Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Max… It’s time”

          Max stared at her, almost drowning in fear. She could see Chloe was afraid too, but resolved. She really was ready to sacrifice herself for the town; Max could see it in her eyes.

“Chloe… I don’t want to do this!”  Max said loudly. She could feel the warm tears rolling down her face, so different from the cold drops of rain.

          Chloe came closer and hugged her with all the strength she had. Max grabbed her jacket like it would suffice to not lose her again. Because Max couldn’t let her go. She saw her die so many times already that the single thought of losing her again, and forever this time, was too much for her heart.

   “I went through hell and back to have her at my side, alive…" She thought, sobbing uncontrollably. “And now it turns out that I had no other choice than let her go after all we went through? What kind of cruel and twisted destiny is this?”

“I know, Max” Chloe said softly in her ear. “But we have to save everybody, okay? And you’ll make those fuckers pay for what they did to Rachel”

          Max couldn’t say anything. She just hold her closer than before.

“Being together this week… it was the best farewell gift I could have hoped for” She continued, with an incredible pain in her voice, trembling because of the tears “You’re my hero, Max.”

   She couldn’t take it anymore. Max pulled back, grabbed Chloe’s face with both hands and kissed her. A slow, deep and hurtful goodbye kiss that Chloe returned in desperation. She didn’t want to let go either.

“I’ll always love you.” Said Chloe, and pulled back softly, looking Max right in her eyes. “Now get the hell out of here. Do it before I freak!”

   Max wanted to say something. She wanted to say that she loved her too with every fiber of her being. She wanted to send Arcadia Bay straight to hell so Chloe could live. But she couldn’t say it. She never found her voice.

   “This can’t be happening!” She thought in desperation. “This is my fault, this is my storm! I caused this! Why she has to die for my mistakes? Why? I need to…  I love her too. I can’t let her die again. I won't.”

“And Max Caulfield? Don’t you forget about me.”    

   Then she realized… maybe there was another way. A way to fix all this destruction and chaos. And she promised herself to take that chance, whatever the cost. Because she knew, after all that happened… she would do anything for Chloe Price.

“Never”

   She focused on the photograph and its borders began to shake a little. And then, she went back through it for the last time.

   She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it had worked. Max was once again in the bathroom, behind the stall, with her camera between her hands and the blue butterfly resting almost still on the bucket at her feet.

   It was a matter of time now. She could feel her heart race in her chest, full of fear. She never was so scared in her life, not even when she was standing in front of that monstrous storm. Chloe was with her, and that made her feel brave enough to handle the situation… until she gave her the photograph and asked her to go back in time to let her die.

   When she heard the door opening, her heart gave a jump. It was time. She had to let Chloe, her best friend, die again. Once and for all. Alone and scared in that bathroom, thinking nobody cared about her… thinking that everyone who was important in her life abandoned her. Believing that Max left her alone for five years. Not knowing how much Max cared about her. Not knowing how much Max loved her in every way possible…

“I can’t do this.” She thought again. “I can’t just let her die this way. It’s not fair. My powers are the problem, not her being alive. I need to try, I can’t give up.”

“It’s cool, Nathan… Don’t stress… You’re okay. Just… count to three…”

   It was almost time. Max stood behind the stall, trying to sneak peak at Nathan without being discovered. She could feel her hands shaking and sweating, her lips trembling every time she took a breath. “What if I screw up this again?” She thought, feeling how the fear started to take over her. “I can’t rewind again and provoque that storm… whatever happens now, I’ll have to deal with the consequences. I just hope I can.”

   The door opened a second time and there she was… Chloe, with her blue hair, her ever present beanie and her beautiful, pissed off face. She stared at Nathan with anger and closed the door.

“So what do you want?” Asked the guy, without looking at her. He was grabbing the faucet with both hands, as if he was trying to control his bad temper.

“I hope you checked the perimeter as my step-ass would say. Now, let’s talk bidness.”

“I got nothing for you” Growled Nathan.

“Wrong. You got hella cash.” Chloe replied.

   She was so… angry. So different from the Chloe Max just had left behind. The selfless Chloe, the kind Chloe, she didn’t exist in that reality. Max thought for a moment if she was the responsible of that change at some point.

“That’s my family, not me”

“Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid” Chloe mocked him.

   “Damn it, Chloe.”

“I know you been pumpin’ drugs n’ shit to the kids around here…” She approached Nathan and leaned on him, giving him a cold glare. “I bet your respectable family would help me if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now.”

“Leave them out of this, bitch”

“Almost there… Do it, Max... You know you can. Do it!”

“I can tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk-ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself…”

   Max saw from behind the stall how Nathan finally lost control and pushed Chloe against the wall, grabbing the gun he had hidden in his jacket. She saw for a second the terrified expression in Chloe’s face when she realized that everything wasn’t as in control as she thought.

 “Now or never, stop second guessing yourself! Time to be an everyday hero again, Max. Don’t screw this up.”

“You don’t know who the fuck I am or who you’re messing around with!”

“Where’d you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!”

“Don’t EVER tell me what to do. I’m so sick of people trying to control me!”

   Finally, Max stepped out from her hiding spot. Her right hand clutched in a fist to avoid the temptation of using her power, her heart beating so fast in her chest that it seemed about to jump off it. With all the courage she managed to cope, she raised her voice loud enough to be heard over Nathan’s.

“NATHAN, STOP!”

   Everything was so fast that Max didn’t see it. One second she was looking straight at Nathan’s wild eyes and Chloe’s panicked expression. The next, she felt like a hammer hit her right in the middle of her chest, making a deafening sound. She looked down at her chest and saw in awe at the dark blood stain growing bigger and bigger on her shirt.

"Oh, no…”

   Her knees hit the floor and her body fall back to the ground, while a river of blood escaped through her lips. She raised her hand to rewind, all in vain. She could feel her life slipping away from her as fast as her blood covered the white bathroom floor.

“MAX?! OH MY GOD!”

   Chloe pushed Nathan away with her shoulder and left herself fall next to Max and held her in her arms, ignoring the blood pouring out of her chest. Nathan left his gun fall to the ground and left the bathroom as fast as he could, leaving them alone.

“Max?! Holy shit! Holy shit, what have you done?!”

“Chlo… Chloe…”

“Shhh, don’t speak!” She said, pressing her right hand in Max holed chest.”HELP! SOMEONE!”

“Chloe… list… listen to me” Max touched Chloe’s face with her hand, leaving a spot of blood in her cheek. “My… my journal.”

   Max looked at her backpack and moved her head, wishing her friend would understand.

“Shh! Don’t say anything. You’ll be alright, I promise. Please, please.”

   Tears were running wildly down Chloe’s face.

“Take my… journal and… read it. It’ll ex.. explain everything.”

“Shut up, Max!” Chloe said, her eyes full of tears and her voice broken. “For fuck’s sake! SOMEONE HELP ME!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Max could feel the tears slipping away from her eyes, rolling down her bloody face.”I’m sorry I… left… I’m sorry I … didn’t call…”

“It’s okay, Max! You hella saved my life!” Her tears fell right in Max’s face, making her blink.”You’ll be okay. I promise, Max”

“Read my… Journal” Max insisted, feeling how her eyes became heavy and the pain in her chest slowly started to fade away. She did what she could. She just hoped it was enough. “I… I love… I love you.”

“Don’t! Don’t you dare say that and leave me, Caulfield! Don’t you fucking dare!”

   But Max couldn’t hear her anymore. She just closed her eyes and everything went black as the sound of fast steps closed in.

Chapter Text

Silence. Tension. The small room was dark and cold, full of cigarette smoke and an unspoken awkwardness and anger.

“Full name, miss?” Asked the detective, intertwining her fingers over the metallic table. Her interlocutor just stared at her with fury, while expelling the smoke of her lungs with defiance.

“Miss, I know you don’t want to be here, neither do I, but this is where we are.” Insisted the detective, frowning at the girl.

“Price” answered the young woman with coldness. “Chloe Price.”

    They were at the police station in Arcadia Bay. Chloe was taken to an interrogation room in quality of witness of the shooting that took place in the bathroom at Blackwell Academy hours ago. After she went with Max to the hospital, and girl entered almost immediately to surgery, the cops asked her to go with them and she couldn’t say no.

“You’re making this more difficult than it has to be” Said the detective, frowning at her.”If you just cooperate and answer the questions, you can go home. Maybe get some sleep”

    Chloe didn’t answer. She just crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, holding her cigarette with frowned lips. This wasn’t the first time in that room, of course, and she knew how things worked, but this time was different. She just wanted to send the detective straight to hell and run back to the hospital.

“If she didn’t make it… I fucking swear I’ll kill Prescott with my bare hands.” She thought.

“I know it’s been a long day for you… how are you feeling?” Asked the detective, trying to smooth her tone. Of course, it didn’t work.

“I’m fucking pissed off.” Said Chloe.“I should be in that hospital taking care of my friend. I don’t even know if she’s fucking alive, you know?”

“Look, I know what you must be going through…”

“Do you? Do you fucking know?” Asked Chloe, getting up all of the sudden and leaning over the table, looking straight at the officer like she was about to slap her. “Did a friend of yours just stepped out of fucking nowhere and took a shot for ya? Do you have any friend that was ready to die liek that? For you?”

    The detective didn’t answer and Chloe left herself fall again on the chair.

“That’s what I thought” She said, looking away with fury.

“Look… I just need you to answer some questions.” Insisted the detective, with a softer tone this time. “This is important. We really need your cooperation. There is something really bad happening in Arcadia Bay right now. You could help us to help you. And your friend.”

    Chloe sighed and crushed her cigarette with strength in the ashtray before looking at the detective again. She knew the detective couldn’t tell her what was happening, but if Nathan was under arrest, it may have something to do with it… and what he wanted to do with her on his room, after he dossed her.

“Ask your questions” She said. “Fast.”

“Tell me everything you know about… Nathan Prescott.”

Chloe clenched her fists, looked coldly at the detective... and started to talk.

    She left the police station an hour or so later and almost run to her truck, parked carelessly at the side of the road. She was lucky that the cops didn’t object when she asked to come to the police station with it. Since she was only a witness, the ride in the police car was unnecessary. She sat on the driver seat and released a deep sigh of desperation, just before she turned on the truck and drove to the hospital as fast as the old vehicle allowed her.

    “Don’t think about it. Max’ll be fine. Joyce would have called you if something went wrong.”
    
    She past a stop sign without even looking at the sides and went on, even faster than before.

    “I must be cursed, there is no other fucking explanation” She continued, her eyes wet. ”First dad dies, then Max left me, then Rachel disappeared and then Max comes back… and she hella saves my stupid ass  in that bathroom… I can’t believe I’m in this fucking nightmare, I will not be able to accept that girl died for me, damn it! If she dies I will fucking strangle Prescott to death myself.”

    She parked the truck near the ambulances entrance and jumped off it. She was so rushed that she had to came back to the vehicle when she remembered the journal. She managed to take it, along with Max’s bag, before the police could take it away. She didn’t know why, but the thought of the cops reading the journal that Max wanted so bad to show her made Chloe feel uncomfortable.

    The book was on the passenger seat, sticky and stained with Max’s blood. Chloe remembered she was covered by her blood too and tried not to look at the dark red spots in her white t shirt.

“Read my… journal. It’d… explain… everything.”

    Max last words still ringed in her head.

“What the hell is this supposed to explain?” Thought Chloe, looking at the stained cover. ”You better be right, Caulfield.”

    Chloe found Joyce in the waiting room, with bags under her eyes and a worried look on her face, watching tv. She was alone, sitting on a metallic chair.

“Where is she?” Demanded Chloe, running to her mother. She tried to sound calm, but her broken and trembling voice betrayed her. “Is she alive? What happened?”

“She is still in surgery.” Answered Joyce.”It’s been almost four hours now.”

“God fucking damn it!” Chloe punched the wall with a clenched fist and took of her beanie with fury. “I can’t take this anymore... Why are you alone? Where is step-prick?”

    If looks could kill, then Chloe would have died in the exact moment Joyce looked at her.

“David.” She emphasized. “He’s still at Blackwell. The police is there with him. Chloe, for god’s sake, take a seat! You’re getting me nervous too.”

“I can’t believe this happened. She was gone… she left! And there she comes back and takes a fucking shot for me. What the hell is this?”

    Joyce couldn’t answer. Chloe started to walk along room and finally, exhausted and furious, she took a seat on the far side of it, with Max’s journal in her hands…

“Should I really read this?” She asked herself. “She could tell me herself what happened if she survi… don’t say that, Chloe. Don’t be stupid. She said it would explain everything… what’s that exactly? Why she left? Why she didn’t call or write to me in five years?”

    She looked at the journal, unconvinced. But as always, she couldn’t hate Max for what she have done. Chloe was angry, of course. She felt betrayed and abandoned when Max left… but she never hated her friend. She never could, even if she wanted to. Part of her wondered why.

    And now… after what Max did… There was no point of being angry for the past. She owed Max her life.

    Chloe wiped out the tears of her blue eyes, opened the Journal and started reading, with her hands shaking and looking over the book from time to time to the hallway, where she expected to find a doctor with a smile, saying everything was okay. That Max was okay.

