Work Text:
June 30th. The first month of summer break was just about to end for Arcadia Bay. To everyone else this was just another day of fun without school. Some were riding around on their skateboards, while others were having grand parties at their houses without their parents knowing.
But Chloe wasn't as thrilled today, she paced around her messy room while her heart was racing. She spoke to herself:
"Ugh... I promised myself to confess to Max this month and here I am waiting until the very last day... Fucking great, Chloe. Fucking great."
"Oh, but what if she doesn't accept me? Ugh, this is so dumb... I don't want to ruin our friendship over this, but I don't want to just stay quiet.. what do I do...?"
Chloe reached out to her phone to send a message to Max:
"max you there." - Chloe
"Yeah, hi." - Max
"wanna hang out at our spot rn" - Chloe
"Which one?" - Max
"uh" - Chloe
"the lighthouse." - Chloe
"Sure :)" - Max
"NO EMOJI" - Chloe
Chloe took a deep excited breath.
"Okay, okay... This is actually happening, holy shit... Gotta get ready."
Chloe walked over to her closet, searching for some cool clothes. She decided to wear her usual ripped jeans and a white t-shirt.
Chloe looked around the room, searching for a gift to give to Max.
"Weed? No... Skate? Max already has one..."
Then her eyes noticed the polaroid camera. She grabbed it. The camera was her dad's. That was one of the only things she still had from him.
Chloe contemplated for a moment, before grabbing it along with her as she made her way to the lighthouse.
Max was already sitting on the bench when Chloe approached her from behind.
"Hey, you made it!" - Chloe said energetically and sat down next to Max.
"Great view, right?" - Max said, staring at Arcadia Bay below them.
"So what do you want to do?" - Max asked.
Chloe didn't say anything for a small moment. Her mind was thinking about all the ways this meeting could end. Most of the outcomes were horrible.
"Are you okay?" - Max asked.
"What? Yeah, absolutely!" - Chloe said defensively.
"Well, I've actually got something for you." - Chloe continued talking and showed the new camera.
"Oh, wow. You shouldn't have!" - Max said.
"No, no, It's okay, you can have it!" - Chloe insisted, pushing the camera into Max's hands.
"Thanks, this is great." - Max said as she examined the gift.
"Wanna take a cool pic of me?" - Chloe said and got up, making an action pose.
Max chuckled.
"Alright, say cheese!"
Max snapped a picture of Chloe and handed it to her.
"Wow, I seriously look like that?" - Chloe asked jokingly, her concerns slowly fading away.
"Yeah, your house has mirrors, right? You should look at yourself more." - Max also said jokingly.
"Whatever." - Chloe playfully pushed Max
As Chloe continued talking to Max she felt this familiar feeling. She was stalling her confession again. This time she will follow through.
"Max." - Chloe said, her voice was more serious than usual.
"Yeah?"
"You know what month it is, right?" - Chloe asked.
"Uh... June."
"I mean, yeah, obviously, but like that's not the point, okay? It's Pride Month."
"Oh, really? I thought that was in July..."
"No way, Max. You're as clueless as you look." - Chloe teased.
"Okay, okay... What about it, though?" - Max asked.
Chloe didn't answer immediately, she took a deep breath to comfort herself. This was it. Her chance. She could back out now, but... She didn't want to, not anymore.
"I-"
Before Chloe could say what she wanted, this fear gnawed upon her again. She desperately looked into Max's eyes, trying to read her mind.
But Chloe couldn't read minds, so she had to continue.
"Fuck... Okay... Max."
Max was getting more and more concerned.
"Is something wrong?" - Max asked.
"No! No, everything is fine. Just give me a moment..."
Chloe took another deep breath.
"...I love you."
Chloe felt like she was genuinely going to die, those three simple words were gnawing at her existence like a chainsaw. She braced for the worst.
Instead of berating Chloe like in her nightmares, Max just stared at her for a moment, processing the meaning behind those words.
"Chloe, I... I don't even know what to say..."
"I'm sorry... Is that a rejection...?" - Chloe asked vulnerably, not daring to look at Max.
"No... It's just..."
That was it. Chloe thought that would be the moment Max would say she's straight or just not interested and stop being friends with her forever. Years of friendship. Gone. Just like that.
"...It's just I feel the same way."
Chloe tensed up, she did not expect that reaction. She immediately turned to face Max and hugged her tenderly.
"Oh my god, no way! Why didn't you tell me? I was so scared!" - Chloe asked happily.
"Well, I was kind of scared too." - Max admitted sheepishly, wrapping her hands around Chloe too.
"D-Does that mean-"
"Yeah. We're dating."
Chloe was beyond happy, she was ecstatic. It was like living a dream (Well, most of Chloe's dreams about this moment were a nightmare, but whatever).
Chloe pulled back to look at Max.
"Have you wanted to kiss me at some point?" - Chloe asked teasingly.
Max blushed, her expression becoming more flustered.
"Uh, yeah..."
Without saying anything Chloe leaned in, her lips touching Max's. Max tensed up for a moment before leaning into the kiss, gripping Chloe's t-shirt.
Chloe imagined herself kissing Max sometimes, but this felt even better than she ever imagined. She could just live in this moment forever.
They both pulled back after a moment, both of their hearts were racing this time.
There was silence, before Max finally spoke up.
"So... Wanna go to Two Whales...?" - She asked.
"Hell yeah!"