October 14th, 2:21 p.m. - on the road
Twenty minutes had passed since the bus left Seattle's bus station. Twenty minutes of Warren gazing through the window in absolute silence.
At first, Max thought that he was only admiring the landscapes of the city. However, after a while observing his body language, she sensed that something wasn't quite right.
After a moment searching for words to initiate some small talk, the best she was able to come up with was a shy "thank you" to the nail-biting boy, not getting any response though.
At this point, his evident restlessness made her start questioning (again) if sharing her secrets with him was really a good idea:
'Poor Warren, maybe it's just too much for him to bear… Am I being selfish? Like, he had no idea of what he was getting involved with when I asked him to come here… I didn't give him any option-'
Suddenly, he turned his face away from the window, lifting his head to look towards the bus driver while straightening himself in the seat.
"Is everything okay? You, uh, look a bit nervous", Max remarked, starting to get really concerned about his behavior.
"I'm not nervous, I'm just… feeling really stupid right now", he answered, still staring at the front of the bus.
Surprised by his response, she couldn't help bombarding him with her emerging insecurities: "Stupid? Why is that? Do you regret coming here? I'm sorry for getting you involved in this situation, I only-"
"No. Please, don't say that… It's kind of the opposite, actually", he sighed in a concerned tone.
After she asked what did he mean, he made his point, speaking as quickly as he usually did when he was brainstorming:
"I just realized that I could go to the police by myself and tell them everything, especially about Rachel… And you could stay here, with your parents, in safety. So, I thought maybe I could ask the bus driver to pull over and-"
'Oh, I guess he White Knight strikes again', Max sarcastically remarked to herself before shooting at him:
"Are you cereal? I asked you to come here because I wanted to return to Arcadia Bay as soon as possible, remember?"
As he stared at her face with a perplexed expression, Max replayed her own words in her head, concluding that they didn't sound very nice - moreover, they represented only part of the truth.
"Hey, I didn't mean it like that… I mean, of course I wanted to leave Seattle earlier, but I also wanted to tell you about the power and all as soon as possible…The last time I saw you in the other timeline I promised that I'd make the right choices from then on, so that's what I've been trying to do", she explained, hoping that he would understand - even though he knew only half of the story.
"It's okay. You know, I feel really honored to be given the opportunity to help you through this… And I'm usually good at finding solutions to problems, but I must confess that I have no idea of what to do in this case and this is freaking me out! It's been 24 hours since you told me everything, and all I did until now was playing pinball with you… Really helpful, eh?", the boy clarified what was going on in his head, sounding quite frustrated at himself.
"Don't be so hard on yourself", Max comforted her friend, relieved to reconfirm that she could count on him. "Seriously, I dropped this bomb and you did the most helpful thing you could do to me… You listened and believed me, and I'll never forget that", she thanked, making the boy blush slightly:
"O-oh, that's nothing. I mean, how could I not believe you? You're the most amaz-, uh, the coolest person I met in Blackwell… I just wish I already had a plan so you never needed to be any closer to that bastard again."
Max watched his shy smile turn into a frown: "That would be great, but wouldn't be possible… As you can imagine, yesterday I told you only part of the story, so there are some important things that you don't know yet. I'll tell you everything at the right time…", she promised a little hesitantly, as the idea of speaking about her last moments with Chloe in a short term seemed unbearable.
"Sure… I don't want to rush you", Warren assured her despite of his curiosity and concern.
"When I tell you a few things about the Prescotts you'll understand why this is not simple at all", she said, looking around to check if anyone else was hearing their conversation: "Walls have ears, we better change subject", she said and then cheerfully pointed to the bus' TV:
"Look! They're playing Scott Pilgrim!"
To Max's relief, Warren relaxed in his seat again: "Ah, the blessings of traveling hipster lands!", he bantered.
"Not really, to us seattleites it's like watching, I don't know, 'Scrooge' on Christmas time", she joked in a fake arrogant way.
He smirked: "Hm, is that so? What a shame, I wish I knew that before I lent my flash drive to you!".
"Nah, I'm kidding. I did watch it for like the millionth time! Just can't get enough of Ramona and Scott!", Max confessed, to Warren's surprise:
"You like Ramona?"
"Yeah! Why, is that bad?", the girl asked in an apologetic manner.
"No, but I like Knives Chau much better than her" , the boy said.
Max raised an eyebrow: "Really? Hmm, could it be because she has Asian features… Like someone we know?"
"I have no idea what are you talking about. I just think she's a better match for Scott", Warren clarified, turning his face to the window to hide his blushing cheeks.
'It's because she's adorable… Like you', he sighed in silence.
….
Just like Max said before, it was about the millionth first time that she watched that movie. Although she knew that it wasn't that good, especially compared to the graphic stories, she always had fun out of it - so much fun that it took almost an hour until she noticed that her buddy had dozed off.
The next movie, an Adam Sandler's comedy, wasn't so appealing at her. Therefore, after a while wondering what could she do to entertain herself, she decided to update her diary.
