munchkin, I hope you didn’t beat Max, or cheat too much.” William ruffled Chloe’s strawberry brown hair as he walked past, laughing as he spoke before popping into the hut opposite the lighthouse, grabbing some chairs and then the barbecue out of the hut and placing them in the open, signing on the sheet that they’d been used by the Price’s before firing the barbecue up.
“Of course I didn't, Daddy.” Chloe hummed innocently as Joyce looked on incredulously from the barbeque. “I only beat her by a little bit… Okay, I cheated a little too.” Chloe began to giggle a lot as Max commenced tickle torture on Chloe, rolling around with her in the grass as they played.
“Chloe! Max! Watch the edge!” Joyce yelled, Max and Chloe stopped and moved away from the edge.
“Oh! Oh! Oh! I want this chair!” Chloe ran over and grabbed a red and black folding chair from the stack and opened it, jumping into it and kicking her legs.
“And I want this one!” Max grabbed a blue and pink chair, plopping it next to Chloe's and adjusting it slightly to make it a bit more comfortable for her.
“Aww, Maxo wants the girly chair.” Chloe joked.
“Dude, that’s majorly not true, I just like the pattern.” Max lightly punched Chloe’s arm as she sat into the chair, Joyce handing the pair a bottle of water each, both of the kids gulping it down thirstily.
“Thanks Mom, that was so refreshing.” Chloe spoke between small gasps for air, having slightly overdrunk.
“Thanks M- Joyce.” Max stumbled slightly over her words as she also gasped a little for air.
“Of course girls.” Joyce smiled as she unpacked the food for the barbeque. William turned around to the pair of girls as Joyce took over on the barbeque.
“Now girls, I’ve gotten you both a little something.” William reached into his pocket and pulled out two little boxes, handing one to Max and one to Chloe. “Open them up girls.”
“Wow! Thanks Daddy!” Chloe ripped open the paper on the box, opening the lid to show a necklace with three bullets on it, held together with a piece of leather. Chloe put it on before throwing her arms around William, squeezing him tightly as they hugged.
“Thanks Uncle William!” Max also tore into her box, pulling out a wrist band adorned with blue butterflies. She slipped her new wrist band on and gave William a hug.
William hugged both girls back, lifting them up onto his shoulders as he led them over to the tree stump near the edge of the cliff.
“I think we should get a photo together, you two and your Mom, what do you girls think?” Both Max and Chloe immediately began jumping up and down excitedly, begging Joyce to come over and get a photograph. Joyce let out a mock sigh before smiling and turning away from the barbeque, leaning on top of the stump and putting an arm around each girl, William pulling out his camera and snapping the photo.
“That’s a keeper, for sure.”
“You know the rules Daddy, not until I’ve looked at it.” Chloe bounded over and grabbed the photo from William’s hand. “Definitely a keeper.” Max also bounded over to look at the photo as Joyce returned to the barbeque, calling William over to help as Max and Chloe crouched down in front of the tree stump Chloe pulling her necklace off and holding it like a pencil.
“Woah Chloe, slow down, what if it…” Max looked at Chloe with concern on her face, gripping Chloe’s wrist with an iron grip, her knuckles white.
“‘What if it’ what Maxo?”
“What if it, you know, goes off?”
“Chill out dude, Daddy must’ve made it safe otherwise he wouldn’t have given it to me.” Chloe rested a hand on Max’s hand and peeled it off of her wrist, scratching it against the stump, grinning when some of the wood chips off.
“We should write our names and the year.” Max said, voice hushed so William and Joyce didn’t hear.
“Even better, we should write BFF Pirates too!” Chloe exclaimed, scratching ‘Max & Chloe’ before handing Max the bullet to scratch ‘BFF Pirates’ and ‘20’ before retrieving it off of Max to finish off with ‘08’. Both girls smiled until they heard someone behind them clearing their throat.
“And what do you two troublemakers think you’re doing?” William said, mock fury in his voice as he knelt down next to them.
“We uh-” Chloe stuttered but was met with a ruffling of her hair by WIlliam.
“It’s okay princess. I know what you were doing.” He laughed and stood up. “Come on girls, dinner’s ready.”
“YAY!” Both girls yelled as they ran over to their folding chairs, sitting down as Joyce handed them both plates with barbequed food on it.
“Enjoy. Don’t eat too fast!” Joyce smiled as she watched the two girls wolf down their food, smiling as William wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I love you.” William said into Joyce’s ear.
“I love you too.” Joyce kissed her husband on the lips as she handed him his plate of food, grabbing a plate for herself, filling it with some food before turning the barbeque off and sitting down to enjoy a meal with her family.
October, Week 1, 2008.
Chloe ran, she ran as fast as her feet could carry her, she scrambled through the tree branches and bushes that filled the forest until she reached the treehouse, scrambling up the ladder until she reached the top, collapsing onto one of the little chairs she and Max keep up there. ‘No Chloe, kept, used to keep, past tense, because she’s gone.’ Chloe booted the other chair, knocking it to the floor before a sob ripped through her chest, breaking her dam of emotions as tears flowed down her cheeks, sobs now wracking her small frame as she cried, curling up into a ball in the chair as she adjusted to be covered by her jacket. ‘Ffff- Scree you Max, I needed you, I still need you, I can’t believe you left me. Well, you’re history now, you’re probably going to end up as some… thing in Seattle and aren’t ever going to come back for me. God, what did I do to have this shit happen to me-’ She heard someone climbing up the treehouse and froze. "Max?"
“Chloe? Are you here?” Chloe’s voice spoke before her brain thought, her words processing in her head as she said them.
“Fuck off, Mom, I don’t want none of your pity crap.”
“Chloe Price, do not use that language with me! I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Well Mom, I- I’m doing just fine! My Dad is dead and my best friend abandoned me, but of course I’m fine, I’ve got to be, don’t I?” She saw her Mom’s face pop up over the edge of the treehouse hatch, tears in her eyes and Chloe knew she’d pushed too far. She glared at Joyce but didn’t stop her Mom from climbing up into the treehouse proper and pulling Chloe into a hug, holding her close.
“It’s okay princess, I’ve got you.”
October, Week 1, 2008.
Max awoke to the feeling of the car, rumbling along the interstate, tears in her eyes as she quickly wiped them away, gripping something in her little hands.
“Max dear, are you okay?” Vanessa turned in the passenger seat, looking at Max’s pained eyes as the little girl shook her head, looking down at her hands, covering the item as tears fell from her eyes down into her lap, threatening to damage the precious item Max was holding.
“I- I want to go back... back home, back to Chloe.” She whispered quietly, barely raising her head to look at her Mother as she spoke.
“Well I’m sorry darling, but we can’t. It’s too late now but this is for the best, for all three of us.”
“Vanessa, just leave her, please.” Ryan pleaded with his wife and she relented, turning back to the road as Max drank from her bottle of water. She looked out the window and saw a cloud in the shape of a butterfly, floating alongside the car, but high in the sky, she blinked a few times before shaking her head, looking down at the photo she held in her hands.
A photo of herself, Chloe and Joyce, all at the tree stump on the top of the cliff with a butterfly, blue wings illuminating the leaves, sat behind the trio.
Chapter Text
Act 1
March, Week 2, 2014.
‘Whoa!’ Max shot up, sat in Mr. Jefferson’s classroom in Blackwell Academy, in the middle of a lecture. ‘What the fuck…’ Max rubbed her temples slightly, her head throbbing with pain, she tried to grasp onto what she had been dreaming about but it slipped away before she could, she sighed and glanced around. Mr. Jefferson was lecturing the class on something she couldn’t quite remember before her little incident.
Thankfully, no one in class had seemed to notice her sleeping, or had she passed out? ‘What the fuck happened, why does I feel so ill right now?’ She touched a hand to her nose, blood trickling out of it slightly. ‘Okay, I’m still in Mr. Jefferson’s class… everythings is cool… I’m all okay, apart from the nosebleed.’ She grabbed a tissue from her satchel and wiped her nose clean. Mr. Jefferson continued to drone on with his lecture as Stella, having dropped her pen, reached down to pick it up. When Mr. Jefferson had turned his back to her, Taylor threw a paper ball at Kate, hitting her square in the face causing the girl to yelp in pain as the ball dropped to the ground.
Max flipped through her book, looking at all the different pictures she had taken, not really sure which one she wanted to submit. She finally picked out what was, in her opinion, the best one in her book and placed it on her desk, slowly closing the book and sliding it into her bag, consciously aware of the approaching end of class.
She looked at it for a few minutes as Mr. Jefferson continued to talk to the class about selfies and other such topics. She eventually let out a dejected sigh. ‘I can’t show this crap to Mr. Jefferson, the whole class would erupt into laughter at just the sight of it. I’d be the laughing stock of the art world before I even got into it.’ Max slipped the photo into her pocket and, just as she reached for her camera, the bell tolled.
“The daguerreian process is- Guys, don't forget the deadline to submit a photo in the "Everyday Heroes" contest. I'll fly out with the winner to San Francisco where you'll be feted by the art world. It's great exposure, and it can kickstart a career in photography. So, Stella and Alyssa, get it together. Taylor, don't hide. I'm still waiting for your entry, too. And yes, Max, I see you pretending not to see me.” Mr. Jefferson clasped his hands together as everyone stood up, gathering their things up and packing away, scrambling out the room in an orderly fashion. Victoria stood up and sauntered over to Mr. Jefferson’s desk, leaning on it and speaking to him intently. Max walked over to Kate, who was still sitting in her chair, reading her textbook.
“Hey, Kate.”
“Hey Max.” Kate spoke with a quiet voice.
“Are you doing alright Kate?” Max sat next to the girl. “You can always speak to me.” Max held her hand out and, after a nod from Kate, placed it on the girl’s shoulder.
“I’ll be fine Max, just some family issues is all…” Max knew Kate wasn’t telling her the whole truth, she’d seen the week before, being hassled by most if not all of the Vortex Club to attend their party. She’d seen the video of Kate, completely out of it, kissing boys and girls without any regard to her actions, as if she wasn’t fully conscious or aware of what she was doing. Max was absolutely disgusted by the video and had clicked off of it as soon as it had finished.
“I’m so sorry I can’t help more, Kate.”
“Max, you help more than enough.”
“I don’t feel like I do sometimes…” Now it was Kate’s turn to put a hand on Max’s shoulder.
“Max, you’re an angel, I know it was you who cleaned my slate last week, and Juliet and my slate again this week. Thank you.” Max smiled at Kate who, for the first time in a little while, smiled back at Max.
“Of course Kate, what was written on them both was horrible, horrible stuff. Are you sure you’re okay, don’t want to go grab a cup o’ tea or coffee and bitch about the world?”
“No, but thank you Max. I really appreciate the offer.” Kate turned back to her book and Max moved over to leave before a voice projected across the room.
“Ah, Max!” Mr. Jefferson shouted. “I see you trying to slink out of here.” Max returned to the desk. Jefferson looked at Victoria with a look of ‘We’ll continue this later’ and the girl turned, pushing past Max and whispering to her
“With that stupid old camera of yours, you must be stuck in the retro zone. Sad face.” Before laughing and walking out, Max could see Victoria, Taylor and a few of the other Vortex Club members walking away.
“Do you and Victoria have a problem?” Mr. Jefferson sat down at his desk, flicking a pen in his hand.
“Not really, she’s a bitch sometimes but…” Max shook her head and Mr. Jefferson let out a sigh.
“Life’s a bitch, Max. That’s why you haven’t handed in a picture for the ‘Everyday Heroes’ contest yet, right?” Max let out a sigh and nodded.
“Uh- yeah, I’ve been um… super busy with like, homework… and stuff.” Mr. Jefferson gave Max an incredulous look before shaking his head.
“Life waits for nobody, Max. Anyway, you’re a better photographer than a liar, I trust that you can get it to me by next week?”
“I’ll try, Mr. Jefferson.”
“You better, I’d hate for someone as talented as you to be left behind by the rest of the art world.” Max nodded before turning to walk out, giving Kate one last look before she left.
‘Alright Max, chill. He’s given you an extension and you’ve got nothing else to do today. Just head for the bathroom, wash your face, chill out.’ Max slipped her headphones on to try and block out most of the noise coming from other students and slowly walked down the hallway, ‘To All of You’ by ‘Syd Matters’ blasting the whole time.
Chapter Text
‘Welp, fuck it.’ Max tore the photograph and threw it into a puddle on the floor, looking around the bathroom, she spots a blue butterfly flap in through a window, the noise of the hallway outside seeming to quiet a little. ‘The fuck…’ She crept around the corner, watching the butterfly rest on a bucket that was in the back of the room, its wings reflecting their radiance on the resting water in the bucket. She slipped her camera out and snapped the picture, shaking it before putting both the photo and camera back into her satchel, watching the butterfly closely for a few minutes before hearing someone push the bathroom door open, the butterfly leaving as the individual entered. Max fully hid herself behind the stall, peeking out to see Nathan pacing around, breathing heavily and pushing cubicle doors open with his hand.
“Anyone in here? No? Perfect… alright keep cool man, don’t stress… this bitch ain’t nothing but a one bit punk… I’m the boss of this shithole… my parents own this fucking town… I could have this place turned into a fucking mansion…” Max ducked further back so she didn’t get spotted by Nathan as he was still pacing quite erratically.
‘The fuck is Nathan doing, firstly in the girls bathroom and secondly, why is he acting so weird?’ Max didn’t get any time to answer her questions as the door was pushed open by a mysterious girl with blue hair.
“I hope you cleared the room, as my step-asshole would say. Now-”
“What, the fuck, do you want from me?” Max winced at Nathan’s words, she’d heard him be aggressive before, but never like this.
“Money dude, you got hella bank, and I want some. Unless you want me to tell Mommy and Daddy what you’ve done-”
“Shut up you whore, you leave them out of this, you hear me?”
“Shut up dude, I know you pump drugs to kids in this shithole, handing it out like candy.”
“Like you don’t with your little ‘boyfriend’ Franky?”
“Leave him outta this, this is just you and me.”
“Oh yeah? I bet he’s outside.”
“Nah, I ain’t that fuckin stupid. David would bust his ass in a second.”
“Sure, so why’d you come here then? So you can leverage my family name to get me to agree to some bullshit deal for some cash to get you out of a whole load of shit you’ve dug yourself into with David or the cops or some shit? Well, fuck you bitch, I ain’t got shit for you.” Nathan turned to leave but the blue-haired girl grabbed his arm, he pinned her against the wall, one arm to her neck, the other reaching and pulling something out of his pocket, something long, metal and reflective, reflecting the light coming in from the window. A pistol…
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re getting into bitch.”
“Whoa dude, chill out… put that thing away and let's talk like adults!”
“Oh now you want to treat me like an adult, not some kid who can be pushed around. Funny that.” He pushed the gun against her stomach, tightening his grip on her neck. Max watched with fear as Nathan got closer and closer to the edge. “I’m SICK and TIRED of being TOLD what to FUCKING DO BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU! Like my FUCKING DAD, THIS FUCKING SHITHOLE’S PRINCIPAL. All trying to control MY LIFE!”
“Get that gun away from me, psycho!” The blue-haired girl pushed Nathan hard, he stumbled back, his hand squeezing, the trigger pulling, the slide moving back as a shell was ejected, the muzzle flashing as a bullet exited the end of the barrel, striking the blue-haired girl in the stomach. Nathan dropped his gun and stumbled to the floor, hand moving to mouth with shock.
“No!” Max threw herself around the corner, arm outstretched. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but the next thing she knew, everything was running in slow motion and reverse, speeding up as Nathan rose back to his feet, the gun returning to his hand as the bullet was reversed back into the gun, the argument rewinding as Max stood there, hand outstretched as her nose poured with blood. After both of them had left the room, she gasped as she saw herself move back from around the corner, un-tearing the picture, washing her face in reverse and walking out, her whole world going black.
‘Whoa!’ Max shot up, sat in Mr. Jefferson’s classroom in Blackwell Academy, in the middle of a lecture. ‘What the fuck…’ Max rubbed her temples slightly, her head throbbing with pain, she didn’t need to try to grasp onto what she had been ‘dreaming’ about, she remembered clearly this time.
‘I’ve got to save that girl, no matter what.’
Max ran back into the bathroom, washing her face before taking the picture out and staring at it.
‘Welp, gotta retrace every step, I’ve done my face, now the photo.’ She tore the photo in two, throwing it back into the puddle on the floor. ‘Now, the butterfly…’ She looked at the window and, if on cue, the butterfly flaps in through the window and lands on the bucket. Max slipped around again and took the picture, the flash illuminating something she hadn’t noticed before.
‘The fire alarm!’ She went to grab the hammer but realised it was missing, before she could do anything else, she heard the door fly open. Max noticed as the conversation heated up a little quicker than before as a few seconds sooner than last time, she heard Nathan say.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re getting into bitch.”
‘Fuck sake. Mess with time, time messes back.’ She heard the gunshot. She peeked around the corner and saw Nathan shake the body of the blue-haired girl.
‘Okay Caulfield, time to shine.’ She held her hand up and rewound time until her head started to hurt real bad and she had to stop.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re getting into bitch.” Max stepped towards the fire alarm, feeling around for the hammer on the floor, she eventually gave the cart a push and saw the hammer but heard Nathan step around the corner and exclaim “Maxine Caulfield...” She had to quickly rewind to not get caught.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re getting into bitch.” Max was ready this time, she knew where the hammer was and immediately grabbed it out from under the cart, smashing it into the glass and pressing the alarm. As the alarm blared, Nathan, having heard her shatter the glass, turned around and muttered.
“No fucking way someone is in here.” The blue haired girl, sensing an opportunity, kneed Nathan in the groin and turned to the door.
“Don’t EVER, EVER touch me again, fucking freak!” The blue haired girl sprinted out of the room and Nathan stumbled to his feet, catching Max’s photograph on his foot before leaning forward and picking up his gun then stumbling out.
‘That did not happen! This cannot be real! I just saw a girl get shot, then I saved her! What the fuck is going on today? Okay Max, don’t freak. Just chill out.’
Chapter Text
Chloe ran out of the backdoor of Blackwell’s main block, she’d planned to go out of the front door but spotted step-dickhead running down the hallway towards her. ‘Fuck…’ She turned and ran out of the back door, quickly running down the steps before moving off towards the parking lot. ‘Fuck, that was crazy… thank fuck for whoever was in there, that fire alarm was a real clutch.’ She hopped into her truck and turned the key before trying to start the aged engine, it sputtered for a few seconds before dying.
“Fuck fuck fuck, c’mon!” She slammed the wheel as she attempted to start the car again and again until it eventually sputtered into life. She looked out of her side mirror and saw Nathan Prescott walking her way, unaware she was sitting in the idling truck. “Fuck.” She slammed her foot on the accelerator and sped out of the parking lot, nearly knocking into a brown haired girl who’d walked down into the parking lot.
She pulled out onto the road and drove at a more legal pace back to her home before sighing, turning off towards the junkyard, grabbing a beer out of the crate in the passenger footwell, she put the handbrake on and hopped out, locking the truck and slowly walking into the junkyard, pulling a cigarette out of pocket, popping it into her mouth and lighting it, taking a long ass drag before blowing the smoke out, cracking the beer open on a piece of metal and taking a swig, she stepped through the junkyard, spotting a crashed car and hopped onto the top of the car, placing her bottle on the car and taking another puff of her cigarette.
She pulled a photo out of her pocket and looked at the photo, sighing heavily...
April, 2007.
“Say ‘Surprise!’”
“Surprise!” Chloe and Max both yelled as Joyce pulled a big cloth off of something in the back garden, and as soon as the surprise had been uncovered, William snapped a picture of the two girls in front of the new swing set.
“WOW!” Both girls jumped up and down with excitement as they ran around the new swing set. Chloe sprinted towards William, giving her Dad a big hug. “Thank you so much Daddy!” Max also ran over and hugged William before the pair also ran over and gave Joyce a massive hug.
“Thank you so much Uncle William and Auntie Joyce!” Max immediately ran over and hopped on the swing. “Chloe! Push me!” Chloe ran over and began to push Max back and forth on the swings, both girls laughing as Max swung higher and higher before putting her feet down to stop.
“My turn! My turn!” Chloe and Max swapped positions and Chloe began to swing back and forth. “Higher! Higher!!” Chloe giggled as Max pushed Chloe higher and higher, both girls giggling as Chloe slowed down and hopped off of the swings.
“Girls! Dinner!” Both girls went inside the house, hand in hand, as a butterfly landed on the top of the swing set, glow illuminating the metal frame.
March, Week 2, 2014.
‘Fuckin Max, “I’ll come back for you” sure you will, fucking asshole.’ She put the photo back in her pocket before she did something dumb like destroy it. As much as she hated Max, she couldn’t bring herself to destroy the photograph because it was taken by William. ‘Oh, Dad. I miss you, so fucking much. I wonder what you would say if you were here.’
Chloe drank the last of her bottle and had smoked the last of her cigarette, throwing the cigarette butt in the bottle and throwing the bottle at one of the wrecks, hard, the bottle shattered upon impact, rocking the wreck before it slid a little down off of the wreck it was resting on. She hopped off of the car and headed back to her truck, hopping into the cab and, starting the truck, she headed for the garage nearby.
Chloe walked through the front door to the house, a rental car parked haphazardly across the driveway, heading straight upstairs before Joyce could say hello to her daughter. She slammed her door and threw her coat onto her chair before kicking back onto her bed. She looked around, eyes resting on the blue cabinet in the corner of her room, she stood back up and grabbed some clothes, changing her clothes before grabbing a pre-rolled joint, lighting it up before taking a long drag.
‘Oh Max, Maxo Maxo Maxo. Where art thou Maxo…’ She flicked some of the ashes into her ashtray, taking another drag before rummaging around to find the bottle of whiskey she had hidden inside of her room. She eventually found it and popped the stopper off of the bottle and chugged it back. She spent several minutes just drinking and smoking her joint before putting the bottle on the desk, putting the stopper back in and putting her joint out, throwing herself back onto her bed. ‘Fuck you Max, honestly… bet you're some groupie now, or with some hipster ass photographer dude in Seattle…’
She took the photo back out before throwing it onto her desk, kicking her shoes and jeans off, laying on her bed wearing her tank top and sliding some shorts on, she pulled her beanie off and threw it at the closet door, rolling over onto her side as a small sob ripples through her drunk body. ‘Fuck Max, I need you… but you’re FUCKING gone, never coming back… you fucking broke me and I’ve learned my lesson.’ She lay there for a while, before she fell asleep.
Unknown.
“Get that gun away from me, psycho!” Chloe pushed Nathan away from her, the gun firing as she felt the bullet enter her stomach, she felt her body collapse, but she stayed there, herself standing whilst her body collapsed to the ground, watching the life leave her eyes, she looked up to see a figure step around the corner, arm outstretched, seeing everything happen in reverse.
‘What the fuck?’ Then she wasn’t there anymore, she was in a sea of darkness, a storm raging around her. ‘Where am I?’ She looked around before seeing a light approach her, as the light got brighter, she closed her eyes, the light brightening a bit more before vanishing into a brighter area. She reopened her eyes and looked around, she was at the lighthouse.
‘Why am I here…’ She could hear giggling from down the path before time sped up, the scene playing out in front of her happening in 2 times speed as she watched herself and Max hug on the ground before getting presents from William, having their picture taken and scratching their names, “BFF Pirates” and “2008” into the tree stump before all four of them eat. She blinks, as tears trickle down her cheeks, she looks around as the sun sets, the group packing away and leaving, leaving her all alone on the cliff. ‘Always alone…’ She felt the scene around her disappear, unaware of the shadow standing behind her.
Chapter Text
Unknown
“Max?” Max looked around, hearing her name called but unsure from where, or who was calling it, she didn’t know where she was… is? She doesn’t even know when it is… or what she is… She looked around her, it was all dark. She tried to wrap her arms around her body but didn’t feel anything, no movement, no contact, nothing. She didn’t even know where she was. But she could feel something deep, dark and angry rolling around her.
“Hello?” She tried to turn around but found herself being turned by a force instead. As she spun, she saw a little girl, with strawberry blonde hair, sitting in a treehouse, all alone…
“Chloe.” Max whispered out, the dream brightening as she found herself in the clearing, still incorporeal, but present nonetheless as the Price girl began to descend from the treehouse slowly, tears in her eyes as she got to the bottom, walking through Max like she wasn’t even there.
“Chloe… please…” Chloe wiped her eyes before walking into the clearing, into the darkness. Max tried to reach out but everything was sucked out from around her, leaving her in the darkness again…
March, Week 2, 2014.
Max sat up in bed, sweat pouring down her face, her back sticky and uncomfortable, she checked the time, 6am, Saturday Morning. ‘Perfect, no class, at least I don’t have to worry about that then…’ She slid out of bed with some urgency. ‘Today is the day.’ Max heaved a heavy sigh as she slipped a loose t-shirt on. ‘Today is the day I go and see Chloe.’
She grabbed her bathroom kit and quickly walked into the dorm washroom to have a shower and clean her teeth, as the water ran down her body, she considered the events of yesterday.
‘Yesterday was crazy. First I wake up from a dream I can’t remember, then I watch a girl die, then I… I don’t know, rewound time… then I save her life. I fucking saved her…’ Max smiled as she washed her hair. ‘I wonder who she is, Justin might know, might be worth asking him before I go to see Chloe.’
Max dried off and headed back to her room, changing into a loose t-shirt and some semi-tight jeans, picking out some red and white sneakers before slipping on her hoodie. She stepped out of her room and headed to the front of campus, spotting Justin sitting on some benches, with a few of his friends.
“Hey Justin, landed any ‘tre flips’ recently?” Justin looked up from his phone, along with a couple of people from his friends group at Max’s mention of the tre flip.
“Ayy, check out the skater. Didn’t know you were into that stuff.”
“I dabble, I’m not good, but I can thrash like the rest of you. I knew someone who was real good at it but haven't spoken to them in ages.”
She smiled at Justin, who just nodded before turning to look up at Max. “Want Trevor to destroy some rails for you?” Max smiled again but shook her head.
“Sorry Justin, no time. Got a question though.” Justin looked at Max with a quizzical look.
“Shoot away photographer.”
“Did you know a girl? Blue hair? Ring any bells?”
“Yeah, she used to hang out with us and Rachel Amber. Had tats, Hardcore, was hot. Stopped hanging out when Rachel disappeared… or ran away, forgot her name. Why?” Max shook her head.
“I uh, I just saw her in a spot of trouble yesterday and wondered if you knew her.” Justin hopped to his feet.
“She all good?”
“I think so, she was fine when I saw her, she held her own against the person she was dealing with.” Max decided it was best to keep her new ‘power’ on the down low with as many people as possible and didn’t mention how she saw the girl die before turning back time to fix it. At hearing Max reassure him she was okay, he sat back down.
“Aight, she’s hardcore but she’s tough to back it up. Saw her arguing with Madsen a while ago, she really held her own against him.” Max smiled at hearing someone being able to stand up to Madsen. When Ms. Grant asked her to sign a petition to stop Mr. Madsen from putting security cameras up around the school, she didn’t even think twice. ‘Absolutely. I don't mind security, but not...pure surveillance.’ was what she’d told the teacher as she’d jotted her name down.
“Anyway, let's chill later, Thanks Justin.”
“Anytime you want to take some action shots, we're here for you, Max.” Max smiled again at the whole group and walked away, hopping down the steps to the bus stop and boarding, putting her headphones in and putting on ‘Crosses’ by ‘José González’ as the bus trundled along the main street, past the Two Whales where it slowed. Max looked through the window and saw Joyce behind the counter, arguing with the blue haired girl who stormed out and hopped into a rental car that was parked outside, speeding off in the same direction as the bus, disappearing around several corners out of Max’s view.
Max stepped off of the bus and walked down the street slowly, looking around at the surrounding houses and forest in the distance.
‘It looks just like it did when we were kids… oh Chloe, I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t here for you…’ She spotted the house, still half painted, just like she remembered it. She sat down on a bench at the end of the road and pulled out the picture of herself, Chloe and Joyce at the tree stump, looking at it as a tear rolled down her cheek. ‘I… fuck Max, chill. I doubt she’ll be happy to see you but you need to chill, you don’t know till you knock and find out.’ She slipped the photo back into her pocket and walked up to the front door of the Price household, pressing the front doorbell and waiting as she heard walking behind the door before it opened, eyes wide at the man on the other side.
“Max Caulfield.” David Madsen spoke. “You here for Chloe?”
“Hi Mr. Madsen, uh- yeah, I am…” She scratched the back of her neck.
“Please Max, call me David. I’ll get her now, come in.” He walked upstairs and Max heard a knocking on a door, before David’s voice spoke. “Chloe, you’ve got a visitor.”
“Fuck off dude, I don’t want any of your suiters.”
“Chloe! Don’t speak to me like that! It’s no one I know anyway.”
“Dude just fuck off already, I’m coming.” David clomped downstairs, putting a hand on Max’s shoulder.
“Good luck.” He spoke to her before walking through and locking the garage door. Max looked up the stairs as she heard stomping around from Chloe’s room, the door opening as a voice spoke from it.
“Whoever you are dude, I’m coming, be patient!” Max’s eyes went wide as she recognised the voice.
‘It can’t be…’ Max looked around the entrance hall and noticed a stack of missing persons posters on a small table, missing persons posters for Rachel Amber. As she went to grab one, she heard Chloe’s door slam and boots stomping downstairs, freezing at the halfway point.
“Max?”
“Chloe...” Max watched as Chloe’s face transformed from one of shock to one of anger, slamming her hand onto the banister before stomping down the rest of the stairs, screaming at the girl.
“GET OUT!” Chloe got in Max’s face a little more than Max liked as Chloe pretty much forced her outside. “You’ve got guts coming here, disappear for 5 years and show up like nothing changed.”
“Chloe please, let me exp-”
“Max, you don’t need to explain, let me guess, Seattle was so good you forgot about me until your parents forced you back here. Seattle was so much better you couldn’t be bothered to write, or email, or text, or even ring. Me and Joyce suffered and grieved and where were you? Oh yeah, living life up in Seattle. Don’t act like it was all doom and gloom for you, I saw your social media, posts of you living it up in clubs and with your new ‘best friends’. Kristen and what was his name? Ferdinand? Fernand?”
“Fernando-”
“Shut up Max. Just shut the fuck up! You don’t get to do this! Leave for five fucking years then come back like nothing’s fucking changed!” Chloe stepped towards Max before shaking her head and walking away.
“Sorry Chloe, I’ll go… clearly you don’t want me-”
“YEAH MAX! FUCK OFF! I don’t fucking want you! I don’t… I hate you…” Chloe pushed past the girl, who was now crying. “Don’t try and contact me again.” She hopped into the rental car, revved the engine and sped off. Max just turned around and slowly walked back to the bench across the road from the Price house, she folded her leg underneath herself and sat down, pulling the photo out of her pocket and holding it to her chest as a huge sob ripped through her, tears pouring out of her and staining her cheeks.
Chloe let the rental roll to a stop a couple of feet away from the sign for American Rust, hopping out of the driver's seat and grabbing her packet of cigarettes out of her pocket and 6 pack of beers from the boot of her car, she moved to the brick building at the back of the junkyard, walking inside and slumping down in the chair in there, lighting up and popping one of the bottles open taking a big swig before sniffling, a tear trickling down her cheek.
‘She came back, I guess… just to remind me how she broke my fucking heart...’ Chloe finished her cigarette and picked up her pack of beer and walked outside, hopping into the backseat of her Dad’s wrecked car, resting her feet on the back seat and and laying down, placing her jacket over her and drinking herself into a stupor in the back seat, crying the whole time.
Chapter Text
“Max?” The young girl looked up to see Joyce standing next to her. “Are you okay?” Joyce knew the answer she was going to receive but asked the question anyway, pulling Max into a hug as the girl cried into her shirt.
“U- Uncle William, he’s gone, isn’t he?” Max cried even harder into Joyce’s shirt as she hugged the older woman.
September, Week 4, 2008.
“Yes munchkin… he’s gone…” Joyce put her hand to the back of Max’s head, holding the girl into her shirt, picking her up before carrying her to Chloe’s room, laying her on the bed. “Stay here for a little bit Max, I need to go out for a bit…” Joyce turned to leave before she felt a tugging at her sleeve.
“YOU CAN’T! It’ll happen to you too!” Max was tugging hard on Joyce’s sleeve. The older woman knelt down next to Max and brushed her hair out of her face.
“I won’t be very long Max, I just need to go and get someone quickly.”
“Okay… w- where is Chloe…” Joyce inhaled sharply, hoping that Max hadn’t asked that question. “WHERE IS SHE?”
“She’s… at the hospital, she fell ill.” Joyce patted Max on the head and went to leave. “Please, just stay here for a while.”
“Okay…” Max nodded as Joyce walked out of the room, shutting the door before letting out a heavy sigh, running her hands through her hair before jogging down the stairs, grabbing her keys, jacket and shoes before leaving the house and locking the door.
‘Oh, Chloe, where could you have gone?’ Joyce decided to look around places they had been before, she started by heading to the Two Whales Diner and asked around a few of the people there but unfortunately they hadn’t seen her.
Joyce had spent about thirty minutes walking around Arcadia Bay, looking for her daughter before deciding to take a little break, sitting down on a bench. ‘Where the fuck are you Chloe?’ Joyce let out a heavy sigh before feeling a tapping on her shoulder.
“Excuse me, Joyce?” It was the homeless lady from the diner.
“Ah, Claire, you frightened me a little.” Joyce let out a light laugh and moved over so that Claire could sit beside her.
“Are you alright?”
“No… I’m uh- I’m looking for my daughter…” Joyce ran her hand through her hair again, letting out a heavy, deep sigh.
“Chloe, was it?” Claire, placed a hand on the shoulder of Joyce. “She’ll meet you in the place you’ve been to many times but is still as fresh as ever, where light shines brightly on the shore and a skull is used to mark their special place...” Claire smiled at Joyce as both women rose. Joyce spent a while thinking about where that could be, before remembering what Chloe had done a while.
“She’s at the lighthouse? That’s where she marked the treehouse…” Claire tapped her nose and walked away, leaving Joyce on her lonesome as she turned, rushing to the lighthouse as quickly as she could. As she walked up the path towards the lighthouse, a rush in her walk as she started to run when she neared the top.
She walked into the clearing and saw a figure, sat on the bench, hunched over and shaking as she wept. Joyce walked over to the figure and could tell it was Chloe, slumped over and wearing William’s leather jacket, holding it tight as she sobs wracked her small frame. Joyce wrapped her arms around Chloe and held her tightly.
“Mom… why?”
“Why what?”
“Why is Max leaving?”
“She… she told you?” Chloe shook her head.
“I heard you all talking about it… Why? Why does she have to go?”
“It’s complicated.”
“DAD TOLD ME THAT NO ONE WAS LEAVING ME!” Chloe slammed her fists into Joyce, not heavy enough to cause any pain but enough to help her vent frustration. “He lied. Why did she lie too… she told me she wasn’t leaving me… she PROMISED! Why… why are they all leaving us?”
“I… I don’t know Chloe… honestly, I don’t…”
“I hate her, if she loved me like she tells me she wouldn’t ever leave…”
“Chloe, don’t say that… she does love you…” Chloe finally broke down, losing all her fire as she sobbed into her Mom’s jacket.
“Mom… can we go home? I- I’m cold…”
“Of course princess…” Joyce helped Chloe to her feet and the pair left the lighthouse behind.
March, Week 2, 2014.
Max plodded up to the lighthouse, shivering in the cold as she held her hoodie a little tighter. ‘Why? Why did I even bother…’ She saw a bottle on the ground, evidence of people still coming up here. ‘Might’ve been one of Chloe’s…’ She kicked it hard, it spiralling and rolling off of the cliff, shattering on the rocks. She grabbed a few more and threw them off the cliff before sitting on the bench. ‘Why did I fucking bother… well done Super Max, you had the opportunity to rewind time, but still let her chew you out without even bothering to hold your stupid hand up…’
She kicked some of the rocks off of the cliff edge, holding her head in her hands as she began to cry, tears absorbing themselves into her hands before she sat up, her vision spotty at the sudden light as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks. She let out a shaky sigh and threw another bottle off of the cliff. ‘It’s all me… I promised not to leave… to stay in touch and come back… well I sure fucked all that up.’ She launched another bottle towards the cliff. She let out another set of wracking sobs as she lay down, eyes closing as she eventually fell asleep.
Dreaming, dreaming about her … her best friend… her Chloe …
Notes:
This'll be the last chapter set before Max leaves for Seattle for a little while.
Chapter Text
Max woke up with a stinging headache, she looked around for a few minutes before sitting up slowly. ‘Where the fuck am I? W- Who’s car am I in?” She looked around for a few more minutes as the sleep left her eyes, before rubbing them and, spotting someone sat on the drivers door. Max took a few deep breaths, holding her hoodie a little tighter before stepping out of the car.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” The individual spoke quietly, voice subdued, as she was still looking away from Max, head down, cigarette in hand as she spoke.
“C- Chloe?” Max took a deep breath before walking around the car, tears already forming in her eyes. “I- Um… about yesterday… I uh-” Chloe put her hand up, taking a drag from her cigarette, flicking the ash off before turning back to Max.
“Max… Not now… not yet.” Chloe took a shaky breath and Max could tell that Chloe wasn’t doing too good either. Chloe took another drag from her cigarette, coughing a little as she did so before flicking some ash off. “All I want to say right now is sorry…”
“Chloe, I think we can both agree that, before we speak about any of that…” Max took a deep breath, looking up as Chloe put a hand on her shoulder.
“Take your time Max…”
“I think we should get reacquainted first… god Chloe it’s been five years…” Max desperately wanted to avoid speaking about what happened during her first year in Seattle, knowing that it would bring back trauma she really did not want to speak about, not yet anyway… not until she spoke about what happened on Friday. Max let out a heavy sigh, exhaling heavily as she leant against the car door, rubbing her eyes as tears began to form in her ducts, she slumped to a seated position, resting on the car.
“Max… are you alright?” Chloe put a hand on Max’s shoulder and, for the first time in a little while, she felt at ease with herself.
“I uh… I’ll be fine…” Max rubbed her temples before standing up. “I wanna get to know you again before we talk about what happened…” She put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “All I want to say, right now, is I’m sorry. For all of it. For leaving, for not staying in touch, for all of it.” Chloe and Max pulled each other into a loose hug before walking around and getting into the front two seats of the car.
They began to pull down the road away from the lighthouse but a pair of headlights pulled up the road towards the lighthouse, red and blue lights flashing on the roof, meeting them in the middle of the path and signalling for them to pull over. An officer, Officer Berry, hopped out of his car and moved to the driver side window, leaning down and looking inside.
“Good morning Chloe, and… oh my god… Maxine Caulfield?” Officer Berry couldn’t help but let a smile across his face as he looked at the younger woman.
“Please, Max, never Maxine.” Max smiled but at the same time understood the need for formality when talking to the police (even if she did hate being called Maxine).
“Ah! How could I forget? So, the terror twins, back together again, eh? I’ll put out a call on my radio to look out for big trouble cruising the streets.” Now all three of them were laughing as Berry spoke, it taking several minutes for the group to go back to a state where they could talk again without another fit of laughter. “Anyway, I came up here because of you, Miss Caulfield.” Max looked puzzled.
“Me? Why?”
“Because you didn’t go back to your dorm last night! A young girl, Kate Marsh, rang the station to report you missing.” Chloe turned to Max, nodding.
“She rang me too. We uh… we know each other, she helps out at the Two Whales sometimes. She’s a nice girl.” She smiled as she spoke, feeling the same type of radiant warmth that Max feels whenever she speaks to Kate.
“Oh wow…” Max rubbed the back of her neck, a habit she really needs to stop doing before she rubs the skin off of it. “I’ll definitely have to thank her.”
“Yep, you’re lucky to have a friend like her.” Officer Berry smiled at the pair before standing up. “Well, now I know you're safe, I’ll let the station know. Keep her safe Chloe.” The blue-haired girl let out a mock salute before starting the car, pulling away from the lighthouse and heading back into town. Max quickly pulled out her phone and shot Kate a text telling her that she was okay, Kate replying with a smiling emoji. Chloe spoke up after Max slipped her phone away.
“We’re gonna head to the Two Whales if that’s good with you? I’ve gotta speak to Mom and we should let her know your back.” Max nodded, excited to see Joyce again as the pair drove down towards the diner.
“Of course Chloe, I saw you and her yesterday but was so worried about going to see you that I didn’t go and see her.” Max smiled the whole time the pair drove to the diner, rocking her head to the music Chloe had put on, ‘Lua’ by ‘Bright Eyes.’ “Thank you for coming to get me Chloe.”
“Of course Max.” Chloe turned the radio down a little. “When Kate rang me and told me you were missing, I knew there were only a couple places you’d go. I checked the treehouse but you weren’t there so the only other place I knew you’d be was at the lighthouse. When I got up there in the car, I practically sprinted up the path and when I saw you on that bench…” Chloe took a deep breath, smiling when Max put a hand on her shoulder. “When I saw you on the bench, my heart shattered into tiny pieces. I picked you straight up and carried you back to my car.”
“Thank you Chloe, really.” Max removed her hand from Chloe’s shoulder as they rolled into the parking lot for the Two Whales, the pair hopping out the car before walking inside.
“Max! Oh my god!” Joyce smiled and held her hands up as the young girl walked into the diner behind Chloe, smiling back as they embraced each other in a hug.
“Dude, my street cred…” Chloe spoke with mock annoyance and the pair laughed, Chloe joining in as they moved to a booth in the corner of the diner. Max sat down on one side, Chloe hopping in opposite her as Joyce stood at the table.
“So girls, what will it be?”
“Oooh! Belgian Waffles please!” Max smiled as Joyce jotted it down, marking it with an ‘M’ as she did so, after Chloe put her order in and Joyce had walked away, Max turned to Chloe. “Uh, thanks again for showing up this morning-”
“Max, don’t mention it, it’s all okay.” Chloe smiled at Max, putting the younger girl at ease as they looked around and enjoyed the music from the jukebox.
“Chloe… I have something I’ll need to tell you at some point, not right now, but soon… it’s… oh god it’s so fucking much dude… it’s majorly weird.” Chloe looked at Max with a very concerned look.
“Dude, you sound insane, are you good? You can always talk to me, like old times-” Chloe stopped herself too late to finish her sentence but enough to not say any more. “I’m sorry Max. I didn’t mean to-”
“Girls, breakfast is served, all on the house!” She placed two plates of food down onto the table, in front of the girls, both of them smiling at her.
“Thanks Joyce!” They said in unison as they grabbed their food, the speaking ceasing as they both tucked into their food.
Chapter Text
March, Week 3, 2014.
Max stepped off of the bus with a dejected sigh, she’d hung around at Chloe’s for the rest of the day, getting reacquainted with each other and reminiscing about old times together. ‘Honestly, that was the best Sunday I’ve had in years… ever since I was last here even…’ Max took a breath. ‘Chill Max, it’s not worth getting worked up on a Monday, especially after the crazy weekend you’ve had.’ She walked to her dorm, stepping up the steps before stopping at the door.
“Wow, it’s the retro freak.” Victoria bumped into Max, Taylor and Courtney laughing as they did the same. “Lame ass camera, lame ass pictures, enjoy being a nobody, loser.” Victoria laughed directly in Max’s face, leaving Courney and Taylor laughing too before the trio walked out of the block. Max shook her head, sighed and walked into her room. She put her bag down onto her bed and changed clothes, getting into a fresh t-shirt, her purple jumper and some new jeans. She packed her bag with the stuff she needs for photography class, grabbing a bottle of water alongside her notebook, pencil case and her phone and headphones out of her hoodie, throwing it all into her bag before she stepped out.
“Hello, Max.” Max turned and saw Kate walk out of her room, a smile on her face and her bag over her shoulder as the pair began to walk to class, walking out of the dorms. “I hope you’re doing well. I knocked on your door to ask if you could talk but you weren’t in, I hope you don’t mind that I called some people. I obviously told the police but I also knew Chloe so I called her… she speaks about you quite a lot, but never mentions you by name. I rang her with the hope that you two knew each other and she was very concerned.”
“Oh Kate, thank you so much. Are you doing okay?” Kate looked down and Max rested a hand on her shoulder. “You can always talk to me.” Kate looked up quickly, trying her best to present herself happy and unaffected, internally she was deeply troubled but didn’t want to bother Max with it.
“I’m doing fine Max. Thanks for the concern though, I appreciate it.” Kate smiled another smile at Max, who found it unconvincing but smiled back, not wanting to push Kate too hard. The pair walked through the lawn outside the dormitories.
“Oh my god!” The pair heard a loud shout before watching Justin wipe out during a tre flip, skateboard wiping Kate’s feet out from under her and knocking her onto the floor, wincing in pain.
“Oh my god Kate!” Max went to help Kate up before the woman groaned, gripping and reaching for her ankle. Max gave it a quick inspection before sighing. “It looks broken…” Max pondered before walking back a few steps and holding her hand out.
“Max, what are you doi-iod uoy era tahw ,xaM” Max heard Kate speak in slow motion and reverse as she hears several people also speaking in reverse as she rewound time. When she’d rewound far enough back that herself and Kate were safe from immediate danger, she lowered her hand, the last thing she heard was the very quiet, muffled voice of Chloe. ‘Get that gun away from me, psycho!’ Max dropped her hand fully and time resumed.
“Kate, wait!” Max held Kate’s shoulder as Justin wiped out again, his board rolling in front of the pair. ‘Another win for the SuperMax!’ She picked the board up, handing it back to Justin before the pair headed for the classroom.
Max drummed her fingers on her desk, pondering her current situation. ‘Max, Max Max Max… what kind of situation have you gotten yourself into this time, huh? You and Chloe are at least better now than you were on Saturday… you saved her life Max, you’ve got to tell her at some point.’ She rubbed her temples, a pensive look on her face as Mr. Jefferson droned on about some shit she didn’t really care about right now. ‘I need to focus on class but god, these last few days have been such a rush… it’s been insane… god I bet Chloe will think I’m insane with the shit I can tell her has happened these last few days… goddamn, there is so much I need to talk to her about…’
“Max! Wakey wakey old head.” Victoria shouted at Max, a disapproving look on Jefferson’s face. “Mark was talking to you.”
“One, that's Mr. Jefferson, to all of you, and two, I don’t need you to do any talking for me. Now Max, what’s the name of one of the famous Spanish female photographers who made some of the first daguerreotypes in the country?”
“Uh, I’m not sure… I think it’s-”
“Anaïs Napoleón, Mr. Jefferson.” Victoria said smugly, her face a shit eating grin as she spoke, pouting at Max as she spoke again. “0-2 against me, Maxine.” Max wasn’t even aware of the first question Victoria had answered instead of her, but she knew about this one, and had one response in her mind, a smile crossing her face.
“That’s it, bitch.” Max lifted her hand and time rolled backwards, watching as everything and everyone moved and spoke in reverse, before lowering her hand and allowing time to proceed as normal.
“So Max, what’s the name of one of the famous Spanish female photographers who made some of the first daguerreotypes in the country?” Mr. Jefferson asked, calmly.
‘This must be his first time asking me, okay Max... it's time to piss off Victoria.'
“Anaïs Napoleón, Mr. Jefferson.” Now it was Max’s turn to be a bit smug, grinning at Victoria who gave her a look of disgust. ‘I’m definitely getting shit for that later.’
Max finally stepped out of class, having cheated on a few more questions by letting Victoria answer, then rewinding and answering herself instead, and she immediately ran into David Madsen. When she saw the annoyed look on his face, she remembered yesterday, the pair jamming out to some music before David shouted up the stairs for Chloe to turn the shit off before stomping upstairs, tearing her out for having Max around after giving her shit, he also teared Max out for hanging out with Chloe after she gave Max shit. She and Chloe had defended themselves and David had nearly thrown Max out if Joyce didn’t intervene on Max and Chloe’s side...
“Max, we need to talk, about yesterday-”
“Not here, please?” David nodded and led Max outside.
“I don’t appreciate you coming into my home and treating me like that. I’m not going to be William but you don’t speak to me like that.”
"Dude, it's not your house. It's Joyce's and Chloe's." Max shook her head and began to walk away, David catching her arm.
“Don’t walk away from me-”
“Get your hand off of me!” Max pulled herself out of David’s grip and, when David began to move towards her, she began to run away, running for the parking lot. As she ran into the parking lot, she spotted a rusty truck, parked across two lanes next to an RV. As she approached, she saw Chloe poke her head out of the door, running over when she saw the look of fear on Max’s face.
“Max, what happened?”
“David… he grabbed me and tried to tear me out, I tried to leave and he grabbed me by the arm. It didn’t hurt but-” Max felt herself enveloped by warmth as Chloe pulled her into a hug, holding her for a few seconds before letting her go.
“Hop in.” She unlocked her truck, Max hopping into the truck, closing the door before sliding herself into it, Max reminding herself to thank Chloe that she has a bench instead of just seats. Chloe ran back into the RV, coming out with a full bag a few seconds later, hopping into the truck through the driver’s door, the bench creaking at the slight weight imbalance. Chloe put the bag in the middle of the bench, pulling her car keys out of her pocket and slid them into the ignition of her truck, revving it to life and backing out of the parking spot, the pair seeing David on the steps, running after the truck. Chloe sped onto the road, speeding a little as they pulled away from Blackwell, slowing up as they moved further away. After a while of driving, Chloe pulled her truck into the gas station, hopping out and refuelling as Max deliberated on the front bench.
‘I've got to tell her about the power… about Friday… she deserves to know… not here though… it's got to be in our special place.’ As Chloe hopped in, Max turned to her, desperation in her voice.
“Chloe, can we go to the treehouse please?” Chloe gave Max a confused look, before nodding.
“Of course, dude, always.”
Chapter Text
As the pair walked through the forest towards the treehouse, the air was still, the birds chirped and crickets… well cricket-ed. Max was breathing heavily, not because of excursion from walking, but from just pure stress from what she’s going to have to say to Chloe shortly. Max was dragging her feet as she walked, trying to make it as slow a walk as possible as the pair moved.
‘I wonder what’s going on with her, she’s never been like this…’ Chloe rubbed her arm, concerned for her friend, really worried that something was very wrong with Max. She’d get her answer soon as the pair was very close to the treehouse. As they entered the clearing and the treehouse came into view, Max got emotional.
“It’s still the same…” Max whispered as she walked, climbing up first as Chloe held a hand out, offering Max the first ascent of the pair. As the pair climbed, Max got even more worried, a ball of pure anxiety forming in her chest as she sat on one of the two chairs in the treehouse. “Oh my god, you kept the chairs…” Max let out a breathy laugh as she sat, visibly shaking as she leant back, exhaling heavily.
“Max…” Chloe placed her hand on Max’s shoulder, moving her chair closer before sitting down. “Max dude, I’m so, so fucking worried. Worried about you… you’ve been off all weekend, what’s going on? Please tell me…” Chloe watched as Max struggled with conflicting emotions for a few minutes before a sob wracked through Max, Chloe pulling her into a hug.
“I… oh my god Chloe… I’m so fucking sorry…” Max sobbed into Chloe’s tank top, wrapping her hugs around her middle. “I’m so sorry I didn’t stay in touch, I’m sorry I didn’t ring, I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry I wasn’t better . I should’ve been better…”
“Oh Max, don’t say that… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a problem with how you just didn’t speak to me for five years, and I’m sure you have a reason… I can see it in your eyes… it wasn’t out of malice…”
“Chloe… that’s not all…” Max let out a shaky breath, tears coming anew. “I… I saw you die.”
“What?” Chloe was confused as fuck. “What do you mean, you saw me die? How… how is that even possible?”
“I was in the bathroom, I was there… when Nathan… oh god I hated it… I…” She had to catch herself before continuing, trying her best not to cry again as she spoke. “I didn’t know it was you, but I could feel something… like a connection between us… when he shot you… in the stomach… I reached out… I reached for you… and when I did…”
“Woah Max, slow up. You’re breathing something crazy…” Max and Chloe stopped talking for a while, holding each other as they just breathed. After about 1 minute that felt like 10, Max spoke again, her voice barely a whisper.
“Thank you Chloe. I reached out, for you, and when I did, everything went back. I went back in time… I saved your life by changing the timeline, changing how history itself happened…”
“Wow Max, that’s crazy fucking hardcore…” Chloe ran a hand through her hair. ‘Holy shit. Max described it just like my dream.’
“Max… you don’t have to, but… what did Nathan say?”
“I don’t want to… please… whenever I think about it… I just hurt . My chest, my stomach… my heart… my head…” Max began blinking rapidly, a pressure building in her head. “Wha- whats… happening…” Chloe pulled Max away.
“Holy fuck, Max, your nose!” Chloe grabbed a tissue from her pocket and held it up on Max’s nose, trying to stop the rapid blood flow occurring.
“Chloe… please… don’t… go…” Max closed her eyes and went limp in Chloe’s arm, Chloe began shaking Max as she took her plaid shirt off, holding it up to Max’s nose, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Max! MAX!” Chloe shouted Max’s name as she begged her best friend to wake up…
“Chloe, what happened?” Joyce practically ran through her front door, face full of concern as Chloe rushed around, grabbing tissues and towels from around the house.
“I don’t know… she just began bleeding from her nose like crazy. It never used to happen when we were younger so I don’t know what’s causing it…” Joyce and Chloe took turns looking after Max as the other gathered towels and other supplies.
“Did you call an ambulance?”
“Yeah, just after I called you, they were about 13 minutes out.” A few minutes later, they heard sirens approaching. Joyce rushed to the door, opening it and holding it open with a pair of shoes. Chloe ran out, helping the paramedics and explaining the situation with Max. “She’s lost a lot of blood, she’s pale… please help her!” A paramedic put a hand on her shoulder and reassured that panicking wouldn’t help at all.
After a few minutes, Max had been put onto the stretcher and Joyce and Chloe were following the ambulance in Chloe’s truck, driving as safely as possible whilst keeping close behind it, Officer Berry following the truck so that they don’t get pulled over.
“I hope she’s going to be okay…”
“She will be, princess, don’t worry.”
“I can’t help it! She’s just come back! We… We just made up after falling out… I can’t lose her again…” Chloe began to cry a little before wiping her eyes and refocusing on the road.
“Chloe, getting stressed and worried won’t help you, or her. What you two need to do, when Max is feeling better, and you’re both ready, is speak, truthfully, like adults.” Chloe nodded, taking a deep, heavy breath as they all pulled into the hospital, the ambulance pulling up out front and Chloe and Officer Berry heading into the parking lot, both of them pulling up as close to the building as they could before all hopping out, locking the car and quickly running inside.
“Right this way, please.” The trio walked into the waiting room for the private patients rooms, Chloe taking a mental note to ask what kind of healthcare her parents are paying for, to make small talk. Chloe, Joyce and Berry all sat down on the chairs outside, not allowed to go in until they get a thumbs up from the doctors. Chloe ran a hand through her blue hair, letting out a heavy sigh, Joyce placing her hand on Chloe’s back, rubbing up and down.
“She’ll be fine Chloe, they can help her-”
“But I can’t Joyce! I want to help, I really really fucking want to help, but I can’t.” Chloe lashed out at her mother before burying her head into her hands, Joyce stayed silent, soothing Chloe as the blue-haired girl began to sob into her hands. Eventually, the doctors walked out, a nurse remaining by the door.
“She’ll be okay, you can sit in here now.” Chloe practically shot through the door, sitting next to Max as the younger girl slept, her breathing shallow and a blood bag connected to her.
“Oh, Max…” Chloe cupped Max’s cheek for a few seconds before sitting in the chair next to her. “Can I stay with her?”
“Of course.” The nurse nodded. Chloe sat next to Max, resting her hand on the girl’s shoulder. She leant in and whispered into Max’s ear.
“Max, please… come back to me…” The nurse cleared her throat, Chloe turning to pay attention as Joyce also looked up.
“She’s lost quite a bit of blood, but she’ll be okay. She’ll be here for a couple of days and shouldn’t do anything that requires exertion after she is released, else she might faint or worse. Other than that, she’ll be okay.” The nurse smiled slightly. “I’ll leave you two with her, her bell is on the right side of her bed in case anything happens.” The nurse stepped out of the room and Chloe let out a deep, shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“She’s okay… she’s going to be okay…” She let out another shaky breath, resting her head against Max’s, whispering. “Come back to me.” As Chloe spoke, a blue butterfly landed on the window ledge outside, wings glowing brighter before opening wide. Several minutes later, Max awoke, inhaling.
“Chloe!”
Chapter 10
Summary:
Trigger Warning: Violence and Verbal Abuse ahead.
Chapter Text
“Max!” Chloe and Max hugged before Max laid back down in the bed. “Dude, you look like shit.”
“I feel like shit.” The pair held each other's hands for a while, Max eventually sighing. “I… I never finished telling you, did I?”
“Max, don’t worry about it now, just chill out. You’re safe, you’re never leaving me.” Chloe squeezed Max’s hand before letting out a yawn.
“Chloe, Ms. Sleepyhead. You should go home and sleep.”
“Yes, Captain Max.” Chloe gave Max a mock salute and Max laughed, Chloe joining in as the pair rocked back and forth in their chairs. Eventually, Chloe stood up, brushing Max’s hair out of her face and resting her hand on Max’s shoulder. “I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight Chloe.” Max watched as Chloe winked at her before leaving. Joyce, having left to catch some sleep, popped her head in.
“I’ll also come and see you tomorrow!”
“Okay Joyce, goodnight!” Max smiled at the older woman before being left alone, sighing. ‘Oh Max, what have you gotten yourself into this time…’ Max rubbed her eyes with her hands. She pressed her bell and asked for some water before letting out a sigh, trying to remember what she dreamt of whilst she was out.
“Hey, sleepy bitch!” Max woke up with a shock as she was slapped across the face, bleary eyes staring up at Victoria as she stood over her. “Think you’re better than me? Because of your stupid camera? Because you can cheat in class to get all my fucking answers and pass them off as yours?” Victoria’s spittle hit Max’s face as the girl spoke, laughing before shoving Max, causing her to fall back into a chair. As she shook off the fall, Max took a second to look around the place she found herself in.
She was in Mr. Jefferson’s classroom, but the lights were off, illuminated by moonlight from outside, there was a deep rolling fog, rolling past the windows at high speed. As she looked at the roll-in TV, she let out a horrified gasp. It was playing what looked like CCTV footage, that wasn’t what had Max so panicked, it was the contents of the footage. It was the bathroom, on Friday, repeating Chloe and Nathan, arguing, before Nathan shoots Chloe, the footage looping over and over, tormenting her. Victoria wheeled the TV set closer.
“Look at that dyke, dumb bitch trying to stick my boyfriend up for money.”
“You… you’re not real!” Max yelled at Victoria before trying to stand up, finding herself unable to move. Victoria slapped Max again, the sting feeling very, very real.
“Shut up.” Victoria pushed the TV out of view to reveal a few shadowy figures standing behind it. They began to move closer before a shine began to pour in from the windows, the shadows disappeared, Victoria backing away from the door before it swung open.
Chloe stormed through the doorway, pushing Victoria away and helping Max up, carrying her out.
As they passed through the door, Max had found herself waking up in the hospital room.
“Max!” Chloe walked through the door to the hospital room, arms outstretched as she enveloped her best friend in a tight, warm embrace.
“Chloe!” Max returned the hug, the pair holding each other for several minutes before sitting down on the chairs in the room. “I’ve been given a day or two out from Blackwell-”
“Blackhell.”
“Blackhell.” Max let out a laugh, Chloe reciprocating as the pair laughed a bit more. “Anyway, I’ve been given a couple of days out of Blackhell, so we can hang around as soon as I’m let out of here. My bloods have returned to normal. Apparently it was a ‘freak event’.” Max let out a sigh, her voice dropping to a whisper as she told Chloe the events in her dream. Several minutes after Max had finished speaking, Chloe let out a heavy, deep breath.
“Holy shit Max… that’s heavy as fuck, dude…” Chloe wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulders and held her close, Max resting her head on Chloe’s chest.
“Thank you for being here for me, Chloe…” The pair sat there for several minutes before a nurse pushed the door open, walking in.
“Maxine, you’re free to go when you’re ready.” Max smiled at the pair as they both nodded, walking out together before Chloe stepped fully outside, sparking up a cigarette whilst Max was checking out with the doctors, getting one last check up before joining Chloe outside.
“So, where to, Pete?” Chloe dramatically opened the passenger door and Max hopped inside the truck, Chloe hopping into the driver's side of the bench. “I’m thinking we go on a little drive to the city, get you a new jumper and me a new flannel shirt. Mine was ruined after someone had to go and have a little nosebleed.”
“Dude…” Max let out a laugh-sigh, punching Chloe’s arm.
“I’m just fucking with you. Let’s go.”
“So, how’d you like your new clothes?”
“Max… how do you afford all of this?”
“I got some money for my birthday, and I can’t think of anything better to do with it than to spend it on you.” Max ruffled Chloe’s hair as the pair walked down towards the parking lot where Chloe had left her truck.
The pair had travelled to Portland, Max having gotten out of the hospital at 10:25am, grabbing some lunch before spending most of the afternoon buying clothes, Max getting some new camera gear, a spare polaroid and some new clothes, as well as something she refused to show Chloe. Chloe had picked up some fresh weed from a friend Frank knew in Portland, she’d also grabbed a couple of new flannels and a fresh zippo.
As they got to the truck, Max and Chloe had put all the bags into the cab, the pair being squished into the doors by the bags. Chloe cranked the radio and set off back to Arcadia Bay. A few minutes after they set off, Max let out a mighty yawn.
“Dude, you’re knackered, rest your head, I’ll wake you up when we get close to home.”
“Okay, thanks for today, Chloe.”
“Of course Max. I…” Chloe trailed off as Max closed her eyes, a smile gracing her lips as she fell asleep.
Unknown
“MAX!” Chloe was reaching out her hand, trying to grab the hand of her best friend.
“Chloe? What’s happening?” Max looked around, wet hair sticking to her face as a storm of rain and thunder circled around the pair.
“Max?” Chloe stepped forward, reaching out again, Max eventually relented, holding her hand out and moving towards Chloe. As they got closer, the storm picked up, getting stronger and stronger, hair and clothes whipping and blowing around in the heavy weather, Chloe’s straps blowing around in the wind.
“Chloe!” Max and Chloe eventually grabbed each other’s hands, squeezing and pulling each other into a big hug, the storm subsiding.
“Max… this won’t make sense… not yet… but you’ve gotta trust Kate, no matter what happens, listen to her… save her…” Max pulled away and looked up at Chloe, the older girl cupping her cheek with a glint in her eyes, resting her head against Max’s.
“Chloe… what… What do you mean? How… what…” Max rubbed her temples, grimacing as her head throbbed with pain. “Are you… how are you here… talking to me… like this?”
“It’s not easy to explain, all will be answered in time…” Max and Chloe both closed their eyes, holding each other for several minutes before eventually pulling away.
“Goodbye Max, see you… now!”
March, Week 3, 2013.
“Max?” Chloe shook her best friend, who jolted up.
“Chloe!” Max sat up, looking at Chloe for a few minutes before throwing her arms around her the best she could with all the bags, squeezing her tightly.
“Woah there bear, chill on the hugs.” Chloe rubbed Max’s back for several minutes, peeling Max’s arms off of her. “C’mon dude, I gotta drive us home.” Max relented, sitting back into the bench as the pair slowly drove through Arcadia Bay.
“Can you stop off at Blackhell quick? I wanna grab my laptop and a couple of other things.”
“Sure.” Chloe laughed and Max realised what she’d said.
“I mean, it’s true… Blackwell does suck without you there, Chloe.” The truck pulled into the parking lot, the pair walking through the grounds, reaching the dorms. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” Max smiled and walked inside. Chloe sat down on one of the benches, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, taking a long drag before hearing two voices approach.
“How can you hang out at those Vortex Club parties? They’re all such pigs, especially Victoria.”
“Oh, I know Viccy sucks. I’m friends with a couple of them, they’re pretty chill…” Chloe perked her ears up, listening to the conversation. “We should hang around, just us two and a couple of others… some drinks, drugs and good vibes.”
“We should invite that girl that hung around with Trevor.”
“Who? Rachel? No one’s seen her in ages…”
“Nah, the other one. Blue-haired, chill, fun to hang around with-”
“And sitting, right, here.” Chloe smiled as she stood up and walked over. “Name’s Chloe… heard you talking about Rachel.”
“Oh yeah, Rachel was really nice.” The blonde girl smiled, holding out her hand. “Juliet, Juliet Watson.” Chloe took it, shaking. The other girl also held out her hand.
“Dana Ward, pleasure to meet you.” She smiled. “We were planning on doing some non-Vortex parties at some point.”
“Dudes, I’m like the queen of parties. Want beers, weed, good fucking music? I’m your girl.”
“You look like a real thrasher, by the way!” Max shouted out of her window, Chloe flipping her the bird as Juliet and Dana laughed.
“Ignore her, she’s just trying to cramp on my style.” The pair of girls smiled again.
“Well, we best get going, it’s gonna rain soon and apparently you’ve got stuff to carry.” Dana pointed to Max who walked out with her bags, her laptop and a bunch of books in a carrier bag.
“Good to meet you, let me know when you wanna do the party, or if you just wanna hang.” Juliet and Dana both nodded, smiling one more time before walking inside, holding the door for Max who thanked the pair before hopping down the steps. “Dude, you bringing your whole room to my house.”
“Dude, you suck, it’s just my laptop and some books to try and figure out what the fuck my ‘thing’ is.” Chloe smiled, grabbing the bag of books, slipping Max’s laptop inside. The pair walked back to and hopped into the truck just as the rain began to pour, Max putting the bags between her legs as the pair drove back to Chloe’s house.
Chapter Text
“Max!” Joyce wrapped her arms around Max. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling pretty good now Joyce, just came over really ill but I promise I’m doing fine now.”
“I’m glad, you must be hungry after a day with Ms. Trouble.” Max laughed as Chloe frowned at her Mom, resting her elbow on Max’s shoulder.
“Not if you saw what she ate for lunch.” Now it was Chloe’s turn to let out a laugh and for Max to mock sulk.
“Dude, it wasn’t that much.” Joyce just looked incredulously at Max, the young girl handing Joyce a photo of the food that she ordered, Joyce laughing.
“To be fair to Max, that’s about as much as she ate when she was younger.” All three of them let out soft laughs. “So, no food, but bringing in your whole dorm room into my home now, Max?”
“That’s what Chloe said. It’s just some clothes, my laptop and some books for class. Anyway, the rest is Chloe’s shopping haul from Portland.” Max rubbed the back of neck, Joyce picking up the signal to not push too hard. Chloe excused herself and Max upstairs as they heard the garage door open, the pair walking upstairs with all their bags as Joyce and David could be heard speaking, Chloe closing the wormhole into their little retreat, the bedroom door clicking shut, Chloe putting a chair in front of it to stop the door from opening.
“Ah, home…” Max sat in Chloe’s desk chair, Chloe looking at her with a smirk.
“Ohhh, so it’s your room now, is it?” Chloe gave Max a playful shove before sitting down on the bed, unpacking her own clothes and putting them away in her closet, slipping one of the flannel shirts on before flopping down on her bed, closing her eyes and letting out a loud yawn. “Max, thank you for today.”
“Of course Chloe.” Max also let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes before sighing, opening her laptop and plugging in a USB stick, a folder full of movies opening. “What do you want to watch?”
“Oh dude, we should totally watch Blade Runner and try to not fall asleep, like usual.” The pair laughed, Chloe handing Max a cable to connect her laptop to the CRT TV in Chloe’s room. Max put the movie on and grabbed one of the books on theoretical physics, reading half of the first page before putting it down and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Chloe put a hand on Max’s shoulder. “Dude, chill, we can look into all the wacky time travel shit tomorrow, just enjoy Blade Runner with me.” Chloe tugged Max into her, resting Max’s head onto her chest, brushing brown hair out of her face as the pair watched the movie.
“Mmm.” Max woke up slowly. “Chloe?” Max looked around and found herself resting her head on Chloe’s chest, smiling as she remembered the events of the night prior.
“Max?” She heard her best friend's voice from immediately behind her, closing her eyes and sighing with content. “We fell asleep during Blade Runner again… I wonder if we will ever actually get through this fucking movie.” Max and Chloe both laughed, Max feeling the rumble of Chloe’s laugh through her chest and let out another soft sigh.
“Chloe?” Chloe brushed Max’s hair out of her face, the younger girl sitting up and hiding her face from Chloe in an attempt to hide the blush on it.
“Yes Max?”
“Thank you, so, so fucking much for the last few days. I appreciate you putting up with all of my shit whilst I sort myself out. I’ve just…” Max let out a shaky breath, Chloe rubbing Max’s back, holding her friend close.
“It’s okay Max, I’ve got you, and I’m never letting go again.”
Max’s voice was as quiet as a whisper. “Thank you Chloe, genuinely, I appreciate it so much. I feel so… just awesome again, like we used to when we were kids.”
“So do I, Max, So do I…” Chloe squeezed Max again, holding Max close, the pair sitting there for several minutes as the morning wind blew through the window, flapping the blinds. After several minutes, a metal clunk is heard before the rings of the blind mostly snap, all of them dropping to the floor.
“Fuck sake!” Chloe quickly stood up, taking care to not to hurt Max and to keep her on the bed, resulting in Chloe picking Max up before placing her down on the bed. Chloe began to clean up, picking the cloth up before grabbing some of the snapped rings.
“Think of it this way, it’s only the actual blind, we could get something like a flag to go there.” Max pondered as Chloe sat down, dejected.
“I suppose, I’m sorry, it interrupted the moment-”
“Chloe, you don’t need to apologise at all.”
Now it was Chloe’s turn to whisper. “Thank you, Max.”
“Of course Chloe. Of course.”
“You two going out today?” Joyce asked Max and Chloe as they walked down the stairs, the pair having waited for David to leave the house before they headed downstairs.
“Probably not, Maxo is really sleepy from yesterday. All that eating.” Chloe tapped Max’s stomach and the pair laughed, Max punching Chloe’s arm.
“Anyway, I’ve got a lot of studying to do. I’ve been told by Professor Price that I’ve got to keep up with my classwork.” Max poked Chloe in the arm and Chloe poked back, the pair getting into a mini poke off as Joyce rolled her eyes.
“You two never change.” The pair grabbed two bowls of cereal, sitting at the table together and eating, whispering, and giggling. After about ten minutes of eating, the pair had headed back upstairs, Max sitting on the end of the bed as Chloe sat at her desk, browsing twitter on her laptop whilst Max did some of her classwork. Chloe pulled a cigarette out of her pocket, standing up and walking out, Max letting her, nodding that she’ll be okay whilst Chloe has a cigarette. Max put her laptop down and let out a sigh, rubbing her eyes.
‘How the fuck do I tell her… about seeing her in my dreams, speaking like she was from the future…’ Max closed her eyes, pinching and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Remembering what Chloe had said.
“Max… this won’t make sense… not yet… but you’ve gotta trust Kate, no matter what happens, listen to her… save her…”
“It’s not easy to explain, all will be answered in time…”
‘Time. Time always seems to be involved in everything. Why? Fucking why?’ She let out another heavy sigh. ‘Why couldn’t she just fucking tell me. It would’ve made figuring this out so much easier.’ She began to search up about time travel and being able to dream things from the future, reading articles and reddit threads on precognition and how it’s apparently a ‘fairly common’ phenomenon and nothing to be worried about.
“Max?” Max looked up to see Chloe looking at her from the door. “Dude I’ve been calling your name a few times, you okay?” Max nodded and stood up, walking over to Chloe and wrapping her arms around her, squeezing slightly before pulling away.
“Yeah, I’m doing okay… just really tired, and hungry.” Chloe ruffled her hair, causing both of them to smile at each other.
“Want to go, grab some food? We could go to the Two Whales?”
“Can we get some takeout and go eat it at the treehouse? I don’t wanna turn it into a dump but at the same time I want to go somewhere nice and quiet.” Chloe nodded, pulling out her phone, opening DoorDash and, after giving Max a brief list of options for food, decided to just give Max the phone and let her choose what she wants and from where. After several minutes, Max hands Chloe the phone back and Chloe orders what she wants, putting the order in and sighing.
“It’s gonna take 25 minutes, so we have some more time to kill.” Chloe sat back at her desk, opening her laptop, putting on a YouTube video about time travel before opening WhatsApp on her phone, messaging Juliet and Dana, the pair having added her that morning after asking Max for her number the day before. “Me, Dana and Juliet are planning to meet up on Saturday for a few drinks, you down?”
“Uh, sure, unless anything else happens between now and then.” The pair sat in silence, doing some work, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on with Max, when Chloe heard a car pull up outside, Max sitting up. “That must be food.”
Chloe and Max both headed downstairs, opening the door and taking their food before putting their shoes on, grabbing some cutlery, tissues and a blanket, heading off to the treehouse, holding each other's hands tightly, fingers interlocked.
“This is nice… lovely weather, good company.” Max laughed as Chloe spoke, prompting a nudge from her companion. “Hey, I’m being hella serious here.”
Chloe and Max both entered the clearing, clambering up the treehouse slowly and carefully due to their delicate cargo. After a few trips, everything was up in the treehouse and Max and Chloe were both sat on the blanket, about to tuck into some good food, when Max looked at Chloe with a serious look on her face.
“Chloe, we need to talk.”
Chapter Text
Chloe sat across from Max, a concerned look on her face as her best friend spoke.
“What’s up, Max?” Max took a drink from her drink, Chloe doing the same.
“I uh… it’s gonna be a little hard to believe, but I saw you in my sleep, when we were in the car. Wait! Hear me out-” Max had to blurt out the last bit as a shit eating grin spread across Chloe’s face.
“But Max, I thought thou always dreamed about this beautiful face.” Chloe snorted out a laugh as Max’s face went bright red, blushing. “I jest, please, keep going.”
“Dude, you’re so seriously uncool. Anyway, I dreamt about you… from the future, you told me to ‘trust Kate’ and that ‘it won’t make sense yet’.”
“Dude, that’s freaky as fuck… you okay?”
“Yeah I’m fine…” Max rubbed her head as her nose trickled with a spot of blood. Chloe’s incredulous look gave the game away. “Okay, I’m not fine. But you don’t pretend to be fine either, because I know you have secret shit you aren’t telling me about.”
“Okay Max, if you’re going to give me shit about it, I’m gonna give you some back, it’s only fair. I’m not fine, and neither are you, ‘fine’ people don’t have nosebleeds or… or whatever you’re going through right now. If we want to work together to solve…” Chloe waved her hands dramatically at Max, “Whatever shit you’ve got going on with your powers. We’ve got to stop hiding shit from each other, be like fucking adults and be open and honest, otherwise this shit just isn’t gonna fucking work!” Chloe didn’t feel herself getting angry until she finished speaking and unclenched her fists, letting them rest in her lap, head dropping and a single tear falling from her eye.
“I understand… I’m so, so freaking sorry Chloe.” Chloe looked up to see Max, eyes worn down with the weight of something she could barely understand.
“It’s okay, Max… but I just uh… I need some time, alone.” Chloe stood up, gathering up the stuff from the takeout and climbing back down the tree. “I’ll take you back to your dorm.”
Max dropped her bags into her dorm room, letting out a heavy exhale. From the weird fucking dreams, shit happening between herself and Chloe, her school work to catch up on and her own health, she’s got a million fucking things on her plate and still is feeling a sickness in the pit of her stomach.
‘I wonder what the fuck is making me feel like this, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if I could sense bad events happening before they fucking happen.’ Max rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, setting her laptop up and putting her clothes away, unpacking the shopping she’d brought with Chloe, looking at the butterfly necklace she’d brought Chloe as a gift.
“Oh Chloe… Chloe, Chloe, Chloe.” Max put the box into her desk draw, tucking it into the back and letting out another sigh.
‘I’m so sick of sighing, of feeling sorry for myself, sorry for Chloe, sorry for everyone. I’m so sick of these powers, the headaches, the weird fucking dreams. It’s all so, so much.’ Max sat at her desk, opening her laptop and beginning to do some of her classwork instead.
She looks out her window at the rising moon and taking her camera out, she took a picture of the rising moon, the blotchy purples that precede it. She snapped a picture, shaking it before hearing a knock at her door, placing her camera and the photo down on the desk before opening the door.
“Hey, Max…” Kate stood in the door, her eyes red rimmed with deep black bags.
“Hey Kate, you okay?” Max guided her into the room, sitting Kate down on the bed, grabbing Kate a drink when she began to cough harshly, Kate sipping the water lightly before putting it back into Max’s hands.
“I’m alright, I guess. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go on a tea date tomorrow?”
“I uh… I’m down, I’ve got quite a bit of work to do though-”
“It’s okay Max, focus on your work.” Kate stood up, moving towards the door, Max reaching out to grab her arm but Kate shrugging her off. “It’s alright Max, trust me.” Kate shut the door softly, Max thought she could hear Kate sobbing quietly but Kate closed her own door before Max could tell. Max rose from her bed, raggedly running her hand through her hair, another sigh passing through her lips.
Chloe watched as her best friend walked up the steps, carrying her stuff in bags as she disappeared around a corner. Chloe let out a heavy sigh, resting her head in her hands, crying softly for a little while. Eventually, she started her truck back up before driving out of the parking lot, driving to the junkyard, a look of determination and annoyance on her face. She wasn’t pissed at Max, not fully, she was pissed at herself too. She let herself get too caught up in Max, her being back… it took up all of her time she never really thought of herself too much.
‘Five years of nothing then… then pretty much everyday, living, breathing… the pirates of Arcadia Bay…’ Chloe let out a sigh, pulling up at American Rust, walking into the little brick shack at the back, having grabbed her last beer from her truck, cracking it open and sitting in the chair there. She looked around at some of the stuff in the room before her eyes fell upon a letter, several parts of it scrubbed out.
C.
You can tell how much I want you to read this letter since I've been dragging my ass to give it to you. Maybe I just want you to find it when I'm not around so we never have to talk about it. And I don't want you to hate me. Where to start?
I met somebody recently who's so different from the lame Vortex Club snobs. I know you'll have a meltdown when I tell you and think he's gross, but I swear he's wise and unconventional. Kind of scary, not in a "bad boy" way. He's just experienced some serious shit. Yes, I'm kinda obssessed. I won't blame you for ------- freaking.
Maybe I know you're right and this just --- has to be my secret ---------- .
I hate not sharing this with you except I know you'd give me that stink eye and grill me for every stupid detail. If I even told you that night we hooked up ------- near campus ------- just --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chloe sighed, throwing the roughly drafted letter, black bars in between many of the words. 'Rachel clearly wasn't finished writing this letter before she...' Chloe let out a shaky sigh.
‘Maybe that’s where she fucking ran to, off with her fucking boytoy or some shit.’ She gulped down the rest of her beer, throwing the bottle and watching as it shattered into tiny shards of glass. She looked around at all the art on the walls, the makeup strewn around and unshattered bottles of beer that she’d enjoyed with Rach on more than one occasion. ‘No, she’d have told me, I know her too well. She’s gotta be alive somewhere… She has to be.’
She sighed, closing her eyes, a five minute nap couldn’t hurt, right? Right.
Unknown
“Max!” Chloe looked around, a familiar voice calling the name of her best friend. Everything spun, her head, her body, her stomach, her entire world spun as she floated in nothingness, an ocean of dark surrounding her.
‘Hello?’ She tried to shout, nothing coming out as she floated there, the spinning continuing as she floated through the abyss, Chloe had a sense that something in that abyss might’ve been staring back.
“Max!” Chloe saw two shadows in the distance, one holding her hand out to the other, she tried to swim closer, but she was so heavy… was she dreaming?
‘No, this is far too real to be a dream…’ Chloe felt the world get darker around her, reaching forward and trying to grab at the two shadows ahead of her.
Before everything went dark, she heard what could only be the other shadow call out a single word before blackness enveloped her.
“Rachel!”
Chapter 13
Summary:
Trigger Warning: Drugging, Non-Consensual Photography, Kidnapping and Dark Themes ahead.
Chapter Text
“Now, Victoria, seeing as you’ve been off the ball with answering my questions recently, tell me, who is the photographer who pioneered modern photojournalism with her images of Marilyn Monroe?”
“I believe it was Eve Arnold, Mr Jefferson.” Victoria spoke with unbridled confidence, smiling at the fact Max didn’t jump in with the answer immediately, the girl lost in her journal of all things.
‘Imagine keeping a fucking journal and trying to take good photos with a polaroid like that.’ Victoria snorted a little as her phone buzzed, 3 messages from Nathan. She finally relented, checking the contents.
Nathan: We down for that Vortex Club meet later this week?
Victoria: Of course. We gonna try to get that bitch to show up?
Nathan: Which one? The dyke or her new girlfriend, what was her name? Maxwell?
Victoria: Max, or Maxine if you want to piss her off.
Nathan: Fucking bitch tried to get me expelled, by the way.
Victoria: You should teach her a lesson after class.
Nathan: I might, she there now?
Victoria: Yeah, she’s reading through her journal like it’s a fucking bible.
Victoria was about to type a response when she heard a fist hit the desk, her head shooting up as Mr. Jefferson looked directly at her.
“Victoria-” Suddenly, the bell sounded, she glanced at the time.
‘Perfect, time to go.’
“Victoria, remain seated. Everyone else, you’re free to go.” He smiled at the rest of the class, turning to Victoria with a seriousness in his eyes. Eventually it was just her and Jefferson in the room.
“What is the matter, Mr. Jefferson?” She put on her silkiest voice as she spoke to Mr. Jefferson. She was trying to butter him up, he was her idol and she wanted him, more than she’d probably like to admit.
“We need to talk, walk with me whilst I get some things out of my car.” He grabbed his keys from his pocket, holding the door for Victoria. After she stepped through and he followed, he locked the door, guiding her to his car.
“Victoria, your performance in class has been dropping, especially at answering my questions. I’m disappointed, what happened?” She was touched that he cared about her grades so much.
“I uh, I guess I’ve been feeling a little under the weather recently. My parents recently divorced-”
“I heard, I’m sorry.” Jefferson’s words comforted her, and she took a deep breath before continuing.
“Yeah, it hit me harder than expected, I guess. I’ll try to be better-”
“Actually, I’ve had an idea on how we can improve your skills, both in photography and in class.” Victoria’s ears perked up as he spoke.
“Really?” The pair now arrived at the parking lot, Mark Jefferson getting something out of the boot of his car whilst Victoria leant against the car, talking around the corner to him. “What did you have in mind?” She felt a little weird standing in the corner of the car park, only her and Jefferson, but at the same time it was exhilarating, being this close to him, nothing stopping her from really trying to get to him.
“I’ve got a few ideas…” He stepped around the corner, having slipped something into his jacket pocket before stepping into her personal space, placing a hand on the roof of the car and leaning into her personal space. “Is this what you want, Viccy?” Victoria stepped back into the car, a little shocked at the sudden advance before leaning into it, biting her lip.
