The wind howled and tugged at Max's hoodie and hair as the rain stung her face. Across from her, Chloe was holding out the butterfly photograph Max had taken five days ago. Had it really just been five days?
"Max!" Chloe shouted over the howl of the tornado, even though they were standing just a few feet apart. "It's time!"
Max took the photo and stared at it. I know what I have to do, she thought. But I can't do it! How can I just sit back while my best friend gets shot in the bathroom? I've already done that once! How can I do it again? But at the same time… how can I let so many people die to save one person? Her hands were shaking and though it was hard to tell because of the rain, she knew from the burning in her eyes that tears were streaming down her face. She tried so hard to focus on the picture, but her mind was racing and her hands were shaking so much… I can't do it! I… I can't…
"Fuck it." she said, tearing the picture in half. She watched with a heavy heart as it flew away into the tornado before she turned to Chloe.
"Max!" Chloe snapped. "How could you?! Do you have any idea how many people you just killed?! Do you have any fucking clue?!"
Max was shocked. "Chloe…" she said timidly. "I couldn't do it… I-"
"Bullshit!" Chloe growled. "Because of you, everything in Arcadia Bay is going to be wiped off the fucking planet! The only way this storm can be stopped is if I die! And if you can't do it, then I'll have to!" Chloe pulled her gun from her back pocket and aimed it at Max. "I can't let you stop me!" she cried, and pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang out against the sound of the raging storm and Max took a step back from the force of the bullet. And yet, the whole thing was oddly… painless… as she looked down at the wound in shock.
She looked back up to see Chloe aiming the gun at her own head. "NO!" Max tried to scream, but her voice wouldn't work. She saw her best friend pull the trigger. "CHLOE!"
Max sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat.
"MAX?!" Chloe sat up next to her, equally disoriented.
They were sitting in the bed of the motel room they had rented out the previous night. It was near pitch-black and outside could be heard the pitter-patter of rainfall.
"Shit Max, are you okay?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Max replied. "Just a nightmare."
"What happened?"
"That's not important. You should get some rest. We have a long day of driving ahead of us."
"If you say so, Cap." Chloe laid down and rolled over.
Max laid back down as well, but something kept biting at her. "Chloe?" she said at last.
"Max?" Chloe replied, rolling over to face her.
"Do you think I made the wrong decision to save you?"
"I… I think that's not up to me to decide."
"So that's a yes."
"Dude, it's way more complicated than that. Right or wrong, I can't fault you for the choice you made. You were put in a position that nobody should ever have to be in, and whether you made your choice because you thought it was right, or because you couldn't bring yourself to do otherwise, I'll always support you because the world fucked you over bigtime and even I can't imagine what I'd do if I was in your place."
"But so many people died…"
"You can't save everyone, Max. Besides, you got your powers for a reason. Someone-or something-somewhere decided you'd be the best person for the job… whatever "the job" was. I have faith in you. Make sure you have some in yourself too. Now try to get some sleep as well."
"Thanks girlfriend," Max replied, closing her eyes. She felt an arm wrap around her waist.
"Any time."
When Max woke up Chloe was still asleep next to her. Sunlight was filtering in through a gap between the curtains, highlighting the thousands of tiny dust particles that drifted through the room. I wonder if anyone made it out okay, she thought as she lay there. Maybe I could call Joyce or someone… but do I really want to know? What if she doesn't answer? How could I break that to Chloe? … Maybe it's best if I just don't look back. After we get back on our feet in Seattle with my parents we can head to Portland and-
"Eeew! The carpet's all wet!"
Max started. She hadn't even realized Chloe had woken up and gotten out of bed.
"Hey Max?" Chloe continued. "Could you do me a favor and rewind so I don't step in that?" She pointed to a large wet spot in the carpet.
"It's just water Chloe," Max sighed. "Look above you. The ceiling leaks."
"But my socks are wet," Chloe whined.
"I'd rather save my powers for more important things. Like when you die again."
"You mean if I die again."
"No, it's definitely 'when'."
"Whatever hippie. I'm gonna get myself dressed and then we're gonna bounce the fuck outta here and find someplace to eat. I'm hella hungry." With that, Chloe gathered up her clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Max gathered up her own clothes and waited until Chloe emerged wearing her trademark faded jeans and white printed tank-top.