    That was until he reached the page in which Max talked about the bathroom… She almost lost her temper when she read about Max’s rewind powers. It was insane, unbelievable, the delirium of a geek… but how on earth she could know that she was on the bathroom? There was impossible for Max to write all that, it just had happened!

“What… the hell is this?”

     As she went through the journal, she wasn’t sure what to believe. Max’s journal had everything that happened to her written, it was impossible. How did Max know about Rachel Amber? How did she know about her stepfather? How did she know about Frank and… everything?

    And that wasn’t all of it. Max’s descriptions of her were really accurate. The rebellion, the bad attitude, her characteristic smart ass answers… The fact that she thought to stole a gun from David’s locker… how bad Chloe wanted to have Rachel back... The many times Chloe would have died for doing something stupid… And she would be dead if it wasn’t for Max's power to rewind and save Chloe's life… exactly the same way she did at that bathroom. Everything would have made some sense… if it wasn’t impossible.

   And then… She dared Max to kiss her. And… Max did?

“What the fuck did I just read?” She thought, trying to ignore the pang in her gut. “Why would she…? Whatever. Keep going, Chloe.”

     Then… everything went to shit. Rachel and Frank, together. It was like a stab on her chest, an awful pain in her heart, almost unbearable.

“This can’t be real. This journal… could it be?” She asked herself, looking at the tears wetting the paper in her hands. “If it is, Rachel was just another person that fucked you up. Everybody lies, no exceptions. Even Rachel didn't care about you.”

    And just a few moments later, she had to swallow her words and cry again, for another reason entirely. Rachel. Dead. Buried in the junkyard. Killed by Nathan Prescott.

"This isn’t real” She said in a whisper. “She can’t be dead, she just… She can’t be…”

  Joyce’s voice, sad and shaken took her out of her rumbling.

“Oh, no…”

    Chloe looked up. The news were on the tv of the waiting room. There was a reporter, a cute young girl with a microphone in her hand, talking to the camera, but Chloe didn’t listen. She couldn't. 

   She got up, and the journal fall to the floor, spitting all it’s contempts over it, wide open, as she almost run to the tv in disbelief and read the headline a thousand times until it sank in.

    Rachel Amber was found. Dead. Buried in the junkyard… and the self - confessed murderer was Sean Prescott’s little son. Nathan.

    Chloe felt herself hitting the ground with her knees, grabbing her head and crying, almost silently. She wanted to shout, to break things, to curse Arcadia Bay and everybody in it, but she couldn’t find her voice. She wanted to be dead in that bathroom instead of feeling this deep and torturing pain. 

    Not even Joyce’s hug could console her. Nothing would. She cried for what felt like hours on her mother's arms.

    When she got back to her feet and returned to her chair, she looked at the journal on the floor. As if she needed more proof that everything was indeed real, while taking all the journal’s contents, there was a polaroid. A single picture of Max and… Chloe. Smiling on the morning light, on her room. She didn’t remember when was the last time she smiled so honestly.

“This is reality then. All of it.” She thought. “This is fucking real…" 
 

 “Miss Price?”

    Both, Joyce and Chloe looked up. The doctor was on the door frame, with his face wet of sweat and with a worn out expression on his face.

“The surgery was a success.” He announced. “Miss Caulfield is stable now, but unconcious. You can go to see her if you like. She’s in room 203.  Did any of you contacted her parents?”

"Oh my fucking god, she's alive!"

    Chloe didn’t wait to hear her mother’s answer. She picked up the journal and went to the hallway as fast as she could, with her heart beating fast on her chest. She didn’t know how she was able to cope with the pain and go to see her. Part of her wanted to shut down, mourn Rachel, cry her eyes out… But after all she read, after realizing all that crazy shit that was indeed real... after realizing Max had saved her life, over and over... She couldn't ignore the pun on her chest, the buterflies in her stomach.

    At the moment, the only thing she wanted to do was be right next to Max.

Chapter Text

Chloe entered the room slowly and closed the door behind her.

    Max’s room was warm and small, lighted by a single lamp over her bed. She was there, lying motionless, awfully pale, breathing with the help of an oxygen mask. The oscilloscope was beeping weakly but steady. Music for Chloe’s ears.

     She sat down next to the bed and looked  deeply at her friend,  while holding the journal with both hands.

“You’re alive.” whispered Chloe, ignoring the tears rolling down her cheeks. “You’re here again, you came back and saved my life. Why, Max? Why?”

    She stayed there in silence for what it seemed like hours, with her eyes locked in Max’s peaceful expression, her barely parted lips behind the mask, her freckles, her long eyelids… She was that clumsy and shy girl she knew five years ago, but all grown up.

    Chloe reached out and grabbed Max hand… it was pale and cold like ice.

“I need you to answer me, Max. Why did you do that? What’s this journal? I…”

“Oh, man… what…?”

    Max held her hand. Even though her being weak and shaky,  she closed her fingers around Chloe’s palm and remained sleeping. Chloe shook her head and couldn't help to smile a little.  She’ll wake up, and she’ll explain every single thing to her. She just knew it.

    Chloe opened the Journal with her free hand and continued reading, fighting with the butterflies flying in her stomach.

Hours became days...

“This is bullshit. This can’t be real.”

“But it makes sense… that’s something I’d do…”

“This shit predicted Rach… goddamnit.”

“So… fucking twisted. What the fuck is this?”

“Oh, man this is insane… I’m sitting here, talking to myself about some crazy shit written on a teenage diary!”

“I need to buy a fucking quantiq physics book If I want to make some sense out of this shit.”

“Oh, Max...You saw my dad again? And you… oh my god. Oh my god, Max. What did you do?”

“Oh, man, this can’t be real! Alternate realities and timelines… this is so fucked up!”

“I can’t believe she was buried in… our lair… Damn it, why she? Why kill her? What kind of world does  this?!”

“How many times did I die? Seriously? It’s like a... hella weird parody of Final Destination or some shit like that.”

“Prescott… You… you son of a bitch! ”

“Jefferson the art teacher? What? No, this is fucking insane.”

“Again? I’m fucking dead again? Unbelievable!”

    Chloe’s mind was total chaos. With every word she read, a new question, which couldn't be solved, appeard in her mind. She spent hours like this, dancing between belief and disbelief. Between truths and lies. Between facts and deliriums.

    The proofs were irrefutable, though. The pictures. Every single one of the pictures of herself that she didn’t remember. The things that Max knew about her life, about her… things that she couldn’t have known if all that was written was just a big lie.

    But it was too much. Too much to bear, too much to assimilate, too much to believe.

    Days passed. Max was still unconscious. The doctors said she was stable, but she would not wake up for a while. Maybe even for another couple of days. It scared the shit out of Chloe that they Doctor's kept Max sedated to bear the pain.

    Chloe stayed by her side. Even when Joyce told her to get back home and she'd watch about Max or when latters parents arrived, in the middle of the night with a panic attack and a storm of tears, asking for their little baby.

    Max kept sleeping, her face relaxed and peaceful. She was scary pale. The mask that helped her breathe and the awful amount of bandages over her bare chest didn’t make her any favours to not look fragile. But she was alive and out of danger,  something that Chloe reminded herself every five or six seconds.

    She tried, without success, to ignore the awkward mix of feelings. Between Max sudden and heroíc reappearance, Rachel’s fate and the journal… her mind was about to collapse and her heart… her heart wasn’t sure if it should feel relief or pain.

    She felt like crap for thinking about it, but the fact that Rachel was found, for better or worse, helped her to give closure to six agonic months of wonder. She hated herself for feeling relieved, now that she had a body to mourn and bury. And she mourned her loved Rachel every single day, and even if it was kind of masochist, she followed the investigation on the news. She just hoped the police would finally do justice for her friend, that all the pain she felt was not in vain.

    When the Dark Room was discovered and made public, due to Nathan’s confession, Jefferson was arrested for kidnapping and murder. That confirmed another waterfall of notes, which Chloe considered as deliriums, written down in Max’s journal. Every time Chloe saw Jefferson’s cold face on the news, she just wanted to smash his stupid lenses and make him pay for all the crimes with her own hands. For Rachel, for Kate… and for Max. Even if she wasn’t his victim in this reality, she had been in another and that thought was enough for Chloe to want him dead.

    After that, Chloe decided that she believed it. All of it. Even the weird stuff. Even the impossible things written in the journal. And part of her wanted to believe all of this was for a reason. She wanted to believe what the journal said, because besides all the shit going on, Chloe and Max seemed… happy. Like when they were kids. Captain Chloe and SuperMax, taking over Arcadia Bay again.

    She wanted to be there when Max woke up, she wanted to talk to her, to hug her, to ask her why, to slap her for leaving, to thank her for coming back,  to tell her she was sorry and so damn grateful. Even though her parent’s would not like her to be on the room twenty-four-seven, they would have to kick her out, literally.

The days became weeks...

    
    Chloe returned home only to shower and change her clothes. She slept and ate at the hospital, only leaving Max’s room when she needed a smoke to ease her wild thoughts and mixed feelings. And for Rachel's funeral, of course.

    She was in Max's room one afternoon, looking at one of the polaroids she took from the journal, now safe under her bed in a box with Max’s bag, back at home. The polaroid featured the two of them, smiling at the camera, with sleepy faces. Chloe loved that picture, even if she didn’t remember anything of what happened that day. It was truly a portrait of happiness, even with all the weird shit going on around them. And Max… she looked so happy, so beautiful...

“Any news?” Asked Vanessa Caulfield, entering the room.

“Still sleeping” Answered Chloe, with a sigh, hiding the picture on her jacket’s pocket.

    Two weeks had passed, and Max was still sleeping. The doctor said she should had woken up by now, since they retrieved the sedatives and assured her worried parents and pissed off worried best friend that she was stable and her condition was improving, even if she was still unconscious.

“Jesus, why is she taking so long?” Asked Vanessa, like she was just talking to herself.

    Like most of the time, Chloe ignored her, with her full attention on Max’s sleepy face. She was a little ashamed, but even if she had forgiven Max for moving to Seattle, she didn’t forgive her parents for dragging her with them. Stupid and childish, she knew, but she couldn’t help it.

“I’ll grab some food for Ryan and myself… do you want something, dear?

“Nah, I’m okay” Chloe said with her eyes never leaving Max. She noticed something off in her face. Like when they were kids, she frowned a little, and a small wrinkle appeared within her eyebrows. She always could tell when Max was lying because of that little detail.

    Vanessa left the room and closed the door behind her. Just a couple of seconds later, Max opened her eyes softly, almost sleepy and looked at Chloe’s surprised expression. Then Chloe realized she was... faking to be asleep.

“Chloe…” Max said, with a lazy smile and throaty voice. “You look like shit.”

“Max! Amazeballs!”

    Chloe hugged her carefully but tightly, drowning her face in Max’s hair.

“You’re fine, I can’t believe it. You’re here!” Chloe thought, feeling the tears rolling down her face.

    She never felt so relieved in her entire life and she didn’t notice how tense was her body until she saw the deep dark blue eyes of her friend looking at her. It felt like all her muscles relaxed together, out of the sudden, and she felt dizzy for a moment.

“You’re alive” Said Max, weakly. She was crying too. “You’re alive, Chloe. I did it.”

    Chloe pulled out of the hug, but she never left Max’s hand, holding it tight, intertwining their fingers.

“Dude, you scared the shit out of me” Chloes aid with her trembling voice, managing to dry her tears with the back of her free hand. “I thought… Damn it, I thought you died. You can’t just appear out of nowhere and do that to me”

“Of course I can, Chloe. And I did.” Max mocked her, even if she looked so dry and wasted, so beaten up just for being awake a couple of minutes, she was the same smartass Chloe remembered.”I’m so, so sorry about everything. I mean it. I didn’t forgot about you, even if I was an asshole and didn’t call. I’ll never forgive myself for leaving you...”

“Hey, hey, stop” Said Chloe, rising her hands. “Don’t worry about it. It’s all in the past, you’re here now… and you hella saved my life. Whatever happened back then… it’s over now. You’re here, that’s what matters. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine” Max answered, while Chloe raised up an eyebrow in disbelief. “All right… I feel like crap. My chest is killing me and I can’t stand this thing nailed in my hand… I… hate needles.”

    Max looked at her hand, where the niddle of the serum was under her skin and a chill ran down her spine. Chloe nodded with a sad expression on her face.

“Well, that made more sense. I’ll go find your parents. They’d be really happy to see you’re awake.”

“Don’t” Said Max, grabbing her hand.

    Chloe could feel her gut twist… and that feeling was not exactly unpleasant.

“Butterflies again? How old are you, Chloe? Twelve?”

“I know they’d want to see me, yeah. But I need to ask you something first.” Continued Max.

    Chloe looked at her, rising an eyebrow, absolutely confused.

“How much time was I unconscious?”

“Two weeks… You got us all worried to death.”

“What about the weather? Did… something unusual happen?” Asked Max, intensively. She was visibly preoccupied about it.

“Honestly… A lot of weird shit was going on.” Answered Chloe, with a shady expression. Then, she grinned at Max’s worried expression and mocked her. “But the weather forecast didn’t announced tornados for Arcadia Bay this year.”

