Chapter Text
“Okay, so you’re not the goddamn time master but you’re Maxine Caulfield and you’re amazing,” Chloe said, desperate and angry.
A moment passed between them. A second too long as they both realized what their options were.
“Max,” Chloe said. “This is the only way.” She handed Max a photograph, the one of the blue butterfly, taken that first day. They didn’t know it then, but the best friends had been reunited for the first time in years.
“I feel like I took this shot a thousand years ago,” Max said, as tears welled up in both Max and Chloe’s eyes.
“You could use that photo,” Chloe said, sounding desperate for the chance to get her words out. “You could use that photo to change everything right back to when you took that picture. All that would take is for me to...” Chloe trailed off for a few seconds, seeming not to want to say the obvious but also not wanting to lose what composure she had left.
“Fuck that,” Max said, angry. She knew what Chloe meant and didn’t want any part of it. “No way, you are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me,” Max said, honestly.
“I know.” Chloe said, letting herself break finally. “You proved that over and over again, even though I don’t deserve it. I’m so selfish. Not like my mom, look what she had to give up and live through. And she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner.
“Even my stepfather deserves her alive,” Chloe spit out. Max knew how hard it was for her to say anything complimentary about her stepfather, but now was the time. “There’s so many more people in Arcadia bay who deserve to live way more than me.”
“Don’t say that,” Max said. “I won’t trade you.”
“You’re not trading me,” Chloe said, angrily. “Maybe you’ve just been delaying my real destiny. Look at how many time I’ve almost died or actually died around you. Look at what’s happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me. I know I’ve been selfish but for once… I think I should accept my fate. Our fate.”
“Chloe,” Max said, protesting in a single word.
“Max, you finally came back to me this week and you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh like I haven’t done in years.”
Max could feel herself getting physically angry at what Chloe was saying. She wanted to hit something or someone, but mostly she just wanted Chloe to stop talking like this.
“Wherever I end up after this, in whatever reality...All those moments between us were real and they’ll always be ours.” Chloe said, still going on dramatically in such a manner that continued angering Max.
“Chloe,” She started, sounding like a mother scolding a child for being naive. “I am not leaving you.”
“Max, we can’t pretend like we don’t know where this going to go. Where this… will end.” Chloe said, sobbing hard and letting the tears blend in with the heavy rain that continued to soak them both.
“No,” Max said, remembering who had the power. Max took the photograph, ripped it half and let the wind take it away.
Chloe’s eyes got wide.
“I’m not leaving you again, Chloe,” Max growled, daring the universe to make her a liar.
Chloe’s mouth moved like her lips wanted to form words but the breath in her lungs just couldn’t. Max was getting ready to say something but they were both distracted by the dissipation of clouds.
The lighting suddenly stopped illuminating the sky and the thunder that shook the ground underneath them ceased.
Both the girls were silent for a long time as they watched the clouds disappear and the sun come back out.
Max reached out behind her to find Chloe’s hand. She held on tightly to Chloe’s limp hand.
“I don’t understand,” Chloe finally said.
“The storm...” Max said. “It’s gone. Chloe, the storm is gone!” Max said, excitedly.
“I don’t understand,” Chloe repeated, shaking off Max’s hand and stepping even closer to the ledge to get a better view of the town. The clouds had left the sky in a sunset, beautiful orange and reds shining down on a down that only slightly mauled by the tornado.
“Chloe, watch out,” Max said, noticing how close to the edge Chloe was.
“I have to go check on my mom,” Chloe said, turning around and bursting into a sprint. Max followed after her, nowhere near as fast as Chloe, but still wanting to keep up.
“Ah, fuck!” Chloe exclaimed.
“Oh my god, Chloe,” Max said, finally catching up with her. A giant tree branch had fallen and sliced Chloe’s leg, through her ripped jeans and into skin.
I promised I would never rewind on Chloe unless her life depended on it, but that wound looks pretty worth it. Max thought. Max raised her hand to rewind but nothing was happening.
What the fuck is going on? Max felt like her mind had hit a wall and there was no way to get around it, no light to try find the edge. She tried again and failed, the panic rising in her throat. Chloe at this point was stripping off her jacket and wrapping it around her leg.
Max decided to let the rewind thing go for the moment to check up on her friend. “Chloe, are you okay?”
“I’m super, Max, I need to get back to the truck.” She attempted to fully stand and walk again, but she went too fast or too hard and hit the mud. “Fuck,” Chloe said.
“Here, Chloe,” Max said, extending her hand to Chloe. Max pulled Chloe up and wrapped her arm around her shoulders for support.
“Did you wrap your leg plenty tight?” Max asked.
“It’s fine, Max." Chloe said, frustrated.
When they finally reached the bottom of the hill, Chloe tried to get into the driver's seat.
"No way, Chloe, give me the keys." Max said. Chloe handed them over, still seeming dazed.
Once they were both secure in the truck, Max started thinking out loud.
"I don't know what could have happened, Chlo. I mean, maybe it's the universe's way of thanking me for deciding not to fuck with time for once."
Chloe sat next to her trying aimlessly to get someone on the phone. Max guessed she was calling the diner.
"I'm sure the phones are out." Max said, softly.
"Max, what if it was too late? What if everyone is already dead? You'd have to rewind." Chloe said. Max's throat closed up at the idea.