“Oh, you don’t know how much I’ve wanted this.”
“Well Victoria, we’re alone now.” Mr. Jefferson leant in, pressing his lips next to Victoria’s ear. “And now we’re all alone, you can call me Mark.” Victoria smiled as Jefferson kissed her neck softly, no aggression, not like Nathan. She took a sharp inhale as he pressed his lips around her chin, closing her eyes as he kissed her lips softly, teasingly before she felt a prick in her neck, she opened her eyes as her whole world went blurry and spun, she began to fall but felt Mark catch her.
“What… happening…” She murmured before her whole world went black.
Mark Jefferson was driving down a quiet country road, Victoria taped at her wrists and ankles in the back of his car, covered by a sheet, she was just simply ‘sleeping’ as he told a few people who had questions, and that he was ‘taking her back to her home.’
Eventually, Mark drove up the dirt track towards the Prescott barn, he pulled into the barn itself and opened the trap door to the Dark Room, grabbing Victoria out of the car and carried her down into the bunker, placing her into the corner prepared for photography before closing it behind himself, taking his jacket off and placing a pair of latex gloves on, smoothing his shirt and pants before searching for her mobile phone, quickly checking for a few texts, eyes freezing on the first text.
Nathan: Got the dyke, stupid bitch almost begged me for money. Blue-haired whore is in my back seat right now. Maxine is gonna be pissed tho.
Jefferson nearly shook with rage, this wasn’t supposed to happen, not yet. He was supposed to deal with Ms. Price. He quickly pulled out his own phone, dialing Nathan’s number.
“Hey-”
“Let her go, now.”
“Who?”
“I saw the text you sent to Victoria. Let her go.”
“Why do you have Viccy’s texts? Did you-?”
“No, I didn’t.” Jefferson took a little pause, before continuing. “I saw it in class. What did you fucking do?”
“Aight fine, I’ll put the fucking dyke back, jesus.” The sound of rustling could be heard down the phone before Nathan’s voice came back through. “She’s a little doped up but she’ll be fine, I dumped her in the junkyard.”
“Good, now get your ass home, your Dad wants to talk to you.” Jefferson clicked the end call button on his phone before opening Victoria’s phone again, another text from Nathan.
Nathan: Hey Vic, Jefferson has been reading your txts, he prolly gonna read this one.
Jefferson quickly skimmed through Victoria’s responses before typing one of his own out:
Victoria: I guessed, nothing bad tho. He knows i hate max so.
Nathan: so?
Jefferson ran a hand through his hair, this was being more difficult than expected.
Victoria: so what? i idolise him, he told me that he doesn’t like her much either.
Nathan: haha, fuck her, it’d destroy her if she found out her idol didn’t like her.
Victoria: yeah, i guess. Look im super busy with shit, i gtg, i’ll be back at the dorms ltr
Jefferson then scrolled down to Max’s text, his eyes narrowing.
Max: Victoria, I know you don’t like me, but I don’t want any shit with you, I’m sorry you’re not doing as well in class, if you want any help, just let me know.
Ah Max, always the hero, he quickly dotted a reply back.
Victoria: fuck off, i don’t give a shit about u or that dyke-
Jefferson pondered, before removing all the text, leaving Max on read. Very Victoria behaviour.
“Uh…” Jefferson looked up at Victoria as she spoke, her eyes glassy and unfocused, perfect for his special photography.
“Viccy, can you hear me?” He walked closer, lifting her head up by her chin with his finger, she nodded slightly.
“Poor thing, head must feel like lead.” He smirked to himself, moving behind the camera, checking the viewfinder before snapping some pictures.
Victoria was looking up at the camera, more specifically Jefferson with a glassy appreciation of what was happening, and Jefferson was a little worried she might be conscious.
“Victoria?” She barely even acknowledged him this time, just staring at the camera. “Ah, like an innocent deer in flashing headlights before it’s turned into a corrupted little meal.” He hummed after he spoke, humming a light melody as he messed with his camera, snapping more pictures. After a few minutes, Jefferson gave her another hit of drugs, causing her to fall back to sleep.
“Sleep tight, Victoria, see you soon.” He kissed her softly on the head, taking the SD card out of the camera and placing it into the computer. He summoned one of his regulars to take Victoria back to her dorms, the person carrying her into the dorm and placing her into her bed.
Chapter Text
Unknown
“Kate in the Dark Room.”
“Juliet in the Dark Room.”
“Victoria in the Dark Room.”
“Dana in the Dark Room.”
Max looked around in fear, disembodied voices chanting a harrowing mantra at her, her blood boiling and freezing at the same as they spoke, her blood nearly freezing as she heard the last three.
“Rachel in the Dark Room.”
“Max in the Dark Room.”
“Chloe in the-”
March, Week 3, 2014.
“NO!” Max sat up, her hand outstretched, time frozen. She slowly let her hand fall back onto her bed and she let out a sigh as time resumed at regular speed, she sank her head into her hands, those sentences repeating in her head, the unheard final one filling itself in as if she heard it all.
She knew what a dark room was, used by photographers to assist in the development of photographs as well as photography in general, she’d used one several times in Seattle, at the Chase Gallery of all places. But the voices spoke of the dark room, whatever that was. She pulled out her phone and let out a concerned sigh when neither Chloe nor Victoria had answered her. She had texted Chloe a few hours before she went to bed, asking her friend if they were still going to the party on the weekend, only to get no response at all from her.
‘I got to check on Chloe.’ The lack of a response from Victoria, however, was unsurprising. She elected to knock on Victoria’s door before she went to sleep but found her missing. ‘I guess I should maybe check on Victoria too.’ Max ran a hand through her hair before walking out into the hall, knocking softly on Victoria’s door.
“Uh? Who is it?”
“It’s Max, I’m worried about you, can I come in?”
“No… ugh fine.” Max felt the door unlock under her hand and opened the door, stepping in and closing the door behind her. “What do you want Max?”
“I uh- I sent you a text yesterday, and was expecting the usual ‘fuck off’, but I didn’t get anything and was worried.”
“Oh yeah I was uh…” Victoria rubbed her temples, her head hurt so fucking much, it felt like someone turned her entire brain into lead. “I was out with friends.”
“Oh, okay, sorry to bother you. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah Max, I’m fine.” Victoria looked at Max. “T- Thanks, don’t expect this to be a regular thing but I do appreciate you checking up on me…” Max smiled slightly at Victoria before heading back to her dorm.
After she showered, brushed her teeth and got dressed, it was time for class. She walked through the halls of Blackwell without her headphones on when she heard a familiar name call out to her.
“Max? We need to talk.”
“Mr Madsen, what did I say last time-” David’s face was one Max hadn’t seen before, concerned.
“It’s about Chloe. She was found drunk and passed out in the junkyard last night…” He paused for a few minutes, before whispering. “She’s at home, but she needs you.”
“I’ll be there after class, promise.”
After class finished, Max hopped onto the bus, the bus taking her to near Chloe’s house, she practically threw herself off of the bus, sprinting down the suburban streets to Chloe’s house. She clambered up to Chloe’s window as quickly and cautiously as she could, hopping in through it to find Chloe sat at her desk.
“Dude, you could’ve used the door.”
“Nah, better this way. Trust me. Why didn’t you answer my texts last night Chloe! I was worried sick.”
“You- you texted me?” Max watched Chloe and could tell she was operating at half-speed.
‘Just like Victoria.’ Max watched Chloe slowly trudge through reading Max’s texts.
“Dude, I’m sorry… I uh… yeah I’m down, just gotta wake up first I guess, feeling really tired today.”
“Dude, aren’t you like, mega hungover, apparently you were found drunk as fuck.”
“I barely drank last night? I had like, one beer…” Chloe vaguely remembered being at American Rust, drinking her beer before waking up several hours later in one of the cars, head and body hurting like a motherfucker.
“Chloe, you look dead. Are you sure?” Max looked up at Chloe with concern. “Please, talk to me.”
“Yes Max! I’m fine!” Chloe threw her hands up, frustration building as she spoke to Max. “I can look after myself.” Honestly, Chloe felt like shit, but she didn't want Max to worry about her when she had all of her Blackhell bullshit to worry about.
“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t want to start anything.” Max looked down, turning towards the door.
“Max…” Max looked up at the big, sad eyes of Chloe, and her heart broke into a million tiny pieces. She threw herself at her best friend, hugging her tightly, the pair lying in each other's arms.
“This is nice, Chloe…” Max whispered. “Chloe, I…”
“I know, Max…” Chloe whispered back. “I know.”
Kate operated in a fog, like a machine, she walked into her dorm room, ignoring her slate full of hateful remarks, she sank down onto her bed, sobbing her eyes out before dropping to her knees, praying for a small time before breaking down into tears.
A couple of doors over, Victoria was sitting at her desk, brain still quite foggy as she worked on some assignments. ‘I have to be better, for Mark, for his approval…’ She laboured away on the assignment he had set today, blissfully unaware of what he’d done to her only 24 hours prior as she worked, her head falling lower and lower until she was asleep on the desk.
Dana and Juliet both sat in their room together, hookah set up on some boxes in the middle of the room, the pair slowly filling the room with smoke as they puffed, the window cracked open a little as the cold spring air wafted into the room, Dana grabbed her phone, checking it before turning to Juliet.
“Haven’t heard from Chloe? We’re supposed to meet tomorrow for the party planning but she’s been MIA all day.”
“Not sure, saw her online earlier.” The two girls sighed, both shooting Chloe texts before returning their attention back to their hookah.
Nathan and Jefferson sat in Sean’s office, the trio sat in informal wear, especially Nathan, who was in his everyday wear whilst his father and Mark were both wearing slacks, smart shoes and a smart shirt.
“Nathan, how is your therapy going?” Sean spoke, authority in his tone as he looked at his son across the table.
“It’s going ok I guess, I’m making a little progress.” Nathan looked down to his fidgeting hands, his face turning pale as he uncomfortably squirmed in his chair.
“And how’s it going with Mr. Jefferson?” Nathan went to answer but his dad put his hand up, turning to Mark.
“Good, we’re making progress together. He’ll be a master of my art in no time.” Jefferson’s smile, usually warm and inviting, had a strange coldness to it now.
'His smile usually signalling that the person was safe.' Nathan pondered. ‘No one is safe with Mark Jefferson.’
‘Not even me.’
Chapter Text
“Max! Chloe!” Juliet and Dana both welcomed the girls to a little private room in one of Arcadia Bay’s many clubs that popped up since the new millennium. Max and Chloe both found seats to sit in, Chloe fishing through her pockets and pulling out some weed in a pouch, her grinder and pipe, as well as some papers for rolling joints with.
“We should get a group photo before we all get wasted.” Juliet spoke, a bottle of beer in one hand, papers in the other. “Max, would you do the honours?” Max nodded, smiling as she pulled her camera out, snapping pictures of the partygoers, Chloe snapping one of her before Max and the group took one big selfie. Max set her camera down in her bag, putting the photos and taking a mental note to make some copies at some point for the others. After a few minutes of people mingling, Chloe walked over, pipe in left hand and a glass of lager in the other.
“Hey Max?” Chloe sat down next to Max, smiling as she put her glass down, leaning in to talk to Max. “Wanna try some weed?”
“Uh, sure.” She smiled, a little nervous.
“Only if you're really sure, we can have you on baby tokes if you want?” Juliet’s voice cut through the music playing on the speakers - Got Well Soon by Brenton.
“I’m sure, and yeah baby whatevers sounds good.” Max fumbled slightly but managed to recover her speech, taking a little puff of Chloe’s pipe and exhaling it as rings.
“Look, she’s already a natural.” The whole room laughed as Max began to completely space out, the weed hitting her less like a freight train, more like a light gust of wind before building into a rainstorm.
“Holy… shitballs.” Max blurted, her voice a million miles away and yet right in the room with the rest of them. Chloe laughed and wrapped an arm around Max.
“Don’t worry Maxo, I’ll look after you. Concierge Chloe isn’t going anywhere soon.” Max laughed, her laugh spacy and distant, yet genuine, loving and heartfelt at the same time.
‘Yeah, Chloe, Max is gonna be just fine.’
March, Week 4, 2014.
Max dreaded getting up Monday morning, her head still hurt from that party, herself not being able to remember what happened on Saturday night, and Chloe, Juliet and Dana not being that reliable of narrators as all three of them got wasted and ended up sleeping there overnight, much to the owners chagrin. The 4 of them return to Blackwell and hang around in Max’s dorm all day, listening to music, Max playing the guitar and eating takeout when they get hungry enough for dinner.
That’s how Max felt an arm over her side, her body being crushed under the weight of a leg, torso and head as Chloe slept on her best friend, holding Max close.
“Mmm, Chloe?” Max murmured, Chloe stirring.
“Maxxx… do I have to get up?” Max laughed.
“No, just get off of me.” Max and Chloe both laughed as Chloe finally got off of Max and allowed her to go to the bathroom, popping back in a few minutes later.
“Uh, am I good to stay here for today? I don’t really wanna try and drive home.”
“Of course you can crash here Chloe.” Max ruffled Chloe’s hair, the blue-haired girl smacking Max’s hand off of her head. Max grabbed her bathroom kit and went into the room, grabbing out her tooth brush and paste, brushing her teeth. After she finished, she spat the excess paste out and just stood there.
“My gut is telling me this week is a bad omen… but… I don’t know why. Nothing seems off.” Max let out a shaky sigh, turning and walking out. Unaware of Kate in the end cubicle, shower on to mask the sounds of her sobs as tears poured from her eyes, mixing from the water of the shower as the girl was bundled in the corner.
Max put her bathroom kit back into her bedroom, grabbing her phone and class supplies, watching as Chloe slept in her bed, head buried into Max’s pillow. Max let a smile grace her face as she watched her best friend sleep soundly. Max didn’t know how to explain it, but she felt something different between herself and Chloe, something more… she wasn’t sure what yet, just… well… more. Max checked her phone timer before sighing, standing up and walking out, kissing Chloe on the head as she left.
Max walked out of the main block after class, having had to stop by Ms. Grant’s classroom and hand in some work. She spotted Kate sitting by the fountain on her own, and opted to go and sit next to her.
“Hey, Kate.” Max spoke softly, the girl barely acknowledging her, head tilting slightly and eyes glancing up. Speaking as soft as a whisper, Kate responded.
“Hey, Max. You okay?”
‘Kate tried to change the subject immediately to me…’ Max let out a soft, shaky breath. “I could ask you the same thing…” Kate looked up more at Max, a smile gracing her red rimmed eyes.
“Yeah, I’m always ok when you’re around.” Max and Kate smiled at each other.
“Fancy a tea date Kate? We can put the world to rights.” Kate stood, smiling.
“Yes please, I’d love that.” Kate spoke with a broken voice, Max suspecting it’s from all the crying, but she isn’t sure. She quickly shot Chloe a text that she was heading out and to go home without her before hopping on the bus with Kate.
Unknown
“Chloe!” The girl looked up, a mirror opposite her, her hair was… different, younger, the strawberry blond with streak of blue reminding her of 2010… she looked a little closer, the mirror losing its fog to reveal her old jacket, dragon shirt and blue jeans.
‘Holy shit! I loved that fit. I wonder where it is in my closet, if it’s still in my closet…’ She took a step back, the beanie sat on the edge of the sink in front of her, she grabbed it and slipped it on, her hair falling into her face as she slipped the beanie on. She sighs and, as she brushes her hair out of her face, the person in the mirror has changed.
“Rachel?” The mirror had the blond girl reflected in it, her blue, distressed flannel, red tank top and black jeans staring Chloe back in the mirror.
“Chloe.” Now Max was behind her, she turned around, her best friend being flanked by a bunch of people from Blackwell filtering in, surrounding her. Chloe backed into the corner, Rachel and Max at the front of the swarm, overpressuring her, she closed her eyes, screaming.
When she opened them, she was sitting on the beach, near the lighthouse, Rachel laying next to her.
“When’s Max getting back?” Chloe tried to answer, but her voice was on autopilot, the words just spilling out as if she was watching herself through a TV.
“See for yourself.” She saw herself point at an approaching figure, Max.
‘Holy shit.’ Max was wearing a red plaid shirt and black tank top that said ‘Jane Doe’ on it, with black skinny jeans and some tall punk boots. ‘Certified. Thrasher.’
Max opened her bag, handing Chloe and Rachel a bottle of beer each before pulling out a bottle of water for herself, sitting in between the pair.
“We should get a picture.” Rachel spoke, her voice full of joy, something that the observing Chloe hadn’t heard in ages. Max stood up, grabbing the cooler and placing it a few feet away, putting her camera on top, setting a timer and sitting back in her spot.
“Say ‘Besties’!”
“Besties!” All three girls shouted in unison. As the camera flashed, everything went black.
March, Week 4, 2014.
Max stumbled into her room, tired after a long day of classwork and all the other shit on her mind. She sat on her bed and a few minutes later, the door swung open and Chloe stepped in, her face covered with a concerned look Max hadn’t seen in years, if ever.
“Max.” Chloe immediately spoke and Max knew it was best to let Chloe speak before answering. “Do you ever dream about alternate realities? Because I had a crazy ass fucking dream earlier.” Chloe then proceeded to tell Max about her dream, Max drinking it all in and nodding along with what Chloe was saying. After Chloe had finished speaking, Max let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and looked at Chloe.
“Holy shit Chloe, that’s… wowser.” Max ran a hand through her hair, her brow furrowing.
“It’s really fucked up. It’s gotta be some alternate reality bullshit, it’s not just a coincidence that I have these dreams now, unprompted, right?”
“Right.” Max nodded, Chloe wasn’t exactly wrong here, she’d been having really fucked dreams, like the ‘changing reality’ kind of fucked up since she got her powers, and maybe her proximity to Chloe caused some kind of transfusion or bleeding effect or… something? Max rubbed her temples, her head burned like a bonfire and her stomach felt empty even though she’d eaten.
“I have something I need to tell you. I feel as if something really bad is about to happen.”
Chapter 16
Notes:
Trigger Warning: Suicide Attempt.
Chapter Text
Chloe contemplated Max’s words, sitting in silence for a little while before speaking up. “Well, if that's the case, SuperMax, why don’t we do a bit of investigating, tonight perhaps?” Max nodded at Chloe’s words, both girls pondering for a few minutes before Chloe spoke up again. “Where to start?” Max smiled at Chloe, even if she was cracking jokes, she was still taking her seriously.
“We could try your garage, your step-dick might have stuff in there.”
“Not tonight, he’s gonna be in there hammering away at his car, we need to get a time when he’s stuck at Blackwell.” Max’s eyes lit up.
“We could still do some investigating of my powers. Things like me proving to you they’re real, for example, and figuring out what they can do.”
“Wait, yeah, you never actually proved to me that your power is real. I swear if this is a prank-” Max laughed, putting a hand on Chloe’s shoulder.
“Dude, chill, it’s real. I’ll prove it to you.” Max flicked on the radio, DJ Dontnod’s voice popping through the static.
“Good afternoon, Arcadia Bay. Weather is fine, with temperature sitting at a fresh and round 60 degrees, no rain on the horizon and the spring haze taking hold. Be sure to keep your radios tuned for some rock tunes tonight!” Max took a deep breath, Chloe looking at her apprehensively.
“Is something supposed to-” Max held up her hand and everything ran in reverse, as she was doing so, something tugged at her mind's eye, her vision eventually pulsing red and causing her to stop.
“Alright, DJ Dontnod is going to say ‘Good afternoon, Arcadia Bay.’ and then say that the temperature is sitting at 60 degrees with no rain, a spring haze taking hold, before announcing some rock tunes for tonight.” Max spoke with confidence in her voice and Chloe looked at her incredulously, playing devil’s advocate, with a shit eating grin on her face.
“Sure dude, let's hear it, then.” Max flicked the radio on and DJ Dontnod said exactly what Max had predicted, Chloe’s mouth falling agape, it being Max’s turn to grin.
“Alright, something else. Here, I’m gonna think of three words, and-”
“Woah Chloe, I can’t read minds.”
“Hold on, I’m gonna remember these three words, then tell you, if you tell me them back… wait, I won’t know… huh? I’m confused.” Max smiled and grabbed at Chloe’s phone.
“I’m going to do your recently messaged people instead.”
“Okay.”
Max read the list, nodding.
“ Max, Joyce, Frank, Juliet and Dana, Step-Douche, Nathan, Victoria, Rachel .” Max nodded again, before giving Chloe back her phone, rewinding time. This time, she felt her head really pulse, a spike of pain driving itself right through her eyes, ears and brain. She swears she hears the word “ Kate ” but she really isn’t sure.
“Okay Max, gimme my recently messaged.”
“Okay, it’s Me, Joyce, Frank, Juliet and Dana, Step-Douche, Nathan, Victoria and…” Max held her tongue, looking down slightly as Chloe cleared her throat.
“Alright, that’s enough, I believe you now. I had some time to think of a plan to get David out of the garage. What if, okay, we break into some parts of the school, make him have to work a little later, then you bunk at my place, should please the time gods and give you ample time to search his evil lair.” Max nodded slowly, her head nodding less at the end of the plan.
“Chloe, news flash, I still go here.”
“Hey, I plan on going here-” Max looked at Chloe who put her hand over her mouth. “Uh- I mean, I plan on staying here and-” Max hugged Chloe, squeezing her.
“It’s okay, are you coming back to school-”
“Yes, I’m coming back to Blackhell, for you. God Max, these last few days… it’s all you.” Max pulled back, eyes resting on Chloe’s as the blue-haired punk took Max’s hands in her own, squeezing.
“Thank you, that means a lot.”
“But only if you help me break in tonight.”
“Deal.”
Chloe kicked the door in frustration.
“Why won’t this shit open? Fucking Wells and his door.” Max and Chloe had been trying to break into Well’s office without luck. She’d asked Warren for a science way but there weren't the right chemicals in the lab and she really didn’t feel like doing a midnight exploration of the chemical cupboard. She eventually just picked up the fire axe in the hall and walked back into the room.
“Just use this, Chloe.” Max stood back as Chloe slammed the axe into the middle of the door, it splintering into several pieces before Max walked inside, rewinding time before unlocking the door and sitting in Well’s chair and rewinding to just after she unlocked the door, Chloe bursting in to see Max sat on Well’s chair.
“Welcome to my evil lair, Special Agent Price.” Max mocked petting a cat in her lap before laughing, standing up and helping Chloe search through all the student files, taking pictures of a bunch of them before walking out, locking the door behind them. “Alright, I think we need something more, though.” Max spoke with a hint of mischief in her voice, and Chloe grinned.
“I heard the pool is open for the Otters practice tomorrow. What if someone were to say… enter the building early and do some swimming practice, maybe a bit of light tampering with the pool heater.”
“Chloe, you genius.” Max kissed Chloe on the cheek and the pair ran out, Chloe blushing as they moved to the pool building. They made their way through the building, grabbing towels from the girls locker room before stripping down, Max to her boy shorts and bra and Chloe down to her underwear. Max sat on the edge of the pool, dipping her toes in to assess the warmth before watching Chloe cannonball into the deep end of the pool, swimming up to where Max was sitting.
“C’mon, scaredy cat!” Chloe teased Max by splashing water at her, kicking her legs playfully at Max and showering the girl in water.
“That’s it Captain Price, get swimming, because I'm coming to get ya! Arr!” Max did a pirate impression before sliding into the pool, swimming with some confidence after Chloe, having done swimming lessons in Seattle, her parents petrified that, if for some god forsaken reason, she’d ever end up in a river, she could get out. Now they were coming useful for another reason as she chased Chloe, the girl swimming with the same tenacity but a little slower than the more nimble Max. Max took a deep breath in and dove under the water, watching from below as Chloe turned around, looking for her.
Chloe spun around a few times before a hand wrapped around her ankle, dragging her under the water. She took one deep gasp before being dragged under, starting to tickle Max in the water, causing them both to surface as they tickled each other before splashing water at each other in an attempt to keep range. After a few minutes of that, the pair laid back, relaxing. Max opened her mouth to speak before hearing a metallic clang at the other end of the pool, David running in.
“You two! Stop!” Max immediately swam to the edge of the pool, clambering out before reaching out her hand, rewinding time until she couldn’t anymore, her nose dripping with blood onto the tiled floor. Max held her hand up to her nose and gave it a wipe, chlorine mixing with blood as she wiped her hand off on one of the towels.
“Chloe, David’s coming, we’ve got to go!” Max whispered before drying and dressing as quickly as she could, Chloe doing the same. The pair ran through the front of the block just as David busted in the back, looking around at the lit pool before shaking his head.
“Damn kids.” He did one more sweep before hearing screeching in the parking lot, sprinting as quickly as he could to see the silhouette of a truck speeding out of the parking lot.
Kate stood near the lighthouse, she found this a place of solace, of peace and calm, and tonight was no different. She stood in front of the bench, looking out over Arcadia Bay, she watched as a pair of headlights sped down a highway towards Arcadia Bay.
‘I wonder if they’re someone important to me…’ Kate rubbed her watery eyes, she was done crying. Her nightmare was going to be over, and she was going to wake up. She needed to wake up. No matter what.
“Oh heavenly Father, please forgive me for what I do. I do it because I have no other option, no choice...” She whispered in prayer, taking her cross necklace off and placing it on the bench with a bible, her phone and a blue feather, covering them all with her coat.
Kate stepped towards the edge of the cliff, the waves crashing into the rocks below. She took a few deep breaths, she closed her eyes, turned, held her arms out to her side.
And she leant back, falling off of the edge.
Chapter Text
Max and Chloe both awoke, Max’s first peaceful wakeup in a little while, she rolled over and saw Chloe’s face inches away from hers, smirk gracing her lips.
“Good morning…” Max laughed at Chloe’s expression, sitting up before scrunching up her nose.
“Oh gross, our clothes still stink of chlorine.”
“Oh, yeah I suppose they would…” Chloe was audibly distracted and Max turned to see Chloe staring at her, a twinkle in her eye.
“Chloe…” Max whispered out, searching in Chloe’s eyes for something she’s been feeling since they reunited.
“Max…” Chloe returned the look, searching for answers in Max’s eyes, before just closing hers, waiting. After a few moments of pause, she felt the brown-haired girl’s lips press against hers, a hand cupping Chloe’s cheek as she turned her head, Max going the opposite direction and kissing her deeper.
Chloe smirked into the kiss a little and put one of her hands on Max’s cheek, the other behind her head, holding her close into the kiss. After what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes, the pair pulled apart, gasping for air.
“Holy shit Max… that was… wow.” Chloe took a deep breath, a smile of bliss crossing her face as she watched Max process what happened.
“W- Wowser…” Max whispered, her voice a little hoarse, taking a sip from a bottle of water before turning back to Chloe. “I… Oh gods, Chloe… I love you… so fucking much.” Max watched Chloe’s face as she glanced away.
“Max… I…” Chloe rubbed her eyes. “Uh… that was… that was a mistake.” Chloe watched as Max’s heart broke and immediately regretted it, reaching out her hand for Max, a piece of her wishing she had Max’s rewind power. The younger girl’s face contorted to one of pure pain, a tear rolling down her face. “You uh… you okay?” Chloe reached out for Max, who shrugged out of her touch.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I gotta uh, I gotta get back to Blackwell, classes and uh… classes and stuff.” Max grabbed her chlorine covered clothes, slipping back into them before grabbing her bag, stumbling out of the bedroom, closing the door carefully.
Chloe laid back onto her bed, a sob tearing through her. ‘For fuck sake Chloe, why? Why do you sabotage yourself? It’s always one step forward, three steps back. First Rachel, now Max too…’ She looked at a beer bottle on her desk before throwing at the wall, watching it shatter before feeling a banging on the floor from downstairs.
‘Oh right, Joyce is still here. Damn you Max, getting me up early.’ She rolled over, closing her eyes as tears began to pour out of them, sobbing softly into her pillow as she tried her best to go back to sleep.
Max walked down the stairs and straight out the front door, not speaking to Joyce at all despite the older woman’s best efforts. When she was safely around the corner and out of sight of the Price house, she burst into tears, sobs ripping through her as she slowly walked through the suburbs towards the bus stop, head down, eyes puffy and red as she walked.
After a few minutes of waiting at the bus stop and several more minutes on the bus, she arrived at Blackwell. ‘Truly is Blackhell, god last night was so fucking fun. Why did I have to go and ruin it all…’ Max slowly plodded back to her dorm room, kicking her door closed after entering, gathering some fresh clothes before going and having a shower.
Whilst in the shower, scrubbing her body, she heard the door push open, a person walk in, looking around before hearing the shower on, Victoria’s voice speaking.
“Oh fuck… fuck fuck fuck…” Max peeped her head out of the cubicle.
“Victoria? Are you okay?”
“Max?” Victoria looked at Max’s head, a worried look in her eyes and zombie level black bags under her eyes.
‘Just like Chloe…’ Max shut the water off, quickly drying herself before getting out of the shower cubicle. As she walked over to Victoria, the girl sighed. “What’s up, we might not be friends, but I care about you, Victoria.” Max watched Victoria struggle for a few minutes before looking up at Max, a worried quiver in her lip.
“Max, I think someone drugged me.” Max watched Victoria lean over the sink, heaving into it as she spoke. Max walked over and rubbed a hand on Victoria’s back.
“What happened, only if you're comfortable talking about it.”
“I uh… I remember having to stay behind after class, helping Mar- Mr. Jefferson get something from his car. After that, I remember waking up in my dorm… feeling really heavy. I think I got drugged at a party or something…” Max nodded, pulling Victoria into a loose hug as the girl began to sob, tears staining Max’s sleeves as she let Victoria wipe her eyes with them.
“Thanks, Max…”
“Of course, Victoria. I’m always here for you and I’ll try to help you if I can. My uh… my friend was also drugged, looks like a zombie, like you.” Max blinked a second longer than needed, a tear welling up in her duct before wiping it away.
“Thank you Max, are you doing okay?” Max nodded at Victoria, letting out a heavy sigh.
“I’ll be alright, I’m always alright.” Max smiled at Victoria, who smiled back. ‘Maybe she isn’t so bad after all.’ Max watched Victoria walk out, heading back to her own dorm, getting dressed before heading to class.
Two days later
“Does anyone know where Kate is?” Jefferson asked at the start of class, it’s been the third day of no Kate in class, and Max begins to fear the worst, she’d spent all of the second day searching for Kate at the usual spots - cafes, the Two Whales, libraries, churches. She couldn’t find her at any of them. Max barely listens to Jefferson, who is talking about something she doesn’t care about, not right now.
‘Something’s happened to Kate… oh fuck…’ Max runs a hand through her hair, a tear rolling down her cheek. She looked out the window, watching the lighthouse spin slowly, light radiating in the distance as a heavy rain fell upon Arcadia Bay. She let out a heavy sigh, turning her thoughts to Chloe. ‘It’s been three days since I spoke to her last… oh dog Max, you’re actually the worst.’ Max pulled out her phone, tapping Chloe’s name and typing out a message.
Max: Hey Chloe, you doing alright?
Chloe: Max…
Max: Look, I’m sorry for freaking
Chloe: Max
Chloe: shut the fuck up
Chloe: you need to come to the lighthouse, now. I’m omw to pick you up.
‘Uh oh, Chloe’s never this snippy without a reason.’ Max watched as the minutes ticked down towards the end of class. ‘Ten more minutes.’ She put her phone back into her pocket and tried to focus. When the bell rang, she heard Jefferson call her name but ignored him entirely, sprinting out and down the hall towards the parking lot.
As she skipped down the steps, she saw Chloe’s truck pull in. ‘Perfect timing.’ Max watched as Chloe swung the passenger door open.
“Max, get in.” Max hopped in, Chloe turning the truck around in the disabled bays, speeding out of the lot and down the wet roads, raindrops lashing on the windows, the pattering of rain getting on Max’s nerves as the pair drove in silence.
“Chloe, I-” Chloe held her hand up.
“Max. Not now. I’ve got something to show you.” Max gulped audibly at Chloe, she sounded shook as fuck.
‘She’s never sounded this shook…’ Max watched the winding roads of the hill towards the lighthouse straighten out into the parking lot, Chloe throwing the truck into a parking space, both of them clambering out and running as carefully as possible up the path, Max’s hoodie pulled tight to protect her from the rain.
The pair ran into the clearing, Max spotting a coat placed over the bench, covering a few things. Max and Chloe ran over, Max peeking under the coat before dropping it, gasping for air with shock.
“No… It can’t be…” Max fell to the ground, on her knees. Chloe pulled Max into a hug.
“It is… it’s her… I’m sorry Max, I knew you were friends.” Max and Chloe hugged, Max sobbing into Chloe’s coat, hard.
“Chloe…” Max pulled back, grabbing Kate’s stuff, dragging Chloe into the lighthouse before sliding down the door, crying again as she uncovered Kate’s stuff properly, holding the necklace. Chloe paced back and forth, a look of sadness in her eyes.
“Max, I’m sorry about earlier.” Max looked up at Chloe, both girls eyes full of sadness as they hugged each other, sobbing into each others shoulders before Max pulled away, Chloe looking at her for a few seconds.
“Max, what are you thinking?”
“I…” Max ran her hand through her hair. “So uh… I nearly accidentally did a thing.”
March, Week 2, 2014.
Max stared at the photo in her hand, the photo of her, Chloe and Joyce on the cliff edge from many, many years ago. Max stared at the photo for a long time, a tear on her cheek, whispering.
“Chloe, I’m sorry…” Max thought back to earlier in the day, when she’d gone to see Chloe, eyes red rimmed as she sat on the lighthouse bench, looking over at the stump in the picture, off to her left. She let out a ragged sigh, a sob ripping through her as she wiped her eyes. She looked back at the photo.
It moved.
Max looked closer, tighter, with more focus.
It shimmered and moved again, Max could hear giggling all around her. Max focused further, she heard a voice talking from behind her, but also inside her own head…
“Haha, I win again, Caulfield.”
‘No way… what in the cereal is happening right now?’
“No fair! I’ve only got little legs. And you got a head start by cheating.”
“Now now munchkin, I hope you didn’t beat Max, or cheat too much.”
“Of course I didn't, Daddy.”
Max turned away, the giggling, voices, and the blurriness at the edges of her vision subsiding, along with a pressure building in her head that she hadn’t noticed. She felt her nose.
“Shit.” She spat out some blood that had poured into her mouth, wiping her nose with a tissue before laying down on the bench.
March, Week 4, 2014.
“So, you think you can travel through photos?” Max nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling out the photos from the party on Saturday night.
“It’s worth a try, to save Kate.”
“Will I remember any of this… this weekend and week? Of us?” Max shrugged.
“Maybe, never tried it before, but since I’m going back to before…” Max closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Before us, I’m gonna guess that you won’t remember, I’m sorry…” Max looked down, tears rolling down her eyes before a finger on her chin pulled her head up, Chloe grabbing her head and pulling her into a deep kiss, holding each other as they kissed, passion infused with pure bliss from both girls. After a few minutes, Max and Chloe pulled back.
“Go save her, and promise me. You won’t let me fumble… us again.” Max nodded at Chloe’s words, moving forward and giving her another kiss on the lips.
“I love you Chloe.” Max watched Chloe turn her head away.
“I love you too Max… Just, just go…” Chloe turned around, wiping her eyes as Max looked at the photo, focusing on the picture, feeling a pressure build in her head, she looked up at Chloe one more time, the girl having turned around, Max watching her best friend vanish into colours.
Chapter Text
March, Week 3, 2014.
“Hey Max?” Chloe sat down next to Max, smiling as she put her glass down, leaning in to talk to Max. “Want some weed?” Max blinked a few times, looking around.
‘Holy shit, it worked! It fucking worked! I’m back here… in the past, before Kate… I need to find her, help her, save her-’ Max felt a poke on her arm, turning to face Chloe.
“Dude, you’re as pale as a ghost, you okay?” Max smiled, looking away and running a hand through her hair, trying to play it cool but not succeeding.
“Uh yeah, just uh… just had a little too much excitement for one night, I guess.” Max watched Chloe frown, a dejected look on her face.
“Oh, I’ll take you home.” Max watched Chloe stand up, releasing a heavy sigh.
‘No… no no no no!’ Max held up her hand, rewinding until she felt like it was time to stop.
“Dude, you’re as pale as a ghost, you okay?” Max smiled, looking at Chloe.
“Yeah, I’m always okay with you around, Pretty Girl Price.” Chloe blushed and punched Max’s arm, playfully.
“You tease, Caulfield. That’s a dangerous game to play with me.” Max smiled, grabbing Chloe’s pipe out of her distracted hands, taking a puff and releasing smoke rings in Chloe’s direction, giggling.
“Woah, we got a pot thief as well as a tease, I see.” Juliet laughed as she walked over, her voice cutting through the familiar music playing on the speakers - Got Well Soon by Brenton. She sat down on a chair next to the pair. “Me and Dana were talking about how perfect you two would be as a couple.”
Now it was Max’s turn to blush, her face turning a dark violet as Juliet laughed. “Dude, uncool.” Was all Chloe whispered, blushing too.
“I’m just playing with you two. Glad you’re enjoying yourselves. Thanks for the pot, Chloe.”
“Uh- d- don’t mention it!” Juliet laughed as Chloe stumbled over her words. Max looked at Chloe, smiling.
‘Yeah, we’re gonna be alright.’
Max slowly awoke, willing herself to open her eyes, expecting to see Chloe looking back at her. Instead, Chloe sat in her window, cigarette in hand. Max’s eyes widened. ‘This isn’t supposed to happen, you’re supposed to be in bed…’
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Max sat up.
“Morning to you too, Chlo.” Max laughed as Chloe gave her the finger, Max returning it before laughing harder at Chloe’s shocked face.
“Ms. Caulfield, how dare you swear at me!” Chloe put a hand on her chest and Max laughed, moving up to her window sill with Chloe, the pair moving to sit on her desk instead.
“Last night was so fun Chloe.”
“Was it? I can’t remember much, I swear Dana or Juliet kept topping me up with drinks when my glass was empty.” Max nodded.
“Wondered if you’d notice, yeah it was Me.” Max let out an evil little laugh, holding her hands up when Chloe moved to perform tickle torture. “I’m kidding! I didn’t see anyone do it.” Max let out a mock sigh of relief when Chloe put her hands down, lightly poking Max.
“Seriously though, are you okay Max?” Max looked at her best friend, the girl she loved, a concerned look on Chloe’s face.
“I need to tell you something. It’s gonna make me sound insane.”
“Dude, I’m not gonna get you institutionalised.” Chloe watched Max’s face dim a little as she looked down. “Sorry…”
“It’s ok. So uh…” Max let out a shaky sigh, thinking and pondering over what she was going to say and how she was going to word it. ‘Fuck it.’ She thought to herself before just sending it.
“I uh… I’ve been having dreams, bad dreams… dreams about people, about…” She let out a shaky breath, unconsciously inhaling. “About Kate. I’m… I’m worried something bad will happen to her… I saw her… um, I saw her die…” Max told a little white lie through her teeth, she didn’t see Kate, but she knew that Chloe wouldn’t know and if she confronted her, she could always rewind. “Please, please help me save her…” Max looked down.
“Of course I will, Max.” Max let out a deep breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding, falling into Chloe’s arms.
She’d decided to omit the part where they kissed and nearly fell out over Max loving Chloe but Chloe not saying it back until Max was about to go back in time, oh also the whole going back in time deal too. She knew that this broke the promise she made to Chloe, back in the treehouse about them not keeping things from each other, but she also knew, deep down, that Chloe would hopefully understand. 'Hopefully...'
“Thank you.” Max squeezed her arms that were wrapped around Chloe’s middle, Chloe tickling Max and laughing.
“Dude, you’re squeezing me to death, Max Bear.” Chloe and Max burst into fits of laughter before Max stood up, clearing her throat and grabbing some clothes out of her closet.
“Also, this is gonna sound hella strange and unusual, but be careful going out alone at nights, just for a little bit, please?” Chloe gave Max a little side eye but nodded.
“Okay? You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“I uh…” Max rubbed the back of her neck, sighing heavily before continuing. “I had a dream, a different dream, about you, being…” Max let out a shaky sigh, Chloe walking over and hugging Max lightly. “About you getting drugged… and bad things happening… to you.”
Max watched Chloe’s eyes go wide before she grabbed at her beanie, yanking it off of her head, putting it on Max’s desk before sitting on the desk chair, putting her head in her hands and crying. Max walked over and wrapped her arms around Chloe’s middle, pressing a light kiss to her head, after several minutes, Max spoke.
“I’m sorry, but you need to know. I won’t let it happen to you.” Chloe wrapped her arms around Max’s middle, rubbing her back before standing up.
“I… Thank you, Max. I appreciate it.” Max rubbed her eyes, Chloe grabbing her beanie and slipping it back on. “Let’s go, I don’t wanna be here anymore.”
“Chloe, we need to find Kate first.” Max walked out of her room, knocking on Kate’s door. “She’s not in.” Chloe kneeled down and pulled out her lockpick, sliding it into the lock in the door, starting to pick it. Max looked up and down the hall, eyes stopping on a familiar figure approaching. Max leant down and whispered into Chloe’s ear.
“Someone’s coming, I’ll distract them, you keep working.” Max walked down the hall towards Victoria.
‘I wonder if she’s been drugged yet…’ Max stopped just outside the bathrooms.
“Hey, Victoria.” Victoria sneered at Max.
“What do you want, Maxine?” Max let out a soft sigh.
‘Chill, Max, chill.’ “Just wanted to say, I’m sor-.”
“No you’re not. I know you’re all over Jefferson’s dick. Answering every question, even ending with a ‘Mr. Jefferson.’” Max cringed at Victoria’s impression of her, Victoria not being aware that Max does it to annoy her, she kicked herself for letting a little teasing spiral so far out of control. “Well Max? Nothing to say? Well, I’ve got something to say to you. I fucking hate you. I hope your lanky hipster ass gets shot.” She turned to walk away, Max grabbing her arm, pushing Victoria against the wall.
“You know what, Victoria, I’m so fucking sick, sick of you being so much of a high and mighty bitch. ‘Oh look at me, I’m Victoria! Now, everyone kiss my ass.’ Fuck you, honestly, your ego is bigger than this fucking school sometimes. You’ve got everything you could ever fucking want, lovely family, big house and gallery and god only fucking knows what back in Seattle, a fancy ass camera... I don't know why you even have a fucking dorm room here, seeing as your family is rich as fuck, why not buy the big house that's for sale and move in there instead? Huh?!” Max knew she 'd lost her chill and had gotten pissed, but she didn't give a shit anymore. Max let out a sigh and let Victoria go, the girl turning to leave before Max spoke up. “I’m sorry I grabbed you, you got to me, alright. Fuck.” Max went to walk past Victoria, tensing up when she felt Victoria’s hand rest on her shoulder. When Max turned, she saw Victoria looking at her with something Max hadn’t seen in Victoria’s eyes before, was it… sadness?
“I’m sorry I’m such a bitch all the time…” Victoria slumped down against the wall, letting out a rough sigh, Max crouched next to her. “I just… I’ve got so much shit going on right now.”
“Hey, talk to me…” Victoria looked up at Max, smiling a little.
“I just… My parents are getting a divorce… My relationship with Nathan is… yeah… it’s rough as fuck. The reason I’ve got a room here is because I’m sick of my parents shit. All I hear from them is ‘Victoria this’ and ‘Victoria that’ and just constantly arguing, if I got a place out here, one of them would probably be down here 24/7, arguing or giving me shit.” Victoria let out a sigh, running her hands through her short hair, Max putting a hand on Victoria’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring little squeeze.
Max sighed, knowing that something worse was coming up, remembering what Victoria had said in the other timeline.
“I think somebody drugged me.” Max took a second to think of what to say before rewinding a little bit to not make the lack of talking too bad for Victoria, who was shaking a little bit.
“I… I’m so sorry Victoria. I didn’t know.” Max smiled softly at Victoria, who smiled back, eyes red as tears rolled down them.
“I’m such a bitch because I just wanna be like you Max… I just wanna have a life like yours, a friend like that blue-haired girl that you have.” Victoria stood up, wiping her eyes and fixing her clothes. “Thanks Max, that was… useful.”
“Of course Victoria, to be honest… I’m sorry for also being such an ass to you, I don’t mean any shit by it, I’m just…” Max ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve also got a bit on my plate. I don’t expect you to like me, I just don’t wanna fight anymore.”
“Neither do I.” Max and Victoria both smiled at each other, Victoria holding out a hand. “Peace?”
“Peace.” Max shook her hand, pulling Victoria into a loose hug, Victoria hugging back a little before pulling away.
“I should get ready to go out.” Max nodded, Victoria smiling one last time as Chloe passed around the corner behind her. “See you around, Max.” Chloe walked over to Max as Victoria walked into her room.
“I got the door unlocked, we can have a snoop around if you want?”
“Let’s not snoop too hard, just see if we can find something.” Max and Chloe walked into the bedroom, eyes going wide as they saw Kate on her bed, an open bottle of pills on her bed next to her.
“Oh my god, Kate!”
Chapter 19
Notes:
Trigger Warning: Suicide Attempt
Chapter Text
Chloe ran over and put Kate in a safe position, cleaning her up a little so she didn’t choke on her own fluids, Chloe’s voice was shaky as she spoke to Max. “Max, call an ambulance, now!” Max pulled out her phone, ringing 911 and calling for an ambulance, explaining the situation before grabbing Chloe’s phone, opening David’s contact and ringing him. “Why the fuck are you ringing him for?”
“Look, I hate him as much as you do but he’s also probably the closest first aid trained person here.” Chloe sighed, looking down as she nodded, listening to Max speak to David with haste, not explaining how or why Chloe was in there. They heard a knock at the door, Victoria walking in, having heard the commotion through the wall.
“I brought some water and towels.” Victoria put them on the bed, looking around Kate's room. “Holy shit…” Max nodded grimly, Kate’s room was dark, blinds closed, light bulb unscrewed from ceiling light, sitting on her desk. Max didn’t want to try putting it back in, just in case it was switched on. A few minutes after Victoria walked in to bring towels and water, David arrived.
“Alright, I can take it from here, Chloe.” David grabbed a tissue and towel, cleaning her up and checking her over for any other injuries or health concerns. “Did one of you call an ambulance?”
“Yeah we’ve called paramedics already.” Max sat down on Kate’s chair, Victoria and Chloe going out to wait for the ambulance.
“Look, Max-”
“Dude, we’re not doing this now. We’ll talk later.” David nodded, Chloe walked back into the room, looking at Max.
“Hey Max, can you uh… can you go get some more towels and shit from your room?”
“Sure.” Max gave Chloe some side eye before walking into her room, grabbing some of her towels before walking back into the hall, Chloe walking out of Kate’s room. “You alright, Chloe?”
“Yeah, forgot my lighter on the bed.” Chloe held up her lighter, Max nodding, walking back into the bedroom and sitting back down.
“Paramedics are here!” Chloe and Victoria walked in behind two paramedics with a stretcher, the four of them getting out of Kate’s room and letting the paras do their work, David heading back to work. Victoria, Chloe and Max walking back to Max’s room, Victoria and Chloe sitting on Max’s couch whilst Max sat on her desk chair. Victoria turned and looked at Chloe.
“Chloe…”
“Victoria.” Max looked between the two and could tell there was at least some history between the two. Max stood up.
“I’m gonna head out for a little fresh air, you two feel free to stay in here.” Max smiled at the pair, them both smiling back before Max headed for the roof, sitting down and taking a deep breath, pulling out a joint she’d swiped from Chloe’s jacket, lighting it and taking a soft drag, blowing out smoke rings.
‘I’m still impressed I can do that…’ Max let out a heavy sigh, head luling back slightly with relaxation as she smoked. ‘This whole situation is fucked up… I come back in time, I… I save Kate, I wonder what that’s changed…” Max ran a hand through her hair, blowing another smoke ring as she puffed, getting a bit high but not giving a care in the world as she blew the rings out of her mouth. ‘Kate’s alive, but what else has that changed, who has that affected…’ Max didn’t hear the door to the roof open behind her but she did hear Victoria’s voice speaking to her.
“Didn’t know you were down like that.” Max turned to see Victoria and Chloe standing on the roof behind her.
“Just needed to relax…” Victoria nodded in understanding.
“Thanks again, for all of today.”
“No, Victoria.” Chloe spoke up. “Thank you for helping.” Max nodded along with Chloe’s words. Victoria smiled at the pair before walking back inside, Chloe moving to sit next to Max, who passed her the rest of her joint.
“I was done with it anyway, enjoy.”
“Thanks, dude.” Max smiled, resting her head on Chloe’s shoulder, sighing with content.
“We did it Chloe, we saved her… uh, she didn’t… this wasn’t how it ha- how i dreamt it...” Chloe and Max both looked at each other, Max sighing.
“Something changed in Victoria. She was, dare I say, nice.” Max laughed at Chloe’s tone of speech, Chloe laughing alongside her, both of them a little high. “Dude, we’re like, unstoppable now. I’m uber clever and you’re able to rewind time.” Max laughed, remembering that she hadn’t even shown Chloe yet.
“I haven’t even shown you yet, have I?” Chloe shook her head. “Let’s head out, I’ll brainstorm how to prove it to you.”
Max and Chloe were driving down the main street, sea on the right, buildings on the left.
“Pull over here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Chloe mock saluted and Max laughed, shifting on the bench to face Chloe, the other girl doing the same, both of them getting comfortable.
“So, how’re you wanting to do this?” Chloe pondered Max’s question for some time before nodding.
“Idea, we pull up opposite the Two Whales and you tell me who walks in and out in a certain period of time.”
“Deal.” Chloe turned her attention back to the road, driving to the Two Whales. Pulling up out the front but remaining in the truck, both girls looked at the timer on Max’s phone.
“Time starts… now.”
Max takes a deep breath, making a note of the people who walk in and out of the Two Whales, taking a mental note of what they’re wearing. After 4 or so minutes, Chloe tapped Max on the arm. Max smiling.
“Alright, so, I’m gonna go back now-” Max gasped as Chloe kissed her, Chloe pulling away before laughing nervously. Max looked back at her with wide eyes, Chloe laughing harder at Max’s expression.
“Wow... I won’t uh… remember, will I? Oh fuck dude… I’m so sorry-“ Chloe’s voice was cut off by Max kissing her again, hands cupping Chloe’s cheeks. After several minutes, they both pulled back, Chloe bursting out laughing, causing Max to let out a mock sigh.
“Dude, you are insufferable. I swear to dog, Chloe, if you don’t do that after I prove who’s been in that diner…” Max rolled her eyes, sighing heavily before holding her hand up and rewinding time back to the start of the two minutes, before listing everyone off to Chloe.
“Wow… that’s awesome, Max.” Chloe smiled at Max, shaking her. “Dude, you okay? You look sad, or something. This is awesome.” Max blinked a few tears out of her eyes, smiling at Chloe.
“Something else we could try with my powers is… uh…” She sighed, lost for ideas. She really didn’t want to have to go back to what she’d tried in the last timelines, not after that kiss, remembering what happened when she left the old timeline…
“Well, uh… We should do some investigations at some point. We try and find out what the fuck is happening. With everything… with shit hitting the fan…” Chloe ran her hand through her hair, sighing raggedly. “I just wanna find Rachel, god if we find her, the three of us could go anywhere we want.” Max smiled as Chloe spoke, holding her best friend's hand.
“We’ll find her, Chloe. If we can save Kate, we can save anyone.”
Chapter 20
Notes:
Trigger Warning: Physical Violence and Abuse.
Chapter Text
Unknown.
Max sat up, hearing walking behind her. The darkness subsided around her as she heard a familiar voice.
“Maaaxiineee.” Max shivered, Nathan was here.
“What, asshole?” She spat at him, eyes watering as he backhanded her, pistol hitting her in the face. She winced, face bleeding as she looked back up at him, eyes widening.
“Max.” William stood over her, smiling. “I can’t be here long.”
“How?” Max blinked, not believing her eyes.
“It’s… it’s complicated.” William sighed, walking behind Max, untying her and helping her up.
“We can’t talk for long, they’ll put him back here soon and he will kill you. Unlock the door.” Max ran over and flicked the lock on the door, trying to open it.
“Goodbye, Max.” William vanished, the door pinging as a bullet hit it, Max diving for cover.
“Die, you whore!” Max scrambled around, hiding behind various pieces of furniture, hiding from Nathan. She wasn’t sure where she even was, nevermind what the fuck was going on or how she got here. She heard a bash at the door, and another, Nathan turning his gaze to the door before shrugging. “It’s locked, stupid dykes can’t get in. Time to die, bi-” Max looked up as a gun fired, Nathan’s body hitting the floor. Max looked to the door, eyes going wide.
“Max?”
“Chloe? Rachel?” Max looked at the two girls, eyes wide with shocked glee, running towards them and throwing her arms around them before feeling a warm feeling of pain spreading throughout her stomach.
“Goodbye Max, time to wake up.” Max looked down, two bullet holes in her stomach, she looked up at the girls, who smiled sadly at her. As Max's world faded to black.
March, Week 4, 2014.
Max sat up, head burning with pressure. She’d spent yesterday hanging around with Chloe, getting up to mischief before finally getting back to her dorm, collapsing in bed. ‘Holy shit… that dream…’
Max sat up, her phone lighting up with messages.
Chloe: wakey wakey
Chloe: hey max
Chloe: max
Chloe: maxaroni
Chloe: maximus
Chloe: max power
Chloe: maxi pad
Chloe: maxi
Chloe: maxin
Chloe: maxine
Max laughed, scrolling through a wall of texts from Chloe, all just her name, every minute or two, with different nicknames. Max sighed a little at Chloe’s use of Maxine but let it slide, typing out a response.
Max: hey, impatient pirate
Chloe: you awake?
Max: no :)
Chloe: no emoji. when you wake up, and after you’re out of the hellhole, gimme a call and ill come pick u up.
Max: sure
Chloe: awesome
Max: awesomesauce* :)
Chloe: NO EMOJI
Max laughed, slipping out of bed and grabbing her shower kit. She walked out of her dorm and looked towards Kate’s door, taped up with police do not enter tape, she sighed before walking into the showers, turning the hot water on and washing as quickly as she could before some asshole turned the hot taps on and doused her in cold water.
She quickly dried off after the shower, stepping into the hall to see Victoria and Courtney arguing, Taylor storming off before the others stormed in the opposite directions, all towards their rooms.
‘Trouble in paradise.’ Max sighed, walking into her bedroom, sitting on her bed and undressed, getting a new fresh set of clothes from her bag of clothes she still hasn’t unpacked. She slipped on the plaid shirt, black Jane Doe shirt and her regular pair of jeans, she slipped the plaid shirt off and put her hoodie on, slipping the plaid shirt on top of the hoodie. She spun around a couple of times before sending Chloe a picture, getting a thumbs up picture in response. Max grabbed her bag, checking it had everything inside before walking out, locking her door.
When she turned around, she saw Taylor standing in front of her, her voice low. “Hey Max, could you talk to Viccy at some point… She’s really beat up about Kate.” Max nodded.
“Can do.” Max smiled at Taylor, walking to Victoria’s door, knocking on the door and waiting for a response.
“Come in.” Max heard a quiet response from the other side of the door and gently pushed it open, stepping inside and closing it behind her. Max looked around Victoria’s room, smiling slightly.
“Nice room.”
“Thanks.” Victoria turned around, makeup streaking down her cheek, tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Victoria.” Max moved to sit on the end of Victoria’s bed, the girl nodding and Max taking a seat, taking Victoria’s hand in her own.
“I just… I feel so responsible. I mean, I shared the links… I didn’t mean for all of this to happen!” She threw her hands up, sighing. “I suck Max… I just suck.” Victoria looked down, taking some deep breaths before looking back up at Max, checking her clothes out. “Nice style.”
“Thanks, appreciate it.” Max smiled and Victoria smiled back. “Are you going to be at class today?”
“Yeah, I know me and you have been given special exceptions but to be honest, I need something to take my mind off of everything.” Max smiled, helping Victoria up. “Oh also, thought you might want to know, I broke up with Nathan.” Max smiled.
“I’m proud of you, Victoria.” Victoria smiled back at Max, the pair looking down awkwardly, Max brushing her hair behind her ear. “I’ll wait for you out here.” Max walked and stood outside Victoria’s room, Taylor walking over.
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she's doing better now I’ve spoken to her.”
“Thanks Max.”
“Of course.” Victoria walked out of her room, smiling at Max before walking out the dorms with Taylor. Max smiled as Victoria walked away, pulling out her phone and texting Chloe.
Max: I’ve got an idea for Sherlock Price and Max Watson tonight. We want information, we could pop into Blackhell and get some.
Chloe: genius, how’d you think of that one?
Max: Took a page out of your book.
Chloe: wow, finally taking shit out of Captain Price’s book now, i see
Max: jealous
Chloe: yep, see u tonight
Max: ;)
Chloe: NO FUCKING EMOJI
Max: <3
Max tapped her pen on her desk.
“Max, tell me, what was Robert Mapplethorpe famous for?”
“To be honest, I can’t remember.”
“Max, you gotta know this, you all do. Anyone else know this?” Max popped her hand up and rewound a bit so she had as much time as possible. Max grabbed her phone from her desk and typed a message out to Victoria.
Max: Robert Mapplethorpe is known for provocative and controversial images, Robert Mapplethorpe pushed the boundaries of what was considered photographic art in the 70s and 80s.
Victoria: Thanks Max :-)
Max: you’re welcome :)
Max smiled as Victoria answered Jefferson’s question, a small sigh escaping her lips as she looked out the window, the light rain pattering down on the window as she watched the birds fly across the sky.
“Now, as you’ve all been busy with work and have all completed your work for the current subject, you can all finish early today.” The class let out a small cheer, everyone standing up and packing their things away.
“Victoria!” Mr. Jefferson yelled. “Can I speak to you?”
“Of course.” Victoria answered. Max walked over to the door and watched as Jefferson and Victoria poured over pictures on his desk. She walked out of the classroom, not seeing Jefferson and Victoria’s hands brush.
Max bumped straight into Chloe.
“Dude, you look awesome, let's go back to your room so you can tell me your mischievous plan, I’ve got something to tell you about too. It might sound a little weird, but I’ve been uh… I’ve been having dreams about you and uh… and Rachel.” Max took Chloe’s hand in her own.
“You’ll be okay, Chlo, trust me.” Max smiled up at Chloe.
“Dude, this is so sketchy.” Max and Chloe were hiding behind one of the big signs in front of the main campus building for Blackwell, the door being held open by a chair, a light on in a different room.
“Max, chill, they’ll go soon. See.” The pair watched as a few maintenance workers walked out of Blackwell, putting the chair where they found it and locking the door. As they rounded the corner to go to the parking lot, Max and Chloe snuck up to the door, Chloe using a set of keys she’d swiped from David to unlock it and slip in. Max went in first, Chloe following Max as she walked through to Well’s office door and tried to open it.
“Locked, shit.” Max looked around for a key of some kind. ‘Maybe it was hidden somewhere in this timeline, instead of god knows where in the other one.’ Max browsed through all of the drawers and stuff in the office, eventually hearing a click.
“Got it.” Max looked up at Chloe, lockpick in hand, door wide open.
‘Wow, time really pushed in our favour this time, huh. That’s probably how she got into Kate’s room so easily.’ Max and Chloe walked into Well’s office, Chloe grabbing Well’s whiskey bottle, pouring herself a glass before downing it in one.
“Chloe.” Max growled, voice low. “We’re supposed to be investigating, not drinking.”
“Dude, it’s one drink of some piss weak… well… piss.” Chloe downed the rest of the bottle, dumping it into Well’s bin, moving to one of the filing cabinets whilst Max browsed through the other, searching for any information on Nathan, Rachel, Kate or anything else going on. Chloe found Max’s report card, grabbing a pen from Well’s desk, giving it a little scribble.
“Dude, I’ll get busted for that.” Chloe smiled, grabbing Nathan’s and Warren’s scribbling fake scores on their cards. “Nevermind. It was all Nathan.” Max smiled as Chloe set the crime scene. “Looks perfect.”
“Why thank you, Detective Caulfield.” Max slipped her camera out and snapped a picture of the desk, laughing.
“You’re very welcome, Detective Price.” Max and Chloe searched the rest of the room, snapping pictures of pretty much every document they came across on their phones, knowing it was a bit more dangerous if they got their phones searched compared to physical pictures, but deciding it was worth the risk. After about 20 minutes of searching, they sighed.
“Nothing else here, I guess.” Max ran a hand through her hair, Chloe ruffling it instead and making it all messy, her face frowning at Chloe with mock annoyance.
“Dude, my hair.” Chloe and Max smiled as they walked out, arms interlocked. Max grabbed Chloe’s beanie and slipped it onto her head, smirking.
“Dude, I’m so fucking bored.” Chloe whined, tugging Max’s arm towards the pool. “Let’s go dip. Race you there!”
“Okay.” Max ran ahead of Chloe, who was a little surprised that Max accepted so easily. Max ran up to the door and suddenly appeared on the other side, grinning before opening it. “Surprise! Otter’s game tomorrow, door’s unlocked for maintenance to come through, but they all left without locking it. Pool should be nice, warm and all lit up for us.”
“Epic. One question though, did you rewind time to appear in the building?” Max shot Chloe a wink before the pair explored the building, Max taking in a bit of new information from the different lockers she didn’t really get to check out last time, Chloe turning all the lights on before looking at the temperature, smiling as the gauge rested in the green zone, perfect temperature for swimming competitions, or late night dips in the pool.
‘Damn, Max really was right about it being up to temperature, and now with the lights on, we can go dip.’ She walked to the pool to see Max already in the water, Chloe diving in after her, cannonballing before Max pulled her under, the two girls tickle torturing each other, surfacing and laughing.
“Dude, you’re so insufferable.” Max laughed at Chloe’s comment, splashing her with a bit of water. “Oh, that’s so it dude. You’re going down.”
Max and Chloe flicked water at each other, Chloe swimming away and using her legs as splashers, Max having to dodge to avoid getting hit. Eventually Max is able to get underneath her again, wrapping her arms around Chloe and pulling her under. Max and Chloe both resurfaced, hopping onto the edge of the pool before hearing the door open behind them. Max felt a hotness spread through her head, rubbing it before hearing Chloe exclaim with a mix of shock, excitement and happiness in her voice.
“What?”
“WHAT!”
Max and Chloe both turned, mouth wide with shock.
“Hey, girls.” Rachel stood there, confidence etched all over her face.
“Surprised to see me?”
Chapter 21
Notes:
Trigger Warning: Verbal Abuse, Physical Violence.
Chapter Text
“Uh… a little i suppose.” Max rubbed her eyes as she spoke, her head hurt, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out why.
Chloe pushed herself out of the water, running over and kissing Rachel on the lips, Rachel kissing back and wrapping one hand to the back of Chloe’s head, pulling her into the kiss and her other wrapping around Chloe’s waist, tugging their bodies close together.
“Mmm, I missed you too, Chloe.” Max watched and felt her heart shatter into tiny pieces as the love of her life kissed another woman in front of her. She stood up, grabbing a towel and drying herself before dressing, a dejected look on her face.
“What’s up, Max? Scared of being a third wheel?” Chloe spoke as they both dressed, Max turning to see the pair looking at her with faces that she couldn’t read.
“A bit, yeah.” Max blurted out, holding out her hand, rewinding the sentence. “No! Not at all.” She smiled at the two. “I’m happy for you both, Chloe missed you.”
Chloe looked at Rachel, smiling. “Max is right, I missed you so much babe, wanna go out n do something? Go to the tobon- toban-”
“To-bang-her?” Chloe smiled at Rachel’s words, the pair laughing as they kissed again.
“Yeah, that.”
Max took a shaky deep breath. “I- I think I’m gonna head back to my dorm.” Max whispered, running through the door Rachel had entered through. She walked out into the main campus grounds, stopping at the fountain, vocally expressing her thoughts.
“What the-?” The water was red, Max dipped her hand in before pulling back, deciding not to say her next thoughts out loud. ‘What the fuck? It’s blood…’ Max heard laughing from behind her, turning to see Chloe and Rachel walking towards her, laughing about something, as they got a bit closer, she could hear what they were laughing about, her eyes going wide with pain before turning away, running to the dorms.
‘Me… they were laughing about me… how I’m still a virgin… how I don’t tell people my feelings… How much of a fucking mess I am… how I thought Chloe loved me…’ As Max was thinking to herself, her head throbbing with pressure and pain, she was also running through the campus to the dorms, slowing to a walk as she ascended the steps and into the building itself, walking to her room and opening the door.
“What?” Max looked around her room, shock on her face. Her room looked completely different, completely Chloe . There was an anarchy flag on one wall, an American flag in front of the window, Chloe’s laptop on the desk next to a different one. ‘Wait a minute… Nonononono.’ Max opened the closet to find all the clothes to be punk - plaid shirts, tank tops and jeans. ‘Fuck… What the fuck is this shit…’ She ran out of the room, back to the stairs, grabbing at the floor plan before going into the TV Lounge, flicking the lights on before sitting on one of the chairs, finding her room and reading the name.
“Rachel Amber.” She dropped the map, lulling her head back, rubbing her eyes. ‘Fuck… I… I wasn’t enough for Chloe, I guess, she… Rachel came back and… ugh…’ Max let out a sigh. ‘I wonder…’ She reached into her bag, pulling out her journal, flicking past the year calendar section at the start and into the part that she’d written in.
She read the first few lines, nodding as it read the same as before, she flicked to the next page, a polaroid of Blackwell Academy secured on the page opposite her first entry in her then-new dorm room, an idea popping into her head.
‘Oh my god… if I can go back to that time, I can fix it… I can be better, for Chloe and Kate...’ She went to grab the picture before finding her journal ripped out of her hands.
“What are you doing here?” Max looked up, Kate stood over her, the girl was soaking wet, hair sticking to her face, Max’s journal in hand. “Get out, now, before I call security.” Max stood up, reaching for her journal.
“Kate? You’re okay…” Max went to grab her journal, Kate pulling it back before lifting her hand, pushing Max away from her.
“I wasn’t okay, I’m never going to be okay. Why should you care? You are so wrapped up in yourself, you only fake it to try and con other people. Admit it, you only care about one thing, yourself. Chloe left you, now you're thinking about how you can go back, to keep her for yourself, you selfish bitch!” Kate slapped Max clean across the face, the brown haired girl recoiling back, falling onto the couch.
“What?” Max was reeling, hand on her face as she rubbed her cheek. She sighed a little, not able to put her finger on why Kate was acting so fucking different. “What in the dog happened to you, Kate?” She pushed herself off of the couch, reaching for her journal and lightly pushing Kate when the girl pulled it away, giving her a light shove and reaching for it again.
“Am I wrong? You were so wrapped up in yourself, you tried to hog Chloe for yourself so much that I never saw either of you before I jumped to my death, you caused it all, Max!” Max let out a sob, she didn’t know how Kate remembered or knew about the other timeline, but hearing one of her friends that she initially couldn’t save say how it was her fault that she died, hurt Max so much.
“Kate…” Max went to speak before feeling another slap across the face. “Just give me my journal and I’ll go.” Kate threw Max’s journal at her, Max having to block it from hitting her in the face by putting her arms up to try and block it.
When she pulled her arms down, Kate and herself were at the lighthouse. Kate's things on the bench, her coat resting next to them. She watched Kate walk towards the edge, the phone screen opening, Max seeing Kate’s wallpaper, it being a picture of her family.
‘Why did you let me die, Max?’ Max looked at the edge of the cliff as rain began to fall, starting soft before picking up, Max covering Kate’s things with the coat. She watched as Kate stood at the edge of the cliff. Max tried to stand up but found herself unable to move her lower body, her legs feeling so heavy and numb and her arms tied up in the bench’s back, the wood impossibly bending around her limbs.
“Kate!” Max called out to Kate, her voice cracking as her vision fizzled, red splotches encroaching on her vision from the corners of her eyes.
“Remember Max, this is all you! My nightmare is over, but yours will never end!” Kate turned, arms outstretched, eyes full of fury and hate. Hate for Max.
Max tried to reach out, trying to save Kate, grab her, reverse time, anything.
“NO!” She watched as Kate fell off of the edge of the cliff, Max’s legs finally unlocking and the wooden bench releasing her as she threw herself to the edge of the cliff, reaching over. She watched as Kate sailed towards the rocks below, a darkness enveloping the ocean and enclosing on the pair as Kate hit the rocks, Max turning away to try and spare herself the sight. When she turned back, Kate was nowhere to be seen. She tried to get up but felt something stab into her neck, a pain spreading as she realised it was a needle, the sudden heaviness she felt causing her to fall back to her flat position, arms dangling off of the cliff as her vision shrunk.
“See you in the Dark Room…” A voice confusingly deep whispered inside her own head, her vision disappearing before all she heard was a whisper in her mind.
“Max.”
“Max!” Chloe shook her friend's shoulders, Max finally gasping for air. David on one side of Max, Chloe on the other. Max reached up, touching her forehead, blood on her fingers.
“Chloe! David… What happened?” Max looked between Chloe and David.
“You got attacked, I won’t ask what you two were doing in here, just don’t do it again.” Max nodded at David, smiling slightly.
“Thank you both.”
“Prescott is in the boys room, unconscious. He hit you and tried to drown you.”
“I totally socked him with a chair.” Max smiled at Chloe’s enthusiasm. David stood up, looking at the pair.
“Look, Chloe, go home and take Max with you. I won’t tell anyone about this.” Max and Chloe nodded, Max thanking David before walking out, Chloe supporting Max as they walked to the truck, hopping in and setting off for the Price household.
For home.
Chapter Text
Unknown.
“Get that gun away from me, psycho!”
“No!” Max leapt from around the corner, hand extended in an attempt to rewind time… but nothing happened. She scrambled to Chloe’s side as her best friend lay in a pool of her own blood, breathing shallowly as she raised a blood stained hand to Max’s face, cupping her cheek before closing her eyes, her hand dropping to her chest as life leaves her body. Max glared at Nathan, the boy who shot her best friend, with pure hatred.
“You’re next, whore.” Nathan raised his pistol, aiming it at Max, who raised her hand again to try and reach for the weapon. She was too slow.
The gun fired.
March, Week 4, 2014.
“NO! CHLOE!” Max shot up in the bed, sweating and shaking, her breath heavy and ragged, before a soft hand rested on her shoulders, pulling her close and enveloping her into a warm hug.
“Max, I’m here, I’m okay. I’m here…” Chloe held Max in her arms for a few minutes, rubbing her back whilst Max got her breathing back under control, the American flag flapping softly in the wind from the open window. After several minutes, Chloe spoke. “W- Wanna tell me about it?” Max looked into Chloe’s eyes for a few seconds before blinking.
“Uh, maybe later, you’ve got a lot more to worry about than me…” She laughed nervously before feeling a hand rest on her back.
“Dude, you’re my best friend, you’re awesome AND you’re supersized now! And after last night, you’re not only my partner in time but also my partner in crime.” Max let out a genuine little laugh at Chloe’s comment, causing Chloe to join in with the laughing. Max grabbed her camera, adjusting it slightly before holding it out to snap a picture. Before she could, Chloe jumped into the background, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Photobomb!”
“Photo-hog.” Max let out a mock sigh as she laughed a little again, relaxing as she snapped the picture. “This one’s a keeper for sure.” Max shook it and put it on the floor, turning back to Chloe, the blue-haired girl opening her mouth to speak.
“It feels like such a different world from just a few days ago, everything’s changed… We’ve changed…” Chloe laughed, “Dude, we shit all over Blackwell last night.”
“Like it needs anymore shit over it.” Max snorted, shaking her head. “I’d like to do something good for my school and Arcadia Bay, and you, especially you, Chloe. I can’t even submit my photo to represent… I just don’t want to be rejected.”
“Every great artist gets rejected before they get accepted, so you have to enter a photo. Even if you think you’re gonna get rejected, you’ll get accepted eventually.”
“Thank you Chloe… I appreciate you more than I could tell you with words.” Max shuffled next to Chloe, resting a head on Chloe’s shoulder, breathing in before sighing.
“Inhaling my scent Caulfield? Be careful, you might get addicted.” Chloe clicked her hi-fi on with the remote and it started playing ‘Lua’ by ‘Bright Eyes.’
“I wish we could lay here forever like we were kids.”
“Ya know, I could probably speak to Wells and get a lil bit of time out after what happened yesterday and this whole last week in general. The last thing I want to do is leave you and go back to boring ole Blackwell.” Max let out a heavy sigh and looked down a little before sliding out and sitting on the side of the bed, Chloe following her and wrapping an arm over the shoulder of her best friend.
“Oh, Max, it’s lucky I know you so well.” Chloe handed a puzzled looking Max her phone, the screen already open on an email to Principal Wells. Chloe had ‘written’ about how “Max was really struggling after the incident and if she could have a couple of days off of school so she didn’t have any burnout or repercussions from certain students.” Max laughed as she read what Chloe had written.
“You wrote this Price? I can’t imagine you being so-” Chloe let out a laugh.
“Chill? Mellow? Trust me Maxo Paxo, it was so nearly the typical Chloe Price email to Wells, full of colourful language and the usual stuff.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t throw a hella in there for good measure.” Chloe smiled a genuinely warm smile.
“I nearly did. But I don’t think you would’ve appreciated it. Now, if you don’t mind, I gotta ‘wake and bake’, your clothes still smell 100% like a chlorine factory and 0% like you, totally awesome and hot. See if you can find a cool outfit in my closet of curios, Rachel left a bunch of her clothes with me… She’s your size.” Max opened the closet and laughed a little.
“Chloe, none of this is my style. I really can’t wear this stuff.”
“Max, you don’t have a style yet, I see you throwing on random ass clothes and trying to fit in.” Max blushed a little as Chloe slid off of the bed and stood next to her best friend. “C’mon Caulfield, at least give it a try. You can always rewind back to your Chlorine brand t-shirt and generic jeans if you look too much like a douche.”
“Hey, you suck. I like my shirt and jeans… but it would be cool to try on Rachel’s clothes, just to see if they fit.”
“Stop second-guessing yourself, Max!” Chloe grabbed her beanie, putting it on Max’s head and motioning to the clothes in the wardrobe. “Put this shit on and let your inner punk-rock girl come out! You can afford to take second chances! Whenever and whatever you want to try…” a mischievous slightly shit-eating grin spreading across Chloe’s face. “For example, I dare you to kiss me!” Max took a step back.
“What?” Max blushed, not expecting Chloe to be so upfront, but a bubbling confidence filled Max as she stepped forward, not into Chloe, just back to where she was standing before, a smirk on her face.
“I double dare you, kiss me now Caulfield, or are you a chi-.” Max stepped forward, into Chloe and planted a kiss on her lips, right hand going to Chloe’s shoulder and the other going to Chloe’s arm. Chloe’s eyes went wide before she leant into the kiss, placing a hand on Max’s waist and the other on the smaller girl’s shoulder, kissing back as they got lost in the feeling of each other.
As they kissed, the flag started to slow down, the birds flying past the house slowed their speed until everything was settled, unmoving, the two girls intertwined, lips meeting and arms holding each other. A vibrant blue butterfly flew into the window and rested on the head of the bed. After several minutes, Max and Chloe pulled away, breathing heavily and smiling.
“Wow Max… that was hella hardcore…”
Chapter 23
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Max let out a few heavy breaths before looking Chloe directly in the eyes, putting her best friend's hands in her own.
“Chloe… that was… wowser…” Max and Chloe closed the distance between each other again and kissed once more, hands cupping each others cheeks as they held each other, unlike the dare, this kiss was slower, more passionate, Max could almost feel an undercurrent of something more in the kiss though she couldn’t put her finger on it specifically. After several more minutes, Max and Chloe pulled away from each other.
“Wow…” They both whispered out, Chloe running a hand through her hair and smiling slightly, playing it off a lot cooler than Max who was rooted to the ground, a smile of pure bliss on her face as she stared at her best friend. That’s when Max noticed something strange.
“Chloe…” Max began looking around the room as she spoke.
Chloe watched her friend with concern. ‘Have I fucked up, done something wrong? Was that a mistake… fuckfuckfuck.’ Chloe took a stealth deep breath. ‘Chill out Price, nothing good comes from getting flustered.’
“Uh… Max, you good?”
“Uh… Time…”
“What about it?” Chloe looked around the room, eyes resting on the butterfly sitting on the head of her bed, wings spread, the vibrant blue colour glowing onto the walls it was in front of.
“It’s stopped, but we’re still moving…” Max pointed to the American flag hanging in the window, suspended in the air as if it was still blowing, a flock of birds frozen in front of the billboard outside of her window, covering the text on the billboard.
“Max, isn’t that like what you did to save Kate? That’s what you told me…” Chloe moved next to her best friend and placed an arm over her back, hand resting on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.
“But Chloe, you’re here… with me… frozen in time…” That’s when it clicked in Chloe’s head.
“Holy shit Max, how didn’t I realise… what the fuck… this is hella trippy.” Chloe blinked hard, a wave of pressure washing over her head, a hotness spreading from her nose down her face and resting at the top of her lip. ‘Oh shit, a nosebleed, just like Max.’ Chloe collapsed down onto the bed, sitting on the end of it as she grabbed at her nose, wiping it before grabbing at her forehead, tensing up.
“Chloe, your nose…” Max rushed to grab a tissue from the box on Chloe’s desk, grabbing it with such urgency that she pulled the box off of the table. As soon as she lost contact with the box, it lost all motion, hanging in the air as Max tenderly wiped the blood off of Chloe’s face, wiping with such care as she cupped Chloe’s face in her other hand.
“Max… how… how am I here?” Chloe wrapped her best friend's hands in her own.
“I don’t know Chloe, but we’re gonna figure this out…” Max looked deep into her best friend's eyes, moving forward a little before placing a soft kiss on Chloe’s lips, both of them melting into the moment as they held each other's hands. “Together. I promise. I’m never leaving you again. I came back to Arcadia Bay for you, the school was just an excuse for my parents. If you asked, I would travel the world with you, go anywhere…”
Chloe blushed a little as her best friend spoke, then she felt like a major asshole. ‘Fuck… I treated everyone so rough, I was rough on Mom, Rachel, Frank, Max, David…’ Chloe ran a hand through her hair, her face falling a little despite her best efforts to maintain appearances. Max cupped her best friend's face with her hands and held her face tenderly, wiping her cheeks when Chloe started to tear up.
“Oh Chlobear… I’m so sorry…” Max wrapped her arms around Chloe and held her close to her chest as Chloe broke down into tears, wrapping her arms around her best friend's middle and holding her tightly. As this was happening, time began to speed up, the butterfly beating its wings before flying out of the open window, the flag flapping back down as the flock of birds moved on from in front of the billboard. Max and Chloe remained together, locked in a cuddle for a long time before Chloe pulled back.
“Thank you Max.” Chloe stood up and pulled Max into a proper hug, holding her there for a few minutes before pulling away. Suddenly, Max’s stomach rumbled rather loudly. “Dude, that’s gross. You better dress and go head downstairs for breakfast, I still gotta ‘wake and bake’ first.” Max laughed.
“I promise not to tell Price. Our secret, anyway I thought it was my weed.” Max tapped the side of her nose as she dressed in the ripped distressed jeans, baggy tank top and red and black plaid button up top before posing in front of Chloe.
“Looking sick Max! A couple tats, some piercings and we’ll make a thrasher out of you yet.”
“Ready for the mosh pit, shakah brah.” Max leant down and picked her camera and the polaroid up, placing it in her bag.
“Maybe not. Now go say hi to Joyce.” Chloe reached under a pile of clothes and pulled out a pipe and grinder. She walked out of the bedroom quickly as she heard a lighter spark up, moving to the bathroom and pulling her camera out of her bag, snapping a picture before tucking the polaroid and camera back into her bag, she went to leave but stopped herself, closing the door and resting against the sink.
‘Holy shit Max, Chloe was right, that was hella hardcore… but it felt so right at the same time, I think… but I can’t be… oh god I don’t know, did Chloe like it, didn’t she? Oh christ Max, she's your best friend. Oh fuck, what have I done...’ She let out a long sigh, trying to ignore the tension in her chest as she plodded downstairs and walked into the kitchen.
‘Fuckfuckfuckfuck fuuuuck Chloe what are you doing...’ Chloe laid on her bed, joint in one hand, the other scrunched around the hem of her shirt. ‘She’s your best friend Chloe, i mean she clearly liked it, she wouldn’t have done that… but… fuck fuck fuck why! Why Chloe why did you… do any of that shit.’ She tensed up as she tried to suppress a sob from bursting out of her. She rubbed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
‘Whatever Chloe, she’s just your best friend, sure it felt… awesome… but she’s probably not into that shit. She’s probably into some skinny boy from Blackwell who’ll sweep her off of her feet as soon as she’s back from this little respite from Blackwell shit. It was probably just for the dare…’ She failed to suppress another sob as it ripped through her body, taking a long drag from her joint. ‘She told me she came back for me, not for Blackwell, or the Bay, or Joyce, or anything else, she came back for me… do I…’ Chloe cursed when she realised she was at the end of her joint, throwing it into the ashtray, she plopped off of the end of her bed and began to get dressed.
Notes:
Thanks for reading!
I'm really enjoying writing this story to be honest so I really can't wait to write more!
Like usual, feedback is greatly appreciated!
Chapter Text
“Rache- Max! Good morning, you look so much like Rachel in those clothes.” Max laughed Joyce off even if it hurt her a little inside.
“Good morning Joyce. Breakfast smells delicious.” Max smiled warmly at the elder Price woman, she always felt happy in Joyce’s presence.
“Why thank you Max, why don’t you give me a hand in making it?” Joyce returned Max’s smile as the younger girl nodded, moving to grab some of the ingredients out of the fridge, handing them to Joyce one by one. The older woman spent several minutes making Max some belgian waffles before moving to the bookshelf, grabbing an album down off of one of the shelves and moving to sit at the table with Max.
“Max, I want you to have this, it was the last photo Bill ever took before…” She choked up a little as she removed the photo from the album and handed it to Max. The photo was Max and Chloe, together, 5 years ago, the day William died… Max looked at it for a few seconds before shaking her head.
“Joyce, thank you but I can’t.”
“No Max, I insist.” Joyce snapped the album shut before placing it onto the shelf and moving to sit at the table. As she turned, she saw a blur move into the kitchen, grabbing something out of the cupboard, she grinned as she heard a yell.
“INCOMING!” Chloe yelled, laughing as she absolutely demolished Max with a flour bomb right in the face.
“Chloeeee!” Max yelped in surprise as she was impacted by the projectile right into the face. All three women laughed as Max and Chloe began to flick little bits of flour at each other before Chloe began to tickle torture Max through the sliding back door until they were both on the grass in the back garden laughing their hearts out.