    They looked at each other for a second and then Max relaxed a little, smiling. Chloe couldn’t help herself but to smile when she saw her friend letting herself fall back to bed, sighing with relief.

“I can’t believe I actually did it…” She whispered, almost for herself. “So… if you know…”

    Chloe sat back on her chair and looked at Max eyes with intensity. She needed to know, she needed to be sure… She needed to hear from her lips. Every single thing.

“I read the journal” She said. “And… a lot of things happened while you were… not here.”

“I can… guess.” Max said, frowning a little. “Start from the beginning. Tell me everything. Then, we can talk about the journal. I bet you have like a thousand questions about it.”

“Well, that’s an understatement… Do you have two or three weeks to answer my questions, SuperMax? I’ll take a while.”

    Max squeezed her hand and looked at her right to the eye, with an intensity and affection that made Chloe blush slightly and look away, remembering about the kiss Max described in her journal. For a moment, she felt so odd and yet so… warm.

 “I have all the time in the word for you now.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chloe woke up suddenly next morning with an awful pain in her neck. She had fell asleep on the couch of Max’s hospital room, in the most uncomfortable position ever, after watching her best friend sleep for a while. She stretched… and then she noticed they weren’t alone.

Max’s nurse, a young dark haired women was taking a look at her. Chloe and the young women dressed in white had crossed paths more than once the last weeks, but never actually spoke. She just looked at Chloe with a little smile when she heard her wake up.

“I’m sorry…” Said Chloe. “I know I shouldn’t be here…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Said the Nurse, checking on Max vitals and writing down something on a piece of paper. “It’s obvious you really care about her, you’re always around.”

“Yeah…”

“Don’t blush, don’t blush damn it…”

“Anyway… Max’s parents will come soon with her doctor. He needs take Max to run some tests to check on her condition now that she’s awake.”

“She’s gonna hate that…” Said Chloe on a whisper, remembering about the nightmare Max had last night and her fear, with reason, to needles.

“I’m sure she will, but she seems like a strong young women. She’ll survive.” Joked the nurse.

“Well, I better get going before someone else catch me off limits…”

“I really want to stay but… I can’t just follow Max around everywhere.”

“I’ll be going.” Announced the nurse. “I’ll give you time to escape without being noticed” She added, with a smile.

“Well, that was… weird.” Thought Chloe, when the nurse left the room.

She saw Max waking up slowly, with her sleepy eyes narrowed, looking at her. They were full of tears and her hands were shaking. Another nightmare, no doubt.

“Hey, Mad Max…”

“Hey, Chloe.”

“Nightmares?” Asked the taller girl, sitting on the edge of Max’s bed. She nodded. “Don’t worry. The fucker is in jail and he’ll never get out of that shithole.”

“It wasn’t him this time… “ Said Max, shrugging a little. She was looking at Chloe intensively, like she was trying to be sure she was there, within her reach. “But I’m okay now.”

“You’ll have to tell me about this nightmares eventually, you know?” Said Chloe, worried.

“I know.”

“Listen… the doctors are going to take you and run some tests on ya… The nurse said she’d buy me some time to get the hell out of here before they came back.”

“Yeah… “ Max seemed unconvinced, biting her lip like she always did.

“You’ll be back here before you know it.” Chloe reassured her with her always confident grin. “And I’ll be here pesting you again in no time. You owe me half of the explanation.” Chloe looked at the journal in her hand, and moved it up and down, as she was trying to calculate its weight. “Kind of…”

Max chuckled softly.

“I do. See you soon.”

Chloe had a lot of free time until the visiting hours started, and not much to do. Arcadia Bay was boiling with activity, even with Blackwell closed. The students still lived there, because there was nowhere else they could go for now, and since the classes were suspended, they were all around town enjoying their free time.

Chloe crossed paths with Justin and his skater friends at the Two Whales, where she went as always for a free meal. She talked with them for a while and then she sat on the bar, looking at Joyce working in the kitchen.

“Even if I’m always hanging out here, it feels different.” She thought, looking around.

She never noticed before the smiles on the customers face, the usual presence of the truckers and cops, the delicious scent of the coffee and the sweet and warm environment of the diner. She was always with her mind somewhere else, spaced out.

She looked at the last table, near the window. She remember every single time she sat there with Rachel, hanging out, bitching about life… Chloe sighed. She knew she hadn’t any right to be angry at Rachel for being with Frank. She always knew she didn’t stand a chance, so she remained silent. She never told Rachel about her feelings, knowing it’d make things awkward. She preferred to suffer in silence rather than destroy their friendship.

“If I knew this would happen…” She thought, looking away. “At least you’re in a better place than this shithole, Rach. You and Dad.”

Joyce came out of the kitchen and smiled at her daughter affectionately.

“Looking for a free meal, sweetie?” She said, with that playful bright on her eyes.

“You know me well…”

Joyce rolled her eyes, came back to the kitchen only to return with a big plate of eggs and bacon. Double ration.

“Since when you’re so generous with the needy?” Asked Chloe, frowning at the big plate in front of her.

“I don’t know how on earth you’re standing at the moment.” Said Joyce. “You barely sleep and eat… you spent all day on the hospital and you don’t want me to take your place even if it’s for a little while. How’s Max?”

“She woke up.” Said Chloe with a bright smile.

“She’s awake, and fine, and alive, and… goddamn it. I missed her so much…”

Joyce looked at her, narrowing her eyes a little, like she was seeing inside Chloe’s mind. She smiled too.

“I’m really glad she’s okay. I should visit her now that she’s awake. And you… It’s been years since I saw you smile like that, honey.”

Chloe was suddenly very interested in the big amount of meat on her plate. Joyce knew she was doing it on purpose, so she didn’t say anything. She got back to work, leaving her daughter alone, still smiling.

“I bet I didn’t smile like that in a while.” Chloe thought. “My life has been deep in shit the last couple of years. But… maybe this was meant to be… in some twisted way. Since dad died, nothing was the same anymore… I know I’ll never get over his death. I’ll never accept what happened to him and I miss him so bad... But… Max even tried to change that for me. I need to ask her about that… How it’d be? Suddenly being twelve again, the best time of our lives… my life… I’d be hella weird.”

Chloe noticed she was just playing around with her food. She wasn’t very hungry now, even when a couple of minutes before she was starving. She pushed a slice of bacon to one side, then to the other, while her mind was overflowed with thoughts and memories.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday.

“Chloe, listen to me… whatever happens today, I want you to be strong.” Max had said, with her eyes wet, grabbing Chloe by her shoulders.

“You okay?” Asked the young Chloe, worried about her friend suddenly strange behaviour.”You're acting so fucking weird…”

“Whatever happens, I’ll always have your back. No matter what. Always.”

Then, she realized that weird behaviour now had an explanation. Nineteen-year-old Max on twelve-year-old Max’s body. She knew William was going to die…

“And she tried to change things… and screwed up everything even worst. I can’t imagine myself like that, paralyzed and on a wheel chair, incapable of doing anything on my own. Not that I’m doing a lot of things for myself now…” She sighed and then smiled cynically at herself. “Maybe I should.”

She slowly started to eat, enjoying every single bite like it was the last one. She was so aware of… everything. Like she was enjoying life itself in it’s full, even with the pain of losing one of the people she loved the most, again. That was part of life too, the pain means you’re alive and fighting. Right?

“Since when I’m so mushy?” She asked herself. “And what kind of cliched quote is that?”

She could be dead now. Maybe she should’ve… but there was Max, saving her. Again and again.

“Max gave me another chance. What have I done all this years? She has a scholarship, plans for the future… she’s the best photographer I had seen, she’s got talent… And I’m just a junkie without a job, expelled from school… Maybe this was some kind of signal. Rachel is gone for good, Frank left too… Max came back to save my ungrateful ass… Maybe she’s right. Maybe this was meant to be. Maybe I needed to read all that crazy shit and… I don’t know. Let things go? Grow up? Destiny sure can be bitchy sometimes.”

She looked at her own reflection over the metallic counter of the bar. She didn’t remember when was the last time she looked at her own image on a mirror, or in a reflection like this one. She looked oddly different, yet still the same. Less… angry. Maybe.

“Mom?” She called, looking over the counter. Joyce raised her head and looked at her, curious. “I need to ask you something.”

Chloe left the diner a while later and headed home. For the first time in years, she enjoyed the house around her, full of memories.

The wine stain on the carpet, as a result of a failed wine-testing session with Max. The couch they used to pretend it was a pirate ship, their pirate ship. The kitchen, battlefield of a thousand flour wars while making pancakes. The back yard with the swing William made just for them, now covered with rust and dust. She remembered to want to swing all the way around and how that scared the shit out of Max. The board, full of drawings, now abandoned against the fence, almost invisible now…Her bedroom, so different now from the room that used to be their lair, their safe place, the place that held many pillow forts and sleepovers.

The place where they used to talk about their future. About how Max wanted to be a famous photographer and how Chloe wanted to be her bodyguard, living uncountable adventures together as a team, as companions, as superhero and sidekick.

Chloe’s memories of Max were so vivid, so clear… she remembered everything with painful detail. When Max left… every single spot of the house became dark without the younger girl around.

“I’m so sorry, Chloe!” Cried twelve-year-old Max, grabbing her hands while the tears fell down her face. “I tried, I really tried they let me stay!”

“Why?” Asked the young Chloe, crying her eyes out , with an unbearable pain on her chest, like somebody was crushing her little heart with a fist. Again. “Why do you have to go? I need you here, I’m… I can’t…”

“I know, I know!” Little Max hugged her taller friend tightly, sobbing uncontrollably on her shoulder. “I don’t want to go, I don’t want to!”

“I love you, Max! Please, please, stay. I can’t…”

“What a damn depressing trip I’m having now.” thought Chloe, returning to the present and letting herself fall backwards on her bed with a sigh.

And then, after William died and Max left… that were dark times. Bad behaviour, fighting at school, low grades, vandalism, bad boys, drugs, piercings, tattoos, blue hair, whatever that kept her busy enough to escape reality, even if it was just for a while…

That’s when Rachel appeared. Right there, when Chloe was seriously meditating to jump of the cliff near the lighthouse to finally get over the pain. When she said Rachel saved her life… It wasn’t a way of speaking. It wasn’t figurative.

Months passed and Rachel made her life worth it again, somehow. And of course she told her about Max and how she left… how much she missed her and how much it hurted to not hear from her in all those years.

“I know it’s weird.” Said young Chloe, lying on her bed with her hands behind her neck, looking at the ceiling, the sun lighting her half-blonde half-blue hair.

“I don’t think is weird.” Answered Rachel, lying just next to her, her hands over her belly, thinking about what Chloe just said. “She seems to be really important to you. Even if she left, you still think about her.”

“Yeah, I do… I’d never imagined I’ll miss her almost as much as I miss my dad. I really wish you could met her. She’s… amazing.”

“Maybe someday. Who knows?” Said Rachel, leaning on her elbow and looking at her friend with her hazel eyes. “Maybe someday she comes back and we can hang out.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible, Rach.” Answered Chloe, with a bitter tone. “Even if she came back… I’m not sure if I’ll be able to forgive her for leaving when I needed her the most. I’d never have done that to her.”

“You’re hurt, but you don’t hate her. I can tell. Someday, if she returns… You’ll not be able to hold the grudge on her.”

“How are you so certain?” Asked Chloe, frowning a little. Rachel chuckled.

“Come on, everytime you talk about her your eyes glow and you can’t avoid that stupid grin of yours… Even if you’re hurt, I bet you totally had a crush on her.”

Chloe grabbed the pillow next to her head and hit Rachel’s face with it, while the girl was laughing hysterically.

“I was thirteen!” She said, scandalized, the blush spreading wild on her face. “What were you thinking on your little dirty mind?!”

“Don’t play dumb! Ah! Stop hitting me!” Said Rachel between laughs.

“I’ll beat the shit out of you for this!” Threatened Chloe, laughing too.

“A lightning strikes me dead if you weren’t right, Rach.” Thought Chloe, coming back to the present, shaking her head. “I wasn’t aware of that when I was younger but… Now? Damn. It’s like a punch in the gut everytime I see her smile, or laugh or just… sleep. It kills me seeing her on that bed. Of course I couldn’t hate her when she left. How could I? And then after all those years she just appears and takes a shot it was meant for me… she screwed up time and space to save my ass and...”

Chloe left slip a sad sigh through her lips.

“I know I loved Rachel. I felt it, it was… real. But Max is… different. Everything is different. I knew I hadn’t a chance with Rachel and I lived with that. Painfully, but I got it. With Max is… I don’t know. I don’t know what to say, what to think, how to act… And I’m scared shitless. I’m not sure about a damn thing except that I want to be with her all the fucking time. I don’t believe I will be able to lie about that. And… I’m not even sure if she’s not gonna leave again.”

She closed her eyes, just to rest her sight a little.

“I want to be with her all the time, like when we were kids… well, not exactly like that but… Everything always seemed so right when she was around...”

She felt so tired, so wasted all of the sudden. Her eyes so heavy she couldn’t open them up again.