"My turn," Max said, stepping into the bathroom. She got herself dressed and walked out to the motel lobby with Chloe.
In the morning light the lobby was even dingier than it had seemed the previous night. The carpet was littered with crumbs and food scraps, mold was growing from cracks in the walls and ceiling, and the whole area had a slightly off-putting smell.
"Ack!" Chloe said with a weak cough. "Really wishing I wasn't a smoker right now. My lungs are not happy with this musty air."
"Maybe life is trying to tell you something," Max suggested.
"Yeah, well I was never a very good listener," Chloe replied. "Ok, I'll handle the checkout. Why don't you look around and try to find a map or something?"
"Sure thing." Chloe made her way to the front desk, leaving Max to wander around the lobby. She noticed a bulletin board on the back wall with several posters on it and a newspaper stand. Maybe there's a map on the bulletin board, she thought. She walked over to the board and looked at the posters. Lots of ads, but no map. Maybe the newspaper might have a map? It was a bit of a stretch, but she made her way to the newspaper stand and picked up an issue. Plastered on the front page was a dramatic image of the wreckage of Arcadia Bay with the headline "Massive Tornado Tears Through Nearby Town, Police Still Searching For Survivors." Jesus, Max thought. I wish I could rewind this image out of my head. And no map, either. A brief movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Hello? She noticed a mouse struggling to drag a donut across the floor. This could make a cool shot, she thought, taking out her camera. Hold still little mouse! You're about to have your fifteen seconds of fame. She pressed the button and the flash went off with a click! The mouse scampered away into a hole in the wall. Oh no! Max thought. The flash scared him off! She picked up the donut and placed it outside the hole. Here you go little mouse. Eat well.
"Ready when you are, Max!" Chloe announced.
"But I still haven't found a map," Max replied.
"I got one at the front desk. Looks like there's a breakfast place about half an hour up the road. We want to make sure we eat before the long road trip up to Seattle."
"Lead the way." Chloe took Max's hand and guided her out to the parking lot.
Chloe released Max's hand once they were out in the parking lot. "I can wait by the car if you want to explore. Or we can head straight out if you prefer."
"I think I'll have a look around," Max answered.
"Take some nice pictures for me!" Chloe walked over to her truck and sat down on the hood.
Only the best for you, Chloe, Max thought in response. She had a look around at the parking lot. There were a few other cars besides Chloe's but otherwise the lot was mostly empty. There was a discarded newspaper sitting a few feet away from her. She thought about looking at it. Not risking it, she decided. She looked around for photo-ops. Her mind immediately went to Chloe sitting on the hood of her truck. It was such a natural pose, and if she could get her framed by the rising sun…. Max walked over to Chloe and eyed up the shot. Chloe looks like an angel framed by the sun like that, she thought as she kneeled and pulled out her camera. And I suppose she is. My angel.
"Make sure you get my good side!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Oh please," Max smiled, pressing the button. "You're all good side."
Chloe actually blushed. "Ready to hit the road, Mad Max?"
"Hella."
The breakfast place was an old, run-down affair that had clearly seen better days. The parking lot was nearly empty.
"Guess you don't get many customers in The Middle Of Nowhere," Chloe remarked.
"That, or the food's shit."
"As long as it's edible I could care less. I'm fucking starved!"
Max snorted. "When are you not hungry?"
"Don't need your sass, Caulfield." Chloe pushed the door open dramatically. Suddenly the smile dropped off her face.
"What's wrong?" Max asked.
"Mom…" Chloe said quietly.
Fuck! Max realized. Of course the diner would remind her of Joyce. She took Chloe's hand in hers and squeezed it as tightly as she could. Chloe squeezed hers in return.
"Want to find a booth?" Max asked gently.
"Yep." It seemed Chloe didn't trust her voice with anything more complex.
Max led Chloe to the corner booth, which was far enough removed from what little activity there was in the diner for Chloe to have her meltdown in peace. Max sat down across from her and continued to hold and rub Chloe's hand until she settled down. "You going to be okay?" Max asked at last.
Chloe pulled her hand away to wipe her eyes. "Yeah, I think so."
An older man arrived with a set of menus. "Well now," he said, "Not very often we see new faces 'round here. Where are you two young ladies from?"