"Dear Diary - I know I'm totally sounding like Daisy Duck here, but I need to pretend that I'm actually talking to somebody (no offense plz). I know I've always been good in daydreaming and thinking through my problems and stuff, but lately there's so much going on in my life that I feel there isn't any space left in my mind, so I sort of need to let some of my thoughts overflow onto the paper. Thx in advance.
So, right now, I'm in a bus heading to Arcadia Bay, thank goodness a couple days earlier than my parents wanted. Well, in fact, thanks to a few petty lies: I told my folks that Warren was my boyfriend to convince them that I needed to go back to Blackwell ASAP. :p They bought it, but I didn't expect what would come next: they told me to invite him over so they could know him better and he could travel back to AB with me. Luckily my White Knight™ took the first bus to Seattle, without even knowing that he would have to pretend to be my SO... You can imagine the mess, but the important thing is that everything worked fine and here I am! Or, better saying, here we are!
I can't say I'm proud of it, but I'm far from regretful. Warren has been really supportive in this timeline - not that he didn't help me in the other one (he did, a lot), but now he took it to a whole other level. First, thanks to him I didn't have to spend the worst night of my life alone in a cold hospital room: instead, I spent it at a cozy home with his lovely family, and if that didn't take my sadness away, at least made me feel safe.
In the next morning, he attended Chloe's funeral with me, and I don't even want to think how would it have been if he wasn't there, especially considering I was so scared of talking to Joyce. In the following lonely days in Seattle, his phone calls were the only things able to drive my mind away from problems and even make me smile, at least for brief moments.
Given all of that, by the end of the day I allowed myself to not care so much about the lies to my parents and to feel really glad to have the chance to meet Warren in Seattle and finally have a decent amount of time to tell him about Chloe, Rachel, Nathan, Mark Jefferson, my power and all.
Exactly like that time when we met after Kate's suicide attempt, he once more proved to be a good listener, and contrary to all my fears, he believed me right away. It felt great, not only for taking everything off my chest, but also for the down-to-Earth sensation… Read: I'm not crazy, my experiences happened for REAL and I have a big job ahead. And I have a team again.
I have yet to tell him about the reason why I had to let Chloe go, though…. But I certainly will, as soon as I feel it's time.
The small cloud of sadness brought on by her latter sentence didn't have time to settle in as she heard her friend let out a light snore. Thinking that he might have woken up, she clumsily closed the diary and glanced at him, only to see that he was still sleeping like a rock.
After a few minutes trying to get herself some sleep without any success, she turned her face to the window by which her friend was sitting, letting her eyes wander through those Oregon's familiar landscapes for a while.
The light and shadows casted by the partially hidden sun inspired the girl, a long time admirer of the chiaroscuro technique. Instead of taking a picture though, she decided to capture that moment by drawing on her diary like she usually did after writing an entry.
Pencil in hand, Max took a good look at the scene before starting to sketch. Although she had drawn Warren a couple times before, the situation presented as a rare opportunity to study his features more accurately, and, therefore, make a better work.
The shape of his eyebrows, the absence of a bruise around his right eye, his teeth slightly showing in between his parted lips: few details escaped from Max's Virgo perfectionism.
She had a hard time deciding whether the asymmetry of his wavy, unruly hair bothered or fascinated her, but after a fair amount of time designing his locks, all she could do was lamenting that she wasn't carrying her watercolor set, making it impossible to reproduce the beautiful effect of the sunlight on his hair.
The girl was still working on some details when she noticed that the sunlight had vanished and it got a little colder inside the bus.
She put the diary back in her bag and looked through the window: differently than not long ago, the sky was grey and the wind seemed to be blowing dark, heavy clouds towards Arcadia Bay's direction.
Before any thought arose in her mind, she started to feel her hands sweating and her heart racing. Suddenly, something that have been in the back of her mind since her last time with Chloe finally emerged:
'What if… What if the tornado has nothing to do with Chloe after all… what if it's coming anyway… even if delayed…'
The more she struggled to repel the disturbing thought, the more her mind was redirected to painful memories from the fateful day, plaguing her with the same doubts and fears all over again. The growing sensation of panic didn't come alone, though: as she turned her eyes back to Warren, an insidious anger began to build inside her, making the girl feel more and more frustrated for not even knowing what exactly was she angry at.
Before she could say anything or control her shortened breath, Warren opened his eyes: none of them had noticed yet, but they had just arrived in Arcadia Bay.
….
Arcadia Bay Bus Station - 5:58 p.m.
Awaken by the rumble of the other passengers, Warren nearly jumped off his skin when he opened his eyes and saw Max staring at him.
'What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?, the girl repeated like a mantra in her head, still unaware of what was going on around her.
A couple seconds were enough for the boy to realize that his friend actually seemed extremely distracted, almost like she was looking through him.
"Hey… I guess I slept a little", he playfully remarked, expecting some banter in response.
