You Drive Me Wild
Song by The Runaways
"I love you, honey."
The car started to fold in on itself from the front, the Caulfields' SUV pressing on Max's parents as she could only look on in silent horror. Her mouth opening wide, face red, Max tried to scream but nothing seemed to escape past her lips. Shaking in the backseat, body thrashing against the seatbelt that just wouldn't give into her, Max shielded her eyes as the glass from what remained of the windshield broke in sharp pops.
This isn't happening, Max thought to herself as she struggled once more against the restraint, grabbing the seatbelt with both hands and pulling it away from her as hard as she could. Nononono, I… I can't watch this, I can't save them! The car's destruction seemed to pause for a second and it began to reverse. Max's parents eased out of the crushed positions of their bodies as the dash and then entire front assembly of their car began to seemingly repair itself. It wasn't until her dad's eyes began to flutter that Max noticed something from the other side of the front windshield.
There was a storm coming; where the streets of Seattle should have been now a woodland hillside thrashed against rough winds and torrents of biting rain. The wind rushed into the SUV's interior and Max felt her seatbelt give suddenly. Her legs pulled out from under her, Max grasped at the headrest of her father's seat as the impossible storm pulled at her. Gritting her bared teeth, Max watched as the clothes her 13 year-old self had been wearing tore away to reveal the clothes she had typically worn in her original timeline. Those clothes came away as well, and Max found herself in the attire she'd woken up in from the timeline she was currently in. Her voice coming back to her, Max let out an enraged scream as she tried to pull herself back into the SUV's rear area only to lose her grip. Managing to grasp at the armrest of her father's seat, Max looked up and her jaw dropped as Ryan Caulfield leaned forward to meet her gaze. How is he just…just leaning forward like everything is fine? Max asked herself as Ryan smiled at her.
"Dad…?!" Max asked, raising her voice as she felt her hand slip toward the armrest's end, "D-Dad, please! P-Please help me!"
"But you don't need my help, Max," Ryan's soft voice seemed to reverberate in Max's head, "You don't belong here anymore…"
Max's fingertips clutched on for dear life only to slip from the storm pulling her in, a scream erupting from deep inside her as she collided with the glass and hurtled toward Arcadia Bay's lighthouse. The ground becoming ever closer, Max shielded her face with her arms and squeezed her eyes shut for the end.
Max sat up, panting and drenched in a cold sweat with her eyes wide and bloodshot from crying in her sleep. Feeling her heart pounding, Max shivered as the immediate emotional turmoil she'd felt in her nightmare slowly faded away; left with a cold dread and a desperate need for air, Max was about to slide out of her dorm room bed when she felt a pair of bare legs brush up against her from inside the covers.
Chloe.
The remainder of the previous evening coming to her as her sleep-addled mind became increasingly alert, Max remembered vaguely that she and Chloe had tried to go to Chloe's house only to get into a shouting match with her stepfather. David Madsen had caught a whiff of liquor and pot on both girls and had threatened to expose Max's illegal activities to Blackwell's administration. When Max hadn't backed down and yelled back at him over things she shouldn't know in this timeline, his violent mood swings and surveillance of students, David had clenched his fist when Chloe had stepped in and slapped him hard. From there it had turned into a two-on-one screaming match that ended with Chloe kicking him out of her room so she could grab some clothes and her stash before heading to Blackwell with Max to spend the night, possibly longer.
"You sure about this? I can crash in the fort, Maximus," Chloe had said, giving Max a perplexed sidelong glance. Max knew she was probably making little sense to this timeline's Chloe: having been reunited only hours ago and not months, Max's parents still alive while William remained deceased, and Max was acting in complete contrast to her previous appearance. Max knew she was different because she was different. Whoever the Max that had come before was, wherever she was if there was another place she could go, this Max was here and she was not going to play pretend for other people's benefit.
"Chloe, I swear that if you ask me that again I will take it back and-" Max's edgy tone received an equally edgy narrowing of Chloe's eyes and Max forced herself to calm down, "Look. If you want to stay with me, then stay. I'm not out for trouble, Chloe, but I'm not afraid to risk it for people I care about. …Especially you…" You're not the Chloe I knew, but there is something about you that I can't shake, either. This is such a brain drain, I feel like my fucking head is going to explode from all this time travel bullshit!