Max was unsure whether to tell the man the truth or not. She settled on the truth. "Arcadia Bay."
The man's eyes widened. "Jesus, you survived that?!"
"As far as we know we're the only ones."
"Jesus," the man repeated. "I am so, so sorry. I can't even imagine what that must have been like…. Breakfast's on the house." Chloe perked up slightly at the mention of free food as the man handed them the menus. "Order anything you want."
"Nothing's going to beat Mom's eggs and bacon," Chloe murmured sadly once he had walked off.
Max felt a pang in her heart seeing Chloe like this. Even when she was pissed, Chloe always had an unmistakable fire in her soul, but now that fire was flickering at best.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Max asked.
Chloe rested her elbows on the table and supported her head with her hands. "Max, I've lost everything. All I have left is you, my truck, and my college fund. That's just… hitting me right now."
"I know. I've lost a lot too."
"But you still have stuff. You have your parents, your friends in Seattle, you have a home… you can leave me any time you want."
"I'd never want to leave you."
"You already did once," Chloe said bitterly.
That stung. "Chloe!" Max said, hurt. "Yes, I fucked up, and that was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I watched all of Arcadia Bay get wiped out by a tornado because I couldn't let go of you. Why would I leave after that?"
"Why would you stay?"
Max hesitated. She knew what she wanted to say, what she wanted to do, but she wasn't sure if it was safe. I can always rewind if I blow it. It's not like a little thing like that would cause any sort of catastrophe, right? What was that whole Doctor Who thing… some points in time are fixed but others are variable? Fuck it.
Her heart tightened as she leaned across the table and planted a kiss on Chloe's lips. She felt Chloe inhale sharply and flinch away, and she backed off, already raising her hand to rewind.
"Wait!" Chloe exclaimed, reaching across the table and taking Max's hand. Their blue eyes locked. "Come back. Please."
Max leaned in again and this time Chloe did as well. Their lips met, eyes closed, and Max's heart did a complete flip-flop. Eventually their lips parted and they drew away, still maintaining eye contact. "That's why," Max said simply.
Chloe sat back in silence for several moments. Finally she asked, "How long did you know?"
"That you had a crush on me?"
"Yeah."
"I started to suspect it when we were breaking into Blackwell Wednesday morning but… I wasn't sure."
"Were you really going to rewind?" Chloe asked.
"I didn't want to lose you," Max replied, her heart tightening at the thought.
"Max… you don't need to worry about that."
Max nodded. After a respectful silence she picked up the menu and changed the subject. "We should figure out what we want to eat. You get angsty when you're hungry."
Chloe seemed to appreciate the shift. "Dude, I'm always angsty. Plus, I haven't had my morning joint. Shit, I guess I can say goodbye to 'waking and baking' for a while…"
"Don't worry Chloe," Max teased, "you can get high off of being with me!"
"Max, that was lame even for you," Chloe replied, thoroughly unimpressed. "But maybe this is a good thing. I've been trying to get off of cigarettes for a while now and I can tell you don't like being around weed."
"I don't mind it if it makes you happy," Max said.
"I'm only happy when you're happy. Besides, it's not like I'll have much of a choice in the matter… unless you were thoughtful enough to find some dealers while you were in Seattle."
"Must have slipped my mind," Max joked.
"Well it was worth a shot." Chloe looked at the menu. "Since I don't know how good the food actually is, I think I'll choose pancakes. You can't fuck up pancakes, right?" She posed this as a legitimate question rather than a rhetorical one.
Max chuckled. "You can fuck up anything if you try hard enough." She perused the menu for a bit. "Should I pick 'eggs benedict' or 'french toast'?"
"Dude just pick one, eat it, rewind, and pick the other!" Chloe suggested as if it was the most obvious thing.
"You're not helping," Max replied.
"That's what I do best," Chloe said cheerfully.
After thinking a little longer Max settled on eggs benedict. She raised her hand and beckoned the older man over.
"Ready to order?" he asked.
"I think I'll have the eggs benedict," Max said.
"And I'll take a stack of pancakes," Chloe added.
"Alright!" The man said after writing down their orders on his notepad. "We'll have those ready for you in just a bit!" With that he walked off.
"So…" Chloe began as she searched for a new subject. "How do you think your parents will react to us being a couple?"
