Max always dreams in pure technicolor; colors so vivid they could only exist in the realm of her mind. She doesn't dream of anything spectacular tonight, but rather, in screenshots, ones of trees and grass, others filled with images of Arcadia Bay—a one much more humble than the one she exists in.
Her eyes open abruptly to the sound of the night, already feeling ripped away from the world she left behind. It's dark, she notices before shuffling groggily on her dorm bed. She doesn't want to get up, but a buzzing phone on her desk beckons her to move.
She groans, and quickly sweeps her feet onto the carpet, knocking over physics books in the process, studying her power is all she can find the time for, nowadays. "Shit" she says, her voice bouncing off the walls a little too loudly. She doesn't know what time it is, but the dorm feels a little too quiet for it to be early. Blackwell never sleeps.
Max takes extra precaution to be quieter and lifts up the three textbooks off the floor and walks swiftly to her desk, letting the hardcover of the books thump slightly against the wood. She sighs into the air, rolling her shoulders that are now free of the weight and already feeling more awake. Her phone isn't buzzing anymore, but she grabs it anyway, checking the time before walking back to her bed—12:32am, 3 new messages.
Curious, she thumbs in her passcode and opens the texting app. 3 from Chloe, she smiles in the dark, glad that nobody can see her, of course it's her.
Max and Cheese, the first one reads -15 minutes ago
Maxaroni, can a homie sleep over urgent -11 minutes ago
run out of max jokes rn im already coming over u can hate me later -3 mins ago
Looking up from her phone and rubbing her eyes, Max feels fear well up in her throat. The last time she got an "urgent" text from Chloe was when they were 12, from an emergency room in Newport. Chloe had broken her elbow trying to ollie a staircase, and Max had cried for hours before her parents finally agreed to take her to the ER. Seeing the text makes her feel young again.
She feels nostalgia nearly wash over her, but pushes away the feeling and quickly dials in Chloe's number, her shaky hand bringing the phone up to her ear. Her heart is pounding hard, and she can't hear the ringing on the other end.
A sudden "hey" from Chloe brings her back to reality.
She doesn't really know what to say for a moment, so she brings a hand to her chest, allowing herself to breathe. "Chloe?" she breathes out "Are you okay?" Max realizes how nervous she sounds as her voice reverberates through the phone.
Max hears Chloe sigh on the other end, she must be smoking, before she says, "Yeah" the long pause after causes Max to sigh a bit, "Uh, yeah I'm okay. Thanks for letting me stay over, even though I didn't really give you a choice." Chloe laughs a bit, easing some of the tension trapped within Max.
She lets her hand drop, and grips the comforter below, "You know you can always come over. Whenever." She wonders what she sounds like on the other end—what Chloe must be thinking. She can't help but hold the phone tighter.
What sounds like Chloe's car engine shutting off interrupts Max's thoughts, "Ah, good to know, Maximus." The car door slams, "I hope you're decent, 'cause I'll be there in five. Gotta sneak past Shitwell security, see you soon."
Max hears the phone cut off before she has a chance to think of what to say, pink already staining her cheeks. She huffs out the air still caught in her throat and makes her way to the glass of water on her desk. Even the cool drink can't shake her nervousness.
Just as she's about to take another sip, a rhythmic knock breaks the silence of the night. Max puts the water down and immediately makes her way to the door, pausing for a moment before pushing the knob down.
When she sees Chloe, the nervousness that had once filled her body transforms into sheer terror as she gets a chance to look at her properly. Chloe is sporting a slight bruise around her lower chin, and a large welt near her left eye. She looks everywhere but at Max and shifts uncomfortably at the silence. "So. um, can I come in?" Chloe says quietly.
Max feels her heart push against her rib cage and she takes a step forward, moving her hand to feel the marks adorning Chloe's face. "What Happened? Chloe?" She says urgently as she runs a thumb gently over the welt, wishing she could make it disappear.
Chloe flinches a bit at Max's touch but doesn't move away, "I just don't want to be home, ya know?" Chloe is unusually indirect, Max notices, but she still understands what she's trying to say. David must be home, he must be in a bad mood, and he must have taken it out on Chloe. He hurt her.
She feels her fear dissipate into something that feels more like anger and disgust.
"Here, please, come in" Max says gently, ushering her in. Its then that Max notices that Chloe brought her own a blanket, and pillow. Is she trying to sleep on the floor?
