A/N-

Hey, humans! Here's chapter 4, I know its been awhile... I have been super stressed as I had finals looming over me. Ugh.

Now, I just wanted to say that whenever I get a new favorite, follow, or review it blows my mind that people actually enjoy my writing. So, thank you, I love it when I realize you actually exist! If anyone has actually read this far, congratulations on getting through my rambles and enjoy the story!

Chloe POV


"Hey Maxine,"Chloe called, "Max are you... Okay?"

Max gasped, breathing hard, her hand slamming hard into the wall beside her for support. "Chloe, hey." Max forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Whatcha got there." She tried, but cringed at the way her voice awkwardly wavered.

Chloe's eyes widened as she looked at how pale Max had suddenly become. "Max." She whispered much more quietly this time. "Are you... sure you're okay?" Chloe asked, concern evident in her voice as she rocked back and forth on her toes.

Chloe wasn't very good at what she called "mushy shit" but she tried. Well, it wasn't so much that she wasn't good at comforting people she just wasn't good at comforting with words. Chloe much preferred physical comfort but she seemed to have a knack for reading people as well. Chloe could tell by Max's stiff body language she would not appreciate being touched.

Max straightened herself up and clenched her teeth as she mumbled incoherantly.

"Uh, Okaay?" Chloe grumbled as she narrowed her eyes at Max's back. The shorter girl walked around her and proceeded to push herself up onto the deck of the rusty boat. She reached up grabbing the side and pulled herself up as if she was mounting a horse, swinging her leg over the edge, Max didn't even put her foot against the side of the old thing for support as she skillfully swung up.

Chloe stared wondering exactly what this girl had been up to during her time in Seattle.

Maybe she took self defense classes or some shit. She seems kinda grumpy. Grumpy Max is grumpy. God, Chloe, maybe she's got a problem with the alcohol sitch? She's probably not a drinker. Chloe had absolutely no idea but the latter theory was quickly debunked as Max yelled at her to "hurry her ass up with the beer already," as she so delicately put it.

Chloe practically flopped onto the surface of the wrecked boat as she pulled herself to her feet she was greeted with a smug smirk. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." The bluenette tossed the six pack onto the jagged edged table and dropped down onto a chair. Max cringed as her own chair squeaked and scratched against the floorboards when she pulled it out.

Glancing up Max noticed Chloe staring intently at her, fingers coiled around the neck of her beer. Chloe attempted to casually avert her eyes but Max caught her watching despite her efforts. The brunette sniggered and leaned forward whipping her own beer off the tabletop.

"Like what you see?" The shorter girl teased playfully, contrary to her pale anxiety ridden expression of only a few minutes ago.

Chloe rolled her eyes and decided to get right down to business. "So, I guess Seattle was hardcore." It wasn't really a question more an observation on Chloe's part.

Max's jaw clenched, Chloe scanned The freckled girl's face for clues about whatever was going through her head. Max swallowed and cleared her throat. "It was... different." She decided, then, "I felt lonely." She took a long swig of her beer with an ease that concerned the punk as she knew well what that had to mean.

"Really? I would have thought you would fit right in." Chloe deadpanned, making a point to avoid eye contact, although she was surprised at Max's blunt response.

"Passive aggressive much." Max asked but it felt more like an accusation.

Chloe's face took on a shocked expression for a moment at her friend's quip. The blue haired girl cleared her throat and took a rather long swig of her drink.

"Sorry." Max mumbled, "I just... I don't really want to..." She let out a frustrated sigh curling her hands into fists, her nails digging into the delicate skin of her palms. "Can we talk about something else?"

Chloe shrugged, "Whatever." She agreed nonchalantly but her thoughts were buzzing so loud she would not have been surprised if Max could hear them.

The feelings of both girls were quite contrasting as Max had an expression of relief etched into her features. Chloe, on the other hand, was feeling suspicious and nervous as she scanned Max, analyzing her movements and body language. If there was one thing Chloe Price was good at it was reading people.

Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat, which Chloe of course noticed, it only took her another moment to realize it was because she was staring. She was absorbing Max's entire image to memory and she had quite the hard focused stare going on. After realizing she was making Max somewhat uncomfortable she looked at Max with a new approach. Taking in the perfect subtle curves of her body, piercing blue of her eyes and the way her slim figure was bent as she leaned back against her chair.

Fuck. What are you doing idiot. Ugh, she probably thinks you are some creepy perv, staring at her like that! Goddamnit, Chloe. The punk thought, in her inner turmoil, which Chloe was pretty sure Max had failed to pick up on. The tall girl blurted out a half assed sarcastic remark in an attempt to cover her tracks.

"Can't keep your eyes off me?" Max teased her friend, trying to brush off the fact she had been squirming under Chloe's gaze not a moment before.

"Uhm, listen, Chloe," Max started, all her bravado fading fast, "I know I have been kinda distant and standoffish since I got back.. but I am sorry I left. I didn't want to. I should have found some way to stay, there is no excuse or explanation that could ever make up for leaving y- ummph!"

Without a thought Chloe had her hand in Max's hair, smashing their lips together. Oh, crap. Oh, fuck! She thought as time seemed to slow down around them. Max's shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension and relax, she was letting her guard down. Chloe moved her hand from the back of Max's head drawing her fingers along to the side of her neck. As soon as the brunette realized what exactly was happening she pulled away so fast it could have given Chloe whiplash.

The punk didn't process the lack of contact of a moment as she was still leaning forward. "You talk a lot ya know that, Caulfield." Chloe explained, her eyes... rougher but there was a hint of something else too, a barely noticeable waver.

Max could see something broken in Chloe that had not been there prior to her leaving for Seattle. Chloe could see a similar brokenness in Max but unlike Max she had no idea what it was.

Several beats dragged by before Max responded, having opted to go with the playful teasing response. "Not bad, Price, but I'm not nearly trashed enough for this." Max said, knowing own her words held truth.

Chloe smirked her walls shooting back up to protect her, "Gotta keep things interesting." The punk attempted to force a smile but quickly scrapped that for a quick sip of her beer. Well, what Chloe considered a sip may not be widely agreed upon.

The pair quickly fell back into their usual banter but the kiss lingered at the back of both of their minds, nagging.

Chloe drank and, blazed and, blasted her music until she couldn't make sense out of the words of the song. The scenery around her had long since turned fuzzy except for those blue orbs. She bets she could see them from across space. She wonders how she went five years without being able to look into those eyes.

Chloe had always been the type to get "mushy" as she would put it, when she was high. Right now, Chloe Price was practically on the moon.

When a certain blue-haired punk wakes up with a pounding head and way to much garbage at her feet, she squints holding her head as she tries to clear the hazy fog clouding her mind.

She vaguely remembers spinning around and stumbling across the top deck of the boat, music blaring with Max Caulfield.

Chloe craned her neck to get a better view of the whole room. She spotted the specific girl she happened to be searching for laying on the floor a few feet to her left, jacket bunched up under her head. Chloe is about to go (very obnoxiously) wake her up, a shit eating grin stretched across her visage.

Before she even gets up she remembers a detail that had been shoved away at the back of her mind. A blush dusted her features. Ruining my punk cred, Cauliflower. The bluenette tacked that nickname away for later use.

Chloe looked back over at Max, the brunette's brows were furrowed and Chloe could see her irises flicking around behind her eyelids. Wonder if she has nightmares often...

The tall bluenette frowned as she flipped stray pieces of her vibrant strands out of her eyes. Max was asleep but it seemed to Chloe she still had her guard up. After all, Chloe knew a thing or two about keeping people at a distance.

Max let out a small whimper that may as well have shattered Chloe's heart completely. Max swung her body around violently, letting out a borderline terrifying growl. Should I wake her up? Can't people get paralyzed if you wake them up from a nightmare. No thats-

Max curled tightly into herself letting out another soft noise somewhat like what Chloe associated with that of a kicked puppy. Okay, okay, gotta wake her.. Umm, yeah I'll just.