Silence. In her mind, however, a lot was going on: 'I need to do something… I can't just stay here…'
Astonished by her attitude, he practically shouted her name, finally obtaining a response:
"Yeah, uh… It's okay. We, uh, let's get off the bus", she said to him, barely able to coordinate her speech and thoughts.
To Warren, something definitely seemed off, but assuming that his friend was just anxious about the next steps regarding Mr. Jefferson, he quietly picked their bags and followed her out of the bus.
Once outside, the boy finally acknowledged the ugly weather and realized that they didn't actually talk about what would they do or where would they go once they got in the small town.
"So, uh, do you want to grab something to eat before heading to the campus?", he casually asked, to what she responded with the first thing that popped in her mind:
"Is your family at home?"
Slightly surprised, he started to rub his neck and tried to answer her as naturally as possible:
"Yeah… Oh, right, actually you can stay over my place again, if you want. I mean, we don't even know if Blackwell is open and-"
Relieved to know that his family was likely safe, she interrupted him:
"Warren, thanks again, you were awesome and I appreciate your offering, but I don't want to bother your folks even more and I really need to check my dorm and organize my stuff. You should go home and stay with your family before classes restart. So, I'm going to take a cab and-"
He didn't let her finish: "You don't bother anyone, but I understand. Luckily, I parked my car here before traveling to Seattle. C'mon, I'll take you to the campus. I have to check my dorm too".
Too distraught to discuss any other options with him, she silently got in the car.
Meanwhile, since their arrival, familiar eyes watched them unnoticed.
….
As they drove through the ocean road, Max's mind was bombarded with flashbacks of all her visions of the tornado and her last moments in the previous timeline:
'This is my storm… I caused this… I caused all of this'
'You're not trading me. Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny…'
'Max, going back in time is what caused the storm'
'I know, Max. But we have to. We have to save everybody, okay?'
'Whenever you reversed or altered time, maybe you caused a chain reaction… Even in the environment"
'Max… It's time…'
"Hm, I guess it's time-", Warren (tried to) make some small talk, before getting abruptly cut off by Max:
"What?", she shouted, creeped out by the sensation that he got into her mind.
"... to uh, bring out the umbrellas...?", he sheepishly completed his foolish remark.
A road sign indicating the lighthouse made the girl's heart skip a beat and something click inside her: now, more than anything, she needed to stop anything she was doing and focus on the upcoming tornado - if there was one.
"Warren, pull over the car now!", she demanded in a scary urgent tone.
It took a couple seconds for him to process what he was hearing. "Max, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
"Just stop!", she shouted again, letting him no option but obeying.
"Max… What's going on? Do you… Do you want to go back to your parents?", the boy presumed a logical explanation for what was going on as he pulled over by the side of the road.
"No, I just need to get out. There's something I need to do right now… by myself", she explained, barely containing her still incomprehensible anger.
Although confused and scared, he put his foot down: "Max… I'm sorry if I'm being a pest, but … there's no way I'm leaving you here this late, especially with a weather like this, and knowing that Mr. Jefferson is free. Look, I can stay away from your view, I can even hide somewhere if you want, but please don't ask me to go away".
Despite of his gentle tone, she felt suffocated, making any eye contact unbearable for her. When she turned her face to her window, though, her own frightened reflection made her realize the presence of an old, unsettling sensation: the fear of not having control over things - the fear of not having control over herself.
"I c-can't... I don't know how I am going to react...", she replied him with a trembling voice.
"React... to what?", Warren scratched his head, confused.
Max sighed out of exasperation: as each second passed, the fear of the upcoming confrontation with the storm and with the biggest mistake of her life became more and more intense and irrational.
Her silence and expression made a paralyzing sensation of panic spread out all over Warren's body; in his gut, he knew that her behavior was likely related to something that he did or said before; something really bad. Despite of all the apprehension for what he was going to hear, he mustered up courage and asked:
"Max, I know I'm missing part of the story, and I noticed that you've been reticent about it. I mean… I don't know why you came back to this reality… Uh, I'm not saying you have to tell me about that specifically... But the fact is that I'm starting to think that, how do I say? I mean… What did I do in the other timeline? Is Chloe's death... related to me at some level?"
She took a deep breath and brushed the tears off her face. Once more, Warren was proving that he was not only smart, but also very perceptive; trying to hide anything from him was absolutely pointless. Plus, if the tornado was really coming, it was just fair that he knew the whole truth.
"I don't know what's gonna happen, or if we have enough time, but I think it's time for you to know the rest of the story...", she said while staring at her trembling hands.
"So... the last thing I told you was that Mark Jefferson killed Nathan and Chloe on the night of the Vortex Club's party... and then took me to the Dark Room..."
"Well, a lot of things happened there… to shorten the story, basically I photojumped like a billion times trying to escape, but it didn't work and the son of a bitch ended up burning my diary with all my photos... Thankfully David Madsen showed up and saved me... It's so sad that Chloe died without knowing that he was a hero… among other things", the girl narrated, making a huge effort to hold herself together.