As if on cue, Max folded over in the passenger seat of Chloe's truck as a sudden burst of pain radiated from behind Max's eyes and through to the back of her head. Cringing, Max let out a sharp gasp of breath and clutched at the sides of her head in pain. W-What…? Can't think straight, feels like my head is c-caving into itself-
When Max had come to, she found herself being carried on Chloe's back up the stairs of her dorm. The girls in the hallway had whispered and a semi-conscious Max had seen concern on Dana's and Kate's faces from their respective doorways before Chloe slowly opened Max's door and closed it behind them. From there, Chloe had played the part of caregiver and had watched over and looked after Max for the rest of the night. Sitting up in bed now, Max vaguely remembers watching movies and getting pizza but she couldn't remember what she and Chloe had watched. Small passages of time were missing, the punkster blaming it on the migraine and blacking out. Pulling the covers off of herself, Max carefully crawled over the sleeping punk and walked to where she and Chloe had tossed their clothes before going to bed. Wearing an oversized tank-top that belonged to Chloe and the sleep shorts she'd found under the bed, Max grabbed a cigarette from the back pocket of Chloe's jeans and lit up with a battered Zippo lighter. Walking over to the window that wasn't blocked by her desk, Max lifted up the glass pane and sat on the window sill as she smoked.
"This is too fucking eerie," Max mumbled to herself between drags of nicotine, "I'm doing something I did in another time. I wonder… Is the timeline I came from still going? Is this some Star Trek-level shit where there's, uh, multiple realities or whatever?" Shaking her head at how frustrating trying to think about everything she had done lately and how it had led to where she presently was, Max quietly finished the cigarette as the Sun began to rise. "I let Chloe sleep over too much, her wiry ass getting up hella early for her 'morning run'. Jesus fuck, Che, are you running at this very moment? Are you somewhere I can't see, running after a night of binging on Dog knows what…?"
Snuffing the stub against the building's brick exterior, snickering at her habit that'd come along with her from another time, Max quietly slid off of her perch on the sill and closed the window before looking down to see a plant with the name "Lisa" on the pot. Huh, Max thought as she grabbed the water bottle off the nearby shelf. Taking a mouthful of water for herself, Max squatted down next to the plant and watered it. You look hella thirsty. Drink up, buttercup. Stretching as she stood back up, Max walked over to the desk and checked the email account and Facebook belonging to "Max Caulfield". That's me, I guess. Wow. Damn near dead silent. I'm clearly the life of the fucking party, Max thought with a snort. Wow, that's gonna change hella quick…
"Max…?" a voice from the direction of her bed drew Max's attention and her heart nearly broke from how similar it was to another voice she knew and had come to care deeply for. Turning in her seat, Max hung an arm over the desk chair's backrest and looked at a disheveled, half-asleep Chloe peeking up at her from the pillow her face was buried in.
"Hey," Max said, giving Chloe a faint smile, "You don't have to get up, Chloe. It's redonkulously early and I was about to come back to bed."
"Heh," Chloe said, leaning her head up to give Max an impish smirk in reply, "You make it sound like we're dating or something. Fucking mushy nerd. …So? You comin' back or what?"
"Well," Max said, getting to her feet only to stop inches out of Chloe's reach, "You're kind of a brat in the morning, picking on your host…"
"I'm a 'brat'?"
"Be glad I chose to be kind. I've made grown men cry, Chloe Price," Max gave Chloe an exaggerated glare and leveled a pointing finger at the bluenette's face, "Bow."
When Chloe snickered in the pillow, eyeing Max with a mischievous gleam to her eyes, Max sighed and crawled back into bed. Nestling up to Chloe, chuckling a bit when Chloe had complained about Max being the big spoon when she was the "hella shawty" between the two of them, Max rested her chin on Chloe's shoulder and softly hushed the bluenette. You're all badass and angst, but you're also still a complete dork in any timeline. Fucking goofy-ass, loveable dork. Feeling Chloe shiver, Max's breath caressing the bluenette's ear, Max leaned into Chloe a little more before lowering her head to press it against the other girl's back. Not your Chloe, Max. This girl is not your Chloe and you can't do shit like that to a Chloe you just met that is as hella messed up as she is. We'd both end up fucked in the head only more so than we already are…
"Max?" Chloe's sleepy voice caught Max's attention and she snapped out of her headspace to see the bluenette watching from the corner of her eye, "Max, this… this is nice…"
"But…?" Max pulled back a bit when she saw the worried look on her friend's face. Uh-oh.
"…Why… Why couldn't you have-"
"Uh-uh, nope," Max said, sitting up after she pulled her arms away from Chloe, "Chloe, it is not even six in the damn morning. I'm in my bed with you, curled up with you, and you fucking bring that up now? Really? Now?"
"You were gone, Max!" Chloe's raised voice got her a harrowing glare from Max. The fuck you thinking, Chloe, pulling this shit now? Max bit at her lower lip to keep it from sneering, not one to respond well to guilt trips. Especially when they had some truth to them. How the fuck… The Max who pulled that on you, Chloe, isn't even me! It's another Max, and I'm here now and why the fuck can't you just not do this and kill what was could've been a good morning?!