“Chloeeee, gerroffme!” Chloe just laughed as she rubbed her hands in Max’s hair before offering Max a hand up to her feet. Max took it and stood up, shaking her hair from side to side as she shook all of the flour out of it. “You are majorly evil Ms. Price.” She laughed again as she staggered inside and washed herself off in the kitchen sink, Chloe laughing too as she walked in after Max, grabbing a piece of Max’s breakfast and shrugging as Joyce looked on with mock disapproval before grabbing a bowl of cereal.
“Well Ms. Caulfield, think of it as a reminder to how beautiful you are, white as a ghost from flour or from all the flash photography you take.” Chloe and Max shared genuine smiles.
“You two should kiss already.” Joyce laughed from the sofa, where she was leaning her back on. The pair of girls looked at Joyce with a shocked look on their faces.
“MOM!” “Joyce!” Both girls shouted with shock at the oldest Price woman as she just laughed, placing a photo album back onto the shelf. The blush on both girls' faces made Joyce laugh even harder.
“I see you both beat me to it, god it’s like having you two back in the house when you were kids.” She smiled a genuinely happy smile at both girls. “I’m happy to hear you laugh again Chloe.” She pulled her still shell shocked daughter into a hug before doing the same to Max.
“Uh…” Both girls laughed, Joyce joining in until all three were laughing in hysterics in the middle of the kitchen. Suddenly the door opened and a groggy looking David walked in, standing in the doorway of the kitchen a little surprised at the scene he walked in on.
“Am I missing something?” David murmured out as Joyce popped the microwave on. “You three are laughing so loud you can be heard from the street.”
Max was a little surprised that there was no hostility from David, partly as she’d sneakily rewound and deleted the voice message alerting the Prices to her and Chloe’s little midnight adventure, partly because he’d busted her ass for the joint in Chloe’s room.
“Chloe’s laughing like she’s a kid again, I think that’s a cause for celebration!” Joyce exclaimed and David smiled at Chloe before rubbing his forehead.
“Chloe…” David cleared his throat. “Can we speak in the garage?”
“S- Sure dude.” Chloe fiddled with her hands a little as she followed David into the garage.
As soon as Chloe had shut the garage door, David immediately spoke.
“I’m sorry Chloe, I’ve been too tough on you.” Chloe blinked a bit, she was surprised at how straight David was being with her.
“Uh… thanks.” She muttered.
“I’m not finished, I’m not trying to replace William, I’ve never really made that clear to you and I understand where you’re coming from. Really, I do.” Now Chloe was really confused, did he bump his head last night at the pool? Why was he being so nice? “I’m just trying to be better.” He looked down for a few minutes, clearly considering what to say next. “I want a fresh start, no animosity.”
“Uhm… wow…” Chloe cleared her throat and blinked several times. “I’m uh, I’m sorry too. I know… that uh… I’ve not been the easiest to deal with.” She was struggling with what to say so she just pulled David into a loose hug for a few seconds before pulling away and opening the garage door. “Thanks David… a fresh start would be cool…” She smiled slightly before walking out.
‘I at least have to try to be nicer to him… For Max.’
As soon as the garage door closed, Joyce turned to Max and smiled.
“Max, I’ve known you for a long, long time. I know what you’re like so I can’t believe I’m gonna ask this but…” She took a second to compose herself before continuing. “Please don’t break her heart again, it would break her… please.” Max pulled Joyce into a hug.
“Of course I won’t Joyce, I’ve already broken her heart once, without any choice in the matter. I refuse to do it again.” Max spoke with a serious dark tone in her voice, Joyce didn’t push but she could tell Max wasn’t okay talking about it.
“Thank you Max.” Joyce pulled back from the hug. “She seriously loves you. I’m surprised you can’t see it.” Max started to blush and Joyce placed a hand on her shoulder. “ Max , trust me, do you trust me?” Max nodded.
“You’re like a Mom to me, in more ways than one…” Max watched Joyce smile as she heard Max speak. “Ever since I was forced out to go to Seattle, I’ve wanted to come back for Chloe, I never wanted to leave in the first place.” Max wiped her eyes, tears forming before Joyce helped wipe them off.
“And you’re like a daughter to me, you’re so strong and brave and she seriously loves you to bits and I know, deep in there.” Joyce placed a finger on Max’s heart. “You love her. You both love each other, I can see it, Vanessa and Ryan can see it, William could see it. Hell, I bet David can see it.” Max blushed heavily as Joyce spoke, covering her face with her sleeves. “Don’t rush into it, take it slowly, I can speak to Chloe at some point, but whatever you’re going through, you’ll get through it with Chloe by your side.” Max smiled at Joyce, hugging the older woman again.
“Thank you Joyce, really, I appreciate it. We uh, we’re figuring it out slowly but…” Max ran a hand through her hair and let out a shaky breath. “Oh god, Joyce, I’m so freaking nervous.” Joyce let out a hearty laugh, placing a hand on Max’s shoulder.
“I know, munchkin, I know. So is Chloe. She seriously is obsessed with you.” Max began to blush again.
The garage door clicked open and Chloe stepped out, looking slightly shell shocked as she moved over to Max, draping an arm over her best friend's shoulder.
“Speaking of.” Joyce laughed and turned back to the microwave as it beeped, indicating David's food was ready.
“Maxo.” She froze when she saw Max was blushed. “Aww, did Mom make you blush?” She tugged Max into a loose hug, squeezing slightly. “You ready? I’ve got an adventure planned for you today.”
“With you Chloe, I’m ready for anything.”
Chapter Text
Max and Chloe both stepped out of the house, taking a simultaneous deep breath before Chloe leant down, pressing a kiss onto Max's cheek. Max looked at her best friend, the girl she loved and who, when dared her, she’d kissed, with such love and passion. Yet, as she remembered the nightmare she’d had, her blood ran cold, causing her to look away from Chloe.
“Dude, are you okay?” Max looked back at Chloe, hurt still in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Chloe before moving to the back of Chloe’s truck.
“No… I…” Max sat on the bed of the truck, tears in her eyes as Chloe sat next to her, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend. “After I was attacked, I uh… I guess I entered some kind of nightmare world… it was…” Max took a shaky breath, Chloe pressing her lips to Max’s head, kissing softly. “Rachel was there…” Max whispered out.
“How?” Chloe shuffled a bit closer, tightening her grip around Max's shoulder as the girl continued.
“I don’t know… it wasn’t real, but it felt like it. You saw her and… you kissed her, called her babe, then asked if I was ‘scared of being a third wheel.’ It sucked, to be honest.” Max felt Chloe pull her into a tight hug, opening her mouth but closing it again when Max held a finger up, indicating she had more to say. “I ran away, I couldn’t… I hated seeing it, I was so… so fucking jealous, Chloe, I wanted to cry… I ran back to the dorms, the fountain was… something was wrong with the fountain. I ran back into my dorm room, but it wasn’t mine…”
“It was Rachel’s…” Chloe whispered, remembering that Rachel had been in dorm room 219 before Max arrived, Max nodding and Chloe pulling her into a hug.
“It was like your room, just more punk… I…” She began to cry, Chloe wiping her eyes and smiling at her.
“It’s okay Max, it wasn’t real.”
“It felt real, Kate was there too, she put the blame on me for everything that happened to her.”
“That isn’t true though.”
“But it feels true, because I know what happened in that dream. Whatever the fuck has been causing my nightmares took a lot more direct hand in this one. It made my worst fears, my deepest feelings, my everything … It turned it into my reality, tore my protections away from me and left me as vulnerable as it could, then made me watch Kate die…”
“Oh, Max… I’m so fucking sorry… I’m never leaving you, please don’t worry yourself-” Max opened her mouth, cutting Chloe off.
“I can’t help it, Chloe! I’d deserve it after everything I did to you…” Max looked down, eyes watering as she cried, remembering her dream from earlier in the day. “I… I saw your Dad in one of my dreams…” Chloe turned to face Max, eyes wide.
“Wow… what did he say?”
“I can’t… I think it was… he helped me escape from someone who had me kidnapped… I unlocked a door and you saved me… you and Rachel…”
Chloe pulled Max into a hug, squeezing her and kissing her cheek. “I’m so sorry you’ve got to go through this, Max… maybe now I somehow have a trickle of your powers, I might be able to help? Maybe?” Max looked up at Chloe, her best friend’s words cheering up. “I’m always going to be by your side, Max.”
“For cereal?”
“Oh, for more than cereal Maxo, for bacon waffles.” Max smiled as Chloe spoke, putting her hands on Chloe’s cheeks, kissing her best friend on the lips and wrapping one of hands around to the back of Chloe’s head, the girl doing the same to Max as they held each other close, limbs tangled before Chloe and Max mutually pulled away, smiling.
“So Price, where are you taking me?” Max and Chloe both hopped into the truck, Max watching Chloe start the truck, Chloe backing out and onto the road, driving for a little while before smiling and speaking up.
“Something on my face Maxo?”
“No, just looking at something hella beautiful.” Max snorted as Chloe blushed, Chloe looking away and pulling the truck into a parking lot near the main street of Arcadia Bay. Chloe held a finger up to Max, indicating for her to stay in the truck. Max sat there for several more seconds, watching as Chloe moved around the truck, opening Max’s door for her.
“Why thank you, fine madam.” Max spoke.
“Only the best for the luckiest lady alive.”
“Trust me Chloe, with you, I feel like the luckiest lady alive.” Max leant up and kissed Chloe on the cheek, cupping the other cheek in the process, Chloe blushing.
“Duuude.” Chloe whined out a little before the pair started laughing, linking their arms together and walking around into the main street.
“Thank you for today, Chloe.” Max put her things into the bed of the truck, Chloe securing them before putting her own next to them.
“Of course Max, wanna go to your dorm? I don’t really fancy dealing with David after earlier... and last night. ” Max nodded.
“Agreed, hella weird how he came to talk to you just out of the blue, even after last night...” Max rested her head on Chloe’s shoulder as the girl drove to Blackwell, pulling into the parking lot and hopping out.
“You’ve got class tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah but it won’t be very long, Mr. Jefferson is a couple of lessons ahead and is having us in to watch a couple of videos. I’ll be an hour, maximum.”
“Could you watch them with me?” Max looked up at Chloe. “Out of class, I mean, you’ve still got a free day to cash in with Wells.”
“True, and it’s only videos.” Max nodded, smiling at Chloe before resting her head on her shoulder, closing her eyes and drifting into a light sleep.
Unknown
Max found herself running, the world around her a misty black before it coiled and rolled away, the area around her clearing to reveal a familiar area to her, one of the arterial roads that are in Chloe’s suburban neighbourhood, Max running towards the intersection.
‘Why am I here?’ Max continued to run, speeding up as she heard a loud smash from up ahead, tires screeching and horns blaring. She ran up the sidewalk, seeing an overturned big rig and, crumpled and battered as if it had rolled at least once, sat a car that was very familiar to Max, the girl ran around to see into the windows of the car, eyes widening and shock overtaking her as she looked at the occupants.
Her mother.
Her father.
And Herself.
They were slumped over in the vehicle, stirring slightly as their vehicle’s engine ran idle, something very, very wrong with it. Max froze, staring as she lost control of her body.
“No…” She heard a voice speak from herself and realised, with horror, who was speaking.
‘ Chloe? No… this… this is impossible… this, we… this looks like 2008… ’ Max watched as Chloe began to run towards the car, the other vehicle overturned and leaking fluids. Max could only watch on in horror as some of the liquid began to pool into a puddle at the foot of the upturned truck, where the engine of the Caulfield’s car sat.
‘ No… nonononono, Chloe, don’t get closer! ’ Max mentally screamed at Chloe, who ran closer before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pick her up, carrying her away into cover as she heard a hissing sound, Max closing her mind's eye as she heard a light crackling sound and thought she could vaguely smell burning… a fire.
“No! Max!” She heard Chloe’s voice shout and opened her eyes to see the car in flames. Chloe ran out to try and rescue Max, the little girl being turned around and her shoulders squeezed by someone who made her mind’s eye widen in shock.
‘ Impossible… ’
March, Week 4, 2014.
Max shot up on the passenger side of Chloe’s truck, gasping for air and gripping the bench tightly as Chloe pulled over to the side of the road, losing her spot in traffic as she turned to Max, wrapping her arms around her best friend and holding her tightly, rubbing Max’s back, trying to soothe her.
“Max, I’m here, you’re safe.” Max, still hyperventilating, rubbed at her hands as she felt a panic attack begin to take hold.
“Hands numb… please, hold me…” Chloe wrapped her arms around Max, holding her tightly and squeezing whenever Max let out a sob, tears soaking her clothes as she hugged her girlfriend, kissing the top of her head before whispering.
“You’re okay butterfly, I’ve got you.” Max pulled away and smiled weakly at Chloe.
“Thank you, Chlobear.” Max and Chloe moved closer and kissed softly, the kiss short but full of emotion. “I… it was just a real bad nightmare...”
“You don’t have to tell me, Max, it’s okay…” Chloe squeezed her girlfriend before continuing her drive to Blackwell, eventually pulling into the parking lot and stopping in one of the disabled bays.
“Chloe.” Max’s voice growled deeply, Chloe laughing at her best friend's voice.
“Ooh laa laa, I love it when you growl your voice at me, Mad Max.” Chloe ruffled Max’s hair as she moved the truck to the nearest normal space.
When Chloe had stopped, Max turned Chloe’s face towards her and stuck up her middle finger, her face full of mock anger, the pair laughing when Chloe stuck her middle finger up also, wrapping her own finger around Max’s, pulling the girl closer and holding the small of her back.
“I uh…” Max blushed as she nuzzled at Chloe’s neck.
“Is that Victoria?” Max looked up to see Victoria and Mr. Jefferson walked towards his car, Victoria leaning against it as Jefferson got something out of his car’s boot. He walked around and the pair got into the car, Chloe and Max hiding as Jefferson pulled out of the parking lot and drove out, Max looked out the window but could only see the headrests.
“What the fuck was that?” Max looked at Chloe, a look of concern in her face.
“I don’t know, I’ll ask her when I see her next…” Max and Chloe both got out of the truck and hugged each other before walking hand in hand to the dorms.
“You seen Viccy?” Taylor and Courtney both approached Max, who shook her head and looked at the pair as her and Chloe walked past.
“I haven’t, sorry.” Max looked down as she lied to Taylor and Courtney, she had seen Victoria but didn’t want them to know who she saw her with. The pair walked into her dorm room and Max slumped down on the bed, sitting upright as Chloe opened the window, grabbing a cigarette from her pocket and lighting it, taking a long drag and blowing it into the night sky.
“Wanna tell me what happened yet?” Max shook her head.
“To be honest, you might find out soon. It depends on what happens with these powers you’ve got. Otherwise, not really, not yet…” Max wiped her eyes, laying flat on her bed and beckoning Chloe closer, the older girl taking her beanie off before laying next to Max, the younger girl wrapping her arms around her best friend.
“Oh, so I’m the little spoon, am I?” Max laughed at Chloe’s words, hoisting a leg over Chloe’s legs, wrapping her girlfriend in a protective cocoon.
“Yep, any objections?”
“None from me, Caulfield.”
“Good, Price. I’m glad.” Max kissed Chloe’s neck, the pair of girls falling asleep in each other's arms.
Chapter Text
Max shot up in bed, a mess of ragged breathing and sweat, her shirt sticking to her body as she panted, grabbing the bottle of water she’d started keeping close by because of this exact situation. She took a big drink before putting it back onto her bedside table and slid out from under the covers.
‘Where the fuck have you gone, Price?’ Max looked around the room, spotting Chloe’s coat missing but her trousers still there. Max pondered for a second before going to check the bathroom, sighing when she found it deserted. She headed over to the stairs, walking down and out of the front door.
That’s when she saw Chloe.
With Rachel.
Kissing.
Max turned, looking down at the ground for a few seconds as tears welled up in her eyes, her hands balling into fists as she looked back, the pair of girls snickering at her. Max walked away, heading to the main block of Blackwell, eventually inside the building itself. She walked through the halls and towards the art classroom door, feeling drawn to the room. She walked the rest of the corridor, gripping and twisting the handle and walking through the door, finding herself in the back of the bathroom.
‘Wha-? How did I get here?’ She crept to the edge of the cubicles just as she heard a gun fire, watching as Rachel and Chloe stood over a body.
Her own body.
‘This is totally fucked up…’ Rachel and Chloe both turned towards Max, causing her to turn around and run straight into Kate, who pushed her back into the bathroom, her bad footing causing her to trip onto her back. As she clambered to her feet, she noticed two Chloe’s. One was a Chloe she didn’t recognise, with strawberry blond hair and a light purple jumper. The other Chloe though, she did…
“Oh my god… it’s you, Chloe… from the other timeline…”
“Yep.” Chloe stoically looked at her, her face conveying a grim yet loving look as Max rubbed her eyes, a wave of remorse ripping through her for what she had to do.
“Who was she?” Max, deciding to try and get something useful out of the dream, prodded with a question. As she spoke, she saw the other Max disappear, vanishing into thin air.
“She’s you, this you.” Rachel prodded at Max’s arm. “From a different time here. You’ll work it out.” Max began to back away from the group as they moved into different positions in the room.
"So, this is what it’s like to break reality, then." Max noted that the Kate in the room was the one who she… who jumped.
“So, you clearly recognise those two.” The other Chloe, the one she didn’t know, spoke up, pushing Max against the wall, a look of unexpected softness on her face.
“We’re here to prepare you, whether you want it, or not.” Kate spoke up, eyes still full of tears, clothes wet from rain.
“Some of them may come and go, but someone will always guide you here.”
Max looked at the door to see another Max walk in, wearing a smorgasbord of different people’s clothes - Chloe’s jacket and bullet necklace, Kate’s cross necklace, one of Victoria’s cashmere sweaters under Chloe’s jacket, Dana’s earrings, Juliet’s ring and boots, her own bag slung over her shoulder. Around her waist, attached to the belt of her jeans are suspenders, probably Chloe’s, as well as various necklaces from a variety of people Max remembers. She’s got Courtney’s, Victoria’s and Taylor’s, as well as few she doesn’t recognise. On her head is Chloe’s beanie. The alternate Max walks over to the sink and leaning down, washing her face before taking out a polaroid.
“You’re… you’re original Me, then?”
“No. You are original Max. I… I’m just a copy, one you will, or already have, left behind.” The other Max looked at her, eyes full of sadness and emotion as she walked over and put her hand on Max’s shoulder. “There are more like me than you’d think, and you’ve already made at least one...”
The Chloe she didn’t recognise spoke now, “You’re going to wake up soon, and what will happen is very, very real. I’m almost sorry, but it’s how it has to happen. As Rach said, you’ll figure it out.” Max watched another Max walk out before she looked down, seeing Rachel pointing a gun into her stomach.
“Like Chloe…”
“Yep. Like me.” Chloe from the other timeline spoke, everyone walking away. Max took a quick note that the unknown Chloe didn’t speak.
"Wait wait wait, two more questions?" Rachel let out a little sigh, Chloe nodding at Max, indicating to her to continue. "Okay, what the fuck was happening outside, I saw you two."
"That's not important, just... it's something we've been trying to warn you about, your dreams aren't... they aren't protected anymore..." Max frowned, the response leaving her with more questions than answers.
“Okay. One more question, how do I get back here?” Max looked between Rachel and Chloe as she heard a door open at the other end of the room, seeing her own shoes under the cubicle. Chloe leant in and whispered.
“Welcome back. You’re already here.”
Rachel fired the pistol.
Everything went black.
Max shot up in bed, a mess of ragged breathing and sweat, her shirt sticking to her body as she panted, grabbing the bottle of water she’d started keeping close by because of this exact situation. She took a big drink before putting it back onto her bedside table and slid out from under the covers.
She looked around, seeing Chloe’s trousers still on the floor, jacket missing. Max walked over to the window, staring out to see Chloe sat on a bench, cigarette in hand as she puffed idly. Max reached for her hoodie before shaking her head, slipping her shoes on and walking downstairs. She plodded down the steps and out of the front door, looking at her girlfriend for a few seconds before speaking.
“Chloe…” Max watched Chloe look up, sadness in her eyes, causing Max to let out a sigh.
‘Oh god, Chloe must be a wreck… I…’ Max sat down on the steps, head in hands as she let out another heavy sigh.
“You okay, Max?” Max looked up to see Chloe crouched in front of her, hands covering Max’s.
“No… I feel terrible… I’ve…” Max let out another ragged breath, a sob tearing through her as she fell into Chloe’s arms. “Dog Chloe, I feel so fucking awful… I feel like such a burden, on you, on Joyce… on everybody… I can’t just handle my own shit… my fucked up dreams, how much I've fucked up reality and just tried to stitch it back together...” Max looked at Chloe as her girlfriend stroked her cheek.
“Max, nobody is perfect. I’m certainly not perfect, nope, I’m insane in the motherfucking brain, baby!” Max let out a dry laugh as Chloe threw her arms up, mock-cheering as she wrapped her arms around Max’s neck, holding her close as their heads touched. “But…” Chloe took a deep breath. “Max, I don’t want perfect… I want you. All your imperfections, all your problems, all your brains, knowledge, love, affection. I want you. I’d burn a thousand cities for you, any day.” Max looked up at Chloe, the younger girl putting her hands on Chloe’s cheek, kissing her softly on the lips.
“Chloe… the dream. It was… it was uh…” Max sighed. “I was you… 14 year old you… I watched a car crash… It was…” Max wiped her eyes, Chloe letting her take all the pauses she needed. “It was my car crash. I was in the car with my parents… We died in 2008.” Max watched Chloe process all of the information in real time, the other girl letting out a heavy sigh.
“Max…” Chloe cupped Max’s cheeks, holding her close as she pressed her lips against Max’s head, her girlfriend breaking down in Chloe’s arms as she held her, whispering sweet nothings until Max had calmed. “Max, I dreamt about it too… I…” Now it was Chloe’s turn to let out a shaky sigh. “I was you… in the car. That’s why I’m out here now… it was tonight.” Max pulled back to look at Chloe.
“Chloe, I’m so sorry…” Max and Chloe hugged, squeezing each other like bears as they hugged, Max eventually standing up and leading Chloe to the dorm room, the pair sitting on the futon as Max checked her watch.
“4am.” Max and Chloe sighed, rubbing their eyes. As much as they wanted to go back to sleep, Max had promised Chloe an early start to watch Mr. Jefferson’s video he’d sent Max, leaving the rest of the day for her and Chloe to enjoy.
“Let’s get this shit started then, hey Max?” Chloe turned to Max, a vacant look in her friend's eyes.
“Max?”
Max didn’t respond, she didn’t even move, she only stared at the news on the TV screen. Chloe turned to read it too, eyes widening when she read the headline and saw the pictures on screen.
‘ Couple injured after car accident with tractor-trailer. ’
The two pictures of the injured on the screen caused Chloe to gasp in shock, dropping her lighter onto the carpet as she pulled Max close to her chest, holding her weeping girlfriend close to her chest.
They were Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield.
January, Week 4, 2009.
“Wow!” Max looked around at her room, paper lanterns hanging from the awnings in the roof, plugging into the socket next to the door. Max ran over to her chest of drawers, pulling them open to reveal all of her clothes, neatly put away and organised into different sections for different types of clothing. Max turned her attention to her bed, a string of lights had been hung over the bed, Ryan turning the paper lanterns off to show Max how the room looks without the lanterns on.
“We hope you like it, munchkin.” Vanessa smiled and hugged Ryan, who flipped the lanterns back on, allowing Max to continue exploring her redesigned bedroom.
“Thank you both, I love you!” Max hugged her parents tightly, them both hugging back as they stood there for a few minutes, Max eventually pulling away.
“I should show Chloe!” Max looked around her room, pulling drawers open as Vanessa looked at Ryan with a worried look on her face. Ryan smiled at his wife, calling Max’s name and holding out a present box, Max running over and taking it, looking at her parents, who nodded, Vanessa speaking.
“A late Christmas present. All set up and ready for you to take to school with you.” Max tore the paper off of the box, grinning as she read the words on the box.
“An iPhone, wowser!” Max opened the box, taking out her iPhone 3G and the accessories that it came with.
“We hope you like it, it’s not got a lot of storage, so we also got you…” Ryan handed Max an iPod Classic, Max smiling and bouncing excitedly as she checked the back, gliding her finger lovingly over the little box that said ‘128gb’. “Pre-loaded with all of your favourite music!”
“Thank you!” Max smiled as she opened her contacts on her new iPhone 3G, her happy look turning into a frown as she scrolled through the list several times. Vanessa turned to Ryan again, a hint of fear in her eyes.
“C- Chloe isn't… she isn’t anywhere in here.” Max looked up at her Mom, lip quivering as tears filled her eyes.
“I’m sorry Max…” Vanessa knelt down next to Max, pulling her into a hug. “She tried to reach out… When-”
“But I was…” Max pulled away, shuffling back and putting her new devices off to the side. Ryan walked over and put them on Max’s desk next to the old computer. After he’d done that, he quickly paced the steps and headed out of Max’s space.
“Yeah, When you were-” Vanessa flinched as Max unleashed a full power punch, hitting her mom square in the shoulder.
“WHEN I WAS IN THE PLACE THAT YOU SENT ME!” Max emphasised the you with a sharp prod into Vanessa’s chest, Max’s eyes full of sadness and a dash of hatred for her Mother as Vanessa stood up, shouting back.
“I SENT YOU THERE SO THAT THEY COULD HELP YOU!”
“WELL, GUESS HOW WELL THAT TURNED OUT!” Max snatched the phone, iPod and earbuds off of her desk, slipping a hoodie on and storming past her Mom.
“MAXINE CAULFIELD!” Vanessa ran after Max, who sprinted past, taking the key that Ryan held out to her, Vanessa stopping next to him as Max locked the door she’d ran through.
“Why…” Vanessa stared at Ryan. “Why did you just help her!” She slammed her hand down on the table, causing him to shoot up, pointing at her face accusingly.
“Because I wasn’t the one who nearly broke our daughter in two with my own hubris. I didn’t put myself first, I didn’t put what I wanted for Max first, I wanted Max to be happy, and if that meant sticking in Arcadia Bay, earning shit money, or dealing with the Prescotts, then I would’ve!” Ryan stood up, grabbing his own coat and boots, slipping it all on before walking to the door. “I wouldn’t blame Max if she took the next bus straight back home.” He walked through the door, leaving Vanessa standing in her home, alone, crying.
March, Week 4, 2014.
Max sat there in shock, eyes watering with tears as she read the television across from her, volume low to not wake anyone, she couldn’t believe her eyes as she read the news.
“Chloe…” Max looked at Chloe. “Please, tell me… is this a dream?”
“No… not a dream…” Chloe, tears also in her eyes, pulled out her phone and sent Joyce a quick text before pulling Max into a tight hug, giving her a squeeze of reassurance.
Chloe: Mom, Max’s parents have been in an accident.
“Oh my god… it’s all my fault.” Max brought her knees up to her chest and sobbed into them, pulling away from Chloe. The blue-haired girl moved closer, trying to hug Max but the girl pulled away even more. “I’m sorry Chloe… it’s… it’s all my fault.” Max reached into her bag and gave Chloe the pack of photos from the party. Chloe tentatively reached out and took them, eying Max with concern.
“Max, please… talk to me…” Chloe didn’t reach out but instead sat there, putting the photos onto Max’s desk before sitting next to her girlfriend, reaching for the TV remote and turning the screen off.
“I uh… I have a confession to make. I travelled.” Max took a deep breath. “I’ve travelled through timelines.” Chloe turned to Max.
“You… you what?”
“I’ve travelled from a different timeline. At the party…” Max indicated the pictures.
“Oh my god, Max… that’s why you were so pale, right?” Max just nodded, leaning back into her girlfriend as Chloe wrapped her arms around Max. “What happened for you uh… you to travel through timelines?”
“I… We…” Max broke into a sob, pressing her head into Chloe. “Kate died, Chlo. Kate didn’t make it.” Max pulled out Kate’s cross necklace from her pocket, putting it in Chloe’s hand.
“This is all I have left… from that timeline. I…” Max turned to face Chloe. “I left you behind, maybe alone. We… we didn’t work out in that timeline… You called our kiss, the kiss we had after breaking into Blackwell’s pool… you called it a mistake.” Max wiped her eyes, Chloe having pulled away, listening with a furrowed brow.
“You didn’t know Nathan was going to attack you…”
“Because he didn’t, not before… something else happened, I guess…” Max wiped her eyes.
“Max, I believe you with this… the whole timeline stuff, but is this how you’re admitting that you loved a different version of Me, and I’m just your- your rebound? I don’t fucking know what I am to you anymore…” Chloe ran a hand through her hair, breathing a little shaky as she sat there, rubbing her eyes as Max spoke.
“You’re my girlfri-”
“Max, please?” Chloe growled at Max, her voice soft with an undertone of rage as tears pooled in her eyes. “You… you had a different Chloe you loved , then she said what, that the kiss was a mistake? So you left there, to come and be with me instead?” Max opened her mouth to speak, being cut off by Chloe. “No, Max, I’ve got a few other things to say. You don’t speak to me for FIVE fucking years, no texts, no phone calls, not one fucking letter. I wrote letters I wanted to send to you, but I never fucking did it, because it hurt me so, so fucking much, that they became nasty.” Chloe looked down.
“Then, when I pull up with Rachel in September to meet with Frank at Blackwell, who do I see getting out their parents car than Maxine-fucking-Caulfield. MIA best friend back from the city of her dreams. You looked at the truck, you looked at ME, Max, but it felt like you looked through me. I… I fucking hated it. I got so blazed that night I… I had a gun, I was alone… I…” Chloe cleared her throat, Max nodding at Chloe’s implication. “I’m so just… I’m fed up, Max, you promise one thing and do the other, or do what you promised and fuck it up so bad you fucking break my heart.”
“Chloe, I came back to save Kate, and I came back to fulfil a promise I made to the other version of you! I promised not to let you fuck up… whatever we are, I promised to not fuck it up! I know I don’t have a good history of keeping promises, but I promised that to her, and I’m keeping that promise. I…” Max faltered, slumped down with defeat in her eyes as Chloe, unmoving through her entire speech, stared at Max, the girl’s eyes flicking left and right, searching for answers, before whispering words Max never wanted to hear Chloe say.
“Max, I think… I think she- I was right, that kiss might’ve been a mistake."
Chapter Text
Max's whole world shattered, her chest crushing with pressure as she watched Chloe, the girl she loved and cared for, stand up and grab her coat and trousers, dressing slowly. “I… I don’t…” Chloe let out a sigh, stopping what she was doing and sat back down opposite Max, hands in lap.
“I don’t know what to say, or think, or do right now. We… we…” Chloe watched as Max’s eyes dropped downward, tears falling. “I… we need to take a break, Max. Let you figure out some of your shit, when you’ve figured it all out, ring me, we’ll talk it out.” Chloe sat for a few seconds whilst Max processed what she’d said, eventually standing up and heading for the door.
“Chloe-” Max had blurted out, Chloe halfway out the door. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” Chloe whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “Don’t be sorry yet, figure out why you’re sorry first.” Chloe closed the door to Max’s dorm room, walking out the dorm block and towards the parking lot.
Max awoke several hours later and considerably more depressed than she had been 5 hours prior. ‘She’s gone… even if it’s just a break…’ Max glanced at the party photos on her desk, the voices and music already playing in her mind as she remembers the last time she travelled through them.
“No.” Max whispered, rubbing her eyes and temples before standing up, sitting at her desk, and, booting up an internet explorer, searched about how to explain difficult topics to others. After several hours of searching, her phone buzzed, it was her Mom.
Mom: Max
Max: mom!
Mom: are you okay?
Max: are you? You were all over the news!
Mom: what? We’re fine
Max looked at her phone, a shocked look in her eyes.
Max: what? News said you and Dad were in a car accident
Mom: no? We’re ok max
Max looked at her phone for a few more seconds before throwing it onto her bed, tears welling up in her eyes. ‘She lied to me… other Max…’ Max let out a sigh of relief. ‘At least my parents are okay, now I just gotta deal with Chloe.’ Max sat back up, shooting her Mom a quick text that she’d call later as she’s got class before putting her phone back down, spinning her chair before getting up and walking out.
After several minutes of walking, she eventually found herself in the Blackwell parking lot, eyes on her target.
‘Bingo. Frank is here, and no Chloe.’ Max walked up and rapped on the door 3 times, hiding something behind her back, as the door opened and Pompidou ran forward, Max presented Pompidou with a big, meaty bone, petting the dog as it attacked the food with ravenous ferocity.
“Thanks for that, he’s gonna be occupied for hours. Max, right?” Frank spoke with a rough, yet kind voice.
“Yeah, you’re Frank, right?”
“Yeah, what’s up? Bulldog never stops talking about you.” Max had to stifle a blush as she went back to petting Pompidou.
“Yeah, Chloe does that. I was wondering if I could uh, how do the kids say, ‘score some goods’.” Frank laughed at Max’s attempt to be hip.
“Yeah Max, I got a special supply stashed for you and Bulldog anytime one of you two popped around.” Frank beckoned Max inside the RV and the girl hopped up the steps.
“Dude, nice digs.” Max looked around, the kitchenette was a bit messy, sink full of dishes, and the table with a laptop on it was full of paraphernalia for weed, but Max didn’t really care. She sat herself down on the bench opposite what was obviously Frank’s seat as he came back to the middle, sitting down and opening a faded collectable lunchbox, the distinctive ‘Captain Spirit’ branding labelled on the side, not that she’d ever heard of a ‘Captain Spirit’ before. She watched as Frank fished out some of the weed inside and packed it into a pouch for Max, handing it to her alongside some papers and filters. Max handed Frank one hundred dollars and Frank laughed.
“Are you paying off Chloe’s debt? Cos if you are, girl, you gonna need a hell of a lot more than this?” Max saw this as a perfect opening.
“How much does Chloe owe?”
“$3200. Well, now $3150.” Frank waved the 100 dollars and smiled. “Seriously, I don’t expect her, or you, to pay it all back. This is worth more than the money.” Frank tapped the RV wall, smiling.
“What happened to your old one? Saw it parked around here in September, then this one started showing up in its place.”
“Some little fucker tried to torch the joint. Me, Chloe, Rachel and Pompidou were in there at the time, but the blinds were closed and we were so blazed and wasted we didn’t hear the prick open the engine up until we saw the orange glow. Cops said that the asshole probably poured gasoline over the engine and lit it up. We managed to get most of my shit out before the thing went up. Was a beautiful sight, though.” Frank grimaced and Max nodded.
“How well’d you know Rachel?”
“How well do you know Chloe? She talks about you nearly non-stop until today, what happened?” Max felt a little uncomfortable at Frank’s aggressive questioning. “Aww, the detective doesn’t like all the questions.”
“Fuck you, dude. I came here to score, not get psychoanalysed.” Max stood up, heading for the door until she felt Frank grab at her wrist.
“Sorry, I guess.” Frank grumbled, clearly unused to being nice. “Just look after her, she needs you.” Max nodded reassuringly before stepping out, walking away from the RV as she saw a rusty truck speed into the parking lot, nearly taking Warren out before pulling up next to the RV, Max watched as Chloe got out of her truck, walking around before locking eyes with Max, the younger girl turning away and walking back to her dorm, tears in her eyes.
Max flopped on her bed, lit joint in one hand, can of some shitty alcohol Chloe had left behind. She hated drinking, but she enjoyed it at times like this, when it would remind her of Chloe.
‘Oh, Chloe.’ Max rose, putting the can on the desk and sitting on the window sill, taking a sip before taking a drag. ‘I’m so fucking sorry… to both of you… To the other Chloe, from the other timeline… I hope you’ve got a Max with you, to look after you, to hold you. I hope I left you one behind…’ Max wiped a tear from her eye, taking another long drag from her joint.
‘And to my Chloe, I hope you can hear this… I need you, please… come back to me… I don’t want it now… I just want it whenever you are ready, but I… I need you, so fucking bad.’ Max flicked some ash off the end of the joint, groaning when she realised she’d smoked the whole fucking thing. She threw the butt out her window, cursing when it landed next to the bin instead of in it. She took a long drink from her can of alcohol before that too was empty, throwing the can into the bin in her dorm room instead of outside. She kicked off the sill and moved to sit at her desk chair.
She pulled out her phone to see a message from Chloe.
Chloe: Max, that news report. It didn’t happen
Max: I know
Chloe: u ok?
Max: yes
Max: u?
Chloe: yes
Chloe: no
Chloe: maybe
Max: same
Max: wanna talk?
Chloe: sure
Chloe: went home
Chloe: slept
Chloe: had dream, bathrooms in blackwell, then american rust.
Chloe: i was there
Chloe: u were nowhere to be seen
Max: oh
Max: i uh
Max: i had a dream like that last night, when we…
Chloe: yeah
Max: yeah, it was uh… it sucked
Max: kate was there, there were 2 of u there, one cussed me out for abandoning her in the old timeline
Max: dunno who the other version is yet
Max: i saw me, fucked up clothes, like im multiple people but in clothes kinda fucked up
Max: and rachel was there
Chloe: damn dude, intense shit
Max: I watched myself get shot, then watched as I walked in to watch myself get shot
Chloe: nice
Max: nuh uh, not fucking nice
Chloe: oh
Max sighed, Chloe didn’t take her seriously. ‘Fuck… fuck fuck fuck.’ Her phone vibrated with a response.
Chloe: dude
Chloe : i dont want your powers
Chloe: have them back
Max: i dont know how u got them in the first place
Max: i dont want them myself
Chloe: but that means no more SuperMax
Chloe: fuq that shit
Max: tru ig
Max: speaking of fuq that shit
Max: wanna elope?
Chloe: pffff
Chloe: fuck it, y not
Max: cant sadly
Max: illegal in oregon
Chloe: boooooo
Max: sorry dude :)
Chloe: NO EMOJI
Chloe: max, im sorry about earlier. How about we meet at the treehouse and talk it out
Max: agreed
Max: please come and pick me up
Chloe: im right here dude, look down at the tobanga
Max looked at the tobanga and smiled.
Max: so you CAN spell it, tobanga, not to-bang-her
Chloe: who told you that
Max: heard it in one of my dreams, the one after i was knocked out by Nathan
Chloe: oh
Max: on my way! down
Max sighed at the auto correct on her iPhone, it having corrected “omw” to “on my way!”
‘Stupid setting.’ Max stood up from her desk, grabbing her hoodie and heading down to the lawn, Chloe wrapping her in a loose hug before the pair walked to the parking lot, hopping into Chloe’s truck and driving to the treehouse.
Max and Chloe slowly walked through the clearing to the treehouse, Max climbing up first and Chloe following her. Max climbed through the opening and sat on one of the chairs, Chloe sitting in the other as Max sighed, running a hand through her hair.
“Max.” Chloe began. “Please, tell me. Tell me everything.” Chloe watched Max think for several minutes.
“It’s not that easy Chloe, I can’t… I can’t remember what I told you… it’s all… all so sudden for me.” Max ran a hand through her hair. Max then told Chloe what she could remember, from all the fucked up dreams with Rachel, Kate and Chloe, to seeing herself in her second very lucid dream. She sighed.
“Now the dream I hate even thinking about.” Max ran a hand through her hair. “I uh… I told you some of it… but I dreamt about me dying, Me, my Mum and my Dad… in a car accident, with a truck.” Chloe looked down.
“Just like Dad…”
“Yeah, just like William. It was… I fucking hated it, Chloe. I watched the car catch on fire, then someone grabbed me, they pulled me, uh i mean you back, into cover as the car burst into flames…” Max also looked down, tears falling. “I could fucking smell it Chloe… the person who dragged, well you back…” Max looked up at Chloe, staring intently at her. “Was you?”
“Me? I don’t…” Chloe’s eyes went wide as she connected all the dots. “Oh, my god… I… I dreamt about it but I was in your fucking shoes. I mean hey, you smelt it, I felt it. It was hella hot and very unfun, don’t recommend it.” Max laughed dryly at Chloe’s comment, the blue-haired punk laughing too.
“Chlo… I’m sorry. I’ve… I’ve treated you like shit. I haven't spoken to you for five years, I didn’t speak to you when I came back-”
“I blocked you out. I saw you around and it hurt, but I got very good at just forgetting you. That’s why I was pissed when you came back, because I knew you’d been here since the start of the school year, but you took that long to come say hi.”
“I know, Chlobear, I know.” Max sighed, slumping in her chair, head down. “I’m trying to be better.”
Chloe nodded slowly. “Same, Max… same.”
Max and Chloe closed the gap, the two girls wrapping each other in a big hug.
For the duration of that hug, everything slowed, the birds stopped chirping, the noise of Arcadia Bay went quiet, and a sole butterfly, wings luminescent and blue, landed on the treehouse ladder, being joined by more and more until all the rungs were covered in butterflies.
Chapter Text
December, 25th, 2013.
“Chloe!” Joyce called up the stairs, slowly climbing up them and knocking on Chloe’s door.
“What?”
“Do you want to open presents?”
“Nah, I think I’ll stay in here all day and get mine later.”
“C’mon Chloe, it’s been 5 years, can we have just one nice Christmas, please?” Chloe practically threw her door open, storming out, Rachel by her side.
“Joyce, I wanna spend the day with Rachel, is that so much of a fucking problem?”
“Yes, we’re your family-”
“No! My family is here, and in the middle of Seattle, dining with her fucking parents, not giving a shit about me.”
“Chloe, please.” Rachel spoke softly, holding Chloe’s arm and looking sympathetically at Joyce, mouthing sorry at the older woman as Chloe threw her arms up, grabbing her cigarette pack and lighter out of her pocket as she stormed out the front door, Rachel following.
The pair drove through town until they reached a restaurant that was open for Christmas. Chloe and Rachel hopped out the truck and waltzed inside.
“Table for two please.”
“Right this way.” Rachel was pleased that her and Chloe were so lucky as to find a table at a time like this, the pair sitting down as a waitress quickly came over and took their order, scuttling away to have the chefs make their food.
Rachel sighed, umming and ahhing over talking to Chloe about her . “Chloe, about Max-”
“What about her?” Chloe’s brow furrowed into a frown.
“Nothing, sorry I brought her up.” Rachel smiled and Chloe seemed to calm down, reading the drinks menu before sighing.
“I’m sorry, Rach, you deserve an explanation.” Chloe ran a hand through her blue hair, putting her explanation on hold as they gave their drinks order to the waitress. After she’d left, Chloe continued. “She was my everything, from when we were both little girls, all the way until 2008. When she uh… she left. My dad died in a car crash.”
“William, right?”
“Yeah. How’d you know him?”
“Saw his grave a few times, it’s near my family grave. He helped us out a couple of times too.” Rachel smiled. “Anyway, please continue.”
“Yeah, he died in 2008 and Max left a few days later, She… her parents forced her to go, but she didn’t stay in touch, at all. Then I saw her… in September.”
“That day where you got completely fucking demolished.”
“Yeah, that one. I saw her but she looked right through me, and it broke my heart.”
“Sounds like you love her, huh?” Rachel held a hand out, Chloe taking it, the pair holding each other. Rachel had accepted long ago that she’d never beat the mysterious Max in Chloe’s heart, but settled for a solid second place. She admired Chloe’s dedication to Max and, in all honesty, held a grudge against the mysterious girl she didn’t know because of how it hurt Chloe.
“Yeah, oh god.” Chloe covered her mouth and Rachel laughed. “Oh my god… I do.”
“Haha, enjoy that brainworm.”
“Fuck you, dude, honestly.” The pair flashed middle fingers at each other before the door swung open, Chloe freezing up as Rachel looked over.
Mysterious Max had officially entered the building, with a young girl, no less.
“Is that Kate Marsh?” Rachel heard one of the other people on a different table say, apparently surprised to not see her at service. Rachel turned her attention to Chloe, who was struggling .
“Chloe, darling, chill.” Chloe and Rachel watched as Max and Kate took a seat at a table in the other corner of the restaurant, Max reading her menu and looking at Kate with care in her eyes.
“Rach… uh… Can we go?”
“Of course, I’ll go and ask if these can be ‘to-go’ meals, we can eat them in my dorm room or somewhere else.” As Rachel stood up to go and ask for the meals to be ‘to-go’, Chloe sat there and watched Max, eyes locked on her former best friend, the gears turning in Chloe’s head.
‘She must be with her, why would they come here otherwise… what the fuck, Max. You show up, don’t talk to me and start banging a Christian chic?’ She felt a tapping on her shoulder and turned to see Rachel with two warmth bags.
“Let’s rock.” Chloe spoke, Rachel smiling.
“Let’s fucking roll.”
March, Week 4, 2014
“Holy shit, I remember now…” Max looked down.
“Yeah, now I know what was going on with Kate-”
“Even I didn't know what was happening with her, I just saw that she was alone and miserable so I wanted to help her. When I saw you, I thought you looked familiar, but your big sad eyes and beautiful blue hair didn’t help matters.” Max leant over and kissed Chloe on the cheek softly. “I felt so, so fucking sorry for you. I guess, I guess I knew it was you… I could’ve seen it in those eyes. God I’m so fucking stupid.” Max sighed, hopping out of her chair and throwing it over, sitting on the floor, Chloe joining her on the ground, pulling her girlfriend in for a big hug.
“Thank you Max, and you aren’t stupid. You’re fucking more intelligent than me, that’s for damn sure.” Max and Chloe stared into each other's eyes before they closed the distance, lips connecting, a slow burning kiss that tasted of cigarettes, weed and alcohol as Chloe dragged Max on top of her, the smaller, younger girl readily sliding on top as she straddled Chloe, legs wrapping around her waist.
“I love you.” They both whispered at each other before Max went in again, kissing Chloe and using her tongue to push into Chloe’s mouth, tongues battling with each other as they sloppily kissed, Chloe holding Max on top of her as they kissed, rolling around on the floor. Chloe eventually pinned Max down and kissed deeper, grinning as the move elicited a moan from her lover.
“Gotcha.” She murmured during a breath break before leaning back in, kissing Max and, using her tongue, began to make Max squirm under her, the younger girl eventually gathering the strength to turn their little makeout session around as she began to dominate Chloe’s mouth, now causing Chloe to moan into Max’s mouth before blushing heavily, Max grinning into the kiss like Chloe had.
“You’re majorly evil, Caulfield.” Chloe prodded Max’s side before sighing contently.
“You love me really, Price.” Chloe laughed at Max’s words, nuzzling her girlfriend's neck.
“Mmm, Pricefield.”
“Huh?” Max perked her ears up as Chloe spoke.
“Pricefield. Chloe Price , Max Caul field . Better than Caulprice.”
“Dude, you’re such a geek. Pricefield sounds amazing though, a lot better than Caulprice.” They both snorted with laughter before Max rolled off of Chloe. “This is so comfortable.” Chloe nodded at Max’s words, smiling.
“I love you, Max.”
“I love you too, Chloe, forever.”
Chapter 29
Notes:
Trigger Warning: Assault, death.
Chapter Text
The pair awoke in each other's arms, holding themselves close together to try to stay warm from the spring chill that permeated the sky. Chloe sighed as she shifted, eventually rolling over onto her back and freeing Max from beneath her.
“Ow…” Max groaned as she sat up slowly, reaching out and supporting herself with her hands on the floor behind her. “Wakey wakey, sleepyhead.” Max leant over and kissed Chloe on the head, the older girl opening her eyes slowly.
“Dude, it’s too early.” Chloe scrunched up her face as Max planted kisses all over it, eventually kissing Chloe on her lips, a soft loving kiss that finally caused Chloe to sit up and kiss back. After a few seconds, they both pulled away.
“Dude… still awesome.” Chloe and Max giggled with laughter at Chloe’s comment, the pair gathering their litter and phones before heading back down the tree and back to civilization.
“Ugh, I’ve got classes today.” Chloe wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulder.
“Dude, you’ve been so busy you’ve clearly missed the calendar. Break starts next week.” Max pouted as Chloe spoke, causing the punk to stop, a mischievous grin crossing her face.
“Chloe?” Max turned to see Chloe raise her hand, furrowing her brow a little as they both felt time slow around them, beginning to run backwards as birds flew backwards to perch on trees they’d left. Max plodded closer to Chloe and held out her own hand and locked her fingers into Chloe’s, time running backwards even faster before they both dropped their arms, Chloe dropping to a knee and Max running to catch her. Chloe’s face was a mess, blood pouring from her nose and… mouth?
“Chloe! Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!” Max caught Chloe before she landed on the ground, holding her best friend upright as they walked out onto Chloe’s street, Chloe spitting blood out as she tried to stop the bleeding. Eventually they stabilized Chloe and Max helped her inside the house and into bed. After Max had Chloe lying in bed, she sighed, watching Chloe sleep, her face cleaned up but her brow creased as she slept.
‘Wonder what the other… what the other Chloe is doing, right now…’ Max looked down annoyed that that thought had crossed her mind after all of this with her Chloe. Max sighed heavily as she stood up, kissing Chloe on the forehead before heading downstairs and walking out towards the bus stop. She was listening to “Mt. Washington” by “Local Natives” when she felt her phone buzz.
Unknown Number: You got lucky last night, whore. Would be a shame if something happened to your photo wall, or your clothes, or that dyke you call a girlfriend.
Max sighed and scrolled down to see another anonymous text.
Unknown Number: This is Sean Prescott. Please stop antagonising my son and accusing him of shameful crimes. This shameful act of hate and this smear campaign against my son will stop, or I will inform the police. - Sean.
Max looked down, running a hand through her hair. ‘So, Nathan ran to Daddy.’ She hopped onto the first bus that had arrived, the vehicle taking her through the streets slowly as she listened to music on her phone, eventually she received another text.
Chloe: Max, i don’t know if you’ll get this, but come back to the bathrooms tonight, we need to talk.
Max stared at the screen, unsure what to make of this text, she closed her phone as the bus stopped at Blackwell, other students hopping off as she followed, walking solemnly past the fountain and up the steps, being stopped in her tracks when she feels someone walk into her on their way past.
“Oops, my bad, Maxine. ” Max looked up to see Nathan ahead of her, blood boiling at the sight of him.
“What do you want, Nathan?”
“Oh, so we’re on a first name basis then? Think you can smear my name through the dirt and think we’re all good like that?” Nathan stepped towards Max, the smaller girl backing away as Nathan didn’t stop approaching her. “I think… I think you need to be taught a lesson, whore.”
Nathan grabbed at Max’s hoodie before she could move, arms swinging as he pinned her against a wall, laughing. Max eventually kicked him in the stomach and turned to run away, she got a little distance before the larger but much more athletic Nathan caught her, grabbing her throat and slamming her into the nearest wall, hard.
The slam caused her head to bounce off of the wall, her vision going double as she felt impacts that she couldn’t register the pain of, her head throbbing with pure agony as, through bleary and heavily lidded eyes, she watched Nathan batter her small frame with his hands, a flash of blue wiping him to the floor as she crumpled, coughing up blood as she lay on the floor, eyes closing as she felt her life slip from her.
“Welcome, Maxine Caulfield.” Max looked around, trying to find the source of the mysterious voice.
“Hello? It’s all dark?”
“Open your eyes, Max, you’re safe.” Max heard William’s voice cut through the blackness and opened her eyes, gasping as she found herself standing in a white room, the shade of white being bright enough to look infinite but dim enough to not be blinding.
“Where am I?”
“I…” William took a deep breath, his face a beacon of hope in this sea of confusion for Max.
“I don’t know how to tell you, but you’re dead, Max.” Max froze up as William spoke, dropping to her knees, tears falling from her eyes.
“What?”
Chapter 30
Notes:
Trigger Warning: suicide, death.
Chapter Text
Chloe woke up to a phone call from Max’s number, clicking it ringing out as she sat up, picking her phone up and ringing it back, hearing rustling as she heard the call connect from the other side.
“Max?” Chloe heard more rustling and panting as she presumed Max had either called her by mistake, or was running for, or from, something.
“Max, talk to me, babe plea-”
“I’m sorry, I’m not Max.” Chloe froze, that voice so familiar, but so different at the same time.
“You… You’re…” Chloe let out a sigh, tears rolling down her cheeks. “You’re me.”
“Yep. Meet Me at Max’s dorm, now. I need to tell you something very important.” Chloe heard the line go dead and shot out of bed, grabbing her jeans, boots, jacket, necklace and phone before darting out of her window, climbing down to her truck, hopping in through the drivers door as she started the truck, speeding out of the drive and towards Blackwell.
‘Oh my god… I hope… Oh Max, please…’ Chloe sighed, driving through the streets at a questionably legal speed, passing through the Blackwell parking lot and towards the dorms, not caring if what she was doing was illegal.
She passed by an ambulance parked in the parking lot but gave it no mind, knowing she had to get to the dorms, to her Max. Chloe stopped her truck and hopped out, door open and engine running as she ignored David, who was calling her name.
She ran through the green area, brushing off or past anyone who tried to speak to her as she nearly burst straight through the door of the dorms, her shoulder hurting as she registered that she’d shoulder barged through the door itself, Chloe sprinting to Max’s room. She tried to open the door but found it locked. She knelt and took out her lockpick but heard it unclick on the other side.
“Max?” She stood up as the door opened, eyes going wide at the girl on the other side.
It was Chloe, looking very different, her hair still blue but with some of her natural color showing through as she wore a beanie on her head, bullet necklace around her neck and her jacket on, but underneath her jacket was Max’s hoodie over Max’s Jane Doe shirt, skinny black jeans and suspenders still keeping her looking mostly like Chloe. She walked into the dorm room, shutting the door behind her.
“Where’s Max?” Chloe watched her copy sit on Max’s desk chair, looking at Max’s photographs.
“She’s dead. I tried to save her, but I failed.”
“No!” Chloe threw herself at, well herself, the other version of her moving out of the way, catching her and pinning her against the wall, growling into her ear.
“Calm the fuck down, Price. Max wouldn’t want us to fight.”
“How in the fuck do you know what she wants.”
“Because she abandoned me! At the lighthouse! With all of Kate’s stuff, She left me with a copy, a shell of a Max that was haunted by not being able to save Kate.” The other Chloe sighed, stepping back before sitting on Max’s bed, a tear rolling down her cheek. “She left me with a broken Max, to be with you.”
“No, she came back for Kate, to save her. She also told me you called the kiss a mistake.”
“I did.”
“Well, you were fucking wrong, it’s the best damn thing to ever happen to us.”
“YOU THINK I DON’T FUCKING KNOW THAT?” The other Chloe slapped her counterpart across the face, beanie falling off as she recoiled from the blow, the other Chloe panting for a few seconds before sitting down.
“She left me with a Max, a Max who lost Kate, fucked up her and me, one who…” She looked down again. “Who couldn’t bear living.”
“Wait, she…”
“Yeah, she did it a few days after we found Kate… I found her, in the blackwell bathrooms, drink in one hand, pills in the other. She left me a note, told me she loved me, that she’d never leave my side in spirit but that she couldn’t keep going… she needed to wake up, just like Kate…” Chloe moved forward, wiping the other’s eyes, mopping the tears up.
“What happened then?”
“I realised, the kiss at the lighthouse, it was… special. I had powers, so I followed her. The Max you’ve gotten to know. I’ve been uh… I’ve been watching… helping out here and there. I spoke to David, got him to try and be better to you…”
“Oh my god… that’s why he was nice to me the other morning.”
“Yep, you’re welcome dude, where would you be without me?”
“Fuck off.” Both Chloe’s laughed a little at the irony of her telling herself to fuck off, Chloe sighing.
“Truth is, I can’t go home, back to my timeline. There’s no way for me to go back, I don’t have a photo to use…” Chloe looked at the photos on Max’s desk, before spotting one she recognised from a different place.
“Wait, what if?” Chloe picked up the photo of her and Max, taken by her dad when they were making pancakes, all those years ago.
“What?”
“Oh my god, I’ve figured it out. What if we go back here and save Dad, it might save Max too.”
“No Chloe! It’s too dangerous!”
“I don’t care! I’m sick of losing, losing, losing. The universe took enough from us, it took Dad, Max and Bongo. And when it gave us hope by giving us Max, it took her, again . I won’t fucking have it!” She closed her eyes before opening them, focusing on the photo as she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. She looked back to see the other Chloe standing above her, channelling her power into Chloe as she felt herself rejuvenated, stronger, the other Chloe beginning to vanish into color as she turned back around, focusing back onto the picture.
“Good luck, Captain Price. If it brings her back, it’s hella worth it.”
“Thank you, Captain Price. And yeah, hella hella worth it.”
The pair smiled as the photo brightened, a rushing sound and pressure building around them before everything went white.
September 27th, 2008
“Pancakes!” Chloe heard Max yell, as she excitedly jumped in the air a little, her face covered in flour and smiles as Chloe looked around.
‘Oh my god, it worked, it fucking worked! Hella, yes, SuperMax stand aside, SuperChloe’s turn to save the fucking day!’ Chloe grinned a little, looking around before hearing Max speak.
“Chlo? You okay?” Chloe turned towards Max, running towards Max and hugging her, holding her close.
“I’m great, I’m glad you’re okay!” Max hugged back after a few seconds, Chloe squeezing Max in a bear hug, the smaller girl giggling.
“Gerrofff mee! Chloeee!” Both girls giggled at Max’s words, Chloe eventually letting go before the phone began to ring, her face dropping.
“Hey, you okay?” Max put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder, she had one idea, but she’d need Max’s help.
“No, you gotta trust me, but…” She looked down a little. “If Dad goes out to get Mom, he’s… he won’t make it home.”
“What? That’s crazy?”
“Please, we’ve got to stop him from going.”
“Fine, what’ve you got in mind?”
“I don’t know, but I'll think of something…” She looked around, spotting a pair of scissors next to the phone. Chloe realised that she could try something and rewound time to before the phone rang, she walked over, unplugging the phone and cutting the cable between the two. She waited with baited breath as she ticked down the time until Mom called. Eventually, she let out a sigh.
‘Done it…’ She heard William’s phone ring, Chloe looking up with disbelief. ‘Oh Chloe, how could you be so freaking stupid.’ She rewound again until she couldn’t anymore.
“Hey Chloe, you okay?” She heard William ask, reaching out to hold his daughter in his arms.
“No Daddy, I…” She let out a small cry of pain. “I’ve got a feeling, if you go out… you won’t come home again.”
“Chloe, that’s just a feeling, I promise, nothing bad will happen.” William smiled, not noticing Chloe having taken his phone and taken the battery out, she nodded and let him go back to helping Max, the younger girl having unplugged the house phone whilst Chloe was talking to William. She moved to the laptop, turning the internet off on the device, just in case. She watched as the clock ticked down to the time Mom was supposed to ring.
She held her breath.
30 seconds.
20.
10.
5.
1.
0.
Chloe watched, ears perked up for a phone, but nothing rang, no sign of communication came from Joyce, and Chloe let out a heavy sigh of relief. She walked back into the kitchen, getting stuck in, making pancakes with Max, a grin on her face the entire time, before everything went white once again as she felt herself being dragged into the future.
Chapter Text
“What do you mean, I’m dead?” Max spoke with pain and confusion in her voice, eyes full of tears as she stared up at William, who stood opposite her, his hands down by his side, in the clothes he wore the day he died…
’What the fuck… where the fuck am I…’ Max thought as she looked around at the white space around her, her hands scrunched up into fists as she let out a mighty sob, slamming a fist lightly into William’s arm.
“You died, you…” William paused, deciding not to tell Max all the details. “Chloe tried to save you. Well, a Chloe, anyway.”
“What do you mean, a Chloe?”
“You can figure it out. Something happened to time, look.” As William spoke to Max, she felt the area shift and contort around her, as if she was falling down a tunnel of pure nausea. Max closed her eyes to stabilise herself, opening them a few minutes later to find herself floating above Arcadia Bay, the bay looked very familiar, the lamp in the lighthouse conning as dark clouds hung over the bay, blocking out most of the early morning light, rain falling down from the sky, Max surmising that it was roughly 5am.
After a few seconds, time began to speed up, the weather clearing to reveal a bright sun beating down on the bay, the lighthouse lamp extinguished as Max finally got a better look at the bay, the sight a familiar one despite never having seen it from an angle like this. She saw the Two Whales first, the sign shining bright as ever, but looking… different, cleaner, more looked after, as if there was someone who was more able to look after the space. She saw Claire walk out of the establishment, Max’s ghost-eyes widening when she watched Claire give her a wave, a smile on her face as she went to her typical spot, sitting down and taking out her breakfast. Max quickly looked around at different parts of Arcadia Bay, trying to distract herself from that interaction. She saw Blackwell, and her heart skipped a beat. Before she could act on it or think anything, however, William dragged her back to him, causing Max to speak.
“What now?”
“You watch, like me.”
“Huh, okay…” Max turned back to the bay and watched for a few more minutes before she suddenly heard a sharp whistling sound from next to her, Max covering her ears in pain as a bright white light filled her vision, causing Max to begin looking around, searching for William. “William?”
March, Week 3, 2014
Chloe awoke with a start, shooting up in bed before looking around her bedroom. ‘This is hella strange.’ She looked around at the walls, painted in a lovely blue color that matched her hair, the girl running a hand through her hair to find it longer than she remembered, causing her to jump out of bed, running to the mirror to see herself with long, strawberry blond hair, it spilling down to and covering her shoulders. She looked into her closet to find her punk clothes instead replaced with clothes she didn’t recognise.
‘Dude, no way I wear any of this. This is all shit Max would wear, or shit we would wear as kids.’ Chloe pondered for a few minutes before her head began to throb and hurt, a whole different timeline of events pouring into her head, sitting down on her bed and holding her temples, pain rushing through her head as she grew accustomed to the new timelines memories slotting in next to the old ones. After the pain had subsided, her thoughts narrowed down to one subject.
Max.
She shot back up, grabbing a white t-shirt with a pink Jane Doe pattern adorning the front, smiling at the pattern because it reminded her of the girl she loved before grabbing a pair of loose chinos, a pair of old skool vans and a white leather jacket she vaguely remembered her Dad had brought her for Christmas, in 2013.
“Dad!” Chloe almost yelled as she ran out of the bedroom, springing down the steps and running to the kitchen as she wrapped her father in a warm hug.
“Hey there, pirate princess.” Chloe smiled at William, her dad, she hugged him tightly, pondering how she was going to tell him.
“Dad, I’ve been having… dreams… about Max.” William rested a hand on Chloe’s head, causing the girl to become a little concerned.
“Chloe, we spoke about this, Max isn’t…” William paused as Chloe cut him off.
“Max is alive! The car accident was just a dream! A bad, bad dream!” Chloe watched as her dad sighed, eyes dropping down to the floor for a few seconds before looking back at Chloe.
“Munchkin, we’ve spoken about this before, that wasn’t a dream, Max didn’t make it out of the car.”
“What?” Chloe’s world shattered into a million pieces, eyes widening and tears streaming out of them as she turned, ignoring WIlliam’s pleas to wait and let him explain as she ran out of the door slamming it behind her and began to head for Blackhell, to find Max.
Max sighed, deciding to see if she could locate Chloe. After a few minutes of searching, she felt something, something tugging at her with a familiar essence.
“Chloe.” Max took a breath in and out, as she did so, she began to float forward, at first slowly before it sped up, flying with grace over Arcadia Bay towards the suburb where the Price house resided. As it came into view, Max furrowed her ethereal brow. The front of the house was fully painted blue, she slowed down to stop in front of the house, sighing softly before seeing the door open and watching Chloe step through the breach.
‘ Oh. My. God.’ Max saw Chloe and gasped, the girl she adored had a white leather jacket, a white Jane Doe shirt and a pair of loose chinos, rocking some old skool vans and her patented bullet necklace around her neck. She walked with purpose, a troubled look on her face as she sped in the direction of the bus stop.
“Max, please…” Max followed Chloe as she walked to the bus stop.
‘Chloe mustn’t have a car or truck in this timeline. ’ Chloe stopped at the bus stop, hopping onto the bus and sitting at the back, head in hands as the bus moved slowly through Arcadia Bay, stopping at Blackwell Academy. As soon as it stopped, Chloe stepped off of the bus, walking towards the dorm building, Chloe and Max both noticed the lack of Mark Jefferson posters around.
“Wonder where whats-his-name is in this timeline then…”
‘ I wonder what happened to Jefferson… ’ Max watched as Chloe walked into the dorm room, smiling at some of the people who held the door for her, Max remembering that she wasn’t really there when they didn’t hold the door for her. She lightly pushed at the door as it didn’t move, her hand moving through it. ‘ Oh, yeah, I forgot, I’m dead. ’ She half-sighed, half-sobbed as she phased through the door before following Chloe through the floor of the dorm building, watching Chloe knock on the door to her room.
Unable to take the wait of whoever was in the room, Max decided to peep through the door itself and gasped, recoiling in disgust before whispering.
“ Chloe, if I were you, I wouldn’t hang around. One, not my room, two, not my noises! Chloe- ” Max elected to cut herself off as Chloe looked right at her, brow furrowed as she whispered.
“Max?” Max’s eyes light up as she, for a second, had hoped that Chloe could hear her.
“ Chloe? ” Max whispered again, head falling slightly as Chloe shook her head, walking away but bumping into Kate just down the hall.
“Hi, Kate.”
“Um, Hi, do I know you?”
“It’s me, Chloe… Chloe Price?”
“Oh, it’s you… you saved that girl from suicide the other day.”
“Who? Sorry, it’s uh… it’s been a long week.”
“That girl, Victoria Chase. She’s nice, and she seemed happy that it was you who saved her, just saying. I- I’ve got to go, sorry.” Kate walked away, Max noticing that Kate wasn’t wearing the cross necklace. Max peeped through Kate’s door before fully passing through it.
‘ Oh my dog. ’ Max looked around at Kate’s room, the girl’s room wasn’t much different, there were still pictures of her family on the walls, Max noticing that one individual had been cut out of all of them - Kate’s Mother. Alice, Kate’s bunny, was nomming on a carrot as Kate played the violin, as Max began to snoop a little, the big “FIREWALK” poster on Kate’s wall giving away her enjoyment for the band, clearly not as closeted in this timeline as the others as their latest album cover, the image familiar to Max as it was similar to a poster Chloe had in her timeline, sat proudly on Kate’s wall. Max looked around before she felt Chloe leave the building and decided to follow her, moving outside with Chloe, Max watched her walk over to Juliet, Dana, Taylor, Courtney and Brooke, Chloe taking a second before speaking.
“Hey, Juliet.”
“Eww.” Juliet turned her nose up and looked away from Chloe.
“What do you want, loser?” Taylor looked at Chloe. “Hey, I recognise you, you saved Victoria.” Taylor walked away, leading Chloe with her.
“I’m looking for Max? Max Caulfield?” Taylor pondered.
“Never heard of her, sorry.” Taylor shrugged at Chloe before walking away, leaving Chloe standing there, a dejected look on her face and tears in her eyes. “Wait, I remember seeing her in the paper, a few years ago.” Chloe looked up, nodding a little as it clicked what she was probably talking about.
“Thanks anyway, Taylor.” Chloe pulled her phone out, ringing Max’s number and Max hoped that her phone would ring before sighing.
‘ Oh yeah, I can’t answer the phone if I’m dead. ’ Max watched Chloe hang up and putting the phone away as Max figured it must’ve either gone to voicemail, a wrong person, or the number was completely out of service.
Chloe walked away from the dorms, Max looking around before spotting a girl, a girl with brown hair, black sunglasses, wearing a short black leather jacket, tank top and leather pants with high-heeled boots.
‘ Rachel!’
Rachel watched the girl with strawberry hair walk away, smiling a little before pulling her phone out, tapping on her contacts and ringing someone.
“Hey, how’s Prescott?” Rachel hummed as the other person paused before answering.
“ Fine, we should deal with him, though. He’s not worth keeping if he isn’t very photogenic. I’ve been thinking about getting Victoria back in for another session. ”
“Agreed, I’ve found someone else though…” Rachel purred down the phone slightly as she watched Chloe come back into the dorms, looking around for someone before walking back out, shaking her head and looking down.
“ Oh? That’s perfect. ”
“I’m on my way back, get the kit ready.”
“ Will do, babe. ” Rachel hung the phone up, walking to the parking lot, dodging Chloe as the girl walked on the quad, the girl’s eyes flashing with recognition, causing Rachel’s heart to skip a beat, even if she didn’t know why. She skipped down the steps to the parking lot before walking to her car - a 1974 Ford Mustang - smiling as she climbed into the driver’s seat, turning the car on and pulling out of the parking lot. She stopped at the exit to the parking lot, watching Chloe as she waited at the bus stop.
As she sat there, she felt an itch at the back of her brain, like a memory trying to force its way to the surface through an ocean of noise. After a few minutes, a bus pulled up, Chloe boarding the bus, the vehicle causing Rachel to lose her train of thought, the girl driving out of the parking lot and heading to her home.
Chloe, being shadowed by Max and after hours of walking, eventually walked into the graveyard. Chloe sat on a bench as she scanned the map on the board opposite her, looking for a specific plot but hoping at the same time that it wasn’t there. Chloe was searching until her eyes fell on where, in every other timeline, her fathers plot lay, her eyes bulging before tears began to trickle down her cheek.
For Max’s part, she’d spent several minutes trying to get Rachel’s memories of the old timeline to resurface in this one, to no avail before seeing Chloe board a bus and, abandoning her endeavour to break through to Rachel, went back to follow Chloe around.
“Oh no… Max… please…” Chloe ran as fast and hard as she could to the plot she’d noticed, slowing to a walk as she neared before crouching down, tears in her eyes.
“Max… please…” Chloe repeated herself as she lay her head on the headstone that sat in front of the plot. Max knelt opposite Chloe, reading the headstone off.
Ryan Caulfield
Loving Father and Husband
1971 - 2008
“May the lord hold his shoulders in heaven.”
Max felt herself being crushed under the words she read, chest crushing with pain.
Vanessa Caulfield
Loving Wife and Mother
1975 - 2008
“May the lord cup her hands in heaven.”
Chloe cried, her hands trailing over the last name on the headstone.
Maxine ‘Max’ Caulfield
Loving Daughter
1995 - 2008
“A butterfly, who’s light was extinguished too soon.”
The pair noticed another message beneath Max’s first message.
“The sister who was never had, but loved as equally as one would.”
Chloe grabbed at her head, and Max rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, her head rushing with a strange sensation as she saw what Chloe was remembering.
September, 28th, 2008
“Where’s Max going?”
“Away, darlin’. They’re moving to Seattle.”
“Please! Don’t make me go!” Max kicked at her parents, Ryan and Vanessa herding her out of the house, the trio getting into the Caulfield’s car as Max put her hand up to the window, Chloe putting her hand up to the window, Max mouthing “I love you” through the window as the car pulled away, Chloe running after the car as William jogged after her, nodding to Joyce that he’d look after their daughter.
“No…” The young Chloe began to walk towards the car, the other vehicle overturned and leaking fluids. Max watched as some of the liquid began to pool into a puddle at the foot of the upturned truck, where the engine of the Caulfield’s car sat.
‘I remember this…’ Max closed her eyes as she watched, hearing sobbing pants as she, opening her eyes, saw Chloe materialise next to her, in the dream.
‘What the fuck? What the actual fu-’ Chloe looked around before she saw… herself? She took a second to realise that she was in the dream that Max had told her about. Chloe looked at the vehicle as she realised what was happening. Max’s thoughts mirroring Chloe’s words as they both watched the scene before them.
‘It’s going to go up…’
Chloe ran forward, grabbing herself and running into cover as the vehicle burst into flames.
“No! Max!” Chloe heard the girl in her arms scream, not realising that she’d slipped out of her grip as young Chloe ran out to try and rescue Max, Chloe grabbing the little girl and holding her.
“She’s going to be fine… trust me… everything will be okay.” Chloe hugged the younger version of herself, glassy eyes watching for a few minutes before closing them, the vehicle holding her best friend burning, far enough away to not be hurt but close enough to hear it…
Hear the screaming, hear Max scream one word, that word piercing Chloe’s heart like a knife through her chest as both versions of her sobbed.
“CHLOE!”
March, Week 3, 2014.
Chloe opened her eyes,finding herself back in the graveyard, the smell of the burning car fresh in her mind as she stood up, eyes closing and breathing deeply as she calmed herself. After a few minutes, she reopened her eyes and looked around, spotting a butterfly, wings bright and illuminated in the distant treeline, vanishing as she looked at it. Chloe sighed, clearing the headstone off before leaning forward, kissing the headstone as Chloe cried, speaking to her girlfriend.
“Oh Max, Max, Maxo, Maxine. I saved Dad, but it cost me you. I…” Chloe, a sob having ripped through her, took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m sorry, I’d go back and save you… but I don’t- I don’t know how… It’s so, so fucking hard to choose, between you and him. I’m happy to have him back, but I… I just don’t know if I can live without you. I love you, my everything, my whole entire existence, you’re the love of my life, but he’s the one who… who…” Chloe shook her head.
‘This is stupid.’ Chloe stood up, walking back up the path towards the street, Max watching her, having heard everything, the ghost crying with her girlfriend.
Unknown
“Max?” Chloe reached out and cupped Max’s cheek. She’d never seen her Max during these kinds of dreams, usually just the other Max, the Max that the other version of herself had told her about, the emptiness in her eyes and her pale, agony filled face making sense after she’d been told what that Max had done.
“I’m here, Chloe. I’m really here…” Max looked around, her appearance slightly transparent and floaty.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure, but I know…” Max sighed, looking down, Chloe reaching for her hand, a sob ripping through her as it passed right through. “I know I’m dead. I know there is no way back to the old timeline either, we both just have to try and move forward.”
“I… I don’t know how.”
“You… I think you need to…” Max looked at Chloe, fear and sadness in her eyes.
“You need to let William go… I’m sorry, Chloe…”
“I can’t Max… I can’t… don’t make me choose… please…” Chloe looked at Max, eyes full of tears as she sobbed, Max hugging Chloe even though she knew that Chloe couldn’t feel it, Chloe hugged back.
“I’m sorry Chloe… This is it… I sent you back to that day, to save yourself, but it cost me everything. Now this is the last few drops I have left, but I’ll always be with you, in your heart… Always…” Max sobbed, her speech softening as she faded from Chloe’s view, trying to stay in the girl's dream for as long as she could.
Chloe sat there for what felt like a while. She’d accepted a long time ago that, in these dream lands that both her and Max both seem to have, time isn’t really a concept like it is in the real world, sometimes it happens, other times it’s non-existent. After what Chloe decided mentally was ‘a time’, she heard someone approaching, the girl looking up to see Chloe, from the timeline where Max overdosed, walking in, alongside herself, from the last timeline.
“I told you it was dangerous. I knew you wouldn’t listen, but I tried anyway.”
“At least we tried, now we all know the consequences.” Original Chloe spoke, all three Chloe’s hugging each other before they sat down on various items. Even though she hadn’t been to American Rust in this timeline, it still looked so familiar, the brick shack still adorned with makeup, artwork, it being a building of Chloe’s memory and heart as she loosely remembered everything that had happened here with Rachel.
“I never asked, what the fuck is this place?” Chloe looked around, a deep mist rolling outside of the room as she peeked through the gaps in the brickwork.
“Our meeting place. Max has somewhere else.”
“She told me about the bathroom in Blackwell and how it was hers.” Chloe from the old timeline, the one Max travelled to, to save Kate, spoke up. Sitting on a cinder block, pulling a lit blunt out of thin air and taking a puff, making it vanish again.
“Neat trick.”
“Thanks.” They all sat there for a time, Chloe not really sure how long it was before the old timeline Chloe spoke up, the one she’d left to get to here and now.
“You’re gonna wake up soon. You’ve got to choose between Max, and Dad. Please, please make the right choice.” The trio sat there as a mist and wind began to build up, Chloe looking through the brickwork to see a storm approaching, the tornado engulfing the town before beginning to suck up wreckage from the junkyard.
“Goodbye Chloe, see you soon.”
The wind wrapped itself around the building, a rushing sound filling Chloe’s ears, screams of agony filling her mind as she drifted into the sky, everything going black a few seconds later.
Chloe sat up, eyes bleary as she heard a soft knocking at her door.
“You okay, Chloe?” William spoke through the door, Chloe hopping out of bed and dressing before walking out.
“Yeah Dad, uh…” Chloe hugged William. “Can I talk to you?”
“Of course.” William followed Chloe back into her room, Chloe sitting down on her bed, William sitting next to her.
“I’m so… I’m so sorry, Dad. It’s hard to explain this, but…” Chloe looked down, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’ve got to let you die.”
“Chloe-”
“Dad please.” Chloe spoke again, her voice full of sadness as she looked at her dad, eyes full of tears. “I’ve got to do this, for Max.”
“Max?”
“Yeah, it’s complicated, but… that day where we made pancakes, remember?”
“Yes, Chloe, of course I remember…”
“Well, she’s alive, in a different timeline. I used that photo to change things, Mom was supposed to call you, you went out to pick her up, and… and…” Chloe let out a sob ”you never made it… you died.”
“Timeline? Change things? Chloe, princess, you aren’t making sense.”
“I… I’m sorry, I might not be making sense to you… Hey, I may never make sense again! I might have two heads, or no heads in the next timeline!” Chloe cringed at the Doctor Who joke, her inner Max-level nerd slipping through, Chloe smiled as William laughed at the joke. Her smile slipping as the sombre look returned to her visage as she continued speaking.
“I know I am making sense, to me… Me and Max, we’ve been through a lot, it’s too much to explain but… but…” Chloe wiped her eyes. “I’ve got to choose between… between You, and Max. It’s hard, but I…” Chloe looked down again, William kneeling down in front of Chloe.
“I can’t pretend to understand what you’re going through, but you always loved Max when you were younger, and she loved you. She loved you so much.” William cupped Chloe’s cheek, wiping her eyes. “I’d never want anything to happen to you girls. It broke mine and Joyce’s heart when you saw her-” William looked at Chloe for a few seconds before it clicked. “Oh my god, you were there… you held yourself back.” Chloe nodded, explaining it to William how Max had explained it to her. After a few minutes, William spoke up. “Look, Chloe. I’d want you to choose her over me, every day. You two were made for each other, and she loved you when you were kids.”
“She still does love me, I’ve…” Chloe tapped at her pockets, sighing. “Do you still have that picture?” William nodded, heading downstairs and coming back up with the photo album. Chloe opened it and, browsing through the photos, found the picture she was looking for.
“We didn’t take many more after this, huh?”
“You never wanted to.”
“I can’t remember…” Chloe put her fingers to her temples, her brain rushing with agony as the timeline’s memories filled her head, the pain of losing Max as a child filling her brain with hurt and sadness. “I… I remember a little.” Her nose began to trickle with blood, William wiping his daughters nose, holding her shoulder. “I remember… not wanting to do it without Max.”
“That’s right, Chloe… I’m not going to pretend to understand what’s going on, but remember, I always love you.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
“Go.”
Chloe pulled the picture out of its place in the book, focusing on the picture, her nose bleeding even more as forced her way into the picture, looking up at William one last time, nodding before everything flashed to white.
Chapter Text
Chloe sat up in her bed, feeling a shifting form next to her.
“Mmmm, Chloeee…” Chloe looked down to her side, seeing Max nuzzled into her pillow, eyes closed. “CHLOE!” Max screamed a little as Chloe picked Max up, wrapping her arms around Max’s middle, squeezing tightly and spinning around with her. Chloe looked at her girlfriend as she held her arms up, her limbs trailing behind her and a smile on Max’s face, trying to speak but having far too much fun to do so.
“What’s the matter, Caulfield? Cat got your tongue?” Chloe put Max down, a grin on her face.
“I-” Max began to speak before being cut off by Chloe kissing her on the lips, Chloe and Max both pulling into the kiss for several seconds before they pulled away.
“Holy… still better than the first time.” Chloe looked at her phone, eyes widening slightly at the date.
April, Week 1, 2014.
“It’s the first of April.”
“Yeah?” Max sat down on the bed, her eyes full of concern for Chloe.
“You… have you been in any scrapes with Nathan recently?” Chloe turned around and took Max’s hands in her own, holding them tightly and close as she looked at Max with fear in her mind, her voice trembling softly.
“Other than in the pool, not really.” Max pulled Chloe into a hug. “You okay? You seem really off.”
“Yeah, I uh… I…” Chloe let out a sob, sitting down on the bed as Max sat next to her. “I uh… I heard that you would die, Max, from myself. She tried to save you, she was from the old timeline.”
“The one where we uh… we didn’t save Kate?”
“Yeah, you uh… you followed Kate, in that timeline.” Max put a hand to her mouth, looking down, tears beginning to fall from her eyes as Chloe hugged her, holding her tightly before continuing to speak. “I feel weird, like… like I’ve woken up from a dream, but it wasn’t a dream. I went back in time, through a photo… The photo we took when we were making pancakes, the day before Dad died.”
“I remember, September 2008, right?”
“Yeah, I saved him, but you died in his place. The dream was real…”
“What dream?” Chloe looked into Max’s eyes.
“Please tell me you remember?”
“I’m sorry Chloe, I don’t remember anything like that…”
“You were in a car crash, Max. That was the dream, you and your parents died in a car crash…”
Max let out a gasp, recoiling back and holding her head as her nose began to bleed, a look of pain on her face as she let out a low pitched scream of agony. Chloe sprinted out to get some tissues but, as she returned, she found Max’s condition had gotten a lot worse, devolving into a small yet serious seizure. Chloe put Max in a safe position and ran to get the medical kit, helping Max before calling an ambulance.
“Max, listen to me! I’m here for you, I love you! Max, please!”
“Welcome, Max.” Max looked around.
“No! I’m not dead. I refuse.”
“No, you’ve come here, temporarily.” William stood opposite Max, hands down by his sides. “We’re here to help you remember, sit down.” Max saw a chair appear in front of her, slowly and carefully sitting down. After she sat down, she looked around as William walked behind her.
“Is something supposed to happen-” Max felt an immense pressure building in her head as William put his hands on her head, the memories of the rest of the previous timeline and her time in the afterlife rushing in, ending with her spirit expiring in Chloe’s dream. After several minutes of receiving memories, Max basically threw herself off of the chair, grabbing at her head. Max looked back at William who was on one knee, face pale and mouth and nose bleeding as he sat on the floor, grunting in pain.
“Max, are you okay?”
“Send me back.”
“Max, talk to me, it can be a lot, just answer me, are you oka-”
“SEND ME BACK!” Max lashed out, William unmoving as Max yelled before sighing, regretting lashing out at William, who floated into the air and vanished.
“Fine.” William’s voice went deep and booming as the space around her faded to black.
Max opened her eyes slowly, the lights and beeping from the emergency room causing her to scrunch her eyes closed tightly.
“S- so bright…” Max heard herself speak, her voice hoarse and rough as she whispered to anyone nearby. She opened her eyes slowly again to reveal something blocking the light, brushing at Max’s face, her view focusing and clearing as the figure was revealed to be Chloe. “Chloe…”
“Max…” Max shakily reached up and cupped Chloe’s cheek, trying to pull her closer, Chloe ascenting as she leant down, planting her lips onto Max’s as they kissed. After a few minutes, Chloe pulled away, sitting on a chair next to Max.