"I don't think everyone's going to be dead. When I was looking for you, it seemed like pretty much everyone had bunkered down."
"But you don't know that Max. Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Chloe asked, as Max took a turn.
"We're going to the hospital." Max said, trying to keep stead.
"I don't need the fucking hospital, Max, I need to go check on my Mom. I'll never forgive myself if she isn't okay." Chloe said.
"Your leg is seriously messed up. Joyce would want you to take care of yourself before looking for her." Max said, trying to reason with Chloe.
"Fuck what she wants, turn back to the main road." Chloe demanded in a voice that Max had never heard before. It scarred Max so she turned around. Was Chloe seriously angry with her for saving her life? She couldn't be. She must just be worried sick about her mom. Well, if it was her mother she wanted, it was what Chloe was going to get. Max floored the truck, not having to consider any other drivers since all the roads were dead empty.
When they arrived at the diner, Chloe burst out and started walking as fast as her leg would allow.
"Mom!" Chloe started calling, not seeming to notice her surroundings. Lots of trees had fallen and most windows broken. Two Whales had mostly remained in tack, apart from main window that had broken completely.
Chloe threw herself through what used to be one of the windows.
"Chloe?" Joyce asked, coming out of the girl's bathroom. It looked like several other people were held up in the bathroom. Max saw Warren Graham behind Joyce, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest, as well as Frank Bowers. Everyone looked up when Chloe and Max entered.
Chloe said nothing but walked over to her mother and hugged her.
“Oh, Chloe, I’m so glad you’re okay.” Joyce gushed, not letting Chloe out of arm's reach. Before Chloe could say anything more, her mom asked her what happened to her leg.
“It’s fine, Mom, don’t worry about it.” Chloe said, softly.
“No, Chloe, it is not fine, just about your entire leg is covered in blood and look at your face, we need to get you to a hospital.” Chloe’s face was covered in tiny scratches from the fall, nothing really compared to her leg, but still concerning. Her once blue hair was covered in mud, making it a dull color for once.
By this time, everyone who had been hiding out in the bathroom had come out to see what was going on. The sun was out, and starting to set and everyone reacted like they were seeing god.
"Whoa, Max! Would you look at that!" Warren said, coming out of the bathroom, startling Max. She wasn't quite ready to be reunited with the excitable geek.
"Is everyone okay?" Max asked, rather than addressing anyone specifically. Max got a couple yeahs and a couple nos but there wasn't really time to follow up since Max offered to drive Joyce and Chloe to hospital, just so she wouldn’t have to witness everyone’s happiness. The happiness that Max was willing to sacrifice just to save Chloe.
“Why didn’t you take her straight to the hospital, Max?” Joyce scolded.
“She wouldn’t let me,” Max said sheepishly.
"Okay, then, let me grab some clean bandages first." Joyce said, walked over to behind the counter, grabbed the entirety of the first aid kit.
"You can wrap her in the car," Max said. We need to get on the road. Now. Max thought impatiently.
"Okay, let's go," Joyce said. Max took drove them to hospital, driving as fast as she could without noticing her surroundings. From what she couldn’t block out, it looked like the town had suffered major damage, that there were lots of people scattered outside. "I could drive you both now, though."
When they got to the hospital, they noticed it had remained pretty much intact, apart from a few broken windows caused by debris. Chloe was seen immediately and given twenty stitches. Luckily no major arteries had been opened, but apparently it was still going to take her some time to get back to normal use. I wish I could have just rewound. It would have saved Chloe so much pain and what looks like is gonna be a pretty nasty scar.
While Chloe was being seen Max wandered out into the waiting room.
“Excuse me?” Max asked, getting the attention of the nurse who had just helped Chloe. “Just out of curiosity, do you know how many people have come in, affected by the storm?” Max asked.
Calm down Max, no one is ever going to suspect that you might behind the storm.
“We’ve only had a couple dozen so far, mostly cases like your friend. Nothing that can’t heal.” The nurse said.
“Anything fatal?” Max couldn’t help but ask, she had to know.
“What, do you work for your school paper or something?” The nurse scoffed and walked away. Max went back to Chloe then, who looked pissed she wasn’t allowed to leave yet.
“It’s a miracle the hospital wasn’t hit by the storm,” Joyce said, somehow sadly. “It’s going to take a while for Two Whales to get back up and running. I can’t imagine how the insurance companies are going to handle rebuilding half the town.”
Both Chloe and Max said nothing. The relief of finding Joyce and the others alive had worn off and now they were wondering what kind of life they had waiting for them. Max looked up when she heard Chloe sigh.
She wanted to run over to Chloe and hug her and tell her how fucking sorry she was that she left and how much she wanted to start their new lives together, as pirates reunited. But Chloe seemed strangely unreachable. It wasn't just that Joyce was there, but something else.
Give her time. Considering what you two just went through, Chloe's got all the excuses not to be her usual happy-go-lucky-yet-sarcastic-as-hell-punk Max tried telling herself to keep from worrying.
Max noticed then that her chest felt like it was being weighed down, making it hard to breath while panic flooded every part of her body. She was light headed but in an unfamiliar way.
"Max, honey, are you okay?" Joyce asked, putting a hand on Max's shoulder. Max couldn't speak and the next thing she knew, her legs had folded under her and Joyce was screaming for a doctor.