The door opened, and there she was.

Chloe.

Her face was briefly blank.

"Have fun honey!" My dad calls from the background before I hear the vehicle drive off.

There is only a moment of silence before she moves and catches my attention.

"Come forth, young Max... for we have much to discuss… muahaha..." She says in a poorly done Dracula impersonation. Or was that supposed to be Count von Count? Eh, same thing.

I laugh nervously, knowing she was only trying to hide how she was really feeling. But her firm grip on me was clear to warn me of what is to come.

I never felt so happy, walking into the Price household toward my possible demise that awaited me in my best friend's room. At least I was here, right? Hopefully this goes better than before. And without any awkward interruption from David. ... oh, wait... right, he's not around yet...

"Mom, Max is here! We're going to my chambers!"

But, what did happen before? I told her I was moving... and...

I couldn't really remember much after that...

My family and I just left... and I stayed in contact with her for a bit and then...

I'm drawn out of my thoughts as I feel myself plop down onto Chloe's bed. She closed her door before turning toward me and crossing her arms. Oh man, can we just pretend we're popular cult classic characters with bad accents instead?

"Chloe, I..." I start only for her to scoff.

"You were just gonna jump ship." She says bluntly as I frown.

"I don't-"

"Not only that, but you were going to leave in less than a week—no. You'd already be gone by now, huh? I talked to your dad about it." She says turning her back from me, "I can't believe you..."

"I didn't know! They just dropped it on me too!" I stand, clenching my hands. It's only now I realize how different I am. I'm still only 13 right now... almost 14.

Chloe turns toward me, her eyes had been tearing up, "But when you told me, you seemed like you wanted to leave! Uuugh!" She wipes her eyes, "I thought you were going to be there for me no matter what, remember?"

I recall it, when I spoke to her. Everything had been crashing down on me. The weight of this power, the weight Chloe had on me. I wanted to justify why it was okay for me to go one way or another. William or Chloe. With his name rising into my head, the pressure in my chest resumes. The same one that had consumed me when I thought of pulling the plug on Chloe. When she pleaded me to end her life.

As Chloe starts to cry, feeling betrayed and abandoned, I feel myself crying for her and upset with myself. But not just that, with everything that had built up unto this point. I hadn't noticed, but Chloe began to look more concerned for my tears than her own. She stepped toward me.

"I don't know what to do Chloe. I don't want to leave you- and you're right. We should both be going to Seattle together..." I say, tearing up through my words and whimpering in my younger voice.

Before I can fall to my knees, Chloe takes me into her arms and hugs me.

"So, you don't want to leave me...?" Chloe murmurs quietly into my ear, stroking my hair. She then grunts in realization, "Of course... how could I have doubted you?" She says before making us both sit on her bed. She wipes some tears from my cheek, "I'm... sorry Max. I should have heard your side first... it's just lately I... She trails off.

"No... It's okay... I get it..." I say quietly, watching her face. It was weird, she seemed so different, but so familiar. Why hadn't I noticed before? Way back when this was actually happening... why didn't I notice how hurt and wild her eyes could be at once. Full if nothing but turmoil and conflict. This isn't the same Chloe from when William took that picture...

"Max, I don't... I don't want you to leave..." She admits, "... I really want to be happy for you, I... I mean, I know it's selfish of me not to. One of us should be able to escape this place... it IS our dream after all." She laughs it off trying to seem optimistic.

"But what kind of person would I be if I left my first mate behind?" I say, trying to be light about the situation.

"Hah, well you'd be a pretty good pirate sacrificing your minions for your own benefit." Chloe retorts.

"You know what I mean... jeez, who's being the smartass now?" I say in amusement as Chloe looks to me. She seems caught off guard as I blink, realizing that probably wouldn't have been something I would have said as my 13 year old self.

"You okay Max? I mean, I like the sass but usually you get on my ass about saying... well... ass. And the like." She says with a slight laugh before putting a hand on my shoulder, "Looks like Maximus is starting to break through her goody two shoes shell." She smirks impressed as I glance to the side embarrassed. She takes my hand, "Any who, what are we going to do? I'm all ears."

"... Uuh, going to do...?"

"Yeah! I mean, I don't want you to go. Yooou... don't want to go. So clearly, you ain't goin'. So... what are we going to do?" She says, watching me seriously.

This is nice. Just talking and plotting mischievous things with Chloe... before she became an angry badass. Wait, what am I saying? Chloe was always a badass.

I look down in thought, trying to think of something. Anything... come on! What can 13 year olds even do in this situation...?

"Did you tell them?" She asks, having been trying to contemplate as well.