“What happened, Chloe?” Max reached for her cup of water, Chloe holding it out for Max to drink from the straw that was coming out of the top. “Please, tell me everything. I can take it.”
“Okay…” Chloe proceeded to explain to Max what had happened in the old timeline, how she got a phone call from Max’s number, telling her to go to Max’s dorm. Chloe explaining how she arrived to find herself from the prior timeline, Max nodding as Chloe spoke.
“I see, what did she say?” Max took another sip from her drink.
“She told me about…” Chloe looked down. “About what happens when we travel through photos, how we don’t ever get to go back, not to the last timeline.” Max leant up a little, perking her ears up as Chloe spoke. “She told me that we leave copies of ourselves there, in our place. I left one when I left that timeline to save my Dad.” Chloe wiped her eyes, looking up at Max, also noticing her red rimmed eyes.
“What happened in… in the old timeline? The first one, I mean… the one after I saved you.”
“She told me… after Kate died, you two tried to keep going… She got powers from you, from the kiss at the lighthouse, the same way as us… but her Max couldn’t… couldn’t handle it…” Chloe reached out and held Max’s hand, squeezing as Max looked away, tears in her eyes. “She… uh, Chloe found her with booze and pills in Blackwell’s bathroom, she had a note with her… said it was the same reason as Kate…” Max let out a sob as Chloe stood up, walking over and hugging Chloe. “I’m sorry, Max.”
“It’s okay, I wanted to know.” Max hugged Chloe back as both girls cried together. After a few minutes, Chloe sat back down and explained to Max what happened in the last timeline she was in, without Max. Max let out a sigh, holding Chloe’s hand tightly.
“I uh… after, well this…” Max indicated her current state, blood bag connected through a drip to provide her blood, face pale and a little gaunt. “I was taken to… to heaven, or wherever… by your Dad, he helped me remember most things that happened to me, with little gaps here and there...” She sighed, closing her eyes.
“It’s okay, Max, you don’t need to tell me.”
“I do, Chloe. I saw myself die, meeting William in a white room, we talked about resurrection and looking over those we loved.” Max held Chloe’s hand. “He was talking to me, but vanished. I heard you and him together, you asked about me, I watched as you looked for me, tried to find me… Thank you, Chloe…”
Max wiped her eyes again, Chloe reaching out and cupping Max’s cheek. “I uh, I sat with you, at my grave. I took you back there to hold yourself back from trying to save me. I could’ve been saved, but you did the right thing by saving your own life and letting me die.” Chloe and Max both hugged, kissing as they cried.
“Thank you for coming back for me, Chloe.”
“Of course, Max. Of course.” They kissed again, Max shifting a little and Chloe hopping in the bed next to her, wrapping their arms around each other as they snuggled. The nurse that walked in gave them an inquisitive eye before shaking her head, walking back out and coming back with a filled glass of water for Max. Max rested her head on Chloe’s chest, sighing before pulling her phone out and, handing Chloe one earbud and putting the other in her own ear, the pair began to sing to “Mt. Washington” by “Local Natives”, Max starting.
“Face stained the ceiling” Max sang out the opening lyrics, Chloe following on.
“Why does it keep saying” The pair singing the chorus.
"I don't have to see you right now"
"I don't have to see you right now"
“Diggin' like you can bury”
“Somethin' that cannot die”
Chloe sang the two lines of the second verse out, Max listening to her with admiration and a smile on her face before she sang the next two lyrics.
“We could wash the dirt off our hands now”
“Keep it from livin' underground”
“Lazy summer goddess” Chloe sang out.
“You can tell our whole empire” Max sang, the pair singing together for the rest of the song.
"I don't have to see you right now"
"I don't have to see you right now"
"I don't have to see you right now"
"I don't have to see you right now"
"I don't have to see you right now"
"I don't have to see you right now" As the song ended, Max turned to Chloe, smiling.
“Thank you for that, Chloe.” Max rested her head against Chloe's own as “Kids Will Be Skeletons” by “Mogwai” played through the headphones.
“Of course Max, I uh-” Chloe blushed as Max cut her off with a kiss, cupping her girlfriend's cheek.
“I hella love you too, Chloe.”
“Hella hella?”
“Oh, hella hella hella.” The girls laughed softly, the sun having set through the windows as they’d laid together on the bed. “You should uh, head for home, tell Joyce I’m okay.” Chloe pouted and Max nudged her side.
“Fineee, Max Power must need her beauty sleep anyway.” Chloe ran a tender, light finger over Max’s bags under her eyes, giving her a chaste kiss before moving to the door.
“Goodnight, Maxaroni.” Max blushed at Chloe’s pet name.
“Goodnight, Chlobear.” Chloe blushed right back.
Chloe plodded into the house, closing and locking the door and walking upstairs to her room, she threw her coat onto the bed before slipping her boots off, heading back downstairs to talk to Joyce.
“Hey Mom.” Chloe sat on the sofa next to Joyce.
“Hey there, Chloe.” Joyce lifted her arm and smiled when Chloe moved closer, the pair hugging a little as Chloe sighed. “This is unusual.”
“Yeah, look uh-”
“Don’t worry, David’s moving his stuff out tomorrow.”
“Huh?” Chloe sat up, her head hurting as memories finally flooded in, her picking up some of the pieces from this timeline. ‘Better late, than never, I suppose.’
“You okay, Chloe? Do you remember what happened?”
“I’m sorry Mom, it’s been a hella crazy week.”
“Yep…” Joyce rubbed her eyes. “Anyway, David’s picking his stuff up from the garage tomorrow mornin’. I’ll be at the diner so I need you here to make sure he doesn’t take anything else.” Chloe nodded, racking her brains for what David did.
Then it hit her.
‘David… David hit me…’ Chloe rubbed her cheek slightly, the sting hurting a little as she felt concealer come off onto her fingers.
“Oh Chloe, don’t rub off the concealer, everyone can see the mark!” Joyce lightly slapped Chloe’s hand, the girl putting her hand down.
“Ah, sorry… just feels strange.” Chloe sighed, slumping down as Joyce hugged her daughter tightly.
“It’s okay, darlin’.” Joyce’s southern drawl coming through in her accent caused Chloe to smile.
“Hey, Mom, question?”
“Answer.” Chloe laughed at her Mom before sighing.
“How would you feel about Max coming to stay here, not forever, just over the holidays whilst she’s getting back on her feet.”
“Of course! She’s been in and out of the hospital with nosebleeds all last month, the last thing she needs is to be cooped up in a dorm room or in Seattle. And hey, I don’t have a problem with it being forever.” Chloe nodded in agreement, smiling at the end of her Mom’s sentence. Chloe pulled her phone out and rang Max, Joyce reaching over and putting the phone on speaker.
“Chloe! ” Max’s voice cut through the static of the phone call.
“Max!” Joyce and Chloe both exclaimed down the phone, causing Max to laugh.
“Hi Joyce! ” Max said, a happiness in her voice that caused both Price women to smile.
“Hi there, Max. Chloe’s got somethin’ she wants to tell you.” Chloe blushed, Joyce smiling as she nudged her daughter.
“Oh? Tell away, Pirate. Arrr! ” Chloe laughed as Max made a pirate noise down the phone, Chloe cleared her throat.
“Mom said you can come stay over during the break.”
“Yay! Thank you Joyce. Uh, Me and Chloe have something we want to tell you. ” Chloe’s phone buzzed with a text from Max, Chloe pulling away to read it as blush covered her cheeks.
Max: we should tell her now whilst it’s not awkward :)
Chloe: agreed
Chloe: ALSO NO EMOJI MAX
Max: <3
Chloe couldn’t be mad at Max for that one, the love heart causing Chloe’s heart to flutter as she heard Max laugh down the phone, the pair turning back to Joyce, who was looking at her daughter expectantly.
“Well, Chloe.” Joyce laughed as Chloe blushed again, Max’s voice coming down the phone.
“Let me guess, she’s blushing. ”
“Yep.”
“Wow, nice to see I’m being ganged up on.” Chloe mock surrendered as Joyce laughed, all three women laughing down the phone before Max spoke up.
“Joyce, Ms. Price. Me and Chloe are… ” Now it was Chloe’s turn to laugh a little.
“Caught on your words, Caulfield?” Chloe heard Max huff down the phone, the other girl giggling a little with Chloe.
“You tell her then. ” Max’s words caused Chloe’s cheeks to turn a deep shade of red as Joyce looked at her daughter, Chloe coughed slightly before blurting out.
“Me and Max are dating!” Chloe looked at Joyce as she could hear Max facepalm down the phone.
“Well, about time!” Chloe and Max both let out relieved sighs. “If that kiss you shared the other day didn’t seal the deal, I’d have thrown Chloe out then and there.” Joyce lightly tapped Chloe’s arm, before a puzzled question came from the phone.
“How’d you know? ”
“David put cameras in Chloe’s room. He showed it to me, so I slapped him silly and threw him out. I tore the cameras out the wall and threw them at him.”
“Way to go, Price Mom! ” Max’s voice carried down the phone, causing both Price women to laugh before Chloe asked Max.
“Price Mom?” The question caused Max to stammer down the phone.
“Well uh- y- yeah, P- Price Mom is Joyce and Caulfield Mom is Vanessa. ”
“Who’s Price's sister, then?” Joyce asked down the phone, getting a giggle out of Max.
“Clearly it’s Bongo, rest his soul. ” The joke caused all three women to laugh hard. Max coughing down the line before excusing herself and muting for a few minutes.
“But seriously, It’s Chloe, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. ”
“Oh girls… It’s getting late and I should head to bed.” Joyce sighed, standing up and smiling. “G’night you two.” Joyce pointed at Chloe. “Don’t keep her up too late, she needs her beauty sleep.” Joyce laughed when Max groaned down the phone.
“You two, damn you Price women, ganging up on the poor Max Caulfield, bearer of the Price burden. First it was William’s Dad jokes, now it’s being ganged up on and tickle torture. At least the waffles make up for it. ” Joyce laughed as she walked away, smiling. She watched her daughter kick her legs up on the coach, whispering softly.
“Thank you, Bill.”
After several hours, Chloe and Max finally hung up, Chloe plodding to the garage and grabbing a can of David’s beer, dropping a quarter on top of the packet, even if he was finally out of their house. Chloe pumped her fist in the air at the idea of Max, Joyce and herself having the house all to themselves. Whilst she didn’t fully hate her step-douche, knowing that he could change, the fact that he’d actually hit her in this timeline shook her up, unsure of what else could’ve changed. As she headed for the door, she saw a letter addressed to her, from him. She picked it up but shook her head.
‘Best not to snoop, he’ll give it to me when he’s ready.’ Chloe sighed, walking up the stairs slowly as she pondered about how much Max had changed her. ‘Damn you, Maxine Caulfield. You and your good influence.’ Chloe laughed as she pushed her bedroom door open with her back, closing it softly and turning around, gasping when she saw a face she didn’t think she’d ever see again after leaving the last timeline.
“Dad?”
“Princess.” William walked over, his skin transparent and his motions floaty as he cupped her cheek.
“Dad?” Chloe stammered out the same question, unable to move as she was rooted to the spot.
“Thank you, princess, for choosing Max.” William vanished as Chloe heard the door go behind her, turning around to see Joyce stood there.
“You okay, pumpkin?”
“Y- Yeah, just uh…” She held up the beer and joint, Joyce rolling her eyes.
“Oh, that makes so much sense.” Chloe and Joyce laughed a little as Joyce shut the door, the pair exchanging good nights as Chloe sat in her window, holding the joint out as she smoked and drank, cursing herself for not getting any of her favourite liquor as she drank David’s cheap beer. ‘No wonder he’s such a cranky dude, he drinks piss in a can.’ Chloe threw the empty can in the bin, putting the joint out and slinking to her wardrobe, grabbing out an oversized t-shirt and sleeping shorts, sliding her clothes off slowly and slipping the sleepwear on, taking her time and pondering over Max, eventually whispering.
“I can’t wait for you to be here.” As she spoke, her phone buzzed, she looked at the notification, from Max.
Max: i can’t wait to be there
Chloe smiled, thumbing a response back.
Chloe: hurry yo bony ass up then, beds getting cold without my bed warmer and blanket thief to snuggle with
Max: duuude, i’m trying they’re taking their sweet ass time checking me over before i sleep
Chloe: dude, i bet i can do it a lot quicker, all i’d need is you, my lips, and your consent.
Chloe smiled, betting Max was blushing.
Max: dude, you’re totally on.
Now it was Chloe’s turn to blush
Max: think you can beat 4:26?
Chloe: oh, first night, it’s so on. Watch out though, i might not be as thorough as them in some places
Max: i’m counting on it ;)
Chloe blushed hard, a smile beaming across her face as she sent Max a picture of her holding up her middle finger, hair messy and eyes sleepy as she lay in bed, grinning ear to ear. Several minutes later, Max sent a picture back, doing the same pose before sending another one, blowing a kiss to Chloe.
Max: goodnight, Chlobear
Chloe: goodnight, Maxaroni
Chloe smiled, shutting her phone off and putting it on charge before rolling over, grinning as she fell asleep.
Chapter Text
Max looked out the window, eyes tired and annoyed as she saw the weather.
‘Dude, the one day we get bad weather.’ Max pulled out her phone, texting Chloe.
Max: Hey chlo
Chloe: hey dude, rough ass weather huh
Max: yep
Chloe: fuck sake
Chloe: bullshit i swear
Chloe: what weather god did we piss off this time?
Max: tell me about it
Chloe: this stinks dude, i just wanna be with you
Max: same dude, same :(
Chloe: no emoji!
Max: :(
Chloe: NO EMOJI! Emoji make Chloe sad
Max: :)
Chloe: booooo you suck
Chloe: shame im not for you to prove it
Max blushed at Chloe’s text, giggling as a doctor walked in.
“Max, we’ll keep you in for the rest of today.” He pointed at the weather. “Don’t want you out in that, we can still keep an eye on a few things whilst waiting on the test reports. Any questions?” Max shook her head, the doctor smiling as he walked out, Max looking at her phone to see what Chloe had said.
Chloe: did i brokey the max?
Max: yep, you brokey the max
Chloe: aww, was looking forward to kisses
Max: kisses fixey the max :)
Chloe: :)
Max giggled a little at Chloe’s use of the smiley face.
Max: i see i’m breaking through to you
Chloe: i know, i hate it
Max: no you dont
Chloe: yes i do
Max: nope i think you like it
Chloe: noooope i don’t
Chloe: When you getting out?
Max: tomorrow, got a few more results to get back, but the fucking weather stopping me from leaving
Chloe: aight, i’ll come pick you up when i can
Max: thanks babe, I love you
Chloe: love you too babe, lots and lots
Max smiled as her phone buzzed with a message from Juliet.
Juliet: Heya Max
Max: What’s up Juliet?
Juliet: Me, Dana, Justin, Trevor and a few others were wondering if you and Chloe wanted to party this weekend?
Juliet: only if you feel like it of course! I hope you feel well soon!
Max: thank you Juliet, I appreciate it. I’ll speak to Chloe when i get out tomorrow and see if Chloe is down
Juliet: oh, Dana is speaking to Chloe now, she’s just told me that Chloe is 100% down and is dragging you along
Max smiled. ‘Of course Chloe signed both of us up for it, I love her so much.’
Juliet: Max? You there?
Max: sorry, daydreaming, that’s so Chloe
Juliet: about what?
Max: …
Juliet: i’ll get Dana to ask Chloe
Max: wait
Max’s phone buzzed, the girl laughing at a group chat of herself, Chloe, Juliet and Dana being created.
Max: hey you three
Dana: hey girlies
Juliet: hey
Chloe: whats up
Juliet: me and dana
Dana: have a question
Juliet: for you two
Chloe: whats up?
Max: whats the question?
Juliet: is there anything happening
Dana: between you two?
Juliet: not just you two dating, we know that you are dating
Dana: its uber obvious
Juliet: anything else? :p
Max: we don’t know
Chloe: yes
Max: CHLOE!
Max laughed, ringing Chloe on speaker quickly as she fumbled for her headphones, glancing back at the group chat.
Juliet: hahaha, nice try Max.
Dana: nice one, Chloe.
Chloe: dudes, guess who’s calling me?
Dana: uhhh
Juliet: is it max?
Chloe: duh, of course it is
Max: you all suck.
Chloe: you love me really
“ Hey babe ” Max could hear the smugness in Chloe’s voice as Max laughed, watching Dana and Juliet talk to Chloe and probe her with questions as both girls just laughed down the phone before giving up finding her headphones, holding the mobile device up to her ear.
“H- Hey, beautiful.”
“ How are you doing babe? Struggling to not laugh? ” Max laughed at Chloe’s words.
“A little, when someone so entertaining is talking to me down the phone and is typing to good friends in the group chat.”
“ Max, seriously, how are you?” Max could hear the concern in Chloe’s voice as the older girl spoke, Max let out a sigh, smiling at the phone before speaking.
“Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better, looking forward to tomorrow.”
“ When the weather lets up, I’ll try to come and pick you up. I’ve gotta perform guard duty for a little bit from something. I’ll explain later. ”
“Thank you, Chloe. I love you. Everything alright?” Max spoke with concern, worry in her mind as Chloe spoke.
“ I love you too, Max. I’m fine. ” Max sighed down the phone, Chloe also sighing before they both giggled. “ Dude, I wish I could pick you up now.” Max smiled at the petulant tone Chloe had in her voice, hoping deep down that it wasn’t going to be something that she’d have to be on the receiving end of.
“I know, babe, I know.” Max sighed, looking at the ground to see a ghostly doe standing on the ground in front of the window. “Chloe, there is…” Max breathed in, a shock in her voice. “Chloe, it’s a doe… but it’s…”
“ Send me a picture. ” Max nodded, moving the phone away from her ear and snapping a picture of the doe. Max did it so quickly that Chloe’s next words surprised her, Max not having checked the photo before sending it. “ Max, there isn’t anything there… ” Max’s eyes went wide, she looked at the picture again.
“But it’s right here, it’s a doe… a blue, transparent doe…” Max watched as the doe walked up to the window, pressing her head against it before looking at the sky, rearing her head before glowing, the weather clearing up. Max watched with awe as the weather cleaned up, the doe disappearing as a doctor walking into her room.
“Ms. Caulfield, you’re ready to go, we can email you the results. Any more questions?” Max shook her head. “Are you sure?” Max sighed, nodding with a smile and convincing the doctor with a little rewind magic before putting the phone back to her ear to hear Chloe breathing heavily.
“ Max… oh my god, Max… it’s here too… ” Max sighed, running her hand through her hair. “ The doe is here, in my back garden, nuzzling our art we did…”
“Wowser… I- uh… I’ve been let out, can you come and pick me up, please?” Max heard Chloe move down the phone, hearing a door open and close before hearing that familiar sound of Chloe’s truck door slamming closed.
“ On my way, Max. Don’t worry, I’ll come and pick you up. See you in a few. ” Max smiled as she hung the phone up, smiling as she gathered her things. As she did so, she heard a faint whisper behind her.
“ Max, remember me… ”
Max turned around, not finding anyone behind her. Shaking her head, Max stuffed all her things into a duffle bag and walked to reception, waiting a few minutes before seeing Chloe’s truck pull in.
Max quickly walked out of the reception area and over to the truck, the door swinging open as Chloe sat inside, a grin on her face as Max climbed inside, dropping the duffle into the passenger footwell and giving Chloe a kiss, cupping the girls cheek and running her hands through Chloe’s blue hair as Chloe returned the kiss, both hands around Max’s waist as they kept kissing over and over before moving one to lovingly squeeze one of Max’s thighs.
“Good to see you too, Maxaroni.” Max giggled a bit at Chloe’s use of her pet name. “Where’d you want to go?”
“Home…” Max looked at her hands, fidgeting a little as Chloe backed the truck out of the parking lot. “Thank you for picking me up…”
“Of course, babe. I love you.” Max smiled up at Chloe, squeezing the girl's thigh.
“I love you too, beautiful.”
Chloe pulled into the driveway and shut the truck off. As soon as the engine stopped, Max climbed straight over onto Chloe’s lap as she began to plant soft, chaste kisses onto Chloe’s face and neck, walking down her body as she began to kiss at Chloe’s shoulders.
After a few seconds of kissing Max softly giggled before beginning to leave hickeys on Chloe’s shoulders, being cautious enough to not make them too obvious but also not to be in any inconvenient places. Max gasped as she felt Chloe grab Max’s hands, holding her close as Chloe planted kisses around Max’s neck, beginning to leave hickeys on Max’s neck, not being as subtle as the smaller girl. As they were kissing, Max saw a car pull up at the house.
“C- Chloe…” Max pulled back, Chloe’s eyes darting up with fear, causing Max’s heart to wrench tight.
“Max, I’m sorry-”
“Chloe, it isn’t you, look.” Max pointed and Chloe looked into the side mirror. David stepped out of the car that had pulled up, causing Max and Chloe to both climb out of the truck. David instantly held his hands up.
“I ain’t looking for a fight, I just wanna get my stuff.” Max just watched as Chloe processed what David had said before opening the garage.
“Fine, let me help you.” Chloe and David began to move boxes between the garage and David’s car. After several trips, Chloe stood next to Max, letting David load the car with the boxes before driving away from the house.
“Thank fucking god.” Max looked at Chloe, a puzzled look on her face. ‘Oh fuck, of course, the last time she saw Me and David, we were on good terms.’ She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “New timeline, new shit. I’ll explain it to you inside.”
Chloe locked the truck and garage, Max taking her hand and locking their fingers together as the pair walked inside, Chloe locking the front door. Chloe sat down next to Max on the couch, Max putting her hands on Chloe’s shoulder and squeezing softly before Chloe pulled Max into a tight hug.
“God Max, it’s so hard to fucking explain. I’m…” Chloe sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. “I uh… When I changed the timeline, letting William die after saving him… David changed… he isn’t… he isn’t like the old timeline anymore, Max. He… we had a fight, all of us. It really kicked off the day we uh- we kissed first.” Max listened to Chloe, nodding intently as she spoke, Chloe took a shaky breath in before smiling at Max, holding her hand and continuing.
“Joyce confronted him, he’d been putting cameras around the house, one in my room, the backyard, kitchen, lounge… it’s so fucked up. He showed us kissing, though you heard that yesterday.” Chloe sighed as Max pulled her into another hug, squeezing tightly as she planted a kiss on Chloe’s cheek. “He… he went for you, he slammed the counter and went for you…” Max could tell what Chloe was going to say, her head throbbing as the memories forced themselves out of the recesses of her mind. “I got in the way, he slapped me instead, hard, so I thumped him and-”
“Broke his nose, I’m so fucking proud of you.” Max kissed her on the cheek again before straddling Chloe’s waist and holding herself close to her girlfriend. Max began to plant more kisses on Chloe’s body, the blue-haired girl putting a hand on Max’s back, holding her close as she rested a hand on Max’s butt, giving her a soft squeeze, causing Max to giggle and squirm.
“You like that, huh?” Chloe squeezed again, tugging Max closer as she moved her other hand to Max’s other butt cheek, squeezing both. Max squirmed and giggled as she unintentionally ground herself on Chloe’s waist, causing Chloe to gasp slightly with pleasure, Max doing the same before a mischievous grin crossed Max’s face. Max kept grinding on Chloe’s waist as they both lulled their heads back, Max letting out a soft moan as she kept gyrating.
“Max… please, don’t stop…” Chloe spoke, her words breathy and came in between soft moans, her eyes closed and breath ragged. Max just exhaled in response, grinding harder against Chloe as she rested her hands on Chloe’s shoulder. After a few minutes of moving together, groaning and sighing, they heard the doorbell ring, Chloe’s phone going off, Joyce. Max laughed, both girls panting as Max went to unlock the door, opening it to show Joyce on the other side.
“Thank you, Max. I forgot my keys.” Max smiled, stepping aside to let Joyce into the house, closing the door behind her and locking it, Joyce walking through to the kitchen to find Chloe rummaging through the freezer, probably looking for ice cream. Chloe stood up for a second to stop the blood from rushing to her head, noticing purple marks on Chloe’s shoulders. “Ah, I see Max got her lips on you already, Chloe.” Max’s face went bright red, Chloe’s following suit as Joyce laughed, Chloe’s shocked face turning into a sly grin as she winked at Max.
“More than just her lips.”
“CHLOE!” Max shouted, Joyce laughing very hard as Chloe just smiled, finally pulling an ice lolly out of the freezer. Chloe let out a content sigh as her and Max snuggled up on the couch, Joyce laughing as she sat on the other seat.
“Wonder what was with that freak weather today.” Max smiled externally, but inside she was as confused as Joyce, looking up at Chloe, the older girl could see the concern in Max’s eyes, Chloe holding Max tighter.
“Not sure, it was crazy.”
“I know right.” Max let out a sigh, rubbing her eyes. “No forecast at all, no warnings, just… surprise! Heavy rain showers and a blanket city wide travel ban.”
“Yeah, I was working the early morning shift in the diner and a few of the regulars looked out the window to see it rainin’ like hell.” Joyce sighed. “Had me trapped in the same buildin’ with the same men for hours.” Max and Chloe both smiled at Joyce, the older woman smiling back.
“Then just as quickly as it came, it went.” Chloe grabbed Max’s hand, cupping it with her own as she spoke. “It was hella crazy.”
Joyce pulled her phone out, smiling at the girls. “I’m thinking, instead of cooking dinner, why don’t we get takeout. I’ve got a pizza coupon somewhere.” Joyce stood up as Max and Chloe both just smiled at each other, Chloe leaning down to whisper in Max’s ear.
“With no David, at least for now, we have the house to ourselves during the break, and you’ve got two weeks off, especially as you skipped Friday, you lucky fucker.” Chloe laughed as Max poked her in the side, rolling her eyes as Chloe continued speaking. “We can go get some of your stuff from Blackwell tomorrow, not your whole damn room yet, but some of it.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan.” Max took Chloe’s limp hand in her own, giving it a flurry of soft kisses as Chloe blushed, Joyce walking back in and grinning at the two girls.
“You two… young love.” Max, Joyce and Chloe all laughed together, Joyce sitting back down at the other end of the couch from the lovebirds. Max and Chloe picking out what they ordered before Joyce ordered her own pizza, the three girls watching Friends on the TV until their food arrived and during dinner. After a couple of episodes, Joyce yawned.
“Well, I’m going to hit the hay. Goodnight girls. Love you.”
“G’night Mom, love you.” Chloe hummed, a happy grin across her face as she blew her Mom a kiss. Max smiled at Joyce, knowing her next words would cause the oldest Price lady to smile.
“Goodnight, Mom. Love you too.”
Chapter Text
Max and Chloe awoke, both girls groaning as they slowly untangled themselves from each other, laying at either side of the bed for a few seconds before Chloe giggled, rolling back over and hugging Max.
“Good morning! Day One of sixteen fun days of excitement and adventure with Captain Chloe and First Mate Max!” Max couldn’t help but laugh at Chloe’s words, turning around to hug Chloe, kissing her on the forehead before sitting up. She’d been having less nightmares since Chloe gained some semblance of Max’s powers, hoping deep down that she hadn’t given the nightmares to Chloe too. Max and Chloe both sat at the edge of the bed, kissing each other softly, love practically radiating off of the kisses.
“Ya know, we’re both here… alone…” Max bit her lip softly as Chloe spoke, Max blushing as Chloe took Max’s hands in her own, guiding her hands to her own hips, Max getting the message as she lightly pushed Chloe down onto her back, Max straddling her, leaning forward and kissing Chloe as she slowly began to grind against her. After a few minutes, Max stopped, winking.
“Think of it as a tease, for later.” Max winked again as she dressed, blushing hard through her words.
Max and Chloe both finished dressing, hopping downstairs to find two plates of food and a short list of microwave instructions, Chloe and Max grinning at the waffles Joyce had left them. Max and Chloe blitzed their food in the microwave before sitting at the table across from each other, playing footsie, eating and giggling at each other. After they finished eating and had washed their plates off, Max held out her arm, Chloe taking it and the pair walking to Chloe’s truck, Chloe opening the door dramatically for Max.
“M’lady.” Max curtsied, climbing into the truck, preparing herself mentally to go back to Blackwell. They both had two things to do today. First, Max and Chloe both had to meet Principal Wells before then packing some of Max’s stuff away to go back to Chloe’s house with. Max and Chloe were both silent, the radio blaring Can’t Stop by Red Hot Chilli Peppers from Max’s iPod.
“I didn’t know you liked this song?”
“Oh dude, I love this song.” Max lightly tapped Chloe’s leg, the girl humming in appreciation before sighing. “Thanks for agreeing to come with me.”
“Dude, I’m looking forward to it, the power of your education, all in my hands. Mwahahahaha!” Max mock-evil laughed as Blackwell loomed into view, Chloe gripping the steering wheel tightly as she drove, knuckles white. A couple of minutes later, the pair pulled into the Blackwell parking lot. As they drove in, they saw Victoria, standing next to a big SUV, arguing with a pair of men before throwing her hands up, flipping them the bird before they started packing her stuff into the SUV, Victoria watching. Max hopped out of the truck and walked over.
“You okay, Victoria?” Victoria turned when she heard Max approach, Max noticing her face going from a level-6 scowl to a level-7 scowl, if that's even how scowls work. Max stopped in her tracks as Victoria walked over.
“What do you want, Maxine? Here to answer all the questions people ask? Here to be a know-it-all, huh smartass?” Victoria gave Max a light push, causing Chloe, who was sitting in the truck, watching, to grab her coat and climb out. Max heard the door go and put her hand up to Chloe, shaking her head. Max turned to talk to Victoria, sighing.
“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but I-” Max was silenced by a slap across her face, she staggered back before throwing herself at Victoria with uncharacteristic aggression, wrapping her arms around the girls waist, smashing her into the back of the SUV as the people helping Victoria pack had finished, closing the boot just before the fight started. The pair rushed around the vehicle, moving towards Max, grabbing for her and leaving Victoria alone.
‘Fuck that.’ Chloe looked into the bed of her truck, spotting a tire iron and, grabbing it, began to sprint towards the group, swinging the iron at the helpers, hitting one of them in the back of the leg and causing him to buckle, dropping to his knees. Chloe hit the other one in the chest, causing him to double over and begin to cough. Victoria stepped towards Chloe before finding the tire iron pointing at her, a snarling Chloe at the end of it.
“Leave her the fuck alone, or I swear on this shithole, you’ll be fucking next.” Victoria nodded, contemplating for a second before hopping into the SUVs driver seat, starting the vehicle and pulling forward, driving away from Blackwell Academy, leaving Chloe, Max and the two servants behind.
Chloe helped Max to her feet, checking she was okay before putting the tire iron back into her truck, locking it before heading towards the main block, Chloe’s breath still ragged and heavy. Chloe and Max took a quick break in front of the block doors, catching her breath.
“Thanks for the save.” Max, who was standing close to Chloe in the empty quad, whispered into her girlfriend's ear. “I didn’t expect those two assholes to show up.” Chloe smiled, wrapping an arm around Max’s head and holding her close to her chest.
“Of course, babe. I’ll always be there to help you.” Max and Chloe both kissed before sighing. “I’m not sure why Wells decided to have your meeting on a Saturday, but I’m not complaining.” The pair heard the door unlock, Principal Wells popping his head out.
“Ms. Price, Ms. Caulfield, please follow me.” The pair walked after Principal Wells, finding themselves in the same office they’d snooped around in a few days prior, the pair sat down in the chairs opposite Well’s imposing chair, Max being reminded of the photo she has in her journal of Chloe sat in that exact chair.
“Now that we're here.” Well’s took a deep breath out, getting up and grabbing a glass out of his cupboard, pouring himself a drink before sitting back down. The girls also relaxed when Well’s did, smiling a little at each other before continuing. “We had a visit from the police, about abuse that David caused to Chloe and was going to cause Max. Officer Berry looked into it and found enough evidence on the cameras that David had hidden around your house, illegally, by the way. He brought it to us, and we have decided to let him go. Officer Berry is now going to act as the school's dedicated Police Security Officer.” Max and Chloe both looked at each other, fighting not to smile before looking back to the Principal.
“Okay, thanks for telling us, Principal Wells.” Max spoke cautiously, not wanting to annoy the principal.
“Of course, Max. It’s the least I could do as it pertains to the both of you directly. And please, in here, you can call me Ray. Now, onto business.” He turned his attention to Chloe. “It comes to me on high authority that you’ve… matured, since Max here returned to Arcadia Bay and you were last a student here.” Chloe looked to Max, who nodded in assurance before they both smiled at Ray.
“Yeah, I guess Max has been a good influence on me.” Chloe smiled and put her hand on Max’s shoulder, giving it a light shake.
“Good, then I see no reason to delay your enrollment.” Both girls' eyes went wide as Ray smiled, signing a few documents and giving them to Chloe to sign. “Ms. Price, allow me to be the first person to welcome you back to Blackwell Academy.”
“Thank you. Both of you.” Chloe smiled at Max and Ray, the man nodding at Chloe.
“Of course, one more thing.” Ray cleared his throat. “One more personal thing, your father, William, was an amazing friend, and the school, along with the town, would, with both Joyce and your permission, like to host a special “William Price Celebration Day”, to celebrate all the good things your father did. You don’t have to answer now, just give it a thought.” Chloe nodded, face going pale as Max pulled her into a hug. “You’re both free to go.”
Max and Chloe sat on Max’s bed, smiling and hugging. After they had left the building and back onto the quad, Max had wrapped Chloe in a big hug before dragging her off to her dorm.
“Let me be the second person to welcome you back to Blackwell Academy.” Max smiled, climbing on top of Chloe and giving her a deep, passionate kiss, taking Chloe’s hands in her own and holding them, the motions of passion, love and care causing time to slow again until, like before, it was just Max and Chloe moving around.
The pair stood up and began to pack Max’s room away as time sped back up to normal, the pair not really noticing as they packed some of Max’s clothes away, along with her laptop, Warren’s flash drive, her pillows - Chloe insisting that a bed could never have too many pillows for a pillow fort - and Max ensuring to pack her secret food supply for them to share. As she was clearing out her closet, she found a marking she hadn’t noticed before. She grabbed the flashlight she kept nearby and looked in properly.
“Oh, my, fucking, god.” Max dropped the flashlight, the bulb shattering, causing her to cuss before rewinding, the flashlight un-shattering. Chloe, also moved back in time with Max, walked over and grabbed the flashlight from her hands, poking her head in where Max was looking before letting out an angry groan.
“FUCK.” Chloe thumped the wall, Max immediately grabbing Chloe and holding her.
“Chloe, talk to me…”
“She…” Max knew some of what Chloe was going to say, hoping that she wouldn’t hate what else she said. “She didn’t get with Frank, not in this timeline. She got-”
“She got with fucking Nathan.” Max sighed, sitting on the floor and grabbing at her head, rubbing her temples as Chloe did the same, gaining memories of spotting Rachel and Nathan getting a bit too touchy feely, a sob ripping through her.
“She disappeared not that long ago, you know. It was only January, in this timeline anyway.” Max nodded. “I remember seeing the posters around before.”
“Yeah, it went from November to god damn fucking January.” Chloe let out another angry sigh, thumping the closet door before standing up, grabbing Max’s stuff. “Let’s go, I don’t wanna be here anymore.” Max nodded, taking Chloe’s free hand in her own as the pair walked back to the parking lot, the servants having scarpered without touching Chloe’s truck. Chloe loaded Max’s stuff into a special box she’d bolted into the back specifically for this. She locked it and the pair hopped into the truck, Max shifting up next to Chloe on the bench.
“Home time.” Max tapped Chloe’s hand and her girlfriend gave it to her, Max planting a kiss on the hand before letting Chloe drive.
Chapter Text
Chloe and Max both let out heavy sighs, Max sitting on Chloe’s bed and Chloe sitting in the window, on her desk, cigarette between her fingers as Max held a diet coke in her hand.
“Thank you for today, Chloe.” Max rubbed her cheek, it was still red and slightly bruised from where Victoria had slapped her. “You saved my butt.”
“No problem, Maxo Paxo.” Chloe flicked some ash out the window, taking a long drag before putting it out and dropping the butt into the ashtray. Chloe hopped off of her desk and plodded over to Max, sitting next to her on the bed and pulling her boots and socks off, kicking back onto the bed as she sighed, laying next to Max. “I’m never going to let anyone, ever hurt you, ever again.” Max smiled as she sat back up, taking a drink from her coke before feeling a pair of hands wrap around her. She puts her coke back down and lets Chloe pull her onto the bed, Chloe squeezing her before sighing.
“Anyway, if I didn’t save your butt, I couldn’t do this.” Chloe climbed over Max, laying in front of her girlfriend before giving Max’s butt a quick squeeze. Max let out an adorable little yelp that caused Chloe to burst out laughing, pulling Max closer into her arms as she planted a soft kiss on Max’s forehead, running her free hand across Max’s hickeys, lightly tracing them and smiling when Max shivered under her touch.
“Chloe…” Max breathed.
“Max… I want…” Chloe took a breath, she’d figured out Max was probably a virgin, but was still careful about how she worded it. “I want our first time to be special. I want your first time to be… unforgettable .” Max snorted a little and kissed Chloe’s chest.
“Chloe, every moment with you is unforgettable, I love you so, so fucking much.” Max nuzzled into Chloe’s chest, holding her girlfriend close and smiling as Chloe kissed her on the top of her head. “But, I don’t mind waiting until you're ready. No more teasing either, I solemnly swear.” Max did a mock girl scouts salute as she squeezed Chloe, wrapping a leg over her girlfriend before they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Unknown
“Max?” Chloe heard herself speak, sitting up in bed and looking around, not sure where Max was. ‘Where is she? Why’s it so damn dark outside?’ Chloe looked out her window to see a storm, a great tornado, hovering over Arcadia Bay. She heard the door go and turned, watching Max run in, grabbing a few things before running out, Chloe following her. She followed Max as she ran as hard as she could, running to her truck, hopping into the front seat and driving towards the treehouse.
“Max, you won’t be safe there… it’s too close…” Chloe was so confused, why couldn’t she think straight. ‘Fuck, I can’t…’ She grabbed at her head, slamming it with the heel of her hand a couple of times before shaking it. ‘C’mon Chloe, keep it together.’ The truck rolled to a halt as deep into the forest as it could, Max hopping out the vehicle and running towards the treehouse clearing. As the girls approached, the sky began to brighten and clear, resulting in the girls entering a sunny and bright treehouse clearing.
“What? How?” Chloe looked at Max, the girl freaking a little as she walked around, looking at the conditions in the clearing, most notably the weather, before sitting at the base of the tree, crying into her arms. “Chloe…”
“I’m here Max.” Chloe heard herself speak, Max not responding.
“I wish you were here… I’m so… I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you…” Chloe blinked, her mind clearing out as she realised, her gaining the memories of the original timeline.
‘Holy shit… I died… this is trippy as fuck… this is the Max, that Max… From when I die… Max… I’m so… I’m hella sorry.’ Chloe leant down, wiping Max’s eyes, sighing sadly when nothing happens. Time begins to speed up as she watches Max fall asleep, eventually slowing back to normal speed when Max reawoke, standing and walking back out of the clearing.
As they left the clearing and went back to the edge of the forest, the trees became sparser and more torn, eventually giving way to the upturned and destroyed truck, Max crying as she looked at it, Chloe sighing sadly, knowing she can’t influence this place. The duo walked out the forest proper, looking out over the destroyed town, bits of buildings strewn everywhere, Chloe and Max both gasped at the destruction, the Two Whales sign sticking out of the Blackwell dorm building at the top of the hill and the lighthouse having collapsed. Max and Chloe both sighed, Chloe sitting down and crying as she watched Max walk away, everything turning white.
“Welcome back, I won’t kill you this time, yet.” Max cautiously stepped into the room, arms up defensively as she turned the corner to see Chloe, the Chloe from the lighthouse, the one she left, standing opposite her. She dropped her arms to her sides, a tear rolling down her cheek. “Better late than never, dude. Kept me waiting.”
“Sorry, I got waylaid, being dead.” Max and Chloe looked at each other for a few moments before both laughing, the laughs dry but genuine. “Seriously, I’m sorry, Chloe. I didn’t know that…”
“It’s okay, you couldn’t have known. I went to save you after learning…” Chloe cut herself off, walking forward and holding Max’s hands in her own. “Never forget, I was the first Chloe to love you.” Max nodded, pulling Chloe into a hug.
“Weird question, what timeline are you from?” Chloe let out another laugh, the pair leaning against the sinks.
“I suppose, I’m from timeline 2, if you and I left the first one when you saved my life…” Max and Chloe paused for a few seconds before nodding in agreement.
“Wait, who's Max with all the different clothes?”
“You’ll learn, you’ll learn very soon. And…” Chloe put a hand on Max’s shoulder, pulling her into a hug. “And I’m sorry, but it will hurt.”
“God Chloe, you sound so fucking cryptic, just like fucking William. Give it a break.” Max whispered, her voice laced with frustration as she spoke, stepping away from Chloe and putting her arms out as the blue-haired girl pulled out a handgun.
“I’m ready to go, wake me up.” Max looked down, before looking back at Chloe. “After I abandoned you on the lighthouse, it’s the least I deserve…” Max spoke quietly, her voice rough with emotion as Chloe stood opposite her, the girl contemplating for a few minutes before sighing, throwing the handgun through the mirror, the surface rippling as the firearm flew through it.
“Do it yourself.” Max watched as the other Chloe climbed through the mirror, vanishing into the blurry reflection of nothing. Max sighed, walking to the door before seeing a bottle and packet of pills resting on the ground.
“No, I refuse-” Max felt a hot pain spread through her back, falling forward before everything faded to black, hearing the voices of Kate and Victoria screaming behind her.
Both girls shot up, gripping each other as they both sweat bullets, fear paralysing them for a few seconds before they shifted into each other's arms, Max holding Chloe tightly as they swayed in bed, both girls taking deep, calming breaths as they rocked.
Then, they heard a door open downstairs.
“Mom’s home…” Max muttered to Chloe, the other girl nodding.
“Yep. Wait, Mom?”
“You finally noticed.” Max smiled softly at Chloe, kissing her with dry lips, the pair getting up from the bed and heading down to see Joyce.
“Welcome home.”
“Thanks Max.”
“Chloe will be down in a second, she’s changing.” Joyce gave Max a quizzical look. “She accidentally spilt Dr. Pepper on herself.” Joyce laughed, rubbing her eyes before grabbing a glass of water, drinking a little from it and setting it down on the counter, turning to Max.
“Ya know, Max. I’m proud of you.” Joyce reached out, holding her hand on Max’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze and smiling at the girl. “You know I consider you my daughter, and, as a mother, I’m proud of how brave and confident you’ve become.” Joyce shifted forward slightly. “I heard about what happened between you, Chloe and Victoria. Good work.” Max smiled as Joyce gave her shoulder another squeeze. The pair both turned their heads towards the stairs as they heard them creak.
“You can come down now, Chloe.” Max laughed as Joyce spoke, the women hearing Chloe groan on the steps before plodding the rest of her way down, Max pulling her into her arms and hugging her girlfriend, the pair kissing as Chloe’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Dude… wow.” Chloe ran a hand through her hair, planting a kiss on Max’s head before grabbing a bowl out of the cupboard, the milk out of the refrigerator and the pack of cereal off of the counter. She poured herself a bowl before seeing Max pouting at her, causing Chloe to let out a sigh and slid it over to Max.
“Thank you, Chlobear.” Chloe blushed again as Joyce smirked at both girls, Max laughing at Chloe’s expression. “Chill out, Chlo. I’m just teasing you, seeing as you tease me all the time, I think it’s only fair.”
Chloe laughed, letting out a sigh before sitting next to her girlfriend at the table, rubbing their legs together as Joyce sat opposite, running a hand through her hair before Chloe smiled at her Mom. “Oh, Mom, by the way… I got accepted into Blackwell, like for reals.”
“Oh my god, Chloe, that’s fantastic!” Joyce put her hand on Chloe’s, giving it a squeeze and smiling at her daughter. “I love you, Chloe.”
“Love you too, Mom.” Max smiled at both girls before her phone began to ring, Chloe looking at Max as she let out a soft sigh.
“It’s Kate, gimme a minute.” Max stood up, kissing Chloe on the head before walking through the sliding door into the back yard, answering the phone and moving to sit on the swing. Max didn’t hear anything through the phone for a few seconds and thought Kate had phoned by mistake.
“Kate? Are you okay?”
“ Max? Where are you? ” Max could hear fear in Kate’s voice, she leant forward a little, looking at the door to see if anyone followed her as she let out a huff.
“I’m at Chloe’s, are you okay?”
“ No, Victoria is at the door to your dorm room, banging it down like it’s the end of the world. ” Max let out an exasperated sigh.
“Me and Chloe are on our way, hold tight.” Max stood up, watching Chloe walk through the door towards her as Max signalled to go to the truck, Chloe nodding as the pair walked inside, Chloe telling Joyce that her and Max were going out for a little bit before dinner.
“ Please hurry, I saw Nathan here earlier too, he looked pretty pissed. ” Max froze in place, Chloe looking at Max with concerned eyes before the pair walked out the door towards Chloe’s truck.
“Alright, Kate, we’re leaving now.” Max heard Kate scream down the phone before hearing her door lock, her panting. “KATE!” Chloe started the truck quickly, the engine revving before speeding out of the driveway, towards Blackwell. “We’re coming, Kate, we’re coming to help.”
“ Too late, Maxine. ” Max’s blood boiled.
“Victoria, what have you done to Kate?”
“ Nothing compared to what we’re going to do to you- ”
“No! Not on my life!” Chloe shouted, the pair knowing Victoria could hear it down the phone before Max hung up, throwing the phone down in her lap with a dejected sigh. “We’ll get there in time, Max, promise.”
“This…” Max sobbed softly, wiping her eyes as Chloe focused on the road, driving pretty safe all things considered. “This is all my fault. If I didn’t… didn’t attack her, this might not have happened.” Chloe let out a shaky sigh.
“Max, this might have stopped Nathan from killing you.”
“My life isn’t worth Kate’s!” Max shouted unintentionally, jolting forward as she had yelled before sighing, slumping back on the bench and sighing. “I’m sorry…”
“No Max. Let’s make them sorry. I’ve got an idea.” Chloe’s face had her signature smirk as she began to explain her plan.
Max looked at Chloe, the punk nodding reassuringly as the truck pulled up to Blackwell, a determined look on Chloe’s face as she climbed out of the cab of the truck and sprinted up the steps and onto the quad, Max looking past Chloe to see Nathan and Victoria sitting on the fountain at the quad. Max hopped out the truck after Chloe and the pair ran up the steps to the fountain.
“Well, guess the dykes decided to show up.” Nathan spat some gum into the fountain before standing up, Nathan taking his coat off as Victoria tugged her sweater off, Max and Chloe both keeping their outer layers on.
“What did you do to Kate?” Max spoke with anger, hate and pain in her voice, teeth gritted together as she practically spat the words out, spittle landing on the opposing pairs clothes.
“Like Victoria said on the phone, nothing compared to what we’re going to do to you two.” Nathan spoke, grinning before cracking his knuckles, stepping forward. “Time to get your asses beat-”
Chloe threw herself at Nathan, tackling him to the concrete before pummeling his face with punches. Victoria, who was surprised at how badly that had gone for Nathan, didn’t see Max slap her across the face, leaving a bright red mark before Max began to pound her with punches too, Max’s inexperience matching Victoria’s as the pair basically had a catfight on the ground.
Meanwhile, Nathan had recovered from his initial tackling and had battled Chloe to the ground, Nathan managing to get a bit of separation as he kicked at Chloe’s stomach, the other girl rolling away to avoid the contact as they both stood back up, Nathan raising his fists and Chloe doing the same, Nathan’s eyes going a little wide at the amount of small scars adorning Chloe’s hands.
‘Might’ve bitten off more than we can chew.’ Nathan heard a voice in his head murmur before shaking it, swinging a fist at Chloe as she blocked it, landing a knee to his gut. He was able to get a jab into her ribs, causing her to recoil and backing her off of her assault, He pressed the advantage, rushing her and slamming her into a tree, the wind being knocked out of her as she clubs him on the back with a hard object, causing him to back up as he spots her wielding a collapsible baton, the girl grinning.
“Stupid bitch.” Victoria spat at Max as they continued to slap and kick at each other, Max standing back on her feet before taking a few steps back, remembering what Chloe had said in the truck as they’d been travelling to Blackwell.
“Look in the glovebox.” Max had opened the glovebox to reveal a rough assortment of weapons, including a taser, collapsible baton and-
“Chloe, is that a gun?” Max eyed Chloe with concern as the girl shrugged.
“A girl’s gotta be able to defend herself from psycho rich kiddies with guns.” Max let out a soft sigh, pulling it out and putting it out of the way, Chloe noticing that Max was a lot less "against" the idea than she thought the girl would be.
“Fine… Fine.” Max grabbed the taser, pressing the trigger before noticing that the battery had fallen out. Max grabbed it out of the glovebox and pressed the battery into the weapon, it zapping between the two prongs as she smiled a little, turning the safety on and slipping it into her jean pocket. Chloe reached out and grabbed the gun, slipping it into the back of her pants before grabbing the baton, slipping it into her coat pocket.
“Remember, self-defence only. If they start beating us.” Max nodded, also grabbing the can of pepper spray out of the glovebox, slipping it into her hoodie. “ Let’s do this. ”
Max pulled the pepper spray out, Chloe having shown her how to use it as she pulled the tab out, spraying it in Victoria’s direction as the girl recoiled, breaking and running for the parking lot. Max heard a familiar sound of slight rattling and turned, spotting Nathan pointing his gun at her.
“Times to die, bi-” Max screamed as she heard a gun fire, Nathan falling down as Max looked to Chloe, the girl slumped next to the tree with exhaustion, gun in her hand. Max sprinted over to Chloe.
“I’m okay, Max, just… just tired out.” Chloe stumbled to her feet, the pair walking over to Nathan.
“Yeah, he’s dead.” Max and Chloe both sighed. “Should we… should we rewind?”
“Why? He was going to kill you, again Max. I can’t watch you die again.”
“Just disarm him, Chloe, please.” Max nodded, an idea popping into her head. “Wait, because we’re both immune to the reversing effect, if I stand here, behind where he was, next to you, with that.” Max pointed to the baton Chloe still had gripped in her hand. “Just hit him over the head.”
“Oh my god, Max. You’re a genius!”
Max and Chloe both held their hands up, rewinding time until Nathan had come back to life, standing in front of both girls. The pair of girls stopped and watched Victoria run into the parking lot. Nathan turned to where Max was standing a few minutes before, gun drawn.
“Time to die, bi-” Nathan froze. ‘Where had she gone-’ He barely had time to think about the question before he felt a clubbing blow to the back of his head, dropping to his knees, he slumped over.
“Good work, Chlo.” Max leant down, picking up his gun and, putting the safety on, twirled it around on her finger before pocketing it.
“We gotta find Kate.”
“Max, go to her dorm, I’ll chase Victoria, just in case she’s in the car.”
Chloe ran down the steps to see Victoria clambering into a car, having dropped her keys several times in panic, she finally unlocked the door and climbed into the car, reaching for the handle before a hand firmly gripped her.
“Nice try, asshole.” Chloe tore Victoria from the vehicle, slamming her against the body of the car. “Where’s Kate? Or you get the same fate as your lover boy.” Chloe tapped the back of Victoria’s legs with the baton, her legs buckling slightly at the sudden impact.
“Uh- She’s uh-”
“WHERE IS SHE?” Chloe screamed, whacking Victoria over the back with the baton, the girl crying as she dropped to the floor.
“She ran! I swear! She ran away from us! We followed her but stopped when she dropped her phone. We only wanted to use her to get to Max! I promise!”
“You better be telling me the fucking truth, snake. Or I swear, there will be hell to pay.” Chloe walked away, leaving Victoria leaning against the car, hand on her stomach from where she’d buckled into the ground and landed on her front. Chloe headed for the dorms, to help Max.
Max unlocked the door to the dorm building, clambering up the steps towards Kate’s room, as she ran, she noticed her own door open. Slowing to a walk and pulling her stun gun out, she leapt around the corner to find her room a wreck. Her bed sheet had burn marks from cigarettes on it. Lisa’s leaves had been torn out of the plant, creating a middle finger out of the remains. Her desk was covered in photos of her from her photo wall with stupid faces drawn on them, nasty names written on the white section underneath. Further, her clothes had been left strewn across all of the furniture and her framed photos of her Dad and her Seattle friends had been smashed to bits, her paper lanterns were strewn across the floor, several of them had been stamped on. Max looked around the room, noticing her door had been forced open.
‘Nathan…’ She slammed her hand against her desk, a sob ripping through her before she heard someone running down the corridor outside.
“Max?” Max let out a relieved sigh as she heard Chloe’s voice approaching.
“In here.” She spoke, anger in her voice as she saw Chloe poke her head in through the doorway, eyes wide at the carnage.
“Oh, Max… I’m so sorry.” Max sighed as she walked out into the hallway. “Don’t touch anything, it’s fairly obvious who did this, and we can hopefully get them in trouble for it.”
“I know… it’s just…” Max roughly ran a hand through her hair, anger flaring up in her before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, hugging her tightly, a kiss being pressed to her head from Chloe.
“We’ll find Kate, Max. Trust me.”
“I’m just…” Max slammed her hand into the brick wall, wincing slightly at the pain before she pushed off of the wall, walking into Kate’s room to find everything normal, the only difference being a window open with a bed sheet and clothing rope hanging out the window. “Oh Kate…” She looked out the window, Chloe carefully looking around the stuff in the room before they both walked out, freezing as they saw Samuel approaching.
“Ah, Max. We’ve been looking for you.” Max’s eyebrow raised, she was used to Samuel’s eccentric behaviour, but it’s never been pointed at her before.
“What’s the matter?” Chloe took Max’s hand and gave it a squeeze, Max squeezing back.
“We are sorry.”
“Sorry about what?” Chloe spoke up, eyes narrowing.
“Sorry about everything that has happened.” Samuel walked into Max’s room. “You don’t deserve this.”
“Thank you.”
“Also, we are sorry about your parents. That was an unfortunate accident.”
Chapter Text
Max froze, her blood freezing and her breath quickening as the words processing in her head before she shook it, hoping but failing to shake the growing pain in her head.
“Uh- T- Thank you.” She quickly walked out, dragging Chloe with her, using her girlfriend as for stability as they slowly went down the stairs. Max tried to walk to the door independently, but nearly collapsed as soon as she wasn’t using something as a support, Chloe instantly rushing to Max’s side.
“I got you, babe.” Chloe helped Max up, holding the girl up before taking her out to the bench outside the teachers wing of the dorms. Chloe ran away, heading for the front of Blackwell to get her truck. As Max sat there, she saw a familiar face, fully human and physically there, at least she thought she was there.
“R- Rachel?”
“I’m here Max, it won’t make sense, not yet, but he’s coming. You won’t escape, not yet.” Rachel's voice sounded a few octaves out of place and her eyes were bloodshot? or they looked bloodshot... Max tried to focus on those details but before she could ask any questions, Rachel was brushing Max’s hair out of her face, planting a kiss on her forehead before walking away.
The last thing Max noticed before falling unconscious was a very familiar butterfly necklace around Rachel’s neck, and the familiar clothes she was wearing.
Her clothes.
Unknown
Max pushed the door to the Blackwell Bathrooms open, groaning as she found the room empty, frozen in time as a butterfly rested on a bucket of water. Max had looked all around Blackwell before deciding to check the dorms, wincing at the heavy winds outside as she walked through the quad, trying to ignore scenes of Rachel, teasing Chloe with lapdances, kisses, love and… and other activities . She also saw Victoria and Chloe… doing things together, electing to ignore them entirely as she walked through the quad.
‘I…’ Max involuntarily froze, looking at her feet for a few seconds before she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, its flat and mysterious voice whispering into her ear.
“ You should be better, do more… be badder, for Chloe. ” Max shivered, the hand dissipating as quickly as it came, the girl continuing her walk to the dorm building.
As she walked into the garden area out the front of the dorms, she noticed Samuel, sitting on a bench, surrounded by squirrels.
“ Hello, Max. ” Max took an unconscious step back, herself having been dragged next to Samuel, the step causing her to fall onto the bench, squirrels beginning to climb up her legs.
“H- Hi.”
“ Thank you, thank you for sacrificing yourself for Rachel, she’s a great subject. ” Max flinched away from Samuel, his voice morphing into a deep, booming voice. Max tried to move away, the squirrels being deceptively heavy as she barely moved, despite her best efforts.
“N- No.” Max felt herself being drowned in squirrels, wrestling herself off of the bench, the harder she tried, the more suppressed she felt, her struggling groans being replaced by a different voice, her voice.
‘N- No… I’m becoming… I refuse, NO!’ Max, a rush of power washing over her, threw herself forward, the squirrels all rewinding down her body, everything around her running backwards as Samuel stood up, walking backwards into his cupboard, the squirrels following. The last thing Max heard as the door closed was whispering, the whispers saying one sentence Max had heard over and over yet didn’t understand.
“ Rachel in the Dark Room. ”
Max rubbed her temples, walking into the dorm building, the pressure that had been crushing her dissipating as she looked around. All the lights were off, the light switches replaced by polaroids of Max, sitting alone on a bus, smiling at the camera.
‘I remember this one… Chloe took it with her dads camera in 2007. We’d gone to her Uncle Aaron’s summer house...’ Max let out a sad sigh. The picture began to shift in front of Max and she poured some effort into it, the lights turning on as the Max in the picture shifted, replacing her with Rachel, a caption appearing in the white space under the photo.
‘ This is what happened in Chloe’s heart the day she found Rach. ’ Max shook her head, snatching the photo off of the wall and marching up the stairs, a determined look on her face as she kept grabbing at familiar polaroids, some of them hurting Max emotionally as they shifted, revealing Max to be replaced by Rachel in all of them. As Max approached the door to her room, she saw her message board was stretched impossibly long, covered in pictures, pictures of her, pictures important to her.
“What the fuck?” She exclaimed aloud, eyes beginning to focus on one of the pictures without being able to stop it. “No no no-” The picture, which a selfie she’d taken in Mr. Jefferson’s class morphed and replaced her with Rachel. She watched as all of the pictures changed, the one she’d taken the first day of her and Chloe’s relationship hurting the most as Chloe’s smile got even wider, the rest of the pictures changed but Max was numb after that one, until the very last two. The first was the picture of herself and Chloe, taken by William when they were making pancakes, on the day he died, Max having been replaced by Rachel, Joyce in the back of the picture.
‘She made it home okay…’ The picture morphed and shifted as she focused again, Joyce vanishing as the picture was torn in two, dropping onto the ground. Max reached out and took the last one, holding it in her hands as tears dropped down her cheeks.
It was the photo of her, Chloe and Joyce, resting against the tree stump. It was her physical connection to Chloe, her reminder throughout all of her stay in Seattle, Max sobbed as she looked at the new photo, her having been replaced by Rachel. Max tore the picture in two, her whole spirit one of rage as she looked at the door she was now standing in front of. She raised her foot to kick the door, noting with a little confusion that she was wearing boots, not Rachel or Chloe’s boots, just a pair of boots, studded at the top with chains coming down the sides.
‘Looking good, Ra-’ Max froze. ‘What the fuck…’ She shook her head, slamming the heel of her hand against her temple, cursing at the pain. ‘I’m slowly turning into Rachel, it’s… oh my god, it’s been bleeding back through time… that’s why I’ve been so…’
“ Fun, sexy, hawt. ” Max heard Rachel’s voice from inside the room ahead of her, causing Max to focus back to the task at hand, raising her boot before kicking the door to Rachel’s room. After several kicks, the door opened, the mark it left matching the one she saw on her door today. Max barged in to find Rachel, Chloe and Victoria all laying on the bed, still adorned with Max’s bedsheets, all having sex. Max recoiled quickly before slowly looking back in, the three girls covering themselves up as Max stepped back into the room.
Max let out an angry yell, fed up with the mind games whoever or whatever was playing on her. She grabbed Victoria by the hair, throwing the barely dressed girl into the hall, turning to Chloe. “You have 60 seconds to get dressed, and get out.” Chloe stared at Max, surprised at the girl’s tone and style.
“Max… what happened to you?”
“Chloe, I know you aren’t really here, not my Chloe anyway. She wouldn’t do this…” Max threw her hands around, indicating what the trio had been doing a minute prior. Chloe shook her head, causing Max to, in a fit of uncharacteristic rage, slam her hands against the wall, the action causing Chloe to jump out of her skin. “GET OUT!” Chloe finally moved, grabbing her and Victoria’s clothes and running out. Max turned to Rachel, the girl still laying on Max’s bed, naked and uncaring, eyes slightly glazed over. Max threw the covers on top of Rachel before climbing onto the bed, getting into Rachel’s face and snarling. As Max spoke, Rachel began to become more conscious, awakening on a conscious level as she heard Max’s words.
“Tell me! How the fuck were you there?!” Rachel stayed where she lay, her face one of confusion, unable to move as Max was holding her down.
“What? I-” Rachel began before feeling her face sting as Max slapped her.
“You were there, before I came to this nightmare. You were there, at Blackwell.”
“No! I wasn’t!” Max heard Rachel’s voice, full of desperation and confusion, and let out a heavy sigh, standing up and walking to the window. “It’s hard to explain, I didn’t- I went to the bathrooms, like usual. I just woke up here…” Max felt Rachel’s hand rest on her shoulder, sighing before leaning slightly into the girl’s touch, Rachel putting her hands to Max’s head.
Max felt a rush of energy before she saw Rachel, dressed in the same clothes from last time, walk towards Mr. Jefferson’s art classroom, she walked through the door and instead of entering the bathroom, Rachel had awoken on her bed being pinned down by Max. Max took Rachel’s hands off of her head, stepping back as she sighed.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay…” Rachel let out a sigh. “Something sinister is working against us.” She began to glow, holding at a bright light for a few seconds before coming back wearing clothes. “This place isn’t safe anymore. Go to the…” Rachel looked down. “Go to the graveyard with Chloe, visit William’s grave, he can help out more. Go.” Max sighed, looking down as she heard Rachel rack a pistol, holding it to her head, the trigger clicking, and her whole world going black.
Max shot up, her head hurt like a bitch, but she kept her cool. She wasn’t sure how much of it was real and how much was a bleed from the nightmare, but she felt different, like a mix of her old self and a more confident version of herself… or a less confident Rachel and a more confident version of herself… or- or...
“Max!” The brunette looked up to see Chloe walk into the bedroom, phone in one hand and two bags in the other.
“Oh Chlobear… am I glad to see you.”
“Another nightmare, Maxarone?” Max nodded, Chloe pulling the girl into a hug, rubbing her back before giving her a kiss on the cheek, Max returning it.
“I love you Chloe… p- please don’t leave me.”
“Oh Max, I’d never leave you. You’re stuck with me.” Both girls giggled as Chloe hugged Max again, hoisting the girl up into a big hug.
“Thank you Chloe.”
Chapter Text
“Why’d you want to come here?” Chloe walked with Max into the cemetery, Chloe looking around at all the graves, a sad sigh escaping her lips as she squeezed Max’s hand, the girl on her right walking with stiff purpose.
“It’s… it’s hard to explain.” She lets out a ragged sigh, raking a hand through her hair. “Over there.” Max pointed to a grave Chloe recognised instantly, a figure knelt in front of it. The pair ran over, the figure speaking as they approached.
“It really does look better outside than inside.” The figure rose, turning to face the girls, Max smiling as Chloe, a shocked look adorning her face, let Max’s hand go and sprinted over to the person.
“Dad!” Chloe wrapped her arms around William, hugging him tightly. “I thought… you-”
“I know, Chloe, I know… I came here as a special occasion, to tell you both what’s been happening.” He looked down. “More specifically, what’s been happening to Max, to see if we can try and fix it.” Chloe turned to Max, the girl looking down as Chloe walked over, taking Max’s hands in her own and kissing them softly.
“Max, hey… talk to me…” Max looked up at Chloe, a tear in her eyes as she whispered out a response.
“It’s… it’s hard to explain… but I think…” She looked down again, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. “I think Rachel is the reason I’ve been acting all aggressive and weird, and have been having worse nightmares in this timeline than the others.” Max, having been speaking faster and faster during the sentence, eventually fell into Chloe’s arms, crying into her girlfriend. “I- I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay, munchkin.” Chloe kissed Max on the head, holding her girlfriend and looking back up at her Dad. “Please, help her.”
“Will it fix her?”
“Mostly, but it’ll hurt her…”
“Do it. Just do it.” Chloe spoke at William, her voice full of emotion and distress yet quiet as a whisper as she kissed Max’s head holding her close. “I’m sorry Max, I really am… but I’d rather have you over Rachel, any day.”
“No Chloe… please…” Chloe heard Rachel’s voice slip from Max’s lips, the girl recoiling back in response as the girl spoke again. “Please don’t be sorry… I understand… I did it to save Max from something worse… tell her… tell… her…” Rachel gasped out to William as Max’s body finally fell unconscious, William leaning down and cupping Max’s head before speaking to Chloe.
“When you fixed the timeline and…” William paused, looking for a delicate way to word the thing Chloe blurted out a second later.
“And I let you die, yes? What happened to her?”
“She was reconstituted… but something… something we don’t understand… something lurking in the wind and the rain… it grabbed a hold of her, trying to take over, rest a part of itself into her… Me and Rachel pushed it out… but Max didn’t have anything to fill the blanks, it would’ve left her a shell, a vegetable… either paralysed or barely conscious.”
“Oh.” Chloe spoke softly, her voice devoid of emotion as she looked at her girlfriend, tears in her eyes.
“Rachel volunteered to fill the space whilst I was able to collect the missing parts of Max. Now I’ve got them again, we can fix her.”
“No!” Chloe and William both looked at Max, her voice back to normal as she shot up. “I… what happened?” William stood up, walking away and back to his grave, stepping in front of the headstone before lying down, beginning to descend into the ground.
“Look after each other. I love you.” Chloe instinctively reached out, time freezing and beginning to reverse. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop William from descending into the ground, he sank underneath the dirt and Chloe dropped her arm, falling to her knees and sobbing. Max walked over and wrapped an arm around Chloe.
“I’m sorry Chloe… I… I didn’t mean for you to think… it wasn’t me… none of the… uh…” Max sighed, sitting on the ground next to Chloe. “None of the fighting, macho, sass or the umm… the uh…”
“The very not you stuff?” Max nodded as Chloe spoke. “No offence Max, but that was far to fucking hardcore to be you.”
“Yeah but…” Max let out a soft sigh as a blush painted itself across her cheek, leaning in and whispering to Chloe as if she didn’t want William to hear. “I enjoyed it… I enjoyed being confident, mature, taking action instead of being an awkward, bumbling mess… is that wrong?”
“Of course not. Rach’s all gone now, so it’s up to you if you want to be this… this new Max, confident, mature, aggressive, sexy… or go back to being old Max, nerdy, passive, still sexy…” Chloe spoke, her voice laced with an undertone that Max interpreted as a joke, both girls letting out giggles as Chloe stood up, picking Max up and carrying her back to the truck. “God girl, you’re heavy.”
Max laughed as Chloe put her down, the pair hopping into the truck as Chloe cupped Max’s cheek, opening her mouth and speaking again. “It’s a part of who you are now, even though Rachel is gone, it’s bled into your personality. I’m not sure I understand what I’m actually saying, but it feels like it’s right.” Max laughed at the confused look on Chloe’s face. “Anyway, this is who you are now, you need to figure out what you want and don’t want from it. No matter what you choose, or decide, I’ll be here with you.”
“Thank you, babe. I love you so much. I wanna go home and sleep all day. We’ve got to go and get stuff from Blackwell tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah, I guess you really are moving in, dude.”
“I know, epic, right?”
“Hella epic.”
As Chloe’s truck drew to a stop in the parking lot of Blackwell, Max let out a sigh, the pair had to go back to get some of her stuff that survived the little act of petty vandalism by Victoria and Nathan. She and Chloe stepped out of the truck, Chloe took Max’s hand and pulled her into a hug, kissing her on the top of the head before they walked through the quad towards the dorms. As they walked into the garden out front, they saw Samuel, causing Max to stop in her tracks, shaking her head.
“Max, you okay?” Max began to back away, Chloe freezing too as she watched her girlfriend back into cover, hiding from Samuel, Chloe moving over to her and kneeling next to Max as the girl, pale faced, shaking and hyperventilating, turned to Max and whispered.
“He was in my nightmare… he… he… his squirrels… they… they ate me… turned me into Rachel… I felt… I felt myself die inside my own head.” Chloe pulled Max into a hug, shaking and crying as Chloe kissed Max on the head, resting her hand on the back of Max’s body, calming her down.
“I think we can get through this building and into your dorms, wanna try?” Max nodded, the pair getting to their feet, Chloe quickly popped her head around the corner to check what Samuel was doing, rewinding when he spotted her, Chloe quickly running back to the door. “He’s coming, quick.” Chloe and Max both kicked the door down, both running in before rewinding, the door moving back onto its hinges as the pair walked through the halls of the teacher’s wing quietly, hand in hand. Thankfully, they made it through to the boys wing without issue, quickly walking down the corridor, Max stopping in front of Nathan’s room, Chloe moving to join her.
“We- We could have a peek inside.”
“We don’t think that’s a good idea.” Max and Chloe turned to see Samuel standing behind them. “We are sorry about your nightmare, Max. We apologise that it used us like that…” Samuel looked down, sadness in his eyes as Max quivered at his presence, nodding slowly.
“O- Okay… It’s okay…” Max quickly walked away, Chloe moving closer to Samuel.
“Mind giving us a bit of space for a while, it’s not your fault, but she’s shaken up bad from it.”
“Of course, Max is the special one, she’s the one who saved you, we shall avoid her from now on, unless necessary.” Samuel nodded softly before walking out of the block, Chloe moving back over to Max, the two girls hugging each other before Max whispered into Chloe’s shirt.
“Thank you, babe.” Chloe rubbed Max’s back, trying not to think of how Samuel called Max the ‘special one’.
“Of course. Let’s go get your stuff.” Max and Chloe quickly walked up to Max’s room, the pair picking up the boxes outside before Max paused, putting hers back down and knocking on Kate’s door, smiling when it opened and Kate stepped out.
“Hey Max. Sorry about-” Kate began to speak but stopped when Max pulled her into a tight hug, Chloe moving over and hugging the pair, the three girls all standing in the hallway, Max giggling when Kate began to tickle her, her enthusiasm increasing when Chloe joined in.
“Gerrofff!” Max laughed as she moved away, jumping back from the girls and holding her hands up. “I’m not afraid to tickle back.”
“Oh, really?” Chloe stepped forward, arms outstretched. “Tickle ti- HEY!” Chloe found herself wriggling and giggling as her ally betrayed her, Kate tickling Chloe as Max joined in, the pair ganging up on Chloe as the punk found herself being tickled into Kate’s room, the trio falling onto the floor, laughing hysterically as they lay there.
“Good to see you’re okay, Max.” Kate spoke, the girl sitting up and grabbing a drink from her bottle of water, Max and Chloe sitting together on Kate’s bed. “I was worried, I found you unconscious on the bench and called Chloe to come and get you, she didn’t pick up but pulled up with her truck.”
“Thank you Kate.”
“Of course, Max. Apparently, I’m Chloe’s ‘pumpkin’ now.” Chloe blushed as Kate and Max both laughed, Max rubbing her hand up and down Chloe’s back, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek.
“Embarrassed?” Kate laughed as Max spoke, turning to Max.
“I mean, her pet name for you is funny.” Now it was Chloe’s turn to laugh as Max blushed, Chloe wrapping her arm around her girlfriend's shoulder.
“Yep, isn’t that right, Maxaroni?”
“Dude, so not cool. Hella uncool even!” Max and Chloe both smiled at each other, Kate grinning too before standing up.
“Alright, lovebirds, shoo! I’ve got to take Alice to the vet, going to make sure Nathan and Victoria didn’t do anything to her. Taylor is giving me a lift-”
“Wait, Taylor?” Max turned to Kate, a surprised look on her face.
“Yeah, Her and Courtney really looked after me after yesterday, when I told them about… about what happened. They confronted Victoria… it didn’t get violent, but it was quite… quite… It felt good. She got what she deserved.” Max smiled as Kate grimaced before smiling back at Max, who opened her mouth to speak.
“I’m glad you’ve got people looking out for you, now that I’m having to leave.”
“Wait, why?”
“Wells’ said it was ‘for my safety’ but-”
“Nathan’s a little bitch who couldn’t stand being beaten up by two girls.” Kate and Max both looked at Chloe, smiles on their faces. “What? It’s true.”
“Oh, 100 percent.” Kate smiled, a knocking coming from the door. “Ah, it must be them.” Kate stood up, looking at herself in her mirror before opening her door, gasping when Taylor wrapped her in a hug.
“Kate!” Taylor grinned at Max and Chloe as she hugged Kate, letting her go as she ruffled the girls hair.
“Taylor!” Kate smiled, poking Taylor’s side, the other girl giggling slightly.
“Look out, Taylor, she’s a dangerous tickler.” Max spoke, Kate laughing before holding her hands up.
“That’s slanderous, Max Caulfield! I would never tickle anyone!”
“Oh!” Now it was Chloe’s turn to talk up. “Ms. Tickle Traitor helped me against Max, just to betray me.”
“You totally deserved it.”
“Uh huh? Sure I did.” Chloe looked at Max, her face one of mock-fury before both girls cracked up, the rest of the girls laughing before they heard another voice speak from the door.
“What’s so funny?” Courtney stood in the door.
“Oh, just tickling ourselves.” Kate muttered the words, everyone smiling at each other before Max stood up, herself and Chloe smiling and hugging Kate.
“Thanks for the laughs, Kate. We hope Alice is okay.” Max spoke for herself and Chloe, Chloe still hugging Kate before pulling away.
“Thanks Max, you two have a good rest of your day.” Kate and Taylor spoke for a few seconds before they worked to carefully move Alice to Courtney’s car.
Max, Chloe and Courtney, the two girlfriends having collected Max’s boxes, all stood in the parking lot, Max and Courtney standing next to Courtney’s car.
“Thank you for looking after Kate.” Max smiled, Courtney returning the smile as Chloe played tetris with Max’s boxes.
“Of course, she’s such a sweet girl, and what Nathan and Victoria did to her was horrid.” She leant in, whispering into Max’s ear. “Glad you and Chloe left them in a worse state.” Max sighed, a contemplative yet dark look crossing her face as Courtney continued to talk. “Safe to say, we’ve both left the Vortex Club.” Cortney and Max both smiled at each other. “I heard, from a little blue-haired punk birdie, that there is another ‘club’ in town.”
“Oh-” Max blushed and paused as she felt Chloe wrap her arms around her, kissing her on the head as Chloe spoke from behind her.
“Speak of the devil.” Courtney laughed. “Yeah, Chloe invited us to go to the parties organised by Dana, Juliet and herself. Next one is tomorrow night, right?”
“Yep.” Chloe spoke up, moving around to lean on her truck next to Max, Chloe pulling out a packet of cigarettes, putting one into her mouth and lighting it. “We’re thinking of making it a regular Sunday night thing. Firewalk is gonna be there this weekend.”
“Firewalk! I love that band!” Courtney, Max and Chloe all turned to see Kate and Taylor approach, Kate having said that she liked Firewalk. Max smiled, looking at Chloe as the girl nodded slightly.
“Well, they’re playing at a barn-club this weekend, if you wanna come? There is no pressure to drink, and you’ll be around friends.” Max helped Taylor put Alice in the back of Courtney’s car, closing the door carefully as she moved around to talk to Kate, who was in the backseat next to Alice. Max leant on the door as she continued speaking. “It’ll be Me, Chloe, Taylor and Courtney, Juliet and Dana, and maybe Justin and Trevor. There is no pressure to come if you don’t want to.”
“I- I’ll think about it. Any theme?”
“I’ll ask Dana, and let you know, but I’m fairly sure you can wear whatever you want. Obviously with it being a firewalk concert, firewalk merch would make sense.”
“Alright, thank you. Goodbye Max.”
“See ya, Kate.” Max smiled and pulled Kate into a small hug, walking up to the front window and thanking Courtney and Taylor again before walking away, the car pulling out and driving away. Max turned to Chloe as the blue-haired punk spoke up.
“Dude, they’re totally dating.”
“Who? Oh, Courtney and Taylor?”
“Yeah.”
“I guess.”
“I guess? Dude, it’s hella obvious.” Max smiled, stepping into Chloe, lightly standing on Chloe’s feet as she leant up, kissing her girlfriend.
“Like us, you mean?”
“Dude, you’re hella confident, is what you are.” Chloe leant down, kissing Max again, Chloe putting one of her hands on Max’s cheek, the other wrapping around her head, pulling her into the kiss. Max, for her part, had her hands snaked around Chloe’s back, one resting on her waist and the other on Chloe’s neck, holding tightly.
“Get. A. Room.” Max and Chloe both pulled away to see Juliet stood in front of them, a smirk on her face as she hopped off of her scooter. “We still on for tomorrow?”
“Hella yeah!” Chloe exclaimed, giving Juliet a high five. “We’ve got a few more attendees.”
“Who?” Juliet’s eyes narrowed, Max quickly holding her hands up and stepping forward.
“Courtney, Taylor and Kate.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” Juliet smiled. “Courtney and Taylor aren’t so bad, and Kate is always welcome.”
“She seems super excited, she’s a huge firewalk fan.” As Max spoke, she remembered Kate’s Firewalk poster adorning her dorm wall.
“That’s awesome. I’ll be looking forward to it.” Juliet put her helmet in the under seat storage, locking it before walking away. “See you tomorrow!”
“Bye!” Max and Chloe both shouted, Chloe dragging Max to the truck.
Chapter 38
Notes:
NSFW warning.
Chapter Text
“Dude, I’m so fucking hungry.” Max sighed, Chloe grinning as her girlfriend complained, at least that hadn’t changed about her.
“We’ll stop off for some McDonalds if you want-”
“Two Whales!” Chloe tensed up as Max yelled, pulling her headphones out. “Sorry, too loud.”
“It’s okay babe, just plug it into the aux. I’ve got a cable in the glovebox somewhere.” Max popped the glovebox, the cable falling right into her lap. “Damn, that's lucky, huh?” Max grinned, plugging the aux into the car and her iPod before the grin turned into a smirk, her hand shifting to Chloe’s thigh as Everytime by Foals began thumping out of the speakers.
“I’m more than lucky…” Chloe’s face went red before she groaned, pulling the car into a layby. Fortunately, the day was a foggy one, the sun struggling to pierce the foggy dew covering the town. The truck pulled deep into the layby, Chloe turning the light on inside the truck, looking at Max with hungry eyes.
“Oh really? How lucky…” Chloe reached out, her hand brushing around Max’s neck as the girl let out a soft gasp and a shaky exhale, Chloe kissing Max’s neck as the girl spoke up, her voice one of unnatural confidence.
“Why don’t you come and f- find out, babe?” Chloe looked up at Max, the girl smirking slightly even though her cheeks were bright red, flushed with embarrassment and nerves.
Chloe climbed across the bench and straddled Max, Chloe’s legs sandwiching Max’s as she leant down, kissing Max on the lips, tongues immediately battling each other as Chloe and Max fought in each others mouths, their tongues battling for dominance as their hands operated in tandem, tugging and pulling at Max’s plaid shirt, trying to get it off of her slender frame as quickly as possible.
“Oh… M- M- Max…” Chloe stammered out, her hands roaming across Max’s back as the younger girl, leaning forward, suddenly fell back as Chloe began to gyrate her hips slowly. Chloe had moved her hands to Max’s shoulders, gripping tightly as she moved her hips, the fabric of their clothes rubbing together.
“C- Chlo… oh my ffff- fucking god.” Max hissed out as she leant her head back, before a long, loud and emotionally charged moan slipped from her lips. “Please… never stop…” Max’s face soured when she felt Chloe stop, climbing back onto the driver’s side of the bench and throwing Max’s shirt at her. “Aww, why stop?”
“Fog is clearing… don’t w- wanna… get busted… let’s go uh- home and finish this.” Chloe’s ragged breaths between her words confirmed to Max that she was having as much fun as she was, grinning as she adjusted on the bench, putting the plaid shirt back on before Chloe drove back home.
“Chloe, the fog hasn’t changed. You were teasing me, weren’t you?” Max let out a fake gasp, a look of mock-hurt crossing over her visage as Chloe laughed, Max leaning her head on Chloe’s shoulder as they pulled down the suburban roads to the house. Eventually they pulled into the drive, a police car waiting outside.
“Uh oh.” The girls quickly adjusted each other’s clothes and hair before fixing themselves, both looking presentable before they hopped out, grabbing Max’s stuff out of the truck bed and walking to the door, finding it unlocked.
“Hey Mom, we’re home!” Chloe shouted. “We’ll be down in a second.” The pair of girls climbed the stairs quickly but safely before walking into Chloe’s room and closing the door, Max letting out a sigh as she hid her grinder and joint paper.
“We’ll be fine, Chlo, chill, they’re probably here about Nathan and Vic.”
“True, let’s face the music, we can always rewind.”
“Uh- y- yeah. Let’s go…” Max and Chloe walked downstairs, the girls having taken their jackets off as they walked into the lounge, finding Officer Berry sitting on the couch opposite Joyce, who was sitting on one of three dining chairs, a cup of coffee in hand. Max and Chloe put their jackets on the back of the dining chairs, sitting next to Joyce as she spoke.
“Hi, you two.” Joyce smiled at the girls, both of them exhaling.
“Ms. Caulfield, Chloe.” Officer Berry smiled.
“Please, just call me Max.”
“Of course Max, please, sit, both of you.” Officer Berry cleared his throat as both girls sat down, holding hands. “Now, officially I’m here to caution you both about your ‘assault with a weapon’ against Nathan Prescott and Victoria Chase, but, quite honestly, it’s complete bullshit. I’ve watched the security tapes and you both defended yourself.”
“They harassed Kate beforehand anyway, tormenting her.” Officer Berry nodded at Max’s words, grimacing slightly, Max finding herself mentally grinding her palms into her eyes.
“Yep, Kate came to find me, unlike the uh- former head of security, I didn’t take my sweet time scrutinising every little detail she told me, I came right over, found Nathan unconscious and saw Victoria speed out the parking lot at high speed-”
“Y- Yeah...” Chloe blurted out, Officer Berry raised one of his eyebrows as Chloe sighed, rewinding time to before she interrupted him, Max gripping her hand and nodding, mouthing “ this is the right thing to do. ”
“-the parking lot at high speed. Now, don’t worry, I’ll go bat for you, 100 percent, and you’ve both got friends around the bay, but I can only do so much. Just hope that neither the Prescott’s nor the Chase's press charges against you two.”
“Thank you, Officer Berry.” Max smiled, squeezing Chloe’s hand as the other girl smiled and Berry rose to his feet, shaking Joyce’s hand and leaving, the eldest Price walking back over and sitting next to Chloe.
