Chloe drops to the floor as soon as the dish breaks and I jump back in surprise with just how fast she hits the ground.
"Shit! No, no no no no!" Chloe cries, grabbing the shattered chunks with her bare hands, continuing to mutter "No" to herself.
"Chloe! You're gonna cut yourself!" I say, rushing up to her and grabbing her hands, seeing blood already trickling from cuts as she clenches her fists when I get too close.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was an accident, I'll clean it up. I'll clean it up, just please... don't hurt me!".
I blink, and pull away, watching as Chloe drops the glass in her bloodied hand and presses them against her head and cowers.
"I- I'm... not going to hurt you, Chloe," I say softly, scared and unsure of what to do in this situation, "I- It's me. It's Max. Do you remember me?".
She stays still for a moment, still muttering incoherently to herself.
"Chloe...".
"I'm sorry".
"Chlo...".
"Please,".
I reach in and take her head in my hands, watching as she flinches under my touch.
"Chloe... look at me," I whisper, gently tracing my thumb over her jawline as an attempt to catch her attention.
The gesture registers for a second and Chloe stiffens up before looking up at me with pale, grey looking eyes.
"Max..."
"Yeah... yeah, it's Max," I tell her, kneeling down beside her, avoiding the glass on the floor.
Chloe continues to stare at me with nearly lifeless eyes, "You... you're here...".
I nod, "Yeah... I'm back. For good this time".
"You're here..." she says again, moving her hands from her head and placing them on my own. I can feel her shaking, "You're really here".
I nod again and try not to tear up at the shocked state my best friend is in.
"You're real".
"Come on... let's get you cleaned up okay?" I tell her softly, "You're hands are bleeding".
"You're here, you're here, you're here," she continues, muttering numbly as she stands up and follows my lead.
Everything is in the same place as it was, so I locate the gauze and bandages fairly quick, leaving Chloe sitting at the kitchen with her bloodied hands resting on her lap.
"Max is here... Max is in my house," She repeats, clearly in a state of shock, either from the blood or my mere presence.
I slowly and cautiously walk up to her, not really sure how to handle tis situation.
God, Joyce isn't going to be happy when she get's home, I realize.
"Okay... I'm going to bandage up your hands now," I tell her, making sure to let Chloe know my intent before touching her.
Chloe nods a little, still staring off into space, sitting up stalk-still on the chair.
"Okay, Maxine".
I blink in confusion as she calls me by my real name, something I honestly haven't heard in years.
"Um... my name real name is Maxine but... I prefer Max, remember?".
Chloe looks at me for a moment and shakes her head, "Your name is Maxine... I- I remember that. I don't remember calling you Max".
But... you just did, I want to point out, but Chloe seems confused and worried enough so I hold my tongue.
"That's okay... you can call me whatever you'd like," I tell her, softly picking off bits of glass from her hands before getting up and moving towards the sink.
"Where are you going?".
"I'm just going to get a wet towel so I can clean the blood off your hands" I reply, hearing the uncertainty in her voice.
"You... you're not going to leave, are you?".
I shake my head, "No...".
She nods slowly and looks back down at her hands, "Okay...".
Oh god, Chloe... what happened to you?
I walk over to the sink, the glass crunching under my feet and run a dish rag under the tap, my mind trying to comprehend the fact that the girl sitting in the other room isn't my best friend, but a stranger in her clothing.
Chloe's still in there, Max, I tell myself, feeling like an asshole for even thinking that she's anyone else, I just have to help her find who she is again.
"Maxine?".
I turn to Chloe again and nod, "Yeah?".
She's quiet for a moment before she continues. "I missed you,".
I swallow hard and nod sadly, "I know...".
"I'm glad your back though," she adds, shifting around slightly.
"Me too," I reply with a soft sigh, walking over and kneeling down in front of her again, "I missed you, too".
Both of us are quite as I wipe her hands clean of blood, Chloe wincing slightly when I run the cloth over the cuts.
"Did you like Seattle?".
I shrug, "It was okay... really lonely if I'm honest".
"Oh...".
I nod, "Yeah...".
Another bout of silence passes over us.
"So... are you and your family back in Arcadia Bay?".