"I'm going to say this once, and only once," Max said, choosing her words with care as she got out of her bed and knelt alongside it so that her face was only a foot away from Chloe's, "Chloe, I am sorry. I am a shit friend and I bailed. You never called me, either, and while I know something of why you didn't it does not make you any less guilty of the time we've been away from each other."
"Max, that-"
"No. You will let me finish, Chloe," Max gave Chloe a stern look and raised her hand to silence her friend as she began to pace, "You drop this on me again like you just did and that's it. Chloe, you're my friend and I care about you. I know you're going through some incredibly painful shit and I want to be here for you, but don't you fucking dare try to intentionally make me feel bad. I'm only half to blame, Chloe, but I own up to my half."
Max changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tank-top with the image of a butterfly emblazoned across it before grabbing a pair of old flip-flops that were sitting under the futon couch. Slipping them on, Max glanced over at a sulking Chloe and watched the bluenette turn around in bed so that she was facing the wall. Maybe I went too far… Goddamnit, Chloe, why do you have to make this so fucking hard? Sighing, Max grabbed the camera bag on the couch and opened her door, stepping out into the hallway to get some space between herself and the girl lying back in her bed. Walking over to the hallway window adjacent to her door, Max watched the dawn light slowly inch its way across what was visible of the campus grounds. Seeing a couple bunnies hopping around as they seemed to be playing with a squirrel, Max opened the window and pulled out her Polaroid camera. Smile for the camera, woodland creatures! Max thought as she took the shot, smiling to herself as she began to shake the developing photo a bit.
"What the hell was that about?" a voice asked from behind her and Max turned to see Victoria Chase watching her with arms crossed over her chest.
"…Not now, Victoria," Max said, the delight she had felt at capturing such an innocent moment dissipating under the shrewd glare of the self-appointed 'Queen of Blackwell', "I.. I just wanted to snap a really good shot, that's all."
Victoria, clad in red silk pajamas, looked Max in the eye before looking down to see the photo in the other girl's hand. Too fatigued from her rant at Chloe and unsympathetic to anything Victoria might have to say, Max moved to walk around Victoria when a hand was suddenly on her shoulder.
"…Can I see it?" Victoria asked, her voice having lost all of its iciness in favor of a questioning whisper. I don't know, Victoria. Can you? Max thought before pinching the bridge of her nose. She didn't have any interest or desire in fighting anyone if she could avoid it, at least not today; turning to face a surprisingly amicable Victoria, Max looked the photo over before handing it to Victoria. "This, huh, this is actually a good shot, Caulfield."
"Uh… Thanks, I guess?" Max replied, wary of Victoria's intention, "There something you want, Victoria?"
With that question, her wariness evident to Victoria, Max found her shoulder released with a scathing look from the other girl. Victoria returned to her room and closed the door behind her loudly; Max rolled her eyes and contemplated writing something on the other girl's room slate before she noticed the sound of crying. Thinking it was Chloe at first, Max walked to her door and stopped when she heard the crying but noticed that her room was silent. Turning around to look down the hall, a scowl on her face, Max wandered down the hall a bit until she saw the slate on Kate Marsh's door.
"'Will Bang 4…' Oh, give me a fucking break," mumbling under her breath, Max lifted up the tank-top she was wearing and used the fabric to wipe Kate's slate clean before decorating the board with the phrase "Judge not, lest ye be judged". Looking over at the door to Kate's room, the crying sound from before coming from inside, Max lifted her hand to knock and hesitated. Are we friends here? I know she texted me yesterday, but she's… The Kate I knew was kind enough to do that with anybody. What if she doesn't want to talk, Max? What if you're just fucking bothering her like the snoop you are? "…Kate? Kate, are you okay?"
"Max…?" Max took a step back and watched the door open a crack. It's so dark in there. Kate peeked from behind the door, her usually well-kept bun a little worse for wear as she looked at Max with puffy, bloodshot eyes. "Sorry, Max. I don't really feel like-"
"I saw the video, Kate," Max said quietly and thought that Kate might start to cry again as the other girl's eyes looked down towards the floor, "Hey, I don't believe that is how you would act for a second, okay? You're not that kind of person, I know it." I know my Kate wouldn't do that, anyway. But you don't really look it, either. At least, that's my first impression…
"…Th-Thanks, Max," Kate said, leaning out so that her entire face was showing. God, she's a fucking wreck. Her cheeks are lined with tears. "Um, do you want to come in?"
Max nodded and walked into Kate's room, each step cautious as Kate looked to Max like she might fall apart at a moment's notice. It is hella dark. You going Goth, Kate? Scowling to herself, Max shook her head at her own insensitivity and took a seat on Kate's bed. Kate joining her, Max fidgeted with her hands as Kate just looked down at her feet. What do I say to someone who was put online like that? The kissing, the drunken stumbling around, and the laughing from other people; Kate can't be that kind of person. My Kate wanted to party, sure, but she had maybe a sip of wine. It was the drugged bottle of water that did her in, but I stopped it. I… I couldn't stop this, though…
"Max, why won't anyone believe me?" Kate asked, looking up at Max with a pleading expression.
