Fatigue, there wasn't a single part of her body that was not about to collapse due to sheer exhaustion. Chloe's hand was strong in her own as the girl practically carried her up the stairs to the punk's room. Blue eyes glanced across the hall, part of her thought David would burst out of his shared room with Joyce and catch them when they were confident they had made it. But he was definitely still at the school so they were in the clear. As soon as they got into Chloe's room, the taller girl shut her door and threw a fist into the air.
"Hella yes we are the best ninja team ever!" Chloe whispered, excitedly. She seemed overjoyed at the fact they had snuck into the pool and gotten out safely. Maybe she was on an adrenaline high. Max offered a smile, she had fun, but she had started to feel like walking death after they had gotten into Chloe's truck. Her day had been long, full of watching her friends die and different tests to prove she could go back in time. But the fiasco with Kate still stuck out in her mind.
She watched Kate fall off the roof twice before freezing time and fighting a black out while she stumbled up to the roof. It had taken a lot out of her, but she was so relieved when Kate grabbed her hand and stepped off the ledge. Her pain was all worth it in the end.
Max shifted to look at Chloe, who was putting her stolen money on her desk with a huge grin.
"You know I'm going to make you help me pay that back right?" The punk looked over at her friend, the smirk never leaving her face. Honestly she was surprised when Max had agreed to take the money without a second thought.
"I figured your goody-two-shoes side would come out sometime." The photographer blinked, unsure if she had just been insulted. Chloe was just grinning that stupid grin, not at all seeming hateful or aggressive. The brunette rolled her eyes, taking the reply as a compliment.
"What you mean is 'oh Max, thank you so much you are so hella awesome' right?" The punk had the audacity to laugh at her, causing a small frown to grow on Max's face.
"Oh stop pouting Maximus. I'll help you pay it back or whatever, just let me have that strip club visit." Chloe took a few steps closer to the shorter girl, giving her a wink. She came to a stop a few inches away from Max, still wearing her shit-eating grin. Slowly the grin dissolved into a crooked smile.
"But really, thank you." Chloe continued softly, leaning down. Max closed her eyes, was Chloe going to kiss her? She wouldn't be opposed, if anything she felt giddy. Her mind was running rampant with ways to react to the kiss when Chloe's forehead gently met hers. Her eyes opened, surprised to find that Chloe's eyes were closed tight, her jaw clenched.
Max's hands gently came to rest on either side of Chloe's face. She wasn't sure why she had done that, maybe it was to get rid of the tension in Chloe's expression, maybe she just wanted to touch the older girl. The action caused the punk's eyes to shoot open, obviously not expecting the contact. Max smiled up at her, eyes full of adoration. Chloe squinted down at her friend, trying to gauge her meaning behind the touch.
"If it gets that freak off your back then I'm happy to help." Max responded earnestly, her hands moving behind Chloe's neck to keep the punk in her place. She squeezed her eyes closed, tightening her hold on Chloe, and putting more pressure into the head touch before pulling away.
"I uh…" Chloe stuttered, her cheeks growing pink as she tried to pull herself together. Max shrugged off her bag, placing it on the floor next to Chloe's bed. She grabbed her camera, pivoting to take a picture of a very awkward looking Chloe.
The picture actually turned out quite good. Chloe's blush a stark contrast to her blue hair and beanie. Her body language spelled closed off, but the lighting in the room giving the shot a certain ambiance. The blue haired girl shook out of her stupor at the sound, strutting over to Max and plucking the photo from her hands.
"Does it have the Chloe seal of approval?" Max asked with no small amount of sarcasm.
"Well it makes me look hella mysterious, so yeah. I'm Chloe Price and I approve this photo." Max rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. It was nice when Chloe complimented her even if the girl decided to be a smartass afterwards. Chloe offered the photo back to her, waiting until Max took it before snatching the camera from her hands.
"Chlo-"
"No. You took one of me so it's my turn. Any chance I could get a nude?" Max almost slapped the girl for her suggestion. It felt like the world was teasing her for crushing on her best friend. Instead she flushed, crossed her arms and glared away from her dorky best friend.
"There it is! Now we're even." Chloe grinned, handing the brunette her camera and putting the photo in her jacket's pocket.
"You're a perv." Max said almost affectionately before putting her camera away and prying off her shoes. "My clothes seriously reek." Max whined, throwing her jacket off as well. She would've taken off her shirt but paused when she realized she didn't have a change of clothes. Chloe seemed to pick up on her sudden hesitance, making her way to her dresser.