Chloe quietly crawled over to Max, hesitating, unsure of how exactly to wake her friend. Although, from her new vantage point she noticed just how pale Max's bare arms were, like she hadn't spent much time in the sun. Upon closer inspection she noticed strange looking circular shaped scars with a line running through them which looked to have been scarred with some sort of blade or scalpel. There were two on the inside of her bicep on the right arm and one at the curve of her elbow.

The bluenette carefully reached forward to graze her fingers over the raised skin. Before the tips of her fingers came in contact she caught sight of her own scars on the inside of her wrists and forearms. Chloe retracted, sitting back on her heels as she debated with herself whether or not to mention it to Max when she woke up. No. She'll tell me when she's ready.

Chloe stood up, stretching and cracking more joints than she thought was possible. Damn, last time I ever sleep on the floor, ever.

The tall punk stumbled out of what was probably once the control room and onto the main deck. She dug through her pockets and pulled out her cigarettes and a red chipped lighter. Touching the small flame to the tip of the stick she took a long pull and blew the smoke out into the air.

She puffed on her cigarette as she watched the sun peeking out over the horizon. Judging by pale pinks and purples painting the sky it had to be relatively early. Chloe slid her phone out of her jacket and clicked on the screen. She was greeted with a wall of texts some from Joyce, others from Frank, as well as what she assumed was an angry voicemail, from David. Rolling her eyes she flung the phone onto the table beside her and flicked the stub of her cigarette to the ground, stomping it out with the heel of her boot.

Chloe spun around when she heard the creaking of the floor boards behind her. Her expression softened at the sight of, a very sleepy, Max Caulfield. The brunette rubbed her eyes and Chloe took extra notice to the fact she was now sporting her jacket, covering her pale arms. She felt a pang of sadness that Max felt she had to hide something from her. She left me, I have nothing to feel guilty about. She should have called. Why didn't she call?! What happened to her.

Chloe tried her best not to stare at Max's clothed arms, the placement of her scars now carved into her brain. She was not doing a very good job, she realized as she dragged her gaze back up to Max's face. "Sorry, you say something?"

Max gave her a quizzical look before playfully cupping her the bluenette's cheek running her thumb over the smooth flawless skin. Sliding her hand down to tilt the punk's chin up to meet her eyes, she just smirked as her eyes burned into Chloe's. Her playful facade dropped while her eyes drank up every detail of Chloe's face, landing on her pink lips.

Neither one of them was really sure who initiated it but they were kissing, lips pressed together perfectly. Chloe gripped Max's hips as the brunette intwined her fingers into the punk's fading azure locks. It wasn't fireworks. It was a nuclear bomb going off. Neither noticed, neither cared, blind to everything but each other.

Max seemed to come to senses first yet again, at the same moment Chloe moved her hand to Max's right arm. Max, what happened to you, you were always so warm and receiving, so sweet.

"Max I'm-" What can I say? "Max your being super weird, have anything to do with those weird as fuck scars on your arms." "Nevermind." Chloe eventually mumbled quietly.

"I came back for you." Max blurted her eyes searching for a reaction. She was not disappointed.

Holy fuck, what?! Chloe's eyes were the size of saucers as she stared straight at Max's face probing for any sign of a lie. Max didn't look nervous she looked curious but she had this hardness to her eyes Chloe kept seeing in her, kept trying to ignore. What happened to you Max? Chloe found herself asking that question quite a lot since Max had returned.

Chloe opened and closed her mouth but she couldn't seem to find any words.

"Chloe you kept me going, you..." Max stopped herself and Chloe took into account how often the brunette had been doing so. Max scowled at how pathetic she sounded and turned away from Chloe. "I should go."

Wait, what?! No way. Chloe thought about latching onto Max's arm or calling out her name but her mind couldn't force her body to move. She just stared helplessly after the girl who meant more than anything to her. The girl who left her but also the girl who came back. Chloe had so many thoughts in her head she didn't know what to do with and she broke down.

