"An Unknown Destiny"
They had been driving nonstop for two days with no destination in mind. They were moved by the sole desire to get as much distance from Arcadia Bay as possible. After everything that had happened in that crazy week, from turning into a pawn on Mr. Jefferson's sick game, to that huge tornado that wrecked the entire town, Max and Chloe decided to just buckle up and drive away.
Max felt bad for not having checked if anyone had survived the storm. After all, it was all her fault that that tornado had destroyed the town and the least she could do was make sure that the others were okay. But she hadn't wanted to force Chloe to stay longer than necessary; Arcadia Bay had made her life hell for so many years, Max figured she'd want to leave right after the storm subsided.
She had been right, as Chloe hadn't wasted a second in climbing up her vehicle and motioning for Max to follow her. The brunette had complied, happy that Chloe was alive but feeling guilty for letting all the others die. Okay, she had no way of knowing that they were dead for sure; there were most likely survivors striving to rebuild Arcadia Bay at that very moment. But the number of deaths surely surpassed those who got lucky and lived.
The constant knot in Max's stomach tightened at the thought. She really should have looked around before driving off into the sunrise with Chloe. She owed the others that much. Joyce didn't deserve to die in such a violet way; nor did Warren or Kate. Hell, not even Victoria deserved that fate. There was so much she wanted to say to each one of them…
A hand rubbing comforting circles on her leg jostled her from her reverie, making her look over at the blue-haired girl on the wheel. Chloe was smiling at her reassuringly, much like she had done two days ago before they began their journey.
"Relax, Max." she said gently. "None of this is your fault."
Max sighed and folded her hands on her lap. "It is, though."
Chloe looked back at the road, but didn't move her hand from Max's leg. "You didn't mean for a huge tornado to fuck up Arcadia Bay, did you?"
"Chloe…"
"Then it's not your fault." she interrupted her. "You couldn't have guessed that messing with time would have this great of an effect."
Max looked out the window, watching the occasional car pass by and the grass on the vast yellow fields in the horizon softly dancing with the autumn wind.
"They didn't deserve to die like that."
Chloe didn't respond for a couple of seconds, the sound of the engine filling the uneasy silence.
"You're right." she eventually said. "They didn't deserve any of that… but you don't know for sure that they're dead. For all you know, they could be alive."
Max whipped her head around to glare at the blue-haired girl. "Do you really believe that all of them somehow managed to survive that storm?"
"I never said that." Chloe stiffened, her thin eyebrows knitting. "It's obvious that a lot of them died. But there could be survivors."
Max's expression softened as she took in Chloe's stance. Both of her hands were gripping the wheel now, and rather tightly too judging by her white knuckles. Her shoulders were tense and a frown had overtaken her features. Max bit her lip, suddenly feeling bad for having blown up at her like that. Chloe must be feeling horribly, especially considering that she was only alive because Max had chosen to save her over all the others. In order to save Arcadia Bay, Max had to let her die, but she hadn't been able do it. So, now everyone else was gone and Chloe was alive.
"Chloe." Max started, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder and gently rubbing it. "I don't regret my decision, okay? I said it before, and I'll say it again: you are all that matters to me. I would have let the entire world go to shit if it meant you'd be okay. Alright?"
Chloe looked over at her, smiling sadly with her azure eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Thanks, Max."
The two girls shared gentle smiles before looking back at the road and driving in relative silence. They still didn't know where they were going, but it didn't really matter either. As long as they were together, they could conquer anything.
:::
The motel room was warm and stuffy. There was a queen-sized bed against a white wall with two bedside tables on each side. A rather ugly lamp sat atop one of them, along with some magazines and a telephone. In front of the bed was a mahogany desk with more magazines on top of it, a minibar on its left and a round mirror on the wall behind.
"Welp." Chloe said, returning from inspecting their small bathroom. "This'll have to do." They had decided to stop at a nearby motel to rest for the night, take a shower, eat some real food, buy more water bottles, sodas, chips and vodka – Chloe's request – and then go back to driving endlessly in the morning.
"It's kinda weird." Max stated, looking around the room again. "There aren't even curtains on the windows."
"What did you expect from a random motel next to an empty road?" the blue-haired girl threw herself at the bed and sighed, making herself comfortable. "I'm hella surprised to see no serial killers or rapists lurking outside of our room."
"How do you know they're not?" Max stressed, glancing out the window to make sure no shady characters were actually outside trying to get in. It was kind of hard to see anything in the dark though.