"Here, I have the perfect outfit for you, hippie." The punk picked out a relatively plain shirt and shorts, throwing them at her best friend and quickly turning back around as Max pulled her shirt off. They had always changed in the same room growing up but now that Chloe was old enough to recognize her thoughts were not normal friendly thoughts, she felt weird about looking at her half naked best friend.
Chloe shrugged away her thoughts, deciding to get ready for bed herself. When she turned around Max was already looking at her. The punk was about to make a snarky comment before she noticed that Max seemed to be swaying a bit. Obviously the poor girl was wiped out.
"If we share the bed you can't steal all the covers like always." Max spoke, noticing that Chloe's attention was on her. The brunette smiled to show she was only kidding. The grin was not returned, in fact Chloe was frowning.
"Are you still not feeling good?" Concerned…. Chloe was showing concern for her while simultaneously trying to hide it behind a sarcastic tone. But the panic and distress was obvious in her wide eyes and miniscule frown.
"I feel terrible." That seemed like the truest thing she had said in a while. Chloe flipped off her light before moving over to the photographer.
"I bet, c'mon we can share my bed." Cautiously, she placed her hand against Max's lower back, leading the younger girl over towards her bed. The brunette simply fell onto the unmade bed in response, crawling up and sitting against the wall. Chloe smirked, glancing around the bed before settling down next to her best friend. She was thoroughly surprised when Max's head immediately fell onto her shoulder.
"Chloe." Max scolded, gently, not moving her head from its spot on Chloe's shoulder.
"Uh… Yeah?"
"You stink." She smelled thoroughly of chlorine, though Max was sure she did too. However there was also another scent, a distinct hint of something else, something more like the Chloe Max used to know. Despite the smell of chemicals, the photographer snuggled closer, rubbing at her eyes with one hand while her other arm wrapped around Chloe.
"Well we can't all smell like vinyl and polaroids like you, you little hipster." The nineteen year old grinned, her eyes flickering around the room as she played with the ring on her finger.
"I'm going to pretend you are not the pot calling the kettle black, and assume we're gonna have an epic sleepover talk?" Max asked with a yawn. A small frown bloomed on her face as Chloe gently moved her away and shifted. Of course Chloe didn't want to cuddle with the best friend who abandoned her. Guilt filled Max as she tried to ignore the sting of rejection. Her destructive thoughts continued until she was pulled down onto the pillows by her leg.
Suddenly Chloe was back, right next to her, her arm now wrapped around Max's shoulder, her hand resting on the younger girl's waist almost protectively. She pulled the photographer in until Max's head was resting on her chest. Chloe was holding a phone, more specifically Max's phone. The brunette eyed the device curiously.
"You got a text from Wyatt." Chloe spoke, purposefully messing up the name in an attempt to annoy Max.
"Warren." Max corrected automatically, closing her eyes as she snuggled her best friend. The punk blinked at the contact before shaking her head and deciding to focus on things that made sense, like this loser texting her Max. "Well don't leave the crowd hanging Chlo, what's it say?"
"It says, Max, you are the light of my life, the fire in my loins. I must confess I have been in love with you ever since I saw you. Each day I count the reasons I love you and am reminded of your freckles because there are just so many reasons and you have so. Many. Freckles." Max didn't need to look at Chloe to know she had that signature stupid smirk on her face. She did have to hand it to Chloe though, that was a very nice improvised performance.
"Oh and I'm the beat poet?" Max said with a laugh, shaking her head as best she could against Chloe's chest.
"C'mon, that deserves some snaps!" Chloe spoke in gentle fake outrage. Max giggled as she tried and failed to snap her fingers. "Thanks for that shitty standing ovation." Chloe rolled her eyes, still looking down at the message. Warren had actually asked if she had blown anything up. Chloe grinned, deciding to have some fun.
To Warren: sorry dude, Mad Max is asleep on me. We didn't blow up the school, but she did blow something else.
Chloe snickered and put the phone down, an action Max watched with a raised eyebrow. She was frankly too afraid to ask and decided to do damage control in the morning if need be.
"So are we going to have our usual deep life chat?" Max murmured, her eyes drooping. Sleep sounded so good, but she hadn't had a sleepover with Chloe in five years. She had to enjoy it as much as possible. The question seemed to change the entire atmosphere in the room. Chloe's smile disappeared and she seemed deep in thought.