After a brief pause to soothe the knot in her throat, she continued:
"Anyway, I let David take care of Jefferson and left... There was a huge tornado going on... the tornado that I saw several times from the lighthouse in my visions... I called you, and it felt so relieving to hear your voice and know that you were alive... Then... I made a 'strange' question: I asked if you had a selfie that you took from us at the party... And you said yes."
Warren held his breath as his imagination ran wild trying to figure out the reason why a plain selfie could be so important.
"I took Jefferson's car and drove to the Diner to meet you... You were there with Joyce, Frank and his dog, and thank goodness you were all fine. You were totally baffled by the idea that I drove through the middle of a E6 tornado just because of a picture... So I decided to tell you everything, and just like yesterday you believed me right away."
The semi-smile that formed on the corners of her mouth didn't last long as she proceeded to the darkest part of the story:
"I explained to you that I needed the photo to go back to the party to save Chloe from Jefferson… And then…"
The dreadful memory made the girl's throat tighten so much that she was barely able to choke out her next words:
"... then you told me that altering time was what was causing the tornado... because for every action…"
"... there is a reaction...", Warren completed her sentence in awe, his mind already foreshadowing the tragedy.
For the first time since Max started talking about her ordeal, she took a glance at Warren: he was sitting on the edge of his seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. She then lifted her eyes to see his face: differently than she expected, he was not looking back at her; instead, he was breathing through his mouth while facing the car's front window, looking so terrified that she couldn't help cringing at herself:
'He looks so miserable… This conversation is absolutely necessary… Yet, it´s feeling so wrong… Why?'
"What… what happened next? Go on, please", Warren supplicated, not letting her another choice but finishing what she had started:
"Right. I still used the picture to go back in time and did manage to save Chloe from Jefferson… But when I regained consciousness from the time travel, by the beach... Me and her saw a monster tornado above the sea, ready to engulf the whole town... Then..."
"... You changed everything back to the beginning… and let Nathan kill Chloe... to save the town from the tornado", the boy deduced so accurately that left his friend speechless.
The brief and uncomfortable silence that followed Warren's epiphany was abruptly broken when he burst out of the car in despair:
"Oh my God… Max…I'm sorry… I can't… I can't even… I'm sorry you had to go through such horrible things. I feel... such a jerk… I can't believe I was so tactless with you… In fact… I'm the one to blame for you associating Chloe with the tornado... I….I..."
A pang of guilt flashed through Max as she got out of the car and saw her friend walking in circles:
"Warren, no… Any of that was your fault… You were really scared when we met, you thought we were all going to die"
He shooked his head in denial: "It doesn't change the fact that I interfered in something I wasn't supposed to. You needed support and everything I did was judging you."
Remembering his encouraging words to her in the other timeline, she practically yelled at him: "No, that's not true at all. You did support me: you respected my decision to go back and told me you had total faith that I'd know what to do when the time came".
"To do what I persuaded you to", the boy stated, sneering at himself.
The girl clasped her hands in distress, as that conversation definitely wasn't going the way she wanted: "Warren, I am my own person. You just expressed your opinion on what was going on, and only after I asked you to."
At this point, Warren couldn't hide how devastated he was: "I should've been more careful with my words. I… I feel… responsible for Chloe's death", he stated, his eyes staring into nothing.
Max froze as Warren's words echoed in her mind. Responsible? For Chloe's death? That's something she really didn't see coming… Or did she, in a subconscious way?
She put her hand in her forehead and closed her eyes in an attempt to organize her memories and emotions: "Okay, so maybe you are partially responsible. But not as much as I am… Yes, because aside of what you said, there were tons of reasons to make me believe that Chloe and the tornado were related, like the snowfall and the double moon. I mean, for Christ's sake, even she reached the same conclusion… In fact, she actually pleaded me to reverse things back because she believed it was her fate, and she couldn't stand the idea of living at the expense of other people's lives, especially her mother's… Neither could I..."
Horrified by the suffering the girls endured, Warren felt more and more guilty as Max spoke: "I really wish I never took that selfie… It would have spared you guys so much pain…"
"No, it wouldn't. Of course it's a shame that it didn't work the way I thought… But without your photo me and Chloe wouldn't have had the opportunity to talk our issues through and to say goodbye… Because as I told you, Chloe would've been killed by Jefferson, likely with her body never to be found… You and Joyce would probably have died in the Diner… I even saw the building exploding and had to use my power to prevent it…", the girl explained.
"And I…", Max paused as she realized that she didn't know exactly what to say. What would've happened with her if Warren didn't take that picture?
The question drove her mind directly to the barn's garage, when she got out of the Dark Room's bunker and tried to get ahold of her friend; in a matter of seconds, the myriad of scenarios overwhelmed her brain:
'If Warren had never taken that photo… what would I have done?'