“Max… what the hell i’m going to do? I wish… I wish I know…”

She crashed so hard that, when she opened her eyes, the sun was low on the sky, painting everything with a beautiful orange tone.

“How did the photographers called that?” She asked herself, half asleep, looking at the dust flying over her head, lighted by the sun. “Something about golden… what? I’ll ask Max. I’m sure she knows. Max...”

Then she snapped her eyes open and got up as fast as she could.

“Goddamnit! How is possible I overslept like this? Me, of all people?”

She put some clothes on, grabbed the journal from the desk and left the room on a rush, not before frowning at the graffiti “I can’t sleep” over her bed.

Chapter Text

Chloe left the house and drove to the hospital as fast as she could. She was really pissed she overslept like that, but knew she couldn’t help it. To be honest, she felt like a truck had run her over. No wonder she crashed so hard the moment she laid down on her bed. Since Max had come back, she could count the hours of her daily dosis of sleep with her fingers, only using one hand.

Max. Everything was so… strange now she was back. Everything felt so right… even if it wasn’t. Rachel was dead, Prescott had shot Max to the chest, she had been hurt, a lot, physically and mentally wounded, screwing around with time and reality, altering the fabric of time in a careless and dangerous way and to top all of that a psycho had been on the loose around Blackwell.

"How was it possible that everything was so fucked up but also so right in the same time?"

She parked the truck in the same spot she had used for the past weeks and got inside the building, restraining her urge to run. There was no time for feeling embarrassed, she just couldn’t wait to reach Max’s room and see her face light up with that sweet smile of hers.

She ignored all the people going and coming through the hallway. A smile had been spreading on her face when she finally reached room 202 and opened the door without knocking.

“Ahoy, capt’n, how are you…” She froze, with a hand still on the door handle. Max wasn’t alone. “... doing?”

There was a blonde girl with a high bun and a relaxed smile on her face, sitting on the couch which Chloe had used as bed the night before. She recognized Kate Marsh even if she hadn't see her since she was attending Blackwell.

“Oh, man, don’t say something stupid about roofs or viral videos or… just don’t talk. At all..”

Another unexpected visitor was sitting at end of Max’s bed, a boy Chloe didn’t recognize. Brown hair, silly smile on his face and a green shirt with a kitty wearing lenses. All of this rang a bell in her head. 

“Waldo? Walther? Willy? What was his name?”

But she didn’t had a lot of time to think, since the whole scene was a little… awkward. She was still on the door frame with her mouth slightly open, looking at the two unexpected guests.

“Chloe” Max saluted, with that sweet and beautiful smile. “What took you so long? You said you’ll be back in no time!”

“Sorry, I… crashed really hard.”

Chloe entered the room and closed the door behind her, not so sure how to act. She just waved at the two others with an awkward “What’s up?” which they replied with enthusiasm.

“Kate, you knew Chloe already didn’t you?” Asked Max.

Kate nodded, never stopping the smile on her face.

“And Chloe, this is Warren” Max introduced the guy.

“That was the name! Hello, creepy stalker. Nice to meet ya.”

“Hey there” He greeted.

Chloe almost choked when she saw her best friend roll her eyes while Warren wasn’t looking.

Warren, Kate and Max spent a while talking about Blackwell and the weird things that had been happening. Kate had to go to the police to testify, since she was another victim of Prescott and Jefferson, but she seemed to be coping with it just fine. Max asked about how it turned out and what she told the police, but she didn’t really knew much about what actually happened. She didn’t remember exactly how she ended up dosed in a Vortex Club party or in the dark room and Max seemed relieved by that fact.

Chloe's eyes never left Max’s face, not even for a second. She took note of every single expression latter showed: Worry, anxiety, curiosity, fear, relief, happiness. The way her eyebrows got lower when she was talking about something serious, the way her freckles contrasted on her soft skin, the way her lips curved when she smiled, the way she bit her lower lip when she was thinking...  She looked better than the last couple of days, less pale, less tired. And there was that glow in her eyes, the same glow Chloe saw when she had opened her eyes for the first time said her name. But now it was even brighter.

“Are you going to write a fucking poem? You may have accepted what’s going on, but now isn’t the time to deal with it!” Thought Chloe, kicking herself mentally. “Go back to the conversation. Now.”

Max just asked Warren about the weather and sci-fi stuff, like time travel, in an obsessive way that didn’t escape Chloe’s attention. For a moment she thought Warren knew about her power, but Max insisted it was just asking out of curiosity and Warren didn’t find it odd at all. He just seemed absolutely happy to answer her questions, ignoring how strange they sounded. Maybe a little too happy… The guy was all over her, it was embarrassingly obvious.

“So, if you go back in time and change things… That could affect the weather.” Explained Warren. “Let’s say… I don’t know…”

“A tornado.” Said Max automatically, her gaze fixed in Warren’s face. Then she looked away with a chill visibly going down her spine.

Chloe could feel her blood boil through her veins when Warren touched Max’s knee, hidden under the blankets and asked if she was okay. Max nodded.

“Man, stop looking at her like she is… I don’t know, a plate full of pancakes. She’s not edible, you know? Get your dirty nerdy hand off there.”

“A tornado?” This time, Max was asking.

“Maybe.” Answered Warren, shrugging. “I’m not a real scientist, even though I play one in school. But time travel is always cause and effect. Like chaos theory. For every action there is a reaction… you could create a chain reaction and cause a weather anomaly. Possibly, a tornado.

There was a moment of silence, while Max was frowning, thinking about something with intensity. Chloe again, wanted to be able to read her mind.

“So, I get you’re just doing some research in case you develop an awesome super power?” Joked Warren.

"Charming. You don’t know how close you are, dude…”

Max smiled awkwardly and exchanged a significative look with Chloe.

“Maybe…”

“Well, if you need a sidekick, you know who to call…”

That single phrase set Chloe on fire. She noticed how her guts gave a jump and started twisting horribly.

"You wish, buddy. The sidekick place is taken.”  

In the corner of her eye she noticed Kate looking at her with a smile on her face. Her smile had changed, like she could see through her and read her mind like an open book. That creeped the hell out of Chloe. 

“Man, am i being too obvious? I’m just… staring at her, of course you’re being fucking obvious…” Thought Chloe, forcing herself to look at Kate, who’s sincerely and happy smile grew wider.

Chloe smiled back, awkwardly. She felt like somebody just punched her in the gut. Again.

“That or Kate Marsh can actually read minds. Holy hell, I can’t deal with this. And If I keep listening to that geek rumble about quantum physics and climate changes I’m going to lose my temper.”

“So… how've you been, Chloe?” Asked the blonde girl with a soft voice.

“Hey Captain obvious, She asked you a question! Answer her!”

“Oh, eh…. I’m good. Better now. You know, after…”

 She couldn’t avoid looking at Max with a sad expression.

 “After that psycho shot my best friend instead of me.” Thought Chloe.

 “She feels better now.” Said Kate with a reassuring tone. Exactly like she knew what Chloe was thinking. “She told us about what happened. I’m glad she’s okay.”

 “Yeah… me too.”

 “You visit often?” Asked Kate, with genuine curiosity. She didn’t seem to be nosy, even though Chloe knew the motive behind her question.

 “Uh… yeah. Kinda.”

 The short answer may had dissuaded Kate to pursue the conversation, but she kept smiling regardless, like that was enough to know what was going on in Chloe’s mind. The blue haired girl felt the blush spread over her cheeks furiously.

“I’ll have a smoke” Announced Chloe, interrupting Warren’s speech about chaos theory, showing Max her cigarette package.

“Don’t go far.” Said Max, looking at her with bright eyes. Chloe nodded as her feet rushed to the door before anyone could see how awkward her expression was.

"That was so fucking close.” Thought Chloe once she was outside.

She leaned over the side of her truck, holding a cigarette in one hand and Max’s journal with the other. She let the smoke go through her clenched teeth, trying to relax.

“I know Kate. She of all people, wasn’t asking it to be nosy but… What I’m supposed to say? Hella yes, I’m around here all the fucking time because I have an amazing crush on my best friend who saved my ass from being shot. Nice talking to you.”

She dragged her cigarette again, feeling it burn on her throat. It was kind of comforting as the nicotine ran through her system.

“And of course, there was the knight in shining armor.” She thought with disdain.  “ I'll be your awesome sidekick, Max!’. Asshole.”

She tried to ignore the little voice in her head, awfully similar to Rachel’s, that whispered she was jealous of the guy. Chloe shook her head to drive away that thought, in vain.

“I’m not jealous.” She told herself, letting the cigarette fall though her fingers. She extinguished it with the heel of her right boot, using more strength than necessary. "He's just not capable of handling Max. The little geek doesn't know shit about how to treat her!"

Rachel’s voice teased her, and said something like the only one good enough for Max was Chloe herself. Chloe growled deeply.

“I didn’t say that.” She thought as she let go a frustrated sigh. “Okay, now I’m lying to myself. You better cut the shit, man. I need to go back inside before Max sends a search party.”

When she returned to the hallway, she found Kate standing there, looking at an ugly portrait hanging over the wall. She was all by herself, like she was waiting for something. Or somebody.

"What’s she doing here?”

“Hey, Kate.” Called Chloe, waving a little. “You’re leaving already?”

“Yeah, it’s a little late.” Answered the young girl shyly.”I’m just waiting for Warren, he offered me to take me back to Blackwell.”

 “He’s still inside?” Asked Chloe, feeling how her neutral expression was muting in an homicidal mask little by little.

The girl nodded.

“So, the creeper is in Max’s room alone with her. Fucking epic.”

She approached the door of the room 202 and put her hand on the handle, ready to interrupt, but her curiosity got the better of her. Even with the constant whisper of the people around the hallway, she could hear their voices through the slim door. She leaned closer, trying to focus on the sound of Warren’s voice, almost touching the wooden door with her right ear.

“... Wondered… Do you have any plans this weekend?”

Chloe could imagine Max raising her eyebrows.

“Well, I’m stuck here for now.” She said. It was something actually obvious. “I’m not sure when I’ll leave.”

“Well… since I got a new car recently I was thinking about going somewhere. There’s a drive in nearby, they are going to hold a sci fi movie marathon soon… so… I was thinking… we could go together.”

“Oh.my.god… You just asked out a girl who’s hospitalized because she was fucking shot in the chest!! Great timing, dude!” Thought Chloe, scandalized.

She could enter the room, just interrupt him, tell him he was being absolutely selfish and insensitive dick. But something stopped her. She noticed her muscles were tense and her knuckles white as she squeezed the door handle. Her mouth was dry and she could feel her heart racing behind her ribs, like it was about to jump out of her chest. Butterflies rampaging in her stomach, totally wild. She didn’t move an inch, listening more carefully.

“Oh…” Max sounded awkward, but not like she was caught off guard. “I’m sorry, Warren. I’m not exactly in the mood for movies with all that happened.”

Chloe’s gut gave a little jump when Max’s voice reached her ears.

“I told you you were jealous...”  Chloe growled internally.

“Well… Maybe when things just get back to normal I guess…”

“She said no, dumbass. Shut it.”

 “I don’t think so, Warren.”

 “It’s just a movie, Max. Nothing…”

 “Enough.”

 Chloe stepped into the room with a wide grin of self confidence.

“Whoa, did I interrupt something?” Asked deliberately, with her eyes fixed in Warren’s upset expression.

“Well, yeah…” He started to say, but Max interrupted him almost immediately.

“Not at all.” She said with a wide smile of relief. “Kate’s waiting for you, Warren. We can talk about this later.”

Two senconds of tense silence.

“Okay…”

The guy waved at Chloe with sadness and left the room with his head low and her shoulders down, utterly defeated.

“Man, that was intense.” Said Chloe, trying to hide her smile.

“I just knew you were listening though the damn door. I hate this..” Complained Max with a sigh. “It seems like this has to happen in every fucking time line I’m in.”

“I’m sure he’s not the only bro at blackwell who likes you, tiny Max.” Said Chloe, sitting on Max’s bed and looking at her with that characteristic grin of hers.

Max left slip a groan.

“Believe me, I don’t want any of Blackwell’s bros pestering me…”

Chloe’s grin went wider.

“So… Are you planning to replace your actual sidekick?” Asked Chloe.

Max chuckled and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. She seemed to be pretty interested in Chloe's nails, while a soft blush took over her cheeks.

“Never.” She said. “Do you want to keep talking about the journal or…?”

Chloe thought about that for almost an entire minute. Suddenly, it felt like the room temperature dropped a couple of degrees.

“I… maybe I should ask about him.” Thought Chloe, remembering that page of the journal. Another reality, another timeline, another life…So different, so twisted in comparison…

“Whatever happens, I want you to be strong. I’ll always have your back.”

Max raised her head when she didn’t answer. The blue haired girl was looking at her with intensity, a sad expression on her face and a couple of tears shining in the corners of her eyes. She frowned her lips, not sure where to start.

“Chloe, what is it?” Asked Max, concerned.

“I’ve been thinking and… I need to ask you something.” Said Chloe, looking away. “But… I’m not sure if I want to hear it.”

Max leaned forward, trying to catch her eye unsuccessfully.

“You can ask me anything, Chloe.”

“Well… here goes nothing.” Thought Chloe.