"I think Dad's going to be pretty chill about it. Mom's probably going to complain about you being a 'bad influence' and lecture me about 'hanging out with the wrong crowd.'"
Chloe snorted. "Figures. She always was hella uptight."
"She just cares too much," Max replied defensively.
"Fair enough."
Eventually the older man returned with their food. Chloe immediately stabbed her fork into her pancake stack and lifted it up.
"Chloe," Max warned.
Chloe rolled her eyes but she put down her pancakes and cut them into pieces. "Get ready to rewind if I puke," she said as she brought one of the pieces to her mouth.
"Chloe don't eat that!" Max exclaimed.
Chloe's eyes widened as she set the food down. "Shit Max, I was just joking! Was it really that bad?"
Max struggled to stifle a laugh.
Chloe looked confused for a moment but then she caught on. "You little brat! You never even rewound, did you?"
"Gotcha!" Max laughed.
"Oh you must be so proud of yourself," Chloe groaned before taking a bite of her pancakes. "Oh wow!" She said through a full mouth. "It's actually really good!"
Max groaned. "Close your mouth when you chew, please."
Chloe started chewing with her mouth open to spite her.
"You're gross," Max sighed. She turned to her own food and dug in.
"Oof," Chloe grunted once she had finished her pancakes. She slid down in her seat and patted her stomach. "Those pancakes were hella filling. How was your eggs benedict?"
"It was so good I kinda want to rewind just so I can eat more," Max replied, standing up. "But I'd probably explode."
"Maaax," Chloe called, reaching out towards her with both arms in feigned helplessness. "Help me up."
Max rolled her eyes but she grabbed Chloe's hands and heaved her to her feet.
"Alright," Chloe said. "Let's get outta here and back on the road. There's still, like, 5 hours left in our trip!" She led Max towards the door. Max stopped briefly to thank the older man before following her out.
Chloe reached for her pocket as they approached her car. "Shit."
"What's wrong?"
"I locked my keys in the car." Chloe turned to Max. "Do you think you could rewind?"
"My rewind doesn't go back that far."
"What about the photo you took? You could-"
"Hell no! That power fucks with way too much shit. Chloe, I need to be extra careful how I use my powers. If I try to change too much I could cause another tornado or worse! But if I use it for too much stupid shit then I won't have it when I really need it… like with Kate."
Chloe sighed. "Alright, I guess we'll just have to pick the lock."
"You'll have to pick the lock," Max corrected.
"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you find me some paper clips or something… my lockpicks are in the glove box. I'll need at least 3 in case one breaks."
"3 paper clips, coming right up." Max began her search. Now if I were a paper clip, where would I hide? She thought. Probably somewhere stupid. Chloe was always better at hide-and-seek. She noticed a flyer pinned beneath the windshield of a nearby car. Maybe that flyer would have a paper clip? She walked over and inspected the flyer, which did indeed have a clip. Score! The clip is mine! She looked around a bit more. The signboard on the side of the diner showed some potential, as did a nearby poster-laden telephone pole. Max checked the signboard first. One of the posters was dangling from another by a paper clip. Two for two! When she searched the telephone pole however there wasn't a clip to be found. Shit! Maybe there's a paper clip lying on the ground somewhere. People are always dropping trash like that in parking lots. She scoured the parking lot for several more minutes before finally finding a third paper clip. At last! You lose, sneaky paper clip! She returned to Chloe.
"Alright," Chloe said, taking the paper clips. She crouched down and started poking two of them into the lock.
"Let's hope you have better luck with this door than with Principal Wells' office."
"That door had issues and I wanted to kick it in the balls," Chloe growled. "By the way, you never told me how you got in there."
"We made a bomb," Max admitted.
Chloe froze. "We made a WHAT?"
"We made a little pipe bomb and blew the door open."
"You're telling me we went all 'Mythbusters' on that door's ass and you rewound so I wouldn't remember?"
"It set off the alarm!" Max replied defensively. "We would have been sooo busted!"
"It's not fair," Chloe pouted. "Chloe wants big boom." She fiddled with the door for another few seconds. "Fuck me!" she suddenly hissed.
"Maybe later," Max replied with a sly smile.