'I wouldn't had stayed in the bunker for sure… not with that psycho still there'
'Since I wouldn't had been able to go back in time to save Chloe… I think I'd had gone to the Diner anyway, to at least tell Joyce about what happened to her daughter… And to see if Warren was doing well'
'Then I would had stopped the explosion again… But who knows what would happen next? I wouldn't be able to keep protecting the Diner building from the wind, thunders, flying cars, tree branches and whatnot forever… We would likely die there'
'Or I could be selfish and leave the barn to go straight to the lighthouse, since it was not in the way of the tornado…Except that... I saw the lighthouse dome falling over me in my very first vision…'
Her train of thought was interrupted by Warren: "Max… I... I'm sorry for the tantrum. I just want to say that you have every right to be mad at me for everything I said and did in the other timeline… in this one too…"
All of a sudden, something clicked in Max's mind: "I'm not mad at you… I'm mad at myself. I just realized that your photo literally changed everything… I'm 99,99% positive that it saved my life, and hence the whole town… It's true that it didn't save Chloe and Rachel from death… But it's saving them from injustice, and that's huge."
"Even if it did, it was something I did by accident… You, on the other hand, clearly are part of something bigger… I should just listen and do whatever you tell me to…", the boy stated, unaware that his words sounded absolutely nonsense to Max:
'Even angels need angels', Kate told me once, referring to you. She was right… I think you have some sort of sixth sense… You're always at the right place, in the right time… Like the two times Nathan attacked me… Or when you took the selfie and had it with you at a place where we could meet… So, please, keep speaking out and doing whatever you think it's right, because that's the way you help me-"
Max felt a drop on her head, then other ones on her shoulders: it was raining. "And I need your help right now… with this", she said, almost in a whisper.
Warren widened his eyes and scanned the girl's face for a couple seconds, as if she were a riddle he was trying to figure out: "Oh… You… You think the tornado is coming again?", he deduced.
Max sighed in awe: "Yes… I feel so pathetic… It would've been much simpler if I just told you that without this whole melt down… Anyway, I feel much calmer now... What you do you think we can do?"
"You're not pathetic, I can't even imagine how stressful and traumatizing were your experiences… You definitely should allow yourself to 'melt down' whenever you feel like, I only hope I can help. As for the weather… You mentioned that in your visions you were always by the lighthouse, right? Maybe there's a reason for that… So I think we should go there before anything", he suggested, sounding more like himself again - to Max's relief.
….
In a couple minutes, the two students were climbing up the trail that led to the lighthouse; the anxiety to see whatever was going on made them a little incautious about the dangers of running through a slippery path in the middle of a storm's darkness, but fortunately neither of them got hurt.
When they were close to the last pine trees around the trail, a sudden blaze lit up the sky, making both friends wonder whether it was only the lighthouse's lantern or something even worse than a tornado, like a meteor.
The rush of adrenaline caused by the view made them barely feel the ground under their feet; their minds, numbed by fear, were in some sort of blank state, only able to apprehend the sound of their own ears pulsing.
A few hurried steps further, both got to the edge of the cliff, not even having time to catch some breath before looking towards the ocean - and being totally taken aback by what they saw:
Nothing. Or, better saying, just a plain autumn rainfall that was already dissipating,
Max exhaled in relief as she watched the last rays of sunset cast an amber glow over the vanishing clouds; the amazing contrast with the beautiful twilight sky made her feel embraced by Chloe's blueness, and, little by little, just like the sky, her mind cleared completely.
"Chaos Theory… is confirmed", she whispered to Warren, still staring at the horizon.
"This is truly mind blowing... Yet, I'm not sure whether this is good or bad news", he pondered.
"I think it's both… It sucks, because it means I shall not alter time, but at the same time feels reassuring to know at least one aspect of my power, even if it proves it's the most useless power ever", the girl shrugged and then sat on the bench, letting out a half smile of astonishment.
He joined her in the bench: "I don't know, in a matter of two weeks you discovered that you can rewind and freeze time, AND jump to the past using photos… And all of that happened by "accident"... I mean, I think it's pretty possible that your known abilities are parts of a whole… And maybe other powers may unravel as you master your skills…"
Warren had a point: all her abilities were discovered by accident: it was like that with the rewind power that she first used to save Chloe from Nathan, as well with the time-freezing experience that she had when Kate attempted suicide, and with the photojump power that she discovered when trying to save William. Her head spinned: could it be that she had other skills, or that she could at least masterize what she already had?
She shook her head, feeling too tired to explore those concepts at that moment.
As the two friends went down the trail back to the car and Max absorbed everything that just happened, a warming feeling of hope began to rise in her chest.
Worried about her quietness, Warren glanced at her face to check how she was doing: to his surprise, she was smiling.
"Your sixth sense power seems confirmed to me! Coming up here was indeed the best thing to do", the girl remarked in a soft cheerful voice.
