Its been awhile since I wrote this fic! You can blame episode 4 for breaking me and leaving unable to write this story, but I decided to come back with some new ideas! I hope you enjoy this chapter!


Ring

A little bit…

Ring

Just a little bit more…

Ring

Max groaned. She shut down the alarm and ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"What a crazy week. She muttered to herself and closed her eyes. "Rewind powers? Check. Alternate timelines? Check."

"An idiot taking over my body? Check." Her alternate self answered sarcastically.

Max rolled her eyes and got up. She rubbed her temples as she looked at her closet. There was no way she was going to wear those white trousers again.

"Isn't there anything better to wear?" She complained at the sigh. The clothes looked uncomfortable, and weren't her style. She preferred Rachel's clothes to this.

"Well excuse me for having a sense of style. It is not my fault that you have terrible taste."

"Oh right! I should wear those to look like Victoria's pet. She must be proud of her creation."

"Last time I checked, it was the other way around…"

"What?"

"Nothing. You're in my body, so you have all the freedom to wear whatever crap you want. Figure it out, Maxine."

Max cringed at the use of her full name, which led to them bickering for a while.

"I can't believe I just argued with myself." She shook her head and stepped out of her dorm, but was met by a bone crushing hug from Victoria.

What the fuck.

She froze trying to process the situation.

"Max! I sent you like 10 texts! Where have you been? Are you okay? You're not mad at me, right?" Victoria stated attacked her with questions.

Max just stared at her blankly.

What the actual fuck.

"Tori, I'm fine." She reassured her. "Wowser, where did that come from?" She thought.

She wondered if her behavior and words were merging with her other self. Was this her talking? Or was this the influence of her personality in this world?

The conclusion she got was, that time travel is a mind fuck.

"Are you sure? Where have you being?" The blonde asked, letting go of the death grip. Max thanked god for sparing her from the mighty chase bear. "You're not dating anyone are you? I want details!"

"No. I'll tell you later. I'm starving right now. Can we get breakfast?"

Victoria nodded, following her outside. They arrived at two whales. The brunette was disappointed that Joyce wasn't there.

She noticed Rachel sitting alone and was about to go talk to her.

"I don't care that she's missing in your timeline. But if you start hanging around her too much, that would be suspicious." Maxine stated.

"I know." She sighed. "I just feel that she is somehow connected to what happened to Kate. They both disappeared at a vortex party."

"All I know is that she was acting off and someone filmed her."

"I know Nathan drugged her."

"So if he drugged them both and took them somewhere, why was Kate the only one to come back?"

"I don't know." Max sighed and sat across Victoria.

"So are you going to tell me what happened or will you zone out again?" Victoria asked with clear curiosity and amusement.

"I just visited an old friend. Haven't seen her in 5 years."

"Seeing an old friend won't make you so shook up. I saw that Amber girl yesterday and she told me what happened. Tell me what's wrong." Victoria insisted, her eyes glued on the brunette.

"She got into a car accident and now she's paralyzed." Max answered, feeling the pain from the previous day coming back to her, burning her.

She put her in that chair. She wondered if everything she touches dies, because she was pretty sure that ever since she reunited with Chloe, the girl has kept dying. The same thing could be said about Kate.

Maybe she was bad luck. A walking tragedy waiting to hit people around her.

"Oh… I'm so sorry." Victoria's genuine concern was surprising. "Maybe you should come to the party. It will cheer you up."

"That sound like a good distraction." Max lied and took a sip of her coffee before deciding to investigate a bit. "Did you notice anything strange about Nathan lately?"

"That does not sound suspicious at all."

"He's always strange about you." The blonde stated, wearing her usual smirk. "Knowing you, I bet you pulled one of your moves on him."

Max's eyes widened as she tried to find an answer. "What's up with Nathan?" She asked her other self.

"He has a crush on me."

"Gross!" The idea of him being interested in her made her want to throw up. She couldn't wipe away the memory of him shooting Chloe.

"And I once slapped his butt."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Did I turn out to be a pervert in this timeline?!"

"Hey! I'm an artist! I need to appreciate God's art or whatever!"

Max chose not to continue her inner battle. "You know me well." She answer, hoping she didn't sound awkward. "But doesn't he look tense?" She asked.

"You're right. I'm worried about him. He's been worse ever since Ka-"Victoria stopped, a somber look appeared on her face. "This is fucked up! I'm just a teenager! I didn't ask for this."

"Doesn't change the fact that we're all responsible for what happened to Kate, in a way or another. What was so enjoyable about ruining a poor girl's life?" Max said, her voice came out cold and distant.

She couldn't forget the image of Kate jumping off the roof, even though she managed to save her.

In her timeline, at least.

"I hate it that you're brutally honest. And they say I'm a bitch." Victoria muttered and started eating.

It was strange, seeing raw and genuine emotions and reactions from her. Most of the time, she would act mean and proud.

This was a new strange sight to the photographer.

She felt terrible for tricking her that she was her friend. She was someone who didn't belong here. She was taking advantage of situation. Then again, wasn't she using everyone at this point? Twisting time around her fingers as if she was some sort of goddess? Maybe this was her karma.

Kate…Oh Kate. She must have caused her death in this universe.

Everything here was wrong.

So wrong.

"I have to go." Max announce and got up.

"What about Mark's class?"

"I'm skipping. There's something I need to do." She said then ran off, leaving an annoyed Victoria behind.

She had to find the photo that William took and change things again.

"Do you think that your universe still exists?" Maxine's curious voice rang in her head. "What if it does? Did you vanish or something?"

The thought made her sick. Did it mean that she left Chloe on her own again? Was she looking for her?

"I doubt she would care… She doesn't need me. She needs Rachel." She frowned. She'd be lying if she never thought that her best friend was using her to find the missing girl, but she didn't mind being a tool if it meant that Chloe could be happy.

She then remembered the last day. The pool... the morning after… Chloe promising to never leave her…

Was it nothing but a lie? An illusion of what she wanted to see?

"Is that really okay?" Her counterpart finished her thoughts. "Is it okay to be nothing but a replacement?"

"I just want to her to be happy. Even if it means that she won't need me anymore." Max said and pressed her lips tightly. It was painful to feel like a mere tool.

"Why would you go this far for her?"

"She's my best friend."

"Is that so?" Maxine said with an unreadable tone. "What's the point in trying to help her? What's the point in caring and feeling sorry for people?"

"What are you saying?!" Max snapped angrily. There was no way she could have turned out this cruel.

"I'm saying that bad things happen to people no matter what. Your help will never be enough. You're wasting your life on lost causes."

"What are you talking about? You're wrong! No one is a lost cause! You can't just give up on people!

"Some people love tragedy. They push away helping hands, and try to sink themselves further. That is reality."

"Your reality is full of bullshit! There is hope for everyone! I saved Kate! I know she's going to be better! And so is Chloe! I refuse to give up on any of them!" She answered, feeling her blood boil in anger.

What kind of fucked up reality did she get herself into?

What kind of person did she become?

"I'm going to ask you again. Why would you go as far as challenge destiny for her?"

Max didn't answer.