“You alright, sweetie?”
“Uh, yeah…” She ran a hand through her hair. “I uh… I-”
“Chloe, you did the right thing.” Chloe turned to her Mom, the older woman pulling Chloe into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”
“So am I.” Max hugged Chloe from behind, the trio sitting there for a few minutes before Joyce stood up. “Dinner’s on, nearly finished. It’s bacon, bacon and...” she turned, both girls shouting the last word, all three of them smiling.
“Bacon!”
Chapter 39
Summary:
This chapter is a series of text conversations that happen in the universe of Life is Strange: Partners in Timelines, some of these may turn into parts of the story, others might not. Enjoy!
Notes:
Before I continue, I want to give a huge shoutout to TomorrowHeart, author of Ouroboros, for the idea of having a chapter full of text conversations!
Ouroboros is linked here if you want to give it a read, which I recommend, as it’s a very good story.
Link here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6148189/chapters/14086666
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Max: Chloeeeeee
Max: Chloe
Max: Chloe
Max: Chloe
Max: Chloe
Max: Chloe
Max: guess what
Max: hey
Max: guess what
Chloe: dude you’re on the bed behind me
Max: yep
Chloe: whats up
Max: you're cute when you’re focused ;)
Joyce: Chloe Price you get your ass out here, now
Chloe: what? why?
Joyce: you and max are being way too loud to be asleep. Some of us are trying to sleep and it’s very distracting.
Chloe: oops, sorry
Kate: im sorry about what happened Max
Max: so am i, it shouldn’t have happened
Kate: the look on Chloe’s face made up for it though, right?
Max: oh 100%, it was priceless
Kate: haha i see what you did there
Max: dude, uncool - Chloe
Chloe: max max max max max max max max
Max: dude i just woke up, where tf are you?
Chloe: look out the window
Max: you are not seriously having a fucking bbq at 3am
Chloe: i was hungry and cold, it does both in one round, rusted package
Max: you. are. so. fucking. precious.
Dana: Maxxxxxx
Justin: maxxxxx
Chloe: maxxxxxaroniiiii
Kate: maxxxxxxxx
Warren: maxmaxmaxmaxmaxmaxmax
Juliet: maxxxxxxxxx
Max: i swear you are all a bunch of cats
Chloe: you love us all really
Max: I’ll be two minutes
Juliet: yay told you you’d love it here
Max: yeah i would be loving it here, if they weren’t taking forever with the drinks >:(
Chloe: NO EMOJI
Max: :(
Dana: :(
Kate: :(
Kate: i have gossip
Kate: is that the right word?
Kate: i have news
Max: gossip is the right word, please spill
Kate: quote “max is in looooove”
Max: from who?
Kate: guess
Max: Chloe?
Kate: yep :)
Max: dana im so sorry please answer
Max: dana please dont be mad
Max: pleaseeeeeee
Dana: dude, you spilt DIET COLA over MY RUG
Max: im sorrryyyyy
Dana: dude that rug has been in my family for generations
Max: sure dude, im sorry i spilt shit on your rug, ok?
Dana: you’re all good, got a new one coming in 2 days
Max: you suck
Dana: you love me really
Max: yeah
Max: chloeee
Max: chloeee
Max: chloeee
Max: chloeee
Chloe: please, dont start this again or i swear dude, there’s gonna be payback
Max: can i has kisses?
Chloe: fine
Max: yayyy
Chloe: happy?
Max: kissed Max = happy max :)
Chloe: EMOJI = NO KISSES
Max: :(
Juliet: Do any of you have any tips for how to deal with a blue haired punk banging on your door at 11pm, asking to come in to talk?
Dana: climb out the window
Max: let her in
Chloe: nah, sorry
Chloe: wait thats me
Chloe: let me innnn
Juliet: not cool, chloe
Max: if you dont let her in i’ll start ringing you
Juliet: *sigh* getting the door now
Chloe: thanks dude, it’s cold as fuck out here
Juliet: it’s empty, and it’s heated
Chloe: yeah, but it’s cold without anyone to drink a beer with
Juliet: should’ve opened with beer
Kate: how can you open a door with beer?
Chloe: magic, my dear, magic
Kate: hey
Chloe: hey, whats up
Kate: you seen Max?
Chloe: yuh huh, with her rn
Kate: oke, i’ve got a question but she isn’t answering her phone
Chloe: yeah she’s busy rn let me grab it
Kate: whats she doing
Chloe: kissin
Kate: ewww
Chloe: no i mean we’re kissing each other with lips
Kate: i was joking
Chloe: evil, evil child
Kate: you like me really, right?
Chloe: of course dear! I was joking
Kate: okay, thank you Chloe
Chloe: by the way, Firewalk shirt, very very cool
Kate: aaaah thank you
Justin: ayy, is this the number for the Max?
Max: it is, but she’s a lil busy rn, whats up?
Justin: huh? How’re you talking if ur busy?
Max: long story, chloe here
Justin: damn, was hoping to get Max’s opinion on a cool shirt i got
Max: dude, uncool
Justin: >:)
Max: dont you fucking start. NO EMOJI
Justin: juliet here, suck it
Max: dont tempt me
Max: im so sorry about Chloe, beating her up rn
Justin: LOL
Max: juliett
Max: juliett
Max: juliett
Max: dana
Max: dana
Max: juliett
Max: juliett
Max: juliett
Max: juliett
Max: dana
Max: dana
Max: one of you two
Juliet: fuck off
Juliet: i know your in your room rn, idk how the fuck you can be in there in the state its in
Max: wanna come over? Me and max are clearing it out and i brought beer and a bowl
Juliet: damn, if you put it that way
Juliet: wait what do u mean me and max
Max: oh, stole her phone
Max: dont worry, she’s too high to notice
Max: she stole my phone to beat my fucking angry birds high scores tho
Juliet: you two are the most adorable couple i’ve ever fucking met
Max: fuck you dude, really
Juliet: love you too Chloe
Max: sorry dana, chloe got my phone
Juliet: its okay we weren’t talking about you or anything
Max: ok dude, sureeeee
Max: is that why chloe is giving me serious side eye rn?
Max: ohhhh, sorry just read history
Juliet: ;)
Max: NO EMOJI
Chloe: Justin
Justin: yo max
Chloe: max here, borrowed chloes phone cos mine is dead, and she dipped somewhere, you seen her anywhere?
Justin: yeah, she’s under the rafters right now, jointing with us
Chloe: on my way
Victoria: hey
Max: hi
Victoria: sorry about what happened
Max: don’t apologise to me yet, kate first
Victoria: i came to ask if you could be there
Max: fine, i’ll play council
Max: meet us, 2 whales, wednesday 9th, 12:30pm
Victoria: ok
Max: gang, red alert
Warren: klingons, where?
Chloe: whats up?
Kate: yes? Sorry i was lost in a book
Dana: hello?
Juliet: i heard klingons?
Max: red alert, please help
Victoria: hey
Max: hi
Victoria: sorry about what happened
Max: don’t apologise to me yet, kate first
Victoria: i came to ask if you could be there
Max: fine, i’ll play council
Max: meet us, 2 whales, wednesday 9th, 12:30pm
Victoria: ok
Kate: oh
Max: first off, do you want to be there?
Kate: yeah, i don't want this to be a thing hanging over blackwell anymore
Kate: i just want everything to go back to normal
Max: im sorry that it’s not kate, but hopefully this can help fix it
Max: so, are you all down?
Juliet: im game
Chloe: same
Dana: make that three
Warren: 4*, now 5
Justin: 6
Chloe: perfect, joyce will be there too
Max: alright
Courtney: can we come? Sorry i just woke up
Taylor: uh, same, not in the same place tho, just the same time
Courtney: uhh yeah what tay said
Kate: hmm, seems suspicious…
Chloe: down, girl.
Max: haha. Seriously though, the more the merrier.
Courtney: especially where Vic is involved
Taylor: agreed
Kate: thank you for today all, i'm glad things went well. Joyce didn’t have to shut the two whales for me and for such a long time, though.
Max: she didn’t mind, and we all paid for some food
Chloe: correction, Max paid for mine and your food.
Max: you’re welcome, by the way
Kate: thank you, all of you
Juliet: we were all awesome today, good work team
Kate: you are all so nice, i love all of you
Chloe: that’s so fucking adorable
Max: that’s chloe-speak for “we all love you too”
Kate: i hope victoria is okay.
Max: so do i
Max: i messed her up pretty bad
Kate: yeah
Max: wish i hadn’t
Kate: it happened
Max: it did indeed, happen
Kate: point is, move on, be better
Max: thank you kate
Kate: of course max
Notes:
Ouroboros Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6148189/chapters/14086666
Chapter Text
April, Week 2, 2014 - Spring Break, Week 1.
Max sighed, dropping her phone onto her and Chloe’s bed, a sigh escaping her girlfriend's lips too before Chloe turned to Max. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Max asked her girlfriend, the thought having weighed on her mind since she suggested it to Victoria two days ago. “What i- if she freaks? What if she lashes out? Attacks one of us? Brings a gun and shoots one of us? What if-”
“Max, chill. You’re going to have a panic attack. You’re thinking way too deep into this shit.”
“I-” Max began to speak before she felt two hands cup her cheeks, a kiss being placed on her head before the hands left her cheeks and wrapped around her body, hugging her tightly. “Let’s just get this over with.” Max stood up, grabbing her phone from where she’d dropped it, Chloe grabbing her keys and a joint before they both skipped down the stairs and out the front door, climbing into Chloe’s truck, Max resting her head against the window of the truck as she let out a heavy sigh.
“You sure you’re okay, Max?” Max turned to look at Chloe, nodding her head as she fiddled with a button on her plaid shirt. Chloe put a hand on Max’s shoulder. “We’ve got time Max, please, talk to me.” Max turned to Chloe fully, dropping her mask and letting her worry seep through.
“I’m so worried this is going to be a mistake…”
“If it is, we can rewind it or go back into a picture-”
“No!” Max slammed her hand into the car door, as tears began to fall from her eyes and her nose trickled with blood. She ran a hand through her hair and used a tissue from a pack in the glovebox to wipe her nose before she spoke again. “I don’t want to rely on the power for everything… what if it goes away, right when we need it most? What if we mess with too much and it vanishes like we never had it, or we wipe ourselves from existence by mistake?”
“Max, I-”
“No Chloe, I’m not done. I never wanted this power. All it’s done is cause me grief. The only good thing I did with the power was save your life and save Kate’s life. Every other good thing I’ve done has been outweighed by the bad that’s happened after. Take these last few days, for example… we look out for Kate, get our names dragged through the mud by Nathan and Victoria, have Officer Berry pull up and nearly bust us… now we’ve both been ill for two days.” Max looks down, her face falling as she cried, Chloe pulling Max into a hug.
“I’m sorry Max, I didn’t mean to…” Chloe stopped speaking, resting her head on Max’s and kissing her girlfriend lightly, rocking back and forth a little in time with their heartbeats. After several minutes of silence and comfort, Max pulled away, Chloe starting the truck and pulling out of the drive.
“Thank you, Chloe. I needed that.”
“I know babe, it’s okay. Now, lets go fucking crush this.”
As Max and Chloe walk up the steps towards the door of the diner, they notice a sign on the doors, Max reading it aloud as they approach the building.
“Diner closed - 12:20-13:00 due to private engagement. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
“That’s right, Maxo. Mom very kindly offered to book the place out for our little pow-wow with Victoria.” The pair pushed and held the door open as the last few truckers filtered out of the building, all nodding and thanking the girls before they went in, closing the door before walking into the diner proper, as the door swung closed, Joyce turned her head, glancing a smile at the pair before turning back to what she was doing previously.
“Chloe, do you want the door locked or unlocked?”
“Best to keep it unlocked, we can always lock it when everyone is here.” Max spoke up, feeling a slight push at her shoulder as Chloe chuckled.
“Ya know, Chloe. You sound mighty different, almost like Max. A Max that has been growin’ up a lot lately.” Joyce turned, a smile on her face and a pad of paper in her hand. “I’m so proud of you for agreeing to mediate this.” Max blushed a little, looking down before feeling Chloe wrap her arms around Max’s shoulder.
“She’s my little bud, blossoming into a beautiful flower.” Joyce let out a light chuckle as Chloe spoke, Max’s serious face causing her to laugh even more, Chloe and eventually Max also joining in, the laughter filling the diner before they all let out sighs and stopped laughing.
“Anything to eat for you two?” Max looked at Joyce with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye. “Well, anything for you specifically, Chloe? I already know what Max wants.”
“Can I have a beef burger please, with bacon, bacon and a little bit of extra…”
“Bacon?” Joyce asked, her eyebrow raised before letting out a sigh when Chloe nodded enthusiastically. “Chloe darlin’, if you eat any more bacon, you’re gonna turn into a slice of bacon.”
“That’s the plan. Nice n’ tasty.” Chloe spoke, her words causing Max to blush and Joyce to burst out laughing, laughing also coming out of the corner, Chloe’s cheeks going a shade of red when her and Max both turned, Courtney and Taylor sat in the corner booth, holding each other's hands and sharing a bucket of fries. Joyce, still chuckling, handed Max and Chloe a bottle of cola each, the girls slipping into the booth bench opposite Courtney and Taylor.
“Hey, you two okay?” Max quickly diverted the subject to the matter at hand, noticing Courtney and Taylor’s fingers tangling but decided it could wait until after dealing with Victoria, whatever that entailed.
“Yeah, we’re doing alright. We’re a lil nervous, but with all of us here it should be fi- HEY!” Taylor had spoken, cutting herself off and slapping Chloe’s hands. “Hands off, bacon girl.” Max softly chuckled as Chloe pouted.
“Fine, I get fries with mine anyway.”
“Exactly, hands off ours then.”
“Babe, back me up here.” Chloe turned to Max, who put her hands up in the air.
“Don’t get me inv-” As Max was talking, the door behind them opened, Kate walking in, having rode in on the Blackwell bus, the yellow vehicle pulling past the window.
“Hey Kate.” Joyce spoke, smiling at the girl before walking around with a cup of tea and a muffin. “Just how you like it.”
“Oh, Joyce, thank you…” Kate looked around, her nerves showing as Max and Chloe slid out of the booth’s seating so Kate could sit down. “Thank you both… Thank you all for being here.” Kate took a sip of her tea. “Where’s Warren?”
“He uh, he couldn’t make it, he said he was sorry.” Max looked out the window, noticing Juliet’s sedan pull in, another car following.
“That’s okay, I’m sure we’ll be fine without him.” Kate smiled a little as she drank more of her tea, Max and Chloe smiling back before Max moved to the door.
“Back in a second.” Max nodded at Chloe, the girl sliding in next to Kate and wrapping an arm around her. Max walked out of the diner, approaching the cars as Juliet, Dana, Justin and Trevor stepped out, the two girls hugging Max. “Hey guys, thanks for coming.”
“Of course, anything for Kate, what’s happened has been really fucked up.” Juliet spoke, Dana, Justin and Trevor nodding. After a few minutes, Max, Dana, Juliet, Trevor and Justin all headed back inside the diner just as Kate and Chloe were finding a good booth to sit in, Kate deciding on Max and Chloe’s regular booth. Max looked at the two girls and smiled.
“So, Max.” Max turned to see Juliet and Dana both standing next to her, the trio all watching Kate and Chloe. “Where do you want us to sit?”
“Wherever you wanna sit, just give us a booth’s space. Let’s not crowd down the end.”
“Sick.” Justin and Trevor slid into the booth closest to the door - their usual haunt and began to discuss classwork.
Chloe, having made sure Kate was going to be okay, sauntered over and put her arms over Juliet and Dana’s shoulders. She whispered something to the two girls before they all moved to a booth, sliding in and leaving Max standing there. After a few seconds, she shook her head and leant on the table, trying to hear what they were talking about.
“Whatchu talkin’ about?” Max cocked her head to the side as Chloe giggled a little.
“None of your bidness, Maxaroni. Kate needs you anyway. We’ll keep an ear out.” Max nodded, rolling her eyes and swiping the beanie off of Chloe’s head, the girl letting out a huff but not moving to get it back. Max slipped it onto her head and, grabbing one of the chairs that Joyce had put out for them, sat at the head of the booth, Kate on her left and a space for Victoria on her right.
“You okay, Kate?” Max reached over and cupped Kate’s hand, giving it a squeeze as the blond girl looked at Max.
“D- Do you think this will work?”
“I hope so, I really don’t want to have this hanging over us. It’ll ruin the holiday.”
“Exactly, Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus, so I hope we can, over this holiday, revive a sense of calm at Blackwell. At least, in our class.” Kate smiled at Max, her eloquent words causing Max to already be grinning from ear to ear.
“Well, when you put it like that, this should go well.” Max gave Kate’s hands another squeeze before seeing Victoria’s car pull past, slowly drawing into the parking lot. Max straightened up, Kate drinking the last of her tea as Joyce approached with a cup of coffee for Max. Chloe, Dana and Juliet noticed Victoria pull in but kept eating and chatting. Justin and Trevor hadn’t noticed as they were working on science homework, but Courtney and Taylor both had, giving Max reassuring nods as they unlinked their hands, shuffling away a little as they finished the bucket of fries, Joyce taking it away.
“Here, we, go…”
‘It’s going to be okay, just chill the fuck out.’ Victoria was sitting in her car, face flushed with anxiety and her hands trembling. She looked at the diner and saw Courtney and Taylor sat in the window, both working on some classwork together.
‘Oh my god, I’m…’ Victoria took a shaky breath, a tear trickling down her cheek as she let out a heavy sigh, her hands wiping her eyes as she sobbed a little. She grabbed a tissue, wiping her eyes before checking her makeup in the mirror she kept in her glovebox. ‘I’m such a fucking asshole… I… oh god… I… I pushed them away… I pushed Kate… t- to…’ Victoria slammed her eyes shut, giving them thorough wipes with a fresh tissue.
After several minutes, She eventually mustered up the courage to step out of the car, shooting a quick message to her therapist that she’ll need an extra session this week as she slipped her phone into her jacket pocket alongside her headphones. She took one more look of longing at the car seat and steering wheel before shutting the car door and locking it, putting her keys in the opposite pocket of her phone so she doesn’t damage the device.
“Victoria? Are you okay?” Max had stepped out of the diner, slowly walking over, hands raised slightly as a sign of peace.
“Yeah…” Victoria could tell she didn’t sound convincing, internally blessing Max as the girl walked over and put a hand on Victoria’s shoulder.
“I’ll be honest, you look a lot better than I thought you would.” Max bit her lip after she spoke. “I- I mean-”
“If we’re being honest…” Victoria cut Max off as she ran a hand through her hair, wincing as she brushed over a bruise on her head that she’d covered with concealer. “If we’re being honest, I feel a lot worse than I look, and you beat the absolute shit out of me, that was some good fighting, ya know, for a hippie.” Victoria let out a wheezy laugh, Max giving her a smile as she pulled Victoria in for a loose hug, the girl returning it as before sighing.
“I’m doing the best I can… I just…” Victoria let out a heavy sigh, not really knowing what to say for a few seconds. “I just feel terrible… Kate wasn’t involved, she didn’t do anything… My issues were with you, and me and Nathan hunted and tormented her like she was the one we wanted to hurt…” Victoria looked down, eyes welling up with tears. “S- She talked me out of… of o- overdosing… and I still… I still…”
“Let’s get you inside, out of the rain, yeah?” Max wrapped her arm around Victoria’s shoulder as they slowly walked into the Two Whales, Max having changed the sign from its original format so instead it told passers by that it was closed for a Blackwell Study session.
Victoria and Max both stepped through the door to the diner and Victoria instantly felt relaxed as she smelled the delicious scent of bacon waft from the kitchen, the pair walking over to the booth, Joyce walking over as Victoria got settled into the bench.
“Hey there. Name’s Joyce, what can I get you?” Victoria furrowed her brow at the southern woman, eyes skimming over the menu before putting her finger on her choice.
“Eggs and bacon please, with extra bacon. Oh and a Coca-Cola please.” Victoria smiled a little at Joyce, the older woman smiling back. “My name is Victoria, by the way.” Victoria held a hand out and Joyce gave it a playful shake.
“Handshakes aren’t necessary, but are very welcome.” Joyce smiled again as she vanished into the kitchen, coming back with a glass bottle of Coca-Cola and a glass with ice. Victoria poured the cola into the glass before finishing the bottle off.
“Kate will be back in a moment, she has to go to the bathroom.” Victoria nodded as she sipped at her drink.
“Oh god, Max… what do I say…”
“I say, just tell her how you feel. Be honest, I can see how much this is eating you up, and if you’re open, if you let her in, she’ll notice it too.”
“T- Thank you Max…” Victoria looked down again, a tear trickling down her cheek before she heard Kate speak.
“No more tears, Victoria, I forgive you.”
“What? But I-”
“I know, I’ll let you tell me why, you can be open and honest with me.” Victoria looked up as Kate put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, her angelic face beaming down on Victoria. “But I wanted to tell you, it’s okay, I forgive you.”
“Thank you Kate, it’s a long story, so you should take a seat.” Victoria smiled and shuffled over as Kate sat next to her, asking Max to get her a diet pepsi before turning back to Victoria.
“So, Victoria, talk to me, tell me everything.”
Chapter Text
Max and Chloe both walked out of the Two Whales at 3pm, all of the girls having spent an extra two hours there, repairing friendships, building bridges and laughing about god knows what. Even though the diner reopened at 1, the group still stayed, condensing themselves into as few booths as possible, resulting in a few having to use the metal chairs, eventually resulting in a system developing where those eating would rotate to sit down on one of the benches in the booth.
At 2pm, Kate stated that she had to get back to Alice as she had to give her some love, Victoria offering to drive her back to Blackwell and Kate smiling and taking Victoria up on her offer as they left together, talking and laughing the whole way back to Victoria’s car. Juliet and Dana were next to go, Trevor and Justin having left at 1pm to go and grind rails with the other skaters. Juliet and Dana whispered something to Chloe as they left, Chloe eventually heading off to talk to Joyce about something apparently super secret as even under the pressure of the patented Max puppy eyes, Joyce didn’t crack.
Chloe and Max had finally left at 3 after Chloe got a text from Frank, asking her to meet up at the beach, Max agreeing to go with her, leaving Courtney and Taylor on their own.
“Do you know what he wants?”
“No fucking idea, but he’s chill.”
“I know.”
“You’ve spoken to him?”
“I uh… I scored off of him, when we fell out.”
“Oh, that’s what you were doing.” Chloe stopped walking and gave Max a playful shove before tugging her into a warm hug, pulling the beanie off of the brunette’s head and giving her a kiss, playfully trailing kisses down to Max’s lips, covering her eyes, forehead and cheeks as she did so. Max kissed back with as much if not more passion before pulling away.
“C- Chloe.. I love you so fucking mu-.” Max wrapped her arms around Chloe, one hand holding her head close for the kiss as she stepped onto her tip-toes, her other arm trailing around her girlfriend's waist. They stayed like that for a few minutes, kissing next to Chloe’s truck until they both heard an old, strained engine approaching, Frank’s RV pulling around the corner and into the parking lot.
“Oh shit, how long have we been standing here?”
“I…” Max wiped around her mouth with her fingers, letting out heavy breaths. “I dunno, five minutes, give or take.”
“Five minutes. New record.” Max laughed as they high fived, turning their attention to the RV as Frank stepped out of the door, Pompidou sprinting out and over to Chloe and Max, nuzzling Max’s leg and running around the pair.
“Pompidou likes you two, I guess.” Frank smiled as he shut the door, locking it with his key.
“Sorry we didn’t get to the beach… we were having… uh-”
“Car issues.” Max blurted out, Frank laughing as he turned around, a grin on his face.
“Relax, I know what you two love birds were up to.” Frank winked at Chloe, the girl flipping him off as he handed her a pouch, Chloe fishing out a twenty dollar bill before Frank held his hand up, shaking his head.
“Freebie, think of it as my present to you two, for your uh… relationship.”
“Thanks Frank.” Chloe patted him on the back, the man smiling and looking down slightly.
“Bulldog, don’t forget the debt you owe me.” Frank laughed, Max joining in as the trio hopped into Frank’s RV, lounging around as Chloe rolled a joint.
“Dude, how can I pay it back if you keep giving me free weed?” Frank let out a soft chuckle, grabbing his laptop and keying the password in. Max stood up asking if she could have a drink of water, Frank nodding as Max walked over to the sink and grabbed herself a glass of water, Frank giving her some side eye before shaking his head. Max had a quick peek over his shoulder but decided to not snoop, sitting down and gulping her drink down.
“Thank you Frank, for real.” Chloe lit the joint and took a hit, offering it to Frank who pointed at Max, indicating that Chloe should ask her first. Max took the joint from Chloe and took a hit, coughing a little as Chloe and Frank laughed, Max flipping them both off.
“Dude, fuck off. I don’t smoke that much.”
“Poser.” Chloe poked Max in the rib, the other girl dodging out of reflex, reaching out and tickling Chloe, the girl fighting back and the pair tickling each other before a voice cut them off.
“Hey. Knock it off.” The pair stopped, the trio started chatting about life, Max feeling out of her depth compared to Chloe and Frank, causing her to stand up and head outside a few minutes later.
“Go. Be with your girl.” Frank smiled at Chloe as she stepped out of the RV, popping back in to grab the joint, taking the last puff before putting it out and leaving.
“Max?” Chloe stepped around the truck to find Max sitting in the truck bed, head down and arms by her side. “You okay?”
“Mmmm. Not really… I wanna go back home…” Max looked up, eyes red with both the weed, and the fact that Max was crying. Chloe scooped Max up into her arms and put Max into the passenger side of her truck. Max strapped herself in as Chloe quickly popped into Two Whales, buying Max a bottle of Coca-Cola and coming back outside, climbing into the driver's side and handing Max her drink before starting the truck up and slowly pulling out of the parking lot.
“Thank you, Chlo.” Max took a drink from the bottle, her hands shaking a little as she sipped at the drink, eventually taking a bit of a bigger drink. Chloe slowed the car down a little as they got to a traffic light, Max turning to Chloe and sighing.
“Chloe, please don’t hate me… but can I have a cigarette.”
“No, Max, please…” Chloe looked down a little, a horn startling both women as the light had gone green, Chloe quickly refocusing back on the road as she drove through the suburbs, back to their home.
“Why not?”
“Because they’re bad for you… I already got you hooked on weed… I don’t want to get you hooked on anything else… nevermind whatever the fuck Rach did to you, unintentional or not.”
“I…” Max stopped speaking, eyes dropping, knowing Chloe felt bad for saying no, but didn’t consider trying to change Chloe's opinion, knowing that she would hate herself for it later. “Thank you for today, Chloe. For the Kate thing, for being there for me… for all of it.” Max put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze as they slowly pulled into the driveway of the Price house, Chloe and Max hopping out and heading back inside.
A little while after they’d got back home, the pair was lounging on Chloe’s bed, the pair having taken turns showering and getting into comfy clothes before putting on and trying to watch a movie, getting distracted with makeout sessions and snuggles. After their third attempt at trying to watch Independence Day, Max let out a heavy sigh. She turned the CRT TV off and turned to Chloe’s Hi-Fi, popping the ‘ Jar of Flies ’ by ‘ Alice in Chains ’ CD into the slot loader, the disk being sucked into the machine as Max changed the song to ‘ Nutshell ’. She moved back to the bed and sat next to Chloe, nuzzling the girl before speaking.
“Thank you, Chloe…” Chloe turned to face Max, her girlfriend’s face adorned with a wide smile, eyes sparkling as the ‘golden hour’ sunset gleamed in through the window, Chloe finding herself admiring her girlfriend for a few seconds before remembering that Max had spoken.
“What’re you thanking me for, Max?” Chloe pushed herself up onto her elbows, turning fully onto her side to face Max as she rested a hand on the brunette's cheek, stroking Max’s ear playfully.
“Everything. Ever since… that day, in the bathroom… my life has been the best it’s been in a long, long time. Maybe even ever.”
“Wow Max… thats-”
“I’m not finished, and it’ll get pretty sappy so hold your tears, ma’am.” Chloe snorted with laughter as Max spoke like a flight attendant, the pair holding hands and interlocking fingers as they lay together. “It’s been such a rush, being together again, trying to solve whatever the fuck is going on with… with Rachel… with us… between us…”
“Failing miserably at all of those three.” Max and Chloe both laughed as Chloe spoke, Max giving her a light tap on the arm.
“Exactly, hence the trying. But knowing you’re here, here with me. Going through it, with me, without…” Max through Chloe’s window, eyes growing distant and unfocused. “Without you leaving me, like I left you…” Chloe put her hand up to Max’s cheek, wiping the tear from her eye and turning her face to meet her own, Chloe pressing her forehead up against Max’s.
“Max, I’ll never leave you. You didn’t choose to leave me…”
“I know… but…” Max took a deep breath, Chloe hugging the girl closer and giving her a kiss on the head. “It felt… felt like I did… god, Chloe…” Max took a deep breath, a sob rippling through her as she pressed her head against Chloe’s chest, tears falling from her eyes as Chloe hugged her. “I felt so fucking overwhelmed, with sadness… and longing, and love, and… I fucking missed you, so, so fucking much.” Max gripped at Chloe, holding her tightly as Chloe just rubbed her back, softly brushing her hair with her hand.
“I missed you, every single fucking day. I came back to Arcadia Bay, for you…” Max let out another sigh, Chloe finding herself crying. “I came back for you, but I didn’t know you , not anymore… I was looking for an older version of the eleven-year-old girl with strawberry blond hair who loved playing pirates, drawing and making cds of our awful singing. Not this you, my you, the Chloe who, over these last four weeks, has meant the world to me… who’s been my everything…”
Chloe was in full tears now, the waterworks really flowing as both girls cuddled each other, Max speaking again after she’d calmed her nerves a bit. “I came to care about you, not just in one timeline, but in four. Four timelines, and I never left your side… because I was scared, to death, that you’d leave mine… I’d deserve it, I suppose…”
“Max, you’d never deserve anything like that… god… after the things I’ve thought about you, said about you… things I wrote in unsent letters and hateful email drafts… I deserve what happened, originally, I mean. Me getting shot… was just a run of bad choices… still, I deserved it tho-”
“NO!” Max slammed a fist into Chloe, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get her point across. “I didn’t spend the better part of five years in and out of therapy, arguing with my parents, skipping school when my parents were both out, ‘being ill’, smoking, vaping, being in a mental asylum for 8 months, all for you to say you deserve to die!” Max finally let it all out, head buried in Chloe’s chest as she covered her face, wiping her eyes before whispering. “There… that’s it… that’s what i’ve been itching to tell you…” Chloe sat there, Max sobbing into Chloe’s chest as she soothed the girl before speaking up.
“Oh, Max…” Chloe sat up, Max going with her as they both hugged, the girls pulling away from each other for a minute before crashing together, tongues wrestling with each other for supremacy in the other girls mouth as their hands wandered, grabbing onto waists, heads, shoulders, other hands, butts and boobs as they roamed around each other, Max being the first to moan into the kiss as Chloe pushed her down, a knee between Max’s legs as Chloe began to leave hot, breathy kisses across Max’s skin, kissing her cheeks, ears, neck, shoulders-
“Oh!” Max let out a gasp as she felt Chloe, in one smooth motion, pulled Max’s bra off, Max not realising Chloe had undone it, but definitely not complaining as Chloe had suctioned her lips to one of Max’s breasts, giving it a light suck before lathering it in even more breathy kisses, Max squirming as Chloe began to inch her knee forward a little.
“P- please…” Max tried to speak, her voice barely a whisper but the arousal present all the same as Chloe moved up, whispering a single word into Max’s ear.
“Louder.”
“P- Please.” Max tried to speak, her voice raspy and ragged. Chloe let a grin cross her face before a familiar sound played from the bed behind them - Max’s ringtone. Max let out a needy whimper before sitting up, Chloe trailing a hand across Max’s back as the girl crawled to her phone.
“I- I’m sorry, Chloe.” Max crawled over and grabbed her phone. “It’s…” Max blinked, taking deep breaths as Chloe looked up at her girlfriend.
“You okay, Max?” Chloe crawled over, wrapping an arm around Max.
“It’s my Mom.”
Chapter Text
“Mom?” Max spoke softly, trying to control her breathing, her chest still rising and falling heavily from the activities her and Chloe were just partaking in.
“ Hi, Maxine, are you okay? We’ve heard from Blackwell that you’ve been in a fight! ” Max froze, clicking the phone onto speaker but indicating to Chloe to keep quiet. Chloe nodded, moving away from the phone so that she couldn’t be heard but still close enough to reassuringly rub Max’s leg, giving her calf a supportive squeeze.
“Yeah, it’s dumb school bulls- bullcrap. It’s sorted.”
“ Unless the Prescott’s decide to press charges. ” Max closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“ Are you sure you’re okay? ”
“Yes Mom, I’m fine. How about I come up to visit you next week? See you in person.” Max looked up at Chloe, who’s eyes looked like they could bulge out of her head, Max trying and failing to put the phone on mute before bursting out laughing, her Mom pausing mid sentence. After several minutes, Max calmed down, and her Mom spoke again.
“ That’d be perfect, is… is Chloe there? Me and Ryan would love to see her again too. ”
“Yes, I’m here, Mrs. Caulfield.”
“ Hi there Chloe! Please, just call me Vanessa. ”
“O- Okay…” Max looked at Chloe with the biggest puppy dog eyes possible as she pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug, squeezing her tight as she spoke to her Mom.
“Well, dinner is nearly ready…” Max stopped speaking for a moment, mind whirring before an idea popped into her head. “Oh my god! You both could come down during summer break! Because I’m on one of the few two year courses, I get to keep my dorm room at Blackwell, but I’m sure Joyce would love to see you both again for a few weeks over summer, you could have a Mom cook off!”
Max smiled as Chloe began poking Max’s stomach, giggles bubbling in her stomach as she swatted Chloe’s hands away, both of them stopping when they heard a scream down the phone. “Mom?”
“ Sorry munchkin, your Pops just gave me the scare of my life. He… ” Max could hear her Mom gasp, squeal, and then begin lightly sobbing down the phone. “ He’s brought us an RV! ”
“Oh my god! That’s amazing!” Chloe spoke before Max could, her hand clamping over her mouth before quickly speaking. “That’s fantastic, Mrs. Caulfield.”
“ One, call me Vanessa.” Max laughed at her Mom, her ‘parent tone’ slipping through as Chloe’s face went ghost white, like a kid caught snooping in the cookie jar. “ And two, it is amazing! We can have so many adventures now. Such as, for example… a week’s trip to Arcadia Bay! ” Now it was Max’s turn to squeal, bumping up and down excitedly on the bed, creaking several times. “ Do they not give you good beds in Blackwell? ”
Chloe let out a mock gasp, a hand waving to and resting on her forehead. “I’ll have you know, this bed is an authentic William Price bed, circa 2000, build to the specifications of the ikea booklet, and lots of fun times.” Max wrapped an arm around Chloe as she spoke, a tear welling up in the punk's eye as Vanessa softly chuckled down the phone.
“ Ohhhh, my teenage daughter is sleeping over with another teenage girl! Ryan, honey, get the pride flags out! ” Max and Chloe both froze, eyes wide as Vanessa laughed down the phone, before stopping. “ Wait. Did I just hit the nail, right on the head? ”
“Y- Yes.” Both girls stammered out, still frozen in shock, finally being spurred into motion by a whooping sound from down the phone.
“ About damn time! ” Ryan’s voice carried down the phone.
‘Must’ve been put on speaker at some point.’ Max thought, clearing her throat before speaking in as level a voice as possible. “You guys aren’t, ya know… mad or anything, right?”
“ Hells to the no! We’re so happy for you both! ” Max smiled at her Mom’s supportive words, her hand gripping Chloe’s tightly. Across the bed, Chloe’s phone buzzed - a message from Joyce.
Joyce: Dinner’s ready.
Max glanced at Chloe’s phone before picking her own one up, nodding to Chloe, who did the same, both looking decent before heading to the bedroom door. “Well, dinner is ready. Wanna talk to Joyce for a little bit?”
“ Omg, yes! ” Max laughed, the pair skipping down the steps, Chloe moving to the kitchen to help her Mom with plating dinner up, Max moving to the island.
“Joyce, someone wants to talk to you.” Joyce turned around, Max having put the phone, that was still on speaker, down on the island as she moved to take over from Joyce in plating dinner up, scooping the stew from the big pot into three bowls.
“ Joyce! ”
“Vanessa! Oh my god it’s so lovely to hear from you!”
“I don’t think I’m ever getting my phone back.”
“Yeah, I’ll buy you a new one though.”
“Dude, you need a new one, Ms. 2010 flagship with a broken screen.”
“At least I have flappy bird installed.” Chloe laughed at Max’s middle finger, grabbing it, pulling it forward and pretending to nibble the end, Max wiggling her finger for comedic effect before leaning over, Chloe meeting her in the middle of the table, and whispering into Chloe’s ear.
“Save eating me until after dinner, babe.” Max sat back down, retrieving her middle finger from Chloe’s grasp, the punk’s cheeks a light shade of pink as she also sat down, clearing her throat and taking a sip of water from her glass.
“It’s not beer, but it’ll do.” She let out a dry laugh, trying to shift her embarrassment off, failing, but Max letting it slide regardless as she lightly tapped Chloe’s legs under the table, their legs tangling before Joyce came back to the table, sitting next to Chloe and handing Max her phone back, a huge smile on her face.
“Oh my god! I can’t believe they’re driving down here next week!” Max and Chloe also grinned, the three women all bursting into laughter as they excitedly bounced up and down at the table, all three girls excited about Vanessa and Ryan visiting. Max’s phone buzzed softly, glancing at the message she received, both her and Chloe’s smile fading a little as they read the message, Chloe answering as Max turned to Joyce.
Kate: hi max, i’m worried about Viccy, she hasn’t answered any of my phone calls…
Kate: i’d go to her dorm but im stuck at home with family, do you mind checking on her?
Max: of course pumpkin, me and max will go asap - chloe
Kate: thank you.
Max looked up at Joyce, a serious look on her face. “Victoria is MIA, not answering any of Kate’s messages, she wants us to go have a check in.”
“Go, I’ll clean up.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Chloe pulled Joyce into a hug, the pair squeezing before Max did the same, hugging Joyce and whispering the same words as Chloe into Joyce’s ear, the woman smiling.
“Let’s roll.” Max and Chloe both put their shoes and jackets on, heading for the truck.
Chapter Text
“Vic?” Max spoke with a slight shout, aware of how late it was but still trying to let Victoria know they were coming. She walked up to Victoria’s door and gave it a knock, speaking again. “Victoria?” She gave the door another few raps, hoping that the girl would answer the door eventually.
“Max?” The pair turned to see Victoria standing in the hall, having come out of the washroom, tears coating her face and makeup streaked down her cheeks. Max walked over to the girl, who began to speed walk to Max, the pair hugging in the middle of the hallway. “C- Can we go into your room, please?”
“Of course.” Max carried Victoria in a one-person lift, Chloe moving to and unlocking Max’s dorm with their joint key, swinging the door open and turning all the lights on as the trio moved in, Max putting Victoria on the new bed before herself and Chloe snuggled up on the couch that had recently been placed in the corner where her desk was. Victoria let out a heavy sigh, eyes still full of tears before she spoke up.
“Thank you for coming to check on me… I’m…” She stopped speaking, wiping her eyes with her t-shirt, Max getting up and handing her a box of tissues from her bedside unit, Victoria smiling and wiping her eyes.
“I’m so scared… that’ll hurt her again.”
“You’re hurting her by not talking to her.” Max looked up at Chloe, squeezing her girlfriend’s arm. “I didn’t speak to Chloe for five fucking years, Vic… it…”
“It hurt, so fucking bad dude…” Chloe whispered, her voice small yet full of emotion, she wiped her eye as a tear trickled out of it, pulling Max’s head into her chest, wrapping her arms around her girlfriends head. “I hated every second of it… I tried to blame Max, even though I could’ve done more… they sent us their address, I could’ve written… I could’ve called the house… but we didn’t speak to each other for five whole years…”
“The first time we spoke was after the bathroom incident.” Max’s voice had also shrunk to a quiet murmur, Victoria listening to them intently, before speaking.
“Bathroom incident?”
“Oh, right, we didn’t tell you properly…” Max looked up at Chloe, who gave her a nod of approval, as if to say ‘spill the beans, I trust her.’
“Nathan nearly shot Chloe, in the girls bathroom at Blackwell.” Victoria gasped, eyes wide, the look of shock turning into one of contemplation, before speaking quietly.
“Well… I think I can add a bit of context around that…”
March, Week 2, 2014.
“Where have you been?” Victoria stood up and walked over to Nathan, wrapping an arm around him and guiding him to her coat, the pair sitting down, hugging.
“ Because we were… dating. At the time.” Victoria spoke to Max and Chloe with a hint of disgust in her voice.
“Oh, just dealing with some bidness.” He took the joint that was being passed around the group, taking a heavy hit before letting a ‘ creepy ass grin ’ spread cross his face.
“Oh, nice. Wanna talk about it-”
“No.” Nathan spoke with a bit of anger in his voice as he clenched his fists around his jacket. “Dyke got away from me anyway.”
“Woah, calm down. What kind of ‘bidness’ was it?”
“None that you need to concern yourself with, babe. I’m fine. Seriously, don’t worry about me.” Victoria opened her mouth to argue but Nathan stood up, walking away from the group. Victoria stood to go after him but was caught by Courtney, who shook her head, Victoria looking after him before Courtney spoke.
“Don’t, Viccy. Not worth it.”
“Fine.” She sat down, taking the joint as it jumped the circle to her, taking a puff before passing it back to the next in the queue.
April, Week 2, 2014
“Holy. Shit.” Max whispered, reaching out a hand for Victoria, the girl taking it and giving it a light squeeze.
“I’m…” She looked down, a heavy sigh reverberating out of her chest. “I’m still sorry… about all of it…”
“Don’t be. We didn’t exactly try to de-escalate the situation at all…” Max looked down, embarrassment crossing her face until Victoria let out a dry laugh.
“Hell of a right hook though, remind me not to get into fights with you again.” Max let out a soft chuckle of her own, Chloe looking between the girls as they all began laughing. After a few minutes, they heard a knock at the door.
“Hey? Max?” Victoria froze, Max looking at Victoria and then the door as Victoria shook her head, mouthing ‘Please, not in here, not no-’ They all turned to see the door open, Kate walked in with tear tracks on her cheeks.
“I’m sorry to intrude, but I’m still worried about Vic-” Kate’s cheeks turned a shade of pink as she looked at the bed, eyes meeting Victoria’s, both girls gulping a little as they blushed.
“You’re not intruding, Kate. Please, sit.” Chloe stood up off of the sofa, offering the spot to Kate, who slumped down and was drawn into a hug by Max.
“Oh Viccy…” Kate reached out and Victoria slid off of the bed, Max and Kate shuffling so Victoria could sit on the couch, Max eventually relented and stood up so Kate and Victoria could hug on the couch together. “I was so worried about you… I…” She blushed again. “I got my Dad to drive me here early, upset my Mum that I was choosing my friends over family, but the rest of my family understood, even if it’s going to cause an argument later…”
Max watched Victoria as Kate was speaking, the girl’s eyes filled with emotions - happiness, longing and adoration as Victoria pulled Kate in for another hug, speaking softly as they hugged. “Thank you, Kate. I a- appreciate you picking me over your family…” Kate rubbed Victoria’s back as they hugged.
“It’s okay Viccy.” She pulled away, cheeks red with blush. Chloe cleared her throat and hopped off of the desk, sitting next to Max on the bed, wrapping her arm around her lover as Max leant forward a little.
“You two alright now?” Max asked Kate and Victoria, voice hushed to not awaken anyone else.
“I- I think so…” Kate spoke, her voice also small, her hands being held by Victoria.
“I…” Victoria took a hard swallow, her eyes watering again until Max handed her another tissue, Kate taking it and drying Victoria’s eyes for her. “I’m s- sorry for… for avoiding you. I was trying to not hurt you again…” Victoria’s voice quivered, Kate giving her hands a squeeze as Victoria began to cry softly, a sob tearing through her as Kate drew her into a third hug, squeezing tight.
“It’s okay, Viccy. I promise…” Kate and Victoria hugged for a while, Max and Chloe doing the same as they just watched the two girls hug it all out. After a little while, Victoria and Kate both pulled back, wiping their own eyes and taking deep breaths.
“I think we’re… we’re okay.” Victoria smiled at Chloe, then Max and finally Kate, blushing slightly as she did so, Kate smiling at all three of them.
“Thank you.”
“No, it was our pleasure.” Chloe did a mock bow, eliciting a giggle from Kate and a playful slap from Victoria, causing Max to raise a fist, Victoria hiding behind Kate, all four of them giggling amongst themselves.
“Kate save meeee.” Victoria eeked into Kate’s ear, the girl turning around and grinning before beginning to tickle Victoria, the girl eeking and giggling even more as Chloe and Max watched with bewildered looks on their faces.
“Well?” Kate murmured, her voice uncofident yet full of joy. “Are you two going to join in? Or am I going to have all the fun by mySE-” Max and Chloe burst into laughter as Kate, who had taken her eyes off of Victoria to talk to the two girls, was suddenly assaulted by Victoria, her fingers moving with speed against Kate’s sides as she laughed, skipping around the room as she tried to escape Victoria, eventually both girls ended up crashing onto Max and Chloe, all four of them falling onto the bed, laughing.
“Ow.” Victoria let out another sigh, her voice still an octave high from all the laughing. “My sides hurt.”
“My sides hella hurt, and I wasn’t even being tickled.” Chloe grinned as she spoke, rubbing her sides as Max let out a sigh of mock annoyance, her eyes rolling before they all stood up, Max and Chloe opening the door and all four girls walking into the hallway.
“Me and Chloe are going to stay here tonight.”
“Thank you, see you tomorro-” Victoria turned to see Nathan standing at the end of the hallway, his eyes full of rage as he glared at four girls, before all of them heard a loud throat clearing from the doors to the stairwell, David tapping his baton against the door heavy enough to make a noise but light enough to wake anyone. Nathan turned to look at David, then back at the four girls, as if sizing up his options. Eventually, he let out a discontented sigh and walked back to the stairs, pushing past David, who walked down the hall.
“You girls alright?” David spoke with a gentleness in his voice that neither Max nor Chloe could place, presuming that it was for Kate’s sake he was being so calm.
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Madsen.” Kate spoke up, a faux smile crossing her face as she walked to her dorm room door. “Goodnight, you four.”
“Night Kate.” Victoria, Max and Chloe all said in unison, none of them brave enough to say jinx in front of David.
“I’m off to bed as well, night girls. Night Mr. Madsen.” Victoria slipped through her dorm room door, Max catching the scent of weed but deciding not to push it, she turned to David, who let out a deep sigh.
“Max, Chloe. I know it won’t mean anything, not yet…” He looked down, was he… crying? “But I’m so sorry, I treated y’all wrong.” He turned to Max. “I said to you, later that day, in the hallway in the main block, that you broke up my family. I was too blind to see that I broke the family up. I- I was stupid, trying to protect you two and Joyce from…” He swallowed, hard. “From something I don’t understand. I tried too hard, I didn’t consider my actions or how that would affect you three.” He let out another sigh, definitely crying now. “I’m sorry.” He turned, Chloe catching his arm.
“It’s okay…” She paused. “I don’t forgive you, not fully, not yet, but it’s a start. Thank you.” Max nodded along to Chloe’s words.
“Have a good night, girls. I’ll go speak to Nathan.” He turned and walked away down the hall, nodding at the girls one more time before walking through the door at the end of the hallway, disappearing into the dark gloom of the stairwell. Max and Chloe both stood, dumbstruck, in the hallway for several minutes before they both slowly walked into Max’s dorm room, sitting on the bed.
“What the fuck just happened?” Chloe whispered out, Max not moving as she stared forward, eyes full of confusion.
“I have no idea.” Max and Chloe turned to each other. “But I think it’s a good step forward.” Max and Chloe both laid down, sighing with content as they both drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Text
Max and Chloe both stepped out of the dorms into the fresh spring afternoon, Max’s nose suffering as the onset of hayfever hit her like a freight train, she gripped Chloe’s hand a little bit tighter as the girls slowly walked through the gardens in front of the dorms, sharing earphones and listening to Breezeblocks by alt-J . As they approached the parking lot, Max stopped, a sigh escaping her lips as she looked at the ground, rubbing her eyes with balled fists.
“You okay, babe?” Chloe wrapped an arm around Max as the girl let out a whimper, hugging her close as Max let out a hoarse whisper.
“I’m sorry.” Chloe pulled Max into an even tighter hug, both arms hugging the girl as Max began to sob softly into Chloe’s jacket, hugging back.
“Why are you apologising? You haven’t done anything.”
“I…” Max pulled back, eyes full of tears, as she spoke again, her voice was small, full of emotion yet hopelessly tired. “I’m sorry… I caused… I caused all of this shit… all of the dreams, all of the… the time travel powers, all of the fighting…” Max looked down, her mind racing at a million miles per hour, she felt a strong hand grip her own, squeezing it. Max spoke again, her voice even quieter than before, Chloe leaning in as she spoke, to listen to Max. “I should’ve stayed in Seattle… then… then none of this would’ve happened.”
“Oh, Max, baby.” Chloe drew Max into a tight hug, giving her a tight squeeze and kissing her on the forehead. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. You… you saved me… if you didn’t come back, I’d have died in the bathroom… I…” Chloe blinked away her own tears before continuing. “Everything that happened, it was a two way street, you may not have kept in touch, but I didn’t keep in touch with you either.”
“C- Can we go home?” Max looked up at Chloe. “P- Please, I… I have something important I need to tell you.”
“What’s up, Max? Max?” Chloe held Max’s hand, giving it reassuring squeezes as the brunette let out several heavy sighs.
“I’m…” She let out a sob, Chloe tugging her into her arms. The pair had headed back to Chloe’s house, Max heading up to Chloe’s room whilst Chloe had gone to get Max a glass of water, she had gone back up to find Max sat on her bed, head down and tears falling onto her lap. Chloe had knelt down in front of Max and took her hand, hugging her when Max started to break down.
“Shh, it’s okay, Max. It’s okay.” Chloe leant up and kissed Max tenderly, holding onto her arms tightly as they kissed each other. After a few minutes, Max pulled away, wrapping her arms around Chloe and dragging the girl into a tight hug.
“Please don’t…” Max whispered into Chloe’s ear, her voice quiet and rough. Chloe cocked her head to one side, giving Max a little bit of side eye before resting it back onto Max’s shoulder, kissing her cheek as Max continued speaking. “Please don’t leave me… I’m… god Chloe, I’m a mess. Between what’s been happening these last few weeks… all of the bullshit at Blackhell, all the shit with Nathan, especially last night, and all the other bullshit… I’m just such a mess. With Mom and Dad coming down too…” She let out another sob, Chloe pulling her tighter whilst still giving Max space to talk, knowing that the girl hadn’t finished. “I need to tell you something, something very important.”
“Of course Max, take your time.”
“Thank you. Uh…” Max scratched the back of her neck, Chloe instinctively taking the hand into her own and interlocking her fingers. Max nuzzled into Chloe’s neck, as if thinking about what to say. “After we moved to S- Seattle… god Chloe, I was a- an absolute wreck… my Mum thought something was wrong… so she…” Max let out a heavy, deep breath before continuing. “She checked me into a… a ‘special place’. I was there for… for four, nearly five months, I think, I can barely remember any of it… but… but I’ve been having nightmares about it for years. I had one the other night, it was after I got home from the place I was sent… I-”
“You had an argument with your Mom… you looked for me in your contacts.” Chloe’s own voice was small now, herself crying as Max pulled back, staring into Chloe’s eyes. “I had… or saw… It was the dream you’ve just told me about. I don’t know why, but I’ve been seeing you… seeing your dreams, other shit like this…” Max cupped Chloe’s cheek, wiping Chloe’s tears away with her thumbs.
“I’m sorry, Chloe… I hope… I hope you don’t see any bad ones.” Chloe averted her gaze, Max taking some deep breaths before continuing to speak. “Anyway, I was kept in what I affectionately refer to as hell in Seattle. It was like a hospital cross with a hotel… it was full of individual ‘patient bedrooms’... each had a bed, two chairs, and a filing cabinet.” Max went silent after explaining the room, eyes full of dread and fear as Chloe took a hold of her quivering hands, giving them reassuring kisses.
"It was an institution... your mom institutionalised you..." Max nodded, Chloe pulling her girlfriend into a warm hug to her chest, squeezing her.
"It sucked... it was awful... I'm so sorry babe... I-" Max sniffled before continuing. "I have to keep up appearances with Mom, be all chill and friendly, lie through my teeth about how I feel, it fucking sucks Chloe... but I do it because I'm scared she'll send me back..." Max looked down into her lap as Chloe tugged her into a hug, squeezing tightly and kissing Max on top of the head.
“It’s okay, babe. You don’t need to stress yourself out anymore, I believe you, and I will never leave you… now I know why you’re so scared about seeing your Mom again… and why you-” Chloe was cut off by Max, the brunette kissing her passionately on the lips, pulling away and making a shushing sound before resuming the kiss, Chloe moving fully onto bed, Max pulling Chloe down on top of her, a hand wrapping around her neck and the other around the girls waist, holding her close. Chloe kissed back, her tongue fighting Max’s as they rolled around on the bed, Chloe eventually pinning Max down, gasping when Max moved her lips to Chloe’s neck, biting and sucking, Chloe released a soft moan and moved a hand to the back of Max’s head, the girls rolling over until Max was on top, Chloe wrapping her legs around Max’s waist, holding her close. Max let out a soft giggle as she moved to Chloe’s shoulder, continuing to suck and bite, creating another hickey before letting out a gasping moan of her own as Chloe moved her mouth to Max’s neck, leaving a few hickeys on the brunette.
“H- Holy… fuck Chloe, don’t stop…” Max moaned as she spoke, hands tussling and gripping onto Chloe’s hair as the girl continued to give her hickeys, getting a little carried away as she pleased her girlfriend. Max squirmed above Chloe, her ministrations causing Max a lot of pleasure. Chloe pulled away, breathing deeply before whispering softly into Max’s ear.
“I hope that helped take your mind off of all the shit going on.” Chloe wrapped her arms around Max and gave her a tight squeeze. Max let out a long, drawn out ‘mmm’ sound before reaching up, grabbing one of Chloe’s shoulders with one hand and the back of her head with the other, dragging her down into a deep kiss, holding her there with iron grip. Chloe dropped all her weight onto Max, hands running through and gripping onto Max’s hair as they made out, legs tangled and breath ragged as they pulled back to breathe.
“God damn, Chloe…” Max took a deep breath, legs wrapping around Chloe’s waist and holding her close to her, before letting out a groan. “You are so fucking heavy.” Max couldn’t help but giggle as Chloe let a shit eating grin spread across her face.
“I may be heavy, but you can’t deny that I’m hella cute.”
“Nope, can’t deny that, my hella cute girlfriend.” Max rubbed her nose gently against Chloe’s, both girls closing their eyes and just rubbing their noses together before kissing. Chloe begins to pull her tank top off, Max pulls back, a smirk crossing her face and her eyes darkening a little as she rests her hand on Chloe’s stomach, kissing her on the nose before sliding her hands up, underneath Chloe’s tank top, tugging it over her head and throwing it onto the floor of the bedroom. Max immediately pressed her lips to Chloe’s chest, kissing around her neck, before wandering down onto her chest, just above her breasts, slowly kissing along to and then up and down the shoulder strap of her bra. Chloe let her breathing become slow and deep, savouring the sensation of Max kissing up and down her torso, letting a long, yet soft moan as she felt two warm hands firmly plant themselves onto her breasts, holding for a few, awkward seconds before Chloe made a squeezing motion with her hands, Max picking up on the hint as she squeezed Chloe’s breasts, causing her to moan louder than before, her voice cracking a little as she toed the line between being quiet as a whisper, and making soft yet noticeable sounds.
“Max… please… don- don’t stop…” Max looked up at Chloe, a sultry grin spreading across her features as she began to climb up Chloe’s body, her face flushed with a nervous love for her girlfriend, yet her motions felt so… natural, and so, so damn good. She slowly clambered up Chloe until her mouth was next to Chloe’s ear, breathing hot air into Chloe’s earlobe before letting out a soft moan as Chloe squeezed her butt, Max giving it a little wiggle before giggling and whispering out what she was going to say.
“Beg me for it.” Chloe audibly gulped, causing Max to freeze, slowly retreating off of Chloe, face now flushed with embarrassment and awkwardness, Chloe quickly shaking her head at Max, causing her to freeze again. “Chlo, I’m sor-”
“Shut up.” Chloe clasped a hand to Max’s mouth, causing the smaller girl’s eyes to bulge, Chloe let a wide grin spread across her face as she got onto her knees in front of Max, who had raised to a standing position. “Please, ple-” Max let out a long gasping moan as Chloe ran her nose across Max’s most sensitive area.
“G- God Chloe, you are r- ridic- redic-” Max giggled, Chloe smirking up at Max as she rose to her feet, pressing her head against Max’s.
“What? Cat got your tongue?” Max nodded, a few months ago, that nod would’ve been sheepish, subdued, full of embarrassment, now it was a confident, almost daring nod, as if inviting the punk in to try and remove the feline from Max’s tongue. Chloe put a hand to the back of Max’s head, tugging her in tightly, lips and tongue thrashing together as they fell back onto the bed, making out.
Chapter Text
“Max?” Kate stepped through the door into Max’s dorm, flashlight in one hand, spare key in the other. ‘Hmm, must be gone…’ Kate, against her nature and her better judgement, decided to check out Max’s room a little whilst she was gone. She slowly slid the door closed, locking it behind her in case anyone decided to come down the hall to investigate or try to open the door. She shuddered as she thought of Nathan, standing at the end of the hall, glaring at them with hate in his eyes.
She shook her head, searching for and quickly locating the light switch, flicking the main on and illuminating the room with a harsh light that she did not associate with Max’s room, she turned the light off again and looked up to see that the shade was missing, deducing that Max’s replacement probably hadn’t arrived yet. Through the gloom flooding in through the window, she spotted the barely illuminated silhouettes of Max’s lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
‘Of course! The lanterns, how could I be so forgetful.’ She reached for the switch on Max’s extension lead, flicking it on and watching as all the lanterns flickered to life, a smile spreading across her face as she slipped the flashlight back into her coat pocket. She stared in awe at the photo wall above Max’s bed, a smile on her face as she looked at the ones with herself and Chloe in.
In the time since the little vandalism act by Nathan and Victoria, Max had been actively taking photos of things, and people, she appreciated, a handful of photographs included several people, but most included Chloe, or Chloe with someone else. Kate’s eyes rested on the photo that Max had taken at the firewalk concert of herself, Chloe and Kate, all dressed up in firewalk merch. Max and Kate were both wearing Firewalk t-shirts, tucked into their jeans to hide the tank tops they wore underneath to stop the cold evening wind from affecting them, Kate also having brought the idea up to Max in case anyone tried anything funny with needles. The last thing she needed was to-
‘No Kate, don’t go there… just… don’t.’ She let out a ragged sigh, rubbing her eyes as she refocused back on the picture. Chloe was in a slightly different outfit, it being a Firewalk shirt that was about a size or two too small, with the sleeves cut off and the bottom ripped, the logo faded and old.
“ It’s an old shirt from a few years ago, but it still fits. ” Kate could remember Chloe saying as she stepped out of Max’s dorm room, Max having wrapped her in a hug as soon as she left.
“ Suits you. ” Max had complimented her, Kate nodding. If she was honest, she was a little jealous of Max, wishing she had someone like Chloe to look after her, to care for her. And she was jealous of Chloe, hoping to have someone like Max, with Max’s big heart and lovely comments to care about her. She felt her phone ring, her eyes widening a little at the name on the screen.
Max.
She answered and put the phone up to her ear, fumbling for the spare room key Max had given her.
“Hi, Kate!” Kate tried to make the sound as loud as possible, as if to emphasise that she was going out.
“Hi, Max. Sorry, I was just about to head out. Everything alright?”
“Oh! My bad, sorry Kate. I was wondering how you’re doing.” Kate paused, clicking Max’s lanterns off and slowly exiting the room, locking it behind her and creeping over to her own, heading back inside and closing the door, locking it before sitting on her bed.
“Kate?” Kate blinked, shaking her head and quickly stammered out a response.
“I’m fine, Max! Thanks for checking in.”
“Of course, how is wittle Awice?” Kate couldn’t help but giggle at the motherly tone Max put on when she was speaking about Alice, her bunny. Max was absolutely besotted by her pet as soon as they were introduced, and looked after her a few times whilst she had gone out, always coming home to find Max having treated her to a snack or two outside of feeding time.
“She’s amazing as always, had a busy day of running around and eating within her feeding time, so she’s a little tuckered out.” Kate could barely hear Chloe laugh in the background as she spoke. “Am I on speaker?”
“Oh shit, yes, you are.” Chloe heard some rustling and then a few doors closing and opening, Max’s voice coming through the phone again. “Sorry, I completely forgot to tell you.”
“It’s okay Max, are you alright?”
“Yes? I mean, No?” Kate heard Max sigh down the phone, a few gusts of wind indicating that Max had gone outside, into the evening blue, probably to watch the golden hour whilst they spoke. “I’m a bit of a mess, we…” Kate heard Max clear her throat. “Dog Kate, I don’t feel like I’m enough for Chloe sometimes, and sometimes I feel like I’m way, way too much for both her, everyone around me and myself.” Kate let out a heavy sigh, she knew what ‘the thing’ was, but didn’t know how to help Max with the other stuff, especially as she was feeling pretty inadequate herself. She looked around her room before grabbing her thick coat, sliding her thin coat off and slipping the big one on, heading out to the roof, talking whilst walking until she was in the cold evening air and could think straight.
“I… Two things, Max. One, I know what sex is.” Kate giggled and Max laughed, causing Kate to lose some of the knot in her stomach. “And second, I… honestly, I don’t know how much help I can be… I mean, I’m so just… jealous. Jealous of you two, how happy you are together, how much you two love each other, I just want… I wish I had a relationship like that with someone.” Kate felt a sob rip through her as she heard Max’s voice respond down the phone.
“Oh, Kate. I’m so sorry you feel that way. I… I’m sure you’ll find someone, someday. Me and Chloe, we haven’t been a few month thing… I was crushing on her, hard, especially when we were younger, and even more so when I moved away. I fell head over heels for her from day one and we’ve practically adored each other ever since, holding hands all day like dumb little kids, not thinking there was anything to it…” Max paused, and Kate thought the line had gone dead as Max stopped speaking for several minutes.
“Max?” Kate whispered down the phone, not sure if the brunette was still on the other end.
“Kate?”
“Thank you. For being my friend.”
“Of course! Thank you for being mine.” Kate pulled the receiver back slightly as she heard the door open behind her, she quickly hung the phone up and shot Max a text.
Kate: Sorry, someone came onto the roof, ring you back soon :)
Max: Of course, don’t worry i got invaded too
Max: muahhhhahahhh - Chloe
Kate smiled at the texts she received from Max and Chloe, before fully turning her attention to the door, standing ajar. She heard a lighter spark up from behind it a few times, before a bit of cursing and another set of sparking sounds followed by the sound of a lighter holding it’s flame for a few seconds before the door fully swung open to reveal Victoria, the girl stepping out onto the roof, cigarette in her left hand, right hand in her jacket pocket, presumably putting her lighter away. She froze when she saw Kate, both girl’s eyes meeting for a few seconds until they both smiled, giggling a little before laughing quite loud, all things considered (especially the time of night, 9pm!)
“You okay, Katie?” Victoria, having brought herself down from her laughing high, walked over and wrapped Kate in a hug, Kate returning it with a little apprehension but the usual amount of care.
“I uh… I needed a little time alone.” Victoria nodded knowingly.
“So did I… can you…” Victoria blushed, turning to face Kate properly. “Mind if you stay out here with me? Please?” Kate looked at Victoria, the girl doing her best puppy dog eyes as she held Kate’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze and convincing the girl not to leave.
“Okay…” She sat next to Victoria on a little bench that had somehow made it onto the roof over the past month or so, Kate suspecting that Max and Chloe might’ve had something to do with it. Kate and Victoria, at first, sat quite far away, before Kate eventually slid closer and sat directly next to Victoria, Kate with her legs crossed and Victoria in her usual classroom seating pose - resting one arm on the armrest and the other in her lap, the only difference was the cigarette in her armrest hand, instead of her pen or pencil.
“I uh…” Victoria gulped, nervousness spreading through her cheeks as she spoke up again. “I heard what you said… about wanting someone who cares…” She looked down, tears slowly falling into her lap as Kate shuffled even closer, wrapping an arm loosely around Victoria’s back. “I…” She flicks her cigarette to flick some of the ash off, the entire butt flying off of the end of the roof instead, causing Victoria, in her state of minor annoyance, to grip onto Kate’s arm with her left, holding it around her. “I’m just… I feel so… so small, so dogshit… like I don’t even exist.”
“I… I know, Viccy, I can tell…” Kate looked up at Victoria, giving her shoulder a squeeze before tugging Victoria into a hug, the usually snobby girl crying into Kate’s shoulder softly. “It’s okay…” Kate whispered that phrase several times to Victoria who, after a few minutes, started taking deep breaths and calming herself down, eventually pulling back and smiling at Kate.
“T- Thank you Katie…” Victoria rested her head back on Kate’s shoulder as the pair sat on the bench in each other's embrace. As they sat there, both Victoria and Kate had realisations.
‘Oh, my, god… I…’ Victoria thought to herself, her mind ablaze with emotions she hasn’t properly felt in a long, long time. ‘I think I might be in love with her.’
‘Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh… oh shit… I think I might be gay!’ Kate’s mind, also burning with embers of love, was a lot more panicked than Victoria’s. ‘Aaah, I need Max or Chloe, right now, I- just… aaaaah!’
Kate and Victoria both pulled back, eyes meeting and both girls faces going flushed, the pair giggling before Kate let out a loud, long yawn.
“C’mon Katie, let's get you to bed.” Victoria stood up and with strength that surprised both herself and Kate, she took Kate in her arms, carrying her inside of the dorm building, leaving the roof almost deserted.
As the door closed, a ghostly rabbit bounded about above the door, a ghostly cat slowly pacing over to the edge, curling itself into a warm loaf, its tail hanging off of the edge as the bunny stopped bouncing around, laying next to the cat, both animals sitting together as Victoria carried Kate to her room.
Chapter Text
Chloe sighed as she sat in the driver’s side of her truck, Max stumbling out of the convenience store carrying a paper bag, she walked around to and slid into the passenger side, putting the bag in the passenger footwell before looking at Chloe, who turned to her, revealing a stoic look on her face, causing Max to rest a hand on her shoulder, Chloe to leaning her head into Max’s touch.
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I know how much you hate therapists.” Chloe let out another sigh, hands moving to the wheel and the key of her truck, turning the key in the ignition, the truck roaring to life. Chloe turned to face Max, her mouth opening for a few seconds before she spoke.
“I’m hella nervous, but I know this is for the best so I honestly don’t mind doing it. Anyway, we’ve driven all the way to Portland, so we might as well give it at least one session.” Max nodded and let out a thoughtful ‘hmm’ at Chloe’s response, but didn’t push her girlfriend any, instead rummaging through the bag and pulling out a hershey bar, unwrapping it before splitting it in two and offering it to Chloe, the girl opening her mouth expectantly, causing Max to roll her eyes before popping Chloe’s half into the waiting girls mouth, Chloe nomming on it animatedly, causing Max to giggle.
Chloe and Max drove for a few more minutes until they slowly pulled up at their destination - Sue Thomas Therapy, on the outskirts of Portland, in a commercial zone, surrounded by offices, convenience stores and specialty stores, Chloe’s eyes having lit up when they drove past a skate store that was located on the floor below the office. The back of the building held the parking lot and the entrance to the office. From their parking spot, Max could see stairs through the door, surmising that it must be a fully second floor operation. As they had driven in, a familiar car had driven out of the parking lot past them, Victoria sat behind the wheel of the car, the height of the truck concealing Max from Victoria’s view as she drove her porsche away from the parking lot, towards Arcadia Bay.
If Max was completely honest with herself, she was probably more nervous than Chloe, partly because she hadn’t done therapy before, partly because she knew that next week was going to be a lot more different, and they might not even get a session in next week, but also that she had a lot more rattling around in her head than most, even more so than Chloe. Max had seen Chloe die, she’d been in a very dysfunctional psych ward, she’d been through so much shit in Seattle, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to go in. She only brought it up to try and help both of them make sense of the madness that had happened, fortunately getting a slot at this therapist because Friday was ‘Couple’s Day’, meaning that there were probably fewer appointments being booked on Fridays.
“You ready?” Max shook her head slightly as Chloe spoke, the girl taking her hand and giving it a squeeze, Max noticing that Chloe’s hands were also sweating with nervousness and heat.
“Sorry, I was a million miles away, let’s go do this.” Max and Chloe both hopped out of the truck, each grabbing a bottle of water from the paper bag before opening the front door to the therapist's office, climbing the staircase up to the second floor. Chloe immediately noticed how quiet it all was, the windows must’ve been double or triple glazed because the Friday morning traffic was silent through the windows. Chloe turned her attention to the waiting room, the white walls accenting quite nicely against the art deco art on the walls and the black chairs and desk. She turned her attention to the desk itself, or more specifically the person sat behind it, who looked up as they approached.
“Welcome, you must be Max and Chloe, correct?” They both nodded, Max opening her mouth to speak.
“I’m Max, this is Chloe. Sorry we’re a few minutes late, we got a little lost.” The woman behind the desk looked up from her screen and smiled widely. Chloe gave her the once over and could guess that the woman was in her mid forties due to her slightly greying hair, still, her warm smile gave Chloe some comfort that they had in fact chosen a good therapist.
“It’s completely fine! We know it’s not the easiest place in the world to find, so we usually give quite a bit of leeway with timings. I’ll page Dr. Thomas and let her know you two have arrived.” Both girls thanked the receptionist and moved to sit down on one of the couches that lined the wall beneath the window, Max leaning over and picking up a music magazine as Chloe leant her head on Max’s shoulder, reading along with her girlfriend. After a few short minutes, a door, set flush into the wall, swung open and a slim, young looking doctor stepped into the waiting room, eyes glancing around before settling on the two girls who both looked up.
“Ah, you two must be Max and Chloe. My name is Dr. Sue Thomas, please, follow me.”
“How are you two feeling today?” Chloe sat next to Max on a couch about the same size as the one at home, except this one is a boring black couch instead of the storied couch back at home.
“Nervous, if I’m totally honest.” Chloe spoke with a shake in her voice, Max grabbing her hand and giving it a tight squeeze.
“Same, I haven’t really had a good experience with ‘mental health professionals’, but I’m looking forward to being able to finally sort some of our stuff out…” Max looked at Chloe with a nervous look in her eyes, causing Chloe to press a soft kiss to her forehead as Dr. Thomas, who was looking through a series of paper notes on a clipboard as well as a few things on her MacBook, finally looked at the couple with a sincere smile.
“I can see, I’ve read both your files before this appointment, and I can see that you have both had… struggles, in the past, is that correct?” Both girls just nodded nervously as Dr. Thomas continued to speak as if they had answered her question. “Well, just know that this is a safe space and at any point, if either of you want a break, we can take a five to ten minute break to allow you both to process what's happened, understood?”
“Understood.” Chloe spoke and Max nodded along with her words, Dr. Thomas turned her full attention to Chloe.
“Awesome. Now, Chloe, your doctor's file says that you don’t handle loss that well, especially after the loss of your father, is that correct?” Chloe’s eyes immediately dropped to her lap at the mention of William, her eyes welling up as Max puts a hand on her back.
“Y- Yeah… I uh- I lost two really important people that day… I lost my Dad, and Max had to move to Seattle as well.”
“And how did that affect you, Chloe?”
“It… it hurt, quite a lot… I didn’t feel like-” Chloe was stopped in her sentence by a sob choking its way out of her throat, Max tugging her into her arms as Dr. Thomas turned to Max, deciding not to push Chloe as hard anymore.
“How did losing William and having to move affect you, Max?”
“It really sucked. I… I lost someone who I thought of as a second father, then I had to leave my best friend.” Max tried to keep a steady voice, her words quivering a little when she called William a second father, Chloe tugging herself up and holding Max’s hand in hers.
“And how did that affect your relationship?”
“It nearly destroyed it.” Max blurted out the words before Chloe could speak, Max’s eyes simmering with tears as she spoke up again. “I… I tried to keep in touch, at least a bit… but… but…” Dr. Thomas leant forward and rested a hand on Max’s knee, causing the girl to look at her with teary eyes.
“I know Max, you don’t need to confront that just yet.” Max closed her eyes, her brain swimming with thoughts of pain and hurt as she heard Dr. Thomas and Chloe speak, the sounds of speaking passing into her brain but the words just stopped short, as if her brain had shorted out. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes again to find the world a blurry, spinning mess as she slowly blinked herself back into full consciousness.
“-with Chloe around, right Max? Max?” Max noticed that Chloe and Dr. Thomas were looking at her. She was still a bit dazed from her ordeal, turning to look at Chloe with unfocused orbs as the girl rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Max, are you okay? Do you need a break?” Max nodded and Dr. Thomas stood up, leaving silently as Chloe spoke again. “Hey, talk to me, I’m here for you, now and always. If this was a mistake, we can leave and-”
“No, Chloe… this…” Max let out a shaky breath, putting a hand on Chloe’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “This is worth it… honest.” Chloe nodded at Max, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling before the pair hugged each other. After a couple of minutes, Dr. Thomas walked back into the room.
“Ready to continue?”
Chloe and Max walk out of the therapist office slowly, plodding to the truck. Max climbed into the passenger side with Chloe, instead of getting in, leant on the door and let out a “hmm” noise before speaking.
“Back in a minute.” A mischievous grin flashed across her face as she closed the door, walking around the corner to the street. Max let out a breath, rolling the window down a little to allow some fresh air to blow into the cab. She closed her eyes, breathing slowly and allowing herself to process what happened at therapy. She knew that it was going to be hard, but she didn’t really realise how hard until she started trying to answer questions, knowing how much it hurt her to reveal all of that in front of Chloe.
“Boo!” Max jumped out of her skin, eyes bulging wide as she turned to the window, hand on her heart.
“Kristen?!” Max grinned as she looked over at the girl standing next to the truck, handbag over shoulder, wearing a black leather jacket and red beret.
“Max!” Max climbed out the truck and walked over, hugging Kristen and smiling. “What brings you to Portland?” Max instinctively ran her hand over her arm, glancing down before Kristen looked around at the building, spotting the therapy sign and looking down a little before walking around the truck. “Nice ride.”
“Thanks, it’s not mine though.” Kristen raised an eyebrow at Max’s words, slinking around the truck and resting an arm over Max’s shoulders, a cheeky grin on her face. Max let out a sigh, mock rolling her eyes before continuing. “It’s Chloe’s truck.”
“Chloe? Wait, that Chloe, the one you…”
“Yeah, we’re dating now though!” Max sprung up on the balls of her feet, spreading her arms a little wide causing Kristen to let out a laugh.
“My my, Max Caulfield, hit with the ladies.” A grin spread across Max’s face as she leant on the truck, opening her mouth to speak but being cut off by the woman behind her.
“I can’t help the fact that I am simply charming.” Max’s eyes bulged wide as Chloe wrapped her in a warm hug, Max catching a smirk on both Chloe and Kristen’s faces as she pulled back, jaw agape before exclaiming.
“Wait, you two spoke to each other?!”
Chloe: yoyo, this is the number for Kristen right?
Kristen: yep, whos asking?
Chloe: Chloe, Max’s bff
Kristen: omg she’s spoke so much about you
Chloe: really?
Kristen: yep
Kristen: hey isn’t arcadia bay real close to portland
Chloe: yeah, why?
Kristen: you should come visit, im studying in the city
Chloe: hella good idea, we’ve got an appointment in the city tomorrow if you wanna meet us there
Kristen: alright, send me the address
Chloe: i got u, i’ll do it asap
Kristen: i have an idea for a little trick we can play on Max ;)
Chloe: im all ears ;)
“Oh my god, guys!” Chloe and Kristen laughed as Max spoke, herself bursting into giggles a few seconds later as they all hugged each other.
“Sooo, Chloe tells me that my little wallflower has been blooming… I mean, Max Caulfield, flirting!” Kristen smirked as she spoke, Max’s cheeks going a deep shade of red as Chloe wrapped an arm around her.
“Yeah, I have. It’s been great.” Max’s voice quivered, Chloe tugging her into a hug as Kristen rested a hand on Max’s back.
“It’s okay Max, Chloe did tell me you saved her life.” Max pulled back and smiled at Kristen, who smiled back, she opened her mouth to say more but her phone began to ring, Kristen fishing it out of her pocket before letting out an annoyed and exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, I gotta go, I’ll catch you guys soon.” Kristen walked away, heading further into the car park before stopping next to a beat up VW Beetle, Chloe whistling as Kristen unlocked and climbed into her car, having an animated and clearly frustrated conversation with someone as she started the car, putting the phone on her dashboard - probably on speaker, and pulled her car out of the parking space, waving to Max and Chloe as she drove out of the parking lot.
Chloe turned to Max, a grin plastered across her face as Max tried to look annoyed, her look faltering as she grinned back at Chloe, pulling the taller girl into her arms and kissing her neck. “Thank you for the surprise.” Chloe kissed Max’s neck before licking the spot where she had kissed, causing Max to cringe and pull away slightly. “Ewww.” Chloe leant into Max’s ear.
“I thought you liked me licking you.” Chloe let a hot breath come out of her mouth, causing Max to shiver, blush and lean closer to Chloe, who pulled her into her arms. “She seems really nice.”
“God, you are impossible.” Max laughed, Chloe raising an eyebrow, causing Max’s eyes to widen a little. “Not in a bad way! You just… you just go from making me feel all…” Max blushed even harder, Chloe smiling at her girlfriend. “Make me feel all hot and bothered, then say something else, it’s just so… so you .”
Max leant up to kiss Chloe, her girlfriend leaning down to meet her lips, Chloe’s hands moving to Max’s shoulder and tugging her closer, the pair clumsily climbing into Chloe’s truck, Max pulling Chloe on top of her as they lay on the bench, Chloe tugging the door closed with her boots as Max pulled her into another deep kiss. Max gripped at Chloe’s jacket collar as she held her girlfriend close to her, Chloe grinning into the kiss as she slowly grinds into Max with a needy slowness, Max freezing up and moaning into Chloe’s mouth, Max murmuring something under her breath, causing Chloe to pull away and look at her.
“We… we should get back home…” Max blushed, a smirk crossing her face as she rested her forehead against Chloe’s. “Parents will be there soon…”
“Y- Yeah…” Chloe helped Max sit up before climbing over her, starting the truck and slowly driving out of the parking lot. “You okay? With us being all, you know… feely and stuff, with your Mom around?” Max let out a sigh, slamming her fist down on the dashboard, causing Chloe to look at her, eyes full of concern.
“I…” Max let out a ‘grrr’, rubbing her eyes before speaking. “Honestly, fuck her! Fuck what she thinks, I’m eighteen now, she can’t f- fucking control me!” Max sighed, exhaling all of her rage as she slumped back into the bench, frustration seeping out of her as Chloe turned her attention to the road, one thought pouring through her as she drove back to Arcadia Bay.
‘She sounds just like Rachel.’
Chapter 47
Notes:
Trigger Warning: someone takes on the mannerisms and appearance of someone who has been drugged
Chapter Text
Unknown
“Rachel?” Chloe walked up to her and Rachel’s clubhouse at the junkyard, the sky dark, only being lit up by flashes of lightning, followed by thunder. No rain was falling even though the sky is indicating that it should. Chloe pushed her way through a tarp that was covering the door to the shack, eyes falling on Rachel, who was laying on the couch, black bags under her eyes and her body limp.
“Hey, darling.” Rachel spoke clear and smooth, as though she wasn’t in a state like she’d been pumped full of drugs.
“Rach… what’s…” Rachel looked around, her head moving as though it was full of lead, her hand lazily moving in an attempt to indicate her body.
“It’s… it’s what I last remember.” Rachel closed her eyes, the bags vanishing and her strength returning as she sits up, indicating for Chloe to sit next to her. “It’s… I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Chloe.”
“W- What do you mean? I-” Chloe tried to continue speaking, but Rachel cut her off by pressing a finger onto Chloe’s lips.
“Shh. You deserve the truth, to save you some pain, and help you move on to be with Max.” Rachel watched Chloe take a deep breath, taking the girl’s hands in her own as she shifted closer to Chloe. “I’m dead and buried. I don’t know where, but-”
“NO! You can’t be dead! You…” Chloe fell silent, the cogs in her mind turning as Rachel pulled her into a hug, kissing her on the head softly before speaking.
“I am, Chloe… I’m sorry, it’s how I’ve been helping you, Max and William. It’s… it’s hard to tell you this, I know it’s eating you inside, but you’re figuring it out.”
“That’s how you saved Max, from whatever the fuck tried to eat her brain up and leave her half-dead. Because you’re…”
“Yeah. Now, you’ve got to wake up. Go, be with Max, help her, please. I’ll try and be here if you want to talk.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She thought it wasn’t her place, didn’t think you should find out by someone who didn’t even know me. Now, see you soon Chloe.”
April, Week 2, 2014
Chloe awoke slowly, her nap having been… intriguing. She sat up, looking around before deducing that Max must be downstairs. She listened out, hearing four voices talking downstairs. ‘Ah, Max’s parents must be here.’ Chloe grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes, the sting of tears subsiding as she rolled off of the bed, tugging her closet open, grabbing a loose t-shirt and skinny jeans, eyes rolling over a jacket before shaking her head, grabbing her phone from the side of the bed, unplugging the charger. She turned to leave before stopping, slowly turning back to the bed and headed back over, reaching under for the metal tin of trinkets she kept.
She opened it up, pulling out the stuff she kept inside, the picture of Rachel causing her eyes to water again. She placed it to one side, grabbing a polaroid of Max she had snapped recently to keep in her box of trinkets, holding it close to her chest before placing it into her jeans pocket, tapping it softly. She fished through some of her other box stuff, grabbing a broken necklace that she kept in there.
Rachel’s necklace.
Chloe held it close to her chest, closing her eyes, her breathing slowing as she found herself relaxing.
“Fuck. You. Asshole! All you do is smoke weed and sell it to fucking Blackwell kids!”
“You fucking whore! You do nothing but bitch and whine. I swear, I don’t know how bulldog puts up with your fucking bullshit.”
“What the fuck Frank? Why you bringing Chloe into this bullshit?”
“Because she’s a bad fucking influence.”
