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When you think of Chloe, you see her sleeping at her desk. Spine curving, her limbs askew, her blue hair peeking from beneath her beanie. You see her hunched over, a square of sunlight cutting across her lovely face, a hundred Missing Girl posters spilling across her lap. You smell her shampoo and cigarettes. It's that fucking realistic.
"Yo," says Chloe characteristically, slapping your fist with hers. Then she hugs you, really tight. Her arm squeezing your middle kinda hurts but you don't care because everything else in the world feels so nice.
"What's with all the love?" You say once you've separated. "Not that I mind, but what's the occasion?"
She shrugs. "I can't be happy to see you now?" She turns away to other things. That's it.
She's checking her computer but doesn't sit down. Too antsy, maybe. She gets like that sometimes. Other times she's totally zen. You don't get it but it's Chloe.
"Hmm." She says after a while, but doesn't share any further than that. You sit on the bed. You look at your bare knees. It's summer, so shorts. Chloe's are so short they're literally almost up her butt but you have a feeling she likes it that way. You won't be the one to say anything, anyway.
She leaves her computer, flops down next to you. "Ugh!" She says. "Summer is such a drag. Save me, Max."
"How am I supposed to do that?" You say. You want to know.
"I want something interesting to happen this summer. Like a murder mystery, or... a great summer romance or something."
"Or both," you suggest. She sits up excitedly.
"Fuck yeah! That's what I'm talking about, Max."
"Well I don't know what I can do about that," you say, wanting to help. "Apart from murdering someone I guess."
"Or you could have the romance and let me live vicariously through you," Chloe says.
"I don't think that's gonna happen," you say awkwardly. She's very close, her tattooed shoulder brushes your bare one.
"Why the fuck not? Hell yes, operation 'get Max a boy toy' is go."
"No thanks, Chloe." You say, made uncomfortable by the mere words 'boy' and 'toy'.
"I'm just kidding," Chloe laughs easily, then gets up and walks to the window. "It's so stupid gorgeous out there. I wanna go on a nature hike and get fuckin' baked."
"Are you ever not thinking about smoking pot?"
"Let me think, uh... no." Chloe says sarcastically. "But hey, nature! You like that right? You can take some photos with your camera."
It's annoying how everything she says sounds a little bit like a good idea just because she says it. You nod. "Actually that sounds nice."
"You can even take some of me," Chloe says, then poses jokingly. It still makes your breath catch to see the muscles in her bare shoulders work. "Nudes, even. I'm feeling adventurous."
"You're not serious?" You say. You don't think your poor camera is ready for naked Chloe Price. "I'm not taking photos of you."
"Fine. I'd totally get leaves up my ass anyway." Chloe says. "Lemme just grab my shit." She grabs her shit; her jacket and a little tin where you know she keeps weed and other smoking miscellany. You grab your bag and camera. "Let's go through the window in case step-ass wants to play airport security again." She's not exaggerating; you've had your pockets searched multiple times since you took the fall for that joint all that time ago.
Chloe blasts her angry music on the drive there; you feel the wind on your face and your ears are full of her joyful voice yelling along. It's a good way to be. You would turn back time to relive this eternally if you could.
"So, a murder mystery romance." Chloe says. "Who's the hero gonna be?" She's smoked a joint already. You had a few puffs but didn't breathe any of them in.
"Us, of course." You're on this bench under a lighthouse, and the view of a sunset over Arcadia Bay is beautiful. Chloe's standing in front of you, silhouetted in the dying light, and that's beautiful too. You snap a picture. You lied.
"I don't know, I think it would be cool to be the villain for once," Chloe says thoughtfully, coming to sit down next to you. "But, like, an interesting one. Like a bad guy with a tragic backstory."
You let her have that because her backstory is a great deal more tragic than yours.
"So I'm the hero and you're the villain." You clarify, not liking this. You don't tell her she's a hero to you.
"Exactly! But you have no idea I've gone over to the dark side."
"Because they have cookies?" You joke. She won't get it but you like having these nerdy moments sometimes.
"No, because they get sweet-ass red lightsabers."
"There's lightsabers now? Oh my god." You can't stop laughing. You maybe love her, that's maybe why.
"Shut up, I know some nerd things too," Chloe says. She smiles sheepishly. Pleased to have made you laugh. "Anyway, so we're still best friends, right, even though I'm secretly working for the forces of evil."
"Are you sure this is just a story, Chloe?" You joke. She laughs.
"Maybe it's all real, Max. Maybe I lured you up here-" She grabs your face between her hands, touches your forehead to hers. "-to kill you!" She says in a deep, dramatic voice.
"Oh no!" You squeak. It's all you can do to maintain the joke while your faces are this close.
She kisses your forehead and lets go. Briefly you wonder if she knows who your first kiss was. I dare you to kiss me, Max! Did she know? She's probably forgotten about that now.
"Okay, so who wins, the hero or the villain?" You say to distract yourself.
"I don't know. Wanna arm wrestle for it?"
"You know I'd lose, that's not fair."
"Okay, staring contest."
"No way," you say and blush. You're too awkward for those generally and it's Chloe, like staring at the surface of the sun.
"Okay, fine. We'll decide later." Chloe leans back, throws her head back to look at the sky. "What about the romance? It's gotta be steamy and passionate."
"Oh, I don't know." You say shyly. It's not exactly your area of expertise. "What about that Justin guy, he likes you."
"What? No fucking way. Besides, you're the hero girl, not me." Chloe says. "What about Warren?"
You shrug. Warren's fine. It would make a good story. Not an extraordinary one. Not the one you want.
Chloe stares off into the distance, thinking. "What about you and me?" She says and you nearly jump out of your skin.
"I know it sounds crazy, but- okay, hear me out, okay?" She says, and your heart is literally sliding into your toes. "The hero and the villain are secret lesbian lovers. That makes it extra painful when the big twist happens. And I murder Warren 'cause I'm jealous."
"Damn," you say automatically, mouth dry as sandpaper.
She sees something's wrong, and says: "What, you don't like it? You can have Warren instead. He's just kinda not as interesting."
"No, it's fine." You say quickly.
"Good," says Chloe. And there's no warning, no anything, no preparation whatsoever for the third kiss of your life and the second with the girl of your dreams.
You separate a little later. Chloe touches her mouth.
"Damn, that was some intense shit," she says, turning away. She tries to laugh it off but she sounds a little nervous.
You're suddenly not as nervous. There was something there, you felt it. Enough to turn Chloe's body back to you with only a gentle touch, to lift her face and look into her wide eyes and have her know exactly what is going to happen next. You kiss her again, and she gets into it for real this time, winding her hands into your hair and pulling you close because this isn't a joke or a dare.
It isn't a joke or a dare, it's something like love.