It was a warm, sunny day in Southern California. Perfect weather, a light breeze in the air, only about 77 degrees.
An old, beat up truck was driving down a street, turning with the curve to get onto the freeway.
Inside the truck sat two girls. The driver, with her bright blue hair, was grinning ear to ear.
In the passenger seat, a smaller brunette was grimacing ever so slightly, looking over at the other every few seconds, seeming a little exasperated.
"Chloe, dude, chill out." The brunette said, and you could practically hear the sigh in her voice.
The other was bouncing slightly in her seat, singing along, very loudly, to a Disney mix she'd made for the drive.
Seriously. A mix CD. Of Disney soundtracks.
"Mad Max, we're going to Disneyland. There is no chill in this truck. This is a no chill zone, bro!" The other replied over the CD, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.
Max shook her head, smiling a little in spite of herself. Her girlfriend's excitement was infectious, even when she thought the reason behind it was slightly ludicrous.
Truth be told, Max didn't entirely understand the appeal of a Disney park. Sure, there were cool characters and everything, and the magic and all that, but there weren't really any fantastic rides. It was more about the show of it all than the thrill, and Max's view of theme parks was more of a rollercoaster, crazy ride, scream your head off and worry if you're gonna puke while going upside down kind of thing.
But Chloe had really wanted to go to Disneyland, so they'd driven down from Arcadia solely for that purpose.
"The magic, Max! We can meet Mickey!" Chloe had practically shouted, when bringing up the idea only a month before, and Max had groaned, rolling over to the other side of the bed.
"Really? It's just a person wearing a costume!" Had been her very honest response, as she hid her face in the pillow. It was too early in the day for this much excitement, and she hadn't even had any coffee yet.
The taller girl had rolled over to fake glare at her, her eyes narrowed, while pointing a finger in her face.
"Take it back. It's Mickey, dammit. The Disney magic is hella fucking real."
Max had held up her hands in defeat, and that had been enough for her girlfriend. "I'll start planning! We're doing this over spring break! Don't try to argue against it cause I will not listen! One month to Disney!" Chloe had jumped straight out of bed and over to her desk, pulling up the website then and there.
Max had watched this from her spot on the bed, and allowed herself the tiniest of sighs.
She was gonna do it, because she couldn't say no to the blue haired punk she loved.
Dammit.
And now, a month later, in the midst of spring break, here they were, only five miles away from...
"Disneyland Drive? Are you serious?" Max asked out loud, rolling her eyes.
Chloe laughed. "Don't be such a little grinch, Max. Feel the magic."
Max fought the urge to sigh and contented herself with one sharp breath, and glanced over at Chloe again.
Really, it was super adorable how excited Chloe was for this. The tall punk didn't seem like the type from an outside glance, but she was basically a five year old when it came to any kind of animated movies, Disney especially.
And apparently, that five year old giddiness extended to theme parks.
Not that Max didn't enjoy Disney itself. She honestly really did. The movies always made her emotional, and the characters were usually gorgeous, well written, and beautifully animated.
Max just didn't see any specific reason in going to the theme park that wasn't heavy on rides, and standing in lines for hours to meet people wearing giant costume heads, and also, being outside all day long.
But, she reasoned with herself, the Prices had been fond of family vacations and silly things like this once. In fifth grade, they'd spent almost an entire summer in Florida, and a lot of that at Disneyworld.
William had always loved things like that, silly little tourist hotspots and whatnot. And with William gone, Joyce pulling all the heavy work, and then the introduction of David, she supposed happy memories like this were out of reach now.
And if anyone deserved to feel some childlike wonder and happiness, it would be Chloe.
Now determined to stop groaning, Max decided she would not once complain once they actually reached Disneyland. She was doing this for Chloe, and nothing else. Chloe deserved a fun, albeit ridiculous, vacation and Max had a new goal to be the perfect girlfriend throughout it.
This is mind, she began singing along to the song that came up next, causing her girlfriend to grin appreciatively.
"There we go, Maximus Prime!" Chloe said, a laugh following.
Pulling into the parking structure a few minutes later, Chloe paid the fees and sped away from the attendant as quickly as possible, shouting, "WE'RE HERE!"
Max laughed. "Technically, Chloe, we still have to catch a tram into the park."
Chloe parked the truck and jumped out and around to Max's side, opening the door. "Well then hurry your bony white ass up because I will not wait another SECOND!" The blue haired girl grinned, grabbing her hand and moving quicker.