Chloe threw the necklace down, eyes wide and breathing heavy, her mind racing with what she just heard. She didn’t know when or how, but when she looked down, she found that her jeans were stained with tears. She shook her head, standing up and quickly packing everything away, sliding the box under her bed before walking out of her room, turning to the stairs before stopping when she saw Max looking out of the window in the hall.
“Max? You okay?” Chloe whispered, carefully plodding over and wrapping her arms around Max’s waist.
“Hmm?” Max turned her head towards Chloe, her eyes glazed over before blinking hard. After a few seconds, Max nodded a little, turning around and hugging Chloe. “Yeah, just… just nervous. I was waiting for you before heading down… I just… I don’t want any arguments or shit from my Mom.”
“That’s understandable Max, I’m…” Chloe let out a sigh, all the arguments between herself, David and Joyce running through her mind. “I’m not sure exactly what you’re going through, but I’m always here for you, no matter what.” Chloe tugged Max into a tight hug, giving her a squeeze and a kiss on the forehead. “So, do you wanna head down?”
“Uhhh…”
“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. C.” Chloe walked into the lounge, heading straight to the seat Joyce was sitting on, giving her a quick hug and whispering something into her ear, Joyce nodding slightly before turning to Vanessa and Ryan.
“Excuse me for a moment, daughter being a pain in my ass again.” Joyce stood up, giving Chloe a light slap on the arm before walking upstairs, Chloe stealing her seat and smiling.
“Chloe! Oh my, you’ve grown something fierce!” Ryan exclaimed, throwing his arms up slightly and rising to his feet, pulling Chloe into a hug, Chloe returning it before turning to Vanessa.
“Chloe, it’s nice to see you again.” Vanessa smiled at Chloe, also pulling her into a hug but not rising to her feet, as Chloe pulled away, Vanessa’s smile flattened into a slight frown, accentuated by pursed lips. “Been a good influence on Max, I hope.”
Chloe felt herself take a step back, quickly sitting down and fiddling with the hem of her tank top. “Yeah, she’s influenced me more than I have her to be honest.” Chloe felt her cheeks flush a little with annoyance as Vanessa took in her words, pondered and opened her mouth to speak.
“I see. So, maybe you can tell me why Max has been getting into fights.” Chloe took a deep breath, finally seeing the side of Vanessa that Max had warned her about. “It seems more like something…” Vanessa squinted at Chloe, the girl adjusting to sit on her hands in an attempt to cover the bruises and cuts. “Something you would do.”
“Vanessa, cut it out.” Ryan put a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder, his muscles tensing slightly as Vanessa let out a heavy sigh, a look of anger crossing her face.
“Fine.” The trio sat in silence for a few minutes before Vanessa stood up. “I’m going for a bit of fresh air.” She leant down and whispered something into Ryan’s ear before walking out the front door. Chloe pulled her phone out of her pocket, shooting Max a text, telling her that Vanessa had gone outside, getting a thumbs up emoji back before slipping her phone back into her pocket.
“Max is just coming down now.”
Chapter Text
“Max, darlin’, you alright?” Max turned to see Joyce slowly climbing up the stairs, hand on the railing as she turned at the top, walking over to the window that Max was still standing next to.
“Not really…” Max rubbed her temples, Joyce pulling her into a hug, Max resting her head on Joyce’s shoulder as she began to softly cry.
“Wanna talk about it?” Max nodded, pulling away and wiping her eyes.
“I uh… last time I saw my Mom, was after I’d moved into Blackwell, she’d driven down at the start of the Christmas break to pick me up for the holidays…” Max sniffled, Joyce rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. “We got into an argument about some bullshit, and it ended with her leaving me in Arcadia Bay…”
“Oh darlin, you should’ve come over.”
“I know Joyce, I know… but I was all over the place… Kate took me out to lunch on Christmas Day. S- Should we go down?”
“Not yet, Vanessa is still down there, I don’t want y’all falling out.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever recovered from all our arguments and other bullshit. She…” Max pinched the bridge of her nose, Joyce pulling her into another hug. “God Joyce, she didn’t even treat me like her daughter. She treated me like one of her lawyer employee people.”
"How do you mean?"
April, Week 3, 2009.
“Maxine! Come down here right now!” Max let out a disgruntled sigh.
“Sorry guys, I’ll be right back.” Max took her headphones out of her ears, dropping them onto her desk before muting her microphone and audio on Teamspeak, slipping out of her desk chair and padding out of her bedroom, flicking her bedroom light off and walking into the hall, plodding downstairs slowly before walking into the kitchen.
“Maxine, mind telling me what you were doing last night?”
“I was playing with some of my friends. It wasn’t that late-”
“Maxine, my daughter does NOT stay up until 10pm playing games with her friends. She is in bed at a responsible time for the next day.”
“But, why though? It’s a break, it doesn’t seem fair that you and Dad get to stay up late whilst you both have work but I have nothing and I have to go to bed early!” Max stomped her foot, causing Vanessa to stand up, her face one of fury as she walked around to stand directly in front of Max, a finger pointing at her.
“I don’t care if it’s a break Missus, you WILL go to bed when I tell you, or I will take your PC cable and phone with me to work and leave you with nothing to do all day.” Max bit her lip and turned away, she wanted to retort, but at the same time she didn’t know what to say and she didn’t want to get into any more trouble.
‘ Dog, Chloe would know what to do…’ Max pondered for a few more seconds before she heard the latch on the door go, Ryan walking into the kitchen and placing his bag down on the chair.
“Hey hun, heya Max-” He froze when he saw Vanessa standing in front of Max, finger in Max’s face and her own visage one of anger. “Ness, why don’t you and me talk about this, and let Max go back upstairs?” Max looked at him, a pleading thankfulness in her eyes as she turned and ran back upstairs, tears forming in her eyes as she slammed her bedroom door closed, closing teamspeak and shooting Kristen a text saying that she’ll be back on soon before crying in her bed, phone clutched to her chest.
April, Week 2, 2014
“Oh Max, that’s awful…” Joyce drew Max into her arms again, holding the girl close as she broke down, sobbing softly into her shoulder. After a few minutes, Max’s phone softly buzzed in her pocket, causing both women to pull back as Max fished it out, reading the screen before turning and looking out of the window.
“S- She’s gone for a little while… c- can we head down please?”
“Of course darlin’, it’s your choice.” Joyce put her hand on Max’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, Max smiling and wiping her eyes as the pair both headed downstairs, Max walking into the lounge before sitting next to Ryan, pulling him into a big hug.
“Woah! Surprise Max bear hug? Suppose I’m overdue, hope you haven’t blown the budget on Chloe.” Max smiled as she hugged Ryan, squeezing him extra tight and causing him to lightly tap her back, Max pulling back and smiling. “Good to see you too, kiddo.”
“Thank you for coming… I uh-” Max sniffled, Chloe bolting to her side in an instant, wrapping her arms around Max and holding her close. “I don’t think I could’ve handled Mom…”
“You don’t need to worry, Chloe gave her a right talking to. I haven’t seen her that flustered in a long time.” Max turned to look at Chloe, who gave her a warm smile and a kiss on the forehead before nodding.
“I got you, Maxo.” Joyce handed Max a glass of water, the girl taking a long drink before placing the glass onto the Price’s coffee table. Chloe nudged Max, causing her to move over and Chloe to sit down, tugging Max on top of her, Ryan laughing as the pair nearly fell off of the sofa as Joyce sat back down on the dining chair she had pulled over from the kitchen.
“Oh, by the way, I brought you both a surprise from Seattle.” Ryan waved his hands around jazz-style before grabbing three bags from around the side of the sofa, Max and Chloe peeking inside before bouncing excitedly.
“Oh my god! You- you’d really give me your PS3? And you brought my PS2.” Max peeked into the third bag, it being full of games for both consoles.
“Of course! Recently picked up the PS4, so I don’t need this old girl anymore. I also brought you both some games that I know are co-op multiplayer. A certain someone sent me a list of games that she’d want to play with you.” Ryan looked at Chloe, the girl grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
Suddenly, they all heard the door unlatch and open, closing softly as Vanessa walked around the corner, tears staining her cheeks and her eyes red rimmed.
“I’m sorry…” She spoke with a small voice, looking at Joyce first, then Ryan and then at Chloe, eyes hardening up when she saw Max sat on Chloe’s lap. “Wha- what?”
“What? It’s just a hug Mom, jesus.” Max looked away, her eyes filling with annoyance as Chloe rested a hand on her shoulder, Ryan looking between the two before standing up.
“Well, I’d love to stay, but me and Ness have a meal reservation to get to.”
“Of course! Go and enjoy yourselves. Welcome back to Arcadia Bay.” Chloe spoke with faux friendliness towards Vanessa and genuine friendliness towards Ryan, who smiled back before guiding Vanessa out of the house, Chloe hopping up and quickly locking the door behind them.
“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Max slammed her fists into the couch, tears pouring out of her as she continued to pound her fists into the couch even as Chloe wrapped her arms around Max’s waist, holding her tightly and kissing her on the head, Max collapsing into the couch and sobbing into the cushions. “I’m so- sorry…” Chloe rolled Max over and tugged her into her arms, sitting down on the couch and holding Max in her arms.
“It’s okay darlin’, she’ll come round at some point.”
Chapter Text
Max, Chloe and Joyce sat together for a few hours after what happened, Joyce giving Chloe “special permission” to drink downstairs, inevitably resulting in Max, Chloe and Joyce sitting on the sofa, Max and Chloe snuggled up, drinking hot chocolates mixed with a small amount of liquor, Joyce just enjoying a normal hot chocolate as the trio watched Friends on TV. After a few episodes, Joyce reached over and changed the channel over to the news, Max unconsciously tensing up in Chloe’s arms, placing her hot chocolate down on the coffee table and taking Chloe’s hands in her own.
“And now, the weather. Meteorologists have forecast that a freak storm is going to sweep through Arcadia Bay in the coming days, make sure you bring any furniture and other outdoor ornaments inside, keep windows and doors closed as much as possible, and if you have to travel, drive slowly and avoid doing anything dangerous. Stay safe, Arcadians!”
Now it was Chloe’s turn to panic, placing her hot chocolate cup down on the coffee table and swallowing hard, turning to her Mom. “H- Hey Mom, c- can we watch something else please.”
“Of course darlin, you look like you’ve seen a ghost, you okay?” Joyce reached over and placed a hand on Chloe’s head, feeling for her temperature.
“Yeah, I just need five minutes, I guess.” Chloe tapped Max’s shoulder, the girl moving to her feet and letting Chloe rise from the couch, both of them walking upstairs. The pair walked into Chloe’s room, Max closing the door as Chloe began to pace around.
“Chloe, what’s going on?” Max walked over and rested a hand on the shoulder of her girlfriend, giving it a reassuring squeeze as Chloe turned to Max, a look of worry on her face.
“Max, I need to tell you something, something I dreamt…” Chloe took a deep breath, Max tugging Chloe into her arms as Chloe regained her composure. “I dreamt about you, only you, and a storm… I…” Chloe took another deep breath, Max cutting her off.
“You were dead…” Chloe nodded and Max let out a soft yet high pitched noise as she pressed her head into Chloe’s shoulder, tears dripping softly onto Chloe’s skin as Max cried.
“A storm hit, you went to the treehouse and survived… but… but Arcadia Bay didn’t.” Max pulled away from Chloe, both girls' eyes filled with worry.
“No. I refuse.” Max stood up, opening her messenger bag and pulling out all of the photographs inside. “I refuse to let Joyce and Kate and Vic and all of them die because of some bullshit, probably to do with us.”
“Max, slow down-”
“NO! I refuse to slow down, I refuse to let any more people die.”
“MAX!” Chloe near-screamed, Max freezing as Chloe calmed herself back down. “I think… It might have happened because of me dying.”
“There is one person we can ask.”
“Rachel?”
“William.” Max stood up, grabbing her hoodie and slipping it on before sliding Chloe’s window open, turning to face Chloe who was still sitting on her bed. “You coming? I will walk there if I have to.”
“Fine.” Chloe sighed a little and stood up, grabbing her coat, cigarettes and truck keys before following Max out of her bedroom window.
“William. Answer us, please.” Max stood in front of William’s grave, in the same position she had been for nearly ten minutes - right foot tapping rhythmically to no beat, arms crossed and voice hushed to avoid scrutiny or detection from the prying eyes of the graveyard staff, worried that they might be kicked out.
“Max, let’s go, Dad isn’t gonna answer today.” Chloe turned to leave, Max letting out a dejected sigh before turning and walking away, they were nearly out of the graveyard before they heard a voice carry across the dim yard, echoing around them.
“Wait.” Max and Chloe both froze, turning to see Rachel standing behind them. “Wait, please.” Chloe looked down, eyes scrunched shut. Max rested a hand on Chloe’s back, rubbing it up and down softly as Chloe took deep breaths.
“Rachel.” Chloe took a few steps towards Rachel, Max holding her hand and walking behind her.
“Chloe.” Rachel looked down a little, not moving closer or away from Chloe as she stopped in front of her.
“What the actual fuck is going on?” Chloe let out a hard exhale after she spoke, her fists clenching and unclenching.
“What do you mean?”
“You damn well know fucking what. Let’s start with the weather?” Max flinched a little at Chloe’s tone, feeling sorry for whatever was left of Rachel, stood in front of her girlfriend and getting a mouthful for her trouble.
“I can’t… I don’t… It’s complicated, Chloe.”
“Not fucking really, just…” Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose. “Is it happening because of Me and Max?”
“Yes.” Chloe scrunched her eyes closed, Max tugging her into a hug. Rachel opened her mouth to continue, then closed it and deliberated for a few minutes before speaking again. “Let me show you something.”
The world around them began to shimmer, transforming around the trio until they found themselves in the gym at Blackwell, the walls covered in ‘Class of 2015’ banners and bunting. Through the illusion, the muffled sound of Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer was playing over a speaker system out of sight. Max and Chloe pulled out of each other's embrace and Rachel focused the vision, the music fully coming through as they saw a few things. Firstly, they saw themselves, Max in a blue and gold dress with a matching pair of Vans, Chloe was wearing a sleeveless suit shirt, black skinny suit pants and her patented boots, dancing romantically to the music. The second thing they spotted was Victoria and Kate doing the same thing nearby, dancing in each other's arms as the music played. Finally, they spotted a figure they couldn’t quite make out, watching from the side of the room. They were sitting at a five person table that was covered in glasses and party food, one of the chairs had a white leather jacket on.
“I recognise that jacket… I had it in the old timeline.” Chloe smiled a little, wondering how she would get it in the future. Three of the other chairs had ‘Class of 2015’ varsity jackets on the back, the mysterious figure sat on the final chair. “Who is that, Rachel?”
“I… I don’t know.” Max and Chloe both looked at Rachel before looking at each other with looks of concern on their faces.
“We’ve seen enough. We believe you, the world won’t end next week.”
“I haven’t quite finished yet.” Rachel returned them back to the graveyard, no one having noticed anything strange that happened. “You two need to slow down, stop trying to save the world all the time.” Rachel rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “You’ll solve the mystery a lot quicker by enjoying life with Max and your friends, time will pass quicker and figure it all out.” Rachel leant forward, kissing Chloe on the head before turning to Max.
“And you, Max. Look after her, keep her safe and make sure she takes things slowww.” Max let out a little giggle as Rachel accentuated the word ‘slow’. “Your future, both your futures, depend on each other, but you need other people. You need friends. You have each other back, you don’t need me right now.”
“But-”
“No buts, Chloe.” Rachel paused, looking at Max and mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ before continuing. “I love you, Chloe. But you have someone who can love you better than I ever did, you don’t need me anymore, not now you have Max back.” Rachel began to disappear. “Now, go, both of you.” Chloe saluted a little, a smirk across her face as Max waved at Rachel.
“Let’s go Maxo, let’s go enjoy life.” Chloe and Max tugged each other into a hug, walking and hugging back to Chloe’s truck, as they clambered into the cab, Max finally spoke.
“Hey, wanna get the group together?” Chloe raised an eyebrow at Max.
“What, with your parents in town? You sure, dude?”
“They’ve just driven in from Seattle, they’re going to be hella tired. I doubt they’ll be out and about tonight.” Max gave Chloe a genuine unfiltered smile, Max also giving Chloe’s leg a squeeze as Chloe tugged her phone out of her pocket, opening Google Maps as Max pulled out her own phone and opened WhatsApp.
“Fuck it, why not.” Max fist pumped and opened the group chat, fingers tapping on the screen quickly, Chloe’s phone buzzing a minute later, her eyes going a little wide and a grin crossing her face.
Max: Hey guys
Max: Wanna go out together tonight?
Dana: Sure, don’t have anything going on.
Taylor: Thought you’d never ask.
Courtney: Down, where?
Juliet: I’m down, we drinkin?
Max: up to you
Juliet: drugs too?
Chloe: not tonight, don’t have any on us
Kate: Can viccy come? She solemnly swears to be chill
Max: I don’t mind, any objections?
Chloe: ask vic if she minds steph being there
Chloe: also, do any of u mind if steph is there
Taylor: No way shes back in town
Chloe: just text me
Taylor: oh my god thats crazy
Kate: viccy doesnt mind if steph is there
Max: great, its sorted
Courtney: got a venue idea, i’ll shoot chloe the address and pick up the blackwell folk
Kate: see you soon!
Max: awesome, see you all soon
Max and Chloe both shared wide grins as they sat in the truck. It was around 7pm, so they had at least a few hours to enjoy time out with friends until curfew, not that any of them actually listened to curfew. Chloe started her truck, the vehicle purring to life as she pulled out of the graveyards parking lot, driving into the more posh area of Arcadia Bay, where people like the Prescotts and the Gingrichs lived.
“Couple things.”
“Shoot.”
“One, gonna need to get some beers and snacks from somewhere and two, when we pick Steph up, you are gonna need to shuffle over.”
“Okay. Wait, Steph, as in Steph Gingrich?”
“One and the same, why?”
“Saw her name somewhere in Seattle. Can’t remember where.” Max scratched the back of her neck, bolting upright. “I remember, she was looking for someone to share a room with in Seattle.”
“Oh, surprised her parents didn’t offer to help…” Chloe frowned, Max not pushing any further as the drew up outside the Gingrich house, Max and shifting over so that she’d be the middle of the upcoming human sandwich. After a few minutes, the door to the house opened and a figure stepped out of the maw, closing the door before skipping down the steps and towards the truck. As they approached, Chloe tugged Max closer, coiling her arm around her girlfriend and whispered in her ear. “Steph can be a little… intense sometimes, just warning you.”
“Hey guys.” Steph opened the door to Chloe’s truck and slid in, fist bumping Chloe before turning to Max. “You must be Max. Kristen told me a lot about you.”
“Wait, you know Kristen?” Max let out an exasperated sigh before turning to Chloe, her girlfriend sporting a wide cheeky grin. “And you didn’t tell me!” Chloe quickly threw her hands up, kissing Max on the forehead and giving Steph a high five. Chloe started the truck up, driving to the place they were partying.
“Yeah, we bunked together a bit in Seattle for a few weeks during summer, when she found out I’d grown up in Arcadia, she would not shut up about you and Chloe.” Steph laughed, tugging Max into a loose hug, before changing the subject. “So, where we going?”
“Old haunt, remember the barn?”
“Fuck yeah I do, we chilled there all the time before I had to leave.” Steph looked down, a look of sadness crossing her face. Chloe noticed and reached her hand behind Max and gave Steph’s shoulder a squeeze.
“You had to leave? I thought you left on your own.” Steph looked down a bit, Chloe giving her another squeeze.
“Nah, parents kicked me out.”
“I’m sorry Steph, I didn’t know.”
“It’s all good Chloe, got a good place in Seattle, studying for a good job.” Max smiled, being able to guess where she was studying.
“Came back for the spring?”
“Whilst parents are away, yeah. They didn't know I had a spare key.” Steph winked and held up a key on a chain.
“Damn, Steph, I see I’m surrounded by crazy people.” Max rubbed the back of her neck as Steph laughed.
“How do you know you aren’t the crazy one here.”
“Sometimes Steph, with this one.” Max indicated to Chloe, the punk laughing as Max continued. “Sometimes I feel like the crazy one.”
Chapter 50
Notes:
Happy chapter 50!
Thank you all for the kudos and feedback, it's been great fun writing these first 50 chapters and I can't wait to write 50 more.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The truck pulled up to the barn and drew to a halt at the big barn doors, the trio hopping out of the truck and Chloe grabbing some supplies that she had picked up from a convenience store in town. Max took a couple of bags from Chloe and Steph took the crate of beers, the trio walking up to the barn to find the doors open and both Victoria’s and Courtney’s car pulled up inside.
“Damn girls, you’ve done a good job.” Max smiled as she looked around, some string lights hanging loosely over some of the more accessible parts of the barn. In the middle of the space was a large wooden spool holder that had a sheet stapled over the top, a small speaker that was connected to a MacBook with an aux cable and a USB stick in one of its ports. Victoria was sitting next to the MacBook, tapping away on the trackpad.
“Any music you all want?” Victoria looked up from the laptop, looking around before resting her eyes on Steph, the other girl’s eyes locking onto Victoria’s. “Hey Steph.”
“Hey, Vic.” Victoria stood up and walked over, looking Steph up and down before letting her eyes rest at her feet.
“Look, I know we haven’t been the best of friends, I said…”
“I know what you said, Vic.” Steph crossed her arms and Victoria closed her eyes.
“I just want to say…” Victoria looked up at Steph. “I’m sorry.” Steph took an unconscious step back and bumped into Max, who had gone out to make sure there was nothing else in the back of the truck for the party, the knock causing her to fall onto her rear and let out an ‘oof’ sound. Steph turned around and gasped a bit, helping Max up before turning back to Victoria.
“It’s okay Vic.” Victoria smiled at Steph who let a slight smile grace her own lips, the pair turning back to the gathering of people at the party. “Who would’ve thought that a group like this would’ve hung out together? I mean, most of you were in the Vortex Club and seeing as Nathan isn’t snooping around and Chloe is here, something must’ve changed.” Victoria opened her mouth to speak but instead let out a slight screech as a figure attacked her behind, wrapping her into a hug.
“Surprise!” Kate grinned as Victoria cursed at her, eventually climbing off of Victoria’s back and resting herself back on the ground. “You must be Steph, name’s Kate.” Kate held out a hand and Steph took it, giving it a shake.
“That’s me alright, good to meet you, Kate.” Kate smiled at Steph and went to speak before she was interrupted by Victoria, the pair moving off to a corner of the barn to speak privately.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think it looks awesome, who did the design.” Steph ran a hand down Chloe’s tattoo, fingers tracing over the butterflies.
“Me and Rachel. Joint effort.” Chloe smiled at Steph, who let out a sigh before sitting next to Chloe, taking a beer offered to her by Courtney.
“So, what ended up happening between you and Rachel, only if you want to, of course. I saw on the news what happened.”
“Uh… mind if we talk about this later? It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s just…” Chloe trailed off, looking down and letting out a pensive sigh.
“My bad Chloe.” Steph tugged Chloe into a loose hug, rubbing her back and waving Max over, the girl taking over the hug.
“It’s okay Steph, I know you two were close.” Max looked at Steph, pondering for a few seconds before speaking.
“When did you last speak to Rachel?” Steph pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolling up and down until she tapped on the screen a few times. “January.” Chloe perked up.
“That’s when she disappeared, what did she say to you?” Steph handed Chloe her phone, Max mouthing ‘thank you’ at her.
Rachel: Hey Steph, im heading to portland soon if you wanna meet up.
“She knew you were in Seattle.” Steph nodded, rubbing her eyes a bit.
“Yeah.” Steph looked around before whispering to Max and Chloe. “I want to help you two find Rachel.” Chloe lit up like a lightbulb, a grin crossing her face as she nodded.
“That’s amazing, thank you so much Steph!” Chloe tugged Steph into a hug for a few seconds before pulling away. “Tomorrow, for now, let’s have a fucking good night.”
“Chloe, remember what Rachel said.”
“I know, but-”
“Chloe, it’s not fair on Steph, these powers are fucked up…”
“So? She’ll understand.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know Steph.” Max pinched her nose, letting out a sigh and dropping her hands onto her lap.
“Fine… Fine. We’ll let her help.”
“I’m sorry Max, but I’m not going to turn Steph down or away.” Chloe took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes to try and get some of the drowsiness out of them. “She loved Rachel, before she had to move away, the three of us got up to a bunch of crazy shit.”
“Did you three…?” Max wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Wha-?” Chloe’s eyes lit up with realisation before she blushed a little. “Yeah, it was… wow.”
“Wowser, even?”
“Dude, uncool.”
“Sorry, continue.”
“Anyway, it’s better if we work together. If I know Steph, she isn’t going to give up easily and will probably look by herself.”
“Right. Better to all look together than separately.”
“Exactly. Anyway, wanna head back inside?”
“Sure, it’s hella cold out here.” Chloe wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulder, pulling her into a hug as they walked back inside, Max resting her head against Chloe’s middle.
“You two alright?” Victoria walked over and met them halfway inside.
“Yeah, we’re all good.”
“I’m glad…” Victoria rubbed the back of her neck, Max putting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
“You alright, Vic? You can talk to me.”
“I… I’m trying so hard, Max. Trying to be nice and friendly and… and-” Max pulled Victoria into a hug, rubbing her back.
“It’s okay, Vic. Just be yourself, don’t be some fake version of you. Just maybe avoid being a total bitch all the time.” Max smirked at Victoria, herself smiling at Max’s joke.
“Hey pumpkin. You having fun?” Chloe had left Max’s side when Victoria got emotional, instead heading off to talk to Kate, who looked up from her drink when Chloe spoke, making a muffled ‘mmm’ sound before swallowing her drink and nodding, a smile crossing her face.
“Yeah! This is great, thanks for inviting us all.”
“Of course! We all need a little chill out time as a group.” As Chloe sat down next to Kate, her phone began to ring. “Gimme a minute.” She jogged back outside, taking it out of her pocket and looking at the device.
Unknown Caller
Chloe answered and put the receiver up to her ear, not speaking until the person on the other end did.
“Chloe?” Chloe’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
“Mrs. C.”
“Chloe, i- is Max there?”
“Not right now. What’s the matter?”
“Okay good. Can we talk?” Chloe let out an irritated growl, turning the receiver away to hopefully avoid it being picked up.
“I’m a little busy, can we talk later?”
“Okay… just…”
“Are you okay? You sound totally out of it.”
“Uhh… just a little tipsy is all… in a payphone box.” Chloe could almost see Max’s Mom through the phone, standing in a payphone box, drunk. Chloe didn’t really know how to respond, but thankfully Vanessa spoke again. “Alright, well we’ll talk later then… see you laterrr.” The line went dead.
“What the fuck was that about?” Chloe shook her head, returning to the barn.
Notes:
Just to warn readers, chapters 51-56 are all quite fucked up. I'll update this trigger warning as I publish more chapters, but just to warn you. Skipping is optional and I will write a Chapter Summary/Chapter Note on Chapter 57 that surmises these chapters.
Chapter 51
Notes:
Trigger Warning: drugging
Just to warn readers, chapters 51-56 are all quite fucked up. I'll update this trigger warning as I publish more chapters, but just to warn you. Skipping is optional and I will write a Chapter Summary/Chapter Note on Chapter 57 that surmises these chapters.
Chapter Text
Meanwhile
“Is that her?” A man asked, pointing at a brown-haired woman who was sat at the bar of the club, drinking a glass of wine.
“Yep.” Another man answered.
“Alright, you distract her, I’ll slip it in.”
“Okay.” The man walked over to the woman.
“Good evening, what’s a fine lady like yourself doing here?” The woman looked over at him and looked him up and down.
“Mmm? Sorry, I’m married.” As she spoke, she turned her body towards him, hand moving off of her glass as she put it back on the bar, facing him.
“Come on, one dance?”
“No, I’m just trying to enjoy an evening here alone.” The woman sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “I’ve got enough on my plate without having to deal with…” She shook her head. “Sorry, still, the answer is no.” The man smiled.
“Oh, I didn’t know. I’m sorry, please, enjoy your evening.”
“Say, aren’t you that famous photographer, Mark Jefferson?”
“I am.”
“My daughter is a huge fan.”
“That’s nice. I’m sure your daughter is a fine lady if you are her mother.”
“You flatter me, still married though.” The woman smiled and took a gulp of her wine, unaware that it had been spiked by the other man about a minute prior. Jefferson raised his hands.
“Fair’s fair, have a good night.” He turned and walked out the club, the other man following him.
“Good work Nathan. We’ll wait for her to come outside and bag her there.” They walked around the corner to the parking lot, Jefferson sitting in his car and Nathan sitting in his own, waiting for her to leave.
“Excuse me, Miss?” Jefferson tapped on the window of a payphone box, the brown-haired woman sat inside, shaking. “Are you okay?”
“Y- Yes, must get home…” She tried to stand up and nearly fell over, Jefferson catching her.
“Woah, you are in no state to walk, let alone drive. Let me take you.” She looked up at Jefferson, eyes hazy and unfocused.
“Thank you… m’names… Vanessa.”
“That’s a nice name, Vanessa.”
“M’thank you.” She tried to speak coherently, her words slurring as she did so. After a few minutes of slow walking and manoeuvring, the pair were seated in Jefferson’s car. He turned to face her, the door to her side of the car still open.
“So, where to?”
“Uhh… take me to… to Cedar Avenue, I know sssomeone there…”
“You sure, Mrs…?”
“Caulfield…”
“Okay, are you sure, Mrs. Caulfield?”
“Mmmhmm.” She nodded, not hearing a person approach from behind her.
“Okay, give me a second and we’ll be off.” As he turned to get out of the car, Vanessa felt a pinch in her neck, lethargically moving her hand to grab at the region as she near-instantly passed out from the concoction of drugs in her system.
“Good job, Nathan. I’m proud.” Jefferson fished his wallet out and handed Nathan two hundred dollars. “Go and have a good night, we’re finished here.”
“Okay, thank you, Mr. Jefferson.” Nathan scurried off to his car, driving out of the parking lot as Jefferson tended to Vanessa, who was unconscious in the passenger seat, he leant into her ear and whispered softly.
“Your daughter has been causing me far too many issues, time to give her a bit of a scare.” He got her adjusted so she was sitting in a fairly normal position and made it look like she was asleep.
He then got back into the driver's seat of his car, started the engine and, checking that Vanessa looked natural one more time, drove out of the parking lot and out of Arcadia - to the dark room.
Chapter 52
Notes:
Trigger Warning: very dark chapter, bodily harm, death, bad events mentioned and described including murder and suicide.
Chapter Text
The next morning?
Max awoke with a start, bolting up off of the floor in a cold sweat. She had been dreaming about a storm, great and swirling, creeping up on Arcadia Bay. Max rubbed her eyes and wiped the sweat off of her forehead, she grabbed her phone and checked the time, groaning when it only read 4:55am. She groggily slipped off of the edge of the bed and walked out into the landing, stepping into the bathroom of the Price house and looking at herself in the mirror. She used the bathroom then headed downstairs for a drink. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she thought she saw someone laying in the street outside, she headed back upstairs and looked out of the landing window, eyes going wide when she saw who it was.
‘Mom? What the fuck is she doing here?’
“Max.” Max turned to see Rachel standing behind her, barely visible in the darkness of the night. “Do not go out there. They will get you.”
‘But my Mom…’
“She’s fine. This is a dream. You need to wake up.”
‘No… no no no.’ Max grabbed at her head, looking back out the window at her Mom laying on the ground. When she turned around, she found that Rachel had been replaced.
By herself.
“Hello Max.” Max took a step back, Other Max stepping forward and beginning to close the gap between the two until she was face to face with herself. “Welcome home.”
“Who- who are you?”
“Really Maxine? You don’t know who I am?” Other Max stepped into Max’s personal space, pushing Max into the wall until she felt as if she was going to be pushed into it. Suddenly, she fell backwards, the space opening out to the Two Whales, as if she had come out of the kitchen door. Max quickly ran down the counter, Other Max standing at the door and watching her.
“Who are you?!”
“Tsk tsk tsk.” Other Max shook her head. “Really, I’m disappointed in you. Ya know, all smart, thinking you're so clever, stealing people’s answers, gaslighting them into becoming friends… poor Victoria.”
“She…” Max faltered, looking down. She doubted what she was going to say because it felt right, it felt like she did gaslight Victoria after basically fucking her over in class. Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening them to find herself in the quad outside the main block of Blackwell. She looked around, all the windows covered in blood, with dead birds resting underneath them, the fountain oozing blood and the statue wearing a harrowing face.
Nathan’s face.
“Welcome to school, class is in session.” Other Max snapped her fingers and Max found herself in Jefferson’s class room, hands bound to her chair, cloth sheets wrapped around her stomach, preventing her from leaving. Other Max was standing at the board and, because they were inside and the lights were on, Max was able to see what Other Max was wearing. It was Chloe’s white skull tank top, but it had a bloodstained bullet hole in stomach, Max was able to see right through, the sight causing her to shiver in discomfort. She was also wearing Chloe’s necklace, a few of the others wrapped around a loop of her jeans. She was wearing the pair of boots she recognised from the nightmare she had long ago, when she first came to this timeline.
“Today’s topic, how Maxine is breaking time, and how she can fix it.” She dramatically parted the tables in the middle of the room with a simple push, a ‘come hither’ motion with her index finger causing Max to slide across the floor until she was sat right in front of the Other Max.
“You, you're Max, the one I saw in the bathroom…”
“Who? Oh, that Max? Not exactly, she got it the worst though, I almost feel bad for her.”
“How does she have it worse?”
“Oh, didn’t your precious little Chloe tell you all the details? About how that was you. You from the first time you jumped through time. Well, the first time you remember anyway. That was you after you left to save her. That version of you watched her die, she held…” Other Max trailed her words off, grinning before pulling an impossibly long sheet out of her pocket, holding it up dramatically before letting it fall, revealing a CRT tv on a rolling tray, one of the ones Blackwell used to display videos in class. Other Max clicked the power button and a CCTV-style video feed began to play…
Tape 1 - March, Week 2, 2014.
Fast-forward tape screech sound effect comedy 10 hours - YouTube
“What the fuck?” Max asked Other Max, Other Max just shrugging before indicating to the TV screen as it slowed back to regular “playback” speed.
“Get that gun away from me, psycho!” Chloe pushed Nathan hard, causing him to stumble back, his hand squeezing, the trigger pulling, the slide moving back as a shell was ejected, the muzzle flashing as a bullet exited the end of the barrel, striking Chloe in the stomach. Nathan dropped his gun and stumbled to the floor, hand moving to mouth with shock.
“No!” Max threw herself around the corner, arm outstretched. She felt herself shrink inside of herself, her mind twisting and pulling as pain coursed through her as she was blinded by mixing colours of light, snapping her eyes closed. After what felt like a few hours but was actually a few seconds, she mostly recovered and opened her eyes, time frozen around her, she watched Chloe falling in slow motion, and tried to move to her side, finding herself moving impossibly slowly. She watched Nathan turn to face her, his face still one of horror, his hands slowly trembling from what he had done. After a few seconds, time sped back up, Max catching Chloe’s falling corpse in her arms, her best friend whispering one final word before life left her body.
“Max…”
“No… No… No…” Max began to cry into the body, gripping it tightly as she sobbed.
Tape 2 - March, Week 2, 2014.
“As we stand here today to honor the life of Chloe Price we-”
“Booooooooriiiiiiiing.” Other Max dragged the word out as she fast forward the footage, the funeral passing by speedily as Max watched herself comfort Joyce and David before Joyce offers Max Chloe’s room for a few days, so she can come to terms with her death, Max accepting and David taking her to Blackwell to get her stuff.
“Thank you both… I’m so sorry it was Chloe… it should’ve been me.”
“Max darlin, don’t say that.” Joyce hugged Max before walking out of Chloe’s bedroom, leaving Max alone.
“Geez Chloe, you grew up a lot… I barely changed at all…” Max looked around at the room on a very surface level, not wanting to pry into Chloe’s private life.
“At least you got to see her ‘private life.’ She must be jealous of the Max who got the girl.” Other Max let out a dry laugh, prompting Max to cough loudly.
“Shut. Up.”
“How about no?” After a few seconds, the tape clicked off.
Tape 3 - April, Week 3, 2014.
“Fuck you Maxine.”
“No, you know what, Victoria , fuck you. I didn’t record a girl having been drugged. I wasn’t the one who posted it around online. I wasn’t the one who shared it to the whole world and rubbed it in her face.”
“Geez, sorry-”
“No, Victoria. Fuck your apology, and fuck you. You are an absolute monster. Now she’s gone, and it’s because of YOU!” Max was in Victoria’s face now, having closed the gap and raised her voice after every sentence she spoke. Victoria froze up for a few seconds before turning and running away, crying.
“Maxine.” Max turned to see Principal Wells standing behind her, arms crossed and a look of annoyance on his face. “My office, now.” The pair walked into his office, and suddenly Max felt very nervous.
“Maxine, we need to discuss your… behaviour. We understand that you’ve had a…”
“My best fucking friend dying, yes?”
“Yes. But you stopped studying, you aren’t the girl I accepted to this academy. You’re…” he cleared his throat. “You aren’t the Max we want here at Blackwell.”
“You know, losing your best friend, the girl you loved, will do that to you.” Max felt tears build in her eyes, rage superseding sadness as she continued. “I’m sick and tired of this school holding me back, using ‘homework’ and ‘grades’ as an excuse.”
“I beg your-”
“I haven’t finished. You gave me no support. All of it came from the police, hospital and my parents. Chloe died on Blackwell grounds, you had a kidnapper as a-”
“Woah! Spoilers.” Other Max fast forwarded the footage.
“You know, I heard most of what I said.”
“Did you? The question isn’t what you heard, it’s if you choose to believe it.” Other Max let out another dry laugh before unpausing the tape again.
Tape 3 - April, Week 4, 2014.
Max ran into the bedroom, grabbing the keys to the truck, Chloe’s panda keyring still attached to them, also grabbing her messenger bag and phone from the charging spot on the bedside table before grabbing some clothes from the closet and running outside, clambering into the drivers side of the truck and turning the key, the truck shaking to life and Max putting the truck into gear, driving towards the forest.
“Oh my god…” Max, looking through her own eyes from the TV, finally saw the storm for the first time.
The storm towered over Arcadia Bay, a tornado swirling and grabbing anything in its path, Max pulled to a stop as far into the forest as she could, packing the clothes properly into the bag before sprinting out of the drivers side door and into the forest towards the treehouse. As she approached, the sky began to brighten and clear, resulting in Max entering a sunny and bright treehouse clearing.
“What? How?” Max began freaking a little as she walked around, looking at the conditions in the clearing, most notably the weather, before sitting at the base of the tree, crying into her arms. “Chloe…I wish you were here… I’m so… I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you…” Max sobbed into her arms, not daring to climb into the treehouse in case the storm swept through the place, she pulled a few of the layers out of the bag and used them as makeshift bedding, falling asleep at the base of the tree.
The next morning…
Max awoke, still at the base of the tree, but a lot more relaxed than the day before, she stood up, packing the clothes away and taking some deep breaths before walking through the trees, towards the edge of the forest.
As she left the clearing and went back to the edge of the forest, the trees became sparser and more torn, eventually giving way to the upturned and destroyed truck. Max saw the truck upturned and destroyed and let out a cry of pain, knowing that one of her last links to Chloe was gone.
After a few minutes, and a quick check of the truck for anything she could recover, she walked out the forest proper, looking out over the destroyed town, bits of buildings strewn everywhere, Max gasping at the destruction, the Two Whales sign sticking out of the Blackwell dorm building at the top of the hill and the lighthouse having collapsed. Max began to walk into the town, looking back at the forest one more time before leaving.
“And that's the story of how that version of you came to exist!” Other Max grinned as she pushed the TV back out of the door before checking her wrists as if checking the time. “Oh my, we ran over by a few hours, oh well. I guess I should let you go. Wakey wakey, Maxine, see you again soon.” Other Max giggled into Max’s ear before walking out of the classroom, leaving Max tied and chained up.
“Fuck... you…” Max sighed, closing her eyes and letting her head hang backwards off of the chair, her brain was addled to shit, all of the stuff that ‘Nightmare’ Max had showed her swimming around in her brain, after a few minutes, she found herself feeling sleepy, the world around her melting away into colours, and a few more minutes later, she fell asleep.
Chapter 53
Notes:
Trigger Warnings: Drugging mentioned, kidnapping mentioned
Chapter Text
The next morning, for real this time - April, Week 2, 2014
Max shot up in bed, Chloe immediately by her side, holding her close as her girlfriend shivered in her arms. “C- Chloe…”
“It’s okay Max, you’re okay, I’ve got you…”
“T- Time…”
“It’s 9am…” Chloe hugged Max until she’d calmed down, the pair rocking softly on Chloe’s bed until Max finally stood up.
“I saw the storm in my nightmare…”
“Yeah? Oh god, Max… I’m so sorry.”
“It’s uh… god Chloe, it’s so fucked up… I saw a version of me, like a twisted nightmare version of me, they showed me the first timeline, after I left and you…”
“Oh…” Both girls stayed in silence for a few seconds before Chloe spoke up again, hoping to shift the conversation away from Max’s nightmare, for Max’s sake. “Steph called, and was wondering if we wanted to start looking for Rachel today.” Max immediately spoke before Chloe had a chance to say anything else.
“Yes. We should start today, get as good a headstart as we can.”
“Okay, want some breakfast?”
“Sure… cereal?”
“I was thinking of Belgian waffles at the Two Whales.” Max grinned.
“You know how to cheer a girl up.” Chloe returned the grin, poking Max in the side before kissing her on the forehead, then the lips. Max and Chloe both dressed before grabbing their phones and keys, Max tucking her head through the strap of her bag. The pair descended the stairs and headed out the front door. The girls climbed into the truck, Max sitting in the middle with her bag resting against her, she kissed Chloe on the cheek before letting her girlfriend focus on driving so she could focus on the nightmare she’d had.
‘The nightmare, oh dog…’ She let out a shaky breath, flexing her hand slightly as she rested her head on Chloe’s shoulder, the girl letting out a ‘mm’ noise. ‘That Max… she looked so sad… that’s the first time that whatever it is has really gotten through into my dreams… I wonder why Rachel couldn’t protect me…’ She closed her eyes tightly, trying to get the questions out of her head, a frustrated growl coming out of her throat as she sat back up.
“You okay? I know nightmares can fuck you up.”
“Yeah, I’ll be okay… With you, I’m always okay. I love you, Chloe.”
“I love you too, Max.”
“Well, hey girls, what can I get you two?” Chloe and Max both grinned at Joyce as she walked over with a pot of coffee, both girls having a cup of coffee each and ordering Belgian waffles. A few minutes after they ordered, Steph walked into the diner and headed over to them, a serious look on her face.
“Hey, you okay Steph?”
“No, something fucked up happened.” Max’s face immediately became concerned.
“What happened, Steph?”
“My parents came back early and found me there, they were pissed.” Chloe closed her eyes tight, Max grabbing her balled up hands. “I need a place to stay for a few days, just till I can get back to Seattle.”
“I don’t know anywhere…” Steph sat down opposite Max and Chloe, the pair ordering Steph a drink and some food as the trio looked for places to stay.
“I might’ve found a place, just for a few nights.”
“Where?”
“Nevermind.” The trio continued to search and eat until their plates were empty and they were out of places to search for places for Steph to stay. Steph rubbed her temples and groaned.
“I’m so fucking just pissed. They weren’t supposed to be back for a few days.” Steph’s phone buzzed, a small smile crossing her face. “Wow, Mikey just texted me, said I could bunk at his place for a few days.”
“That’s awesome.” Chloe smiled and made a dramatic act out of putting her phone into her pocket, Steph smiling.
“Thank you, Chloe.”
“Of course, Steph. Max, mind if I…?”
“Oh, yeah.” Max stood up and let Chloe out, sitting back down as Chloe rushed off to the toilets. Max and Steph looked at each other for a few minutes before Steph spoke.
“Sooo, how long have you known Chloe?”
“Since we were young, like hella young.”
“Yeah? A while, huh. How long have you loved her?” Max blushed and Steph reached out, grabbing Max’s hand. “I’m only teasing. I’m happy for you. I know you stepped out to speak to her about me yesterday.” Max rubbed the back of her neck.
“Were we that obvious?”
“Kinda, yeah.” Chloe walked out of the bathroom with a concerned look on her face, phone against her ear, speaking to someone animatedly, she walked over quickly, excusing herself to the person on the other end of the line and putting the phone against her chest.
“Max, check your phone, actually take mine.” Max scrunched her brow and took Chloe’s phone, holding it up to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Max, it’s Mom.”
“What happened to her?”
“She didn’t come back last night and the police can’t find her anywhere.” Max’s face fell, her eyes filling with tears.
“Do we know what happened?”
“We think she was drugged at a party and kidnapped by the same person who took that poor girl earlier this year.” Max gasped, the same person who took Kate took her Mom…
Max’s eyes hardened, her jaw tightening and her fist clenching. This was it.
“Anyone see who did it?”
“Nothing so far.”
“Okay Dad, keep me informed.”
“Max, I think it’s best if you come home for a little while to Seat-”
“No, Dad. Not now.”
“Okay Max, I can’t force you. Keep in touch. I love you.”
“Love you too, Dad.” Max hung up the phone and gave it back to Chloe, squinting her eyes a little.
“You alright, Max?”
“My mom was drugged and kidnapped.” Chloe and Steph both recoiled a little in shock. “I think it was the same person who drugged Kate and the others.” Max decided to omit how the ‘others’ were Chloe and Victoria, instead electing to tell Steph a little white lie, hoping that Chloe would pick up on it.
“We need to be careful. Stick together.” Steph spoke up, standing up and grabbing her phone off of the table. The two other girls stood up, leaving a tip for Joyce and headed out.
In the corner, Nathan drank a glass of water with shaky hands, he’d heard a bit of what Chloe had spoken about on the phone, and tried to eavesdrop on as much of the conversation as possible.
‘What the fuck? That was Max’s Mom!’ He gripped the glass of water a bit tighter. ‘I… fuck! I thought Jefferson was different, I didn’t… I thought…’ He took a few deep breaths, watching Chloe’s truck pull out of the parking lot and away. He contemplated his options, including telling Max who it really was who kidnapped her Mom, before shaking his head, taking his phone out and dialing Victoria, the girl picking up after a few rings.
“Nathan?” Victoria’s voice carried over the line, a little amount of background noise that Nathan tried to ignore as he spoke.
“I… I need a friend… It’s about Max.”
“Leave her alone.”
“It’s for her safety…”
“Why? Why do you care?”
“B- Because she’s in danger, and it’s my- my Dad’s fault.” The line went silent. “Vic?”
“I’m here. I’ll reach out to Max, She’ll want to hear it from you.”
“O- Okay…” Nathan nodded slightly, finishing his water and placing the glass carefully in the middle of the table.
“Where are you?”
“Two Whales, right now. I can come by the dorms if it’s easier for her.”
“I think that’s best.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
Chloe gripped the metal object in her coat pocket tightly, hand shaking a bit as she did so. She knew how dangerous this was, if David caught them, not only would she be busted for being on campus, she’d be busted for being on campus with one of HIS revolvers, and everyone else would probably be busted for being with her. She heard the door at the end of the hallway swing open, Nathan walking through. She pressed the send button on her phone that was in the other pocket, watching Nathan walk down the corridor with his hands in the air.
“I’m unarmed.” He says with a wariness in his voice, shaking his hands as if for dramatic effect.
“Pockets.” He quickly took his phone and a few pill boxes out of his coat pockets, a pair of headphones and a key out of his trouser pockets before pulling the pockets out to prove they were empty. When she was satisfied, she took her hands out of her own pockets, picking up his samsung and holding it. “No offence, but we don’t exactly want to take chances.”
“I- I understand.” He nodded, Chloe popping the back off and taking the battery out, handing the phone back to Nathan and slipping the battery into her pocket.
“In here.” Chloe opened the door to Max’s room, Nathan walking in to find a few familiar faces lining the room. Max was sitting on her desk, feet on her chair and a serious look on her face, Nathan spotting a slight undertone of anger in her eyes. To her right was Steph, hands in her pockets, Victoria on Max’s right, glaring daggers at Nathan before softening slightly at Chloe’s thumbs up. On the bed was Kate, Courtney and Taylor and on the couch was Juliet, Dana and a spot for Chloe, who sat in between the two.
“Well?” Max spoke, her voice steady but full of anger. “Who did it?”
“I did.” Nathan raised his hands in surrender but it didn’t stop Max, who lunged at him, Steph and Victoria grabbing her as she tried to punch him. Chloe however, was not stopped by anyone and tackled him onto the floor, her face next to his.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“I can explain!” Chloe didn’t let him go, but gave him a chance to explain. “I was doing it with someone, they told me to slip something into her drink whilst they distracted her. I didn’t know it was her, I thought it was one of the regulars, that’s all, I swear! They’ll kill me if I tell you more.” Chloe looked at Max, who by now had been calmed down by Victoria and Steph. She rubbed her temples before sighing.
“Say we believe you, why would you tell us?”
“Because they’re fucking scary, and very dangerous. And you’re next.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” David was standing in the doorway, baton in hand, a serious look on his face. “Let me talk to you for a second.” He guided Nathan outside and shut the door, Chloe turning to face Max.
“Fuck. I’m so busted.”
“Nah, he was more concerned with protecting Max.” Kate, ever the voice of reason, spoke with a slight smile on her lips. “We should go to the police.”
“Nathan…” Steph let out a sigh. “Nathan might be a bully, but he’s a…”
“He’s a troubled kid, but he’s not all bad.” Victoria backed Steph up, finish her sentence. “He clearly wants to do good, otherwise he wouldn’t have showed up here.”
“That’s true.” Max murmured, rubbing her eyes until they all heard the door open again.
“I…” Nathan let out a shaky sigh.
“Nathan.” Max spoke, cutting him off. “If you help us, we won’t tell the police.”
“And I’ll protect you from your Dad.” David rested a hand on Nathan’s shoulder.
“Okay, I’ll help.”
Chapter 54
Notes:
Trigger Warning: very dark chapter, bodily harm, death, bad events mentioned and described including murder and suicide. Kidnapping occurs in this chapter.
Chapter Text
Monday, 1am - April, Week 3, 2014.
“Think this’ll work?” Steph’s voice trembled as she spoke, Chloe and Victoria sat next to her. The trio were sitting in the back of a police cruiser, two armed officers in the front as the cars drove up the dark forest road towards the old Prescott barn, lights off and sirens not blaring.
“This’ll work.” Officer Berry spoke, his voice level and confident. “And we’ll save her, she’s nothing if not a fighter.”
“I hope so…” Chloe whispered, her voice quiet and concerned.
Concerned about Vanessa, about all the people about to go into that bunker to arrest that monster.
Concerned about his latest victim.
Concerned about Max.
Sunday - 8:50pm - April, Week 2, 2014.
“This the place?” Chloe whispered to Steph and Max, the trio having snuck up to a rather large townhouse on the outskirts of Arcadia Bay, at a time late enough so that the sun had gone down but not late enough for anyone of Jefferson’s usual societal ilk to have gone to bed.
“This is the address Nathan gave us.” Steph looked in through the bars of the gate, eyes darting around for a few seconds before pulling back. “Camera’s, all over. We can’t get in through the front.”
“What about the sides?” Max asked, already moving around the side of the house.
“Max, wait!” Chloe hissed as she spoke, plodding a bit faster than Max and grabbing her back. As she was grabbed, Max turned, a rage filled look on her face.
“What? Why?”
“Because you could get separated, the exact thing we’re trying to fucking avoid .” Steph whispered harshly into Max’s ear, Chloe continuing to speak after Steph. “I know that piece of shit Jefferson took your Mom, but if we rush into this, he’ll get you too. We know he’s your next target.” Max took a deep breath and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose for a few seconds before sighing.
“ Fine , we’ll take it slow.” The trio slowly turned the corner and around to the side of the yard, Steph walking backwards to watch their backs whilst Chloe and Max checked the front with small low powered flashlights.
“Bingo, breaker box.” Chloe grinned as she put her torch in her mouth, pulling out her lockpick set and getting to work on the disk detainer core inside the padlock.
“Are you sure you can pick that? It’s not gonna take normal picks.” Steph, having taken a glance at the lock before turning back to make sure they don’t get jumped, spoke out at a volume just above a whisper, causing Chloe to elbow her softly. “ Sorry. ” She whispered.
“Chloe, lemme try.” Max tapped Chloe on the shoulder, the punk stepping back as Max stepped forward, reaching into her messenger bag and pulling out a test tube with a rubber seal in the top containing a bit of powder. “Lighter, please.” Max held her hand out, Chloe giving her the lighter. Max held the lighter up to the bottom of the test tube for a few seconds, until the power started to crackle. Max handed Chloe the lighter back and indicated for them to back up as she pulled the stopper off of the test tube, throwing the powder on the lock and running, the trio hiding in a decline in the hill. After a few seconds and a loud pop that was followed by a metal clang, the trio climbed back over the hill, Max tucking the test tube and stopper back into her bag.
“Warren?” Chloe raised an eyebrow and Max nodded.
“Thermite.”
“Holy shit, Warren can make thermite?” Chloe asked, a little giddy as Max laughed softly.
“Hello, can we focus?” Steph asked the couple with a serious look on her face, Max and Chloe quickly clearing their throats and straightening out. The trio returned to the site of the breaker box.
“Bingo, lock off.” Chloe grinned as she swung the box open, cursing under her breath at the heat it was radiating as she shook her hand in pain, Steph rolling her eyes and tended to Chloe’s wound with care, cautiously dabbing her hand with an ice pack as Max watched with awe.
“Something on my face?” Steph asked Max, a smirk on her face as she glanced up at the watching girl.
“Uhh… huh.” Max shook her head and blushed, turning back to the breaker box.
“There, all better.” Steph gave Chloe’s hand a little kiss before the pair returned to Max’s side. “So, what’s next?”
“Uhh, I guess we just fuck with the fuzes.” Chloe shrugged, Steph putting a hand on both Max and Chloe’s shoulders before they did anything.
“What if he’s home?” Max turned and flashed Steph a grin.
“No car was on the drive. He’s probably out at his bunker.” Chloe and Steph grimaced a little, Max also grimacing as she spoke. Nathan had told them about the Dark Room, where Jefferson took his victims, and explained to the gathered group what the drugs did. Later, when it was just her, Steph and Chloe, she pieced together what happened to Chloe and Victoria in the other timeline…
Earlier that day.
“What do you mean, you’ve figured out what happened in the ‘other timeline’?” Steph crossed her arms as she sat across from Max and Chloe on the couch.
“Uhh, shit.” Chloe scratched the back of her neck, she opened her mouth to continue but felt time shift around her as Max held her hand up, time rewinding until before she had spoken.
“Steph, we have something we need to tell you.” Steph looked up from her phone, smiling slightly and making a ‘mmm’ noise, nudging the girls to continue. “We can travel through time.”
“That’s… a lot.” Steph spoke with an uncertain steadiness in her voice, squinting at Max and Chloe. “How long has that been going on?”
“About a month and a half for me, and three weeks for Chlo.”
“I see, and how does this work?”
“We hold our hands up and time just… goes backwards.” Chloe spoke this time, instead of Max. “We can both also… travel, through pictures to different times, as long as we’re in said picture.”
“That’s… also a lot to unpack.” Steph scratched her head and scrunched her eyes closed. “Don’t worry about it tonight, but you’re going to have to prove it to me.”
“Okay, we can do that.” Max and Chloe both smiled and nodded, Max returning to her original train of thought. “In one of those timelines, Victoria was drugged, from what Nathan was saying about the stuff Jefferson uses, it was probably him who took her in that timeline.” Chloe slammed her fist down on the bed, a wave of anger passing over her as Max’s words processed in her head.
Max had told her about her being drugged in that timeline, how she looked, how Max felt when she looked at both her and Victoria, how much it hurt her. How she looked like a zombie, how Max’s Mom had been given the same stuff. How he was using it to kidnap girls …
“Let’s get that bastard, tonight.”
“That’s good, at least. It’s probably best if we pull all of them, and just use our flashlights.” Chloe and Max both nodded at Steph before they all began to flick the switches on the breaker box, the lights switching off outside.
“Wait, I’ve got an idea.” Steph searched for the switch labelled gate. “He’s got the same make of front gate as us, and when the breaker trips and a backup comes on, or the switch is flicked back on, the gate opens…” Steph found the switch and flicked it, a metal rattling sound coming from the front of the house.
“Good work, Steph.” Max smiled and quickly jogged to the front of the house. “You two ready?”
“Are you ready, Max? This is a crime.” Chloe’s face went serious, putting a hand on Max’s shoulder. “You could get in trouble for this.”
“Oh please, I’ve already melted his padlock off, that’s a crime in itself.” Max gave Chloe a cheeky grin and Chloe let out a sigh, facepalming as the trio headed inside the compound. They walked up the main path, past the garage and towards the front door. The front door to Jefferson’s house was a big oak-wood single door with a window at the top, slid open to keep some of the early spring heat out of the house, enough space to fit maybe a small box through, but not much else.
Chloe had a lot more success picking this lock as she had it open in a few seconds, the door swinging open, the three girls slipping in and locking the door behind them with the spare key hanging beside the door.
“Stick together, all search the same room.” Max and Chloe both nodded at Steph, who had taken the lead of searching the inside of the house. The three of them headed into one of the side corridors, pushing the doors open one at a time until they found what looked like a home studio - the room was a large space with thick black curtains blocking the windows, an Olympus E-M1 sitting on a tripod that was pointed towards a white wall that looked custom built, judging by the exposed rails in the floor and how it was mounted with rails and pulleys on the ceiling. Steph immediately rushed over to the laptop in the corner, plugging a USB stick in and tapping away on the keyboard, Chloe rummaging through documents as Max looked around in awe.
Even though she knew he was a monster, she still marvelled at the space around her, the actual photography portion containing some of if not exclusively the best equipment on the market, the walls around the room that were out of shot being littered with framed pieces of photography Jefferson had taken. As she looked around, a particular one caught her eye, freshly framed and mounted in a low position where it could be seen all around the room. Max glanced around and grinned when she saw a little portable ladder, carrying it over to where the photo was hanging. She cautiously climbed up the ladder, gripping it tightly until she was at the height she needed, pulling the photo down off of the wall and taking it out of the frame so she could see it properly. When she did so, her blood ran ice cold.
It was Rachel. This psychopath had drugged, photographed and possibly murdered Rachel!
“What is it, Max? Max?” Chloe cautiously picked Max up off of the ladder, placing her on the chair that was in the photography portion of the room, painfully aware that it was not the ideal place to put her.
“This photo…” Max choked out a sob and handed Chloe the picture, her girlfriend’s face contorting into one of pain and anger as she handed the photo to Steph before digging the heels of her hands into her eyes painfully hard.
“This is so, so fucked up… but is exactly the kind of evidence we need.” Steph looked at it for a few more seconds before tucking it into a manila envelope in her backpack, sliding it back onto her back. “Keep looking.”
“O- Okay…” Max nodded slightly, clearly out of sorts as she continued to search the room. As she searched, a feeling of numb hate and anger passed over her like a tornado. ‘How fucking dare he. How fucking dare that piece of shit come to our fucking school, kidnap and drug students, take their pictures, dump them in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes, fucking kill them. What the fuck!’
“Max!” Max turned to see Chloe and Steph hiding, Max ducking into cover as a beam of light passed through a small gap in the shades.
“What the fuck? No one was supposed to be here.”
“I think logging into his laptop tripped an alarm or something…” Chloe shrugged, Max running over to join the pair as they began to sneak their way out of the house towards what hopefully was the back door. “We just gotta get outta here and-”
“What the fuck!” Mark Jefferson, having come into the kitchen through said backdoor to find none of his shit working, was shocked to find three teenage girls in his kitchen, especially Maxine Caulfield. Oh, this was perfect . “You know, Maxine, maybe when a little fucking rat like Nathan tells you that I’m looking for you, you should listen to him!” Jefferson lunged over the kitchen island, towards Max.
“Fuck you!” Chloe pulled her gun out of her pocket, Nathan’s semi automatic handgun. She aimed at Jefferson, squeezed the trigger, and-
Nothing.
No gunshot, no flash, no death. Just… nothing.
“You left the safety on, stupid bitch.” Jefferson spoke with a snark in his voice as he lunged for Max again, the three girls opting to run down the hallway towards the front door. Chloe got their first, fumbling in her pockets for the key.
“Chloe, the key, the fucking key! ” Steph panicked as she spoke, she heard footsteps sprinting towards them and just as Chloe unlocked the door, Jefferson rounded the corner into the hall, sprinting full speed towards them.
Max looked back and knew, she knew he’d get there before they could all get out, so she did the next best thing she could. She grabbed the key from Chloe’s hands, shoving them out of the house, throwing her messenger bag after them before locking the door and throwing the key through the open window at the top of the door, keeping Jefferson from chasing those two.
“GO! GET HELP!”
“MAX!”
Chapter 55
Notes:
Trigger Warning: very dark chapter, suicide, bodily harm, death, drugging, many many bad things mentioned.
Chapter Text
“GO! GET HELP!”
“MAX!” Chloe and Steph both shouted through the door as it slammed closed, a key-shaped object flying through.
“C’mon Chloe, we’ve gotta go.” Steph picked up the key and Max’s bag, her and Chloe sprinting through the grounds and out the front gate, Chloe trying to close it but to no avail as the pair ran back to Chloe’s truck, hopping into the drivers and passengers seats and speeding back towards the center of Arcadia Bay.
“We’re so fucked. The only way we've got to save Max is by getting ourselves breaking and entering charges by going to the police with this evidence.”
“Not necessarily. Take me home. I’ve got an idea.” Chloe gave Steph some side eye, but relented, turning towards the high-end part of town where Steph lived.
“You sure, your parents are there.”
“Fuck them! Right now, we need to get Max back.” Steph turned a little to face Chloe, the punk seeing the serious look on Steph’s face. “For Rachel.”
“For Rachel.” Chloe and Steph both nodded, the truck cruising just above the speed limit through Arcadia Bay, the town being quiet on a Sunday night. A few minutes later, the truck drew to a stop in front of the Gingrich residence.
“Let me do the talking, as soon as you can, go up to my room and put this into my laptop.” Steph handed Chloe a memory stick. “It’s got the latest security and I took the location chip out so he won’t find us. It’s got as much as I could save on it.” As Steph spoke she also handed Chloe her backpack. “It isn’t much, but this is as good as we got in the physical stuff department, mostly just letters from Sean and other crap, along with that photo of Rachel and the couple we took on our phones.”
“Right. Will do.” Steph took a deep breath, walking up to the front door and hammering her fist on the glass center hard, the door shaking as she did so.
“One second!” A masculine voice bellowed through the door and a few seconds later Steph’s dad opened the door, a scowl on his face when he saw who was on his doorstep. “What do you two want?” He turned to Chloe, eyes narrow. “Want to deflower my daughter with that friend of yours again-”
“No Dad, she doesn’t. Our friend has been kidnapped by the same person who kidnapped Rachel. Remember, the girl I told you about?” Steph’s dads demeanor changed instantly, his face going shallow and pale and his voice was small when he spoke.
“Come in, quickly.” The pair quickly stepped into the house, Chloe wiping her feet on the mat to get some of the muck off, Steph nodding to signal that she can keep her boots on. The pair quickly rushing to Steph’s room, Chloe beginning to scan in the physical documents whilst Steph combed through the ones they’d saved on her USB stick. After a few hours, the pair had made a rather substantial amount of discoveries about what Jefferson did exactly with Sean Prescott and all their crimes.
“This is enough to get Sean and Jefferson both put away for life.”
“But it’ll get Nathan fucked over…” Steph looked down, before letting out a sigh. “I’m gonna call him quick.” Steph stepped out, Chloe sliding over and combing over the information again, rubbing her temples before pulling her own phone out, calling David.
“Chloe? Are you okay? You and Max aren’t in Max’s dorm and you two aren’t at home either. Where are you?” David’s worried voice carried over the line and for the first time since the timeline when they made up, Chloe felt sorry for David. She let out a heavy sigh before speaking.
“I’m fine, Steph is fine…”
“What about Max?”
“She’s been taken.” She heard David curse down the line before speaking again. “Jefferson got her, he grabbed her at his home.”
“You went to his home?!”
“It wasn’t my idea. Max wanted to get some shizz on him so we could go to the cops.”
“That’s… That’s not a bad idea.”
“That’s what we think, problem is, we don’t want to fuck Nathan over.”
“He’s on the phone right now, how bad is it lookin?”
“Like he could either get life or be institutionalised.”
“Not if he turns himself in and gets a plea deal.”
“What do you mean?”
“He could get himself a decent spot somewhere if he turns himself in and rolls on Jefferson and his Dad after you send the information over.”
“We don’t wanna get busted.”
“Berry and I will protect you-”
“That’s right Ms. Price, we will.” Chloe let out a shaky sigh.
“Am I on speaker?”
“Yeah, sorry.” Chloe sighed again, gathering up all the documents, putting the important ones on a spare USB stick after making sure it was empty, and ejecting it from Steph’s computer as she came back into the room. “We’ll meet you at the station. Hurry.”
“We’ve got to go to the station, Nathan is turning himself in so we can go get Jefferson’s ass tonight.” Steph helped Chloe gather up the documents, Chloe and Steph tucking them into manila envelopes that her dad had found around the house.
“I know, I spoke to step-douce and Officer Berry.” Steph let out a whistle, gathering the last of the documents they needed and making sure there weren’t any leftovers, especially that photo of Rachel that Max had found.
“Damn, speaking to David, shit must be serious.” Steph and Chloe both let out soft exhales in an attempt to resemble laughter, neither actually in the mood to laugh as they rushed out to Chloe’s truck. As they climbed into the cab, Steph’s phone vibrated, she pulled it out and looked at it, smiling at the notification she had received. “The gang’s gonna meet us down there. Let’s go get your girl back.” Chloe exhaled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she turned the key to her truck.
“For Rachel.”
April, Week 3, 2014.
“We’re here.” Officer Berry stepped out of the car, Steph and Victoria following him, speaking to him outside before Steph hopped into the backseat and Victoria into the front, both looking at Chloe.
“Well?”
“If it goes sour, we split.” Steph spoke softly, holding Chloe’s hands as she spoke. “Otherwise, it should be fine. In a few minutes, Max will be in your arms.” Chloe nodded, feeling for her pocket and pulling the semi automatic pistol out, turning it over in her hands.
“If only this didn’t have the fucking safety on, we wouldn’t be here right now…” Chloe tucked the gun back into her pocket, resting her head on the headrest of the car. She watched as the cops walked up to Jefferson’s car, opening the boot and pulling some boxes out, some cops carrying them to a waiting evidence truck whilst the rest headed into the barn.
The next few hours went by as a blur for Chloe, first, the police had rescued Vanessa from the bunker, but Max and Jefferson were nowhere to be found. Then, back at the station, a cruiser pulled up with a priority prisoner - Sean Prescott. He immediately became hostile at the sight of the girls, having to be restrained by several officers and carried into the cells by his torso and limbs. After that, Chloe’s phone rang with Max’s number, Chloe answering it to hear a cold chilling male voice down the phone.
“Hello, Chloe.”
“Jefferson, you fuck! You let her go, now!”
“That’s no way to speak to anyone, especially not the man who’s got the life of your little lover in his hands.” Chloe’s blood ran ice cold when he called Max her ‘little lover.’
“You keep your fucking hands off her, or I swear-”
“You'll do what? Leave the safety on again. Oh look, she’s waking up, wanna see?” Chloe felt her phone vibrate and the screen flash up with the words ‘ FaceTime - Max ’. Chloe paused, covering her camera with a loose bit of tape she found on a poster hanging on the wall before accepting the call, the video feed from the FaceTime causing Chloe’s blood to boil.
The video showed Max, head hung low, eyes rimmed with black bags beneath them, and very bloodshot, arms and legs bound to a wooden chair with duct tape. She looked as if she had been crying as clearly defined tear streaks were present on her cheeks, her arms and neck were dotted with little marks from where she had been injected with the drugs, Chloe shivering at the thought.
“Let her go, you son of a bitch!” Chloe screamed into her phone, David and officer Berry rushing into the room to find Chloe on the floor, phone on mute and crying as Jefferson left the facetime on, camera flashes and shutter clicks emanating from the device as he took pictures of Max. Berry quickly bolted out of the room, telling someone to try and trace the call as David sat down next to Chloe, slowly and cautiously pulling her into a hug.
“Aww, no response or bile now, huh? Guess you aren’t so tough after all.”
“FUCK YOU, YOU PIG!” Chloe screamed again, her throat sore from the yelling. After a few seconds, Jefferson began to laugh down the phone.
“There you go, see.” Jefferson spoke to Max. “I told you she had it in her. Anyway, I’m gonna go now because I know the police are going to try and trace this call. Say goodnight to Maxineee.” Jefferson held the phone closer to Max who looked up to see what was going on.
“Max, we’re going to save you, I promise.” Chloe spoke but the line went dead before she could finish the word ‘Max’, after a few seconds, she collapsed back into David’s arms, sobbing softly. “F- Fuck… I should’ve stopped her from going… FUCK!” She slammed her fist into the floor, the pain coursing through her hand as she cried. David let out a shaky breath and stood up, carrying Chloe in his arms.
“Let’s get you home to Joyce.”
“Oh, darlin’! I was so worried about you…” Joyce looked at David with concern in her eyes. “Where’s Max?”
“S- She’s missing, Mom…” Chloe cried into Joyce’s shoulder, fresh tears flowing from her eyes as she spoke, Joyce hugging Chloe tightly as the trio moved inside of the house, David closing the door. After a few minutes, Chloe pulled herself out of Joyce’s grip, turning to David. “T- Thank you, David.”
“Of course, Chloe. Even if we don’t get along now, I love you like you’re my daughter, same with Max.” David pulled Chloe into a loose hug, clearly out of his comfort zone as Chloe quickly pulled away, rushing upstairs, Joyce calling up after her. Chloe closed her bedroom door slowly, resting her head against the door until she heard it latch. She turned to face her bed, tugging out her metal box of important trinkets and the tape inside, holding it close before grabbing her old tape player and putting the tape in.
“Hey Chloe, I left you this recording because I knew that uh… that I probably wouldn’t get to talk to you again before I left. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you as soon as I knew… I just didn’t want it to ruin the few days we had left. I’ll try and stay in touch - to call, text and write as much as I can… when we see each other again it’ll be like we were never separated. No matter what though, please remember this, Chlo. I will always, always come back for you, no matter what. No matter if I have to fight the world, I’ll come back to you. I love you. Goodbye.”
Chloe put the tape recorder down on her lap, sparking up her lighter and lighting her pipe, taking a big hit before exhaling all the smoke through the window fan, tears falling into the ashtray she left on her desk from the last time her and Max smoked weed in her room.
Max.
She looked around the room, the weed kicking in as she began to see and hear things, resting her free hand onto the tape.
She saw her and Max, playing pirates on her bed, pretending that the carpet was shark infested waters.
She saw her and Max paint one of her units blue.
She saw them making the time capsule, picking through all of their possessions to give to themselves in the future, and then opening it three years later, on that day.
She saw her nineteen year-old self walk into her bedroom, Max in tow, Chloe lounging on her bed as Max finds a CD and the photo of Rachel, putting the CD into her hifi, Piano Fire by Sparklehorse blasting through the speakers, the pair dancing.
She saw Max rush into the room during the storm, their first kiss, but from the old timeline, watching herself call it a mistake and how much it hurt Max.
She saw the second time around, the kiss she remembers, she watches as Max wakes up in the middle of the night, walking out into the hall, her eyes glassed over.
She felt a prick in her neck, her vision going blurry and a clattering of tiles, a man shouting as Chloe began to fall forward…
Chloe felt herself fall forward, the floor crumbling when she hit it, falling through the floor and landing hard on a car - William’s car. She shuffles off of the car, the wreck bursting into flames as it morphs into the Caulfield’s car, three burning figures appearing - all Max. Chloe rushes forward to try and save them but the fire is far too hot, especially inside the garage, she has to recoil away from the vehicle.
“Chloe, help me…” One of the Max’s says.
“Don’t leave me to die, please.” Chloe closed her eyes, shaking her head.
“You’re not real… you’re not real.”
“I loved you, I saved you, why won’t you save me? Why?” Uncharacteristically, Chloe turned and ran, unable to bear Max’s words any longer. She ran through the garage door and into the lounge, eyes going wide at the person sitting on the couch, paper in hand.
“Hey.” Chloe took a step back but found that the garage door had been replaced with a brick wall, she quickly stepped out into the hallway, backing up from the person approaching her.
“Just like Max told me… you’re-”
“Well done, you figured it out a lot quicker than she did.” The Other Chloe clapped her hands sarcastically. She flicked her wrist and all the lights caught fire, the fence surrounding the house likewise exploding into flames. It was indeed Chloe, with long strawberry blond hair, she was wearing one of Rachel’s plaid shirts, Max’s Jane Doe shirt and Max’s bracelets. She was also wearing a regular, plain pair of cargo pants with some vans. Chloe gave her the once over before shaking her head.
“How the fuck are you here?”
“I don’t fucking know, why did you let her get kidnapped? Why didn’t you save her life? Why didn’t you stop her from killing herself? Why?” Other Chloe clicked her tongue, laughing. “Oh right, because you’re a failure . You always fail, failed at Blackwell, failed with Rachel, failed with David, failed to save yourself from Nathan, failed to stop Max from getting her dumb ass kidnapped by Jefferson, failed to save her from that burning car, failed to stop her from committing suicide. Oh, and with all your tricks and powers, you still failed to save poor old Daddy.” Other Chloe laughed as she finished, Chloe slapping her ‘Nightmare’ self in the face, gripping her hand in pain as the other version of her laughed even harder.
“Oh, by the way, here, inside you, I make the rules.” Other Chloe performed another flicking motion with her hand, Chloe flying into the front door, groaning in pain as she roughly slammed into it, her vision doubled as she felt herself move forward, Other Chloe stepping through the door behind her and dragging her into the street. “For example, look at what you caused because you failed to stop her!” Chloe watched with horror as she saw The Two Whales being torn out of the ground itself, the building and the remains of the surrounding street spinning in the tornado before flying into the lighthouse, causing that to collapse, two separate pieces of the diner floating in the vortex. One half, including the sign, ended up flying into Blackwell. The other piece flew directly towards her, fast.
When it hit, everything went black, Chloe was alive, but everything was black. She was so cold, alone, scared. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t angry, or hateful, or feeling loved, she felt scared.
Scared of Max - what she can do to time with a simple stretch of her hand.
Scared of herself - of what she can do, what she can cause…
“ Chloe…” Chloe’s mind went silent, her eyes darting around.
“Rach?”
“No time… nightmare nearly over… junkyard… go here… find me…” Chloe saw a light in front of her - Rachel’s necklace.
She reached out and grabbed it, a searing pain tearing through her as she saw visions…
Rachel and Frank smoking together, then arguing.
Rachel and Jefferson flirting and having sex.
Rachel and Nathan hanging out and flirting.
Nathan drugging Rachel, taking her to Jefferson.
Jefferson and Nathan taking pictures of Rachel, Jefferson overdosing her after Nathan refused to.
Jefferson dumping and burying her body in the junkyard.
Jefferson standing there, over Rachel’s dead body, Max bound at his feet. Right now.
"Chloe!” Chloe could hear white noise with a voice, piercing the veil of her nightmare. A sound of pure white noise and static getting louder and louder until it drowned out her entire mind, like a train blowing into a station without stopping.
Her brain exploded with agony, her muscles spasmed, her breathing sped up, everything went numb.
Chapter 56
Notes:
Trigger Warning: kidnapping, bodily harm, death, drugging
Chapter Text
“Chloe!” Chloe opened her eyes to find Steph, Victoria and a few others standing around her, she looked around with bleary eyes.
“W- Where am I?”
“You’re in Blackwell…” Steph spoke then paused. “He tried to get you at your home but David fought him off and brought you here so we could all protect each other.” Chloe sat up, rubbing her temples, the visions she saw in her dream haunting her as she rubbed her eyes and tried to stand up, collapsing onto one knee and causing Joyce and Kate to rush to her side.
“Must… get… to… the…” Chloe spoke very slowly, struggling to speak between heavy breaths as she tried to walk out of the room. “Must get… to the… junkyard… gotta save Max…” Chloe shrugged Kate and Joyce off, the pair deciding to not get into a fight with Chloe, letting her eventually stagger out of the building and through the green space out the front of the dorms, having to stop to support herself several times. Even though she felt like death, the adrenaline of being able to save Max, to not be a failure, was keeping her going.
After ten long minutes, she made it to her truck. She swung the driver's door open and climbed inside, closing the door and turning the key, starting the truck and driving to the junkyard.
1 hour later
Chloe finally pulled up to the junkyard, she saw a black car parked in the place she usually stopped, and hopped out of her truck, snooping around the car before walking into the junkyard, semi automatic pistol drawn with the safety off. Before she’d arrived, she’d made sure it was fully loaded and ready to fire.
She slowly walked up to the place where she’d seen Jefferson standing with Max, deciding to walk up from behind to try and not raise his alarm.
“If she shows, you die, you understand?” Chloe overhead Jefferson talking, hearing muffled cries in response - Max.
Chloe peaked her head over to see Max gagged and bound at Jefferson’s feet, just like the nightmare. She crept up behind him, 50 feet, 45 feet, 40 feet-
Chloe stepped wrong, a metal sheet making a clang sound. Jefferson whipped his head around, locking eyes with Chloe.
“Say goodnight to Maxine.”
“NO!” Chloe threw her hand out, Jefferson freezing and going in reverse, Max also moving in reverse. Chloe surmised that she’s probably too out of it to use her powers right now. After a few seconds, Jefferson had turned back around, Chloe unfreezing and waiting, watching to see if Jefferson realised she’s there. After a few seconds, Chloe figured that she was in the clear, and continued to creep up on Jefferson. 35 feet, 30 feet, 25 feet-
A dog started barking nearby, Chloe dipping into some cover as Jefferson swept the area, turning back and forth before shaking his head. “Damn dog.” Jefferson continued to sweep around the area before focusing back on Max. Chloe continued to approach Jefferson from behind. 20 feet, 15 feet, 10 feet.
Chloe raised the gun, pulled the trigger.
Nothing, again. Jefferson turned around, eyes widening before laughing.
“It jammed again, what can I say, I’m just lu-” Jefferson was cut off by Chloe as she smacked him over the head with the butt of her gun. She grabbed Max up and sprinted away, Jefferson popping shots off in their general direction.
“You can’t escape!” Chloe hid behind the hideout, unbounding Max and ungagging her but putting her finger up to her mouth to signal to Max to be quiet, Max nodding drowsily. Chloe picked Max up again, carrying her cautiously around the junkyard as Jefferson searched for them. After 15 minutes, Chloe finally had a straight shot to her truck, as she ran closer, she heard someone walk behind her, turning to see Jefferson holding a trigger in his hands, laughing. Chloe rushed closer, getting close to the exit to the junkyard just as Jefferson pressed the trigger, Chloe’s truck exploding into flames.
“You son of a bitch!” Chloe held her hand up, rewinding time to before she collected Max, her head on fire and her nose pouring with blood by the end of it. She carefully approached her truck, searching for the device and finding it tucked behind the front left fender. She fished it out and crept over to where Jefferson was standing before, on top of the boat, making sure to rescue anything she left behind with Rach.
Several attempts and agonising hours later, a bloodied and worn Chloe finally got into the position she wanted, Jefferson was standing on the boat, laughing maniacally as she rushed to the truck. He clicked the trigger and the device detonated. Chloe tucked Max into the safety of the truck and turned to face Jefferson.
He was laying on the floor in pain, covered by several pieces of debris. Whilst it didn’t have the initially intended effect of killing him, it instead left him in a better position long-term - a broken leg and arm, the gun he was holding too far out of reach from him. Chloe walked over and picked it up, holding it against his non-broken leg, kneeling down.
“You want this leg?” Jefferson nodded slightly, a hint of fear in his usually cool and calculating eyes. “Beg for it.”
“I’ll give you anything you want.”
“I want Rachel back, you son of a bitch. You deserve death, but I’d rather you rot in jail for the rest of your life.” Chloe stood up, whacking Jefferson hard over the head with the butt of the revolver before sitting on a nearby barrel, calling 911 and reporting that she’d performed a ‘citizen's arrest’ on a ‘wanted criminal’ at the junkyard.
“Good work Chloe, but next time, please leave it to the police.” Officer Berry rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze, Chloe smiling at Berry. The pair were standing over where Chloe told them Rachel was buried, a police team having dug up her body, Chloe having cried when it was unveiled for the first time.
“Thanks, Andy…”
“Anytime, Chloe. You should get Max to the hospital and get yourself checked out, we’re gonna be bogged down with this for a little while and they aren’t sending any ambulances out in case of the storm.” Chloe nodded, thanking Berry one more time before rushing to the truck, climbing in the cab.
“Mmm, Chloe.” Chloe looked at Max, resting a hand on her shoulder before pulling her into a hug.
“You’re okay Max, I’ve got you.”
“I love you, Chloe…”
“I love you too, Max, more than you could imagine.”
End of Act 1.
Chapter Text
Interlude
Chloe started her truck, driving towards the hospital that was located a ways out from Arcadia Bay, roughly a 40 minutes drive from Arcadia Bay itself. Max shifted into the middle seat and wrapped an arm around Chloe, Max fishing Chloe’s phone and reading her some of the texts she’d received and hadn’t read.
David:
chloe where are you, your not at blackwell
David:
Joyce tells me you’ve gone to the junkyard
David:
please come back
Joyce: come back please
Kate: go get Max back, i’ll keep the parent busy
Victoria: good luck, Chlo, go bring Max back
Steph: you got this, for Rachel
Dana: good luck
Courtney: where r u? Thought u were resting
Max:
you got lucky, next time you won’t be.
Max:
i’m sure you’ll find me sooner rather than later, after all, your entire history with rachel is here
Juliet: chloe r u ok pls answer everyone is worried
Dana: chloe pls check in
Steph:
chloe!
Steph:
answer me right now
Steph:
chloe please
Steph:
you okay? Haven’t heard from you in a while
David: you’re surprisingly quiet, you ok?
Joyce: you can put music on you know
“Thank you for coming to rescue me.”
“Of course Max, rest you head, I’ll wake you up when we’re there.”
“Mmm, ‘kay, goodnight.”
“Night babe, I love you.”
“Love you too.” Max closed her eyes and rested her head against Chloe’s shoulder, sleeping quietly and peacefully as Chloe drove through the night to reach the hospital.
The whole time, Chloe was smiling, even though Max was pale, a bit sickly and looked overall very unwell, Chloe was happy because, deep down, she’d proven the nightmare wrong.
She wasn’t a failure.
She didn’t fail.
She saved Max.
“You had to cheat to do it.”