Chloe snorted. "That wasn't an offer, smartass. I broke a paper clip." She took the third paper clip and started to insert it into the lock before pausing. "Although… if you ever wanted to, I'd be down for it."
Max's palm struck her forehead. "Just pick the damn lock Chloe," she moaned. She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks and her entire face felt extremely warm. Chloe returned her attention to the lock, but even though she was facing away Max could see the tips of Chloe's ears turning an impressive shade of red as well.
Moments later there was a click! "Yes!" Chloe exclaimed triumphantly. "I'm in!" She hopped into the car and grabbed her keys from the seat.
Max ran around to the other side of the truck and hopped in, scooting over to the middle seat to be closer to Chloe.
"Ready?" Chloe asked.
"Let's go."
"So," Chloe asked as they cruised along the quiet road. To their right, a mountain stretched away towards the sky, and a river ran along to their left. "What sort of friends do you have waiting for you in Seattle?"
Max thought for a moment. "Well, there's Cassie, Melissa, Chris, Sam… they're the big ones I'd say."
"Are any of them cute?" Chloe blurted out.
"You don't have any competition if that's what you're worried about," Max chuckled in response.
"What? No, I wasn't-I was just wondering, you know, like-"
"'Just' wondering? Like you were 'just' daring me to kiss you?"
"Alright smartass, maybe I wasn't as subtle as I could have been-"
"Oh please!" Max could barely contain her amusement. "You were about as subtle as a boot to the head!"
Chloe groaned in frustration as the tips of her ears reddened.
"You are so cute when you get flustered," Max teased.
"Can it."
They were interrupted by the truck hitting a particularly large pothole, which caused the glove box to drop open and dump its contents all over the floor.
"Shit!" Chloe exclaimed, glancing over. "It, uh, it does that once in a while. Stupid lock's busted. We, uh, need to get gas soon anyways, I'll just pick it up then."
"No, I got it," Max replied. She scooched over and bent down to pick up the assorted papers and trash off the floor. As she did, she noticed a photo among the debris. Curiosity got the better of her and she picked it up.
It was an old photo of her and Chloe at the beach when they were kids. It looked like it had been torn in half, with Max on one side and Chloe on the other, and then taped back together.
"What happened to this?" Max asked.
"What happened to what?" Chloe glanced over and her eyes widened. "Shit!" she hissed at herself. "I forgot that was in there." She sighed and took a moment to figure out what she was going to say. "I was hella fucking pissed at you after you left," she admitted guiltily. "I thought you had abandoned me and you weren't coming back, so I ripped the photo in half."
Max was heartbroken. Part of her wanted to lash out at Chloe and demand an apology, but part of her knew this was her fault as well. She decided she was the one who needed to apologize.
"Chloe, I'm so sorry-"
"I know Max, I know. That's why I taped it back together after you came back. Unlike you, I can't rewind if I fuck up, so I just had to make do with what I had."
"You were right to be angry at me though. I was an asshole."
"We were both assholes," Chloe replied. "But you didn't mean anything by it. Yeah, I probably deserved an apology from you when you got back, but with the way I treated you it wasn't the one I was demanding. And I should apologize too."
"You have nothing to-"
"Dude, don't even try to hit me with that 'you have nothing to apologize for' bullshit. You and I both know I have more than my fair share. Ever since you got back I've forced you to choose between me and… everyone. And you picked me way more than you should have. I'm just dead weight."
"Don't say that! You're the best friend I've ever had!"
"Look at you, Max. You know what you want to do with yourself. You have your whole life planned out. You're set! And what am I? Just a spoiled punk asshole."
"But you're my spoiled punk asshole! And I wouldn't want you any other way!"
Chloe didn't seem convinced.
"Look," Max said, putting her hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Once we get settled in Seattle, we'll start figuring out what you want to do with your life. Together."
"How?"
"Same way we always do! We'll make it up as we go along. Sound good?" Max gave Chloe what she hoped was a warm and reassuring smile.
Chloe glanced over at Max and a faint smile returned to her face as well. "Yeah, sounds good."
Eventually they pulled into a gas station. Like most structures in the middle of nowhere, it was poorly maintained and would have looked abandoned were it not for an old woman in coveralls sitting outside of the shop.
"Why don't you get out and stretch your legs, hippie?" Chloe suggested as she opened the door. "I'll give you a yell when the tank's full."