"I believe you, Kate," Max tried to sound reassuring but she felt more awkward than anything else. "I just told you I did. I'm here for you-"
"Then why weren't you there for me yesterday, when that bully David Madsen cornered me outside the dorm? Why couldn't I find you when I got back to the hall?"
"I ran into a friend from here, Kate, and we hadn't seen each other in years. She's been through a lot and I wanted to… I wanted to help her out if I could. I can't be everywhere at once, Kate. You're being unreasonable," Max retorted, her instinctive need to be on guard kicking in.
"'Unreasonable'?" Kate asked, sounding to Max as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing before looking to see the punkette's worried expression, "…Yeah. Yeah, I guess I kinda am."
"Kate, I am your friend," Max put her hand on Kate's shoulder, giving her friend an affection squeeze that got a faint smile in reply. "Hey, how about you and I get some breakfast before classes start up? I saw the schedule. We have loads of time."
"I-I'd like that, Max," the smile Kate gave her would have made Max swoon if it weren't for the fact she was having mixed feelings about the blue-haired girl sleeping in her bed. "Um, knock on my door when you're ready? It is pretty early still, and I'd like to try and get a couple more hours of sleep if that's okay."
"Of course it is, and I'll see you soon," Max smiled, leaning over to kiss a blushing Kate on the cheek before getting up. Yawning a bit herself, Max heard Kate chuckle and shot her friend a humored scowl before heading back out into the hall.
Checking the window for any other good photo opportunities before returning to her room, Max sighed in mild disappointment and crossed the miniscule distance from the window to her dorm room. Opening the door and closing it quietly, Max carefully set her bag down only to roll her eyes when a fully-awake Chloe looked over her shoulder from where she was facing the wall in Max's bed. Keep sulking if that's what you want, Chloe, but I want to go back to sleep for a bit. Sliding into her bed, Max tried to slip under the covers only to have Chloe pull them all to herself. Really? You're gonna sulk in my bed and hog my blankets after I let you stay in my room? Wowsers, you are kind-of a bitch in the morning when you want to be, Chloe Price.
"You going to hand over some of my bedding?" Max asked Chloe, looking over to see Chloe ignore her as she was still turned toward the wall. "Chloe, are you going to-"
When Chloe turned around, the air caught in Max's throat and she felt a lump seem to form just above where she figured her heart was. Chloe had been crying, her red eyes puffy as she bit at her lip to keep it from quivering. Shit, Max thought as she visibly softened, Chloe, did you take what I said that hard? Fuck, I completely suck.
"Chloe, I-"
"Why'd you have to say those things?" Chloe's weak and hoarse voice only left Max feeling worse as the bluenette stared at her with shimmering, watery blue eyes. "Y-You think I don't know how much I fuck things up, Max? How much of a screw-up I am?"
"Chloe, I didn't say that-"
"I know, Max. But I am. I fucking pull people to me only to push them away," Chloe said before shuffling around so that she was lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, "D'you know I was seeing a counselor when I was at school here? A little before, too, but an honest-to-God therapist. 'Borderline Personality Disorder' is what she called it. I h-have a hard time, hella redonkulous hard, making friends and keeping them. I'd treat Rachel like she was a goddess only to flake the next time we were supposed to hang. I… I'm afraid that everyone is leaving me because of me, Max."
"I know, Chloe-," Motioning to try and hold the shaking bluenette, Max pulled her hand back when Chloe twitched and they locked eyes.
"You don't, Max!" Chloe had worked herself up to the point of yelling and Max flinched at the volume of her friend's voice. "You don't, okay? No one does. Dad can't understand anything because he's fucking worm food. Mom tries to understand and she takes more shifts at the diner. Rachel tries and she's gone. You? You were never here for how bad it got, you were… Don't worry, Max, I'm not fucking harping on you, but my darkest moments were absent my closest friend so you can imagine how I feel when I say my life has been dipped in shit for five years…"
Max laid there on the bed and watched as Chloe slowly turned to look at her, their faces only inches apart. Were this the Chloe she had come to know from before, Max would cross the divide with sweet kisses and whispered promises. This wreck of a girl wasn't that Chloe, however, and Max knew she needed to realize it. Unsure of what to do, Max settled on awkwardly scooting closer and just resting her head on Chloe's shoulder. Is this okay? Are you ever going to be okay, Chloe?
Are we ever going to be okay…?
