"Chloe, I know I've done an absolutely shit job of being your friend over the years. You could fill a book with all the ways I fucked up. Even worse, I ran away and left you holding the pieces. If you hate me too much to ever want to see me again, I'd get that. But I wanted you to be the first person I know: I got into Blackwell. I'll be back in Arcadia Bay this September. And it would be great to see you again. Say the word and I'll drop it. Still, I would love to hang out and swap stories.
~Max"
After reading the message over for the fiftieth time, finally she summoned all the confidence she had within her and hit send. Max couldn't believe it, after basically dicking Chloe over five years before, she was finally trying to rebuild the bridge she had so carelessly burned. Her e-mail was about as honest as she could get. There was every chance in the world that she would get a simple 'fuck off' back from her, and that would be that. But maybe, just maybe, there was enough time to heal those wounds.
Even if she refused to admit it to herself, there was a lot riding on this. A lot of things that went unsaid. And she wanted to take this opportunity she'd been given. She might never find this level of courage again.
It took less time than Max was expecting. Somehow she imagined that the message would drop into Chloe's inbox, and she would read it, then leave it there for a week or so. Just to drive home how much the ball was in her court. Instead, the response came hurtling back in less than twelve hours. She might have been terrified to open it if it weren't for that little sliver of preview text. "MAX!1! Holy sh-"
A reply with that much excitement right at the front couldn't be bad could it? Could things really be alright now? Her hand shook ever so slightly as she hovered her mouse over the message and clicked on it.
"MAX!1! Holy shit I can't believe it! Okay, first things first, super mega huge congratulations because getting into Blackhell is no easy feat. But second and way more importantly YOU'RE COMING BACK TO ARCADIA BAY AND I GET MY FRIEND BACK! Obviously I want to see you, dummy. You better tell me the very second you get into town so you and I can chill like old times. Oh! And you get to meet my girlfriend, you're gonna love her."
Everything about this message was perfect, right up there until the very end. It wasn't until she saw those words that Max knew, deep down, why she had been doing this. And now that idea was getting stomped down into the dust, then stomped on a few more times just to be sure. Because the one thing that definitely hadn't changed in five years? She loved Chloe, more than she was ever able to admit. And... Chloe had a girlfriend. Any hope Max might have had with ever getting closer to her in a way she truly desired was completely gone.
But even still, she didn't want to let this ruin her friendship. She would stick by her friend this time, no matter how much it hurt.
"Oh my god babe, you gotta see this stupid meme Max just sent me."
Rachel had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. This had become a new thing with them lately. She wanted to be happy for her girlfriend, really she did. It was the mature thing for her to do. But it was also perfectly natural to be a little bit jealous, right? That was kind of the girlfriend's job. To be... overprotective and possessive, at least kinda? "Yeah? Oh my god that's hilarious."
Chloe scoffed and pulled the phone back. "You didn't even look, did you? Come on, the least you could do is at least to pretend to care."
"I care! Everything you told me about Max sounds awesome, and before too long you guys are going to be hanging out together again, awesomely. It's... awesome." She knew she couldn't really keep the sound of frustration out of her voice, but it was too late now.
Her girlfriend had obviously caught on, judging by the way she sat up and looked over at her more intently. "Woah, the Amber sass really came out there, huh? Damn, you couldn't at least try to pretend that you don't hate her already?"
She could feel her defensiveness rising quickly. "I don't hate her! I don't know her yet, except that you two talk a lot and she amuses you with everything she says..." She started to trail off as she seemed to hear the words she said and caught on to what they meant. Her face fell and she stood up from Chloe's bed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry... I just... It's a lot. You know? You two have years and years of history, and despite five years of silence, you're best buds all over again! Am I supposed to not get jealous?"
"Are you funnin' me, girl?" Chloe sat up more, scoffing again. "Jealous? Of Max? We've been dating for over a year, and that's not nothing. Max is my best friend, but you're my girlfriend!" She stood up and moved over to her, wrapping her arms around Rachel from behind. Ugh, how was she supposed to be jealous and angry when Chloe got all affectionate like this? "Okay, look, I get it, I do. And when she gets into town, I am going to want to hang out with her. But your face is the one I wanna see every time I wake up, okay? I love you..." Her voice dropped, as if she was afraid of anyone else hearing that. It was still pretty adorable just how self-conscious someone so cool could be.
"I love you too..." she said just as softly as she turned around in her arms and kissed her softly on the forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. I just get... anxious."
"Hah, I understand anxiety. And don't you worry. I'm not going anywhere either."
Chloe felt like a coiled spring, ready to... uncoil and... go... springing off somewhere. She wasn't super great with metaphors. She was in the hall of the girl's dorm, pacing manically and waiting for her best friend to walk through that door. And yeah, maybe things had gotten a little tense there for a moment, but Max didn't need to know about all that. Today was going to be all about her, and about them as friends, and introducing her to Rachel. And it was going to be awesome.
But then she saw Max walk through the door and there was a sinking feeling in her chest. Seeing her on Facebook she was able to separate real life from what she saw on the screen. But now she was walking in the door with two duffels and a guitar slung around her back and her freckles and her sandy hair and god dammit she was so freaking adorable!