‘Still did it though, biatchhhh.’ About ten minutes later, she pulled into the hospital parking lot and stopped in the closest parking spot to the door possible. She climbed out of the truck and picked Max up in her arms, carrying her into the hospital.
As she entered, several nurses rushed over with a bed and an IV of water, starting to resolve the dehydration. Chloe stayed with Max all through the hallways, finally letting her go when she wasn’t allowed to go any further by the police that were guarding the ward.
“You can’t go with her, but Mrs. Caulfield is awake if you would like to see her.” Chloe nodded instantly, following the officer who took her into one of the ward's private rooms, Chloe sitting down next to Vanessa.
“Hey, Mrs. C.” Chloe smiled at Vanessa who opened her eyes and held out her hand, Chloe taking it and squeezing it. “Sorry I didn’t talk to you over the phone…”
“It’s okay Chloe…” Vanessa coughed harshly, Chloe grabbing a cup of water with a straw in it, helping Vanessa drink. A few minutes later, she continued speaking. “It’s okay, Chloe… I… I’m sorry, too. For being so hard on you.”
“What about Max?”
“I…” Vanessa paused. “I’ll talk to Max when she’s out. Did you…”
“He’s in custody.”
“He’s… he’s such a chameleon, no one suspected him.”
“I know, right? Even after we found out, I saw Max in awe of his studio…” Chloe scratched her neck before sighing, rewinding that last sentence, knowing she said too much and it wasn’t exactly Max’s fault, no matter how much Vanessa would probably try and spin it to be.
“-eleon, no one suspected him.”
“I know, right?” Chloe gave Vanessa’s hand a squeeze before yawning. “Alright Mrs. C, I’m gonna let you get some rest, but I’ll come and visit tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.” Chloe smiled at Vanessa, standing up to leave, just as she was about to go through the door, she heard Vanessa clear her throat behind her before speaking. “And Chloe? Thank you, for everything.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The next day
“Chloe!” Ryan stood up, walking over and giving Chloe a hug as she walked down the hallway towards the private waiting rooms.
“Hey, Mr. C. How’re they both doing? How’s Max?” Chloe looked into his eyes, the worry building inside her as she waited for his response.
“They’re going to be okay, Max is in a really rough state but Ness is doing okay. They’re strong women, they’ll pull through.” Ryan smiled at Chloe who couldn’t help but smile back, the pair sitting next to each other in the hallway.
“So, I guess you’ll be going back to Seattle soon…”
“Yeah, we’ve got to get out of Arcadia today to avoid the storm.” Chloe nodded, a grim look on her face. She took a deep breath as Ryan continued to speak. “Vanessa wants to take Max with her but-”
“Please don’t, please…” Chloe looked at him with unintentional puppy dog eyes, her heart beating a mile a minute at the thought of losing her Max again, just after saving her life, saving her from the monster who-
“I’ve told her it’s going to be Max’s choice, whether she likes it or not.” He rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder and smiled at her, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Give me a minute, I’m going to check on Ness.” Chloe nodded and Ryan stood up, walking into the room they were sitting outside of, Chloe able to hear the muffled remnants of a conversation that threatened to boil over into a full blown argument, causing Chloe to let out an exasperated sigh, her mind still ablaze with worry.
“You must be Chloe, right?” Chloe looked up to see a doctor standing in front of her, about 24-25 years old with a pink streak dyed into her hair, blue eyes and a clipboard in her arms. Chloe nodded and she spoke again. “My name is Doctor Sylvie Syrupian, I’ve been looking after Max since you brought her in. Do you want to see her?”
Chloe nodded again, this time full of energy as she bolted out of her seat and followed the doctor as she walked the short distance to Max’s room. “Just to warn you, she’s pretty out of it… she was in a bad way when you brought her in.” Doctor Sylvie pushed the door open lightly, poking her head in to see if Max was awake. “Hey, Max. You’ve got a visitor.” Doctor Sylvie stepped into the room, allowing Chloe to walk into view.
“Hey, Max.” Chloe stepped into the room, Doctor Sylvie giving Max a check over as Chloe stood in the corner and watched, her eyes full of worry for Max, who was looking worse for wear - she was dehydrated, not as badly as yesterday, but she still looked pale and weak. She had mostly recovered from the drugs, the black bags remaining beneath them but most of the bloodshot redness having left her eyes themselves. After a few minutes, the Doctor nodded at Chloe and Max, stepping out of the room and walking away. Max looked up at Chloe, a weak smile on her face.
“Hey, Chlo-” Chloe rushed forward, kissing Max softly on the lips, savouring the feeling of her girlfriend being in her arms as she leant down and wrapped Max in a warm hug, the girl limply returning the gesture, Chloe quickly putting her back down and sitting on a chair next to her bed, holding Max’s hand in her own. “T- Thank you… I needed that.”
“Of course, Maxo. I…” Chloe looked down, Max trying to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m so sorry I didn’t save your Mom. She rang me during the party and I brushed her off. She-” Chloe choked out a sob she didn’t know she was holding in, Max giving her hand another soft squeeze. “She was completely wrecked, but I put you first, and it nearly cost her everything, nearly cost you your Mom.”
“I don’t-” Max took a deep breath, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Thank you, Chlo. I…” Max started to cough, Chloe quickly grabbed the cup of water with a straw, holding it whilst Max drunk it down. “I love you, Chloe.”
“I love you too, Max.” Chloe smiled and reached into her pocket, pulling her phone out and opening up the photos app. “Thought you’d want to see this first hand.” Chloe showed Max the picture of Jefferson being escorted out of the police station by the FBI, Chloe also having snapped a picture of him being loaded into the back of a transport truck, glaring daggers at Chloe as she took the pictures.
“You stopped him…”
“No, Max. We stopped him, all of us. Me, You, Steph, Vic, Kate, the whole gang, David, Nathan… we all did it together, for Rachel.”
“For Rachel…” Max smiled, laying her head back onto her pillow, yawning. “I’m sorry, Chlo… I’m so… so-” Max was cut off by Chloe pressing another kiss to her lips, before the punk brushed the hair out of Max’s face and kissed her on the forehead, whispering into her ear.
“Shh, sleep tight and rest, when you’re feeling better, we can have hot monkey sex.” Chloe snickered into Max’s ear, the other girl giggling softly as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Text
“How is she?” Kate and Steph both met Chloe on the steps from the parking lot to the quad.
“She’s going to be okay.” Chloe spoke as she walked, the trio ascending the steps and walking over to the ‘vortex tree’ - the tree on the far right side of the quad from the entrance to the main building, near the entrance to the swimming pool. Chloe, Kate and Steph joined the already present group of Victoria, Dana, Juliet, Courtney, Taylor and Warren, the group having congregated after Chloe texted the group, saying that she’d been to see Max and was coming to Blackwell to tell them something.
“Well, what’s up?” Victoria picked at her nails, an undertone of worry seeping through her usual, bitchy nature, Kate wrapping her arms around Victoria, who let out an exceptionally deep breath, cautiously resting her head on Kate’s shoulder, Chloe winking at her as she then spoke.
“Max is doing alright, she’ll be a few days, maybe a week, then she’s out. I spoke to Wells, and he’s going to quote: ‘speak to the board about giving the students an extended break whilst we investigate the situation.’” Chloe, whilst telling the group what Wells had told her, put on a deep voice, the group laughing at her impression of Wells. “Better yet, I saw the devil-”
“Jefferson?” Kate asked, Chloe facepalming before looking back at Kate.
“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t want to say his name aloud, in case it triggers anyone.”
“Oh, it’s completely okay, he is the devil.” Kate rested a hand on Chloe’s, squeezing it a little. “You did a good job, saving Max. Wish you’d told us, though.” Chloe laughed, Victoria speaking before Chloe could continue.
“That’s Chloe, independent, always has been and always will be.”
“Amen to that.” Steph raised her bottle of water as if it was a beer bottle, the rest of the group doing the same and knocking all their bottles of water against each other in the middle of their circle.
“Anyway, where was I… oh yeah! I saw Jeffershit getting escorted out the PD by the fucking FBI.”
“No way, that’s hella wild…” Steph spoke with shock in her voice, Victoria whistling as Juliet looked up from her laptop.
“I looked into it when we found out it was Jefferson and the Arcadia Bay Police Department put out the call for information, and other departments around the country started investigating. Turns out, Jefferson has been at this game for nearly 15 years with a similar MO. Show up somewhere, drug girls, take pictures, then kill them.” Everyone stared at her, eyes wide. “What? It’s just the truth.”
“Girl, you need a new hobby.” Dana took the laptop from Juliet’s hands, the girl going to protest but stopping when Steph handed her a bottle of beer wrapped in a brown bag and Chloe handed her a lit joint, the girl taking a quick swig and a hit before putting the stopper back in and handing it back, Steph putting it back in her backpack and Dana taking the joint, who smoked and passed it around the circle to the person on her left - Victoria.
“That’s still pretty crazy.” Kate spoke, pouting at Victoria, who passed the joint over her to Steph, receiving a kiss on the forehead in return, the girl blushing and pressing her head into Victoria’s neck.
“You two, are hella fucking cute.” Chloe smirked as she spoke, Victoria flipping her off but with a smile on her face as she did so, a sparkle in her eye telling Chloe that she wasn’t mad.
“Fuck you, Price.” Victoria chuckled. The group fell into small talk after that, discussing Jefferson being taken by the FBI, among other topics like who they think the new photography teacher might be. A few minutes later, Chloe felt her phone ringing in her pocket and stood up, walking away from the group and pulled her phone out of her pocket, answering the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is that Chloe Price?”
“It is.”
“Ah, It’s Doctor Sylvie, from the hospital. You’d be pleased to know that Max is recovering faster than expected. Her parents have already departed so from now on, someone will keep you in the loop with how she is.”
“Thank you…” Chloe trailed off, a smirk crossing her face. “By the way, you have pretty awesome hair.”
“You aren’t so bad yourself.” Chloe heard a chuckle from down the phone. “You know, Steph talked a lot about you, Chloe.”
“You know Steph!” Chloe heard a full on laugh from down the phone.
“Yeah! We know each other from Portland, we bunked together for a few weeks. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to work. See you soon, Chloe.”
“B- Bye…” Chloe hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes. “Steph!” Chloe called for Steph, who turned her head towards Chloe before standing up and bounding over.
“Yeah, Chloe, what’s up?”
“You know a Sylvie?” Steph immediately glanced away at Chloe’s words, the other girl smirking.
“Yeah, why?”
“You know she works at the hospital Max is in, right?” Steph blushed, looking away.
“No, we lost contact after I had to dip from the place we were staying in - landlord had trouble with two girls sleeping in one bed.” Chloe rolled her eyes, Steph blushing harder as she spoke. “I uh… after I had to leave, she was the only one who came close to Rach and you.”
“You slept with her?”
“Yeah… She was… not as good as you, but, you know…” Chloe blushed and punched Steph’s arm playfully, the other girl lightly slapping back as they laughed. “I’d love to meet up with her again. Can I come with you next time you visit the hospital? It’d get you more time with Max if I was… distracting her doctor.”
“Sure you won’t tear her clothes off and ravage her right where she stands?” Steph blushed but nodded. “And, promise you’ll actually see Max for a bit before you go and harass the poor doctor, and then yes, you can come with me.”
“Thank you, Chloe…” Steph smiled and Chloe smiled back, pulling Steph into a hug, giving her a bit of a squeeze. “Oh! By the way, I spoke to my parents, they don’t mind me coming back to live with them. I… It won’t be permanent, but I’ve spoken to the academy I’m attending and they don’t mind me working here for a few weeks after I told them our… situation.”
“Oh my god, that’s amazing!” Chloe smiled and hugged Steph again. “We’re gonna burn this town to the ground.”
“Hell yeah. Thank you again, Chloe.”
“Of course, Steph, you’re welcome.”
Chapter Text
Thursday, late afternoon - April, Week 3, 2014. .
“Chloe! Steph!” Max smiled and hugged Steph as she approached the bed, Chloe moving around to the other side, Max reaching over and hugging Chloe as well. “Thank you both for coming.”
“Of course, Max. A little rain isn’t gonna keep me away!” Chloe leant over and began to ruffle Max’s hair, her hand running up and down Max’s side as Max dramatically flailed her arms around.
“Steph, Steph, save me!” Steph laughed, grabbing at Chloe and pulling her back into the chair. Chloe reached out and grabbed Max’s hand, giving it a squeeze, Chloe doing the same.
“Max, I just want to say thank you… thank you for saving my life…”
“Why? I didn’t do anything-”
“God, Max… you’ve known me for like 3 days then nearly sacrificed your life for me by locking yourself in with that freak. That’s classed as ‘something’.” Max leant over and hugged Steph.
“Thank you Steph, and you’re welcome.”
“So, any news on… well, anything?” Chloe smiled and nodded, Steph giving Chloe a nudge and a wink before walking out.
“I’m gonna go find the doctor and distract her for you.” Steph quickly walked out of the room, Chloe turning to Max and sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Yeah, I told you Jefferson got grabbed by the FBI.” Max nodded and Chloe continued. “Well, Juliet did a bit of digging and it turns out that a bunch of old cases might’ve been Jefferson. If they can link it to him, he’ll be going away for years, hopefully life.” Max and Chloe high fived, a wide grin spread across Max’s face.
“Finally, that piece of shit is gonna get what he deserves.”
“Hey Chloe.” The pair looked to the door to see Doctor Sylvie walk in with Steph, a smile on both their faces. “Max’s tests came back and they’re all green, she’s free to go, just gotta relax for a few days.” Max leapt up, hugging Chloe and high fiving Steph.
“Thank you, Sylvie.”
“Of course.” Steph smiled as Doctor Sylvie stepped out of the room to answer her work phone.
“Guess who’s got a date tonight.” Chloe and Max smiled and high-fived Steph.
“You better have a good night.” Max winked at Steph and poked her in the middle.
“So should you two.”
“We will.”
Max and Chloe both sat on one of the couches in the common room in the dorms at Blackwell, a beer in Chloe’s hand and a bottle of water in Max’s. Surrounding them were the group they’d become so familiar with. Victoria and Kate sat on a different couch in the room, Victoria resting her head on Kate’s lap as Kate ran her fingers through Victoria’s hair. Dana and Julie were sitting with Trevor and Justin, smoking weed and holding hands with their respective boyfriends.
Taylor and Courtney sat next to each other, arms wrapped around each other, sharing a bag of chips and Warren sat with Brooke, the pair holding hands and enthusing about science. Steph was notably absent, Chloe and Max having encouraged her to ask Sylvie out for drinks that night, Sylvie having beaten Steph to the punch, the pair having split from Max and Chloe at the hospital.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Dana stood up, bottle of beer in her hand. “A toast, to Max and Chloe, for bringing that piece of shit Jefferson to justice.”
“No.” Max spoke, the group looking at her. “To everyone, all of us, without all of you, we wouldn’t have ever been able to do what we did this weekend.”
“Max is right.” Kate spoke next, Victoria sitting upright next to and watching her. “We’ve all supported each other so much these last few months, and I’m so much happier than I was in January.” Kate looked at Victoria, cupping Victoria’s hands in her own, squeezing them. “Thank you all.” Everyone raised their bottles, clanging them together before all taking a big swig from their respective bottles of drink.
“To Rachel.” Chloe and Max looked at Victoria, who’d raised her bottle again as she spoke.
“To Rachel.” Everyone repeated, drinking again. The group spent the rest of the night drinking and talking until Victoria and Kate both noticed the time, excusing themselves to bed at around midnight, Max and Chloe following shortly after.
The next morning
Max rubbed her eyes as she checked her phone for the time, sighing as she saw it read 8:40am, 20 minutes later than she meant to get up, 20 minutes before she wanted to. She was a bit hungover after having a few ‘libations’ at the party last night.
She rolled over and heard a muffled groan from beneath her, quickly rolling the other direction and falling out of her bed, landing hard on the carpet that made up her dorm room floor. She shifted onto her knees, rubbing her eyes again and sliding her phone off of the bedside table, opening her messages to find one from Kate, and one from Steph.
Steph: Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll try and show up this afternoon but idk how much ill be able to move. Also fuck the storm.
Kate: hey max, most of us are in the common room whenever you and chloe are awake. thank you again for last night.
Max smiled, reading the texts before her phone began to buzz with a phone call from Steph.
“Heyyy Max.”
“Hey, Steph. Hope you had fun last night.”
“Hell yeah! Did you see my text?”
“Yeah, I know the storm is gonna be hella fucked up today so don’t worry if you can’t make it.”
“Aight, is Chloe awake?”
“Nah, don’t expect her to be up for a while. I’ll get her to message you when she’s up.”
“Thanks Max, see you laterrrr.”
“See ya Steph.” Max heard the line click dead, smiling as she changed from her sleep clothes to a pair of jean shorts and a light pink ‘Jane Doe’ crop top she’d brought from Portland a few weeks ago. She stepped out of her room to find the hallway empty aside from Samuel, who walked down the hallway towards Max.
“Hey, Samuel.”
“Oh, hello Max. The squirrels want to say thank you for stopping Jefferson. He was truly evil.” Max smiled, resting a hand over his shoulder, placing it fully on his shoulder after he nodded.
“Of course… Did they say anything about the storm?” Samuel pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
“Nothing that Samuel can remember.”
“Okay, thank you Samuel, you stay safe today. It’s supposed to be quite a dangerous storm and I’d hate for you to get hurt.”
“Thank you, Max. You truly are a kind soul.” Samuel smiled and walked away, wheeling his vacuum cleaner towards the other end of the hall, plugging it into the socket and turning it on. Max left him to his chores, hoping that her door was thick enough to keep the sound from waking Chloe up. Max walked down the hall and into the common room, smiling at the congregation of people who were lounging around on the couches that were positioned in a circle around the coffee table that had been grouped up to make an island, Max happy that the big group were the only people that had stayed behind after the storm was forecast, the rest having dipped home to visit their parents.
“Good morning everyone!” Max waved a little and smiled at everyone, the whole group smiling back, the pairings the same as last night. Max walked over to the coffee machine, grabbing a cup and making herself a coffee. After several minutes, she’d made her coffee and was sitting on the only free couch. A few minutes later, the door swung open and a very hungover Chloe walked in, eyes bleary but her face a wide smile. Chloe was wearing Max’s black and pink ‘Jane Doe’ shirt and her usual jeans and boots.
“G’morning, people.” A small amount of a southern accent that she’s inherited from Joyce slipping through as she waved loosely at the group, buying a can of Pepsi from the vending machine. Chloe grabbed her drink from the machine and cuddled herself into Max. Max leant down, pressing her lips to Chloe’s and kissing her softly with love, Chloe reached up and cupped a hand to Max’s cheek, brushing her fingers over Max’s cheek softly. A few seconds later, the pair were interrupted by someone clearing their throat, both girls looking to see Victoria standing there, arms crossed.
“If you two wanna have whatever Chloe calls it, do it in your dorm room.”
“Oh what, hot monkey sex?” Chloe smirked, Max blushing and covering her face with her cup and hands, narrowing her eyes at Victoria, who also blushed. As Victoria went to retort, Juliet spoke up.
“Guys, check the news.” Everyone pulled their phones out of their pocket, Kate grabbing the tv remote and turned the news on.
“Breaking news! Mark Jefferson, prolific photographer who became famous in the 90s with his photographs and most recently working as a teacher at Blackwell Academy in Arcadia Bay, Oregon, has been charged with several counts of kidnapping, drugging and murder today. Following evidence being submitted on Sunday evening, the police raided a barn owned by the Prescott family, local to Arcadia Bay. In the barn, they found one of Jefferson’s final victims inside the bunker alongside a mountain of evidence. Following a citizen’s arrest, Jefferson was apprehended and will now face a judge for his actions.”
“Holy shit…” Chloe breathed, running a hand through her hair. “We’re so, so fucked.”
“How’d you mean, we’re fucked?” Kate looked at Chloe with confused and concerned eyes.
“Well, now a bunch of fucking journalists are gonna show up with cameras and questions.” Chloe rubbed her eyes. “As if we needed anymore fuckers with cameras showing up. No offence.”
“None taken.” Victoria let out a frustrated sigh, gritting her teeth and hugging Kate closely into her arms. “This is so fucked, I hope Wells gets some more security to protect us.”
“So do I…”
“Hoooooly shit, I don’t envy you three staying in these dorms.” Max whistled and nodded at Chloe’s words, the pair standing on the roof of the dorm building with Kate and Victoria, the rest of the group hanging out of the dorm windows or standing on the quad, Max watching Steph walk onto the quad and gawk at the amount of news trucks that had arrived.
“That’s a LOT of news vans.” Victoria spoke and Kate stepped into Victoria’s arms, the pair hugging as Chloe looked at Max.
“We should get inside, before they notice us.” Max spoke and walked inside, the three other girls following Max in through the door and down to the bumped into David as he walked up the stairs in the opposite direction.
“Hey, you girls alright?” David rubbed the back of his neck nervously, the sheer number of news vans getting to him.
“Yeah, lotta news vans, huh?” Chloe spoke, David nodding before walking up the stairs past them and locking the door, putting a spare key on a hook next to it.
“Just in case any of you want to go out there at night, otherwise, please keep it locked. I’ll be taking it back before school starts again.”
“Will do, thanks David.” He waves a hand lazily, smiling at the girls.
“Stay safe, and call me if any journalists get inside.” The girls nodded and David jogged off towards Samuel, who was still vacuuming the girls hallway.
“Damn, what happened to him?” Victoria nudged Chloe softly, who nudged back.
“I dunno, something serious, I guess.” Chloe laughed a little, Max smiling and hugging Chloe.
“Might be something to do with nearly losing Chloe.” Kate spoke with a small voice, Victoria hugging Kate tight and rubbing her back softly.
“God, you two are so cute.” Max spoke with a smile, Victoria and Kate looking at her with smiles on their faces. “Wouldn’t have expected it a few days ago…”
Chapter 60
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Two days prior…
Victoria walked into Max’s hospital room nervously, pacing back and forth as a bleary eyed Max watched her walk back and forth. “You okay, Vic?” Victoria turned to face Max, her eyes full of nerves.
“What? Oh, uh…” Victoria rubbed her temples, then the bridge of her nose. “Can I sit down?”
“Of course.” Max smiled at Victoria as the girl sat down. “What’s up?” Max shuffled to the edge of her bed, reaching out and resting a hand on Victoria’s shoulder.
“It’s about Kate…” Max looked at her with concern, Victoria quickly raising her hands. “She’s okay! Just…” Victoria paused, shakily exhaling before continuing. “Just, I don’t- I don’t know how I… I’m not sure about how I feel about her. I think-”
“You think you like her?” Victoria nodded.
“I… I just feel super shitty about it, like… after everything I did, even after she forgave me… I… I don’t feel as if I deserve her…” Victoria looked down, her eyes dropping as she exhaled a shaky sigh again.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why do you feel like that? You clearly love her, and the way she looks at you, talks about you in private, she idolises you something crazy.” Victoria gave Max a little side eye.
“Really? I… I don’t think so.” Max gave Victoria’s shoulder another squeeze.
“Why don’t you go and speak to her yourself. Take Chloe with you if you aren’t so sure.” Max let out a yawn, laying back down. “I- I’m sorry, but-”
“It’s okay Max, you’ve been through a shit ton, and I come and dump my shit on you. I hope you sleep well.”
“Thank you…” Max closed her eyes as Victoria turned to leave, Max’s voice stopping her. “Hey Vic? You never dump anything on me, it’s what friends are for.”
“Thank you, Max.”
“Always.” Victoria turned Max’s lights down to dim and closed the door, looking back to watch as Max yawned again, hand slowly grabbing a book off of her bedside table to read before she slept.
2009?
“Maxine. A little birdie told me that you ran into a creep called Mark Jefferson recently?” She opened her eyes, finding herself in a familiar place - her bedroom in Seattle, her lanterns hanging from the awnings in the roof and still plugging into that same socket in the wall next to the door. The old drawers resting in their familiar corner, her sports trophies on top. Her old desk sat mostly empty, the PC far away in Arcadia Bay, her closet door wide open but also pretty much empty, it having had some spare boxes moved into it from her parents closet due to her being away, her old PC sitting in the corner, covered with a dust protector. Sitting on her desk was Nightmare Max, legs swinging slightly as she watched Max, who sat up.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Nightmare Max perked up, smiling with Max’s smile, that instead of comforting her, brought her the particular dislike and misplaced nerves that came from looking at herself in a mirror and being dissatisfied with how she looked.
“If you insist! He was a right piece of shit in some of the other timelines - in a few he shot Chloe, right between the eyes.” Nightmare Max made a finger gun motion and a hole opened in her head, blood oozing out. “In some of the others, he shot me, hurt like a bitch.” She held her hand up and time began to rewind, the blood crawling back up her face and the bullet hole closing. “In some, we shot him first. In others he took both of us, in a few we…” She looked down as if she was going to say something sad, before laughing. “In some, he took Chloe, Victoria and Kate, and made us choose!”
She laughed maniacally, causing Max to cover her ears before rushing through her bedroom door, finding herself back in her bedroom - this time how it was in 2009 - her old pc sitting on the desk, her window ajar slightly, revealing another bedroom in the space where Seattle usually was, her closed door was closed, but Max could feel something sinister lurking behind the door.
“Well, that was rude. Running away in the middle of my epic story. Wouldn’t do that to Chloe, would you? Oh wait, you did, remember? You ran away to Seattle during the epic story called her childhood, you left her alone for years.” Max, having finally had enough of all the bullshit, between all the shit Nightmare Max had been saying, and the Jefferson dream, snapped.
“Well, I’m sorry that WE had shitty parents who decided that THEY knew best for us! For ME!” Max stomped her foot. “I’m sorry that some things didn’t turn out great for you, or me, or whatever. It’s not exactly my fault that Mom decided to fuck my life over, is it?”
“It is, in fact, Maxine, your fault entirely.” Nightmare Max stood up, stepping into Max’s personal space and wrapped her in a tight hug, the world around them shifting until they were in Max’s childhood home, her Mom sitting in the lounge, watching the news.
“Today, the new photography teacher at Seattle’s prestigious James A. Garfield High School. This is a close run as it’s a toss up between Chloe Sheppard, from Arcadia Bay, and Mark Jefferson, who is famous for his photographs that he took in the 90s. And the winner is…” Nightmare Max dramatically drummed on Max’s ears, the other girl trying to swat her hands away but to no avail.
“Mark Jefferson!” Vanessa smiled, pulling out her phone and texting someone, Max peeping over her shoulder to see it was Ryan.
Vanessa:
Jefferson won
Vanessa:
we move asap
Ryan: shouldn’t we wait for her to be old enough to take the class?
Vanessa: what? And risk anything getting worse? There is a predicted crisis brewing in the housing market, and Max needs time to adjust to Seattle and her new school.
Ryan: we should think about this
Vanessa: well, im moving, and taking Max with me. If you want to come, feel free, otherwise you can stay behind.
Ryan:
fine
Ryan:
but im moving for Max, not you.
Vanessa: not my problem
“What the fuck?” Max whispered out, Nightmare Max laughing as the scene faded around them, this time materialising to the Price house - circe 2008. “Why here?”
“Well, it’s where Chloe failed.” Max watched as Chloe began acting strange, just like she remembered, and Chloe checked the phone was plugged in, picking the cord from the floor and plugging it into the wall, plugging the router back in and checking William’s phone to make sure it had the battery in, then pulling Max aside, speaking to her in a muffled tone, with words Max couldn’t quite remember. “You really don’t remember? This is where she tried to save William. The same morning as you did, once. Not that you remember that either.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh you tried to save him. It cost you Chloe, you had to kill her. The woman you loved.”
“Bullshit! Show me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you want to see it, and it’s funnier for me that way.”
“Fuck you!”
“Chloe clearly wants to. Fuck one of us, i mean.” Nightmare Max swung around, sitting on the couch and flicking her wrist dramatically, Chloe appearing on top of her, topless. Max quickly diverted her eyes.
“Stop, you’ve made your point! Just… stop.”
“Beg for it.”
“Stop, you’ve made your fucking point, I’ll do anything!”
“Anything?”
“Anything!”
“Give me my life back, you bitch.” Max felt herself get pushed off of the floor, plummeting through time as she saw various scenes play out before her - Victoria and Kate’s rooftop romance scene from a week before, Nathan deciding to help Max, Max and Chloe seeing the 2015 prom, A vision of Rachel talking to William, Future Chloe speaking to David whilst they watched over Kate. As she fell, she heard her Nightmare counterpart shout down at her.
“You caused this, Maxine!” Max felt herself hit the bottom - her bed, and her whole world faded to black.
Notes:
The big 60!
Thank you for all the support, it's very much appreciated <3
Chapter Text
April, Week 3, 2014.
Max woke up to Chloe’s smiling face looking down at her before her girlfriend leant down and kissed her on the forehead.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Chloe whispered softly into Max’s ear, the other girl smiling and leaning up to kiss her girlfriend, who wrapped her arms around Max’s head and pressed herself into her girlfriend.
“Good morning to you too.” Max planted a soft kiss on Chloe’s nose, the other girl scrunching her nose up a little in mock annoyance before laughing.
“You’re adorable, you know that, right Maxo?”
“Hella yeah I do, but I could use a lil reminding.” Max smiled at Chloe, who blushed a little before leaning down and whispering into Max’s ear softly.
“You’re the most adorable, cuddly thing in the world.”
“Since when did you become such a softy?”
“Since…right now.” Chloe smiled at Max, the girl’s eyes going wide as Chloe exploded with color in front of her, cycling through a selection of her clothes, her hair changing into a rainbow of colors before resetting back to blue.
“Uh oh, that’s not good.” Max shot out of bed, her messenger bag with all her photos in it.
“What do you mean, ‘uh oh’? Why are you panicking so much?”
“Because…” Max paused, as if gathering her thoughts into a coherent sentence. “I’ve had a nightmare, it… it shook me to my core to be honest. It’s…” Max ran her hand through her hair, letting out a shaky sigh. “I saw… saw something… something i don’t understand… but…”
“What is it, Max?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I think this timeline or whatever might be screwed up.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got a few pointers. Like how Victoria and Kate went through like 6 months worth of personal development in six days? Or how fucking Nathan did a 180 degree turn from being a piece of shit to being semi-normal? Or how you didn’t try and rip his fucking head off, especially after all the shit he’s done?”
“What? I don’t… I…” Chloe rubbed her temples, frowning, Max watched as she shifted, her stomach bandaged up and a monitoring machine strapped onto her arm, Chloe’s face went white with shock as she laid back, her body changing back to her sleepwear. Max rushed over, concerned as she wrapped Chloe in a tight hug.
“Chloe? You okay?”
“I’m just… I never noticed how fucked the timeline is now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, since Rachel started… I don't know, interfering and shit, the whole timeline just shifted. I remember Me Rachel and Steph getting together a lot later than we actually did during this timeline. But when I told you, I couldn’t… the date was all fucked up.” Chloe watched as Max pulled out of the hug and shifted, her clothes changing from her sleepwear to a long black winter coat, a red beanie appeared on her head for a second before shifting back to her sleepwear, Max throwing her arms up in anger.
“What the hell Chloe?!”
“What?”
“You never told me.”
“I did! I told you and you didn’t mind.”
“I…” A look of realisation washed over Max, remembering her and Chloe speaking about it. “Oh god, Chloe… what the fuck are we going to do?”
“I…” Chloe moved to the end of the bed, putting her head in her hands and letting out a heavy sigh. “I don’t fucking know, Max.” As they were speaking, the room around them shifted, a rainbow pride flag appearing in the window as a fancy widescreen TV appeared on the wall, a figure appearing on the couch as it shifted into a sofa bed.
“Rachel?” Chloe shot off of the bed, the other girl turning to face her.
“Hey.” Rachel looked between the pair of them, a concerned look on her face. “You two okay?”
“I…” Max nodded. “Yeah. I’m doing okay.” Rachel sat up, putting a hand on Max’s shoulder.
“You can talk to me, Max. You too, Chloe.” Rachel tugged both of them into a hug, the two confused girls hugging back as Rachel vanished as quickly as she appeared, the room returning to normal.
“Okay, time is officially fucked up.” Chloe groaned.
“We should find out what else has changed.”
“Hella agree.”
“What do you mean, Me and Victoria are dating? What the fuck is wrong with you, Max?” Max’s eyes went wide as Kate spoke, a bit shocked that Kate was swearing, but more so that she was saying that whilst snuggled up next to Victoria, who was completely unfazed and spoke to Max with the old snark in her voice.
“Yeah, Max. What are you, fucking stupid? We hate each other.” Victoria let out a pfft noise at Max, turning her attention back to her phone.
“Oh, sorry you two. See you later.”
“Bye Max, pizza night tonight! Bring Chloe!” Victoria and Kate both called after Max, the girl giving them a thumbs up before walking back into her bedroom, Chloe sitting on her couch.
“How’d it go with Victoria and Kate?”
“Not fucking good Chloe. They acted like they hated each other whilst wrapped in each other's arms.”
“Okay safe to say we’re really, really fucked.”
“How’d it go with Steph?”
“She said that Seattle was good, but her school was hectic as fuck.” Max let out an exasperated sigh, slumping down onto, then through her couch as it turned into a single person lounger, Max standing up and kicking it, the lounge chair returning to a couch. “Damn couch.”
“Hey, I’m sure the couch didn’t mean it.” Chloe let out a hollow laugh, Max sitting down and resting her body against Chloe, the pair hugging.
“I’m so… I’m tired of these powers.”
“I know baby, I know.”
“I love you, Chloe.”
“I love you too, Max.”
Unknown
“Hello Ms. Price, time for your checkup.” Nightmare Chloe was sitting on the end of Chloe’s bed, clipboard in hand. Chloe quickly slipped out of bed and stood up as Nightmare Chloe laughed. “Where are you going?”
“What the actual fuck did you do to time?” Nightmare Chloe leant forward, writing on her notepad.
“Patient has delusions that it’s somehow my fault that time is broken, and not her or her hipster girlfriend, or that dead fuck up of an ex called Rachel.” Chloe slammed her hand down on her desk in rage, leaning into Nightmare Chloe’s personal space and grabbing at her collar.
“Shut the fuck up!” Nightmare Chloe laughed, pushing Chloe away with her index finger and putting the clipboard on the bed, it melting into the mattress as Nightmare Chloe stood up.
“Want to know what I mean by Rachel?” Chloe paused for a few seconds before letting out an aggravated sigh.
“Fine. Fucking tell me.”
“She played with time, she poked and prodded to give you and Maxine the perfect life, and look what it’s caused. Nathan had a little visit from Rachel, dragging a future version of him through time. She forced the Jefferson situation to happen early. Her meddling broke Victoria and Kate, causing them to get together.” Nightmare Chloe laughed, almost maniacally, before grabbing Chloe by her throat. “She’s the reason why this timeline shit has all fallen apart. Because she tried to fucking meddle with shit she didn’t understand!”
Nightmare Chloe dropped Chloe out of her window, Chloe landing at the base of the lighthouse. Chloe stood up, looking around at the inky black mist covering the sky. “And now, for the final performance of the night!” Nightmare Max breezed into frame, a sadistic smile on her face. “Hey, Chlo. Anyway, the final performance of the night - the storm!” Nightmare Max tugged at the mist as if it was a sheet, the mist vanishing to show a storm, bigger than any that Chloe has dreamt of, with lightning sweeping across Arcadia Bay, striking anything taller than street level. Some things disappeared, others turned into different objects, some were replaced with themselves from a different time. A tornado followed the thunder, pulling the salt out of the ocean and rocks off of the hills. Chloe watched as trees were ripped out of the ground and buildings were obliterated by the storm.
“What do you think Chloe? Beautiful, right?” Nightmare Max wrapped an arm around Chloe’s waist, head resting on her shoulder as Chloe found herself bound to the bench, unable to move.
“This isn’t real… it can’t be.”
“Not yet, but this timeline will die very soon, all because of Rachel.” Nightmare Max kissed Chloe on the forehead, and Chloe felt herself slipping from reality, a darkness seeping in and a feeling of drowsiness covering her being. “Goodnight, Chloebear.”
Chapter Text
“Max!” Chloe shot up, her body sticky with sweat as she panted.
“I’m here, Chloe. What’s up?”
“A storm is coming, we’ve got to go.” Chloe saw the room around her shift into Rachel’s old dorm room.
“Mmmm- nooo, five more minutes.” Chloe turned to see Rachel laying next to her, naked and probably high.
“No ifs or buts, Rach. We’ve gotta go.” Chloe stood up, she swore someone else was there a few seconds ago, but-
“Chloe?” Max took Chloe’s hands in her own, Chloe shaking her head. “Are you okay?”
“I- Where’s Rachel?” Max let Chloe’s hands go, a look of confusion crossing her face.
“Chloe… What is going on? With everything?”
“I’m not sure… still, we’ve got to go.”
“Yeah…” The pair walked into the hallway, keeping their heads low as they walked through a seemingly endless crowd of people, Max noticing the same pair of shoes at least twice. As they walked down the stairs and into the green space out the front of the dorms, they both stopped at the top of the stairs, eyes wide with shock and confusion.
“What the actual fuck?” Chloe looked around, seeing at least two Brookes, one playing with her drone and the other talking to Warren, who waved at Max before continuing to talk to her, Brooke glancing at Max with a scowl on her face. She saw Courtney slumped next to the tree with tears streaming down her cheeks and another happily walking beside Taylor, the pair gossipping. As they looked around, the heavens opened, rain falling from the sky and soaking both girls through.
The first sign of the storm.
“Oh god, Chlo. We… we should leave. The lighthouse should be the safest place…”
“Yeah…” Chloe kept her response brief, the pair quickly jogging out of the dorm area and towards the parking lot. After a few minutes of running, including having to brush a pushy David and a different, caring David off with apologies as they rushed to Chloe’s truck, Max climbing in through the passenger door and Chloe clambering in the drivers side.
“Let’s roll.” Rachel, who again had replaced Max, smiled at Chloe. “So, where are you taking me?”
“Lighthouse. I need some time, just me and you.” Chloe whispered, Rachel reaching out before being replaced again by Max, who squeezed Chloe’s shoulder tenderly.
“Chloe, no matter what happens, I love-”
Chloe quickly rushed out of the truck, Max following as they walked up the now muddy trail towards the lighthouse, the pair running side by side until Max felt her dam burst, her nose pouring with blood as Chloe turned. “Max!” Max tried to continue, but collapsed into Chloe’s arms, the girl catching her before she hit the ground as the blackness of unconsciousness overtook her.
Max woke up on the bench at the top of the treehouse, Chloe dabbing at her face with a tissue as the rain continued to pour around them. She had stumbled and fallen on the way up… or was it a tree branch, or a rock? Or was it a-
“Max?” Chloe wrapped her arms around Max and the other girl squealed slightly, Chloe pulling back to make sure Max was okay. “Max? Talk to me, please…”
“I’m… I’m okay, Chloe. What happened?”
“The storm… it’s here. In real time… like the dreams.” Max rubbed her eyes and Chloe stepped to the side, Max’s eyes widening at the sight of it.
It was even bigger than the nightmares both girls had, the tornado having become dual twisters, wrapping around each other like an inferno. Lightning was striking everything and anything that dared its wrath, a few trees getting struck and either lightning ablaze, withering and dying, or regressing back into the ground as if they were planted just yesterday. The storm clouds had gathered for miles and miles in the sky, the horizon was just one dark mass all around them.
“So, this is what the end of the world is like, huh?” Chloe and Max both turned to see Nightmare Max standing behind them, leaning against the brick shack, cigarette in one hand and lighter in the other. “Sorry, I know you tried to quit.” Nightmare Max grinned, her teeth stained with blood as she took a drag from the cigarette, blowing it in Chloe’s face before sitting down on the edge of the cliff. “It’s so…”
“Violent? Dangerous? Sad?” Max threw a few words out into the space, a small part of her knowing it wasn’t the words that Nightmare Max was thinking of. Max, for a moment, wondered if that small part was Nightmare Max herself, growing inside of Max until she finally broke free.
“I was going to say beautiful. But yeah, I guess it’s pretty fucking violent too.” Nightmare Max let out a sigh and threw the cigarette off of the cliff edge, turning to face Max and Chloe, her face twisted into a grin. “Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the end of the world.” Nightmare Max sat down on the bench, relaxing as the twisters finally made landfall, ripping everything and anything out or off of the ground, flinging boats into the cliff faces and mountains, throwing houses and cars and people around like balloons, throwing the Two Whales at Blackwell, the sign getting stuck in the dorm block.
“What the fuck…” Chloe breathed. “Max? Why… what caused this?”
“I don’t… I’m not sure.” Normal Max stammered out, the pair looking at Nightmare Max, who just stared at Chloe expectantly. After a few moments, Nightmare Max let out an aggressive exhale, and spoke.
“Look, Chloe. I gave you the answer last night. Can you remember? Or has all the drugs fucked that to shit?”
“Watch your fucking tongue.” The trio turned to see ghostly apparitions of Rachel and William walk up the path, Rachel full of anger whilst William was unusually passive. He beckoned Max closer, the girl unable to stop herself from moving forward.
“Chloe, I need…” Max cut herself off, dragging Chloe away from Nightmare Max, the other girl flipping her off before turning to Rachel, cussing her out.
“Max-”
“Chloe, just… let me, please?” Chloe nodded and Max continued. “William’s got an idea, but he doesn’t know if it’ll work. He told me to say my goodbyes, just in case…”
“Oh, Max-”
“I’m not done, please… before I lose the strength to say it.” Chloe nodded again, Max tearing up as she spoke. “I love you, Chloe. Forever. No matter what happens to us, no matter how many timelines it takes, I’ll always come back for you, to save you, to love you and cherish you.” Chloe watched Max begin to crack, tugging her girlfriend into her arms as Max finally broke, sobbing into Chloe’s embrace as Chloe began to speak.
“Oh, Max. I’m not good with soppy bullshit, but… I love you too, so, so fucking much. It’s… I…” Chloe faltered, not knowing what to say, Max giving her a squeeze of encouragement. “I haven’t been sure if… if I deserve you, sometimes I still feel that way, but the way you kiss me, hug me, and love me, it shows me that I don’t get to choose if I deserve you, you do. Thank you, Max.” Max tugged Chloe into a deep kiss, the pair kissing as time began to slow around them. William walked to the edge of the cliff, staring off into the distance, he let out a heavy breath, a blue butterfly fluttering out of his mouth, the butterfly flapping around the lighthouse before dropping down the center.
All the girls turned towards the lighthouse, Max and Chloe parting. After a few seconds, the door flew open, Nightmare Chloe walking out.
“Surprise!” She smiled, waving her arms around before turning to William. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. Chloe watched as her Nightmare self stepped towards William, rushing forward, being restrained by both Max’s as her Nightmare self stopped next to WIlliam, the pair taking each others hand.
“NO!” Nightmare Max turned, rushing towards the two, arms outstretched, trying to stop them from going. No one saw it coming, the Two Whales billboard spiralling behind the group, smashing through the shack, the bricks causing Max and Chloe to stumble, the billboard smashing into where William, Nightmare Max and Nightmare Chloe stood, the ground giving way and the trio falling into the void. Max watched as an unending void began to consume everything.
“I love you-” The pair both spoke to each other, but were cut off as the timeline shattered into nothingness.
Unknown
The first thing Chloe noticed was how white everything was.
“Hello?” Chloe called out with no response, watching as a collection of strands began to fly towards her. She reached out to grab one and gave it a tug, the strand coming undone as she felt a piece of herself… unlock. She felt her memories flooding back into her, some being picked out before they arrived, quarantined until she could have them back. She tugged at a different strand, her body beginning to reform, feeling herself live again.
“Chloe…” She turned to see Max standing a short distance away, the pair quickly closing the gap and hugging.
“Max, oh Max…”
“Chloe, I love you…”
“I love you too, so, so much.” The pair hugged for a few more seconds until Max turned her attention to the threads, she reached out and tugged one, staggering back as her eyes glazed over and her nose began to drip with blood.
“God damn, getting your memories back is hella weird.” Max laughed, Chloe noticing that her voice was full of the usual Max emotion again. “We should… I think I’m going to take a page out of your book here, Chloe…” Max grinned mischievously as she reached out for the strands again, Chloe joining in as the pair began to haphazardly tug at strings, ripples of color erupting around them. After a short time, not that time existed yet, the pair had exhausted their strings, both giggling as they came off of their dopamine high, the white space having fully exploded into color, a speckle of white light in the distance, glowing.
“Holy shit Max, what the fuck did we just do?”
“I have no idea.” Max let out a breathy exhale, the remnants of laughter following the exhale. “What’s next?”
“We follow that light, I guess.” Chloe pointed off into the distance where the small light had appeared, as if a doorway opened after they’d finished tugging strings.
“Tsk tsk tsk, I wouldn’t be so hasty, girlfriends.” The pair turned to see Nightmare Chloe, with Nightmare Max standing next to her. “We can’t really stop you from leaving, but we can remind you that…”
“Tada! We survived! Something to note though, we used to meet in the same order. Now, who knows?” Nightmare Max grinned and did a jazz hands motion when she said "tada", regular Max and Chloe both sighing before turning to walk away.
“We’re leaving now, see you clowns later.” Chloe spoke, waving a hand lazily behind her, Nightmare Chloe speaking up as the pair left.
“Oh, by the way, one more thing, both your lives might be similar to how you left them.”
“But nothing will be the same again. Bye!” Nightmare Max taunted the couple one more time as they vanished into the light.
End of the Interlude.
Chapter Text
Hi there.
This is a bit less of a formal chapter compared to what has been published so far.
I've decided that now is the best time to post a little information chapter.
So, I've had some feedback telling me that the timelines are complicated and hard to understand, and trust me - I know.
What I've done is create a timeline chart to display all the important events of each timeline and how they all fit together. This covers the 5 timelines we have had in this story.
If the image doesn't load or is illegible, you can find the image here: link.
Additionally, I have created several flowcharts to hopefully provide a more understandable/easier to read chart.
Individual Timelines:
If you have any questions or suggestions, please message me on AO3 and I will answer you in the comments as well as updating this chapter with some of the FAQs that have been asked so people have a centre for information.
Thank you so much for reading, the support of all of you has been an amazing boon to my motivation to write.
Chapter Text
Act 2
April, Week 1, 2014.
Chloe awoke slowly, her eyes buzzing and her head throbbing with pain as she rolled onto her back, finding herself in her bedroom. She felt a form beside her on the bed, her mouth curving into a smile as she laid there, relaxing.
“Hey, Chlo.” Chloe’s smile turned into a mischievous grin as she heard Max speak next to her, sitting up, turning and wrapping her arms around Max, squeezing the girl tightly. “Ahh!”
“Hey, Maxi.” Chloe kissed Max’s cheek softly, the other girl kissing back, Chloe snaking an arm around Max’s shoulders.
“Mmm, I love you, Chloe.”
“I love you too, Max.” Chloe cupped Max’s cheek, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Max’s neck, trailing kisses up and down Max’s neck, around her chin and face before eventually pressing a passionate kiss on Max’s lips, Max kissing back, wrapping her arms around Chloe’s head and neck. Chloe rolled around until she had Max on her back, Chloe leaning over her.
“Chloe… we should…”
“Yeah, we’ve gotta…”
“Yeah…” Max and Chloe slowly pulled away from each other, grabbing their phones and went to scroll through their messages, Max stopping before she even began.
“I…” Max rubbed her eyes. “I’ve just realised, I can’t remember anything much about the last timeline, can you?”
“No… I can’t… What the actual fuck?”
“I can’t remember anything except from what happened at the very end, with William.”
“Wait wait wait. What happened to Dad?”
“You didn’t see?” Chloe shook her head and Max looked down, a look of sadness washing over her face.
“He… He went to sacrifice himself for this timeline and… uh, a-”
“And what? My dad died again? He’s not here to talk to us anymore, in the graveyard? Because that’s all I can remember from the last fucking timeline.” Chloe slammed her hand against the wall, anger overwhelming her as she rolled off the bed, slipping into clothes before turning to the door, sliding her feet into her boots as Max spoke.
“Chloe, I’m sorry. I want to remember more. Please, calm dow-”
“I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back soon.” Chloe grabbed her jacket and phone before storming out of her room, slamming both her bedroom door and eventually the front door as she left the house. After a few minutes, Max stood up and dressed, Chloe having given her permission to wear some of Rachel’s old clothes in there.
Max tugged the door open and let out a slight gasp, shocked to find the closet devoid of any of Rachel’s clothes. Max furrowed her brow and began shuffling through Chloe’s clothes before looking over at the pile of her clothes, her shirt missing, in the wash as Max vaguely remembered Chloe spilling a beer on Max by accident, Max laughing a little as a trickle of memory poured into her mind.
‘I wonder why I haven’t gotten any of the memories yet… It usually happens by now, even if this is different… thing…’ Max shook her head, tugging her sleep shirt off before tugging her jeans, socks and shoes on before grabbing a tank top that’s too big for her. She put it on before checking herself out in Chloe’s tall mirror that was sitting next to her-
“Since when does Chloe have a mirror in her room?” Max sighed before checking herself out again, tugging at the tank top slightly to adjust it to be in a comfortable position before grabbing her hoodie and putting it on and grabbing her messenger bag, walking out. Max walked out of the house and let out a slight hmm, noticing that Chloe’s truck was missing. Max let out a sigh and began to walk down the driveway and then the path towards the bus stop, humming to Mt. Washington by Local Natives as she walked. She got to the bus stop and sat on the bench, finishing the song and sighing as I’m the Ocean by Neil Young began to play through her earpods. After a few more minutes, the bus arrived and Max boarded, scanning her pass and sitting at the back, staring out of the window and looking out over the ocean.
About ten minutes later, the bus pulled up outside Blackwell, Max thanking the driver and getting off, skipping up the steps and onto the quad before quickly entering the main building, checking her phone and sighing when she realised she had a few minutes spare, getting a bottle of Pepsi from the vending machine in the hallway. Max walked down the corridor and into the photography classroom, most of the students sitting in their usual spaces. Max quickly fast-walked to her seat and plopped herself down, unpacking some of her stuff before looking around, her brow furrowing as she noticed a few changes.
‘That’s strange, the class photo we took is gone, along with some of Jefferson’s artwork and the equipment… what the-’ The classroom door swung open, the teacher walking in. Max turned back and froze, her eyes going wide before she looked away.
It wasn’t Mr. Jefferson.
She didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t Jefferson.
What the fuck happened to Jeffer-
Max winced as her brain sparked with pain - new memories rolling in over the horizon like rain clouds, pain beginning to spread across her head, her nose beginning to bleed. Max quickly rushed out of the classroom, excusing herself because of her nosebleed and rushed down the hall, heading to the bathroom to splash some water on her face and try to stop the bleeding, the new memories starting to wash over her…
Chapter 65
Notes:
Trigger warning: Murder, mentions of kidnapping and drugging, also vomiting.
Chapter Text
January 25th, 2014.
Max and Chloe were sitting together in the Arcadia Bay Police Department waiting room, their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. It was late at night, around 10pm, but Chloe and Max were the opposite of tired. They had both been collected, Max from her dorm in Blackwell and Chloe from her home by officers, being taken to the PD and being met by David and Officer Berry, as well as the police chief and an FBI agent. The pair had been told that Jefferson and Nathan were going to be arrested and that they had been brought to the police station to protect them both, just in case. Max and Chloe were hushed into a small interview room, where they were asked some questions about what happened in the bathroom, Chloe and Max telling them as little as possible, Chloe knowing that quite a lot of the police department were in the Prescott family’s back pocket. They had been let back into the waiting room shortly before 9:30pm.
Chloe and Max both stood up, the girls heading outside so Chloe could smoke a cigarette. As the pair walked outside, they spotted several police cars and SUVs driving out of the lot of the department, sirens wailing. Chloe lit a cigarette, taking a few drags before offering it to Max, who took one small drag and began coughing, Chloe laughing a little before taking it back and soothing Max with back rubs, murmuring apologies to Max before sitting on a bench, as they were talking, a police car pulled up outside, the door swinging open and a familiar girl with blond hair rushed out, being followed by a few officers.
“Chloe! Max!” Rachel rushed up the small steps, quickly rushing towards the two girls, who both looked up and grinned at Rachel.
“Rachel!” Max and Chloe both rushed up from the bench and ran to Rachel, the three girls hugging before all walking into the police department. Max, Chloe and Rachel waited for a few seconds at reception before being led into a private conference room, a police officer outside to protect them from intruders. All three girls sat down on the chairs around the table, Rachel letting out a shaky exhale before speaking.
“So, uh… what’s been going on?” Chloe looked at Max, who wrapped an arm around Chloe’s shoulders and gave her a reaffirming squeeze, Chloe letting out a sigh.
“I uh… I nearly got shot by… uh…” Chloe trailed off before speaking again, pondering what she wanted to say. “Max managed to save my ass with the fire alarm. They grabbed the person who did it, but…” Chloe trailed off again, closing her eyes and gripping Max’s hand tightly before letting out a ragged sigh, Rachel jumping in to rescue Chloe.
“Holy shit, you two doing okay?” Rachel let out a heavy sigh and moved around the table to hug Chloe.
“We should be the ones worrying about you Rachel, you were the one who was kidnapped.” Max put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, all three girls standing up and hugging each other.
“Rachel.” All three girls looked to the door, James Amber walking in and pushing the door closed, Chloe catching the door with her foot to leave it open as her and Max moved out of Rachel and James’ way, giving them their space.
“Dad.” Rachel looked at Chloe and Max, who both nodded and left Rachel alone with her Dad, the pair walking back into the lobby and sighing.
“Holy shit, that teacher is a psycho.” Max didn’t answer, her eyes wide and full of dread, concern and hurt, Chloe quickly wrapping Max into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
“It’s okay, I’m just worried about Kate.”
“Oh shit, she was drugged, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, and I think it was either him or-.” Chloe cut Max off, not wanting to risk Rachel hearing Nathan being mentioned, knowing that they were decently good friends, also realising that James was probably telling Rachel that Nathan had tried to shoot her.
“Yeah, still though, holy shit.” The pair sat there in silence for a few minutes before the main doors swung open, several police officers walking in, Mark Jefferson being led in by two FBI officers, his hands in cuffs and his shirt bloody, face covered in bruises. When he saw Max, he sneered at her before speaking.
“Hello, Maxine .” Max turned away, her stomach turning as she watched him be escorted through to checking, David walking over to the pair.
“Max, Chloe, are you two okay?”
“Uh, yeah, thanks David.” Chloe nodded slightly as she spoke, Max also nodding before turning to see Rachel walk out of the conference room, the girl watching Jefferson being escorted further into the department, resisting as best as she could.
“Is that..?” Chloe turned to face Rachel, all three girls smiling slightly before hugging, Max speaking softly into the hug.
“Yeah… it’s him.”
Max stumbled into one of the cubicles, her hands rubbing at her temples as she felt her stomach churn as knowledge of Jefferson’s actions in both this timeline and the last one flooded her mind, causing Max to violently throw up several times. After several agonising minutes, Max grabbed at the tissue roll on top of the toilet, tugging a few sheets off and wiping her face with it, vomit and blood coming off onto the tissue, Max letting out a ragged sigh as she threw the rag into the toilet, grabbing the roll and walking out to the sinks.
“Max?” Kate’s voice rang out through the bathroom. “Ms. Shepard is worried about you.” Max turned to Kate, quickly turning away when Kate gasped at Max, Max realising that she probably looked like shit. Max ran a sink and quickly wiped at her face, scrubbing the blood off before cleaning it with a few sheets of tissue paper.
“Hey Kate.” Max spoke but her voice was raspy and quite hoarse, Kate immediately walking over and handing Max a bottle of water, Max drinking from it in big gulps before resting against the sink, massaging her temples.
“Are you okay Max? Do you feel unwell? Do you need to see the nurse-”
“I’ll be okay, Kate. Thank you.” Max lied through her teeth, her eyes betraying her as they filled with regret, Max looking away quickly.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Max. I’m your friend.”
“I…” Max cut herself off, weighing up what she could tell Kate. What she should tell Kate. About how she’d been through god knows how many timelines? How she had watched her die? How… how…
“There there…” Max found herself in Kate’s arms, the pair shifting onto the floor of the bathroom, the dust from the tiles clinging to Max’s fingertips as she gingerly steadied herself down onto the floor, Kate hugging her the whole way. Kate rubbed Max’s back slowly, Max wiping at her eyes, the sting of tears causing her to close her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. After a few minutes, Max finally spoke out, her voice raspy and quiet.
“I’m… I don’t know how to explain it…”
“Take it slowly, from the beginning.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Shepard, I had a nose bleed.” Max walked back into the classroom with her messenger bag in hand. Ms. Shepard glancing up at Max from behind her laptop before standing up and walking over to the girl putting a reassuring hand onto her shoulder.
“It’s okay, Max. I know how it feels to get jumped by something like that. One time, I was in Spain, visiting family, and my body was so used to the Oregon climate, that my nose decided to turn itself into a faucet! It was not enjoyable, so I completely understand where you’re coming from.” Max smiled and felt herself relax, this new teacher wasn’t so bad. Now, if she could only remember more about her, like her name, she could-
“Anyway, when we’re in private, please feel free to call me Chloe.” Max smiled.
“Ah, I shouldn’t have any trouble remembering your name, my girlfriend’s name is Chloe.”
“What a crazy coincidence…” Ms. Shepard smiled and handed Max a sheet of paper, an assignment. “I’m a bit more relaxed than the last teacher you had, I prefer more… practical methods of teaching over sitting in a class room all week and not taking photos.” Max smiled again, this timeline was turning out quite alright! She had Kate on side now that she’d explained as much as she could remember, Jefferson had been caught and arrested, Rachel was alive and now she had a new photography teacher who had basically just told her that she’d get to spend more time with Chloe.
“That’s awesome, when is it due?”
“It’s due at the end of spring break. First day back, to be more specific. Further, as it starts next week, I’ve given you all the rest of the week free from classes. However, I expect to see your best work come the 22nd, understood?”
“Crystal clear, thank you, Chloe.”
“Of course, Max, look after yourself for the rest of today and I’ll see you around Arcadia, taking pictures I hope.”
“See you, Ms. Shepard.” Max turned to leave, Chloe clearing her throat, Max turning back to face her.
“By the way, I love the polaroid.” Chloe smiled and turned back to her laptop, Max smiling back before walking out and heading for her dorm room, pushing through the slight crowd outside her classroom before cutting across the quad and straight for the dorms. She quickly walked through the green space and up the steps, heading into the building before hearing someone call her name from behind her.
“Maxine.” Max froze, turning to face Victoria, who was walking towards her, Max considered closing the door on her face but held it open, Victoria walking in and tugging the door out of Max’s hand, pushing it closed. “Where is Rachel?”
“I don’t know, haven’t spoken to her in a while, why?”
“She isn’t answering my texts. Could you like, give her a call for me, please?” Max watched Victoria flutter her eyelashes at Max, the girl sighing and giving in, knowing it’s easier to just say yes than try and argue with Victoria, especially one she didn’t know very well.
“Okay. I’ll talk to her. But, why do you care about Rachel, don’t you dislike her?” The pair walked up the stairs and headed into the girl’s hallway, Max’s eyes darting to the floorplan but not having a chance to read it as she quickly walked into the hallway ahead of Victoria.
“Because, after January, I’ve been worried. I mean, how do I know Jefferson wasn’t going to try and grab me? Max?” Max had stopped in the middle of the hallway, her legs turning to jelly and her mind racing at a mile a minute as her vision began to pulse and her head began to throb with pain, her nose leaking blood again and her stomach aching with nausea.
“Not… again…” Max felt her whole world tilt around her, Victoria’s mouth moving but the sound not reaching her as she collapsed in the hallway.
Unknown
“Ms. Caulfield, welcome to the Max Caulfield Medical Centre for the Temporally Fucked. I’m your doctor, nurse, coroner, judge and jury, Max Caulfield, and I’ll be your waitress today.” Nightmare Max loomed over Max with a twisted grin on her face, Max swatting at her before sitting up, her brain foggy and her throat dry.
“Why am I here?”
“Because you need to slow down. You’ve been in this timeline for less than a day, and you’re pushing yourself way too hard. It’s not fun tormenting you if you drop dead from time sickness in a week. It happened to Chloe once, and wasn't fun to deal with. Cost us two whole timelines, not that you can fucking remember.” Max turned to Nightmare Max, who was standing by the window, looking out into nothing as Max walked over to her.
“I’m sorry… I…”
“Shut up. You don’t understand.” Nightmare Max turned to face Max, a cold look of uncaringness on her face as she pushed the other girl away, climbing onto the bed before laying down on it, covering herself with the sheet. “Are you going to wake up, or not?”
“How?”
“Ha! Just gotta kill me, that’s the way to do it!” Nightmare Max giggled as the walls to the faux hospital room began to echo with ‘that’s the way to do it!’ like a flock of parrots were inside the walls themselves. Max shook her head, backing into a corner as Nightmare Max stood up, a hole in her chest from a gunshot wound.
“Didn’t stop you before? Why now?” Nightmare Max reached into the hole, dragging a photograph of Max, bundled up in cold weather gear, standing on the top of a snowy hill, pointing a gun at… well, at the camera. She felt the environment flash around her, her hair was longer, she was older by about 10 years. This must be one of those timelines.
“Where are we?”
“Nowhere important. You die in this one.” Max turned to see Nightmare Chloe standing beside Nightmare Max, the girl holding her old polaroid camera in her hand, a twisted grin on her face as she stepped forward.
“Do it, Max. DO IT!” Nightmare Max screamed at the top of her lungs, the foggy dew around them falling to reveal a storm, just like all the others, striking a small university town in the middle of… Max tried to look around but felt her neck being straightened back to Nightmare Max, Nightmare Chloe wrapping her hands around Max’s as she aimed the gun at Nightmare Max, pushing Max’s finger onto the trigger.
“No, please-” Max tried to speak, her voice being drowned out by a deafening bang.
The gun firing.
Nightmare Max falling.
The whole world turning black.
Chapter 66
Notes:
Trigger Warnings: suicide, kidnapping and violence.
Chapter Text
Chloe slammed the front door and started skipping down the path before veering off to her left. She climbed in through the drivers side door of her truck and reversed out of the driveway, slowly cruising around the neighbourhood for a few minutes before finally deciding on a destination, driving out of the suburbs, through the centre of Arcadia Bay and towards the junkyard, Chloe absentmindedly turning the knob on her stereo and jamming to Wonderwall by Oasis . She drove for another 30 or so minutes, taking a longer route through some woodland tracks, before eventually pulling up to the junkyard. During that time, she had worked herself into a state of anger, her knuckles white with rage as she roughly slammed her foot on the brakes, stopping the truck and switching it off, climbing out of the cab and locking it. She walked around to the bed, pulling a couple of beers from the crate in the back and walked into the junkyard.
“Fuck sake! Why did I have to lose Dad again…” She meandered around between the wrecks, looking up at her Dad’s wrecked car for a few minutes, thinking before shaking her head and walking towards the hideout.
She walked in and noticed it looked a lot different than usual - the window was tarped over, the “LALALAND THIS WAY” graffiti still on the wall with the arrow pointing towards the flapping blue sheet. However the chair and shelves had been moved into the corners as a couch now sat beneath it, the worn mismatched fabric cushions contrasted with the leather back in an awkward yet comforting way, Chloe slumping down on it and using the new piece of furniture to look around the rest of the space. The dartboard was still hanging on the wall, Rachel’s and Chloe’s tallies also joined by Max’s name, her name bearing no tally marks. All the posters and dead fish graffiti were still there but a small cork pinboard covered in polaroids rested in the corner. The pictures were all of nature, the greenery near the train tracks, the view of the forest from the control tower just down the track, alongside pictures of animals and critters.
“Max must’ve taken these…” Chloe pondered for a few seconds on that, realising that something between Her, Max and Rachel had changed in this timeline before she continued to note the other changes to the hideout. The car seat was raised up on a few small pallets, the benches still the same height as before. She also noticed the wrong way sign was missing, standing up and checking outside confirmed it had been hung up above the doorway. Chloe also noticed that the opening had a tarp sheet of its own that could be put down over it. Chloe poked around a bit more before her phone buzzed, pulling out to see a text from David.
David:
Chloe
David:
Where are you? Where’s Max?
Chloe: im out and max is at blackwell
David: ok. Stay away from that junkyard.
Chloe: fine
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Chloe sighed, running a hand through her blue hair before grabbing the two beers from the couch and placing them down onto the spool-turned table, she slumping down on the car seat. She glanced back over toward the table, looking past her beers and noticing that a letter was still there, Chloe reaching out to read it, assuming it would be Rachel’s letter from the old timeline.
It wasn’t.
Chloe, Max.
If you're reading this, then I didn't get to say goodbye, and knowing you two, you probably haven’t checked your messages, not that I can really blame you.
I’ve had to go to Portland, court bullshit. Turns out Jefferson wants to fight the allegations even though there is hard evidence against him. Fucking weirdo.
I’ll be back soon but my Dad is insisting on coming with me, so we probably won't be able to talk much, because, ya know, he hates you guys.
Chloe, keep Max losing at darts. Max, look after Chloe.
Much love,
Rach.
Chloe set the letter down slowly, her mind throbbing with pain as the new memories of how Jefferson went down in January flooded her mind.
Max saving her with the fire alarm.
Rachel vanishing after spending a night away from Chloe and Max.
Chloe calling Rachel over and over, finally getting a reply.
Rachel’s voice, the panic, the fear.
The screaming.
The gunshot.
Chloe holding Rachel in her arms as she died-
“Wait, no… that’s…” Chloe’s voice was hoarse and quiet as she collapsed out of the chair and onto her knees, her nose beginning to trickle with blood as more memories invaded her mind, Chloe struggling to distinguish which one is from this timeline as they begin to bombard her.
Max and Rachel both disappear.
Max dying in the bathroom.
Jefferson. Nathan.
Rachel and Max dying in Chloe’s arms.
No.
Max dying in Chloe’s arms.
Max dying in Chloe’s arms.
Max dying in Chloe’s-
NO!
Jefferson killed them all.
No one left.
All dead.
Because of yo-
“Chloe.” Rachel’s voice, shaky, panicked, afraid, the memory cutting through the noise of her thoughts. “Prescott barn. Mark Jefferson. Help me.”
Rachel disappearing.
Nathan nearly shooting Chloe in Blackwell, The fire alarm.
Jefferson and Chloe in the junkyard, Frank scaring him off.
Rachel calling Chloe, both girls calling 911.
Max and Chloe, both at the police department, all the questions.
The
fucking
questions.
Rachel, safe, in their arms.
Max. Rachel.
Max. Rachel.
Chloe, after many minutes of panting, groaning and yelling, let out one, loud, bloodcurdling scream as the pain and pressure from the new memories of god knows how many timelines start to overwhelm her. Her mind begins to throb with immense pain, the world beginning to go black and spin around her as she collapsed onto the floor, limbs spread and unconsciousness overtaking her as the blood begins to rewind up her nose…
Unknown
“The patient is stable.” Chloe opened her eyes to find Max sitting over her, clipboard in hand with blacked out, round glasses on. She was wearing her trademark jeans, t-shirt and hoodie look, the glasses looking out of place in her usual ensemble. “Appears to be conscious, slightly delusional.”
“Max.”
“The patient thinks that she recognises me.” Chloe snatched the glasses off of Max’s face, gasping at Max’s eyes - her deep blue eyes replaced with fucked up cataracts - multicolored, fluid cataracts. “Like I said, delusional. Let’s see if this helps her.” Max put the clipboard down on nothing, the board vanishing into thin air before Max erupted in color, shifting into a different version of Max, eyes back to normal and wearing a purple sweater.
Chloe felt the space around her shift into the garage, except it was strange - there was a TV on the wall, sets of drawers around, a yellow tarp covered the space between the sections of the garage. She was in a bed that belonged in a hospital, Chloe tried to stand up but found that she couldn’t.
She couldn’t move a thing.
She was paralysed.
“Max. Please.” Chloe heard herself speak, her eyes looking at Max pleadingly, hoping that the girl before her understood what she was asking, even though she herself didn’t. Chloe felt herself look up at some kind of machine, sitting on a shelf in her room. “Turn it up, it’ll… I won’t feel it. I want this memory of us to be my last…”
“No, Chloe… please…”
“Max. Please, I love you, okay… please… just do it…” Chloe felt herself close her eyes, then opening them a second later to find herself looking through Max’s eyes.
‘Oh my fucking god…’ Chloe saw herself, frail, arms thin as bones, one leg missing and the other covered by a sheet. She saw the girl she was seconds before, unable to feel anything in her body. Max let out a shaky sigh before standing up, leaning over and turning the dial on the machine, liquid pouring through the tubes and into Chloe, who smiled at Max, opening her eyes and whispering softly.
“Thank you, Max… I love you…” Chloe closed her eyes and leant back, Max leaning over and kissing her on the head.
“I love you too, Chloe… I’m so sorry…” Max reached out for the photo album that was sitting at the end of the bed, grabbing the picture from their childhood, of them making pancakes. Chloe felt a shift, like a part of Max just left her, the photo vanishing from Max’s hands as she stood up to leave, freezing when she saw William standing in the doorway with a look of shocked pain on his face, Joyce beside him, the woman sobbing relentlessly.
“Max… what the hell did you do?” The Chloe inside Max let out a shocked gasp as William began to berate Max, who defended herself as best she could, Joyce crying and talking to someone over the phone. Chloe felt herself blink forward in time, Max being escorted from the house in handcuffs.
“Fucked up, right?” The entire world turned into a rolling fog as she turned to face Nightmare Chloe, who walked up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, Chloe shrugging her off.
“Fuck you.” Chloe began walking away, Nightmare Chloe following her.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t fucking know, okay? I’m just…”
“Confused? Worried? So am I. This whole timeline collapsing into nothing because of Rachel bullshit has me worried.” Chloe shook her head, laughing a little.
“You don’t care about anything or anyone but yourself, so save me the bullshit.” Chloe turned to continue walking away but found herself face-to-face with Nightmare Chloe, who reached up and slapped Chloe across the face.
“Who says I don’t care? I showed you that because I care, you’re here because I care. I don’t want you to die, not really . You’re far more useful to me alive.”
“Why?”
“That’s the million dollar question.” Nightmare Chloe checked her watch before sighing. “Ah, must go, Max needs me.”
“Why?” Chloe found herself being gripped up by her collar, Nightmare Chloe snarling in her face.
“Ask that question again, and I swear I’ll make you see everyone you ever love, turned into the letters of that fucking word.” Chloe’s eyes went wide, Nightmare Chloe dropping her onto the ground, throwing a box at her before turning and beginning to walk away.
“I’ve got to go help Max shoot Max. Wake yourself up.” Chloe opened the box, her eyes narrowing at the item inside.
A bottle of tequila, and some pills, the space around her shifting into the Blackwell girl’s dorm showers.
Chapter Text
“Max!” Chloe walked through the door to Max’s dorm room and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Chloe! Oh my god, I’ve been so worried, where were you?” Chloe pulled away from the hug and Max cupped her cheek, the smaller girl holding Chloe’s face tenderly. “Your nose has been bleeding.”
“You’re one to talk. Kate texted me about what happened. Anyway, I had the creepiest nightmare shit ever, passed out at home and experienced a bunch of freaky shit…” Chloe lied through her teeth, knowing Max wouldn’t appreciate her going to the junkyard after what happened in the last timeline, the returning memories still lingering at the front of her mind.
“Same, except I passed out in the hallway with Victoria.”
“Oh shit, queen bitch herself. Did she help you?”
“A bit, but she got someone else to come and help pretty quick. I had a crazy nightmare whilst I was out though. Woke up to Kate looking after me.” Chloe and Max hug again, Chloe rubbing her hand up and down Max’s back as Max nuzzles into Chloe’s neck, planting soft kisses up and down her neck. Chloe let out a soft sigh and put a hand on the back of Max’s neck, guiding Max up and down as Max began to kiss up Chloe’s neck and around her face, trailing kisses along her chin before plunging into a deep kiss, their tongues fighting for domination.
Chloe pulled out of the kiss, her lips ghosting around Max’s jaw before sliding around her ear, Max sighing with passion as Chloe lightly nibbled on Max’s earlobe. Chloe began to kiss down Max’s neck, her lips moving to her shoulders, collar and-
“Chloe… W- Wait…” Chloe pulled away, a look of fear on her face.
“Max, I’m sorry… I-”
“It’s not you… I’m just… I’m not ready, not yet… I know I’ve initiated before and stuff… god, I’m so freaking sorry, Chloe.” Max looked down, her eyes filling with tears as she tugs her knees up to her chest, her head lowering down to rest on an arm as Chloe wrapped her into a big hug.
“It’s okay baby, when you think you’re ready, talk to me. I want you to feel special.” Chloe pressed a soft kiss to Max’s hair, the other girl pulling her head up and looking up at Chloe with a smile on her face.
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course Max, I love you, I’d do anything for you.” Chloe and Max smiled and hugged tightly again before Max’s phone buzzed.
“Oh shit, we completely forgot to check our texts.” Max grabbed her phone and opened the messages app on her phone, skimming over the preview message from each contact.
Kate - now:
Hey max, hope you’re doing oka…
Victoria - 14m:
Hello Maxine. I hope you are fe…
Chloe - 49m:
babe babe babe babe babe bab…
Rachel - 10:23am:
Hey maxi! When you get a seco…
Dana - 31 Mar:
Hey max! me and juliet are plan…
Joyce - 31 Mar:
Hey Max, have you seen Chloe…
Courtney - 31 Mar:
Max! do you and chloe want to…
Dad - 31 Mar:
Hey pumpkin, sent you some…
The girls group chat - 30 Mar:
Rachel:
hey girls, portland is de…
Mom - 30 Mar:
Maxine. Call me.
Warren - 15 Mar:
Hey maximus. I can call you ma…
Max stared at her phone, quickly firing a reply off to Kate before returning to the message list, unsure which one to read through first, her finger hovering over different names for a good few minutes before she finally pressed on Rachel’s name and scrolled to the top.
September 21st, 2013.
Rachel: hey max, chlo gave me ur number
Max: hi! :)
Rachel: today was super fun, it was interesting hearing you talk about your past with chloe
Max: im surprised she spoke about me so much if i’m honest, i thought she’d forget about me
Rachel: you’d be surprised, if it’s any consolation, she spent the whole time i’ve known her talking about you, and she thought the same haha
Max:
oh my god
Max:
that’s crazy
Rachel:
not really,
Rachel:
soz max but i gtg, thank u again for today
October 2nd, 2013.
Rachel: Max? You okay?
Max: Yeah, sorry, tell Mr. Jefferson I’m going to be late to class please
Rachel:
of course
Rachel:
i’ll tell him when i see him
Max: thank you so much, you’re a life saver
October 15th, 2013.
Max:
Rachel
Max:
I need your help with this halloween party
Max:
please?
October 16th, 2013.
Rachel:
Max im sorry i missed ur messages
Rachel:
what do u need help with?
Max:
I dont want your help anymore
Max:
i cant believe you’d do that to chloe.
Rachel: Max i can explain
Max: I dont want to hear it.
December 20th, 2013.
Rachel: Tell Chloe i said happy christmas
Max: k
January 10th, 2014.
Max:
Rachel, you okay?
Max:
You haven’t been seen since the christmas break started
Max:
please call me when you get the chance.
January 15th, 2014.
Max:
Rach, please
Max:
Chloe nearly got shot
Max:
please answer me!
January 29th, 2014.
Rachel: Hey Max
Max: hey rachel
Rachel: about what happened
Max: its okay. Im sorry too, i brushed you off way too hard
Rachel:
no
Rachel:
you were completely right sticking by Chloe instead of me
Max: oh ok
Rachel: you okay?
Max: not really.
Rachel: Call me, please?
February 3rd, 2014.
Rachel: im off to portland for like 5 months
Max: rip
Rachel:
yep, thankfully most of this end of the drama study is course work studying different videos so i dont have to be there
Rachel:
it just sucks cos i have to see him again
Max: im so sorry rach
Rachel:
its ok max.
Rachel:
my dad is strict af tho so we probably wont talk much
Max: ok, stay safe.
Rachel: will do, look after Chloe
Max: always
April 1st, 2014.
Rachel: Hey maxi! When you get a minute, give me a call.
Max looked over at Chloe, who’s face was one of very mixed emotion.
“You okay?” Chloe didn’t look up from her phone, her eyes watery. “Chlo?” Chloe finally looked up at Max, tears rolling down her cheeks. Max reached over and tugged Chloe into a hug…
Minutes earlier…
Max picked up her phone, Chloe watching the girl read through her texts for a few seconds before pulling her phone out, immediately scrolling to one contact.
Rachel.
Chloe’s eyes fell on the bottom most text but quickly scrolled up to December, knowing that’s just before she disappeared in the old timeline. Instead of finding any texts from December, she found one from October.
October 15th, 2013.
October 15th, 2013.
Chloe:
rach
Chloe:
we need to talk about the fucking letter
Rachel: ok
Chloe:
Junkyard
Chloe:
10 minutes
Chloe:
if you bring him i swear to fucking god i’ll blow his fucking head off
October 17th, 2013.
Rachel: Why tf did u tell max?
Chloe: she deserved to know. I didnt tell her who it was with tho
Rachel: thank u for that.
Chloe: fuck you.
December 25th, 2013.
Rachel: Message from blocked number .
January 7th, 2014.
Chloe:
rach
Chloe:
im sorry if i hurt u
Chloe:
but u hurt me too
Chloe:
and im not gonna keep chasing after u
Chloe:
but this vanishing act is fucked up
Chloe:
pls come back
January 16th, 2014.
Chloe:
rach
Chloe:
idk if u will see this
Chloe:
but im so fucking sorry
Chloe:
about jefferson
Chloe:
about all of it
Chloe:
prick tried to shoot me
Chloe:
that psycho deserves to die for what he did to us
Rachel: by the time you find little miss amber, she’ll be too dead to hear you say sorry.
Chloe:
fuck you asshole
Chloe:
let her go
Rachel:
no can do
Rachel:
bye bye girlfriend
Chloe:
please
Message not delivered.
January 30th, 2014.
Chloe: meet me at home
Rachel: dorms instead?
Chloe: agreed, can max be there?
Rachel: only if frank can be there too
Chloe: fine
Rachel: see u soon
Chloe: u got it
February 3rd, 2014.
Rachel:
im off to portland for like 5 months
Rachel:
max said rip
Rachel:
we’re such a good bad influence
Chloe: i know right
Rachel:
yeah
Rachel:
idk how long ill be
Rachel:
5 months is ‘ballpark’ according to dad
Chloe: stay safe, is it for the case?
Rachel: yeah, they r getting a bunch of us down to testify
Chloe:
damn, good luck
Chloe:
tear his fucking head off
Rachel:
will do
Rachel:
my dad is strict af tho so we probably wont talk much
Chloe: fuck that guy
Rachel:
lol
Rachel:
i gtg, soz
Rachel:
look after Max, pls
Chloe: always
Chloe reread the messages several times, her eyes watering as she realises what they say.
Rachel fucking cheated.
In this timeline, they were together, just like the old timeline. But in this one.
‘She fucking cheated on me with Mark Jefferson…’ Chloe sat there, her glassy eyes staring at her phone screen, her hands shaking with rage and anger. Partly at Rachel but mostly at Jefferson, wondering how he got into her ear, remembering the letter from the old timeline, how she was “kinda obsessed”, Chloe wondering how much of that was Jefferson being a fucking snake and-
“Chlo?” Chloe looked up at Max, tears rolling down her cheeks. Max reached over and tugged Chloe into a hug, Chloe locking her phone and tucking it into her pocket as she let Max pull her onto the bed so they could lay together. “What happened? I saw that I was hella pissed at Rachel about something-”
“Rachel slept with Jefferson.”
“What the fuck?” Max shot up, her face one of shock and annoyance.
“Clearly we’re all over it. Probably because he got arrested and we all nearly died. Still, crazy…”
“Hella crazy. We…” Max let out a shaky breath. “We should probably keep up appearances, at least until we can tell her face to face.”
“About what happened?”
“Yeah, she seems like the kind of person who’d believe us.”
“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.”
“She wanted me to call her.”
“Alright, call her then.” Chloe let out another shaky breath before grabbing a packet of cigarettes out of her coat, shrugging. “Going for a smoke.”
“You deserve one, after the bombshell i mean. Come up when you’re done.”
“Will do ma’am.” Chloe turned to leave, Max's voice stopping her.
“Oh by the way Chloe, I loooove it when you call me that.” Max grinned at Chloe, the other girl blushing slightly before walking away, heading out to smoke as Max called Rachel.
Chloe walked back inside the dorm building 10 minutes later than she wanted to, having got caught speaking to Dana and Juliet in the area outside the dorms, the trio organising a party on Saturday the 5th. Chloe walked up to the door and paused, her eyes tracing along the floor plan for Blackwell.
217:
Stella Hill.
218:
Dana Ward.
219:
Max Caulfield.
220:
Rachel Amber.
221:
Victoria Chase.
222:
Kate Marsh.
223:
Juliet Watson.
224:
Taylor Christensen.
225:
Brooke Scott.
226:
Alex Chen.
Chloe grinned as she paced down the hall, eyes locking on room 220 for a few seconds before she let out a heavy sigh, walking over and looking at the lock, hands ghosting over her lockpick set before a new memory appeared, her brain flashing with pain as the memory forced itself up to the surface, Chloe remembering herself standing outside Room 220, her phone up to her ear, Rachel’s voice carrying over the line.
“Chloe, I left the key with you, it’s on your keyring.”
“Okay, which one? You’ve put like, 5 keys on my keyring.”
“Very funny, Chlo. It’s the one marked ‘BA’ on one side with a middle finger on the other side.”
“Very tasteful, I’m sure Wells is thrilled.”
“Oh, he absolutely loves it.”
“Found it, what do you want me to do again?”
The memory faded, Chloe leaning against the wall and rubbing her temples for a few seconds before reaching for her keys, pulling them out and finding Rachel’s dorm room key. She slid it into the lock and twisted, the lock clicking, Chloe twisting the knob and opening the door, stepping into Rachel’s room and flicking the light switch, the dim bulb flickering before brightening up, Rachel’s room revealing itself to Chloe.
“Fucking hell…” Rachel’s room was very dusty, Chloe loosely running a hand over Rachel’s bed, which was sitting in the right corner, a deep desk at the end of the bed, being used to hold an expensive flat screen television. Rachel’s drawers were all open, the clothes had been looted out of it in Rachel’s hurry to pack. The desk also had an iMac with keyboard, mouse and trackpad sitting behind the TV. Chloe sighed a bit before she closed the door, locking it again before returning to Max’s room.
“Hey Max.”
“Chloe, I was wondering.”
“Yeah?”
“We did start Star Wars.”
“Yeah, finished Episode 3 last.”
“Do you want to watch Episode 4?”
“Hella yeah!”