"Well of course, it's a traditional bonding experience and all that shit…" Chloe trailed off, chewing on her lip in thought of how to proceed. Max glanced up at Chloe's chin, wondering why the girl was pausing. She figured there had to be a good reason, so she would wait until the skater was comfortable enough to continue. Still, some reassurance never hurt anybody. That thought in mind, Max draped her arm over Chloe's midsection, hugging the girl close.
"The talk… Right. So about Kate and everything with that. I think I freaked over nothing earlier when it came to you wanting to answer your phone. Also your nosebleed scared the ever-loving piss outta me. I'm sorry I was an ass." The distress over the nosebleed was sort of glossed over with fast, quiet words. But Max heard the words as if they had been shouted. It brought a smile to her face knowing that Chloe did care, despite everything.
"I chose not to answer Kate's call, Chloe."
"But I acted hella insane, telling you not to. I just-" Chloe abruptly snapped her mouth shut, clenching her jaw and closing her eyes.
"Hey, we don't have to worry about it. I still saved Kate's life." A bittersweet smile grew on the brunette's face. She managed to save Kate after watching the girl die twice, she wondered if she would ever get over watching people she cared for die. She doubted it.
"Yeah you did, that is hella awesome Maxie. But what's up with your nosebleeds?" Chloe felt the girl shrug against her, obviously her companion had not looked into it.
"It happens when I go too far back and use my power too much. It gives me the worst headaches. But I managed to freeze time to save Kate."
"Really?! No fucking way." Even without looking Max knew there was a huge smile on Chloe's face. The kind full of awe and childlike curiosity. The kind of expression that lit up the normally scowling or pissed off face, making Chloe seem more adorable or cute instead of the sexy vibe she mostly always exuded.
"I… I watched her fall." Max wasn't sure why she felt the need to tell Chloe this, but part of her wanted to. Another part of her felt stronger as the arm that was wrapped around her pulled her slightly closer, as if Chloe was still unsure of how Max viewed her. Or maybe Chloe was just shit at comforting people. Max laughed under her breath at that idea. Either way she took the initiative and pulled herself as close to Chloe as she could get. Happy when Chloe held her with a little bit more confidence.
"I watched her fall onto the ground twice, both times I just remember thinking I can't let her die but I can't keep this up and when I tried to rewind again it made everything freeze around me. It hurt so bad, I thought I was going to faint." A watery laugh, one that alerted Max to the tears gathering in her eyes. She hadn't even noticed her vision was going blurry, the posters and junk across the room becoming nothing more than a haze of color.
"Whoa, you okay Maximilian? That's some seriously heavy shit." Of course Chloe would hear the waver in her voice and the pathetic excuse for a laugh.
"Y-yeah it's just… A lot to think about. It kind of makes my head hurt but I want to tell you." Max closed her eyes, blocking out the emotions threatening to spill over.
"Okay, talk away supergirl but if your head gets bad, just stop. I don't want you to black out or anything… Not again."
"Aw you do care." A giggle erupted from the photographer, a light and airy sound that immediately made blood rush to Chloe's face. Of course Max just had to be stupidly adorable and make her blush like some prepubescent boy. Max pushed herself up onto her elbows, grinning down at Chloe with an all knowing look in her eyes.
"Aww and you blush! So much for being a badass rebel." She gently poked Chloe on the cheek, laughing more when the skater immediately recoiled and glared daggers at her even though she was obviously still flustered. With an irritated groan, Chloe pulled her beanie over her eyes, trying her best to ignore the brunette who was hovering over her, still trying to get her to blush.
"Knock it off Maxi-pad." Max's giggles immediately died at that nickname.
"Out of all the possible Maxi- names, you choose pads. But it doesn't matter cause you like me." Max singsonged, taking delight in the way Chloe practically growled at her. It was obvious that Max wasn't done poking fun but she stopped for her best friend's sake and instead tucked her head back under Chloe's chin.
The move caused the skater's heart to flop in her chest and she brought one hand up so she could peek down at Max from under her beanie. The brunette moved to hug her, her arms squeezing between Chloe and the bed. The sight warmed Chloe's heart and she pulled off her beanie, tossing it somewhere in her room. With an over exaggerated sigh, Chloe hugged the photographer tight, grinning when she felt Max squeal.
"You feel better now?"
"Yeah, but I still want to tell you about the roof." Max felt more than saw the nod Chloe did to indicate she would listen. Max shrugged off her fatigue, she needed to tell Chloe the rest of the story, no matter how comfortable the other girl was to lay on.
"Of course, I am a badass listener and a kickass sidekick." Some things about Chloe were so different but every once in a while the old Chloe would come out. The one that Max would affectionately refer to as hers.
