The sound of the gun going off in the bathroom is deafening. I know it's impossible, but somehow it feels like it's even louder than it was the first time, leaving my ears ringing.
Not ringing hard enough though. I can still hear the wet thud as my best friend's body hits the floor, hear her pained gasps as Nathan runs out of the bathroom.
I can't do this.
I'm so sorry, Chloe. I know I promised you, but I can't do this. I can't just sit here and listen to you die again.
Before I even register what I'm doing, the world goes blurry and starts gray out at the edges as my power wrenches the normally steady march of time into reverse.
There's a crash, and the sound of plastic snapping as I reach for the hammer to break the fire alarm.
"Alfred Hitchcock famously called film "little pieces of time" but he could be talking about photography, as he likely was."
Wait, what?
I'm all the way back in Mr. Jefferson's photography classroom? Instead of grabbing the hammer to break the glass, I apparently just knocked my camera off my desk... again.
Mr. Jefferson is looking at me.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
"These pieces of time can frame us in our glory and our sorrow; from light to shadow; from color to chiaroscuro…"
He doesn't know we're investigating him yet. I'm safe for now.
Listening to him talk is just my penance for not being able to go through with things. I'll just have to ride this out, save Chloe, and then I can return to… wait... something's wrong with this picture.
Think, Max, think.
"...Anybody?"
I just can't seem to put my finger on it.
I guess I won't know until I reach the bathroom again? That's where it all- No. This is sort of where it all began, isn't it? I had that vision of the tornado right here in this seat.
...before Chloe was shot. And then I rewound back to just after that vision finished.
I've never been able to rewind to before this moment in time.
Hope flares in my chest. Maybe I can make things work out after all? But if Chloe wasn't the start of the tornado then… what was? I'll to talk to her about it when I get back to the present. Oh no.
"Bueller?"
If I even can get back to the present. Back to Chloe.
Looking around the classroom, that strange barrier that keeps me from leaving the context of a photo is... missing. Come to think of it, from my experiences with photo-hops I shouldn't have been able to leave the bathroom at all.
But... here I am, and that dull throb in my back of my mind that I've usually had while my powers are keeping me in the past is gone too. There's no sense of it for me to release. No sense I can return to the present. Am I back here for real? Do I need to do it all over again? I don't think I could do it all over again.
I guess I won't know until I reach the bathroom again. Either way, noble sacrifice or not, I'm definitely not letting Chloe get shot.
"Diane Arbus."
Oh, gag me with a spork. I can't believe I'm going to have to watch Victoria trying to throw herself at Jefferson again all while knowing… Hoo boy. Bad, Max. No dwelling on The Dark Room.
Deep breath in… and out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Find something else, anything else, to focus on. Come on, Max, you can do this. Just find something else to focus on.
Spotting the paper Taylor threw at Kate gives me my answer.
Rewind.
Letting myself get swept up along with everyone else, I watch as the paper recrumples and then lifts back into the air, I almost release the flow of time before remembering my broken camera. Whoops. Poor camera. I'm almost as hard on you as I am Lisa.
Just a bit further… There! Camera, unbroken, back on my desk.
"Alfred Hitchcock famously called film "little pieces of time" but he could be talking about photography, as he likely was."
Deep breaths, Max. He's not going to hurt you in a room full of witnesses. Focus on the task at hand. I think Stella dropped her pen? Yup. There it goes.
"These pieces of time can frame us in our glory and our sorrow; from light to shadow; from color to chiaroscuro…"
Lean forward like I'm paying attention instead of trying desperately to ignore the psycho teaching the class and… damn! I missed it.
Rewinding again and trying to use my powers with a feather light touch to slow the paper down, I reach out and snag it out of the air. Cool. I wasn't sure that would work.
Taylor and Victoria glare at me.
I stare back and them but I'm apparently going to have to work on my 'Disappointed Joyce' impression though, because they just seem to find it amusing.
The rest of class passes in a bit of a blur as I slowly rip Taylor's note into itty bitty pieces, using it and the knowledge that I'll get to see Chloe again soon like a pair of earmuffs to block out Jefferson's voice and my own memories. When it finally rings, I don't think the end of class bell has ever sounded so good.
Packing up my stuff, I resist the urge to race straight to the bathroom.
"Hi, Kate." I sit down next to her and scoot my seat over.
"Oh. Hi, Max." I've had all class to get used to seeing her looking so sad, but hearing her voice sound so quiet is like a punch to the gut.
The desks are in the way of giving her the proper hug I really want to, so I settle for putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be okay, Kate. It's going to be okay."
She startles at bit at the touch- I was never a very huggy friend- but after a moment she leans into it and rests her head on my shoulder.
Sitting there, I find myself hoping for maybe the first time that I really am stuck back here in the past. As much as I want to get back to Chloe, I can't stand the idea of Kate being swept up in that storm. Until I sort out a way to save both Chloe and this town, the very least I owe Kate is however slightly happier I can make these next few days.
"Thanks, Max. I think I needed that."
"Me too, Kate. Me too." Pulling back, I force a smile onto my face for her trying desperately to recall how our chat went last time.. "Hey, I know we've both got a ton of homework, but we should grab a cup of tea soon. Bitch about life."
"Thanks, I'd like that. Not today though. I'm not really feeling that great."