The raging girl kicked the shitty old chair off the deck of the boat and reveled in the sound of it crashing into the junk below. She wanted to smash and throw anything in her reach, get her anger out. However, years of that had proven to hurt more than help so Chloe just sank to the ground her thoughts running wild while she was unable to regain control. She's leaving me again. SHE'S RUNNING AWAY.

Tears streamed down the depressed punk's cheeks causing her to paw at her eyes in a failed attempt to stop them.

Now, Chloe Price doesn't cry. She gets sad, she definitely gets angry but she doesn't cry. At least not for a long time.

When she was twelve and broke her arm skateboarding, she tried to laugh it off and would deny ever even screaming. Max had been so worried she had seemed to be more upset than Chloe herself.

When she was thirteen and her cat died Max was there, William was there, Joyce was there. They had a small celebration in the backyard and even carved "Bongo, 1999-2008" into a thin flat stone.

When she was fourteen and her dad passed away, tears strung behind her eyes but never left her tear ducts. Max was there that day, she hugged her and didn't let go for what felt like centuries.

Max Caulfield never made it to the funeral.

Max Caulfield left for Seattle.

Max Caulfield left her...

That's when Chloe Price cried. She retreated into herself cocooned in her blankets hidden away in her bedroom. She had lost everything that ever meant anything to her.

...but then Max Caulfield came back, came back for her and Chloe Price loved her, she had always loved her.

Chloe cried, collapsed into a heap on the moldy splitting wood of the boat's deck. She wasn't hysterical, she was quite tears slowly falling down her cheeks.

She wasn't sure how she felt. Happy? Maybe Max returned the feelings she had trapped inside for so long. Angry? Max had taken so long to come back to her. Sad? It took this long for them to reunite, so much time was lost. I will not lose anymore.

Chloe pushed herself up, dried her tears and jumped down off the boat. Max was nowhere to be seen. Damn, for such a shorty she can move hella fast. Chloe smirked, Max had always been the shorter of the two and Chloe had always teased her about it when they were kids.

The bluenette shook the memories away and hopped into her truck. Despite her father dying in a car accident Chloe could be a bit of a reckless driver.

The tall punk practically rolled out of her truck as she had barely put the vehicle in park before she was slamming the door shut. She was parked outside Max's apartment, the presence of her red jeep in the parking lot confirmed the brunette did actually live here. Chloe was about to bum rush the door when she realized she had no idea what Max's apartment number was. Ahh, fuck. Chloe looked around the parking spaces had fading numbers painted on them showing which spot belonged to who but the numbers were indecipherably faded.

Chloe kicked a pebble across the parking lot in her frustration before spotting another method of deduction. She took long strides over the the rusted mailboxes in front of the apartment block. Max Caulfield. Max Caulfield... Maxine Caulfield, 219. Chloe laughed to herself, thinking about the scowl that must have claimed her friend's features upon discovering Maxine printed on her mailbox. Aforementioned scowl, obviously would've been accompanied by her signature "Max never Maxine."

Chloe put old memories aside, focusing on her task at hand. What do I say? What do I do? Chloe ascended the stairs, making her way up to Maxine's room. The usually confident punk felt a knot twisting in her stomach. Butterflies, ugh, since when do I get nervous. Chloe chided herself before she pushed her shoulders back as she stood up straight and walked, with her usual swagger, down the hall to where Max was now living.

Chloe could not deny that even the most optimistic person would have to be delusional to not notice how run down the place was. Not like my room isn't a total shithole but this place is in a whole different category.

The ugly wallpaper, probably plastered on the walls since the 1950s, was peeling where the corners met (not to mention the poor color choice). One of the lights in the hallway was burnt out, giving the place a vaguely haunting aesthetic. Okay so, a really haunting aesthetic.