“What was it like… seeing my dad again?”

Chapter Text

Silence. Not that Chloe did expect anything else for at least a minute, not after she dropped a bomb like that. Max looked away, spaced out. Her face became a mask of sadness and regret. It was like the young brunette had aged twenty years in just a couple of seconds.

“It was… so fucking insane.” She replied distressingly. “I’ve never imagined I’d screw up like that in my life. I’m so, so sorry, Chloe.”

"Damn it.”

“So… It’s real?” Asked Chloe, her hands shaking a little. “I mean, I believe you but… I’ve been thinking about him today and… you know. I kinda need to know how it was and… why? Why did you do that?”

“Why?” She replied, angry for a second. “Because I loved your dad too, Chloe. Like he was my own.” Said Max, still avoiding her gaze. “ Because I saw you suffer so much… finding out about Rachel and Frank you just… snapped. And blamed him for leaving and for everything bad that happened to you.”

“He died. And I blamed him for my shitty life all those years, didn’t I? And Joyce... mom too...”

Tears filled Max’s eyes and threatened to roll down her cheeks any second. She couldn't lift her head, she just talked, with her eyes fixed in Chloe’s hand, grabbing the metallic rail of the bed.

“And when I went back in time I wanted to fix everything. To avoid your suffering and… I made the most reckless choice in history, believing I could change his fate. I screwed up so bad… I can’t even think about the… ‘other you’ I left behind in that reality… I wanted you to be happy… and I hurt you terribly instead. I’m never going to be okay with that.”

“How… how was he?” Asked Chloe, her eyes never leaving Max’s face. “Was he… okay?”

Max looked at her for the first time after she asked about William. Her eyes full of tears, starting to run over her face. The bright that Chloe had seen in her eyes after she woke up had been extinct, replaced by an almost tangible pain. That sight broke Chloe’s heart in two.

“Your dad loved you, Chloe” She said. “He still does. He made the impossible to be there with you, that you had all you needed to be fine. And even with the debt he and Joyce had due to your condition, even working almost twenty four seven… he was still William, with his bad jokes and his bright smile… Even if he felt desperate, he was still fighting.”

The tickling on her cheek indicated Chloe that she was crying too. She dried her tears with the back of her hand. She remembered her dad with painful detail, his voice, his scent, his bright blue eyes. She remembered perfectly the last time she saw him leaving the house, joking and laughing… when he said he’ll never leave her…

He didn’t know he couldn't keep his promise.

“How could I? How could I blame him for leaving? How could I be so unfair? He deserved better. He still does.”

“Did you make the right decision?” Asked Chloe, all of the sudden, looking at anywhere but Max. She could see through the corner of her eye the brunette staring at her in disbelief, livid and pale. 

“What?”

“I mean… He was alive and well… maybe you shouldn’t came back here…Maybe I should’ve… I should’ve...”

Max grabbed her face with both hands and forced Chloe to look at her. Chloe didn’t remember seeing Max so awfully angry in her entire life. Also, she tried to ignore the butterflies rampaging in her stomach and the burning sensation on her skin there where Max’s hands were posed.

“I did the right thing.” Max voice was so low it was almost a whisper. "I screwed up and I fixed it. I had to go back and you had to be alive and okay, like it was meant to be. I wish there was a way to save both of you. To save everyone. But I couldn’t. I screwed up like I never thought I would.”

“It… It was that bad, I mean… was I…?”

“Chloe, you asked me to put you to sleep, remember?. Forever.” Snapped Max, utterly furious. “You were in pain. You were dying, suffering… and when you asked me to do it I just couldn’t say no. I let you go because I couldn’t see you suffering like that. And I… I had to go back and change everything because… I…If you…I couldn’t let you go… I...”

She started to cry and Chloe hugged her so tight she could even feel the beating of her heart against her chest. Seconds became minutes and none of them wanted to let go of the other. Being so close was the only thing that kept Chloe together. She felt like if Max let her go, she would literally fall into pieces, smashed like glass.

“I’m… I’m so sorry you had to make that choice, Max.”

“When I tried to… when I wanted to jump off that Cliff… I was done for. I had nothing left, or that was what I thought. I never thought about what dad would have said to me… what he’d think. I just wanted to be with him but… was that what he’d wanted? And in that other reality? What happened to the Max that… the Max that helped me to die? What would dad think about that?”

“I’m done watching you suffer.” Max muttered against Chloe’s shirt and pulled away, holding the her friend's face with both hands.

She wiped away Chloe’s tears with her thumb, ignoring her own tears rolling down her face. There was something in her eyes, hidden behind the pain. Something Chloe didn’t recognize, even looking at them so close… 

So close…

“Those blue eyes, that face and... and… damn you’re beautiful. You are… so… I should… I need…”

Chloe leaned forward, her heart about to explode of pain and fear in her chest, beating brutally against her ribs. Butterflies flying wildly, the blood in her veins beating in her ears and her face turned red as her eyes lingered for a brief second to Max’s pink lips, slightly parted, letting out her breath softly. She seemed to be closing too, a question hidden in her eyes. That bright on her gaze appeared again as Chloe came closer…

The sound of the door opening broke the spell, shattering it to pieces. Chloe jumped back, getting away from Max as fast as possible, her face burning like she was on fire. Suddenly, the room was so hot she almost couldn’t stand it.

“What… what was that? Damn, I… I wasn’t even thinking!” Thought Chloe, looking away to hide the bright red blush on her cheeks. She didn’t dare to look at Max right now, or anyone really. She just wanted to be swallowed by the ground and never come back up. “Holy shit, what i’ve done?!”

“Do you need something, dear?” Asked a female voice. The nurse was talking to Max, who didn’t seem so troubled to find the right words.

“No, I’m okay.” She replied. “I know it’s late for visitors but…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Said the nurse. Chloe could hear a smile on her voice while she just looked at the floor, trying not to seem too shocked.

“Breath, Chloe. Breath.”

“I’m sure your friend will sneak in anyway if I told her to leave.” Joked the nurse. “I shouldn’t be doing this but you’re fine and I’m sure she can keep a secret. Don’t you?”

“She’s talking to you, dumbass. Answer her.”

“Of course.” Muttered Chloe, forcing herself to look at the nurse.

The black haired woman smiled at her and then left the room, leaving them alone again. Max left escape a frustrated sigh and laid again on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

“I know what you’re thinking, Chlo.” Said Max, without looking at her.

“Holy shit, I’m busted!” Thought Chloe, the horror spreading over her face. She wanted to disappear, to run away and hide where nobody found her again. “I’m done. I screwed up.. Oh.Hell.No.”

“And I don’t regret it.” Continued Max.

Chloe raised her head and looked at her friend in confusion.

“What?”

“I don’t regret anything I did. I tried, I screwed up and I came back to fix it the best I could. If there was a chance… a small possibility that everything could get better, I’d take it. And I did. That’s exactly why you’re here now. Even if I wasn’t meant to change things I… I just happened.”

“So… you’re going to just…. ignore whatever happened just two seconds ago?” Thought Chloe, not sure if she felt relieved or hurt. “Maybe I was just… seeing things. Maybe she didn’t got closer to me, maybe she didn’t noticed anything… Shit, I’m absolutely confused now.

“I guess… “ Said Chloe. “You were lucky to had the chance… What’d have happened if you just couldn’t fix it? That’s serious shit.”

“I know. I was fucking terrified.” Max swallowed audibly. “When I used the photograph to go back… I don’t know, suddenly I was there, in my thirteen year old body but… I remembered everything that had happened, like some kind of twisted deja vu. And being there again I just… I couldn’t let the opportunity go away. I learned the hard way that my power can screw up realities so bad… it’s not a gift, it’s a… weapon.”

Chloe sighed. She moved her chair slightly away from the bed, just to avoid whatever happened between the two of them earlier. Not that she didn’t want it, of course. She could feel the urge to be close to Max boiling in her chest, so strong that she had to use all her strength to fight it.

“There is no second chance here, Chloe” She thought. “You almost screw everything up. Stay put. Damn this is fucking hard.”

“Do you have any idea of how it works? Travel through photographs I mean.”

“I have no clue to be honest.” Admitted Max, shrugging. “I didn’t even know what I was doing the first time. But it works with every photograph I’m in. Travelling back through photographs saved my life. And yours too. Three times in fact. When I was… When I was in the Dark Room… I used my own photographs to escape. And to save you because… you were dead...”

Tears again. Max just kept looking at the ceiling, crying and grabbing her head with both hands. Chloe wanted to go closer, to hug her tight and scare away all the fear on her voice.

“You’re safe.” She managed to say. “He’s in jail. And you never were there.”

A chill ran down Max’s back, shaking her visibly. She seemed off for a second, like she was remembering something awful.

“What is it?” Asked Chloe, worried.

“Nothing.” Said Max, shaking her head. “It’s just…memories of things that never happened. It’s weird. I remember everything I went through with you, but you don’t… I remember being in places that I never was in this reality. Things happened to me, to us… and you… you just don’t know, you don’t remember. Because it never happened to you.”

"What do you want me so bad to remember, Max? Tell me... Tell me because I'm hella scared to ask..."

Max didn't say anything. They just sat there in silence for a while, both looking at anywhere except each other. It wasn’t awkward or odd as Chloe thought it would be. Just the very presence of the other was kind of… relaxing.

“Do you… want to talk about the… Dark Room?” Asked Chloe, not sure if that’d help or ruin everything.

“Not right now.” Said Max, with a strangled voice. “I’ll tell you what happened though, you need to know, but… I’m not sure if I can handle it now. And It’s a little late.”

Chloe looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Almost midnight.

“Crap.”

“You have to go.” Said Max with a sad expression.

“How do you know?” Asked Chloe, narrowing her eyes.

“Joyce was here while you were sleeping.” Replied Max, shrugging. “She told me. You don’t want to get late to your first day at job, do you?”

Chloe smiled a little.

“If it means I can stay here with you I could do it…”

“Yeah, that’ll be start off on the wrong foot, right?” Then Chloe's little smile vanished. “Are you going to be okay? I… don’t want you to have any nightmares or whatever for my stupid questions...”

Max nodded.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” She didn’t seemed convinced, but her voice sounded resolved at least.

“Call me if you feel the need, okay?”

Max nodded again.

“See you tomorrow?” She asked. Chloe could swear a soft blush was spreading over Max cheeks.

“Hella yes.” Replied Chloe, her characteristic grin on her face again.

Chloe got up from the chair and offered Max a fist. Max giggled and hit it softly with her own hand, like they used to.

“Hope you can get out of here soon.” Said Chloe.”Now you have two reasons go to the Two Whales. Joyce’s pancakes and your amazing, and only, sidekick doing the dishes.”

“Maybe the doctors let me go in a day or two.”Said Max, smiling openly. “ And I’ll be there as soon as I can. I promise.”

Chapter Text

It always had been a little windy at the cliff. The sun was setting, painting everything in gold and orange, making shine the metallic point of the lighthouse. As the sun went down, the orange became red, dying the blue ocean in a bloody tone.

Chloe didn’t remember how she ended up at the lighthouse. She just was there, looking at the bright sky as the clouds came in, slowly covering up the sky above her.

She approached the edge and looked down, where the waves crashed softly with the dark rocks, splashing against them. That wasn’t her first time on that cliff, looking down, wondering...

She felt empty, betrayed, abandoned… but she couldn’t remember why exactly, even if she tried. She just knew she was all alone, that nobody cared. It was an awful feeling, unbearable, like someone had ripped her heart off and left her there to bleed out. She wished to be dead, because at the moment, she felt so fucking alive that the pain would overrun her, shatter her, destroy her in every way possible. She was done suffering.

A soft voice in her head was begging her to stop it, to put an end to that sorrow and loneliness.

She gave a step forward, extended her arms and was about to leap… and this time, there wasn’t anyone going to stop her, to ask her why she was doing this. No Rachel to convince her to back down, no Max to rewind and save her, no William to comfort her.

She just lost her balance and fell from the cliff. It wasn’t like in the movies. Her life didn’t flash in front of her eyes, the fall wasn’t so long… She was spinning furiously, wishing the final blow against the rocks didn’t hurt too much...

Chloe woke up suddenly, right before her alarm clock ringed. She needed a couple of seconds to realize she was in her room, shaking and breathing fast as the last remnants of the awful nightmare vanished. A single tear was running down her cheek and she was drenched in cold sweat.

“I’m not alone” She whispered for herself. She wiped away the tears and got up, trying not to think about that dark day in her past. “I didn’t jump. I wasn’t alone then, and I’m not alone now.”

As usual, she took a joint from her stash and lighted it up after opening the window. The sky was clouded, menacing. Rain would start falling soon over Arcadia Bay.

After a couple of drags of her joint, she extinguished it on the ashtray and got dressed. She didn’t need to be high in the past weeks. Max was her distraction, even after learning about Rachel’s fate, all that crazy time travel and insane teachers. But that nightmare, going back to that day was… too much to bear at the moment.

She could hear the usual movements on the floor below, while Joyce prepared breakfast and David returned home after a long night at Blackwell. She gave a glance at the Two Whales apron hanging over the chair, over a pile of half dirty clothes.