"You are." A warm squeeze to convey her gratefulness. "So I got up there and I just couldn't hold it. Time started to move and I tried to pause or go back but I couldn't and Kate saw me. I was scared shitless. I couldn't go back and fix it if I said the wrong thing. I didn't realize how hard choices were when I couldn't immediately go back if something happened."
"But you still saved her. Damn Caulfield you are a real epic superhero." The room fell into a comfortable silence as Chloe contemplated what she was told and Max felt her eyelids drooping and her body relaxing. Chloe radiated warmth, lulling Max to sleep until Chloe's voice tore through the silent room.
"Max…. How many times did you watch me die today?" The words were whispered, as if Chloe was afraid to know the real answer.
"Twice. You shot the bumper, it bounced off and hit you in the chest. Then I… Was too late with the train." Just recalling the events hurt, not her head but her heart. Remembering Chloe doubled over, holding her chest, begging her to go back. Watching the train speed down the tracks, not able to slow down in time to save Chloe. It was hard.
"I shouldn't have asked, I was just wondering. I owe you so much more than I thought. You hella save my life as a hobby and I didn't even know." Max shrugged, wanting to fight sleep but also needing to rest. Subconsciously, one of Chloe's hands began tracing circles on the brunette's back, causing her fatigue to finally catch her.
Chloe didn't know how long she lay there, rubbing different patterns on Max's back. Eventually, she noticed how relaxed Max had gotten, how her breaths were soft and even against Chloe's collarbone. With a fond sigh, Chloe stopped her movements, placing a barely there kiss to the crown of Max's head.
"You're lucky you're so damn cute Max." The skater sighed, trying to focus on the room around her, but her thoughts always came back to the girl sprawled against her. Max had saved her, she kept going back in time despite the pain in her head and the nosebleeds. For her. It was all so queerballs crazy.
To make the week even crazier, her old feelings for Max were resurfacing. As a tween, it was easy to confuse her affection for just friendly admiration, but now there was no doubt. She had a thing for the little photographer.
She almost slipped up after Max tried to shoot Frank, then she almost blurted it out again when they were talking on the tracks, then the pool and again after Max agreed to steal the money. Maybe she would tell Max tomorrow.
Hah, yeah right. Chloe scoffed to herself, pulling the brunette closer to her chest. Cuddling would have to hold her over until she had the balls to tell Max the truth. She felt strong and safe all at once, like Max wasn't going to run again. For once, everything seemed like it could only get better.
One day she would tell Max how she felt, and she desperately hoped Max would feel the same. With that thought in mind, she let her eyes fall closed, happy to fall asleep with Max's warm body lying on top of her.
When the punk woke in the morning she noticed that Max had ended up on the other side of the bed. She was surprised the little photographer was able to wiggle out of her hold. Of course she wouldn't want to cuddle with her lunatic friend who made her steal and got her in trouble for pot. Chloe rolled her eyes, her logic making sense to her. With a groan she brought her arms behind her head and closed her eyes, content to just exist a while.
A shift in the bed alerted Chloe to her bedmate's movement. The brunette stretched if the not quite sexual moans were any indication. Peeking over at the brunette with one eye, Chloe noticed Max was grabbing her camera.
"Photo bomb!" Chloe said, bumping into Max's back as she got in the photo.
"Photo hog." Max retorted, snapping the picture and putting her camera back into her bag. The two lay in the bed for quite some time, talking about how much fun they had the previous night and how they didn't want to get up. Max said something about being a criminal, causing Chloe to roll her eyes. No way would Max ever be a criminal with the way she was. She was too innocent, too pure.
The brunette finally pulled herself out of bed, moving over to her stuff before she paused, seeing Cloe's phone on top of a box of junk. She grabbed the phone with a smirk, payback for Chloe grabbing hers last night to be a douchebag to Warren. She was very surprised to find a photo of herself as the lock screen. She glanced up at Chloe who seemed to be relaxing and not at all paying attention to Max.
I must have proven I was worthy. Max thought with a smile before unlocking the phone and staring at the text messages Chloe had sent to Frank. She was glad they had decided to keep the money in the principal's office. And Max would be sure to pay it back, with Chloe's help of course.
She put Chloe's phone back on the pile of junk before inspecting her clothes.
"My clothes still reek of chlorine." Max mumbled, deciding she would not like to wear her gross clothes all day. Chloe immediately offered her some clothes out of her fashion hole. Max nodded, excited for the chance to dress in the punk's clothes. Before she made it to the closet, however, the music stopped and the room was silent.