"Yeah... Dad seemed like he felt bad, and Mom... well, she wants me to go... no two ways about it..." I mutter.

"Moms can be such downers." Chloe sighs. She pauses before looking to me, "Oh...! Wait, I think I know what to do..."

She jumps up as I look after her. Oh jeez, 13 year old Chloe is trying to figure a way to get me out of moving to Seattle by the will of my parents. This probably won't turn out well...

But, this is definitely more time than I gave to her originally... and it won't be the end of my effort.

"What's your idea...?" I ask as she comes back with her piggy bank.

"So according to my savings account I got about..." She peers into the object, "... at least twenty bucks in this sucker. Plenty for a bus ride out of here."

"Wait, a bus...?... You want to...?"

"Run. The both of us. That way, we can be together. No one can control us. It'll be great! What do you think?" She watches me, clearly wanting my approval as I look unconvinced, "I know it's not going to be easy Max, but at least it's better than- whatever this is! I don't have to be stuck here, and you don't have to leave!" Her breath becomes quick, seeming distressed the more she spoke.

I could tell she knew it wouldn't work. She dropped the bank beside her and covered her face. She was shaking slightly. There isn't anything we can do? There's that deja-vu feeling again. This time, I can almost see it just passed Chloe's head from this angle. I was hiding in the closet and looking through the cracks toward Chloe and her stepfather. I felt like I was 13 again...

I snap out of it, putting my hand on Chloe's shoulder. Damn it, I hope that's not going to be a regular thing. Stay focused Max! You're sitting next to your best friend, who needs you to save her now before everything goes to hell!

"We'll think of something Chloe..." I say trying to sound confident through my crazed thoughts. Apparently it was enough, as she looked to me, her eyes slightly puffy from crying before. There was a stand still as she watched me with that thoughtful expression of hers. Was she trying to figure if I was right? Then she smiled only slightly, before hugging me and pulling me down onto her bed.

"Can't let anyone take my Max from me." She says firmly before sighing, "... no homo." She mutters as I laugh a little. I wonder if she really means that...

"You're silly Chloe..."

"But that's why you like me, cause I'm hella silly and everything you aspire to be." Which causes me to chuckle.

"Yes, and the increasing circumference of your head is my favorite part about you."

"Ow. Well, I deserved that one..." She murmurs with a sigh before looking to the ceiling, "You were always better at math than me..."

I giggle as we share a glance before Chloe is the one to look away.

It's quiet again. Sometimes I like the quiet. Like when Chloe and I had broken into the school and had a midnight splish splash. The morning that followed had been perfect. We had laid there, bathed in the sun that crept through the flag over her window. Just... chilling like nothing could go wrong.

I had wanted to live in that moment forever.

But that silence was different from this one. It was similar to when I had been on the cliff with Chloe, bathed in not sun but raging shards of the raining sky. That memory was so vivid each time I recalled it, and the feeling of faint cold stung my cheeks. It was just the two of us as specks at the mercy of nature. But now, we both just stared at the ceiling. At the mercy of fate, or... well, my parent's decision...

"This, in all honesty, sucks balls." Chloe says.

"Do you have to put it like that?" I ask.

The silence continues for a moment until Chloe speaks again.

"Sometimes, I wonder... if it's just me." She says quietly. I prop myself up and look to her as she watches the ceiling.

"What do you mean?"

She closes her eyes, "If maybe I'm just cursed..."

"Don't say that."

"It's either I'm cursed, or I'm just so horrible, things just turn out this way because of it!"

"You're not horrible...!" I say in disbelief, "None of this is your fault..."

"Isn't it though?" She retorts with no basis.

"Chloe..." I mutter, wondering if anything I'll say can help her feel better.

"Sometimes... I cry... and I wish I could just wake up and he'll be there to comfort me. He'd say it was all a joke... and that he never left. Maybe he was just hiding in the garage all this time- or in Mom's closet. That would be so funny..." She says trying to humor it but she only managed a sad chuckle between words. She looks to me defeated, then she rolls on her side toward me, "But he's never coming back... and now, whoever hates me up there... They're trying to take you too..."

I take her hand, wanting to say everything will be okay. That somehow I can change it and make it alright. But, as she watches me, her eyes reflecting how fragile she is... And I decide that in the end- empty promises are the worst thing I can do to her.

"No matter what happens Chloe... I'll find my way back to you. Somehow..." I smile at her sadly. She smiles ever so slightly as well, seeming relieved to hear me say those words.

"I believe you, Max..."

...

...

...

Days pass. I try to visit Chloe as much as I can as the week goes by. But it seems quick and Chloe keeps trying to humor the idea of us running away... and as the days creep closer to my departure, I start to humor it more too.