“Way to wake up your first day, huh?” She teased herself mentally, while taking her phone from the night table.

There was a message from Max, wishing her a nice day. Chloe couldn’t help but smile, even if she still felt odd and awkward because of her nightmare.

“I’m not alone.” She repeated, more confident this time. But the strange feeling that something ominous was going on out of sight didn’t go away.

She grabbed the apron, her cigarettes and went downstairs, inhaling the delicious scent of breakfast coming from the kitchen.

Chloe left the Two Whales almost past two in the afternoon. She was exhausted and a little frustrated, but deep below that she felt some realization. Even if her hands hurt like hell, even if she felt sweaty and itchy, even if knew cleaning dishes wasn’t the most glamorous work, she felt kind of proud. She was finally doing something for her future, instead of being a leech to her mother and her step-father. Next step would be get back to study, but one thing at the time.

She liked that feeling, it was like a bubble of hope in her chest. But even with that warm feeling, she couldn’t wipe away that odd feeling she had after the nightmare. She tried to ignore it while working, and now, trying to focus on the good stuff around her. The fact that she’ll be seeing Max shortly, but all her attempts to eradicate it were in vain.

She went home, took a shower and departed to the hospital immediately. Even if she knew the visiting hours were later, Chloe assumed she could sneak in anyway. The nurse seemed to be okay covering them. Even if she knew she was disobeying the rules too much, Chloe couldn’t help to take advantage of that. Deep inside her, she knew she wanted to see Max not only because the obvious reasons, but because maybe her presence would kill of that awful feeling.

She parked her truck on the same spot as always and got into the hospital, trying not to drag too much attention to herself. That was the hardest part, of course. There was no way a blue haired punk-girl could go unoticed. Chloe managed to get through the hallway and to the room 203. As she approached the door, she could feel that usual smile spreading on her face. She touched the handler but then she froze, listening to the heated voices inside the room. 

“It’s early to have visitors.” She thought, leaning near the door, trying to hear what was happening inside.

A low male voice, that Chloe recognized as Ryan Caulfield’s voice, could be heard through the door. Another voice, female this time, surely Vanessa’s, answered her in a heated tone. None of them seemed happy at all. Chloe leaned closer to the door, trying to figure out why they were arguing.

“... and we are supposed to deal with this, Maxine?” Said Vanessa, her voice trembling. Chloe could imagine her face of indignation.

“Yeah, you are.” Replied Max. “You’ll have to, eventually. This is not a phase or something stupid like that. This is real.”

“Vanessa, calm down.” Said Ryan, his low voice filled with concern. “It’s not the place to have this conversation. Max, please..."

“I’m done talking, dad.” Replied Max, furiously.

“At least consider what we told you, dear.” Said Ryan. “You’re in no condition to stay here on your own and I really need to go back to Seattle as soon as possible. I have no more days off.”

“I… I’ll think about that. I need to talk to Chloe if I’m gonna do this, at least.”

“You’ll be good to go tomorrow, as the doctor said.” Said Vanessa with a sharp tone, still on the defensive. “Whatever this is, you’re coming back home with us. This is your future we’re talking about, and your health.”

Chloe didn’t need to hear the rest. She just stepped away from the door, shaking and sweating, with that ominous feeling finally taking over her. If she could find her voice, she’d have screamed.

“She’s leaving.” She thought, feeling how her throat started to close, little by little, feeling how the air in her lungs became a solid mass, preventing her to breath. “She came back, saved me… and now she’s leaving me again. I was alone after all. Fuck! FUCK!”

“Miss, are you alright?”

The nurse. The young black haired woman was looking at her with a worried expression. Chloe just shook her head and almost ran to the exit, forcing herself not to cry, at least until she reached her truck.

"Why? Why she’d do this to me?” She thought in desperation. “I was an idiot. How could I think this was going to be any different? This shit pit has taken everyone I ever loved! I’m cursed. I was right, I always was! Why everyone leaves me?! Why?! What did I do to deserve this?! I feel like I’m being punished by the universe!”

She drove, without a clear destination, as fast as the old truck could stand, the tears streaming from her eyes, never stopping. Not even when her phone ringed for the fourth time since she left the hospital. She almost crash twice, victim of a road rage without precedents. She didn’t remember the last time she felt like that, owerflowing of anger like she was about to explode, but in the same time so full of sadness she couldn’t even breath. So hollow, so in pain…

She didn’t feel surprised when she realized where her body was taking her unconsciously. The road to the lighthouse was clear, the wind making the leaves of the trees around her play their music as she stepped out the cab and started walking uphill. She sat down on the bench, looking at the sea crashing the rocks at her feet. She watched the sun getting covered by clouds as minutes passed. She felt her phone blowing up in her pocket but ignored it. 

“Why? If I knew I was going to feel like that again… This pain, this… fucking awful feeling… Why the hell did she saved me if she was going to abandon me again?!” She snapped, hugging herself to fight the chill running down her spine. “I should have died. I’d rather die in that fucking bathroom than feel like this again… Just now that I realized I loved Max my entirely fucking life, she betrays me. Again?! Damn it! Why the fuck I have to love you of all people? Why you? Why like this? So… overwhelming, so uncontrollable, so different from anything I had felt in my entire life. And I thought… I really thought for a moment you loved me too, goddamnit! That what you said in that bathroom… all the hints in the journal... How naive and stupid a person can be?! I believed all that bullshit written in it. I… You said me you loved me in that bathroom while you were… fucking bleeding out! Why?! You just saved me from dying to destroy me yourself?!”

Her phone ringed again. She pulled out and looked at the screen, where she had her picture with Max as wallpaper. Looking at that lovely photograph, both of them so happy and sleepy, together, just make her heart broke again. Of course, Max was the one blowing up her phone with texts.

[Max: 15:58] - Running late, sneaky ninja?

[Max: 16:15] - Chlo? u there?

[3 missed calls from: Max Caulfield]

[Max: 16:42] - This is late, even for you. Where are you?

[5 missed calls from: Max Caulfield]

[Max: 16:50] - I need to talk to you, sidekick. U alright? I’m getting worried.

“The fuck you do” Said Chloe. “I bet you need to talk to me. To tell me on my face that you’re leaving this shithole without me. Again. Go right ahead! Go to fucking Seattle, get better, get a fucking degree, get fucking married and have a bunch of stupid kids and a stupid dog. Just… leave. Leave once and for all and just… let me die already. You’re just another person that shits all over me. Only exception, you did it twice.”

She felt empty, betrayed, abandoned… She just knew she was all alone, that nobody cared. It was an awful feeling, unbearable, like someone had ripped her heart off and left her there to bleed out. She wished to be dead, because at the moment, she felt so fucking alive that the pain would overrun her, shatter her, destroy her in every way possible. She was done suffering.

“Don’t” Thought Chloe, her knuckles white as she closed her fists with all her strength. "I won’t go back there. I’ll not jump. I’m better than this. I’ll not take the easy way out like that. If dad could fight that awful reality Max saw, so can I. What makes another fucking heart break? Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just… the same hella sad story. Everybody lies, no exceptions. I should have learnt that by now.”

She looked at the sky again, like she was trying to see through it, find an answer, a little hope to keep pushing against her fatidic luck. But she only received rain instead.

The phone ringed again and she took it, frowning at the portrait of happiness that never was.

[Max: 16:59] - We need to talk, seriously. Where are you? Say something, I’m dead worried.

In an outburst, Chloe threw the phone to the ground with all her strength. It rebound over the grass and break into pieces at her feet, smashed and shattered, as Chloe got up the bench and walked away downhill. She couldn’t care less of the rain wetting her from head to toes. 

“I had enough of this bullshit”

“Chloe, it’s getting late! Are you up already?”

Chloe snapped her puffy and dry eyes open and emitted a single growl. She couldn’t sleep all night. She just stared at the ceiling, thinking, remembering. Sometimes, she just curled in a ball and cried her eyes out. Sometimes, she was full of an unbearable rage and broke things, shouted until her throat hurt, kicked the furniture. The glass remnants of a snow ball with a little doe glowed with the light of the only lamp in the room. Outside, the weather seemed to reflect exactly like Chloe felt. The rain was falling copiously, little drops smashing the window over her desk and the wind making the house crack around her.

“I’m not feeling well.” Chloe forced herself to answer. Her throaty voice was more than convincing she thought.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Asked Joyce, concerned. “Can I come in? Please, you don’t sound good at all…”

“Please, mom… go away.” Chloe said, covering her head with a pillow, fighting the urge to start crying again, even if she knew there were no tears left. She was dry like an autumn leave.

"Chlo… You got so much better this past weeks… What’s going on, darling? Please, don’t aloof yourself again…”

Rage. Burning through her veins like fire, an angry shout strangled in her throat. She wanted to get up, open the door and tell her it was all Max’s fault. That she wished she never came back, that she never saved her. She wanted to tell her she loved Max but she was going to leave, again. She was going to leave Arcadia Bay without her, leaving her all alone again.

“She doesn’t deserve your mistreat, idiot. It’s not her fault. It’s… it’s my fault. I’m the one who didn’t learn the lesson all these years.”

“Mom, please.” It was almost a beg. “I don’t feel like talking right now. Leave me alone. Please.”

“I have to get going… I’ll cover for you today, but you and I have to talk when I’m back.”

She wasn’t angry, or at least didn’t sound like it. She sounded worried and concerned for her behaviour. The change hadn’t been subtle. She was all smiles and grins yesterday, hopeful and bright… now she was only a husk, a shadow of what she was the past few days.

Chloe covered herself with the sheets and just stared at the wall, kicking herself for being so weak.

“What I’m going to do now?” She thought, as her mind drifted away finally, and the sleep came to her aid.

Chapter Text

Someone was knocking the door. She could hear it over the rumbling of a fading nightmare, still tormenting her mind. The knocking became more emphatic, while she opened her eyes and wiped away the rest of the tears, still rolling down her cheeks. She noticed for the first time how uncomfortable she felt, lying on bed still with the jeans and t-shirt she weared the day before.

“Leave me alone, mom.” She said, her voice broken but clearly angry. “I don’t want to talk now!” 

“Open the door, Chloe.” 

Chloe sat on her bed almost immediately. That was Max’s voice, she sounded awful. 

“What are you doing here?” Asked Chloe, with a sharp edge of anger. 

“I need to see you, please” Said Max, her voice broken, cushioned by the door. “I’m coming in, you can’t stop me.” 

Before Chloe could reach the door and hold it, Max entered the room. The girl closed the door behind her softly. She was wearing a gray hoodie and a dark, notched t-shirt. Over the neck of it, the white bandages hiding the scar of the gunshot were perfectly visible. Dark circles surrounded her reddish and puffy eyes, like she didn’t sleep at all.

“No, no, no!” Thought Chloe, boiling in anger. “You were supposed to leave, damn it! I don’t want you close to me, it’ll only make the pain worse! Why the fuck you’re torturing me like this?!”

“Why are you here?” Chloe demanded, getting out of her bed and standing in front of Max, a challenging expression in her piercing blue eyes. “You’re here to give me the fucking killing blow?”

“Why didn’t you come yesterday?” Inquired Max. Her hands were shaking and in her voice there was a hidden tone of desperation. “I panicked, I didn’t know where you were… I called you thousands of times, I almost escape the hospital to look for you. You can’t do that to me, I…”

“I can’t?!” Snapped Chloe. She could feel her heart race in her chest, the blood in her veins boiling, running like fire, heating her cheeks and her neck. “I’m not the one who is fucking leaving!”

Max opened her eyes in surprise for her outburst. Chloe’s fists were shaking, her face like a mask of anger and pain, as the tears came again.

“Chloe, listen…”

“No, you listen!” The blue haired girl interrupted her, raising her voice.

“If you’re fucking leaving, the least you can do is hear what I have to say, damn it.”

“You can’t just come back, save my ass, tell me everything you did and just go away again like that. It’s unfair! I felt hope again, after months of desperation. Even with what happened to Rachel, and even if this sounds awful and selfish, I never felt so good since you left. Ever.”

“Chloe, please…”

“If I knew you’d abandon me again… If I fucking knew you were going to leave, I preferred you didn’t save me at all!”

“Chloe…”

Chloe could see how her words sank in Max as her sad expression muted. She looked so fragile, so weak and the pain in her factions was so strong that Chloe’s resolve almost flaked for a second. She felt Max’s pain like it was hers too, her heart aching at the sight of the smaller girl looking at her like that.

“I can’t hate you. I can’t hate you even now. I love you, damn it. I loved you since we were kids running in the backyard, pretending to be pirates. Even if you leave, even if you hurt me again I just… can’t. But I’m just so fucking pissed off right now...” 

“So, if you came back just to make my fucking awful life last a little longer, you managed it. Congratulations!” 

“Chloe, please stop…”

“Now, please, get the hell out of here. Go to fucking Seattle, with your fucking new friends, get married, get a dog, do whatever the fuck you want. But just leave for good!”

She started to cry, even if she didn’t wanted to. The tears just came and overwhelmed her.

“Get out.” She managed to say with a strangled voice, her gaze fixed on the floor, incapable of looking at the brunette in front of her.

“No, Chloe, you have to listen…”

“GET OUT!”