Waking up after managing to fall back asleep once Chloe had passed out, Max looked to her left and saw the space her friend had been holed up in was empty. Blankets wadded up, no sign of any message left behind, Chloe was just gone. Max knew she shouldn't be surprised but it didn't mean she wasn't disappointed. She left. Of course she did, Max, didn't you fucking hear her? She's pretty much angry at the whole world, a wounded animal that mews one second and scratches the next. Letting out a low, frustrated sounding moan, Max rolled out of bed and cringed at the sight of her reflection. Hello, "zombie face". Running a hand through her messy hair, Max pursed her lips at the chestnut locks.
"Shouldn't change up too much, I guess," Max let out with a sigh, "'Hello Blandness, my old friend…'"
Stretching as she let out a silent yawn, Max scratched at her side and walked over to crack the window open. Fishing an e-cigarette she'd lifted along with the dye and whiskey from her supermarket run yesterday, Max took a single pull and inhaled the nicotine. Letting the vapor visibly spill out from between her parted lips, Max leaned against the sill and watched the students already go about their business when she spotted someone peeking around the corner. Their eyes locked and Max not only recognized the student but what surmised what was going on.
"Warren Graham, you fucking creeper!" Max yelled out from her window, slamming her window shut and dropping the blinds. Unaware of what was going on outside, Max didn't get to see Warren nervously scamper away with students calling after him. "Goddamn… Ugh, why does this shit seem to happen to me so goddamn much?" Taking another drag from the e-cigarette before hiding it in the camera bag, Max grabbed what was now her hygiene kit and made for the shower room.
"Hi, Max," Kate greeted her, mouth frothing at the edges from toothpaste. Visibly more cheerful than from earlier, Kate smiled at Max and the brunette returned the look in kind.
"Your bunny didn't give you rabies, did she?" Max teased, snickering a little when Kate looked at mirror only to roll her eyes in Max's direction.
"I'll have you know Alice has had all her shots, thank you very much," Kate quipped back with a smile. "Maybe I'm a zombie, hiding my zombie ways so that I can… so that I can…"
"Relax, Kate. If you're a zombie I'm sure you are the vegan kind or whatever. No eating people for Zom-Kate."
"'Zom-Kate'?"
"Beats Kate-bie." Max shrugged and headed for a shower stall only to see from the corner of her eye that Kate was watching her. Turning to look over her shoulder, Max gave her friend a quizzical look. "Yeah?"
"Max, do you still have my copy of The October Country? I need it to make some notes," Kate asked, sounding a little shy to Max.
"Oh, I'll have to look. Um, thanks for reminding me," Max replied, thinking More shit I have no clue about. It's a book, though, and my room is hella small. Bound to be somewhere. "Hey, we on for Two Whales once we're both ready?"
"Sure," Kate said before returning to brushing her teeth only to pause, "Though we'll never get there if we don't both finish getting ready."
Max smirked and turned back around to head into the shower. Slipping out of the sweatpants and tank-top, pulling her underwear and bra off, Max stepped into the hot water and almost let out a sigh of relief as the near-scalding droplets seemed to not only rinse her off but cleanse her mind. Grabbing the body wash and shampoo, Max covered herself in suds as she began to sing under her breath.
"Bitches know me cuz they know that I can rock…Bitches know me cuz they know that I can rhyme," Max sang the lyrics of Mindless Self Indulgence's "Bitches" to herself, snorting as she thought of what the girls on her floor would say at the sight of their cutesy Max Caulfield singing what she was singing, "Bitches know me cuz they know that I can fuck…Bitches know me-"
"What's up, Kate?" Max heard a voice ask in a sarcastically sweet voice.
"School," Max heard Kate reply.
"That's it?" the voice continued, "That video of you clubbing didn't look like homework…"
"Victoria, that wasn't me," Kate replied, her voice starting to shake. Victoria. Oh. Oh, fuck this.
"Hey!" Max yelled from her shower stall, "Why don't you go fuck yourself, Victoria! Leave Kate alone!"
"Mind your own bidness, twee bitch," Victoria snapped back only to flinch a little when Max nearly ripped the curtain of her shower stall off as the brunette got into her face, "Get the fuck away from me, before your cliché gets all over my fucking cashmere!"
"How about you get the hell away from my friend," Max shot back, eyes narrowing as she backpedaled to stand between Kate and Victoria, Taylor moving to the door. A fight, is it? You think you want to fight me? Her tank-top and sweatpants damp from being pulled on without Max having dried herself off, the disheveled and soaking wet brunette clenched her fists, "Why don't… Why don't you go fuck your selfie?"
"Really?" Victoria snorted, folding her arms across her chest, "You're the selfie ho of Blackwell, though maybe you took more than some selfies when that blue-haired trash-"
"Oh my God, Victoria!" Taylor cried out a half-second too late.
