Back, again, with a new, really long chapter :)
We're slowly coming to the end of the recap, in the next chapter, my origina alternate ending will start.So~ hope you enjoy reading this chapter, even though I am not really sure about my wording in some sentences... english isn't my native language after all :')
"Don't you dare question the chef!" It's William! No, don't tell me..
"Right, like you're the real cook here." Chloe! Why? This is the moment right before William wants to drive to Joyce, and then gets into a car accident! Please, I don't want to relive this..
Caught in my thoughts, I was startled by the telephone ringing. And I know who it is. I don't need to listen to know, what he's going to say.
"You'll be grateful for that someday." William answers as Chloe makes fun of him. This sentence… kills me. Neither of them knows, what will happen. I see him looking around for the keys, as suddenly, there's a flicker and myself as a kid, appears in front of me. Oh god, don't tell me I – she's trying to hide the keys. Or she did already hide them and is waiting for William to give up?
"Ah, you can't hide from me forever!" He found them, and my other me looks painfully at me, then disappearing with another light flicker. She couldn't save him, but at least, Chloe's not getting into a car accident, right? Right after that, my phone vibrates, and I look at the message and gasp.
"Hey Max, would you say hi to Chloe and Joyce? Don't forget to remind them that you let me die."
It's from William! And I can't believe this is happening… It's not my fault, right? I can't choose between William's and Chloe's lives! But even so, I did…
The light flashes again, and as I try to open my eyes again, I'm back - in my worst nightmare. I'm in the darkroom, tied up in the chair. Why am I back here again!? I want to get out of this hell of a universe or dream or whatever! I just can't take it anymore. How long will this go on? At least, Jefferson isn't here, ri-
A light flash, and suddenly he sits on the couch, looking at his camera. I get goose bumps, and begin to shiver. Why did he have to suddenly appear here?
"I think you'd be perfect for my new photo series on retro-grunge." Does he mean me? But he's not facing me at all – Oh my god, right next to me, there's Chloe standing and posing for him. What the fuck are you doing, Chloe!? Suddenly she turns her head and glares at me.
"You have the same qualities that I loved in Rachel Amber…. But not Max." Jefferson keeps talking.
Chloe looks back at the camera. "Max is a fuckin child…" What? Chloe, what are you talking about?
"Oh, I know… And she never shuts up, does she?" Jefferson is just agreeing with Chloe. Is this true? Do I always talk way too much? No, this can't be real; Chloe would never say that, right?
"I'm so over her hipster bullshit." Chloe, please, stop saying things like that! I feel tears coming from my eyes.
"I think everyone at Blackwell is over Max… Let's prove it." Oh Jefferson, just shut up! I've had enough of your bullshit. What hurts me most is what Chloe is saying… Light flash again, Jefferson gone, but instead, Warren appeared. They're standing really close… What is this supposed to mean?
"Booyah, Warren! I thought you were all over Max's shit." Oh no, they didn't! Did they just kiss?
"Not after she kissed me! Her breath was ass and no tongue." What the fuck, Warren, you too? Is this true?
"I hear that. I'm not into nerds… but you're pretty cute." What? Chloe? And Warren? But…
"I'm not into Max, anyway. So… let's bust a move!" And then they get closer and kiss each other. What am I even doing right here!? I don't want to see this, but my body won't move. Warren didn't love me? I don't know how to feel about this. And Chloe…
Again a light flash, and Nathan and Chloe are sitting on the couch.
"Goddamn, you're such a sexy bitch! Why hang out with Max, huh?" Nathan…
"Boredom. Plus she's like my personal puppet." What the hell, Chloe!? What am I supposed to feel? This can't be real, right? Chloe is my best friend, or even more... So why does she say things like that now? This has to be a nightmare!
"I hear that. Do you… want to party? I got a drugstore in my room." Oh Nathan, nothing good comes with having drugs…
"Oh shit! Look at Max spying on us… Take a fucking picture, bitch! Or take a selfie!" I'm shocked! They can see me? But when they know I'm here, why would they talk about me in such a manner? Do they want me to hear them? Do they want me to break because of this? Again, the scene changes, and Chloe's suddenly only in her underwear, dancing on the couch.
"See, this is how you bust a move, Max! No mosh pit for you, shaka brah!" Please… stop this! When will this end? Why can't I move my body? Chloe dis- and reappears together with Victoria. They are… flirting with each other?