Relieved to see that she was getting better, Warren joked: "Nah, I think I'm just really lucky! If it was to have a superpower, I wish I could give you luck, like a permanent D&D Critical Hit, what do you think?"
'For luck', the words echoed in her mind as she looked at him. His words, his smile, his hair, wet from the rain, everything seemed to conspire to bring her memories from their real kiss, in the Diner, and unreal one, in her dream on the night before.
"M-maybe you already have that power!", she bantered, thanking God it was too dark for anyone to notice the color of her cheeks.
….
Two Whales Diner - 7:38 p.m.
'Hm, the rain has stopped. If I knew it wouldn't last long, I wouldn't've ordered so much food…'
'I wonder where are those two... Well, they're not necessarily together…'
'Of course they are, stupid! You saw it with your own eyes, no one told you!'
'Maybe Warren was just paying a visit for relatives in Seattle... And then happened to meet Max on the way back, who knows?'
'Full stop: you're much smarter than that. Remember how he ran to the hospital to be with her the other day… There's a huge chance that he took her to Seattle and spent the whole week there in her house… which would mean they're pretty official now…'
'On the other hand, they didn't seem much like a couple when I saw them getting out of the bus… In fact, Max looked really bothered about something… What could it be? Hm, maybe she got tired of using him as her doormat?'
'Ugh, whatever. Those two actually deserve each other… More and more I think Warren has two faces… That's the only explanation, since they obviously have nothing in common… Maybe I should help Max to see his other side…'
'Yeah, that'll teach 'em a lesson… Or my name isn't...'
'Brooke!', Warren happily acknowledged his friend's presence from the outside: she was close to the door and seemed to be writing something on the wall. She didn't see him though; when he was about to enter, she went back to her table, apparently to get something from her bag.
[Looking for a lady friend to go with. Call me.], the boy read what the girl had just written on a post-it attached to a "Go Ape!" poster that was next to the entrance.
Warren froze, torn between shame for his nosiness and surprise:
'Brooke wants to 'Go Ape' with a lady friend? Funny, she talked so much about that marathon that I actually thought she wanted to go with me… If Max said no on that day I'd totally go with Brooke, she's such a nice friend and she loves ape movies… Well, anyway, seems that she prefers the company of a girl… But why going with a random stranger girl when Alyssa would certainly be happy to join her? That's kinda weird… Unless… '
An unforeseen possibility crossed his mind: '... Unless she wants to go on a date… with a girl?'
Warren shook his head: 'Of course not, not Brooke. I'd have noticed something like that by this time. Anyway, I think it´ll be better if she doesn't know that I saw this.' As discreetly as possible, he sat by a table and waited while Max called her parents outside.
'I wish I could see Max's face when she knows that her crush is willing to "Go Ape" with any chick around! Damn, I never know if Warren's number starts with 98 or 89… Let me check', Brooke devilishly laughed to herself as she fished her cell phone in her bag.
As soon as she checked Warren's number to put it on the post-it, she turned back to the door and nearly had a heart attack when she saw him sitting a few tables away.
The ridiculous idea of simply bursting through the door crossed her mind, but she was still rational enough to know that it would make things even worse. After a few instants trying to get herself together, Brooke, the atheist, walked towards Warren's table practically praying to all gods for him not to see what she just did.
A few minutes later, Max entered the Diner; after speaking to a waitress that informed that Joyce didn't get back to work yet, she looked for Warren and got surprised when she saw Brooke sitting with him.
Once she got close to the table, since Brooke didn't move, she sat by Warren's side. It didn't take long for her to notice that something weird was going on… Like, no salty comments from Brooke about she and Warren hanging out in soaking wet clothes? Hello?!
The silence was soon filled by the sounds of cutlery scraping along their plates: despite of all the awkwardness, hunger - for the relief of the three students - spoke louder.
….
Blackwell Campus - 08:44 p.m.
As soon as the three classmates put their feet out of the Diner, Brooke - who managed to remove the post-it from the wall like a ninja - started to become herself again.
Unsurprisingly, the nearly three hours that she spent ruminating about the sight of her crush and the hipster girl arriving together from Seattle made her extra-grumpy and sharp-tongued, but Max and Warren didn't bother themselves about it, as from their perspective the single fact that Brooke was alive seemed something miraculous enough to be celebrated.
When they finally arrived at the campus, Max got out of the car and stood up in front of the main building for a while. Apart of the light poles, there was not a single light on in the school, indicating that there was no one else there.
'This won't be easy at all… but I need to… I have to', she encouraged herself as she tried to divert her mind from the vivid memories brought on by that place.
Max's distraught expression unsettled Brooke; for the first since she arrived in Arcadia Bay, she let go of the blind jealousy for a while and managed to reflect on how hard that situation should be for her.
"Poor Max, it must be awful to see someone being killed…", Brooke whispered to Warren in a sincere tone of concern.
"Yeah, especially considering that the victim was her childhood friend", Warren responded in a serious voice while carrying their bags to the dorms' entrance.