Chloe scoffs, dropping her items onto the floor, "So this is what "la casa de Max" looks like. Dope." Max closes and locks the door, looking back at Chloe who's standing in the middle of her room looking around slightly at the decorations, despite the lack of light. Max furrows her brow and moves to where Chloe is standing, wrapping her arms around Chloe's stomach, and squeezing tightly. She sighs into Chloe's back, feeling her lean into Max's touch. "thanks." is uttered in the darkness.
Max lets go after a few moments, feeling the warmth of Chloe replaced by the frigid air of the room. Max sits down on her bed and leans against the wall, being mindful of the Polaroids against her back and gestures for Chloe to do the same. Her eyes watch Chloe with apt precision, like a photographer shooting animals in the wild. This isn't much different; she hates the thought.
Chloe sheds off her shoes and her jacket, setting the garments aside silently. She's wearing a black short-sleeve shirt with her sleeves rolled up. Her arms have a couple of bruises too, Max realizes, and she inhales sharply, trying to calm herself down. She can't even imagine what Chloe must be feeling right now.
Chloe sits down next to Max, leaning into her side. "Do..Do you want to talk about it?" Max says, concerned, reaching her hand to rub few purplish blemishes riddled on Chloe's arm. She knows Chloe has a high pain tolerance, so these bruises must not have come easily. Feeling helpless, she continues to rub Chloe's arm wanting nothing more than for her to be okay, hoping to communicate that through touch. Even her rewind power couldn't have prevented this from happening.
Chloe doesn't respond immediately, and Max thinks she's looking for the words, like they're escaping her every time Max's hand reaches her shoulder, and back down to her wrist. Instead, Chloe looks at her, smiling slightly, "Do you, uh, still have your DS?"
Max stops moving her hand and blinks, not entirely registering Chloe's question. She must not want to talk right now,she thinks, and pushing her to talk is the last thing Max wants to do. "I uh..." she pauses, "I think so? Lemme find it, I don't know if I have any games though, so we might be out of luck." Max furrows her brows and thinks for a moment.
"No worries about the game, hombre," Chloe shifts a bit on the bed, digging into the pocket of her harem pants, "Check this shit out" she says, holding "Animal Crossing" between her fingers, her face glowing, even in the dark.
And Max's face lights up too, considering she hasn't played Animal Crossing in years. She remembers all the hours she spent building the town and all the relationships with the residents, only to be forgotten in Seattle. She wonders how everyone's doing, and if they'll even recognize her anymore. If they did, would they still like her? "wowser," she lets out "well now I have to find it." Max gets up from the bed and shuffles around her desk, scouring through every drawer to find the missing piece to their town's puzzle.
Max can feel Chloe's eyes on her as she rummages through the last shelf on her bookcase. It's different, she thinks, feeling like the sun Chloe is revolving around. The DS interrupts her thoughts and the oncoming blush and she sighs before making her way back onto the bed. "Oh hell yeah motherfucker, let's tear this shit up" Chloe says, reaching forward and grabbing the DS from Max's hands, their fingers lingering a bit before Chloe takes ownership. Max shifts back into the bed, just as the chime of the gaming system rings, signifying that it still works even after all of these years.
Max realizes she's forgotten so much about this game the time she's been in Seattle. She forgot that the name of the town is "chlax", easily named after Chloe and Max, but also because Chloe had adopted the phrase "chillax" after a night watching too much 90s TV. She swears she can hear Chloe saying fuck yeah, double entendre.
She remembers the day Chloe got Animal Crossing from Joyce, the blonde-haired teen calling Max immediately after, we have to play! She snorts at the memory of younger Chloe, eagerly impressionable, while the one she knows now is so...not. Max bumps herself gently into Chloe's side.
"Yikes, look at that bedhead" Chloe says, gesturing to Max while clicking on her character.
Max laughs for what feels like the first time that night, "It's not much different from your hair now" she responds, smile beaming at Chloe, who, in return leans in close, her breath hitting Max's senses immediately. Spearmint and cigarettes.
"Ya know, Caulfield, I'd probably be pissed at that comment if you weren't right." Chloe responds, her voice just above a whisper, with a shit eating grin that makes Max's cheeks flush red. Max wonders if the sun ever feels thiskind of attention.
Pulling herself out of the trance, Chloe brings her attention back to the game by unceremoniously walking around the town. Max thinks about how the world they've crafted in the game still feels like home. She wants to be able to say the same about Arcadia Bay.