"Damn, Victoria… You're a real woman… not a little girl like Max…" Okay, I've understood it already, so stop talking! Maybe I am childish… maybe I still am not even remotely adult, but I heard you, so please, stop this madness! I don't even care what they're saying anymore, I just know what's going to happen. They kiss.
Suddenly, Chloe appears right in front of me. What's shocking me, is, that it's Chloe from the timeline where I saved William. She angrily stares at me, sitting in her wheelchair.
"Why did you get rewind powers? You don't even know how to use them right…" Why, indeed? Why did I get all these powers? I really don't know what to do with them anymore. I just thought if I could save Chloe and somehow find out the cause of the storm I saw, I'd use them for good. But what am I really doing?
"Rachel's dead and you're still alive. Life is… so not fair." Tears start flowing down my cheeks, remembering how we found out about Rachel. Am I being selfish? For only wanting to save Chloe? Would Chloe be able to save Rachel, too, if she had the powers? Probably… And I'm here, jumping from realities to realities, and not being able to accomplish anything. Suddenly, original Chloe's back, with a camera in her hand.
"I wish you would have never come back to Arcadia Bay… You're the real storm!" I gasp. What does that mean? Am I the cause of all this? Well, if I hadn't come back, would nothing of this have happened? The flash of the camera interrupts my thoughts, and the surroundings fade again in the blinding white light.
I realize where I am, it's the bathroom of the Two Whales Diner. At least I'm not in the school building or anywhere near. I could go for something to eat, some of Joyce's pancakes maybe. This would mean so much to me right now… if she is here, since this is a bizarre copy of the normal reality.
I want to open the door, but it won't open? Oh, I see. There's something next to the door. God, please no. I'll be so grateful if this is the last digit code. But what numbers should I enter? I try a random number, out of frustration. Of course it's wrong - what the fuck? My eyes widen, as I look at the walls. Great! Numbers are all over the place! How will I find the right ones? I try a couple, before going down on my knees. How am I supposed to get out of here? How many numbers are written on these walls? Is there a pattern? Some of them seem to be repeated some times, but I can't figure out the solution of this riddle. Even though I've been trained all these weeks… Before having a meltdown, I decide to splash my face with water, and there I notice. Now why doesn't he mirror reflect any of the numbers? I stare at it, trying to find the missing piece of this puzzle. That's when I see the only visible number. 0311! I jump to the door, and am so relieved of finally getting out of here.
But what's going on here? Everyone I know of Arcadia Bay is right now here, only that they are frozen, sitting or standing there emotionless. What's not frozen is the sound of whispering voices. I slowly walk through the diner, looking at and listening to everyone around here. And so many people are here right now… all sounding really broken and disappointed.
"I guess I'll never dance again, Max" Dana!
"Right when I was about to start a new life in California…" Some dude sitting in front of Joyce and David.
"Shit Max… And I thought we're on the same team. Now I'll die alone." Frank, what's going on here? Don't say such things!
"Max, I hope you do the right thing… I hope." Juliet…
"I can't believe you kissed me… Now you're going to kill me?" Warren, no!
"Honey, I've always thought of you like a daughter… and now you're gonna take me away from my family? Why would you do that?" Joyce, no… I want to save everybody! Don't worry, I'll fix this! Definitely… My eyes are getting wet again.
"Max. You're exactly the kind of soldier I'd want to be on my side in war…" David, do you think I'm that cold?
"Killing me is sooo not cool…" "Wow Max, right when I finally found a cool chick to date, you have to kill us off. This sucks!" Justin, Trevor, I don't want to kill you! I don't want anyone to die!
"I know I haven't been the best principal to you, but you've been a great Everyday Hero for us!" The sarcastic undertone in Principal Well's voice hurts. But I've tried to help everyone! I tried so hard…
"Max, I hope you can live with yourself after this" says someone behind the counter. Well, can I?
"Don't let the squirrels die!" Even Samuel is here…
"I wish we had been friends, Max. But please, don't let me die like this. I'm still a teenager." Victoria, I wanted to be friends with you, too, and we still can be! When I find the end of this hell, when I get out of here and start a new timeline, I can surely fix everything, right?
"Max, I-I truly am sorry about being such a bastard to ya… you would have been cool to hang out with. I just don't want everybody else to suffer like me." Oh god Nathan! I suspected you to be the culprit from the start because of this mess… If I just could have found out earlier, if I just wouldn't have been so narrow minded. But now I know, so I'll do everything right next time…
"You've always had my back, and now you're going to let me die!? Thanks Max!" It's true, I did save Alyssa some times, but I don't want her to die!