I keep trying to convince them not to leave. That we should stay. But it doesn't budge either of them, and I know that it's a sad effort. Mom grows more annoyed with it, while Dad can do nothing but reassure me that I'll see her again one day. I'll see Chloe again, almost getting shot by a psychopath and I can in turn re-enact it all over again.

No. Way.

And in between all of this, it seems like a dream, and I still feel out of place. It's not as though I'm not living as myself again, the self that was further in the past. But the Max who was too blind to see how much Chloe was struggling with herself, is no longer here. And each moment, I feel wary as though I'm going to jump forward in time. And whatever awaits me there, where I'm supposed to be, is going to be worse than a city altering tornado or a shattered world full of different realities.

Meanwhile, everything around me triggers some sort of memory, even just words that were said in certain areas or angles. I feel myself captivated by each one, and Chloe has to bring me out of my daze. Hopefully she doesn't think I'm going nuts or my brain is damaged from my previous nose bleed.

But... slowly I'm starting to feel as though I do belong.

Fate, if you're there and can hear me… why, and how?

These weren't just cut off spaces surrounded by white and blistering orange and reds. It seemed like, I was here for good.

I know you like to get me when I least expect it though, Fate. I'll always be on my toes.

You've surprised me too many times for it all to just settle in...

...

..

.

Everything is like the tick of a clock. Subtle but powerful; in the end each second counts. And of all people, I would definitely hope I understood that. And I did. As I looked to the face of my Dad as he dropped me off for what is probably the last time, my eyes show nothing but sadness. He notices, as his mustache bends against his upper lip to emphasize his understanding.

"I'm sorry kiddo." He says in a tone that I have only just become accustom to in this timeline. Regret, guilt, and empathy for my aching heart. He knew it, as the orange morning sun shined against my watering eyes. His brows lowered as he looked down, "Just, try to have a good time Max. You'll see her again, I promise you that."

"… sure, Dad…" He didn't know anything of what was supposed to happen to Chloe. And for some reason, part of me wanted to blame him for that. Why can't you see Dad? Chloe needs me here, no matter what. I can take photos anywhere. I can learn anywhere. But I can't replace Chloe.

As if on cue, the door opens and I hear her call to me.

"Maximus!" She calls to me as I look back to her. She seems happy to see me as I quickly go to her and we share a hug, "Looking dramatically into the horizon without me are you?" She jokes before pulling me into the house, "Come on, Mom's making breakfast and you gotta order up before she makes a run for it." With the last few words she glances to me curiously.

I blink dumbly, catching on. I look to the side. Can we really...?

"Those gears are turning, I like that." Chloe says ruffling my now short hair, "You know, it's still growing on me. But I like this new look of yours."

"Hope it has more time to grow on you…" I mutter.

"Awh shucks Max… don't get all sad on me yet. The day hasn't ended, it's just beginning~!" She rubs my shoulder before heading to the kitchen, "Let me guess, Belgian waffles for the princess?"

I laugh slightly, "Oh, you know me so well sir Knight, what a charmer." Chloe snorts.

"I can't be much of a knight, with locks like these." She throws her hair back in an exaggerated fashion. It may have looked ridiculous to anyone else, but the elegance of her hair shattering the bold light falling through the screen door would have made a great shot… I wish I had my camera.

"So, what do you think?" She says as I blink.

"Huh?"

"Jeez Max, are you sure you've been okay? You're always going to cloudsville on me lately…" She says in a slight sarcastic but worried way.

"Sorry, I was just thinking of taking a picture…"

"Oh yeah! You are really getting into photography, huh? We should get you a camera…" She says in thought and pauses before clearing her throat, "But what I was really getting to is, should I cut my hair? What do you think?"

"Oh!... really?" I muse.

"Yeah, to be honest, having seen you with your hair short has gotten me thinking. I kind of like it. Not sure why I hadn't thought of it before. But I couldn't possibly do it without the approval of the Princess." She smiles at me slyly. I shake my head in amusement.

"Really, no matter what, I think you look great Chloe…" I say.

"Max, save the formalities…"

"Did I hear a Belgian waffle, and bacon with eggs for my favorite two girls?" I hear Joyce as she emerges from the shadow of her daughter from a far. Two delicious plates raised in her grasp as me and Chloe follow our noses.

"Thanks Mom, you're the best!" Chloe goes over to the table as Joyce places the plates on either side.

"Only the best for you two." She smiles gently before heading to the kitchen to grab her bag and keys, "Behave you two, I'll be back later this evening… sorry I can't stick around."

