"And Max... don't you forget about me. I'll always love you. Get out before I freak."
Max was back in the moment where everything changed this Monday. She was about to sacrifice her best friend to save the town from the storm. She heard it all again, ready to hear and watch how Chloe... her Chloe dies, bleeding out on the cold floor by the hands of the manipulated poor unstable boy.
Her eyes were filling with tears as she sat down, leaning to the stall, ready to accept that she will never see Chloe smile again, her heart filling with sadness.
"Let's talk bidness." Chloe was talking in her usual rebellious tone.
"I got nothing for you." Nathan said venomously.
"Wrong. You got hella cash." Chloe retorted. Oh, Chloe. You have no idea how much will I miss how daring you were.
She continued hearing that awful conversation until that critical moment was about to happen - Nathan outraged and Chloe terrified.
"You don't know who the fuck I am or who are you messing around with!"
This is it. I'll always love you Chloe but this is goodbye. I'm so sorry.
But something suddenly snapped in Max, refusing to accept that this is how the Fate wants it, that her best friend's life was the cost of saving Arcadia Bay, when she started to breathe angrily and stood up. Max looked at the cleaning cart and grabbed the broom, refusing to let Chloe die for the last time, once and for all.
No. Not like this. I am not going to watch her die again, no matter what. Not this time. Not ever again! The universe can go fuck itself, I'm not going to let this happen, I'm not going to trade HER life for it! Not after all that hell I had to go through!
She was now angry how the universe wanted her to make such a cruel and impossible choice and intended to save BOTH Chloe and Arcadia Bay, on her own terms. The courage she had to gather during the last dreadful week helped her find the strength to do something the shy little girl hiding to do something she never thought she would have four days ago. She ran out from the stalls yelling, ready to swing the broom, full of rage as Nathan was about to shoot Chloe.
"I'm so sick of people trying to control me!"
"Graaaaah!"
Nathan turned around in surprise, easing up on the hand in which he had the gun. "What the f-"
Max swung the broom and knocked Nathan in the hip. Nathan grunted, his twitchy finger pulling the trigger but missing Chloe by an inch, instead making a hole in her jacket and the wall as Chloe screamed.
Nathan recovered quickly. "You little b-"
Max swished the broom again, aiming on Nathan's hand. Nathan dropped the gun and Max was ready to stop this madness once and for all with one last swing, she put all strength the anger gave her into this, bashing Nathan in the head and knocking him out and she exhaled heavily, letting out the remaining rage inside her.
Now Max watched for a few moments at subdued Nathan, grateful that she stopped that bastard from killing her friend until she heard Chloe's shocked voice, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Holy shit... M-M-Max? Is... is that you?" Chloe uttered.
When Max had finally realized that Chloe was standing next to her, alive, she dropped the broom, her eyes again filling with tears as she turned to her best friend, the one she was about to let die but eventually she changed her mind in the last possible minute, wrapping her arms around Chloe's neck, refusing to let her go, like if this was the last time she might have a chance to hug her. "Chloe. Oh my God. I can't believe I did it. You're here. You're alive." Max cried out. "God, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for everything..."
"It's alright, Maxie, it's all in the past now." Chloe was also starting to cry. "Don't worry about it, it doesn't matter anymore, you just made up for it." Chloe wiped the tears from her face and laughed. "Shit, this is so hella unbelievable... you showed up out of the blue like some fucking superhero and you hella saved my life, Super Max... "
"I can't believe I was gonna watch you die... but I couldn't... I couldn't accept that... after everything we've been through together..." Max sobbed and broke down.
"It's OK, Max. I know you're sorry and I forgive you. I wouldn't blame you if you couldn't force yourself to show up and save me..."
The security guard David Madsen ran into the bathroom. "What is going on in... Chloe? Max?" David widened his eyes as he saw his stepdaughter hugging one of the students at Blackwell while crying.
Max finally let Chloe go and she realized she needed to explain the situation. Max got a hold of herself quickly and turned to Nathan and the pistol, pointing at them. "He... he was gonna kill Chloe!" Max exclaimed in between sobbing.
David looked at Nathan lying on the ground, grunting as he was coming to and getting up and when the security guard saw the gun and realized it was Nathan Prescott who was about to kill his stepdaughter, David's face turned red with pure rage as he grabbed Nathan by the arm and took the gun.
"You tried to kill my stepdaughter, you sick fucker? You just made a HUGE MISTAKE, just you wait, you're done now! You're not buying your way out of this one, punk and when I'm done with you, you little shit-ass, your father's gonna..." David yelled out as he was dragging Nathan out of the bathroom. The students were gathering at the corridor, probably hearing the gunshot and were shocked to see the security chief dragging the boy from one of the most prestige and richest families in Arcadia Bay and in his other hand holding a gun.
Max walked out of the bathroom with Chloe a few moments later as Principal Wells approached them both, not sure if he was more surprised to see Chloe in Blackwell since she was expelled or seeing both Max and Chloe walking out of the girl's bathroom a few moments after a gunshot went out and the security chief apprehending the son of the richest family in Arcadia Bay which funded the Academy. "Ms. Caulfield? Ms. Price? What happened?"
Max wiped the tears from her cheek and looked at Chloe who looked back at her, then they both turned their attention to the Principal. "You are not going to believe this, sir."
Later the police arrested Nathan for an attempt at murder.
Max and Chloe were with David, the police and Principal Wells in his office, telling them how Nathan had drugged Chloe and tried to take some photos of her and Chloe tried to extort him. David was maddened that Chloe had tried to extort Nathan, instead of telling the police but when he realized that Sean Prescott would bribe them off, David calmed down.
Nathan confessed to everything at the police station. Mark Jefferson being a psychopath and manipulating Nathan into drugging and abducting Blackwell's girl students, so that Jefferson could photograph them, the Dark Room Jefferson had built using Prescott's fortune, drugging Kate and accidentally overdosing Rachel Amber and Jefferson was later arrested too when he was caught at the city limits trying to leave Arcadia Bay. Sean Prescott was put under investigation for neglecting his son, involvement in Jefferson's activities and years of corruption along with everyone under his pocket.
Victoria could not believe that her idol was secretly so sick and sadistic, and that he was photographing the poor drugged Kate Marsh whom Victoria bullied. Filled with such guilt she took down the viral video of Kate at the Vortex Club party and apologized to her. She had reconsidered her attitude and shed her bitchy shell, instead being more friendly and nicer, which surprised every single student at Blackwell except Max.
When Chloe learned about the death of Rachel, her Rachel, the girl she had considered her angel and her love, it broke her but luckily Max, Joyce and even David were there for her to comfort her and David reconciled with his stepdaughter, loosening up his harsh attitude, being grateful at Max for saving his stepdaughter.
When Frank found out that he was indirectly responsible for the death of his lioness, he turned his back on drug dealing and instead started to run business by building a dog shelter. Chloe reconciled with him and he employed her so she could work off her debt to him.
And Max... Max was happy that she saved her best friend and she had no more visions or nightmares and there was no tornado on the way to destroy Arcadia Bay.
Maybe... just maybe... this is how the universe wanted it. Maybe in the end it wasn't about choosing between Chloe and Arcadia Bay. Maybe it was all about finding the courage to stand up. Maybe that's how it was supposed to be.