Max swung her fist at Victoria calling Chloe "blue-haired trash" and connected with the other girl's nose, Max watching as though she were disconnected from her own body as a spurt of blood shot out. The action and reaction played like slow motion: Max's fist, Victoria's face, Taylor's cry, Kate tugging at Max's top. Oh my God. Oh my God, I hit Victoria. I… Shit, I broke her nose! Did I break her nose! Oh fuck, I broke her fucking nose! Max panicked as Victoria's head nearly went into a bathroom mirror from the surprising force of Max's punch. Steadying herself with a hand on the sink, Victoria swung at Max with her free hand and the brunette dodged the feeble attack and backpedaled, arms spread out to shield Kate.
"You fubbing bish!" Victoria screeched, her voice muffled as her hand was in place over her bleeding nose, "You moverfubbing bish! Ah'll geh you eshpelled fer this!"
"…Whatever," Max said, the iciness in her voice making Taylor step back only to bump up against the door. Max could hear girls whispering on the other side. I'm already screwed now. At least I can wrench the knife some and maybe save Kate some hassle. "You tease Kate, humiliate her every goddamn day, Victoria! What made you think one of us wouldn't fucking deck you across your bitchy face?!"
"Ohhh!" Max heard a voice cry out from the hallway. While it wasn't her Dana, Max was glad to know that some things never changed. Victoria backpedaling as Max stalked after her, the blonde found herself bumping into Taylor before cringing under Max's intense glare.
"You may fucking despise me, Victoria, but the truth is that I don't even bother with you. I'm not above you, not below you. I simply don't care," Max poked at Victoria's sternum with each sentence, "You fucked with my friend, however, and that I do care about. You harass Kate and treat her like shit. Now you know how it feels to be on the receiving end."
"Get. Out."
Victoria and Taylor spun in place and whipped the door open only to find the entire girls' floor on the other side, Dana's eyes widening with a smile forming as she took in the sight of a bloodied Victoria. Max watched Victoria glare at the girls before storming off with an anxious Taylor in tow. When Dana turned back from watching Victoria leave to look at Max, Max expected the worst.
"Hell yea!" Stella shouted from behind Alyssa, "Teach that bitch, Max!" The girls that had congregated in the hall poured into the shower room and swarmed both Max and Kate with hugs and concern as Max looked at Kate and the girls shared nervous smiles. What a way to start a Tuesday.
"Max?" Kate asked as she and Max walked down the stairs toward the dormitory's front door, "Max? Don't you think that maybe we should wait for someone to-?"
"To what, Kate?" Max asked back, looking over her shoulder at her nervous friend. Flashing Kate a smirk and wink, Kate rolled her eyes, "C'mon, it's not like they can't text me to say 'Oh, Max? By the way you're kicked out, okay? Thanks and buh-bye. If I'm getting sent packing, at least allow me my last supper…or breakfast…"
Hearing Kate gasp a little, Max laughed when she realized what she had said and opened the door for Kate. Watching Kate quickly nod in appreciation, the other girl walking so fast Max thought she was trying to run away, the punkster trailed along behind Kate for only a few seconds before catching up to walk alongside her friend. Taking Kate's hand, Max gave her friend a warm smile before bumping her shoulder against Kate's. You're hella adorable, Kate. Like, too fucking adorable. Abstinence may be your friend, but it must be the bane of every person in this school that is crushing on you…
"Waffles, or omelet?" Max asked, letting go of Kate's hand to pull out her cellphone.
"Uh…" Kate gave Max a puzzled look.
"I'm calling ahead so that our food will be good-to-go when we get to Two Whales," Max stated, watching Kate realize what she was doing, "So? Waffles or omelet?"
"Waffles," Kate replied, beaming at Max who in turn looked away as she felt her face start to heat up. Wowsers. I forgot how you look when you smile like that. Her attention elsewhere, Max jumped a little when her phone vibrated in her hand to the laughter of Kate in response.
Mom: Maxine Caulfield! You HIT a fellow student?!
Mom: Explain, young lady. Now.
Wowsers, Blackwell works hella fast.
Max: Mom, for cereal you need to calm down. This girl, she was bashing one of my friends and she's a general bitch to nearly everybody in the school.
Max: Enough was enough. I don't regret it, even if it means I'm expelled.
Mom: You should be. I don't know why you aren't, but you should be. You're suspended. The principal is going to send you an email some time today, but I told him I would tell you myself.
Mom: Max… I'm disappointed in you. And a little shocked. You've never had trouble at school before, except for me hearing how you kept to yourself so much. What happened?
Max: …I snapped. I got tired of Kate being bullied and stood up to Victoria. She had it coming, and I STILL don't regret it.
Mom: Are you available to talk?
Max: I'm about to have breakfast with Kate. Someone… Someone posted a video of her online and I'm being uber supportive right now. Can I call you tonight?