"Chloe please I beg of you remember I have shorter legs than you." Max puffed, slightly out of breath.
Chloe laughed. "Oh yeah, oops. Sorry lil one." Her voice was affectionate and warm, and Max reveled in how happy the other was.
No one in the world deserved to be happier than Chloe Price, and it had been a long road to that, and she was so glad they'd reached it.
They got to the gates, Chloe bouncing on her heels, the manic grin back. "RIGHT THROUGH HERE IS DISNEYLAND." She exclaimed, and a few people nearby turned to look at her, some seeming alarmed, others amused.
Max blushed and looked away from them, back to her girlfriend, and stage whispered, "Chloe you're crazy. Cmon."
A hand wrapped around the tattooed arm, Max pulled Chloe to the gates, handed the cast member their tickets, and pulled Chloe through.
Chloe was grinning so widely Max was surprised her face wasn't cracking open. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her instant camera and waited for the opportune moment, and snapped a shot of Chloe, who started at the sound of the shutter.
"Max holy shit, you actually hella startled me." She said, blue eyes wide.
"You should be used to it by now, and I've got a lot of those planned for today." Max teased, lightly shaking the photo dry and carefully placing it in between the pages of her journal to avoid crumpling it.
They walked past the opening, into the main court of what Max assumed had to be Main Street, USA. She took a photo of the City Hall building, smiling a little. This place was going to produce so many cool shots.
Suddenly, Chloe had a vice grip on her arm, and Max panicked. "What?! What is it?!" She whispered.
But Chloe just stared wide eyed across the lot, and Max followed her line of sight to...
Was that Minnie Mouse?
"MAX IT'S MINNIE LETS GO RIGHT NOW I HAVE TO MEET MINNIE MOUSE." Chloe said all of this very fast, and practically flew off with how fast she made it across the area.
Max followed, amused.
After meeting Minnie and having their photos taken with her, Chloe had yanked her down along Main Street and into a shop, where she promptly purchased ear hats that she insisted they get embroidered, and then traded her beanie out for hers immediately.
"Definitely should become your new look." Max giggled, and Chloe kissed her nose before pulling her back onto the street.
They wandered up and down the street, stopping at a couple of things Max wanted photos of.
Max allowed herself to be veered off through the castle into some other area of the park, where they went into a hall and met princesses. She actually felt her heart skip when they came upon first Ariel, then Snow White, and lastly Cinderella, of whom made a big deal about how cute Chloe's hair was, and how beautiful her sleeve was, and how adorable Max was, and how wonderful they were.
They took photos with each princess, Max grinning ear to ear.
"C'mon Max attack, you so totally loved that." Chloe grinned after they'd left the hall, and Max chuckled and nodded. "That was fun, yes." She admitted, and Chloe stopped and did a victory dance, causing Max to laugh and roll her eyes.
They played around in Fantasyland a while longer, and went on a couple of little rides that Max begrudgingly enjoyed.
They ran into a couple of obscure reference spots Max liked, and she snapped some photos, and Chloe insisted on searching for hidden Mickeys, which apparently were a very big deal.
After buying a drink and running into Peter Pan, who had made a loud commotion about them being pirates, Chloe pulled her back over to the front of the castle.
"Yo TJ Maxx we need photos in front of the castle. They'll be hella cute. It's a must." Chloe said, her arm around Max's shoulder.
Max just nodded to this, and they stood behind another few groups who were having their photos taken there too while Max enjoyed the minute to breathe. A glance up at her girlfriend's face showed that Chloe looked so content, so happy and at peace, and their day was still so early.
Max was having a lot of fun too, though itching to get to some more rides, even if they weren't as intense as she'd like.
Once their turn came, Chloe grabbed Max by the hand and pulled her in front, and the photographer asked them to do a few basic poses, such as "princess poses" or "silly faces" and then, "first visit, Tinkerbell came to say hi!" poses, and at last,
"How about a happy couple pose?" Chloe suggested, and the man smiled and nodded at her.
Chloe grinned mischievously and pulled Max to her, the latter immediately blushing, before the tall girl dipped her down and kissed her.
Max closed her eyes and smiled into it, feeling the heat on her cheeks and wrapping an arm around her girlfriend for support.
As she heard a loud, "Awwww" around them, Max felt so happy she might burst.
Maybe Disneyland wasn't so ridiculous after all.