Max hopped out and sat down on the back bumper of the truck. This has all been so hard on Chloe, she thought to herself. She's lost everything except for me, and I've already left her once before. And she has to deal with all of this while on withdrawal, too! I can't blame her for being scared… I just wish there was some way I could really say I'm never leaving her. Not again…
Eventually Max stood back up and wandered around the gas station. Land's End Gas, she thought as she looked at the sign. They're not kidding. She decided to have a look inside the shop. There were cigarettes, lottery tickets, candy bars, and all sorts of other things Max didn't have the money for. Sorry Chloe, she thought as she looked at the cigarettes. She wandered around and looked at the candy bars. I'm wired enough as it is, she decided. Now that I can rewind time, I could get rich off of instant lottery tickets, she thought, but that would just be unfair.
She walked outside and talked to the old woman.
"Hey there," Max said.
"Hello," the woman replied. "What's your name? Don't get too many customers 'round here."
"Max. What's yours?"
"Margaret. Pleasure to meet you."
"So what's it like around here?"
"Quiet… there's not much to do besides wait. Used to be people'd stop by here all the time; cars didn't last very long and you always could count on someone needing something done. Now most people just… drive on by. They don't make 'em like they used to…"
"I know what you mean. I take all my pictures with an old instant camera."
"There's just something… magical about an old polaroid picture, isn't there? Almost feels like they could be portals to another time. Sometimes I want to just rewind all the way back to the good old days, you know?"
"I think I'm a little young for nostalgia."
"Sure, but even you must have snapshots you want to go back to from time to time."
"I guess so, yeah." Max thought for a moment. "You must learn a lot, living such a long time."
"Oh I suspect both of us have lived a bit longer than the world might think," the old woman replied with a smile. "Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Max. Not many people do."
"It was my pleasure."
Chloe was waving her over. "Max! The tank's full!"
Max made her way back to the car. There was something weird and… powerful about that old woman, she thought to herself. Could she have known about my powers somehow?
"Ready to go?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah."
"Hey Chloe?" Max asked once they were on their way again.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think there might be other people out there with powers like mine?"
"I wouldn't be surprised," Chloe replied. "You're special in a lot of ways, SpiderMax, but it's hard to think that out of 7 billion people you'd be the only one with powers." She thought a moment, then added, "Why do you ask?"
"There was something off about that woman at the gas station," Max answered. "She felt… powerful in a way that I couldn't put my finger on, and the way she talked made it seem like she knew about my powers… and maybe even had some of her own."
"She seemed perfectly normal to me," Chloe responded, "but then again I can't rewind time so what would I know?"
"Maybe people like me get some sort of 'sixth sense' for each other," Max suggested.
"You'd know better than I would."
They approached a small lake and Chloe pulled the truck over. "Why look," she said, "a watering hole." She looked over at Max with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Splish splash?"
"You want to splish splash now?" Max asked, though she had to admit she wasn't entirely against the idea.
"Hell yes I want to splish splash!" Chloe exclaimed. "That's exactly what we need to unwind after this week! Come on, hippie, get your shirt off!" She gave Max's shirt a playful tug.
"Aren't you gonna at least take me to dinner first?" Max teased.
"We can do that later if you want," Chloe replied as she hopped out of the truck. She ran over to the side of the road and stripped to her underwear and bra. Max stepped out as well and joined her.
They were standing at the top of an incline leading down from the side of the road to the lake.
"Race ya to the bottom!" Chloe exclaimed, giving Max a light slap on the rear before leaping bodily off the incline and landing awkwardly at the bottom with a crack! "FUCK!"
"Chloe!" Max slid down the incline as quickly as she could and rushed to Chloe's side. "Chloe are you okay?"
"I BROKE MY FUCKING ANKLE OH GOD!"
"God dammit Chloe," Max groaned, reaching out with her hand. She felt time and space start to warp around her and in a moment Chloe was back up on top of the incline.
"Oh no fair!" Chloe whined. "Using your rewind is cheating, asshole!"
"I used my rewind because you jumped like a dumbass and almost killed yourself," Max snapped back.
The playful smile dropped off of Chloe's face. "Shit, Max, I… I'm sorry…" She slid down to Max and put her hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," Max replied. As much as she loved Chloe, the older girl's shenanigans could be exhausting sometimes.