Mom: …Alright. Tonight. You WILL call me, Max. I…
Mom: I'm worried about you.
Crap. I don't want her getting anxious over me, Max thought before the screen blew up with a new string of messages from Chloe.
Chloe: Sorry for taking off
Chloe: Well, I'm not sorry for doing it but I feel bad about not even leaving a note or whatever
Chloe: You free rn?
Max: Sorry. Breakfast w/Kate
Chloe: The girl from the vid?
Max: Yeah. She was crying when I went out into the hallway this morning before we passed out. I promised her breakfast together.
"Max?" Max heard Kate ask, her head snapping up from looking at her phone to see Kate already in the bus. Hurrying up the steps and into the seat in front of Kate, Max gave her friend a quick grin before returning her attention to Chloe's messages.
Chloe: Dude
Chloe: Someone just posted a video of YOU
Max: WHAT?!
Chloe: DID YOU PUNCH VICTORIA CHASE IN THE FACE?
Chloe: Heh, rhymed it and I don't deny it
Max: -_-
Chloe: NO EMOJI
Max: Ugh, and yes I did
Max: She wouldn't leave Kate alone and she clenched her fists like she was going to hit me.
Max: What does the video show, exactly?
Chloe: Victoria bursting out from the shower room or wherever and glaring at the camera with her bleeding face covered up. You're standing in the room she came out of looking HELLA fucking hardcore.
Chloe: Remind me not to get you THAT pissed. Ever.
Chloe: Damn, you've changed so fucking much. I didn't think I would ever see you throw down like that EVER, Max!
Max: You've changed, too.
Chloe: …I know.
Chloe: Soooooo, can we hang later?
Max: Most def. I'm suspended anyway so it's not like I have a class to go to for, well, however long I'm fucking suspended
Chloe: Sweet! I mean, shit for school but hella yes for us. I'll hit you up later!
"You gonna actually eat this time and not take off, Max?" Joyce teased as Max and Kate sat at one of the booths in Two Whales. Max ran a finger along some math formulas that had been scratched into the table and looked away in embarrassment, knowing she'd left Joyce with a wasted meal and no money in exchange for said meal. "I'm not upset, Max. Just wonderin' what you've got goin' on the keep you from eatin', hun. I've seen you wolf one of our waffles down in time that could outmatch Chloe."
That wasn't me that ate those waffles, Max thought before finally looking up at Joyce. Giving Chloe's mother a nervous smile, Max shrugged her shoulders and looked across the booth to see Kate quirk an eyebrow. I can get hella embarrassed and awkward too, Kate. Don't look at me like that. Jerk.
"I-I'm sorry about yesterday, Joyce," Max sputtered out an apology, "I… I got into it with Chloe yesterday and thought I saw her out the window so I panicked. Sorry. Make it up to you and offer to promote your food through coming here and eating a waffle every day?"
When Joyce chuckled at the offer, Max's tension eased up a bit only for Joyce to give her an even more serious look. Oh, what now? What I do now?
"Is it true you hit a girl, Max?" Joyce asked and her lips thinned into a straight line when Max glanced at Kate for a second before looking back up at her. Seeing Joyce shake her head, Max thought she couldn't feel any more miserable if she tried. "Max, I thought you'd be a good influence on Chloe now that you're back…"
"I'll be so good, Joyce," Max protested, her palms on the table as she leaned against it, "Hella good. You just don't know our side of the story…"
"Our side, huh?" Joyce looked over at Kate and Max watched her friend shift uncomfortably. Aw, Kate. Joyce is one of the good women. "You seem like a sweetheart… What's your name?"
"…Kate. My name is Kate," Kate said, pausing at first out of worry before seeing the encouraging smile on Max's face. "I-Is our food almost ready?"
Max watched Joyce pick up Kate's nervousness and smiled before heading back behind the counter. Sighing from not being asked to go into greater detail over Kate's trauma, Max leaned back into her seat and sipped at her coffee, watching Kate take a drink of her tea. The tea cup, small pitcher of milk, and sugar packet played with Max's imagination and she pulled out her Polaroid camera to catch a shot of the items with Kate looking out the window, a contemplative look on her face.
"Max!" Kate said in alarm a second after the photo ejected from Max's camera, wagging a chiding finger at Max, "Max, it's not nice to do that without permission…"
"Who says I'm always nice?" Max teased, Kate chuckling a bit at the response, "Besides, it was all so perfect. You, the tea, and all your tea-drinking paraphernalia. Just you wait and see, Kate Marsh; you'll be on the cover of tea magazines everywhere!"