"Max, I want you to know how much confidence you gave me. Nobody ever did that for me." Oh Daniel… At least you're grateful for my help…
And then I notice the only moving person in the whole Diner: Myself? Maybe this is some alternate universe, and I could surely help myself out... This sounds so crazy. Well, anyways, I have to talk to myself.
"Who… who are you?" Dumb question, but who knows… The other I shoots me another glare.
"Holy shit, are you cereal? I'm you, dumbass!" Ok, no need to be that insulting, but then, she, myself – ok, it's getting confusing – surely knows a way out of this, or we can work together to find a solution. "Or I'm one of many Maxes you've left behind…" Left behind? What does that mean? Did I always just flee from a dimension, letting things go horribly wrong there? I gulped at the thought. Anyway, she surely knows a way out, right?
"Can you get me out of here?" My other I glares at me.
"Oh, so you want help? Thought you could control everybody and everything, huh? Twist time around your fingers?" What? Is she accusing me of abusing my power, of being obsessed with my advantage of controlling time? No, I use them for good! I saved Kate. I found out about Mr. Jefferson and much more.
"I tried to help… I only wanted to do the right thing-"
"No, you only wanted to be popular. And once you got these amazing powers, your big plan was to trick people into thinking you give a rat's ass." She looks at the people around us. Why is she so mean to me, we're the same person, aren't we?
"I do care! That's why I was trying to make friends..." I reply with a broken voice. She just hisses at me.
"By telling people what they want to hear? You were just looking for a shortcut, because you can't make friends on your own." What is she saying? I can't make friends on my own? Of course I can! I don't want to believe this. And I won't believe it.
"That's not true. I have great friends. And I've used my powers for good."
"Please, stop playing innocent. You're a goddamn hypocrite."
Well, she's not completely wrong, is she? I suddenly remember rewinding because I didn't know what a skate move was and Justin called me a 'poser'. I remember rewinding while talking to Brooke, because she called me stupid since I didn't know the name of her drone. I remember rewinding because I didn't know Juliet's complete name. I keep remembering more of these situations, am I really just a hypocrite?
"You've left a trail of death and suffering behind you." That's it!
"That was not my fault, you son of a bitch!" I almost shout at myself. Seems weird, but this can't be me, would I be so hard on myself?
"Don't you dare talk about our mom that way… ha! What about the crap that was your fault?"
I open my mouth to say something, but she interrupts me again.
"Wait, wait let me guess… You fucked up time and space for your precious punk Chloe!" Well, if you put it that way…
"You think she's worth all that?" It's not only Chloe!
"We all are. This isn't about Chloe… or even me anymore." This is right, there are more people involved than just Chloe and me. But she will never be satisfied with my thinking, I guess.
"Gosh! You're so selfless now, Mahatma Max. It's too bad you pissed your power away on high school drama." Well, at least I managed to get a fucking psycho into jail!
"Chloe does a better job of guilt-tripping me than you do."
"Because you let her bully you! It's called 'Stockholm Syndrome'. But you didn't do that homework… So you'll have to learn the hard way. Like Rachel…" Leave Rachel out of this! She starts to sound like Mr. Jefferson…
"Just shut up. You're not scaring me anymore." Is this true? She isn't scaring me, right? Because I'm already so mad at her, I don't even care that she looks like me.
"I'd be more worried about Chloe killing us than Jefferson… Max, do you really think she's our friend? That she respects us in any way?" What the fuck did you say!? Chloe needs me, and so do I need her. We lifted the mystery behind Rachel and Jefferson together! We have to stay together, no matter what. But Max 2 only goes on ranting about me.
"Man, you are so stupid. I'm embarrassed to have the same name. And someday Chloe will destroy-" She stops, as the door of the diner opens.
"Oh hell, speak of the devil..." It's almost same line Joyce said when I first went to the Two Whales Diner after five years. As then, Chloe turns up, gets to our table and jumps on the seat opposite the other person claiming to be 'me'.
"Dude, do not even dare fuck with her head!" Chloe shouts at her, while looking seriously mad. "She knows what we went through together this week and you don't! There's no way you can break up our team! This is reality!" But she just ignores Chloe, taking out the same camera and getting into a pose for taking a selfie. Suddenly they freeze.
Well, hope you enjoyed, and be sure to leave a review some time, I'd be really happy to know if you like my ff ^-^!
Next chapter will come this wednesday! If nothing comes in the way of me uploading it ^^'