"Just me... I- I got into Blackwell... so that's cool," I say with forced excitement, not really wanting to bring school into our conversation.
"That's awesome, Maxine. I always knew you could do it," Chloe say, her voice returning to its emotionless tone, "Did you get into the photography program like you wanted?".
I blush, flattered that she remembered that."Y- yeah... I start classes tomorrow. I'm... nervous about it".
"Don't be... Blackwell classes are pretty nice".
I look up at her for a second, trying to focus on her glazed, out of focus eyes, "You... graduated from Blackwell?".
She nods, "Yeah. Just barely... s- school isn't exactly my forte as you know".
I swallow hard and nod, wondering if she's figured out that I know about her past.
"Y- yeah... it's not mine either".
"You'll be fine. I believe in you".
I blush and finish wrapping her hands in gauze, giving them a very gentle squeeze before standing up. "Okay... um, I have to clean up the glass on the floor. Will, will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?".
"I- I dropped the plate... I should clean it up," she says, trying to get up and push past me.
"It's fine, Chloe. It wasn't your fault, it was an accident," I reassure her.
She looks confused when I tell her this.
"But I-".
"It's fine," I say with a smile, "Go ahead and sit down in the living room. I can handle it".
She stares at me for a moment, opening her mouth to say something but closing it after a second.
"O- okay".
So I watch as she wanders aimlessly over to the living room and flops down on the couch, continuing to stare at her hands before.
With a somewhat satisfied sigh, I turn back to the kitchen and find the broom and dustpan, beginning to sweep up the shattered glass left on the floor.
It takes less than 5 minutes for me to finish, and by the time I make my way back over to Chloe I see that she hasn't moved an inch.
"Chloe," I say, resting my hand on her shoulder and unintentionally making her jump, "Hey, it's okay... it's just me".
She nods and takes a breath, pressing her hand on her chest, "Sorry... I'm, I'm sorta jumpy nowadays".
I nod a little and sit next to her, watching as she continues to stare off into nothingness.
"Are... are you okay?" I ask hesitantly.
She sighs a little, "Yeah... I think so".
"Okay...".
We're quiet again, nothing but the sound of our breathing in the room.
"So... how long have you been back?".
"Not even a day... coming to see you was the first thing I did today,".
"Why?".
I blink, "W- what do you mean?".
"Why come see me?".
"Because you're my best friend, and I feel like an asshole for not keeping in touch,".
"It's not your fault," Chloe says, "Not wanting to talk to me was your choice, and who am I to question that?".
"I- i-it's not that I didn't want to talk to you, Chloe. I just... I- I-".
"It's okay, Maxine. You don't have to explain yourself," she says, her voice still not conveying any sort of emotion.
"B- but...". I take a deep breath, confused about how calm she is over a subject that literally makes me panic. "You, you're not upset?" I ask, trying not to sound too emotional even though I can already feel myself starting to cry.
"I have a lot of other things I could be upset about, but being upset at you isn't one of them".
I fail to hold back a sob and Chloe turns to me, confused.
"How are you not upset?".
"Because I know you didn't intentionally try to screw me over. Shit happens, that's just life".
"But shit like this shouldn't happen!" I tell her, causing her to flinch again, "Best friends are always supposed to be there for each other and I wasn't. And look what happened while I was gone!".
And we both go dead silent, and I know I overstepped my bounds.
Chloe's brows furrow for a moment but then relax as she releases a broken sigh.
"Chloe, I-".
"So mom told you?" she asks.
I swallow hard and nod, my voice nothing more than a squeak.
"Yes...".
"So you know about the school and everything? What t- they did? To me?".
Her voice wavers for a moment.
"I- I didn't pry too much but... I got the gist of what happened. I'm so-".
"Please don't say you're sorry, Maxine. I get that enough".
I swallow again, "Sorry".
She sighs again.
"I can tell you have questions".
I do but I'll never ask them, even I'm not that much of an asshole.
"You don't have to tell me anything," I tell her, "I don't need to know anything you're not comfortable telling me".
"That's good. I wasn't intending on telling you anything" she says, still not moving a muscle.
I shift uncomfortably beside her and sniffle a bit, so not used to Chloe acting like this.