The information was like a gut punch; feeling small and ashamed, Brooke couldn't even bear looking at Max; all she wanted now was to crawl to her dorm room and lay down in fetal position on the cold floor.
The three students climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm holding their breaths; apart from their own footsteps, the only sounds to be heard were a couple owls hooting and some sort of white noise produced by the air conditioning system, which created a whole sensation of "zombie apocalypse" that turned that night even creepier than it already was.
"Please call me if you need anything, no matter what time it is, okay?", Brooke overheard Warren speaking to Max next to her door.
'Hm, he's not staying with her, so I guess they're not dating after all… Unless they want to keep it low profile', Brooke speculated as she started to feel more and more disgusted with herself.
"Good night Brooke! Don't spend the whole night playing Higurashi or you won't get any sleep!", the boy teased her before leaving the dorm.
"You had to remind me of this creepy game, didn't you?", she retorted while picking her bags from the floor. When she was about to enter her room, though, she noticed that Max was still standing in front of her door.
"G-good night, Brooke. Don't forget to lock your door", Max said right before practically jumping into her room and slamming the door.
"Sure, you too- whatever", Brooke mumbled and then entered her room.
….
'Max looked so frightened… Well, who wouldn't, in her place? I don't know if I'd come back to school if I witnessed something like she did…'
….
'It's so creepy here, maybe I should've accepted Warren's offer to stay over his house again… But then Brooke would be alone here…'
….
'I don't understand why did she come back today, instead of Sunday, since Seattle is only 4 hours away from here… But I must admit I'm glad that she and Warren are here… It would be really scary to stay here all alone… It still is, actually…'
….
'I wonder where Jefferson is right now… Is he here in Arcadia Bay? Maybe he's in the Dark Room, preparing his next crime… Ugh, no, I don't even want to think about it… I only hope he doesn't come here tonight… He wouldn't, right?'
….
'God, I want to kill Warren. Damn, now I can't stop thinking about that Higurashi game… But I really need to go out to brush my teeth… Damn...'
….
'I really hope Brooke did lock her door. But damn, she's so stubborn that I wouldn't doubt that she didn't just because I told her to… Maybe I should check...'
….
"Aaaaaaaaah!", Brooke shrieked when she opened her door and found Max holding the doorknob from the outside.
"Uuuh, that's so... ironic, isn't it?", Max clumsily improvised a smart-ass response.
"Huh? The only irony here is a hipster like you ignoring the concept of irony", Brooke retorted with all the sarcasm she could muster.
Her mischievous smile didn't resist Max's visible vulnerability and the creepiness of the dark, empty hallway in front of her for long: although she always played tough, the truth was that she was scared as hell and, as hard as it was to admit, she felt truly sorry for Max.
"Uh, well, uh… since you're here, would you mind keeping me company while I brush my teeth?", Brooke asked, barely believing her own words.
"Oh, sure", Max agreed, rather surprised. "Uh, since we're going there, would it be too much if I asked you to wait for me while I shower? I'll be quick, I promise", she sheepishly asked.
The request sounded slightly odd, but a new peek in the hallway was enough to Brooke make her mind: "Hm… okay. Actually, I think I'll take a shower too."
….
Warren: Hey Brooke! what's the name of that movie u mentioned the other day [10/14 9:01 p.m.]
Warren: With creepy clowns from outer space [10/14 9:01 p.m.]
Warren: Or something like that? [10/14 9:02 p.m.]
Warren: Nevermind, just found it [10/14 9:07 p.m.]
Warren: Killer klowns from Outer Space [10/14 9:07 p.m.]
Warren: Pretty self explanatory title actually [10/14 9:08 p.m.]
'No response… I hope Brooke is not mad at me for mentioning Higurashi… Nah, she's probably kicking ass in League of Legends', Warren wondered as he checked his torrents on his computer.
Among other stuff, he was downloading a few movies and animes that he thought Max might like. Wondering how was she doing, he grabbed his phone again and typed:
Warren: Hey Max, just checking up on u [10/14 9:10 p..m.]
Warren: I hope you're feeling better [10/14 9:11 p.m.]
Warren: we can meet tomorrow 2 talk abt next steps if u want [10/14 9:16 p.m.]
'Max is not responding too… Maybe she's playing World of Warcraft? Hm, I don't think she'd be on the mood...', Warren sighed out, as a lump of anxiety built inside his chest.
He opened his window and leaned out a little, sniffing the cool air: 'This silence is sure helping to create a spooky atmosphere here… I guess David Madsen didn't get back to work yet... Samuel may be somewhere around… But he's just a janitor, not a guard.'
A couple minutes later, he checked his phone again: 'The girls didn't return my messages yet… I'm starting to get worried. I don't think that that Jefferson teacher will attack any time soon… But who knows how a psychotic mind works? Come to think of, tonight could make a great opportunity for him… Damnit…'
….
Foot by foot, Warren climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm, making a huge effort to keep himself together and to not let his thoughts wander through the worst-case scenarios that insisted to haunt his mind.