“CHLOE PRICE!”

“WHAT?!”

She looked up and suddenly, both of them were staring at each other, utterly furious breathing hard. Max had grabbed Chloe’s arms with her hands, shaky and sweaty, in an outburst of fury. For a moment, Chloe feared her wound would reopen. She had to remember herself she shouldn’t care about it. She shouldn’t care about how Max’s touch burned either.

“Could you just SHUT THE FUCK UP and LISTEN for ONCE?!” Max blurted with anger. “You can’t just disappear like that! I was Fucking terrified! I saw you die so many times, I… I can’t lose you like that ever again, Chloe!”

Max hands were shaking, her eyes full of tears. She was the vivid image of desperation and fear, but Chloe didn’t budge. She felt like that pain was some kind of twisted joke, since she was the one who was supposed to be upset for being left alone again.

“Don’t give me that crap!” Replied Chloe, utterly furious. “I don’t want to listen to ANYTHING you have to say. Get away from me, dude! What the…”

Max made a step forward, grabbed Chloe’s face with both hands in a fast movement and their lips connected. Chloe froze, still like a rock the very moment she felt Max’s warm lips on her own, pushing hard and furiously. Her mind was in blank as her eyes wide open looked at the freckled girl kissing her. She felt the anger flow through her system and dissipate in half a second, as all her body relaxed together. She finally melt, incapable of holding back. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss as furiously as the brunette did.

Max was soft as silk, and yet warm as the sunlight. The smell of lavender soap and the scent of her bare skin were intoxicating and addicting, something Chloe didn’t imagine even in her wildest dreams. She felt something wet on her cheek, but she wasn’t sure if that were her tears or Max’s ones. She could see through her narrowed eyes both were crying.

Max dragged her closer, almost pulling her from her hair. The kiss became hungrier, pushier, as Chloe leaned in, opening her mouth and letting Max’s warm breath in with a soft and low moan. Chest against chest, Chloe’s arms surrounding Max as the brunette came even closer, balancing on her tiptoes.

Chloe was the first to pull back, just enough to catch oxygen with a noisy inbreath, resting her forehead against Max’s.

“Why?” She whispered. “What is this?”

“I’m not leaving.” Said Max. “That’s what I was meaning to tell you since I came here, Chloe. I’m not going anywhere.”

“What?” Chloe opened her eyes and stared at Max’s, only a few centimeters away. “But I heard you say, at the hospital…”

“I’m not leaving you. Ever.” Said Max, her voice strong and resolved. "The nurse told me you were there and… I don’t know what you heard but I don’t care what my parents say.”

“She… she told her parents? Amazeballs! This is fucking insane!”

“I’m not going to leave you ever again.” Max continued, her voice shaking. She swallowed audibly. “Everything that happened, happened for a reason. The only possible explanation I have for my power, is that got it because I was a coward and I didn’t save you as I should have the first time. And It let me fix it. This is destiny. I don’t need any more proof to know I’m where I must be now.”

Chloe’s heart was still racing, beating painfully against her ribs, her guts twisting and jumping, overjoyed, butterflies flying inside her, everywhere. Then, she felt pain. The same pain she felt that dark day at the cliff. The same pain that almost dragged her to the edge, the same pain that almost made her finish it all. A fear struck her suddenly. Something that didn’t consider since she realized how much she loved Max.

“When you left… I felt abandoned. I wanted to hate you for it. But I couldn’t. I was angry and did a lot of stupid things. I did stupid things to forget, to ignore the pain... but when I saw you in that bathroom… taking that shot for me like a goddamn hero I just… And then everything you had written in the journal, everything you went through, for me… I was such an idiot, I got you into so much trouble… Because that’s what I am. Trouble.”

Chloe sobbed, letting out all the agony she had anchored deep inside her.

“You are.” Said Max. An then, despite the tears, she smiled. A lovely, sweet and warm smile that made Chloe’s heart jump. “But I can choose. And if the past insane fucking weeks taught me something is that in any timeline, in any world and in any version of reality… I’d find you and I’d choose you. You’re my sidekick, you’re my companion, you’re my fucking best friend and… and I love you, Chloe Price. Nothing will change that.”

Chloe let go a shaky and relieved laugh.

“I love you too. I always did. Since we were kids. ”

Then, Max pulled her again for another kiss. 

The rain kept falling, clashing against the walls and the glass of the window. Chloe’s room was warm, lighted only by the christmas lamps over the frame of the window and the ceiling. The sound of a slow guitar melody filled the air. She was lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling in silence, enjoying the last drag of her joint. The ashtray was resting on her belly, going up and down as she breathed softly. A lot of mixed memories and warm feelings floating in her mind, as she sighed, looking at the younger girl, not far away from her.

“So… you talked to your parents about…. this?” She asked, letting the smoke slip through her parted lips. She wasn’t sure how to tag them at this point. Girlfriends? Lovers? The therm “friends” didn’t cut it any more. Not after that kiss.

Max, who was sitting on the desk looking through the steamy window, frowned her lips as she always did when she was thinking. They had been in comfortable silence for a while now, a notorious contrast with the furious argument that ended up in a confession that lead to a properly make out session.

“I did.”Said Max, giving her back to the window and looking straight at Chloe with an expression she couldn’t identify. “Mom freaked out, of course. I wasn’t expecting less, knowing her. Dad… Dad was always more open minded, at least.”

“But what did you tell them exactly?” Asked Chloe, extinguishing the joint in the ashtray and putting it away as she sat on the bed.

“I didn’t knew for certain you’d feel like you do.” Said Max, shrugging a little. “In other timelines I knew but… I also knew my power could screw up realities so bad that the people in them aren’t the same anymore. So I couldn’t be certain it’d be… the same.”

“What do you mean with that?” Insisted Chloe, frowning. “You wrote in the journal that I dared you to kiss you and you did… But nothing more. Did… something else happen that you didn’t write down?”

Max shook her head, and a visible chill ran down her spine as the rumble of a distant thunder scared her. The brunette looked through the window apprehensively.

“She’s… scared of the storm? She did see the tornado in the other timeline… maybe there is more to it that she’s letting out. That, the panic when I didn’t answer the phone and the Dark Room.”

“Yeah… there was more.” Max wasn’t looking at her or anything else, just glancing into nothingness. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about whatever happened to her, even if it involved Chloe.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Max.” Said Chloe, worried. “But… You know, you have nightmares and stuff… I see you shivering every single time you hear a thunder. You’re staying here for the time being, at least until you’re healed, but… I just need to know how to help you get better.”

“I don’t know if this is something I’d ever overcome, really” Said Max, her voice shaky. “That week was… something nobody could forget easily.”

“But you’re here now, Max. You fixed it.”

“And you’re alive and with me, I know.” Max nodded, as she was trying to convince herself of the veracity of her words. She sighed. “It’s not gonna be easy.”

Max bitted her lip for a moment, looking for the right words to express herself.

“Let’s… start from where we left off... Friday was… hard to write down. First, I escaped the Dark Room after bouncing through a bunch of alternate realities, thanks to the photos I took.”

"I… saw what Jefferson did to Rachel.” Said Chloe. She could feel the blood heating up as she remembered the awful images the nightly news broadcasted a couple of days ago, while Max was still unconscious. “The news showed it. Did he…?”

“I can’t say it out loud, I can’t even think about that bastard all over Max with a camera. It makes me sick.”

Max didn’t answer. She just looked away, her lips frowned and her eyes wet.

“Crap. Way to go, Chloe.”

“I’m sorry.” She said.

“It’s okay. You… should know.”

Max got up from the chair and sat down on the bed, next to Chloe. Instinctively, the blue haired girl rested her left arm over Max’s shoulders, pulling her close. It was so… odd. They had always been touchy when they were kids. Chloe even knew Max’s tickling spots, after uncountable fights. But this closeness was another matter entirely. Max didn’t seem to bother at all, it felt almost natural. It didn’t seem like something new to her, and that intrigued Chloe more than anything.

“He took me after he… We went to the junkyard, after we read Nathan’s text… It was all a setup, he never send us that message. By that time, Nathan was already dead. He tried to warn us about Jefferson, but I ignored the call as I was searching for you in that stupid party.”

"He killed Rachel anyway. I don’t give a fuck if he tried to redeem himself or some shit like that.”

“Jefferson killed you. He drugged me so I couldn’t rewind to avoid it. The nightmares will never let me forget that.”

Chloe pulled her closer, as Max shivered again. The lightning outside lighted the room furiously. The blue haired girl could feel the younger one’s body trembling against her side.

“I’m here now.” She said.

“Yeah… I try not to think about the dozens of dead Chloes I left behind that week.” Max shook her head. “Anyway… I don’t remember most of what happened in the Dark Room, to be honest. Just… flashes. Jefferson kept me dozed almost all the time. And when I was awake he was… out of it. I mean, truly insane. He even argued with himself loudly, it was so… so horrible.”

“Did… Did he…?”

Their gazes crossed for a brief second… and then Max looked away, shaking her head, her eyes wet and her face red.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I want to know either.”

“Damn, I want to kill that bastard with my own hands! Fucking pervert! He better rot in that shithole for the rest of his fucking life.”

“It’s over now.” Said Chloe, but her voice had a sharp edge of hate that she couldn't smooth.”You escaped…”

“Yeah, I managed to get back, just before you… Just before you were gone. I told you to find David and Jefferson got busted that night.”

Chloe nodded, trying furiously to remember that entry of the journal. She was having a hard time avoiding daydreaming about killing Mark Jefferson in multiple and painful ways.

“We ended up in the beach and you kinda passed out.” Continued Chloe.”You had some kind of nightmare and… that’s it. You didn’t write anymore.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow when Max let a little chuckle escape.

“That nightmare was so obvious. Everything I feared was there just… teasing me. I saw you, making out with a bunch of people.... How insecure.” She shook her head with a little cynical smile. “I even talked to myself… or at least a very cold and mean version of myself. I can’t believe she was right in so many things…”

“Like what?” Asked Chloe, trying to catch Max eye, unsuccessfully.

“I’m not a good person, Chloe.” Replied Max plainly, shrugging a little. “I’m selfish and I used my powers just to manipulate people. I even was about to let the whole town die on that storm, if that meant that you’d be alive and with me. I’m a monster.”

“Dude, you’re not a monster.” Chloe managed to turn, so she faced Max. She never let go of the younger girl’s hand. “I… I’d have done it. If it meant you’d be alive and with me, I’d have chosen you over the town.”

“You wouldn’t” Said Max with a sad smile. “That’s why I was in the bathroom and took the shot.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was your idea.” Max gaze was intense and full of remorse. “You… you had the photograph I took that day in the bathroom and you gave it to me… you asked me to let you die so the people of the town could live.”

Chloe blinked and frowned, trying to process the new information.

“That doesn’t sound like something I’d do…”

“Well, you did. Kinda. That Chloe didn’t want Joyce and David to die. You asked me to go back and let... Nathan shot you and… And I didn’t wanted to. You said… you said I was the only one who could fix this and…”

Max finally broke down. She had been managing to keep the pain and the fear as hidden as possible, but that seemed to be her limit. She just hugged Chloe and cried her eyes out, while the taller girl caressed her hair and held her close. For a while, only sobs and rain could be heard.

“After that I…” Max voice was low, throaty and weak. “I realized what I was feeling. It was always clear to me, since we were kids but I tried to ignore it. But after all that happened and… when you gave me the picture I… I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I kissed you. For real, not because of a stupid dare on a sleepover. I wouldn’t let you die for my storm, for my mistakes. That’s why I came back and instead of letting things happen, took the shot. And here we are now.”

Silence took over the room for a while. The rain outside seemed to deplete slowly and finally, it stopped. Chloe sighed.

“Who would have thought this would be what happen to us when we grow up?” She said dreamily.

“Certainly not me. I’ve never considered myself special in any way, and then… I discover I have bizarre time travel powers.”

“You became super Max, literally.” Said Chloe with a sad smile. “And I became a punk-ass expelled from school and with a police record that fills an entire archiver.”

“Well… Maybe I can be a good influence on you from now on. Or not. Maybe you’ll drag me definitely to the Dark side.” Chloe rolled her eyes a little. “I’d love you to be my partner in crime.”

Chloe dedicated Max her best happy and confident grin.

“Only if you’re my partner in time.” She said, resting her forehead on Max’s, never leaving her gaze.

“Forever?” Asked Max, with a playful smile.

“Forever.” Replied Chloe, as she leaned for a kiss.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, time is flying by. Sometimes, it just stays still. But sooner or later, hours became days, days became weeks, weeks became months and months become years. 

The alarm clock was ringing loudly enough to drown the swears of the lady, laying in bed, fighting to raise her hand and hit the off button.

“Five more minutes, damn it!” She growled as she missed the button again, getting more and more frustrated as seconds passed. 

She finally landed a punch on the clock and a sleepy grin of satisfaction appeared on her face. She turned in bed, her arms searching for someone, only finding cold sheets. The woman opened her eyes in panic. A flash of awful images went through her mind and her heart started to race... then, she remembered why that person wasn’t there with her.

A thick and sleepy memory of the absent woman waking up and kissing her goodbye a couple of hours ago arose in her mind. She sighed in frustration and got up, swearing internally.