Max made her way over to the stereo since Chloe didn't seem too rushed to put on another song. She quickly replayed the song, looking over and spotting Chloe's jacket on the chair. She was curious what her picture from last night looked like, and her curiosity won as she quickly rifled through Chloe's pockets.
The photo was next to one of Rachel and the butterfly. It was just Max, a simple shot really. It had good lighting and an interesting angle but it didn't seem very good to Max. It just looked like a photo of a teenager throwing a temper tantrum.
"How do you like being on the other side, Max Dupain?" That nickname caused the brunette to pause.
"Did you just call me Max Dupain? Like the Australian photographer?" At Chloe's nod, Max continued, beyond confused as to why the punk rock, skater girl would know such a random photographer. "Explain?"
"Ugh fine, but you better not get mushy on me Caulfield." She eyed the smaller girl but the brunette simply cocked her head to the side, confused. "After you came back I did some, uh, research on photography so we could have more in common. It's not like I had any better shit to do." Chloe raised a brow as if challenging Max to get sentimental.
Max blinked, thoroughly surprised and touched that Chloe had studied photography as well as the weird supernatural stuff. It was undeniably sweet that Chloe had done so much to reconnect with Max, and wasn't even going to tell her.
"You're so damn adorable." Max grinned, staring the punk down, waiting for some sarcastic retort to ruin their moment.
"Well, of course. Also I could see the self-critical cogs turning in that head of yours, I like the picture. You look shy as hell and at the same time slightly pissed which is a cute look on you Max." Chloe grinned at the way Max's face dropped, her tough girl façade sliding right off. Blood rushed to Max's cheeks and she turned around to hide it.
"You're so weird." Max stuttered, avoiding eye contact and quickly shoving the photos back into Chloe's pocket. Thoroughly embarrassed and slightly flattered, the brunette went back to the closet to find some clothes.
Time for some Chloe cosplay.
After a little back and forth with Chloe, it was decided that Max would wear some of Rachel's clothes. Borrowing clothes was a usual occurrence at slumber parties but then Chloe made a request that caused Max's eyes to go wide and her heart to race.
"What?" There was no way Chloe had just dared Max to kiss her, surely the photographer had heard wrong. But there was a ridiculously confident smirk on Chloe's face as she repeated herself.
"I double dare you, kiss me now." Double dares were serious business. Max could feel her heart hammering against her ribs as she glanced down at Chloe's lips then back into her challenging blue eyes.
It was as if time had slowed down so she could weigh her options but really, her choice was obvious. She wouldn't miss this opportunity. Decision made, Max stretched onto her tiptoes, gently pressing her lips to her best friend's. Almost as soon as it happened, Chloe was pulling away, her face red and words garbled as she stuttered out something about Warren. Max stood in her position for a few seconds, wishing Chloe wouldn't have run away so quickly.
Despite how quick the kiss was, Max could feel her nerves tingling. The photographer smirked as Chloe fell back onto her bed. That was priceless, Chloe didn't think I'd do it. It served her right, trying to make Max embarrassed.
"You better not rewind and take that kiss back." Max's heart flew out of her chest at those words. The statement filled her with a certain warmth. Maybe Chloe did like her back, after all the punk was always saying such sweet things when they were alone. "You know I'm hotter than those Seattle art-holes right?" Yeah you are. Max thought with a light blush. Part of her felt creepy for crushing so obviously on her best friend. But it didn't seem like the punk minded, or even noticed Max's attempts at flirtation.
After Max was dressed and out of the room Chloe shot up out of her bed. Now that the coast was clear, she could properly freak out about the kiss.
"Holy fuck. Hella. I can't-" Chloe covered her face, pacing in her room like a madwoman. Her mind couldn't wrap around the fact that her innocent, naïve best friend had kissed her, willingly kissed her.
"Maybe it was just for the dare." Chloe reasoned, quickly changing into something more suitable. She didn't want to get worked up over nothing, but part of her refused to let their lip lock mean nothing.
"But maybe it's because she's hella into me." She fist pumped once in celebration, just to release the jitters and because she was excited that Max possibly had feelings for her. It felt like electricity was flowing through her body with how wired she was. Maybe she didn't even need to smoke since she already felt high. With a grin, Chloe made her way to the door, excited to begin the day. Maybe they could visit their old treehouse. If everything went well, then maybe they could go on a date.
"Act cool Price, don't blow this." With one final deep breath, she opened the door, ready to face the day as long as Max would be with her.