A/N I'm totally going full throttle on Pricefield trash, and I loved this idea when I saw it. So, here's my first LIS fic, not so much story... and more fluff.
I'm made this take place in the summer that follows the actual timeline, because y'know. Anyways, I hope it's good, and that y'all enjoy it. :)
If there was one word Max could've used to describe the harshness of the previous winter, it would be, survival.
If she were to look at it in a 'normal' perspective.
For the photographer, winter had been 'hella rad' as Chloe would say. In fact, it was her old best friend that actually made winter amazing.
If you transcribed, 'Oh my lord, I'm dating my best friend' into amazing.
Somewhere along the lines, their relationship kicked up a notch. The giddy feeling Max had around Chloe grew into something more. As for Chloe, the act of 'Bruh, I'm a punk badass' towards Max was her way of saying 'Wanna go out?'
Chloe wanted to live out her promise of being around forever, and Max reciprocated -powers or no.
Gone were the cold lonely days Max went through during her time in Seattle, the previous cocoon of her dark bedroom and Final Fantasy movies, replaced with the presence of another person. Long silent nights in Chloe's room. Meals at 'Two-Whales', and of course, the odd photos here and there.
Chloe as her girlfriend was an outcome of time that wasn't something she could control, not that she wanted to.
Her aqua-haired friend had whined all spring about doing 'Max things' and that it was high time she chose what they did. So now, with a hot June day surrounding them, Chloe formed a plan, or rather, a revitalization of an old childhood pastime. She had been cryptic about it to say the least, all but sending a text that morning saying, 'bathing suits, six pm, NO EMOJI'
Max shot an emoji back -just for spite of course, and packed her laptop bag with what Chloe requested. At this point in their relationship, the photographer chose the 'look first -ask questions later' approach to things. Nine times out of ten it was something dangerous, but the faith was still there.
Moments after meeting up, late evening set in when both Max and Chloe walked hand-in-hand down a familiar street a block or so from the steampunk's house. Said street ran east, giving them a picturesque scene of the sun resting what looked like mere feet above the Arcadia Bay outwash.
Max suddenly looked to Chloe as she felt their hands separate. The nineteen-year-old ceased her pace to a crawl and began cavorting behind Max, one hand drumming on her thigh, and the other raised like she was talking into a mic.
"Take me down, to Arcadia Bay where the grass is green and the- agh dammit, I lost it." She cursed with a kick.
Max covered her mouth from laughing, "You okay?"
"What? I'm making up songs." Chloe defended herself.
Max stopped, "Why?" She asked innocently.
"Eh, figured we could make bank off of my singing while you shred on the guitar, y'know, in case all else fails."
"Sing? I'd like to see that."
Chloe chose not to respond, but instead flipped Max the bird. To one-up her girlfriend, Max promptly dug her camera from her bag and took a quick photo.
Chloe gave auburn-haired dork a thumbs down, "Boo, you're no fun, Max. Seattle must've been boring as fuck without me."
"It... kinda was actually." Max didn't want to lie. Sure, she made a handful of friends there, but none of them could even take a step to Chloe.
"Bet it entailed a lot of lonely nights, am I right?" The girl dragged out the word lonely.
"Hey, I could say the same thing about you."
"Oh, Max is gettin' good." Chloe teased.
Max rolled her eyes and resumed her pace ahead of Chloe. The latter quickly caught up to the former, and Max shifted hazel eyes to Chloe as their hands intertwined again, "Where are going to?"
"Heh, I'll give ya' a hint; childhood pastime."
Max brushed some of her stray bangs away before going off in thought. 'Childhood pastime? Think Max...'
"And no time travel if you screw up."
"Uhh..."
Chloe made an exasperated gesture, "C'mon, you're shitting me if you forgot."
'Bathing suits, uhh, summer, Chloe being cryptic...'
Sudden remembrance dawned on Max. "The public pool?"
"Hella yes!" Chloe grabbed Max by the wrist and pulled her into a quick kiss, "Total brownie points for remembering."
Max's heart fluttered at the sudden -totally welcomed- embrace. She did remember, although that said memories weren't the fondest. The local pool had been their number three hangout spot during the summer months, but Max herself wasn't the biggest fan girl of water. Almost always sitting in the shady sidelines, dangling her feet in the water. Plus, Chloe had always been taller than her, which gave her an advantage when it came to the deep end. But that didn't bother her so much, on the contrary it was super cute of Chloe to plan something like this. It was like nostalgia and charm bundled in one awesome package.
The duo passed the last four-way stop, and came upon the memorable park that contained their destination. On the far side of the park were two soccer fields, the middle housed a myriad of trees and beyond that was 2 obnoxiously large pools with small change rooms flanking them.
A smile tugged at Max's lips, "It's just like I remembered..." She hadn't been able to come here since her return to Arcadia Bay due to the lateness of the season.
"It's Arcadia Bay, only thing that changes around here is the smell," She paused with a snort, "The most ubercool part is that no one's here at this time." Chloe raised her arm, pointing to the vacant -but still open- pools.
The photographer grinned even more, 'Leave it to Chloe... this is so awesome.'
Max felt a sudden tug at her palm, she snapped from thought, and met Chloe's gaze, "C'mon Max, I'd like to go in this century."