“Damn, when I’m going to stop freaking out every single time she gets up early?” She thought bitterly. Then, another sigh escaped her lips. “I’d love to doze off a couple of minutes but… I guess I’m responsible now.”

She went to the bathroom and washed her face brusquely, hoping to finally wake up. She raised her head and looked at her own reflection on the little mirror. Piercing blue eyes, blonde eyebrows a little frowned, partially hidden by her messy bright blue hair, dark spots below her eyelids, result of sleepless nights. But despite that, there was a soft blush on her cheeks, the corner of her lips always pointing up instead of down and a couple of soft wrinkles, almost invisible, results of a good amount of smiles and laughs over the past years.

“It’s been a hell of a ride so far.” She said to herself, smiling.

She returned to the bedroom to change, but got distracted by the phone over the night table, which’s screen brightened up. She picked it up and unlocked to find three messages in her inbox. One was from Joyce. She read it and replied with a short text. She scrolled down to see the rest. 

-From: Max - 9:23 AM - Chlo, you up? Don’t oversleep!

Chloe couldn’t help but smile. Even if Max was busy as hell right now, she always made sure Chloe was up in time. Always taking care of her, even with little details.

To: Max - Sent 9:24 AM - Ahoy, capt’n. I’m up, don’t worry. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your first day in the hall of fame, rockstar?

From: Max - 9:24 AM. - I am ready. But not for the mosh pit this time ^^ . Don’t be late.

-To: Max - Sent 9:25. - Never. NO EMOJI.

The other message wasn’t joyful or happy as the text from Max.

From: Jess - 9:20AM: Chloe, Mike’s here early. He got here even before I did. Are you coming?

To: Jess - 9:26: This guy should quit the cheap whiskey, It’s frying his little brain. Tell him his appointment was 9:45, I’ll not be there sooner.

From: Jess - 9:27: All right, but I’m not dealing with his bullshit. If he looks at me again like I’m a big fucking steak I’ll kick him on the balls, you’re warned. I may let Tim kick his ass too.

To: Jess - 9:27: No argument here. Be there in a bit.

Chloe sighed, letting her phone fall over the bed and got dressed. She tried not to think about her undesirable costumer. The guy was always on the edge, smelled like a fucking distillery and had a ridiculously bad temper. But, he was getting his eight tattoo and paying a great deal for it, so… Work is work, there was no use to complain about it. Besides, Chloe loved her job and was really good at it. Max always told her she was really good at drawing stuff when they were kids and even if she quit practicing for a long time, she got back on it, being better than before. Who’d had thought she’d be making art onto people’s skin, not over sheets of paper or canvas?

“Let’s just hope he’s not as drunk as always.” She thought. “Or better, let’s hope he’s too drunk to speak.”

She had a fast cup of coffe and left the small apartment. San Francisco’s downtown was always busy, anytime of the day. Chloe loved the motion of the city around her, the noise of the cars, the constant rumble of the uncountable unknown people, walking to who knows where. So different from her native coastal town, aloof and quiet, where you see the same faces every single day.

She took the keys of her faithful companion from her pocket and smiled at the old bike parked on the side of the street, a damn fast machine painted with a striking bright red. She missed her loyal truck, which passed away a little after they left Arcadia, but that bike was indeed a nice replacement.

Checking the clock on her phone for one last time, she mounted the vehicle and departed to the Tattoo shop, leaving behind her reddish trail in the air.

Jess greeted her when she finally arrived at the Tattoo shop, five minutes late to the appointment. The girl had black long hair and an amazing amount of tattoos and piercings on her body. She smiled warmly at Chloe.

“How’re you doing?” She asked, after knocking Chloe’s fist with her own.

“Ready to get some shit done” Replied the blue-haired woman with a grin. “I can’t get out of here soon enough today.”

Jess nodded in agreement.

“Tonight it’s the night, right? How’s Max taking it?”

“I don’t know to be honest.” Replied Chloe, frowning her lips. She sounded a little worried. “She was already gone when I woke up and yesterday she came a while after I crashed, so…”

“I’m sure she’s fine.” Jess reassured her with a confident smile.

A manly, pissed off voice, came out of the other room, interrupting Chloe, who had already opened her mouth to reply.

“Can we get started already?” Shouted the man, dragging his words. “I’m not paying $350 box to sit here until this fucking chair erase the line of my ass!”

Chloe rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“Charming.” She muttered as she crossed the room and got to work, trying not to smile at the sound of Jess laughter behind her.

Chloe spent almost four hours working furiously on the back of her costumer, trying to ignore the awful scent and the man’s bitchy comments. She almost lost her temper when he started to rumble about Jess, who was at the other side of the shop, waiting for a girl to pick up a piercing from the catalog.

When “Asshole Mike”, as Chloe labelled him, finally payed and had left the shop, she let a growl of frustration slip through her lips and let herself fall on a chair near the counter. Jess laughed at her pissed off expression.

“You have a way with customers, I’ll give you that much.”

“He’s an ass and I’m actually worn out” Chloe replied, clutching her hands on fists over the counter, trying not to think about the guy. “I love to work here but I have to stand idiots like him…”

“Nothing in this life is for free, sistah” Said Jess with playful smile. She jumped over the counter and sat down onto it. “Hey Tim, you’re early.”

A guy with a wide and self confident grin had entered in the shop, closing the door behind him. He was tall and athletic, with soft brown eyes and a short, messy blonde hair. Both of his arms were covered by colorful designs. Chloe had made some of them several months ago.

“Yo, ladies. Yeah, weird. Right? I suspected our blue friend would appreciate the gesture” Waved Tim, as he dragged a chair to sit down close to the two girls. “How’s it going?”

“Asshole Mike just left” Said Jess with a grin. “You missed Chloe’s murderer face when he said some shit about my boobs.”

“Good ol’ Mike. He’ll never change.” He stretched a little and looked at Chloe directly. “So… are you ready for tonight?”

“I’m not the star tonight.” Replied Chloe. “I’m kinda the rockstar’s date or some shit.”

“C’mon, don’t give me that crap.” Said Tim, shaking his head. “Half of it is yours, technically. And I believe “wife” is the term you should use, not date.” 

Chloe couldn’t help but to smile at those words, while playing with the silver ring on her finger.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Well, you better take advantage of my generosity and get going.” Said Tim. “We don’t want you to be late.”

“So then I’ll take your generous offer, tiny Tim” Chloe teased him. “But I want you tomorrow as early as today for the rehearse at the Hard Rock.” Tim gave her an adorable pout that made him look like a child. “Don’t give me that look, the drums aren’t going to play themselves. I have a reputation to keep, I'm the lead singer, I can’t be seen with amateurs.”

The guy just showed his tongue to her as Jess rolled her eyes.

“I’ll make sure he shows up in time.” She said, blinking an eye to her. “Wish Max good luck!”

“I will.”

With that said, Chloe dedicated them an exaggerated military salute and left the shop with another self confident grin and the ring on her finger burning like it was on fire.

Hours later, Chloe entered the empty gallery, fighting a losing battle with her red tie. She felt a little odd with the white shirt, which was a little tight at some points and the skinny, unreaped black jeans. Her ever present cap or beanie was left abandoned at the apartment, since she knew it didn’t fit. Half of her blue locks were tied up in a little and spiky ponytail. 

Apart from the security guards and the gallery personnel, there was a young woman, wearing a blue lovely dress, giving the final touches to the photographs displayed in the main hall.

Chloe smiled at the sight of Max, rubbing her short brown hair with anxiety as she walked away from the wall to examine the result. Chloe walked over, trying to be as sneaky as possible and then rounded Max’s waist with her arms as she posed her chin over her bare shoulder.

“Don’t you think you’re working a little too hard, dear?” She whispered in the other woman’s ear, grinning at the little jump she caused, taken her by surprise.

“Chloe!” She complaint, but a smile was reflected on her voice. “You scared me.”

“I’ve missed you. How are you doing?” Asked the blue haired girl. “Are you nervous? ‘cause hella sure I am!”

Max laughed, making the ever present butterflies in Chloe’s gut fly wildly.

“Just a bit.” She said, pulling away from Chloe’s embrace just to turn around and look at her directly.

“Joyce, David, Jess and Tim wish you good luck.” She said, looking around the, yet empty place. “So, are you gonna give me the tour or do I have to wait until the press, the paparazzi and all those hipster artists arrive and monopolize you?”

Max rolled her eyes. She took Chloe’s hand, intertwining their fingers as she walked around the main room, showing her the pictures, displayed around. Chloe knew every single one of them in detail. She was in most of them, sometimes as a model, sometimes in a shot snapped all of the sudden and when she wasn’t aware of it.

They stopped at the main wall. The words displayed above it, gave her goosebumps as she read it out loud, her shaky voice full of pride.

“Maxine Caulfield: Pieces of time.” She said, smiling, passing an arm over Max’s shoulders. “I’m so proud of you.”

She squeezed Max and gave her a kiss on the head.

“I’m just… so glad you’re here.” Said Max, her warm breath against her shirt.

“Always.” Said Chloe, her voice a little broken. “I’m... sorry it took us so long to finally get here”

“Don’t be.” Max said, coming closer to her and stealing a little peck from her lips. “You don’t have to.”

“I’m sorry” She repeated. “I know it’s not the right time at all. I just… try not to think about it.”

Chloe took Max’s left hand and softly caressed the blue butterfly, tattooed on her wrist. She had done it herself and got another one, identical to it, in the very same spot.

“What’s bothering you, Chlo?”

Max caressed Chloe’s right cheek as she pushed her a little, forcing to make eye contact. Max blue eyes were full of concern.

“You could have fulfilled your dream a long time ago.” She said, trying to hold the tears. “It’s not the first time you’re in this gallery. You deserved to be here from the beginning and… you just came back to save me. You quit your dream for me.” 

“That’s why you worked so hard all this time?” Max asked. “I told you, you don’t owe me anything, Chlo. Besides… That wasn’t my dream.”

“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked, frowning. “You always wanted to be a photographer. A famous and awarded photographer.”

“Yeah, well… That day, in that timeline, I realized something.” Replied Max, shrugging a little. “You weren’t there with me. And I hope I was clear enough throughout the last couple of years that I can’t live in a world where you don’t exist, so… My dream was to be here, yeah. But with you. As we are now.”

Chloe released her, just to grab her face with both hands and kiss her tenderly on the lips. A single tear left her eyes, even if she promised herself she’d not cry.

“I’ll always be with you.” She said, pulling away and looking at Max bright blue eyes.

“Forever.” Max replied, with an intense whisper full of meaning.

Time is a strange thing. People usually think that time goes on a straight single line, always pushing forward. That only one version of reality exists. You make your choices and go on, because time never stops. But… what if you could change those choices? What if you could have the time itself in the palm of your hand, twisting around your fingers, obeying your demands with a single thought?

Someone who could bend the fabric of time and reality once told me that time is way more complicated than that. Time can be your ally or your worst enemy. It depends entirely on your choices. And that person chose to not use that power again, ever.

I can see her from here, living the dream, taking a photograph of it materialized in front of her in this gallery full of people. Her hands are shaking. They always shake a little when she’s taking a picture. I know she’s still hurt, even if she doesn’t show it. She’s different from the girl I met when I was only a kid. She’s also different from the girl I found after five years of separation, the girl that stepped up and saved my life. At the time I didn’t know that she saved me in every way possible and more than a couple of times. I didn’t know at the time that this girl had the power to bend reality and time.

Time… Time is a strange thing. Sometimes, it’s all we need. Sometimes it’s all we want. Yeah, we always want more time.

People usually say that time heals all wounds. I beg to differ. Time show us how to cope with the pain, how make room for it and live with it. Better, but not painless. But for that to happen, we need more than just time passing by us. We need to make a choice, either stay there and live with the pain drowning us, making us suffer, destroying us... or we can look up and move on, grabbing our pieces and trying to hold them together.

Sometimes we also need someone, not just time or resolve. Sometimes this other person needs you too, because we’re all broken at some point. In some way or another, everyone carries their wounds with them. The death of loved ones, the death of thousands of unknown people of a town struck by a storm, the death of a best friend, the pain of others, the weight of your own choices when time is your enemy, and the clock is ticking against you.

We all are wounded, more or less. But if you find someone who’s willing to hold you when your nightmares strikes at night, someone who’s willing to grab your hands when they shake, someone who loves you unconditionally, with all your flaws and dark tones, someone capable of drying your tears and look at your eyes to let you know you’re not alone and you’ll never be alone again… you know you have to stay there with that person. Because, that person is the only one in the world that hugs you and you feel the shattered pieces of your soul glued together again, even if it’s only for a brief second. Because you love that person with every fiber of your being and it’s fine.

I’m in love with the girl that was willing to sacrifice everything for me. The girl I owe my life, not because she saved me uncountable times. Because she was that person, my soulmate, the one who showed me that life is about choices. She’s the one who teached me that even in our darkest times, we can step up and do something about it.

She teached me that life is about choices and chances too. Life is not perfect, life is not painless. Life is strange, and if you’re willing to find happiness, maybe you just have to give it another shot.

THE END