"Okay, Katie. We'll hang later." Knowing what she's planning, I feel like I should really push harder for her to hang out but I'm not sure if I'll actually remember this conversation in 10 minutes. I don't want to let her down.
Waving goodbye, I set off for the bathroom. To Chloe!
"I see you, Max Caulfield. Don't even think about leaving here until we talk about your entry."
ARE YOU CEREAL!?
How did I forget about that?
Deep breath in… and out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Getting myself under control enough to rewind, I let myself be swept up in the reversal until I'm back at Kate's desk. Hugging the stuffing out of her until she squeaks in protest, I use one last rewind to set our conversation back in order before I'm feeling ready to brave the classroom door again.
Breathe in. Breathe out. One foot in front of the other, Max.
Just think of Chloe.
"I see you, Max Caulfield. Don't even think about leaving here until we talk about your entry."
Don't turn around.
Don't look at him.
Just think of Chloe.
...Chloe!
Rewinding away my stuttered half step as realization dawned on me, I let time start back up just after he finished speaking. "I'm meeting my hero in just a few minutes, Mr. Jefferson." Holding my camera above my head and waving it back and forth slightly, I force my legs to keep going, to not break stride. "I'll be sure to take lots of shots."
The door clicks shut behind me without any further protest and I manage to make it a few steps down the hall before collapsing against the lockers gasping for air as I fight back what I assume is a panic attack.
"Hey, Max. Are you okay?" I almost lose it entirely as a hand settles on my shoulder before recognizing Juliet's voice. Looking up, I see her dark green eyes staring down at me with concern. Zachary is behind her looking annoyed at the interruption, the two-timing jerk. Heaven forbid Juliet should try and be a decent person. I bet he's already sexting Vic-
Heh.
That's it, Max! Anger is so much better than panic.
Once again reversing the flow of time, hold the rewind until I'm on my feet a few backwards steps down the hall.
Marching myself right up to Juliet and Zachary and returning her earlier favor, I put my hand on her shoulder and a smile on my face. "Juliet Watson! You… ummm… shit!" Okay, wow. I hella suck at this. Rewind!
Maybe I just won't get involved yet, it's not like past me didn't sort everything out eventually anyway and who am I to deny her the joy of snooping around Victoria's room?
Hmmm… Victoria. What would Victoria do?
Oh!
Hand back on Juliet's shoulder, I instead stare pointedly at Zachary. "Really, Zach? Sexting Victoria during class? Real classy." Now I look Juliet in the eyes, and wear my best, 'is he cereal?' expression. "It's like he didn't realize Juliet Watson, X-treme Reporter, would have sources all over school." Patting her on the back, I walk away as she pounces all over Zachary's pathetic attempts to claim that it was all some kind of joke. I guess the idiot thought he'd get points for even bothering to deny it?
There. That should save past me some grief. Or... future me, I suppose, if really am back in the past.
Hand on the bathroom door, I pause and take a deep breath before shoving the idea of the Chloe that kissed me as our world ended might be gone aside with as much force as I do the door and step inside.
There's no immediate sense of my power kicking back on, no boundary springing up to keep me here, nothing to indicate I'm inside a photo.
I'm also apparently just in time to recreate my shot of that blue butterfly as it settles down on the bucket.
I grab the hammer and wait as Nathan and Chloe arrive, ready to smash the alarm the moment he pulls the gun but a thought stops me. When I tried to report him to Principal Wells, I had no proof and he got away with it.
I rewind the hammer back onto the floor so as not to make any noise, take out my camera, and resume waiting.
Popping out from behind the stalls as Nathan takes out his gun, I snap a shot of Nathan waving it in Chloe's face.
The moment I realize the flash went off, my right hand comes up. Slowing time to a crawl in case I need to rewind, I twist sideways and throw myself back behind cover as Nathan whirls around with his gun. "Max?" The sound of Chloe's saying my name coming in super low and deep as it's distorted by the slowed time.
The gun goes off with a flash and a low rumbling boom, the bullet drifting past me just inches from my face. Holy shit! Even slowing everything down I'd never have dodged that if it had actually been aimed better.
The whole almost being shot thing would probably seem like a bigger deal if turning the way I did hadn't brought the butterfly back into view as it flits around at normal speed.
...what?
My grip on the flow of time collapses at the shock of it.
"Max!" The bullet shatters the tile on the the bathroom wall where it hits, Chloe's enraged scream, the dull thuds and moans of her and Nathan fighting, even the flare of pain as my ass hits the floor all barely registering as I watch the blue butterfly land on one of the mirrors and then vanish.
Reality crashes back down on me. "Chloe!" Shaking my head and scrambling onto my feet I rush out to help my friend, only to find her standing over a battered looking unconscious Nathan and in the midst of kicking him once more for good measure. Bloodied nose aside, she looks fine as she glares down at him.
Making sure to wait for her to look up at me, so that she can see my broad smile, I try once more to let go of the photo-hop.
It doesn't work. Somehow I broke the loop and now there's no photo-hop to let go of.
A day ago, the idea I'm contemplating would have terrified me. Hell, an hour ago it would have terrified me. It still does, really, but for Chloe? Bring it on. Bring it on a thousand times.
Darting forward before she can try and run away like she did last time, I rewind just enough that it looks like I just teleported forward. "First Mate Supermax reporting for duty, Captain."
...
Should I have saluted? I should have saluted. Is it worth rewinding time just so I can do it properly and salute?