'Was that a time pun?'
She wasn't given time to ask as Chloe began forcefully tugging at her. Shrugging a bit, Max followed suit.
Chloe led Max through an unlocked door housed in the gate that surrounded the pool area. They circumvented the shallow side and walked over to the deeper end, the water around them resting still.
"Man this is such a nostalgia trip." Max nearly whispered. It seemed also taboo to talk in a normal tone. The calmness around her telling her to do so.
"Ha, yeah, 'member that time you went to jump in, but fell and busted your nose instead?"
Max rolled her eyes, "Yeah... great memories."
"Hell right they were great, you're forgetting who the person was that carried you all the way back to my place, so Mom could patch you up."
'Touché'
Max's stoic stare was the incentive Chloe needed to see her point got across.
Max started to stroll towards the change rooms, "I guess I'd better go change."
"Oh-ho no ya don't Max, you're stripping right here." Chloe pointed to the space between them.
Max felt her face flush red, "But I-"
"Yeah, in fact-" Chloe brushed her baggy shirt back and reached for the zipper on her tattered jeans. Max felt even hotter, her glance shifting from the pool to the girl stripping beside her. It nearly made her feel dizzy.
Her gaze finally fixated on Chloe again. Her blush intensifying at the abundance of cream colored skin that graced her vision. Chloe was now clad in a blue bikini top and loose dark swimming trunks.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Chloe teased.
"You know, I actually could."
"Damn, didn't think that one out. Look, just go change! I wanna get in already!"
'That's what she said.' Max chuckled to herself. She strolled over to the change rooms as Chloe plotted out a spot as to where she'd jump in. She swiftly swapped out her hipster drabs for a two-piece swimsuit she didn't even know she owned. She exited the change room and set her camera bag outside of the splash zone of the pool.
'Chloe always liked to make the biggest splash possible, gotta play it safe.'
"Lookit you..." Chloe was about to crack a sarcastic joke, but Max's body was more enough a distraction for that. "You uh, look nice."
Max paced up and planted a small peck on Chloe's cheek. The contact bringing the point of 'I win.' across.
"Alright Max, ladies first," The punk shoved the photographer forward.
Max protested and stepped back, "N-No you go first."
"If you insist..." Chloe tore the hat off her blue locks as a confirmation for her impending jump. She took a few steps back, then ran across the concrete. Leaping as high as possible at the edge then plummeting down into the water.
As Max had predicted, the splash was big. Small droplets landed on and by her feet, like little nips of cold that reminded her why she hated water so much.
Just before Chloe resurfaced, the auburn-haired girl took a gentle seat by the edge of the pool.
'Ahh, whoa cold.'
She breathed out a shuddered breath as her calves dipped into the icy water. The majority of her body falling victim to goose bumps.
A handful of seconds later, Chloe shot back up out of the water. Shaking her hair like a wet dog coming in from outside.
"Shit, they weren't lying when they said this hair dye is waterproof." She wiped her face and focused on Max, who was kicking her feet by the water. 'Oh C'mon, get your bony ass in here!"
"My ass is just fine where it is."
Chloe heaved a deep sigh, "Max, you do this every time, remember? You sit there and roast."
"I'll come in, just gimme a sec."
Chloe shrugged, she turned her position so her face was opposite to Max's. A mischievous grin plastered on it. "Alright, well wanna watch me make another jump?"
"Sure."
Chloe swam over to the side next to Max, whom in turn stood up to help her out. She pulled up and out, purposely shaking bit to get water on her stubborn girlfriend. The punk then took the same amount of paces back, she dashed forward -only this time she bent down as she approached Max. Arms out like a forklift.
"Chloe what're you- gah!" In one swift move, Chloe managed to get one arm tucked under the crook of Max's legs, and the other placed firmly on her back.
Max waved her arms in protest, "No! Chloe! Put me down! Put me down!"
"No can do." Chloe grinned. With Max shouting in her arms, she reached the edge of the pool and twirled to the side, and chucked Max with all her might directly into the cool waters.
"Ahh!" Max screamed as she felt through the air. Her voice cut short as she collided with the water. Chloe laughed and leapt into, splashing down right next to Max.
Like a fish out of air, Max gasped towards the surface, "The hell was that?"
"I did you a favor! C'mon." Chloe emphasized her point with a miniature splash at Max's face.
The latter girl immediately got said point, "We playing this huh?"
"Oh yeah, bring it." Chloe splashed again.
Max backlashed with a large splash with both arms, only to get it back ten times worse. She screamed and laughed, the whole nostalgic feeling coming back again. Just like when she and Chloe were kids.
"Haha! You're holding out on me Max!"
"We'll see about that."
The experience still felt new somehow, and quite frankly amazing. Chloe as her girlfriend, not a care in the world...
As Max went in for another splash, all she could think was...
'Just like old times.'
A/N How was that? Goddamn, I find Max to be a bit of a challenge to write, but this is my first LIS fic.
I know Oregon doesn't get that much snow… I think. But I used it to boost the plot a little. [Someone correct me if I'm wrong].
Anyways hope ya'll enjoyed. I got a bigger LIS project in the works, probably coming soon. :)