"Relax, Max." Chloe chuckled from the bed, folding her arms behind her head. "I promise I'll protect you if some stranger breaks into our room."
Max bit her lip, but stepped away from the window to join her friend on the bed. She lied down beside Chloe, heaving out a long sigh as she stared up at the cracked ceiling. The bed was comfier than she was expecting, prompting her to relax a bit more.
"What a week." Chloe said after a few moments of silence. Max laughed.
"You can say that again." she agreed. "I think I went through more shit this week than over all of my eighteen years of existence."
"Ditto." The other girl nodded, turning her head to the brunette. "What do you think will happen now?"
Max glanced over at her and then looked up at the ceiling again. "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to keep going."
Chloe snorted and decided to stare at the ceiling as well. "Sounds like a plan."
Contented smiles graced the two girls' features as they examined each crack on the white ceiling. Even if they had witnessed the destruction of their hometown and everyone they loved just two days ago, at that moment they felt truly relaxed. They made it through hell with more emotional scratches than physical ones, but they were still standing. They were alive and, more importantly, together. This simple knowledge seemed to outshine any doubt or fear that had been haunting their minds ever since they left Arcadia Bay. Suddenly the voices of all the people they had left behind shushed and nothing else mattered.
Max hadn't realized she had moved until she felt Chloe's fingers lacing with hers. She looked down at their intertwined digits and smiled, brushing her thumb along the back of her friend's hand. She would never regret choosing Chloe over everyone else. She loved the others very much, but Chloe… Chloe was her entire world. She was her everything, the shining light that kept her going through the darkness. She couldn't live without her. She didn't want to live in a world without her. Life seemed to have no meaning if she didn't have that punk girl beside her. If the Universe wanted to take Chloe away, then it could go fuck itself; she wasn't going anywhere as long as Max could help it.
I'll never leave you again, Chloe, Max thought, tightening her hold on the blue-haired girl's hand, I promise.
"Max."
The brunette raised her head to look at her best friend, who had serious look on her face. Max frowned.
"What is it?"
Chloe inhaled shakily before responding, "I know I should have said this sooner. But thanks for saving me. I know I've been an ungrateful brat this whole week and I didn't deserve all the shit you had to go through to make sure I made it out alive…" she bit her lip, probably to keep from letting her tears fall. "I know that all the others deserved to live way more than me. Rachel, Warren, Kate… even David deserved to be alive right now." she sniffled, making Max turn to face her fully and take her hand in both of hers. "And my mom… my mom sure as hell didn't deserve to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner…"
Max cupped Chloe's face and wiped the tears that managed to escape her eyes away, but to no avail. The blue-haired girl let out a sob and more tears fell down her face; Max wrapped her arms around her form, holding her close and allowing her to cry to her heart's content. Chloe hugged her back tightly and pressed her wet face into Max's shoulder. The brunette shushed her softly and brushed her fingers through her soft blue hair, trying to calm her down. They stayed like that for several minutes, until Chloe's sobs subsided and she was left sniffling against Max's shirt.
"Chloe" Max started softly, pulling away slightly to look straight into the girl's bloodshot eyes. She cupped Chloe's face and wiped her tears once again. "You deserve to be alive just as much as they did. I chose you because you mean more to me than any of them. And I would go through all of that again if it meant I would still save you." Chloe smiled softly at that. "I got those powers for a reason, and I don't believe that after everything I did to protect you I would have to let you die in the end. Do I regret letting everyone die? I sure as hell do. They were good people and didn't deserve the end they got. But I don't regret saving you. If letting a big ass tornado wipe them all out means you get to stay alive, then I would do it again."
Chloe let out a weak laugh, rubbing her eyes with her fist to wipe away the remaining tears. "I don't deserve this…"
"You do if I say you do." Max winked, making the other girl roll her eyes good-naturedly. "I kinda control fate, after all."
Chloe laughed again, warming the brunette's heart. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, wearing gentle smiles and still holding each other close.
"I love you, Max." Chloe said after a while, making her friend's grin widen.
"I love you too, Chloe." she replied, admiring the other girl's contented smile. Chloe leaned closer to her and closed her eyes. Max did so as well and softly brushed her hand through her friend's hair soothingly.
They fell asleep in that position, with Chloe resting her head on Max's chest and her arms loosely draped around her waist, and Max leaning her cheek against Chloe's hair, her hand nestled in the girl's blue locks and the other pressed against her back. The sound of crickets outside rang into the quiet night and several new stars seemed to have been added to the dark blanket covering the sky…