Her eyes watch Chloe's character bounce through the town and talk to whoever the late night owls are (making a mental note that it is, in fact, only Stitches, Biskit, and Lobo who are still awake). Chloe must remember that there's nothing to do at 1am in Animal Crossing, but she needs this right now. Still, Max reaches over and grasps Chloe's arm, squeezing it slightly, letting her know she's still there.
Chloe drops the DS into her lap, letting the gentle music play through the silent room, it's low, simple notes paralleling the way Max feels inside; oddly bubbly. Chloe says nothing as she grabs Max's hand, intertwining their fingers with what seems like perfect precision. Surprised by the sudden touch, Max let's out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Ch-Chloe?" She says, voice echoing into the room.
Chloe smiles a bit, looking away from Max, "This isn't the first time I've wanted to run away for a bit." She coughs before continuing, "Before... Before I had Rachel to talk me out of some dark places, but I uh—I always had to stay home. I had to listen to the bullshit fights my mom and stepshit have." Max feels Chloe's hand flinch, "About me."
Max squeezes Chloe's hand hard, keeping it steady within her own, "I'm so sorry. You-You don't deserve this." Max says, wondering how many nights Chloe has had to endure this kind of pain. Her head begins pounding when she notices that Chloe's looking at her now, breathing hard, and trying to control the tears that have welled up in her eyes.
"I just-I couldn't stay quiet anymore, ya know?" Chloe's voice cracks, "but the asshole just slaps me before gripping my face and throwing me to the fucking ground. He just…he didn't care."
"You didn't go to the police?" Max immediately questions. "Because this is really fucked up, Chloe."
"In Arcadia Bay? You should know that these pigs don't give a shit about trash like me." Chloe says, bitter anger evident within her tone. "I'm trouble."
Max considers rewinding, considers going back and just letting Chloe cry it out. But she doesn't think that it's fair, that Chloe is here, being so completely raw, and that she's even considering rewinding this moment, when Chloe doesn't even have the choice to. She feels selfish.
"Chloe, you're here now, and... and you're so strong and you've had to be so strong for so long." Max looks at Chloe, feeling brave, "I'm just glad you're here because now we can do something about this." she says, reaching for Chloe's face, "We're going to your mom first thing tomorrow, okay?"
Chloe hesitates before nodding, leaning into the touch while closing her eyes. Max thinks Chloe looks hopeful when she says "god, when did we getsofucking mushy?"
"We've always been mushy." Max laughs softly, "Seriously though, we are going tomorrow and showing your mom how serious this is." She rubs her thumbs over Chloe's knuckles, trying to emphasize the point. "I don't want you to be forced to come here, unless you want to."
Max doesn't realize the implication of her comment until Chloe looks away, her face looking pink, even in the dark. "Y-yeah." Chloe eventually mutters out, grabbing the DS out of her lap with her free hand and closing it, shutting off the lingering music.
This is the most vulnerable Max has ever seen Chloe since her return. Max frowns,whatever this is, whatever I'm feeling—can wait.
"Here, you deserve some rest Chlo, you've had a hard day," Max says, letting go of Chloe's hand, and shifting her body a bit, "come here?"
"Uh, it's okay dude I brought my own shit, you don't have to sacrifice your sleep for me" She was trying to sleep on the floor.
Max sees Chloe begin to lift herself off the bed, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stops her from moving further, "Chloe, you'd know if it was a problem. You're never a nuisance to me." Max says, adjusting herself on the bed with her back against the wall, arms reaching out.
It takes a few moments of what looks like Chloe thinking for her to move and back herself up into her embrace, allowing Max's arms to engulf and drape across her. "Now that wasn't that hard, was it?" Max teases.
She feels Chloe's whole being frown at the comment, "You do realize I am the only thing keeping you from being crushed against the wall right now, right?" Chloe says, pushing her body against Max, who, in turn feels pressure on both sides of her body.
As quickly as Chloe pushes, she relents, settling gently against Max again. "P-point taken" Max responds, squeezing Chloe's torso.
A comfortable silence hangs through the air, and although Max isn't tired, she feels much relief when Chloe's breathing slows down.
Would Joyce listen to their cry for help? Would Chloe have to go through this again? Countless questions begin running though her head and Max feels her body tense up.
Chloe must feel the shift in Max's behavior, because she slips her fingers into the ones draped across her stomach, "It'll be okay, Max. You're on my side." she mumbles sleepily. "thank you."
Max squeezes the hand in her own with as much love and devotion as she can muster, and thinks about how easy it is to talk when you don't actually say anything.