Chloe looked down at the time on her computer screen and sighed. 2:45pm; still an hour and a quarter until Max would be finished at Blackhell. That meant there was just over an hour left to kill before she could go to pick her up. Switching off the monitor, she swivelled round in her chair, turning to face the room; deciding that there wasn't any time to start anything important, she raised herself from the chair, stretching, and made her way across to the hi-fi. She sifted through the CDs that lay strewn atop it, eventually deciding on the new punk-rock album she had bought that week; once she had slipped the CD in and pressed play, guitar riffs building up to fill the room, she walked back across the room and flopped backwards onto her bed, pushing back into the pillows against the headboard. Absent-mindedly she reached into her pocket and retrieved a cigarette from the pack that rested there; she gently nestled it between her lips and lit it, bringing her free hand back to rest upon her stomach as she lay facing the ceiling.
She began to think about Max.
This was not a rare occurrence, nor had it been ever since the younger girl had been thrown back into her life barely a month ago. This much was true; Max Caulfield invaded every single thought that strayed her mind, every single day.
Max hadn't been doing too well recently.
Understandable, considering the ordeal that she had been through. Chloe could only imagine what a strain it would be to have that kind of power, the ability to travel back through time, thrust upon you; what pressure would mount when it was only you standing in between your closest friends and death, when you had to risk life and limb going back to make the right choice, knowing full well that if you got it wrong, you may not have that chance again.
It was nothing short of a miracle that Max had retained the powers after she had taken the bullet for Chloe, else she may never have believed her. It was only when, sat beside her in the hospital, Max had told her exactly what was going to happen next, did she begin to believe what she was being told; after Max's prediction that the doctor outside would trip and spill his coffee over Joyce as she walked into the room came true, she believed her entirely.
Why would Max lie?
A routine started to set in those two weeks Max spent in the hospital; Chloe would come every morning and every evening during visiting hours, sometimes with Joyce, sometimes alone. After a week or so, when she could sit up and had begun to feel a bit better, David had brought her some school books from Blackwell that she could read at her leisure, lessening the likelihood of her falling behind. Vanessa and Ryan, Max's parents, were always there of course; rarely did Chloe get any time to spend with her friend alone, unless Max had specifically requested it.
These moments she would treasure forever.
Max had told her everything. All the times she had saved her. The time she saved Kate. The times she fainted and had nosebleeds from pushing her powers too far. She told her all about Rachel and Nathan and Jefferson. The latter two had been arrested almost simultaneously after the shooting; Nathan after pulling the trigger, and Jefferson after Max had struggled to get out the whereabouts of Rachel's body and the barn containing the evidence. In that one sense, the nightmare was over.
They sat together in the hospital, fingers intertwined, chatting away the hours. Max was haunted when she was sober, and completely adorable, in Chloe's opinion, when she was dosed up on pain meds. Never again could she seem to shake that goofball smile and those sparkly eyes from her mind.
"What would I ever do without you, Super-Max?" she had whispered.
Max was already asleep.
Chloe stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray next to her as the hi-fi dimmed into the next song. Her mind was an absolute mess. Recently things had changed. Every time she stood next to Max she could feel electricity between them; every time, she resisted the urge to turn towards her and close that gap, to lift her chin, to bring those soft, rosy lips up towards her own…
Stop it, Chloe, she scolded herself. Don't be ridiculous. She has enough on her plate, what with saving your dumb ass all those times.
She sighed again and tried to push Max from her mind. Settling back down against her pillow, she began to shut her eyes, when her phone rudely decided to interrupt her from her rest.
BZZT! BZZT!
Groaning, Chloe shifted herself from the comfortable position she had just rested herself in, turning herself onto her stomach and reaching over to retrieve her phone from beside the ashtray. Skimming through the messages, she jumped out of bed and threw on her jeans as she frantically typed a response.
MAX C: Chloe you there?
MAX C: Chloooo?
MAX C: Come get me plz
MAX C: I'm done here I need u
MAX C: Waiting in parking lot!
CHLOE P: On way be there in 5
Jeans on, Chloe hastily slipped on and zipped her boots up over the top, before grabbing her keys and hastily rushing out to her truck. She jumped into the seat and slammed the door behind her before backing out and rushing off at well over the speed limit.
If she's hurt, somebody's getting their ass kicked…
Chloe pulled up into the parking lot, skimming her eyes across the grounds for any sign of Max; she cursed as she realised it was match day for the football team, explaining why the grounds were hustling and bustling, busy with people. Eventually she spotted Max sitting on a bench across the other side of Blackwell's entrance, head down, sifting through some photos.
"HEY MAXARONI!"
Max didn't seem to hear, so she slammed the truck door behind her and began to jog across the path towards her, calling out more fervently as she drew nearer.
"OI! BAT-MAX!"
This time Max heard her, and lifted her head to face in Chloe's direction; Chloe's heart sank as she saw the tears that streaked her cheeks, and she hurried her pace.
Max stood as Chloe came closer, walking forward slightly to meet her; Chloe's arm instinctively reached out and wrapped round her shoulders, drawing the smaller girl into her frame. She left one hand around Max's shoulder, drawing comforting circles with her thumb where it rested; the other found its way to her head, stroking her hair down in a soothing manner. Max wrapped both her arms around Chloe's skinny waist in response, and laid her head sideways into her chest, letting the sobs that she had contained for so long escape.
"Hey, hey," Chloe soothed. "What's wrong? Did someone say something…?" her eyes drew themselves to the bench, and the stack of photos Max had been looking at when she had arrived; the one that rested on top of the stack was the one of her and Max, together when they were younger. Poking out from underneath was one that Max had taken of her dancing on her bed a few weeks back, a picture she could not remember, but had admired nonetheless.
"N-no, it's not that…" Max mumbled from where she rested, buried in Chloe's vest. "They've all been… so nice…"
"What's wrong then, you silly sausage? You can tell me anything, you know that…" Chloe began rocking her gently, ignoring the strange looks she knew they were receiving from various passers-by.
"I – I know," Max cried, although the rocking seemed to be working; the sobs were beginning to subside and her breathing was returning to normal. "I just… I got scared you were gone again. I don't know why… I was just aware… aware that you weren't there with me. And I panicked… and I ran…"
Chloe's heart swelled as she took this in; she looked down at the poor, fragile young doe in front of her and resolved never to let her suffer this way again. "Hey, shh, it's okay. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You can call on me any time, you know that?"
Max nodded and withdrew her head from Chloe's chest, looking upwards to face her. "I know. I swear I do. I just… sometimes it's a bit much, you know?"
Chloe nodded, with strong affirmation. "I know. But it's different now. Things are different, and I'm never leaving you."
"And I'm never leaving you either, Chloe Price. I promise. I love you far too much." Max looked away in a mixture of surprise, shock and embarrassment at the suddenness of the statement that had spilled from her mouth.
Chloe's heart leapt.
Did I really just hear that…?
Deciding to leave the repercussions of what she was about to do for later, Chloe reached forward and cupped her hand gently round Max's chin, bringing it forward to face her. Bright blue eyes stared down into puffy blue ones that widened in surprise as Chloe lifted Max's chin towards her; gently, Chloe brushed her lips against the smaller girl's, lingering ever so slightly before pulling back and appraising the flushed face that glowed back at her.
"I love you too."