Chapter Text
Rachel: Hey Max
Max: hey rach
Max: thanks for the call
Rachel: no max
Rachel: thank you
Rachel: i needed that tbh
Max: of course
Rachel: im sorry i cant be there for you
Max: its ok, you’re dealing with something far more important
Rachel: still im sorry
Rachel: its not your fault you feel this way
Max: it fucking sucks, to be honest
Max: i just want her to be happy
Max: and i feel like im letting her down
Max: by not being good enough
Rachel: look, i know im probably the last person you want to hear this from
Rachel: but she cares about you so, so much that she doesn’t give a shit
Max: i know
Max: but
Max: i still dont fucking know if im ready
Rachel: take your time max
Rachel: she’ll wait for u
Rachel: soz but i gtg
Max: see you soon rach
Tuesday, 2nd April, 2014.
Max put her phone down on her desk and ran her hand through her hair. Chloe had left a few hours earlier to get some stuff from her home, leaving Max alone with her thoughts. She stood up, grabbing her empty water bottle and walking off to the kitchen, filling her water bottle with water from the cooler. She also popped a few coins into the vending machine and grabbed a Dr Pepper from it, walking back to her room slowly.
“Hey Max.” Max turned to see Kate walk into the hallway behind her, a smile on her face with a few bags, Max rushing over and grabbing one of the bags for Kate. “Thanks Max.”
“Of course Kate. Let me get the door for you.” The pair walked up to Kate’s room, Kate unlocking the door, Max pushing the door open, Kate walking in and putting the bag down and taking the other bag from Max, unpacking some stuff for Alice.
“How are you doing Kate?”
“I’m doing good, thank you, you?”
“I’m doing alright. I learned something about a friend that has me slightly troubled, to be honest.”
“Aww, I hope you can get that sorted out.”
“So do I…” Max rubbed the back of her neck, her phone buzzing. “Chloe’s calling me.”
“Ah! Tell her I said hi!”
“Will do, thanks Kate, see you soon.”
“Bye!” Max walked out of Kate’s room and walked into her own, putting her Dr Pepper and water bottle down on her desk as she answered the phone.
“Hey Chloe!”
“Max! There’s a lot of traffic but I’m on my way back.”
“Awesome! Kate said hi by the way.”
“Oh my god! I should go and talk to her when I get back.”
“Hope you two have fun talking whilst I unpack some of your stuff.”
“Hey, I’m just glad Rachel let me use her dorm room.”
“Same. I’m still surprised we’re all on good terms, all things considered.”
“I know… it’s hella weird, especially now that I’ve had some time to think about it.” Max let out a soft sigh, rubbing her temples.
“Yeah, we totally need to speak to her about it when she gets back.”
“Agreed. I’m just about to pull up now.”
“Awesomesauce, see you soon babe.”
“See ya!” Max heard the line go dead, her face stuck in a grin. Chloe had rung Rachel last night, asking if she could use her dorm room whilst she was away. Rachel was surprised that Chloe hadn’t asked earlier, telling the girl that she can use her room any time she wants and that she doesn’t need to ask.
Max took a sip of Dr. Pepper, and laid back in her chair, expelling her worries about her not being good enough for Chloe until the next time she gets some private time. Max took a shaky, deep breath and stood up, walking up to the door and opening it just as Chloe walked into the hallway, Max closing and locking her door before running up to Chloe, wrapping each other in a huge hug.
“I missed you.” Max whispered in Chloe’s ear as they hugged, Chloe smiling and kissing Max on the forehead.
“I missed you too babe.”
“I love you.” Max leant up and kissed Chloe on the cheek, Chloe kissing Max’s cheek in return.
“I love you too.” Chloe and Max walked down the hallway, towards Rachel’s room, Chloe unlocking and opening the door.
“God damn, Rachel needs to dust.” Chloe laughed at Max’s words, the pair getting to work cleaning up the room as Chloe unpacked some of the clothing she brought. After a few minutes, Kate walked into the room, smiling as Chloe jumped up and hugged the girl, Kate screaming as Chloe spun her around.
Kate and Chloe laughed together for a few minutes before she also started to help clean up, the trio making quick work of Rachel’s room. After several hours, the whole room had been dusted and cleaned, Chloe unpacking some of her clothing into the drawers and onto the chair, Max having made the bed up and was laying with Chloe on Rachel’s bed that was larger than her own by quite a margin, her single bed being dwarfed by Rachel’s double bed. Chloe and Max had their arms wrapped around each other as Chloe turned to Max.
“Hey, Max. There's a party on Saturday. You-”
“I’m one hundred percent in, let’s do it.”
Chloe smiled, but Max held a hand up. “But, I need to take some pictures this week, we can’t just lay around and do nothing all break.” Chloe nodded, Max smiling as she cuddled up to Chloe, Chloe clicking Rachel’s TV on and Max turning her old PS3 on, the hard drive whirring as Chloe and Max both grabbed a controller, the duo smiling as Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga started booting, Chloe and Max playing for hours and hours, late into the night, Chloe even ordering a large pizza for them to share. After many hours of playing, laughing and snuggling, both girls drifted off to sleep, the light hum of the TV filling the silence of the room.
Wednesday, 3rd April, 2014.
Max woke up groggily, her eyes hurting with sleepiness. After a few seconds, she felt someth- someone roll on top of her. “Chloeee! Gerroffme!” Max waved her arms to her sides, Chloe snickering from on top of her before climbing off of Max and picking her up, carrying her back into her own dorm.
“Get changed, I’ve got a plan for today.” A wolfish grin spread across Chloe’s face as she winked at Max and walked out, Chloe heading back to Rachel’s room to change as Max began to get dressed in her own room, slipping a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt and varsity jacket, Max smiling as she headed back to Rachel’s room to grab her phone and bag, Chloe walking out with Max’s bag and phone in her hand. “Let’s go, Maximo.”
Chloe led Max out of the dorms, the pair walked out of the building and towards the parking lot, Chloe leading Max to her truck before opening the door for her. “Why thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, mi’lady.” Max giggled at Chloe’s antics and climbed into the cab through the passenger door as Chloe closed the door behind her before walking around the truck, climbing in the drivers side and turning the key in the ignition, the truck revving to life. “Let’s go.” Chloe pulled out of the Blackwell parking lot and drove towards the ocean, heading towards the Two Whales, Chloe pulling up in one of the parking spaces. “Breakfast first.”
“Hella yes.” Max grinned and climbed out the truck, Chloe pouting as she walked around. “Aww sorry, did I ruin your fun?”
“Yeah.” Chloe winked at Max and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl's shoulder, tugging her closer. Chloe led Max into the diner, the pair walking in and over to their usual table as Joyce walked over with a notepad.
“Good mornin’ girls. What can I get you two today?”
“Could I get a black coffee and a stack of pancakes please?” Max smiled up at Joyce, who nodded and jotted something down on her notepad.
“Could I also get some pancakes?”
“Of course. Be with you shortly.” Joyce walked away, Chloe and Max smiling at each other as Max rested a hand on the table, Chloe taking it and giving it a squeeze.
“I love you Max.”
“I love you too Chloe.”
“I love you more!”
“No, I love you more!” Max grinned as Chloe blushed when Joyce cleared her throat next to the pair, the elder Price placing Max’s coffee on the table. “Ha, I got you.”
“No fair, you’re supposed to be the awkward one, now all my street cred is gone, again.” Chloe looked down with faux-sadness, Max smiling at kissing Chloe’s hands softly. “Thank you, Max.”
“Of course. I love you.” Max took a sip of her coffee, the pair drawing their hands away when Joyce walked over with two stacks of pancakes, the pair tucking in and eating hungrily.
“Thank you so much for today, Chlo.”
“Of course Max, I hope you enjoyed yourself. It’s no Portland, but with Rachel and Jefferson there, I’d rather stay away from there right now.”
“Hella agreed. Today has been very nice, and I got a lot of pictures, so thank you Chloe. I love you so, so much.”
“I love you more though.”
“Nuh uh.” Max shook her head and smirked at Chloe, who leant down and kissed Max on the nose, the other girl blushing, before deflecting by blurting out; “I got so many pictures!” Chloe watched as Max climbed into the truck and began flipping through all of her pictures, her camera having run out of film several hours ago and Max having about a dozen pictures in her bag. Chloe climbed into the truck and smiled at Max as the smaller girl slipped her photos back into her bag, turning and smiling up at Chloe with a smile so warm Chloe’s heart skipped a beat.
Chapter 69
Notes:
Warning: NSFW, 18+, read with caution.
Whilst the chapter is separated into two sections, it's not very well split up, so just take caution whilst reading.
Chapter Text
Thursday, 3rd April, 2014.
Max walked into her dorm room with a large smile on her face, her heart buzzing but her stomach full of butterflies.
Tonight was the night.
She dropped her usual messenger bag on her couch and slipped her hoodie off, locking her door and pulling the blinds closed over her window. Max tugged her wardrobe doors open and began riffling through her clothes, her hands resting on a certain item of clothing, Max pulling it out and grinning with happiness.
It was a long, black dress with shoulder straps, it wasn’t tight, but it wasn’t a loose dress either. Max flipped it around a few times before putting it on her bed, quickly undressing, discarding her t-shirt, jeans and sneakers before stepping into the dress, sliding it up her body. She spun around a few times, the bottom of the dress flapping slightly. Max slipped back into her sneakers and rocked on her heels for a second before smiling.
“Modest yet stylish.” Max let out a soft laugh, adjusting the straps of the dress before turning to her desk - Chloe had left a bag of clothes on her desk during the day. Max opened the bag and grinned, pulling out a bracelet box, she lifted the lid, a giddy feeling rushing through her as she grinned. The bracelet was very familiar to Max, it was the butterfly bracelet William had given her many years ago. She took a shaky breath as she turned it over in her hand, slipping it on. She noticed a sticky note on the box, turning it over to read the label.
You left it at mine a few weeks ago.
You better be wearing it tonight, or I swear I’m going to leave your boney ass on your own in the cold.
Max felt a smile crawl up her face. She noticed that there was one more item in the bag, and tugged it out.
“Oh my god…” Max let out another soft laugh, her breath a bit shaky as emotion threatens to overwhelm her. It was Chloe’s white leather jacket, from… from that timeline. Max slipped it on, tugging it over her frame and grinning, adjusting the fur piece so it was sitting comfortably over the leather jacket. Max heard a knocking on her door, raising an eyebrow before hearing a voice pass through the door.
“Max? Chloe asked me to do your makeup for you, she said you were hella nervous and-.” Max smiled, unlocking and opening the door, letting Kate in whilst she was still speaking. “Thank you, Max, I-” Kate started to speak but stopped when she saw Max, giving the girl a warm smile, Max blushing slightly. “You…”
“How do I look?”
“You look… you look absolutely amazing!” Kate grinned at Max, the girl blushing and covering her face with her hands. Kate lightly jabbed at Max’s sides before placing a mirror and some makeup stuff down on Max’s desk. “Sit down, please.” Max took a seat and Kate got to work, putting black eyeliner, a slight amount of eye shadow and a little bit of contour, giving her face an angular glow. Kate grabbed the mirror, giving it to Max, who gasped before grinning widely.
“Oh my gosh, Kate, thank you so much!” Max grinned widely, jumping up before hugging Kate, Kate hugging Max back before pulling away and speaking.
“I also brought some lipstick, but to be honest, you look so good you don’t need it.” Max blushed again, Kate picking up her makeup kit and her mirror before walking to the door. “Good luck tonight.”
“Thank you so, so much, Kate.” Kate walked out, Max letting out a sigh before grabbing a bottle of water she had on her desk. She took a long sip, placing the bottle down on her desk and grabbing a small handbag out of her wardrobe. Max unzipped the handbag and put a fresh bottle of water into the bag alongside her phone, headphones, her camera and a few other things.
She heard a series of hard knocks on her door and grinned, standing up and knocked back, taking a step away from the door. The door swung open to reveal Chloe standing on the other side, holding her hands behind her back. Both of them went to speak, Max’s mouth hanging open awkwardly as Chloe grinned before letting out a soft laugh, her face softening into a vulnerable and warm smile. Chloe stepped into the room and shut the door with a boot.
“Oh my god, Max. You look absolutely beautiful.” Chloe reached out and put a hand on Max’s cheek, leaning closer. Max took a step closer herself, her hand moving up to Chloe’s cheek, crossing over the girl's own. Both girls met in the middle, their lips pressing together softly as they kissed. Max stepped forward confidently, Chloe wrapping an arm around Max’s waist and holding her close. After about a minute, Chloe pulled away, Max letting out a nervous laugh before looking Chloe up and down, grinning.
“You look good yourself, Chlo.” Chloe blushed slightly, her smirk concealing a slight undertone of nervousness. Chloe was wearing a loose fitting button up shirt, tucked into a pair of dress trousers, a loose bowtie hanging around her neck. The smart trousers were tucked into her usual pair of boots, the worn leather grounding Max in the allure of… well, just Chloe . Her Chloe.
“Ready to go?” Max nodded eagerly, Chloe offering her arm to Max, the photographer looping her arm around Chloe’s before letting out a relaxed ‘hmm’ sound, Chloe turning to Max as she pulled out her camera, Chloe leaning closer as Max turned the camera onto them, snapping a picture and tucking both the polaroid and camera into her bag. Chloe walked Max out to the parking lot. It was around 9pm and Blackwell was uncharacteristically quiet, Max and Chloe briskly walking through the quad and down the steps to the parking lot, quickly walking over to Chloe’s truck. Chloe peeled away from Max, opening the girls door before climbing in through the passenger side, Max shaking her head and laughing.
“Chlo, you are impossible. ” Max let out an exasperated laugh, Chloe giving her a cheeky grin as she tugged at the handle of the drivers door, nothing happening.
“You know you love it, also the door lock might be broken and might only work with the engine on.” Max laughed, Chloe pouting before turning the key in the ignition, the few lights on the dashboard flashing up before the radio started playing, First Date by Blink-182 playing through the speakers. Chloe quickly ejected the disk, turning away and blushing furiously, Max giggling softly and whispering into Chloe’s ear.
“Nervous, dear?” Chloe shook her head, a sly smirk attempting but failing to conceal the nervousness in her eyes and the blush on her cheeks as she slipped the CD back into its cardboard sleeve, pulling out the Lego House album CD, putting it into the stereo and jabbing at the play button, Lego House (Acoustic) by Ed Sheeran pouring out the speakers and appearing on the dim display.
“One of Rachel’s and yours. Turns out, you two have quite similar music tastes.” Max grinned cheekily, giving Chloe a loving nudge before shifting into the middle of the bench and resting herself against Chloe, her handbag next to the door. “Oh and, just to prove my point.” Chloe pulled her handle, the driver’s side door swinging open, Max and Chloe both laughing as Chloe began to drive out of Blackwell’s parking lot, to their destination.
Chloe took a nervous, deep breath as she pulled into the parking lot of the Two Whales, quickly pulling into a parking space and turning the truck off, clambering out and quickly walking around to the passenger door, opening it and letting Max climb out. Chloe made sure the truck was locked before putting her keys in Max’s bag, the other girl pouting slightly. Chloe pulled a funny face, Max giggling softly, the sound making Chloe’s heart flutter. Chloe wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulder, Max moving a hand to Chloe’s waist. Chloe led Max into the Two Whales, the pair walking up the steps and pushing the door open together, Chloe letting Max go into the main diner ahead of her.
“Oh, wow…” Max gasped in awe at the scene before her. The counter top was littered in candles, several of them already burned out, not that Max minded. She gave Chloe a squeeze when she saw the disappointed look on Chloe’s face at the state of some of the candles. “It’s amazing, babe. Thank you.” Chloe smiled at Max down at Max, the smile full of love and care.
“Let’s sit.” Chloe led Max over to their usual booth, both girls sliding into their usual sides. After a few seconds, Max heard someone walking over, her eyes going wide when she saw Kate walking towards her with a pad of paper.
“Hey there, girls. What do you want?” Max let out an exasperated laugh before smiling at Kate.
“Oooh, I think pancakes would be perfect please.” Max grinned at Kate’s laugh, the girl turning to Chloe.
“Can I have a bacon sandwich please?” Kate smiled, put the pad of paper down on the table, then turned and walked away, Joyce immediately walking out with a tray that had two plates and two cups of coffee. One plate had a bacon sandwich with more bacon and the other had a stack of pancakes, about 10 pancakes tall. Chloe and Max both burst out laughing, Kate speaking to Joyce.
“I think you know those two far too well.” Joyce put the tray down, the girls grabbing their plates of food and coffee, smiling at Joyce.
“Thank you, Joyce.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Joyce beamed at Chloe and Max, both girls tucking into their food. After about 30 minutes and several bowls of ice cream, Max and Chloe both walked out of the diner, Chloe patting her pockets for her keys, hearing a jingling from behind her.
“Looking for these?” Max held Chloe’s keys up teasingly, the punk smirking before lunging at Max, trying to grab the keys out of her hands. Max threw the keys up in the air, quickly stepping around Chloe before holding her hand out, the keys slowing to a crawl before beginning to rise upwards, falling back down and-
“Ow!” Chloe rubbed the back of her head, the keys clattering to the floor as Chloe turned to Max, who had a mischievous grin on her face. “You… oooh, you misbehave, Maximus.”
“I know you love it.” Max smiled with a warmth Chloe couldn’t quite place. She picked the keys up, walked over to the truck door, using the key to unlock it and climb in, she slid the key into the ignition and turned it. Chloe, who was pouting the entire time, and angling for a kiss on her head, finally relented and walked over to the car, Max pushing the door open before shuffling back to the middle of the bench, Chloe climbing into the cab and closing the door, instantly finding Max at her side, mouth by Chloe’s ear, her hot breath causing the hairs on the back of Chloe’s neck peaking.
“I… Chloe, I’m ready.” Max breathed out, her voice a whisper. Chloe turned to face her, Max putting her hands around the back of Chloe’s head, pulling her head into Max’s chest and pressing a kiss to her head, where the keys had landed on her. Chloe let out a laugh, her breath ragged, flushing heat down Max’s chest, causing the other girl to shiver with arousal.
“You sure?”
“I’m very sure, after tonight… I’m ready for you, all of you.” Chloe perked back up, her face a glowing smile as she started the truck, turning the wheel and pulling out, heading back to her house.
The girls practically fell through Chloe’s bedroom door, their mouths connected in a passionate kiss. Max pulled away and booted the door closed with her shoe, quickly booting her sneakers off. Chloe slipped her hands under Max’s jacket, pulling it off of her. Max wrestled her arms out from under Chloe’s leather jacket, practically tearing it off of her before tugging at the buttons on Chloe’s shirt. Chloe quickly reached around her top, finding and unclasping her bra before tugging it out, Max’s eyes hungry with need.
“God, someone’s eager…” Chloe breathed out, her voice shaky with need. Max leant up and pressed a kiss to Chloe, her lips ghosting across to Chloe’s cheek, following her jaw up to her ear before kissing down her neck. For Chloe’s part, she snaked a hand around Max’s head, the other resting on the small of the girl’s back. Max’s lips reached Chloe’s collar and chest, her fingers fumbling with Chloe’s buttons. She quickly plucked each button out of its place, Chloe’s shirt slowly falling open until Max tugged it out of Chloe’s pants, the shirt falling away to reveal Chloe’s chest.
“Oh… wow…” Max spoke breathlessly, her eyes locked onto Chloe’s breasts, her lips quickly moving to kiss around Chloe’s areola, Max’s actions causing her lover to gasp and squirm, her hand closing around a tuft of Max’s hair.
“Max… pleas-” Chloe was forced to stop speaking as a soft moan tore through her, Max having closed her lips around one of Chloe’s areola, kissing it repeatedly before flicking her tongue across it rapidly, Chloe panting and writhing the entire time. “Oh, Max… Max…” Max moved to the other breast, her hand grabbing at the neglected breast, Chloe moaning at Max’s ministrations. Chloe, lost in the pleasure, didn’t feel Max leave her breast, trailing hot breaths of air down her stomach, her hands moving to Chloe’s pants, tugging her belt open and her pants down, Chloe’s boxer briefs coming into view. Max ran a finger down Chloe’s crotch, the other girl shivering in pleasure before coming to her senses.
“Max… your turn.” Max yelped as Chloe picked her up, spinning the smaller girl around before pinning her to the bed, her hand moving to the straps on Max’s dress, tugging it down the girl’s shoulders and onto her arms. Max looked up at Chloe with starstruck eyes, longing in her face as she let out a soft moan.
“Chloe… please… I can’t take the wait anymore… please…” Chloe smiled down at Max and slowly peeled Max’s dress off, leaving her in a black bra and underwear, Max arched her back expectantly as Chloe reached around, pressing a kiss to the space in between Max’s breasts as she unclasped the bra, pulling it off. She let a soft smile cross her face as she leant into Max, her mouth near the girl’s ear.
“Are you ready?”
“Oh, you don’t have a clue how ready I am…” Max’s voice was surprisingly steady for the need she felt building in her, her hips bucking and her nipples hardening at the closeness of their naked bodies. Chloe leant down to Max’s collar and shoulders.
“Now, where was I… oh yeah.” She planted kisses, at first around Max’s collar and then her shoulders before trailing down Max’s side, her lips ghosting her breasts as she kissed her stomach, Max letting out a needy whine as Chloe neglected her. “Sorry Max, I’m sorry.” Chloe let a breath of hot air coat Max’s stomach before trailing her kisses upwards, her lips sealing around Max’s nipples, sucking lightly. She unlatched herself, Max letting out another needy groan as Chloe began to ghost her lips around Max’s breasts, breathing hot air onto the girl. Max ran her hand through Chloe’s hair tenderly, pulling the girl onto her other nipple before whispering out.
“Ohmygod… Chloe… oh dog…” Max smiled down at Chloe, her breathing ragged with need and arousal. Chloe pulled back, her hands trailing down Max’s sides, looping around the girl’s underwear.
“You ready?”
“Hell yes.” Chloe tugged, Max’s sex being exposed as Chloe pulled her briefs off, leaving both girls fully naked in the bedroom, Chloe standing over Max, the smaller girl staring up at Chloe in awe. “You’re so…”
“Hot? Sexy?”
“Yeah… big ego… sexy… hot… Did I mention, big ego…” Chloe laughed, Max’s puns still cracking her up, even in an intimate moment such as this. Chloe leant down, a finger trailing over Max’s sex before an idea settled in her mind.
“Max, do you trust me?”
“Always.” Max looked at Chloe, spotting the other girl climb onto the bed, manoeuvring herself in between Max’s legs, their mounds brushing together for a second, both girls shivering from the contact. “Oh… ohmygod…” Max breathed out, her voice hoarse and needy as Chloe looked at Max with love in her eyes, both girls nodding before grabbing at each other's legs, their cores pressing together and grinding against one another. Max let out a long, needy moan, Chloe quickening her pace a little before slowing back down, earning her a pout from Max, interrupted by another moan.
“Oh… I’m gonna… gonna-” Max threw her head back, a guttural moan bellowing out from inside her. Max’s entire being shuddered under Chloe’s ministrations, the other girl grinning as she sped up, feeling herself getting close to the edge, moans tearing through the both of them, Max grinding faster and faster until she was moving as fast if not faster than her partner.
“Oh, Maxi… i’m go-” Chloe didn’t even get to finish her sentence before the orgasm burst out from inside her, her head lulling back in pleasure as she came against Max, both girls falling back onto the bed from exhaustion, a tangle of limbs and sheets as both girls drifted off to sleep in one another's arms.
Chapter Text
Friday, 4th April, 2014.
Chloe was sitting lazily on the bench of her truck, her legs swung up awkwardly, resting on the empty passenger side. She had a cigarette in one hand and her phone in the other, absentmindedly scrolling her texts with people. Chloe scrolled through her texts with Max, skimming through some of them until she got to a text that caught her eye, a smile beaming across her face.
Max:
Hey Chloe, its Max. im so, so sorry i haven’t stayed in contact, it’s been
Max:
pressed send by accident
Max:
its probably easier for me to talk to you face to face.
Max:
Sorry im rambling,
Max:
i should probably tell you that im coming back to arcadia bay.
Chloe: Max? Please tell me this isn’t like a fake message
Max:
of course it isn’t Chloe
Max:
i promised that i was coming back to you
Chloe continued to smile as she read on, her and Chloe talking about what they could do together, Chloe telling Max about Rachel and the five years of non-contact between the pair, both girls sharing stories. After a few minutes, Chloe heard someone knocking on the passenger window of her truck, Chloe unlocking the doors and putting her feet down as Max climbed in, Chloe giving Max a chaste kiss on the lips before speaking.
“Hey Max, or should I say, Edgar Allen Poe, the way you text me back in August.” Chloe grinned at Max as the girl raised an eyebrow at her, visibly cringing at Chloe’s remark whilst tugging her phone out of her bag.
“Huh?” Max scrolled on her phone, searching for the texts Chloe was referencing, smiling when she read them. “Oh wow… Guess we were a lot more prepared in this timeline.”
“Yeah…” Chloe trailed off, both girls thinking for a few seconds before Chloe spoke again. “This timeline rules. Rachel’s alive, Jeffershit’s gone, we’re still together, you told me you were coming back…”
“Yeah, and I’ve got a kickass teacher.”
“Yeah! That’s the spirit. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than the last few.”
“Oh, one hundred percent, no arguing from me.” Max chuckled, Chloe joining in as both girls burst into hysterics. After a few minutes of breathless laughing, Chloe turned the key in the ignition, turning to face Max as she started the truck but didn’t make any move to start driving. “Do you think that you getting in touch beforehand, and all the good things in this timeline, was because of my Dad?” Max pondered for a few seconds before letting out a sad sigh.
“I mean, it makes sense. He’s always wanted the best for the both of us, so it would make sense that he’d do this for us.”
“Heh, even when he’s gone, he’s still looking out for us…” Chloe looked out the driver's side window, blinking tears out of her eyes, Max wrapping an arm around Chloe, giving her a squeeze. After a few minutes, Chloe finally turned the parking brake off, driving out of the Blackwell parking lot and started driving into Arcadia.
“So, where are we going?”
“Home, I need to pick up a few more things.” Max nodded and smiled, humming a little as she fiddled with the radio, the CD spinning inside and Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs started playing, Max and Chloe both raising an eyebrow at the song before Chloe laughed a little.
“Aah, it’s probably one of Rachel’s.” Max laughed a little, pulling the glove box open and taking out the CD case labelled “Rachel’s Mix”, opening it to find it empty.
“I mean, it’s a pretty good song…” The girls started to bob their heads to the tune, grins on their faces as Chloe started to sing along, her voice out of tune and a few decibels too high, basically shouting the lyrics inside of the cab, Max in hysterics at Chloe.
“God Chloe, you are impossible .”
“Yep, that’s me. Your impossible girl.” Chloe glanced over at Max, smiling slightly before turning back to the road, slowing down as she started to enter the suburbs, turning down Cedar Avenue and letting out a frustrated sigh when she saw a muscle car parked in the driveway.
Chloe stopped on the curb, both girls climbing out the driver's door, Chloe locking the truck and unlocking the house, Max slipping in behind her as both girls made their way upstairs. Chloe and Max quickly walk into Chloe’s room, the girl shutting the door before noticing a deadbolt on the door, sliding it closed.
“That David’s car?” Max asked Chloe in a slightly hushed voice, Chloe shrugging slightly as she tore her closet doors open, grabbing a backpack, her grinder, weed pipe and papers before grabbing the spare packs of cigarettes and bottles of beer she kept in her desk, her eyes lingering on the bottle of vodka, Chloe putting the bag down and picking up the vodka bottle, her knuckles whitening around the neck of the bottle.
“What’s tha- Chloe!” Chloe stormed out of the bedroom, roughly pushing the bathroom door open as Chloe took the top off of the bottle, pouring the vodka down the toilet before flushing it and throwing the bottle in the trash, storming back into her bedroom.
“Sorry, I had to deal with that.” Chloe let out a shaky exhale, packing a few more things away, including her laptop charger, iPod dock and an old denim jacket before grabbing two boxes out of her closet, grabbing a sharpie and scrawling “dvds” on one box, Max’s eye catching on the other box.
Max & Chloe’s Secret Princess Stash
Landlubbers Keep Out
“Oh my god, you kept this stuff?” Max grinned at Chloe, who beamed back before handing the box to Max, the other girl immediately putting it down and tugging the top off, eyes rapidly shifting over everything she could see - photo albums of the two girls' pirate adventures, the stash her and Chloe had buried. One thing on the very top caught her eye, her eyes wetting with tears as she picked it up.
It was a cassette, with a sticky label on it, Max reading the label aloud.
“I’m sorry.” Max looked up at Chloe, the other girl turning around.
“What’re you sorry abo-” Chloe stopped speaking as both girls' eyes met. Max standing up and slowly walking over to Chloe, the punk girl putting down the DVD she was holding, a hand moving up to wipe her eyes. Max caught Chloe’s hand, holding it and giving it a tight squeeze.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t write or call, I’m sorry it took me five years and five timelines to finally reach out before I came back. I’m sorry it took me so freaking long to tell you. I’m so, so sorry.” Max nestled her head in Chloe’s neck, a sob ripping through her as the floodgates opened and Max began to cry. Chloe immediately wrapped Max into a tight hug, giving her a squeeze before speaking.
“Max, it’s okay… I’m sorry too. I should’ve reached out, it was unfair to expect you to do it all. I…” Chloe paused, Max looking up and Chloe moving her hands to cup Max’s cheeks, her thumbs wiping Max’s tears away. “I went to Seattle, I went to find you.”
“What?”
“I ran away from Arcadia Bay. It was… I was at a really low point. It was late 2011, Mom and David were being really hard on me and I was rebelling - hard. Rach and I had fallen out too, which didn’t help. I was desperate . So, I packed myself a few bags, grabbed up food and drink for the journey, and started driving. I made it to near Portland before my truck gave out and I was stuck. I called Frank, begged him to make some calls and get it picked up, then started walking. I walked and walked until I found some train tracks, heading north. I waited until a train came and hopped on board. I was absolutely exhausted and nearly got caught but got lucky and slipped out before they found me.”
“Who?”
“The police. They were searching for some shit, I don’t know. Drugs, I guess. Anyway, I was near Seattle, so I started walking again. I walked to Olympia and got a taxi to get the rest of the way there. Was damn near broke by the time I made it. Then I started searching, went around suburbs, schools and stuff.” Chloe cleared her throat, Max handing her a bottle of water but not speaking, enthralled in the story Chloe was telling. “Then I saw you. I finally found you…”
“But.”
“But, you were with Kristen and the other person.”
“Fernando.” Max looked down, her eyes locking onto the ground as she blinked tears away.
“Thanks, anyway. I saw you three, I saw you… you looked so, so fucking happy. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to you… I didn’t want you to…” Chloe paused as a sob clawed its way out of her, Max tugging Chloe into a tight embrace, giving her a reassuring squeeze, urging her to continue. “I didn’t want you to have to deal with my bullshit. You seemed so, so fucking happy in Seattle, I didn’t want to drag you down, so I ran. I ran away. I… I gave up on us, us ever being together. That’s why I was so, so damn angry when you showed up that day, because I wanted you to be happy, and I thought you were happier in Seattle, without me.” Chloe finally broke, sobs ripping through her as she collapsed onto the floor, Max quickly getting down onto the floor with her and rubbing her back, cooing softly.
“Oh, Chlo… I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you… I came back here for you, truth be told, I was miserable in Seattle. It sucked, bad. I fought with my Mom nearly daily. I was in and out of therapy like there was no tomorrow, because my Mom kept forcing me into it. She felt like I was unhappy because of you, because you had poisoned me. It nearly broke me, Chlo, the way she spoke about you. I… I nearly-”
“Don’t say it, I think I can figure it out… because I nearly did the same thing.”
“Yeah… anyway, I started… God Chloe, we did so much dumb stuff. Fernando, Kristen and I, we got in with a bad group of people… we were out clubbing most nights, I started vaping and drinking and… it sucked. Kristen and I managed to get out of it just before we finished school.”
“And Fernando?”
“He… He didn’t make it, Chlo. The three of us became more wild, we all had problems with our parents, you know mine and I’m not going to tell Kristen’s because she would want to tell you herself, but Fernando was… he was uncomfortable with his gender, I think he wanted to transition, but I never really found out. His Dad was a right ass about it though, screamed at him from dusk till dawn about it. He fell harder than the rest of us, he got in deep with a bad crowd and Me and Kristen followed him in. We both tried, we tried to save him, but I failed.”
May, 2013.
“Fernando wait-” Kristen rushed forward, Fernando giving her a light push and a suave, warm smile.
“Kristen, trust me, I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before a dozen times.”
“Okay…” Kristen nodded, stepping back and taking Max’s hand, turning to her and whispering quietly. “Something feels wrong, this other guy never races clean, and Fernando has been acting strange as fuck recently.” Max nodded back, both girls watching as Fernando and the other kid, brown hair, orange varsity jacket and jeans, talked before they both got into their cars. The flag girl walked forward, holding two white flags, dashed with neon paint in her hands, the neon paint glowing as she held them up, before swinging them down.
The two cars sped off, flame spitting out of the exhaust of both vehicles. Kristen and Max both watched as the cars roared down the main street.
“Oh my god! NO!” Kristen screamed, Max watched with horror. A car, brown and large, rolled onto the street, right into Fernando’s path. He never had time to react. His car smashed into the SUV at speed, the front crumpling and the car spinning off onto the sidewalk, smashing into a lamp post and a tree on its way to a stop on its roof.
Max and Kristen both rushed forward, sprinting down the street as fast as they could, several other people following. Both girls tugged at the doors, a few other men helping before they all stopped, smelling something.
Burning.
“Get back, it’s going to go up!”
“NO!” Kristen screamed, her and Max being dragged away by several people as the car burst into flames, the wreck crumpling under the pressure and the roof caving in. Both girls were dragged off to a side alley, where a familiar voice greeted them.
“Max, Kristen.” Ryan walked over, kneeling down and checking both girls over for any injuries.
“Dad.” Max murmured, her voice quiet and her throat hoarse.
“Shh, we’ll talk about… this, later. First, let’s get you two girls home.”
Chapter Text
Friday, 4th April, 2014.
“Holy shit…” Chloe whispered, her voice quiet as she wrapped an arm around Max, who was crying softly into her neck again, the story having broken her barrier, her walls falling and pure, unfiltered emotion pouring out of her. The two girls sat like that for ages, just hugging each other and comforting each other. After a while, Chloe spoke again, her voice soft. “I’m so sorry…”
“It’s okay, it's still just… I miss him.” Chloe grimaced and hugged Max close to her chest, the other girl breathing shakily against her chest. A few minutes later, she finally slowed her breathing to a point where she could speak again. “Anyway, safe to say Dad fully supported me coming back here when I told him, Mom didn’t really have a choice. Dad helped me set up here, Mom didn’t even bother calling me on my first day, just sent me a ‘good luck’ text.”
“That sucks, I’m so sorry…”
“You don’t need to apologise Chlo, you’re… you’re still right, I should’ve reached out, should’ve stayed in touch.” Chloe and Max both pulled away, hands still holding each other before Max let Chloe’s hand go, packing the box of their old things away and tucking it back into the closet before moving over to help Chloe pack DVDs into the box. A short time later, pretty much all of Chloe’s DVD collection had been packed into boxes, the girls carrying them downstairs and sliding into Chloe’s truck bed. Chloe quickly headed back upstairs, Chloe grabbing a duffel bag and walking back to the truck.
“Hey Max, mind if you get my phone, cigarettes and your bag from upstairs whilst I secure all of this stuff in the bed?”
“Of course.” Max quickly headed back upstairs, grabbing her bag and Chloe’s phone and cigarettes from the bed before turning, her eyes falling on the leather jacket from the night before. Her mind rushed back to last night, a smile crossing her face as she knelt down and picked the jacket up, putting it on over her hoodie.
Max felt a flutter of warmth come over her as she grinned again, she slipped Chloe’s phone and cigarettes into her pocket and grabbed the dress from where it was on the floor. She turned back to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind before walking out to the truck. She opened one of the DVD boxes and dropped the dress into it, taping the box back up and strapped it back down. She walked around to the passenger seat and slid in, taking her bag off.
“Wow, that jacket really does suit you.” Chloe smiled at Max as the girl put her bag in the passenger footwell next to a duffel bag, shuffling closer and handing Chloe her phone and cigarettes. “Thanks.” Chloe pressed a soft kiss to Max’s head before tugging one out of the packet, sparking up and smoking out of her window. Max curled her nose up in a joking way before shifting closer, nuzzling up to Chloe and revelling in the comfort that the smell of cigarette smoke gave her.
“Last night was awesome… thank you, Chloe…”
“No problem Max, I know you were torn to shreds about it… I hope I…” Chloe cleared her throat, Max looking up at her and giving her thigh a squeeze, Chloe’s breath involuntarily hitching, Max giggling in response. “God girl, you are difficult. You know what you do to a woman?” Chloe laughed as she spoke, Max grinning at her. “But… I hope I was good enough… for you, I mean… I-”
“You were perfect, babe.” Max leaned up, kissing Chloe on the cheek before pulling away, her hand running down the leather jacket, her fingers tracing the zipper. “Okay, weird question time.”
“Shoot away.”
“Where’d you get the money to afford all this? I’m not complaining, I just wanna know.” Chloe looked away, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Found it.” She spoke under her breath, making a coughing sound as she spoke. Max held up her hand, the truck slowing to a stop.
“I will hold us here until you answer the question.”
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“In Jefferson’s house.” Chloe let out an exasperated sigh. “I headed in for a little search of my own after he tried to shoot me in the junkyard. I went lookin’ for dirt, stuff on Rachel, stuff on what that fucker did to Kate, could’ve done to you. I found duffel bags, about 10 of them, full of cash. I grabbed as many as I could carry and scarpered, didn’t know where he was and I didn’t want to leave you alone for too long in case he…”
Chloe stopped speaking, leaving the ending of the sentence implied. Max let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes for a few seconds before dropping her hand down to her side, the truck sitting still in the middle of the road whilst the world around them resumed. After several minutes, Max let out a long sigh and turned to Chloe, who had continued driving.
“I’m sorry, I thought you might’ve-”
“What? Robbed a bank? Nah, I took all of about 200,000 dollars, I presume the police got the rest.” Max let out a soft whistle, Chloe grinning. “I’ve kept most of it hidden in my closet.” Max glanced down to the footwell, eyes resting on the duffel bag that was sitting next to her messenger bag.
“Is that what’s in that bag? 200,000 dollars?” Chloe laughed a little, Max smiling.
“Not all of it, no.”
“Just want to make sure. Thank you for being honest.” Max grinned, shuffling close to Chloe and smiling at her. “By the way, I love the sound of your laugh.” Chloe blushed, Max smiling as both girls pulled up to Blackwell.
Unknown.
Max shot up, the space around her dark and clammy, the heat nearly unbearable. Max stood up and felt her way around the room, she tried to open her eyes.
They were already open.
Max felt around her, hearing a sound behind her, a door opening.
“Chloe? Oh my god, you’re really trying, aren’t you?” Max turned again, hearing a voice that left her hopeful.
“Rachel?” Max mentally freaked out as Chloe’s voice came out of her mouth. Turning to face Rachel. “Help me.”
“Okay.” Max smiled slightly as she heard footsteps approaching her, she felt a pair of hands softly grab her by the shoulder and lead her somewhere. Max felt herself losing control of Chloe, the girl moving of Rachel’s accord as she is led somewhere Max can’t see. She felt Chloe being pushed down onto something, feeling something tighten around her wrists, Chloe began to fight back, her wrists starting to hurt badly as she fought against the restraints, whatever they were. Max felt something prick into Chloe’s arm, the girl going limp in the chair as a voice that left Max shook spoke softly into her ear.
“Welcome, Ms. Price.” Max felt herself shiver, whether Chloe also shivered she couldn’t really tell, but Jefferson’s voice left her feeling sick to her stomach. “You have beautiful eyes, the colors really are beautiful.” Max was confused, the colors? What colors? Wait…
“The colors?” Chloe’s voice slurred softly, Rachel laughing softly, leaning down to Chloe’s other ear.
“Oh darling, your eyes are all kinds of crazy. You look so much better than you did that day on campus, asking after that Max person, I wonder how beautiful she’d look here.” Max felt a wave of shock wash over her as Rachel spoke. This was that timeline, where she died… where Rachel… Rachel was different.
“Fuck you, don’t talk about her…” Max felt even sicker than before, Chloe’s body feeling the same way as the girl tried to resist the drugs she’d been pumped with.
“She’s fighting it, hit her again.”
“It’ll kill her.”
“Fuck it, she’s ugly as fuck anyway. Would be worth it with blue hair and tats.”
“Fair enough, there’s the other option.”
“Yeah, just hit it.” Max heard a click, presumably of a gun of some kind, feeling something cold pressing against Chloe’s temple.
She saw a slight flash, deep and far away, as pain spread through her temple slowly, burning up her synapses and leaving her in pain. The pain overwhelmed her, Max drifting off into the abyss of unconsciousness.
Friday, 4th April, 2014.
Chloe and Max were laying on Rachel’s bed, snuggled together on the large mattress. Chloe had an arm wrapped around Chloe, idly browsing social media on her phone with her other hand. Both girls had dumped the DVDs in Rachel’s room, the girls putting the Blade Runner DVD into Max’s PS3, Max making it about 30 minutes through the film before falling asleep. Chloe had spent time running her fingers through Max’s hair, massaging her scalp softly as the girl was looking quite uncomfortable, Chloe hoping that it was helping Max, now cuddling the girl close.
Chloe saw Max stir slightly before she bolted upright, her eyes wide and her mouth agape as if she was trying to scream but nothing was coming out. Chloe threw her phone down onto the bed, tugging Max into a tight embrace. Max started rambling about what she’d dreamt about, Chloe piecing some of it together before managing to calm the panicking girl down.
“You saw that timeline… the one where you…”
“Yeah, must’ve been…”
“The eyes thing though, fucked up…” Chloe ran a hand through her hair, blowing air out of her mouth before speaking. “I saw you, in my first nightmare, where I blacked out. You had eyes like you described, fucked up multi colored cataracts.” Chloe watched Max for a reaction, the girl silent. “Max?”
“Chloe… Rachel was there, she kidnapped you, with Jefferson. They killed you.” Chloe was shocked, eyes wide and brain fuzzy.
“I don’t… must’ve been after I left…” Chloe shook her head, Max grabbing her hands and pressing a kiss to her lips, Chloe finding herself kissing back, her mind straightening out, grounding herself back to reality. Chloe felt her phone buzz in her pocket, tugging it out of her pocket to see a text.
Rachel:
Fucker got lynched. omw back tonight.
Chapter Text
“She’s coming back tonight?” Max asked Chloe quietly, her face a mix of confusion and intrigue. She wasn’t fully ready to see Rachel, not yet.
“Yeah.”
“Fuck, I’m not ready…”
“Time waits for no one Max, not even us.” Chloe tugged Max into her arms, rubbing her back softly, the girls sitting arm in arm for several minutes before Chloe pulled back. She tugged her tank over her head, dabbing the tears off of Max’s face. Chloe slipped the tank back on and stood up.
“I better get myself sorted out… I probably look the opposite of ‘good’ right now.”
“Babe, you always look good to me.” Chloe leant down, pressing a kiss to Max’s lips. “But yeah, you stink. Go shower, girl.”
“Really? You’re lecturing me about showering? You?” Max grinned, Chloe and Max both laughing softly.
“See, it cheered you right up.” Chloe wrapped Max in another hug, Max standing up and wrapping her arms around Chloe, pressing her head into Chloe’s chest for a few seconds before pulling away, walking out of Rachel’s dorm room, heading into her own and grabbing her shower kit and a change of clothes before heading to the shower room. Chloe walked through to Max’s room, running a hand through her hair and sighing before tugging Max’s blind open, the sunset beaming in through the window, Chloe shielding her eyes and turning around.
“Damn you, sun god.” Chloe shook her fist at the window before turning and walking back to Rachel’s dorm, pushing the door closed and collapsing onto Rachel’s bed. After several minutes, she let out a shaky exhale, pushing herself up and off of the bed, lumbering over to her bag with all her clothes in. She tugged out a fresh tank top, tugging the one she was wearing off and cramming it into the bag. Chloe zipped her bags up, throwing the backpack over her shoulder. She dumped her duffel bag of clothes into one of the half-empty DVD boxes, putting the other bag, the one full of cash, into one of the other boxes.
She picked them up and carried them into Max’s room, sliding them under Max’s desk before settling herself onto Max’s desk, jamming the window open and tugging her packet of cigarettes out of her pocket. She flipped the packet open and put one of the cigarettes in her mouth, pulling the packet away and slipping them back into her pocket. She tugged her lighter out, sparking it up and lighting the cigarette, letting the numbing pain sear through her, her brain fuzzing over and her body relaxing. She was used to the pain, but it was no less comforting as she ran over her mind about what she was going to say to Rachel.
‘Fuck… This is gonna be hard as fuck… She’s gonna freak so bad.’ Chloe roughly dragged her hands over her eyes, rubbing the heels of her hands against her eyelids, grinding the uncomfortable feeling away. She took another drag of her cigarette, aware that she was letting it burn down instead of smoking it. She took one final drag and stubbed it out in her ash tray, leaving the butt in the tray instead of doing her usual act of tossing it out of the window and onto the roof. She leant against the window frame and groaned softly.
“You okay?” Chloe turned her attention to the door, Max having walked in and closed it softly behind her. Chloe slid off of Max’s desk, walking over and hugging her tightly.
“No… please don’t…” Chloe’s words caught in her throat. “Please stand with me tonight, when I talk to Rach…”
“Of course I will Chloe… of course I will.”
Later that night…
Max and Chloe watched as Rachel’s black Ford Fusion pulled into Blackwell’s parking lot, Chloe pushing off of the bed of her truck, Max following Chloe as she walked over to the car.
“Hey.” Rachel climbed out of her car, tugging her trunk open and going to grab her luggage out. “You two are quiet.”
“We need to talk.” Max spoke, her voice unwavering but quiet. Rachel’s eyes darted between the two girls, narrowing as she slowly closed her trunk, her luggage still inside the car.
“You two are freaking me out…” Chloe and Max’s eyes met as they let out shaky sighs. “What the fuck is going on with you two?”
“We…” Chloe took a pause, her voice quieting to a whisper before opening up again. “We have something important to tell you. A few things, actually.”
“Okay, shoot.” Rachel leant against her car, eyes locked onto Chloe with an intense stare, Chloe swallowed slightly, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“We uh… Me and Max, we can travel through time. We’ve travelled through timelines, we’ve been trying to save you… you died, Rachel. You were killed by Jefferson.” Chloe stopped speaking, allowing Rachel to process Chloe’s words.
“Why should I believe you?” Rachel’s voice was hushed, her brow furrowed and her eyes darting around with confusion.
“This was a mistake…” Chloe let out a frustrated sigh, Chloe raising her hand, tugging on the rewind ability.
The leaves around them slowed before travelling backwards, the birds soaring backwards, their wings flapping in reverse before landing back on their tree branches. Max and Chloe watched the world around them travel backwards in time.
And Rachel watched too, unaffected by the rewind.
“Okay, now I believe you.” Rachel looked around, her eyes wide as she stepped away from her car, spinning around and watching the world around her rewind. After a few minutes, Chloe dropped her hand, the world resuming around them. Chloe and Max both stared at Rachel, eyes wide.
“How’d you do that?” Chloe’s eyes stared at Rachel with confusion and shock on her face.
“I don’t know…” Rachel muttered out, confused, her cadence and words very different when compared to her usual, composed self.
“Anyway, we have something else to tell you.” Chloe and Rachel both looked at Max, the girl stepping forward and swallowing.
“What is it, Max?”
“When we travel through time, we don’t have memories of our new timeline, only the old ones. We always check our text messages when we arrive in new timelines to find out what’s happened.” As Max was speaking, Rachel’s eyes darted down to the ground, Max noticing and pausing until Rachel looked back up, the girl cutting Max off.
“I know what you’re going to say, I fucking regret it. I should’ve never gone home with him… he just seemed… I don't know, he seemed so alluring. He lured me to his home and treated me like a queen for two whole weeks. He…” Rachel looked down, her eyes slamming closed as tears trickled down her cheeks. “I told you back then and I’ll tell you now, I’m so, so fucking sorry. I admit that I didn’t try to cut it off, I kept it going, I know that I should’ve but he kept me under his thumb, he blackmailed me and when I did try to cut it off, we both know what the fuck he did to me!” Rachel lashed out, her frustration boiling over as she leant towards Max and Chloe, angry tears trickling down her cheeks. Chloe took a shaky breath, stepping forward and slowly coiling an arm around Rachel, the other girl reciprocating, Rachel hugging back for a few seconds before Max walked over, Rachel turning to Max.
“I’m sorry too, Max. I know it didn’t really affect you, but still, I’m so so fucking sorry.” Max nodded, walking closer and hugging both Chloe and Rachel, the three girls embracing before pulling away awkwardly, Max’s hand rubbing at her arm.
“Let’s get your luggage indoors, Rach.” Rachel and Max both nodded at Chloe’s words, the three girls picking Rachel’s luggage out of the trunk of her car, walking up to the dorms.
A little bit later.
Chloe and Max were laying on Max’s bed, the small mattress causing both girls to be coiled up into a tangled mess of limbs. Rachel was lounging on Max’s couch, scrolling on her phone idly, before looking up and under Max’s desk, her eyes falling onto the boxes of DVDs.
“How many DVDs have you got, girl?” Chloe flipped Rachel off, a grin on her face as Max laughed, Rachel flipping Chloe off too before Chloe loosely flinged one of Max’s pillows at Rachel, Max pouting at Chloe, giggling when Chloe stuck her tongue out at her. Rachel grabbed the pillow and tucked it under her head, closing her eyes and letting out an exhausted, relaxed sigh.
“Dude, can I have my pillow back please?” Max spoke quietly, a grin on her face as Chloe ran her fingers up and down Max’s sides, trying to get her to laugh.
“Mmm, but I'm so comfortable.”
“You have a bed right across the hall, Rach.” Max grinned, Rachel groaning with tiredness as she flapped an arm at Max. Chloe stood up and picked up Rachel, the girl shifting in her arms before sighing softly. Chloe and Max exchanged looks before Max shifted off of the bed, opening both her door and unlocking and opening the door to Rachel’s dorm, Chloe settling the girl down on her bed before both walking out. Max and Chloe headed back to Max’s dorm room, settling down on the bed and sighing.
“You need a bigger bed, girl.” Chloe grumbled out her words, Max snuggling against her and planting a kiss on Chloe’s cheek.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” Chloe and Max coiled their arms around each other, both girls sighing with content. “Goodnight babe.”
“Goodnight to you too, Chlo.”
Chapter Text
Saturday, 5th April, 2014.
Chloe and Max awoke with grins on their faces, the two girls happy that the situation with Rachel had been somewhat cleared up last night. They knew they had to deal with some other things, like Rachel’s powers, some of the other questions they have and the fact that all three girls will still have unfound memories yet to resurface.
Max sat up slowly, Chloe grumbling and trying to pull Max back down, the other girl shrugging her off with a laugh and a kiss. Chloe finally relented, sitting up and following Max out of bed, grabbing her clothes and tugging them on quickly, Max also dressing.
“Let’s go get Rachel, I need to take some more photos, and I think she’d be the perfect subject.”
“Agreed, let’s go.” Chloe and Max walked out of the dorm, knocking on Rachel’s door.
Chloe, Max and Rachel all walked onto the parking lot together, Max and Chloe hand in hand and Rachel walking happily alongside them both. The three girls climbed into Chloe’s pickup, Chloe in the driver's seat, Rachel in the middle and Max by the door. Whilst she wanted to sit next to Chloe, she wanted to take photos of Chloe and Rachel together.
The girls were all driving down the cliffside road, all three girls bobbing their heads to Grade 8 by Ed Sheeran . Chloe drummed her fingers on the wheel whilst Rachel softly sang along with the words. Max pulled her camera out of her bag, holding the camera up to her eye and looking down the viewfinder, making sure both girls were in the shot.
The flash blasted the cab with light, the polaroid rolling out of the camera and onto Max’s lap. Rachel picked the photo up, giving it a little shake before looking at it. “Wow… it’s amazing, the framing and-” Rachel’s words were cut off as Max grabbed the photo out of her hand.
“Chloe, stop the truck, now.” Chloe looked at Max, concerned on her face.
“Why?”
“Trust me, just do it.”
“Why- fuck!” Chloe, having looked back at the road, saw what Max was warning her about - a lumber truck was laying in the middle of the road, rolled onto its side. Chloe swerved, Max stared into the photo, color rippling out of it before a distant look washed over her.
Rachel screamed, the world around her shifting, colors rippling off of her, her skin crawling and her whole body searing with pain. She felt her nerve endings sizzle, her nose growing in pressure and a hot substance pouring out of it - blood.
“Wha- where’d the truck go?” Max asked softly as both herself and Chloe turned to look at Rachel, who had a shellshocked look on her face.
“I… uh… I… uh…” Rachel’s face was twisted into one of shock, her eyes were wide, hands shaking and mouth moving robotically, constantly repeating ‘I’ and ‘uh’ over and over, blood pouring out of her nose and coating her lower face with blood, staining her teeth. Chloe let out a few curses under her breath and Max grabbed her packet of tissues, holding Rachel’s nose and trying to stop the bleeding.
“Go, get us to Blackwell.” Chloe nodded, driving back to Blackwell whilst Max tended to Rachel.
Rachel tried to move, tried to look around, tried to do anything , but she couldn’t, she was powerless to move. She saw a figure pass in front of her, slender finger trailing over her shoulders, mouth moving but no sound reaching her ears. She watched as the figure knelt down, its face coming into view.
“Hey, Rach. ” Nightmare Chloe was kneeling in front of her, hands wrapped around Rachel’s head, holding the girl’s face forward and preventing her from moving. “You might have a few questions about these little… abilities of yours. I’ve just got one word of warning for you, think of it as a professional courtesy, because of how you broke Chloe’s heart.” Nightmare Chloe pressed her lips to Rachel’s forehead, leaving a soft kiss before pulling away, walking behind Rachel, leaning into her ear and whispering.
“Your powers affect more than just those around you. Take poor Alex for example. The poor thing used to have no life, jumping foster home to foster home, then you started meddling with time. You broke an entire timeline and the ripples, oh the ripples.” Nightmare Chloe let out a hollow laugh, sitting down on a freshly summoned chair, resting opposite Rachel. “You snatched her out of where she belongs, you threw her timeline and her whole family history into disarray, and now she’s living with her poor brother in Arcadia, and attending Blackhell with Max. At least she’s a good singer.”
Nightmare Chloe stood up, walking into the rolling fog around her, flicking her wrist. Rachel found the world around her shift, colors streaming down the fog around her as she found herself back in Chloe’s truck, Max holding a tissue up to her nose, Chloe driving the truck back to Blackwell, the world both blurred from the trucks speed and also crystal clear, as if they weren’t moving at all.
Nightmare Max appeared in the reflection of the rear view mirror, a twisted grin on her face as she glared at Rachel, Rachel staring back at her. Nightmare Max clicked her fingers, nodding at Rachel to do the same. Rachel shakily extended a hand, clicking her finger, the world around her resuming at the action.
“Rachel?” Max spoke with confusion in her voice as she pulled the tissues away from Rachel’s nose, the girl nodding slightly.
“Yeah… I’m okay… uh… can we get back to Blackwell please?”
“We’re already going there, just rest… first time knocks you out, so you probably feel awful.” Max ran her fingers soothingly down Rachel’s back, her other hand trailing through Rachel’s hair, the girl letting out a sigh as she fell asleep.
Max and Chloe both watched Rachel silently, the girl sleeping on Max’s bed, her breathing ragged. Chloe stood up, walking over to the window and staring out. It was midday, but both girls felt an unsettling coldness wash over them as they looked at the tobanga.
“God, this place is giving me the creeps.” Max rubbed her arm nervously, Chloe nodding and tugging Max into a one-armed hug. Max leant against Chloe, closing her eyes and nuzzling close to her girlfriend, coiling an arm around Chloe’s middle.
“I wish it wasn't so damn difficult for all of us. Rachel didn’t deserve all this…” Chloe looked down as she spoke, her eyes wetting with tears.
“Yeah…” Max’s voice was a whisper, her face white as a sheet. “God Chloe, I had to travel through a photo to save our lives today…” Chloe tugged Max into a warm embrace, kissing her softly.
“I know babe, I’m so sorry, I should’ve been paying more attention to the road…” Chloe took a deep breath, nose pressed into Max’s hair, inhaling her scent. “Fuck… I just wanna get out of here. Me, you and Rachel, travelling the US together… roaming around…”
“Saving lives, breaking hearts and getting lost in mosh pits?” Max grinned as she looked up at Chloe, the punk smiling down at her girlfriend.
“Thadda girl.” Chloe pressed a kiss to Max’s hair, the other girl leaning up and kissing Chloe on her kiss.
“What’s the plan then… after me and Rachel finish Blackwell? We all set off together? Me and you in the truck and Rach in her car?”
“I guess… I mean, we’d obviously need to speak to sleeping beauty about it.” Chloe nodded towards Rachel, Max humming in agreement. “Then we should probably figure out where we’d go… that’s if your parents don’t try to steal you away beforehand.” Max frowned, Chloe rubbing her back softly, a groan from the bed pulling them out of their embrace.
“God, I feel awful.”
“Welcome back.” Chloe handed Rachel a bottle of water and some painkillers, Rachel taking two paracetamol before downing the bottle of water, gasping after she’d finished drinking.
“How the hell do you two deal with that?”
“With great difficulty.” Max chuckled as she spoke, Rachel shifting off of Max’s bed, shivering.
“Can we bounce? This place is giving me the creeps.” Max and Chloe gave each other knowing glances, nodding as Rachel stood up.
“Okay.” Max turned to Chloe. “Can we go to yours?”
“Yeah, David is working nights at Blackwell and Mom doesn’t mind Rach coming around whenever.” After she had spoken, Chloe closed her eyes, leaning against Max’s desk and turning away.
“Let me change and grab some stuff, I’ll meet you two there.” Rachel looked between both girls, eyes settling on Chloe. “Chlo, you okay?” Chloe shook her head, pushing off of Max’s desk.
“Yeah… just getting my memories back… it’s uh… it’s complicated. Me and Max can answer any of your questions later… just right now, we should get outta here.”
“Hella agreed.” Max spoke, tugging Chloe to the door, Rachel chuckled and walked out.
Chapter 74
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Chloe, Max and Rachel all walked into Chloe’s room, Chloe immediately launching herself onto her bed, Max and Rachel both laughing before Max tugged her camera out of her bag, some photos coming out with it and scattering on the floor.
“Hey, Max.” Max snapped a quick picture of Chloe before turning to Rachel. “Why don’t you use all those amazing photos, in one big photo?” Max looked down, Rachel pointing at the photos that had scattered on the floor, including the one Max took just before the near-accident.
“O- Okay…” Max spoke nervously as she tugged the rest of her polaroids out of her bag, handing them to Rachel. Meanwhile, Rachel and Chloe gathered up the photos off of the floor, Rachel taking Max’s photos and scattered them across the bed, Chloe underneath them as Rachel tried to lay them out as artistically as possible. “Ready?”
“Ready. Snap away, Super Max.” Max began to snap pictures of Chloe, adding each one to the collage on the bed until her camera clicked but nothing came out.
“Darn, I’m all out of film.” Max sighed and sat down on Chloe’s desk, running a hand quickly through her hair before slipping her camera and the photos back into her bag, handing Chloe the last one that had all of the photos in it.
“For me?” Chloe grinned and tugged Max into a tight hug, the other girl hugging back. Both girls pulled away when they heard Rachel trying to not burst into hysterics next to them.
“You two are so fuckin’ cute.” Rachel finally cracked, laughing as she spoke before ruffling both girl’s hair, Max and Chloe both blushing slightly, Chloe speaking up.
“Am not.” Max and Rachel exchanged glances, Rachel’s eyes aflame with mischief, Max grinning at Rachel before turning and whispering softly in Chloe’s ear.
“Are too.” Chloe took a breath as Max spoke, the sensation of Max’s breath mixed with her words causing an involuntary shiver to shoot down Chloe’s back. Chloe nervously laughed and stood up, pointing accusatory fingers at both girls.
“Oh, so I model for you, then you two gang up on me? I see how it is.” Chloe, Max and Rachel all smiled at each other, Chloe’s words having no venom in them.
“Sounds like someone needs some tickle torture?” Max spoke, then rushed forward with her arms outstretched and fingers wiggling, Chloe ducking out of the way and hiding behind Rachel, who turned around with a borderline evil grin on her face, hands gripping Chloe’s waist when she tried to run away. Rachel and Max began to tickle Chloe, the girl wriggling on the floor and laughing. After roughly 5 minutes of tickling and pushing, all three girls lay on Chloe’s floor, laughing between heavy, deep breaths. Chloe slowly stood up, still slightly out of puff as she took a swig of water from a bottle nearby.
“Holy shit… I haven’t laughed like that since…” Rachel trailed off, Chloe cutting in quickly and changing the subject.
“Max, you think you’ve got enough photos for your teacher yet?”
“Yep! Should be more than enough now, I’ve just got to sort through them…” Chloe and Rachel both perked up, Rachel sitting up and sighing.
“If only there were people who could help you…” Max let out an exasperated laugh, turning to the girl.
“Of course you two could help.” Chloe, who had been listening to the brief exchange, suddenly shot up off of her desk.
“I’ve had an idea. I read on the internet somewhere about how, if you make a decision or a choice or whatever whilst drunk off your tits, then make the same choice again whilst sober, it’s a good choice.” Max let out a soft ‘hmm’ sound.
“Trouble is, when you get drunk, it takes you ages to get sober.” Rachel poked Chloe’s shoulder playfully, Chloe goofily grinning back, giving Rachel a jokey middle finger.
“I mean, Max doesn’t drink, so she can be the sober one. We’re basically on the same wavelength.” Max and Chloe both smiled at each other, Max standing up and opening her bag, tugging all of the photos out whilst Rachel and Chloe both opened a beer, the trio getting to work.
“I think you look fucking hot in that picture.”
“CHLOE!” Max laughed as she spoke, blush creeping up her cheeks at Chloe’s comment. The girls had been looking at photos for hours, Chloe and Rachel getting steadily more and more drunk.
“What? It’s hellllllaaa true.” Chloe grinned and tugged Max into a loose hug, turning to look at Rachel. “Rach… what do you think?”
“Uh? Oh…” Rachel rubbed her eyes, taking the photo and giving it a close look. “Uh… yeah, you look…” Max and Chloe both watched Rachel’s heavily lidded eyes look over the picture, a… seductive? smile crossing over her face. “You look amazing.” Max took the photo back, her cheeks red with blush as she put it back onto the stack.
“Thank you… I think I’m going to get some air.” Max nervously stood up and quickly walked out, grabbing her coat on the way out. She walked down the stairs and headed out onto the driveway, leaning against Chloe’s truck. She reached into her pocket and tugged her phone out, reading over a missed text from her mother before dismissing the notification, eyes resting on one from Victoria.
Victoria: Hey Max, are you free to talk?
Max’s eyes read the text a few times, finger hovering over it before a new notification pinged into her notifications.
Messages
Kate:
hey max.
Max pressed on Kate’s message, quickly opening their chat.
Kate: hey max.
Max: hey kate, you okay?
Kate:
yeah im doing okay
Kate:
you seen what happened with Jefferson?
Max: no, what happened?
Kate: he got prosecuted, 12-0. He’s been given the death penalty.
Max: holy shit
Kate:
i know the bible says to forgive those who wrong you, but
Kate:
good riddance i say
Max:
yeah
Max:
this is huge
Max:
we should do a get together
Kate:
i mean
Kate:
there is a party at Blackwell on Friday, for the spring holiday
Max: isn’t that a vortex club thing?
Kate: yeah, but Rachel is organising it, so it won’t be too bad.
Max:
okay
Max:
i’ll speak to chloe
Kate: okay, i’ll message her too
Max looked at the messages she’d exchanged with Kate. Was it true that Rachel was organising the Vortex Club parties? Did Rachel run the Vortex Club now that Nathan is gone? Is Max and Chloe in the club?
Max ran a hand through her hair, letting out a ragged sigh before walking back inside, heading up to Chloe’s bedroom. She pushed the door open, Rachel and Chloe sitting next to the bedroom window, joint in hand. Max stood in the doorway for a few seconds, hand instinctively moving to her arm as it always does when she’s nervous about something.
“Rachel?” Max spoke with a shaky voice, uncertain whether she was doing the right thing.
“Yes, Max?” Rachel put her joint in the tray and hopped off of the desk, walking over to Max, Chloe looking at them over her shoulder before looking back at her phone.
“I…” Max took a deep breath. “Are you…” Rachel stepped forward, putting a hand on Max’s shoulder.
“It’s okay Max, you can talk to me.”
“Are you running the vortex club? A- and are me and Chloe members or not? B- Because I was a little confused and didn’t know, and with the history I’ve had with Nathan, I-” Rachel tugged Max into a hug, causing Max to stop speaking and take deep breaths, finally getting some of her stress out of her system.
“The vortex club is different from… before, from those other places. It’s a lot safer, and we’re more regulated after what happened in January, we’re even allowed alcohol sometimes.” Max pulled back, a smile on her face as Rachel ruffled her hair. “And no, there are technically no ‘members’ anymore. The vortex club is more of a…” Rachel paused, as if she was deciding what to say next, her head felt heavy and she felt her stomach turn. She reached out to grip Max, the other girl steadying her as she continued speaking. “Anyway, it’s different from how it used to be, trust me.”
“Okay… I… uh… I… uh… I… uh… I… uh…” Now it was Rachel’s turn to urgently reach out, catching Max as the girl collapsed to her knees, her nose and mouth pouring with blood.
“Max? Max! MAX!”
Notes:
Trigger Warning for Chapter 75: death, murder, kidnapping, blood. Very dark chapter, if you are triggered by these, or any kind of gory detail, skip the next chapter.
Chapter 75
Notes:
Trigger Warning: death, murder, kidnapping, blood. Very dark chapter, if you are triggered by these, or any kind of gory detail, skip this chapter.
Chapter Text
“CHLOE!” Rachel screamed, turning to look at a still Chloe. Rachel looked between Chloe and Max for several seconds before rushing to Chloe’s side. As she walked in front of Chloe, her eyes widened - she was in a similar state to Max.
Her eyes were bloodshot and distant, a black, almost inky substance was slowly creeping out of her pupils, starting to fill her eyes. Her nose was strange, one nostril was pouring with blood, but the other was doing the reverse, the blood looping around from one nostril to the other. Rachel rushed forward and grabbed Chloe’s leg, recoiling upon contact - freezing fucking cold.
“Fuck fuck fuck…” Rachel rushed over to Max, finding the girl’s eyes in a similar condition. Slowly, Max began to rise from her knelt position, legs trembling and her movement unsteady.
“Listen here, Rachel. ” Rachel heard Chloe speak from beside her, Chloe’s voice full of venom and… hatred.
“We…” Max laughed, her bloodstained teeth causing Rachel to recoil in both fear and disgust. “We’ve been through so much, all for you to try and play god.” Max walked over to Rachel and slapped her clean across the face.
“We experienced our worst nightmares over and over and over…” Chloe grinned as her voice projected around the room, repeating ‘over and’ constantly until Rachel gripped at her ears, screaming.
“Enough! I’m sorry! Please, just let them go!”
“Enough? You’re… sorry?” Chloe, her voice ceasing to project around the room, stepped forward, gripping Rachel’s arm with a hand. “No no no no, that’s not how this works…” Max stepped forward, grabbing her other arm.
Slowly, the three girls began to sink into the floor of Chloe’s bedroom, an inky black ooze consuming them both.
“Time to repent, bitch…”
“Rach?” Rachel opened her eyes, finding Max sitting across from her.
“Max! You’re ok?” Rachel blinked, her head hurting like a bitch and her vision blurry, the space around them was draped in black cloth with the lights dimmed. “What happened? Where are we?” Rachel heard a door behind her open, craning her neck as much as she could.
“You’re safe, with me. ” Rachel’s skin crawled at the voice, her heart crushing with a fear for Max as she watched the speaker step out from the curtain behind Max.
“Jefferson… let her go…” Jefferson laughed, putting a hand on Max’s cheek, the other girl recoiling at his touch.
“Why would I? She’s so… photogenic, wouldn’t you agree?” Jefferson looked past her, to the door. She heard a familiar sound - combat boots on concrete. Her face dropped, her heart sinking and shattering again.
“Max, I’m so sorry…” Max looked at her in confusion, the confusion turning to abject horror as the individual walked into the room, jeans and boots coming into view.
“Heya, Maxo.” Chloe leant forward and grinned at Max, patting her on the head before turning to Rachel, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead, the same thing she did every time they saw each other - at Blackwell, in Chloe’s room, at the lighthouse, in the junkyard-
Rachel tensed up, memories of this timeline pouring into her head, causing her to wince and groan and seethe with pain. Rachel felt this timeline’s events pour into her - Chloe meeting Jefferson and Chloe disappearing, Rachel feeling neglected and alone, Max coming to Arcadia, meeting Rachel, the pair hunting for Chloe, Rachel and Max becoming good friends in the search, the search ending in the dark room. Then the End of The World party, where Max was taken, and Rachel realised it was all her fault - she drew Max into this world, into his crosshairs, and she met the same fate as Chloe, or so she thought.
“Why?” Max winced, eyes on Rachel as she spoke. “Why did you do this to us?”
“I…” Rachel trailed off, her voice small and hoarse and her head hung low. “I don’t know why… it felt… I got so caught up…” Rachel heard a tearing of tape, looking up to see Max standing in front of her, Jefferson’s gloved hands offering her a syringe full of chemicals.
“Hit her.” Chloe wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulder, guiding Max to Rachel’s side, helping her inject it. Rachel felt the contents of the needle enter her body, losing control of her limbs as the drug knocked her clean out.
“Miss Amber, can you hear me?” Rachel looked up to see David standing over her, his rough features and usually hard eyes were mysteriously soft and watery. His clothes were a bit different too, his familiar Blackwell security jacket was wrapped around her, but his undercoat read “A.B.P.D”.
“Y- Yeah… where’s Max?”
“She’s…” He took a breath, rubbing his eyes and looking at the ground. “They didn’t make it.”
“What?” Rachel almost leapt off of the back of the ambulance, David having to stop her from running into the dark room to find their bodies.
“Rachel!” David held her back, the girl fighting him as much as she could.
“Let me go! I want to see them!” Rachel felt David’s grip on her loosen as she heard another cop speaking to him. She calmed a little and felt the rest of his grip disappear, Rachel quickly rushing downstairs and into the dark room.
What she saw made her feel sick - Jefferson’s corpse was lying on the couch, a bullet in his forehead, sitting across from him, on two chairs, were Max and Chloe, both with cut marks on their throats. Rachel dropped to her knees, tears fell from her cheeks and her mind numbed with pain.
“Rachel…” She heard a voice behind her, but when she turned, there was no one there. In fact, the doorway was gone, leaving no way in or out of the room. As she turned back to face the scene in front of her, it was gone, replaced by a figure, bathed in golden light standing before her, the shine causing her to cover her eyes.
“Time to wake up.”
“Rachel?” Chloe and Max knelt over Rachel, her eyelids fluttering before slowly opening, her face scrunching up.
“What happened?” Rachel rubbed her temples and let out a sigh.
“You uh… you passed out.” Chloe and Max helped Rachel to her feet, helping her to the bed. “You looked pale as fuck. We were so worried.”
“I…” Rachel sighed again, retelling the events of her dream to Max and Chloe, the girls listening intently. After she had finished, she took a drink of water from her bottle before speaking again. “I’m sorry, that probably sounds ridiculous.”
“Nah, it sounds about normal for what these fucking powers are.” Chloe tugged Rachel into a hug, Max joining in and speaking.
“I’m sorry… about our nightmare… uh… I don't really know what they are… but our nightmare twins.”
“It’s okay Max… what they said… I deserved it.” Chloe and Max pulled back, both shaking their heads before Max spoke up, a warm, reassuring smile on her face.
“No, you don’t.”
Chapter 76
Notes:
back to normal chapters :)
Chapter Text
A few days later.
Chloe nervously paced around her bedroom, wringing her hands together before letting her arms drop to her sides, an anxious sigh bursting out of her.
‘Fuck… I don’t know why I’m so damn nervous, it’s just a damn party.’ Chloe walked over to her desk, grabbing a joint and her phone before walking over to her mirror. She tucked her phone into her pocket and the joint into her jacket. She was wearing her usual leather jacket, the smart shirt from her and Max’s date, and her patented tight ripped jeans. She had swapped out her usually scuffed combat boots out for a new pair Max had brought yesterday.
She made sure she was presentable one last time before grabbing a bottle of water and the gift for Max before she walked out of her bedroom, closing the door behind her before pacing down the stairs and through the front door. She tugged her jacket a bit tighter as she walked outside, shivering in the night time cold.
A burst of cold and wet weather had rushed into Arcadia Bay in the last couple of days, pretty much ever since Rachel’s… nightmare. Chloe was still worried about Rachel, even after the girls all discussed what they thought Rachel’s nightmare was actually about. They had chilled out for the rest of the day, drinking a little more and taking some more photos with Max after she had found some film in Chloe’s room.
The next day, they headed to a couple of shops in Arcadia, Max buying Chloe some boots, Chloe buying a gift she refused to give to Max until today. She walked up to her truck and tugged the door open, hopping into the cab just as the first droplets of a forecast rainstorm began to pelt her window. She slammed the door shut and started the truck, pulling out of the driveway and slowly cruising to Blackwell. She was really excited but also very fucking nervous about tonight, even though she was only going to speak to people she knew.
She was nervous about a few things, mostly to do with Max. She was still nervous about whether she was good enough for Max, even after Jefferson took her in the old timeline, after the reassurances, the old feelings had crept back in through the cracks. She was also worried about a few details in this new timeline.
She’d acted cool after Max asked Rachel about the vortex club, but internally, she was shitting herself. She didn’t want to be in the vortex club, she didn’t want anything to do with Nathan, even after he “helped” them in the last timeline, weather that was genuine or some fucked up time bullshit, she wasn’t sure, but deep down she still hated him. She gripped the wheel tighter, remembering the coastal drive from the start of the week - the truck, straight for them, Max jumping through the photo, Rachel’s scream…
She felt her head buzz with a light pain as, beside her, Max and Rachel appeared, the mirage of Max and Rachel singing along to the music that was playing at the time, Max holding up her camera, the flash causing her head to spike with pain, her knuckles gripping the wheel so tight that her knuckles were white.
“Wow… it’s amazing, the framing and-”
“Chloe, stop the truck, now.”
Chloe turned the truck off to the side of the road, slamming her brakes harshly before pulling her foot back, allowing herself to slow to a stop in a lay-by. Chloe took a ragged breath before opening her window and tugging a cigarette out of the packet in the glovebox. She tucked one into her mouth and pulled it out of the packet, tossing it onto the bench and taking her zippo out of her jacket pocket, lighting the cigarette and taking a long inhale. After a few minutes, she resumed her slow drive towards Blackwell, puffing on it a few times before letting out a disgruntled and frustrated sigh, tossing it out of the window and rolling it back up.
Chloe finally pulled into the Blackwell parking lot, stopping next to a familiar RV and black Ford Fusion. She cranked the handbrake on and hopped out, grabbing a bag from the footwell on the way out. She knew that Rachel would get Max out of her room so that Chloe could drop the surprise into Max’s dorm without her knowing what it was. She walked past a couple who had slipped out of the party to flirt in private, rolling her eyes when they were behind her. She walked into the warm dorm building and exhaled with relaxation at the warmth, quickly walking to Max’s dorm. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and unlocked Max’s dorm, slipping in and settling the present down on Max’s bed, slipping back out again without disturbing anything. She closed and locked the door before turning, a familiar figure laughing behind her.
“Chloe, what are you hiding?” Kate stepped forward, closing her dorm room door. She was wearing an Alice in Chains t-shirt and her usual skirt, her hair was down over her shoulders, her smile making her practically glow, even with her familiar minimalist makeup.
“Uh, just a present for Max.” Chloe forced smiled, her eyes betraying her as she glanced at the floor for a few seconds too long, Kate reaching up and putting a hand on Chloe’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, Chloe. You can talk to me.” Kate smiled at Chloe, the other girl returning a warm, honest smile.
“Thank you Kate, mind if we talk tomorrow though? One day at a time…” Chloe wringed her hands together, rubbing the back of her neck as Kate tugged her into a hug.
“Of course, Chloe. Have you been to the party yet?”
“Nah, been waiting for Max.”
“Ah, she’s waiting for you in Rachel’s room… Do you mind if I come with you?”
“Of course!” Chloe put her arm around Kate’s shoulder, both girls walking the short distance down to Rachel’s room, Chloe knocking on the door.
“Wait a minute!” Both girls heard Rachel’s muffled voice shout from inside, the door opening a crack before Rachel spoke again.
“Chloe, please turn around.” Chloe rolled her eyes, sassily turning around as the door opened wider and Rachel practically tugged Kate into the dorm room before slamming the door, Chloe turning around and letting out an exasperated chuckle, banging on the door.
“Hey! It’s fucking cold out here!”
“Deal with it, biatch!” Chloe laughed, leaning against the doorframe and closing her eyes. She sighed as she heard Kate, Max and Rachel all chatting through the door, notable things said include:
“Wow!”
followed by
“Keep it down! Chloe will hear!”
“What about… yeah…”
“Where’s that damn thing… there it is… wait, lost it again.”
And Chloe’s favourite,
“God fucking damnit! I lost my fucking phone again.”
with Kate replying,
“It’s in your hand, Rachel.”
After several minutes, Rachel opened the door, popping her head out before smiling at Chloe and popping back in. “Okay, Max is coming out now…”
Max took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror in Rachel’s room, Chloe was waiting outside, but Max still didn’t feel ready for Chloe to see her. She was wearing her white leather jacket, a faded cyan hoodie and a black tanktop underneath. She was also wearing a pair of Rachel’s denim shorts and boots, her usual jeans in her hands as she considered which pair to wear. Furthermore, her hair was pinned behind her ears, Rachel having put some minimalist makeup - a layer of foundation and eyeliner, onto Max’s face. Max quickly took the pins out of her hair, shaking it and running her fingers through her hair.
She tugged the boots off, slipping the denim shorts off and pulling the jeans onto her legs. She stood up and slipped the boots back on before grabbing her phone and headphones, looking over at Kate, who nodded at Max, whispering to her.
“You’ve got this, you look great.” Max smiled at Kate, Rachel looking back from her perch in the window, looking back at Max and Kate, both girls giving her the thumbs up. Rachel stood up, walking up to Max and neatening her up. After a few seconds, she stepped back and looked around the room before cursing.
“God fucking damnit! I lost my fucking phone again.” Kate giggled, Max grinning at Rachel, who looked puzzled before Kate spoke up.
“It’s in your hand, Rachel.” Rachel looked down at her phone, presently gripped in her left hand. She let out a groan, smiling a little before giving Kate a prod on the forehead, the other girl grinning as Rachel held her phone up, taking a few snaps of Max before walking over to the door, Max giving her a confident nod, signaling that she was ready. Rachel unlocked the door, pulling it open and poking her head out, looking at Chloe.
“Okay, Max is coming out now…” Max stood up, letting out one final sigh before turning and walking out of Rachel’s dorm.
“Oh. My. Fucking. God.” Chloe spoke slowly, Max watching as Chloe looked her up and down before putting her hands on Max’s shoulders, pulling her into a kiss. Max kissed back, her hand wrapping around Chloe and gripping her girlfriend's jacket tightly, Chloe’s arms linked behind Max’s back, both girls holding each other close for several seconds before pulling away. “You look so fucking hot, Max. Well, you always look hot, but now you look even hotter.” Max blushed, giggling before responding.
“You’re one to talk, you look… wow…” Max ran a hand down Chloe’s side, underneath her jacket, before pulling away, getting onto her tip toes and whispering into Chloe’s ear. “You look so fucking beautiful. I love you.” Chloe wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulders.
“I love you too, Max.” Both girls chastely kissed again. After a few more seconds, they heard someone clear their throat next to them, turning to see Rachel tapping her foot impatiently.
“C’mon girls, we’re gonna be late if we don’t hurry up.”
“Alright, Mom.” Max rolled her eyes, poking Rachel in the ribs and flashing her a teasing smile.
“Fuck you, Max.”
“You love me really.” Max walked towards her dorm room door, Chloe taking a sharp breath as Max unlocked the door. “Just grabbing a drink.”
“O- Okay.” Rachel looked at Chloe, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
“She’ll like it, trust me.”
Max walked into her dorm room, flicking the light on before freezing, her eyes locking onto a suspicious bag resting on her bed.
“Chloe.”
“Yes babe?” Chloe walked into the dorm behind Max, draping an arm over her shoulder, the girl pointing at the bag on Max’s bed. “Oh that? It’s a gift for you.” Max stepped up to the bag, opening it and pulling out a wrapped up box inside.
“You wrapped it?”
“If by ‘you’, you mean Joyce, then yes, I wrapped it.” Max grinned, rolling her eyes before tearing through the wrapping.
“Oh my god…” Max flashed a giddy grin as she held the gift in her hands “You really brought me a 3DS XL?”
“You like?”
“Of course! Doubly so because you brought it for me!” Max dropped the box onto the bed, launching herself into Chloe’s arms, the other girl catching her and steading herself so they don’t fall over. Chloe hugged Max back, the two girls kissing before Max pulled away, walking over to a USPS box sitting in the corner of her room. She picked it up and held it out to Chloe, the other girl narrowing her eyes and taking it.
“What did you buy me?” Max just grinned, Chloe rolling her eyes before opening the box, taking the box that was inside out, letting out a laugh and putting the box down, picking Max up in her arms and hugging her. “You really brought me a 3DS XL?”
“You like?”
“Getting a sense of deja vu here, Caulfield.” Chloe kissed Max, putting her 3DS box onto the couch, Max putting hers onto her desk. “So we can tell the difference.” Max nodded at Chloe’s words, both girls hugging once again before walking out, arms wrapped around each other's waist.
Ronald___Boy on Chapter 2 Fri 18 Apr 2025 05:28AM UTC
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Geek_x on Chapter 2 Fri 18 Apr 2025 01:05PM UTC
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Ronald___Boy on Chapter 2 Fri 18 Apr 2025 07:32PM UTC
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Ronald___Boy on Chapter 6 Mon 21 Apr 2025 06:51AM UTC
Last Edited Mon 21 Apr 2025 06:51AM UTC
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Geek_x on Chapter 6 Mon 21 Apr 2025 06:09PM UTC
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Ronald___Boy on Chapter 9 Mon 28 Apr 2025 01:36PM UTC
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Geek_x on Chapter 67 Mon 28 Jul 2025 10:38AM UTC
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