"I-... I'll get there though," she continues, "it's just hard for me to open up about it".
I nod numbly.
"So, are... you going to stay for dinner?".
I look up at her confused for a second, "I- if you want me to...".
"Of course I want you to. But you'll have to help. I was in the middle of making it when you showed up".
I nod and swallow hard, trying to hold down my growing anxiety, "O- okay. W- what do you need help with?".
She shrugs and stands up, "Chopping veggies in shit. Mom usually does that when she gets home, plus I need help... doing stuff since uh, my hands are kinda useless at this point".
I look at her bandaged hands and nod, "Y- yeah, I'll help with whatever you need"
So I let Chloe lead me back to the kitchen where she explains what she was trying to make, some sort of roast she remembered her mom made a few years back.
We're quiet again and the silence is seriously starting to get to me and I take the vegetables Chloe pointed out-out of the fridge and start cutting them up while she prepares the roast itself.
"You can talk to me you know," she says suddenly, "The worst thing you can do is treat me like a baby, anyways I miss talking shit with people. I- I don't really get out that much anymore, or talk for that matter".
I swallow hard and nod, "O- okay... w- whatdaya wanna talk about?".
"Tell me about Seattle," she says, and so I do. I tell Chloe all about my ventures in Seattle avoiding topics like school, which works for me since I hated school in Seattle. "You'll have to show me your photos next time you visit," Chloe adds when I tell her about how I still take pictures with my old polaroid.
"I- I have some with me if you want to see them," I explain, setting the vegetables inside the slow cooker as she puts the meat in.
"That would be cool. But I've gotta change first and so do you. I don't think my mom would much appreciate up both being covered in blood".
I burrow my eyebrows in confusion for a moment before looking down at myself and seeing my shirt and jeans are covered with blood.
"Shit...".
"It's no problem. You can borrow some of my clothes then we can wash yours during dinner, okay?".
I nod and follow Chloe as she leads me up the stairs and into her room, which is practically cleaner and more pristine than mine ever has.
"Wow..." I mutter, setting my bag down on her bed.
"Don't act so surprised, Maxine. I'm not the fuck up everybody thinks I am".
I blush a little, "I... didn't say anything".
"My room is clean. You're not used to that,".
I blush even more and avert my eyes, "You've changed a lot... I'm, not used to it".
"You've changed too," she says blandly, closing the door, "But I'm still me, and you're still you... right?".
I nod and sigh softly, "Even when we're apart. We're still Max and Chloe".
She smiles at that, "Exactly".
It's the first time I've seen her smile so of course, I smile back, blushing and giggling little more as I do so.
"Go ahead and pilfer through my fashion hole, I think you might fit into some of my old clothes," she says pointing to her closet.
I hum a little and walk over to it, "Remember when we used to hide in here as kids?".
She chuckles a little, showing more emotion than she has since I got here. "Our Super Secret Closet Layer... heh, ironic now that I think about it".
"How so?".
She shrugs and goes back to the monotone way of talking, "Just is".
I keep thinking about that as I change, finding some old punk clothes hidden in the bottom of the closet.
I'm just about to ask her about them since I can tell by the other things in the closet, Chloe's wardrobe mainly consists of long-sleeved tee-shirts and jeans, but when I turn around, I see a half naked Chloe standing next to me. I turn around as fast as I can, my face frying and my ears growing hot.
Oh my god...
"Um... you okay?".
I jump and nod, doing my best to hide my intense blush, "Yep".
Oh my god...
"Are you all changed yet?".
I nod and pull up my fresh set of jeans, "Just finished. Y- you".
"Same".
Oh. My. God.
Max... keep your cool, don't panic.
It's just Chloe...
Your BEST FRIEND...
You saw her naked...
That changes nothing...
It's not like you have a crush on her...
Right?
"Maxine?".
I jump again and look over at her, my face still red. "Yeah?"
"Come on... we can relax and watch TV if you want. Got a few hours 'till mom gets home".
I nod and follow her again, "Sounds good, Chloe".
So I follow her out of the room and desperately try not to acknowledge the fact that I still, after five years apart, have a hopeless crush on Chloe Price.