"Well… you said I almost killed myself, so… that's still progress, right?" Chloe's attempt at humor was weak but it was clear she felt bad about upsetting Max.
"Yeah, I guess so." Max gave Chloe a small smile to let her know it was appreciated.
"Come here." Chloe wrapped her arms around Max and pulled her in. "I'm sorry I keep putting you through this sort of shit," she said softly. "I… I'm just trying to make you laugh and have fun. I guess I kind of suck at that sometimes."
"No! You just… don't think things through sometimes. I know you're trying." They sat in silence for a moment before Max decided to shift gears. "Come on. We came here to splish-splash, so let's hella splish-splash!" She pulled Chloe to her feet and started to wade into the lake. "Wowser, it's cold!"
"Good thing we have our hot bods to warm it up!"
Max groaned.
"So after we're done crashing in Seattle, then what?" Chloe asked. "I figure you're not planning on living with your parents the rest of your life."
"I was planning on crossing that bridge when we got to it."
"I've always wanted to go to Boston. There's so much awesome history there! And I bet you could get some great shots of all the old buildings, and the harbor-the 'Hahbah' as they call it…"
"I'd love to go sailing out to the islands."
"That would be badass. And who knows? Maybe someday once you're a world-famous photographer you can buy us a yacht!"
"I wish I had the skills to be a world-famous photographer…"
"Max, you have hella skills. You just don't see it in yourself yet. No great artist ever does at first."
"I guess…" Max wasn't convinced.
"Dude, you have to start believing in yourself! Otherwise I'll have to dare you to kiss me again."
"Oh the horror," Max replied sarcastically.
"But that's beside the point. You're amazing at what you do. And a lot of other things as well. And I don't need magical time-travelling superpowers to know that someday you're going to be a big name. I mean, I don't usually make bets with time-travellers, but I'd legit bet you a million bucks that someday you'll be shooting for National Geographic or something."
Max chuckled. "You are so not on."
"Because you know I'm right. Like I always am."
"Now that's an alternate reality I'd like to see."
They floated quietly for a few moments before Chloe changed the subject. "So, your friends in Seattle-what were their names again? Cassie, Sam, Chris, and…?"
"Melissa."
"Right. Do you think they'll like me?"
"Definitely. They actually already know about you. I… kinda talked about you a lot."
Chloe looked like she wanted to say something in response, but wasn't sure if she should.
"What is it?" Max asked.
"You… you never actually told me why you never talked to me. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound bitchy, but… you know?"
Max sighed and leaned over to float on her back. "Honestly? I did try. But I was the one stopping me. I was scared you'd be angry at me for leaving, and I didn't know what I would say if I did call. 'Hey Chloe, I'm sorry your dad died, what's up?' After that… I was scared you'd be angry at me for not calling. And the longer I waited, the more scared I was."
"I guess you were right to be scared," Chloe replied quietly. "The whole time I was laying into you for not calling, I was only proving your point… I'm sorry."
"It's ok. That's all in the past now, right?"
"Maybe for me," Chloe gave a small chuckle. "I don't know about you, Timelord."
Max's face suddenly brightened. "Beaver!"
"That was… random."
"No, really! Look!" Max pointed at a beaver that was swimming across the lake a little ways away.
"So it is," Chloe replied. "There's probably a dam somewhere nearby. Let's go check it out!"
"I don't know… they might be territorial. Besides, I'm starting to get a little cold. I think my 'bod' might not be hot enough."
"Hot enough for me. But you're right. We should be hitting the road anyways."
They swam to shore, dried off, and got dressed.
"Man, I am still so fucking cold," Max moaned.
"Me too," Chloe replied. "I'll put the heat on when we get in the car-LOOK OUT!" Chloe grabbed Max and yanked her aside as a tree landed right where she had been standing. "Holy fuck! Are you ok, Max?"
"I… I think so… Wowser Chloe, you just saved my life!"
"I did, didn't I!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly. "I guess that makes us even, huh?"
"Not even close," Max replied, half-jokingly. "But it's a start."
"Well we better get going. It's still a ways to go before Seattle, and besides, it looks like the beavers are out for blood."
They hopped back in the truck and were on their way once more.