"It's fine Mom, I've gotten used to it." Chloe says with a sigh of sarcasm as I glance between them. Joyce opens her mouth but hesitates before shaking her head.

"I'll make it up to you." She says, "We can go for ice cream later if you girl's want…"

"It's fine Joyce, really…" I mutter, feeling rather uncomfortable in this situation while glancing to Chloe. She seemed so unreadable nowadays. Not that she wasn't before, but she just seemed more unpredictable.

"I'll see you both later." Joyce rushes out before I can see her reaction to my comment. As the door shuts I look to Chloe.

"Your mom is really trying Chloe…" I say softly.

"She shouldn't have to." Chloe retorts while shoving some egg into her mouth. She eats eagerly, avoiding my gaze as I look to my waffle. It looked sadly back to me as I nibbled at it.

Chloe eventually drops her utensils as though victoriously before putting her hands behind her head with a sigh, "Let's run Max."

Instead of reacting in my usual disbelief, I look down. We've both been thinking about it.

"What about your mom?" I ask.

"She'd be better without me anyway." She says. Did she really believe that?

"I don't think that's true…" I say carefully.

"Without Dad, it's been hard on her supporting the two of us and paying off this place. If we go, I'll be one less mouth she has to feed." She states logically. I frown, knowing that could be detrimental than she was acknowledging.

"I don't know Chloe... I mean, part of me really wants to though." I say, knowing that in the end I'll probably give in. But I want Chloe to think about it more...

"Look Max, it's our lives. They think we're just dumb kids, incapable of taking care of ourselves. Well, I say this is the perfect time to prove to them they're wrong." Chloe says boldly. I look to her, finding it rather strange that all of this was coming out of younger Chloe, "I'll keep you safe Max, with my life." She says, taking my hand.

I can't help the blush that comes to my cheeks. Chloe notices as she blinks blankly before hesitantly letting go of my hand. Was she blushing too...?

"I mean, you are my best friend, and I'd expect you to do the same. We'll have to fight for eachother to get through this Max." She says. I nod slightly as she looks to me, "So, you're in? Operation Jump Ship?"

"Operation Jump Ship?" I say a little humorously, "Yeah... I mean... I'm with you Chloe." I say, sounding a little nervous. She smiles and laughs before standing up and going around to hug me.

"Yes!" She kisses my forehead excitedly as I'm left slightly dumbfounded Chloe then takes off to run upstairs, "We better get moving then!" She stops being looking to me, "Too bad we couldn't break into your house and pull some things for you... ah well, we'll figure it out." She resumes going upstairs as I get up and look to the mess on the table.

Well, the least I can do is clean it up before Joyce gets back... Right Max, way to be empathetic. Oh hey uhm Joyce, I'm stealing Chloe from you when you trusted us to stay home and be good for the day. Uh, it's fine we might come back someday, but at least I cleaned the table for you... uuugh.

After washing the dishes I go up stairs to see Chloe shoving random articles of clothing into her backpack while muttering under her breath to herself. I couldn't help but watch her, rummaging around, muttering to herself if we needed this little thing or that. I smiled, as Chloe looked to me.

"You should probably grab some extra chow from the kitchen." She says, tossing me a flat backpack and I look to it then her, "Don't worry, it'll be the last time I try to bring my mom any grief."

I watch her as she resumes her movements before hesitantly leaving her room. Walking down the hall, I feel excited yet fearful. This wasn't going to happen, was it? Would we really get that far? Chloe... you're such an amazing yet overdaring person...

My head throbs as I find the pain to be an unbearably splitting sensation. It's as though something's trying to escape with such velocity, I find myself on the floor. My hand raises, trying to keep it steady as everything is inaudible.

"-ax?!" Chloe comes into view as the high pitched silence nearly masks her mouth as it moves. She looks frantic and concerned. I look to her unsurely before eventually a loud noise forces me back to the reality around me. I'm still in the hall silent, but Chloe isn't there. I stand up, or move to. But I am standing.

I hear her foot steps as she steps out of her room, "Oh!" Chloe noises in surprise, "Uh, Max?" She sounds confused, "Have you just been standing there?" She goes to my side as I look to her.

"Uh... well..." I noise, trying to muster a lie but seeming unable to.

"Are you okay?" She says putting a hand to my shoulder. She watches me.

"I'm... fine." I say looking back. She puts her lips together in a firm line before she shakes her head slightly.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea..."

"What? No, we should definitely do it..." I say, shaking my head slightly, putting my hand to it, "I've just been... stressed out... I guess..."

"... okay... if you say so Max." She says, checking her pocket to see her cell phone then she looks to me.

"Let's grab some stuff from the kitchen and go."