There were not very many rooms on the floor, which didn't make much sense as Max's room was labeled number 219. Renovations? Chloe tried to keep every horror movie cliche from invading her thoughts but could not help smirking at the fact little shy Max Caulfield had turned into a girl who would live in a bare, diminished place like this. Some of the windows don't even have glass, just torn up screens. This place is way to cool, in a hella creepy way, but cool.

Reaching the splintering wood door, with 219 printed in a courier style font on the door, Chloe took one last survey of the hall, psyching herself up for how run down Max's living space had to be and what to not say about it. Chloe seemed to lack a brain to mouth filter at least 97.48 percent of the time, precisely.

Taken out of her reverie by the sound of a doorknob twisting, a very rusty loud, doorknob. In a moment Chloe was face to face with Max. She stood there for a moment all coherent thoughts lost on her. In one swift motion her lips were grazing against Max's.

Chloe held her breath for a moment, until Max reciprocated. Chloe found herself smiling against the brunette's lips, they were warm, and soft, pressed against hers. Chloe could taste the mint from Max's toothpaste contrasting to her own morning breath, suddenly feeling stupid for not "prepping" or whatever. However, quick as the thought entered her mind it was replaced with Max.

Max kissing her.

Max, and the scent of cheap hand soap.

Max, and the scent of her perfume masked by the smells of the junkyard.

Chloe did not care. The bluenette found herself melting into the kiss, tangling her fingers into the brunette's hair. She felt like something in her was released from a long held captivity. She had been rescued by her knight in shining armor. Does that make her the princess? Chloe did not care.

This time Max did not break away from the touch when Chloe grazed her fingertips down her pale arms. Max's nimble artists fingers made their way down Chloe's neck, nails scraping lightly down her back to rest on her waist.

Chloe could feel what was coming, she had enough experience in this department to know they would not be slowing down. I want this... but not like this.

"Wait... Wait, Max." Chloe breathed, her senses fully aware of how close they still were. Bodies pressed together, not allowing an inch of space between them. "I want this, us, I mean obviously because I.. You know, kissed you." Chloe felt a light blush filling her cheeks but she did not break eye contact. However, that did not stop her from internally chiding herself. Chloe Price doesn't get flustered.

"Er.. What I'm trying to say is, I love you, Max." Oh fuck, dropped the L word on her.

"Chloe."

"I know it seems fast but it's been five years, Max. Yeah, maybe I'm not quite over that yet but, I do know that these feeling have been there ever since we were kids." She took a quick breath, still not allowing Max to get a word in. "I totally get it if you don't want to-"

Max was kissing her again. Lot of that happening lately. It wasn't like the kiss from moments before, it was short and chaste. And Chloe was melting. "You talk a lot, you know that, Price." Max smirked, thinking back to the same phrase, which Chloe had used the day before after that first kiss.

Chloe did not get the chance to respond because Max was kissing her again it was short just like the prior kiss but it was a confirmation. Chloe did not need to say anything she just smiled and allowed herself to be pulled into the apartment. They did not talk much, that could wait, they just enjoyed being in each other's presence. Talking and watching bad movies- maybe a little kissing thrown in for good measure- until they're stomachs hurt from the junk food, stupid jokes, and too loud laughter.

Their issues could be put on hold. Let them have this time.


A/N-

Hello, again, it appears you have made it to the end of this chapter. Sorry it is a bit late, I talked more about that earlier at the beginning of this chapter. I am currently trying to type this little note up on the bus (I kinda have a slight fear of driving). The point is that its actually ridiculously hard to type on the bus, but I'm getting more done than I would've if I drove, right!

That was all mostly pointless rambling, so if you haven't left yet I have a small announcement;

I know the updates on this story have been spread apart and the chapters aren't all that long, the reason being I tend to lose my point. Well, I am here to tell you that things are starting to slow down a bit for me so the chapters will hopefully be posted more frequently but will remain relatively the same in length (2000-5000 words).

Alright, well that's about all I have to say, although, I do feel like I'm forgetting something... Oh well.

Have a strange day and i'll see ya when I see ya!

*flies off in spaceship*