The further he went, though, the more the surroundings seemed to conspire in bringing up every horror references that he could remember: eery hallway? Check. Creepy darkness? Check. Howling wind? Check. Mysterious mist? Check.
'Wait a minute… Mist? Where is it coming from? I hope it's not smoke', the boy wondered as he looked around.
The darkness and the breeze made everything more difficult for him, but he soon found the direction where the fog was coming from; instantly, the memory of Max telling him that Jefferson burned her photos in the other timeline popped in his mind: 'It can't be… It can't be…', he murmured to himself, his heart beating faster and faster.
The apparent sound of Max's voice muffled through the walls was the last straw to his weakened rationality: when he realized there was a door in front of him, he was already pushing it with all his strength.
….
In the next second, a new horror reference joined Warren's journey through the girls' dorm: the horror movie scream, performed by Max and Brooke when they saw him practically bursting through the showers' door.
Luckily, the girls were in their pajamas, ready to go to their rooms, but that didn't prevent Warren from becoming as red as a tomato.
"O-oh… So it's steam… and it's coming from the showers…", he stumbled over himself to explain his behavior.
As predictable, Brooke lashed at the poor boy: "Wow, you really break the bounds of science. What's next? Ice is cold?"
"I-I'm sorry, I was so worried about you two that I didn't realize this door led to the girls' shower", he apologized, not knowing where to look.
"What happened? D-did you see anything suspicious?", Max asked him, figuring that he might have ran into something - or someone - really bad.
To her relief, that wasn't the case: "No, I just freaked out because neither of you were responding my texts and-"
Before he finished, Brooke snorted and taunted him: "And then you thought 'ooh, maybe I should crash their spa party before they start the pillow fight in thongs'."
"... Really?", the boy asked as his imagination inadvertently pictured the scene, making him blush even more.
A few seconds later, he came to himself: "I mean, what? Apparently you've been playing way too much Yuri visual novels lately…", Warren mocked back, remembering Brooke's suspicious post-it.
"Ha! As if you weren't the Yuri-male-Fujoshi here!", Brooke taunted her friend once more.
"Uh… I'm afraid I'm not following you…. What's this Yu-thing you're talking about?", Max shyly interrupted the dialogue that seemed more like a comedy duo to her.
"N-Nevermind!", Warren and Brooke replied in unison, sounding quite embarrassed.
"Hm, okay. Anyway, I think we're all a bit edgy tonight, and it's still really early… So, why don't we just chill for a moment?", Max proposed, just hoping that Brooke wouldn't jump on her neck or anything like that.
….
"So, what are we gonna watch?", Max asked her two schoolmates as she turned her notebook on.
Brooke threw her body on Max's couch while checking her own cell phone: "Killer Klowns from Outer Space! You're kidding me, right?", she scoffed at Warren's message.
"Why not? It's not creepy, it's funny actually", the boy argued.
"Sounds fun, but I'll second Brooke. I think we need something... lighter", Max reasoned, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.
"If you want something light, nothing better than an 80's movie. How about Back to the Future?", Brooke suggested.
"No!", Max and Warren objected in unison. "I, uh, guess I'm not in the mood for time-traveling movies, sorry", Max apologized and then clasped her hands in excitement:
"Oh, I know! Let's watch Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within!"
"Now you must be kidding! Seriously, how much are you being paid to say such nonsense?", Brooke mercilessly sneered at the photography student.
Feeling slightly annoyed by Brooke's bluntness, Max shrugged: "I don't care what anybody says, that's one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. What do you think, Warren?"
Shocked by her opinion, the boy froze: "Uuuh… Sounds fun, but I'll second Brooke", he jokingly repeated her line.
Not understanding what was wrong with those two, Max quit: "Okay, what's gonna be then? I'm down with anything that doesn't involve time-traveling or otters..."
Brooke looked at Max, once more telling herself to be kinder to the hipster girl, at least for the time being: "I'll don't even try to understand such eccentric restrictions, but I think I have an idea..."
….
Minutes later, Max was watching Scott Pilgrim for the millionth second time in her life.
She didn't care, though, as watching it with Warren and Brooke in her room was even funnier than the movie itself, especially after they found out that Brooke also shipped Scott with Ramona, to Max's satisfaction and Warren's dismay.
From time to time, Max, who was lying in her bed, glanced at Brooke, on the couch, or at Warren, on an improvised pile of blankets and cushions on the floor: seeing both students alive, with a whole life ahead of them felt so reassuring that she finally felt her mind and body relaxing a bit.
For brief moments, she caught herself thinking how deeply her life and views changed lately. Time, space, reality: never in a million years she would imagine that her life experience would be so intimately entwined with that.
Among all those grandiose concepts, though, a mundane one took place in her mind: Warren and Brooke had a really nice dynamic between them, and it was rather fun watching it. However, they definitely didn't seem perfect for each other as she thought until a few weeks ago...