Alright, just play it cool. You have a smoking hot girlfriend and there are cute girls everywhere. This is no different. Except maybe for the years and years of history you two share. And the fact that you know she's way more than just a pretty face probably has something to do with it too. Jesus, shut up already!
She was suddenly nudged in the ribs by Rachel's elbow and shot back to reality. "Ahh!" Running forward, she wrapped her arms around Max and hugged her tightly. "It's really you! You're really here!"
"And you're really... wow, really leaning into that punk thing! I thought that was just a couple pictures..." She pulled back and gave her the once-over, which was something Chloe didn't expect to enjoy as much as she did.
"Yeah, well, you know. When you find something that works, stick with it." Chloe shrugged and adjusted one of her leather bracelets with a little grin. Something suddenly sparked in her mind and she slapped herself in the forehead. "Oh! Jeez, earth to me. Max! I want you to meet the one, the only, Rachel Amber!" She mimicked the sound of a cheering crowd as she danced aside, making room for her girlfriend and best friend to meet properly.
Rachel closed the distance between them with a roll of her eyes, then offered a hand to Max with a little chuckle. "I apologize for her. She's been super nervous about seeing you again."
Max took her hand and shook it firmly. "Can't say I'm exactly surprised. And... you know, maybe I'm a little nervous myself. Kind of a big deal, right?"
Chloe was still working out her anxiety by dancing around like an idiot. Rachel, presumably tired of her antics, reached over and took her elbow, yanking her closer. "Well, you've also got to deal with moving into school and getting ready for classes and stuff. But I suppose as long as we're being honest, I'm a bit nervous too. My girlfriend's best friend coming around to steal her away from me? It's scary~"
Ooooh, clever. Rachel was pulling out her acting chops. That sounded pretty damn legit. There was no way she could possibly be scared about this! Still, it made for a good segue. "C'mon, we should get this stuff into your room. Ooh, what about Ma and Pa Caulfield? Do I get to see their pretty faces soon?" Without waiting for any kind of invitation, she took one of Max's bags and started carrying it down the hall. "What room did you get anyway?"
"Ahah, they're busy with all of that move-in day stuff. It's gonna be an hour or two. And uhhh..." She pulled out her phone and scrolled a few times. "Room 219."
Rachel snickered softly and motioned across the hall. "You somehow managed to get both the best and worst room around. The good news is you've got Kate Marsh right there; she's an absolute darling. The bad news is you've also got Victoria Chase; she's... a princess who wishes she was queen."
Chloe didn't want to overwhelm her with a bunch of names and social connections. And there was something far more important to take care of. "You said we've got at least an hour, right? You'll have plenty of time to get your room in order later tonight. We've got a little ritual we need help with. You cool to come along on a little field trip?"
Max watched curiously out the windows of Chloe's beat-up truck, then back over at her companions. This was... an unexpected situation. She figured her first day at Blackwell would be relatively quiet. Get into her room, do a little decorating, say goodbye to her parents, meet the neighbors. Instead, she was going out to some mystery spot with Chloe and Rachel. More specifically, with her best friend who she had a crush on, and her girlfriend, who Max was also developing something of a crush on. You could see from their countless pictures that Rachel was beautiful. But Chloe had neglected to mention that she was charismatic and charming too. Honestly, who could possibly blame her?
"Sooo... are you gonna actually tell me where this little 'field trip' is headed?"
Chloe just smirked mysteriously and continued to watch the road.
She looked toward Rachel instead, hoping that maybe she wasn't as dedicated to this little bit of theirs. "C'mon, something, anything? Just throw me a bone here."
The blonde somehow managed to look even more mysteriously at her.
"Fine. Be weirdos about this..."
It wasn't that much longer before she finally found out what their destination was. It wasn't any more encouraging to see that it was a freaking junkyard. "Is this the part where you reveal you're actually planning on murdering me?"
Rachel was the first to actually crack the facade, and a smile. "Does it really make the situation any less threatening if I say no?"
"Hm, I guess not. But that's just because I've gotten really good at assuming the worst of normal situations."
This time, she broke out in bright laughter. "Sounds like someone else I know. You two really are best friends, aren't you?"
"Hey, I resemble that remark." Chloe parked the truck and hopped out with a surprising amount of grace. "Time to reveal our master plan!"
Their actual destination, as it turned out, was a small little shack toward the middle of the junkyard. Max's initial reaction was one of disappointment, but then she stepped inside and understood why she had been brought here, at least partially. The place had been decorated with all the flair a pair of teenage girls could manage. To the trained eye, it might have looked like more junk. But she knew a secret hideout when she saw one. "We don't have forever, but there's something we had to do." Chloe uncapped a Sharpie and passed it to her, then motioned to a spot on the cinder brick wall. "It's our home away from home away from home. And now it's yours too. Go on, Maximus."
She knelt down and eyed the two previous signatures, then carefully added 'Max was here' in the most Max-ish script she could. She stood back up, brushing the dust off her knees and went to pass the pen back, only to catch Chloe looking at her with a fond smile. Without warning, she grabbed the marker, then threw her arms around her and squeezed her tight. "Now it's official. Welcome back to Arcadia Bay, Max. You're home."