Putting the Polaroid camera back into the camera bag, Max slid the photo into the pocket of her red leather jacket and waited patiently for the food to come as Kate pulled The October Country out of her own satchel. This is what school should be like, Max thought as she watched the other patrons eat their meals and drink their varying beverages, Cool mornings and hot breakfasts. Time with friends…and the occasional schoolyard fight. I spent so long just trying to live that I forgot that this is what living is like for someone my age. Orphaned and forced into adulthood at 13, I've got a second chance here in this new place. Deep in thought, Max looked out the window and up at the sky.
The eclipse from yesterday worried her; she remembered the snow from the other timeline and now there was a freak eclipse hanging over her and Arcadia Bay. It doesn't take a genius to see they're connected. Nothing like this happened before my powers, so what happens if I use them too much? Was the storm a nightmare like I hope, or a vision of the worst yet to come…? Max's phone vibrated in the inside pocket of her jacket and she pulled it out to see an incoming email.
Dear Ms. Caulfield,
Pending further disciplinary action, it is the decision of myself as administrator of Blackwell Academy to place you on immediate suspension until further notice. I personally regret that the events involving Ms. Marsh had to come to such a violent conclusion but I have been assured by Ms. Chase that she would do everything in her power to remove the video in question. That said, I cannot help but feel disappointment that a bright student who had been received here under scholarship would set such a poor example for the other students in her dormitory. If your suspension is lifted, I can only hope that you will cease such aggressive and troublesome behavior, Max. If the suspension leads to expulsion, the mark it leaves on your record will be a disappointment to everyone here at Blackwell and I hope it doesn't come to that.
Sincerely,
Ray Wells
Principal, Blackwell Academy
Max opened up her web browser and went to the history folder; scrolling through until she found the link, Max opened up where the video was supposed to be and found a picture of herself with the eyes crossed out in red and snickered. Wowsers. That is your comeback, Victoria? Hella lame. At least the video is down, though…
"Video's taken down, Kate," Max said, reaching out to show her friend the picture that had taken its place.
"Max, that's horrible!"
"Meh, it's a doodle," Max shrugged before setting the phone down so that they could eat the waffles Joyce was carrying as she headed towards them. Rubbing her hands together in anticipation, Max ignored the amused look on Kate's face and snatched up her fork as her plate was set on the table. "Time to nosh."
"'Nosh'?" Kate's amused question was met with a mild shriek when Max responded by lobbing a slice of whipped cream-laden strawberry at her friend, both girls breaking into a fit of giggles before digging into their breakfasts.
Max patted her abdomen in contentment as she scanned her empty plate and the progress Kate was making on her own half-eaten waffle. Watching her friend gingerly slice into the waffle with every bite, Max couldn't help but wonder if there was a Max Caulfield in some other timeline that was with Kate and not Chloe. Shaking her head, a rueful grin on her face, Max excused herself to use the restroom and was halfway toward the side of the diner opposite her and Kate's booth when her phone vibrated once more. What the fuck now? Death threats from Victoria? Max thought as she pulled out her phone with a roll of her eyes. Warren asking me to prom or whatever nearly an entire school year in advance? I should just find his dorm room and paper his door with post-its telling him I'mfucking gay. Who the hell is…oh, oh God no…
Chloe: I've been stabbed
Chloe: Max, help
Chloe: This fucking hurts like a bitch
Max: Where are you!?
Chloe: Junkyard
Chloe: Can you get my mom's car?
Max: How the fuck are you texting
Max: Never mind, yeah I can
Max: I'm on my way, Chloe
"Joyce!" Max shouted, looking up from her phone to see a startled look on the face of Chloe's mother. "I need your car. Right now."
"Max…?" Joyce gave the brunette a puzzled look but reached under the counter to produce a set of keys from her purse. Holding them in her hand, almost hefting them in front of Max, Joyce's brow furrowed as she eyed the young woman. "Max, what is-"
"I need them now, Joyce!" Max snapped, reaching across the counter to grab them from Joyce's hand. Max knew she'd likely pay for this outburst but didn't care. Running back to the booth to hastily collect her things, Max apologized to Kate and gave her the Polaroid she'd taken, the word "Respite" written in Sharpie marker under the picture.
Max nearly broke the door to Two Whales down as she rammed it with her shoulder to get outside, leaping the small set of stairs as she made for the parking lot. Recognizing the Prices' station wagon, Max tried to shove the keys into the driver's side lock and dropped them. Cussing loudly, Max scooped up the keys and unlocked the door before slamming it behind her after she'd already started the old car up. Squealing the tires as she shot out of the parking lot at breakneck speed, Max narrowly missed oncoming traffic as she headed down Main Street toward where she remembered the junkyard from her original timeline was. Please let there be no cops, please let there be no cops…, Max thought as she gritted her teeth. She should have stayed with Chloe was her first thought, the close second being the image of Chloe bleeding out among ancient rusty heaps alone and frightened. Tears running down her face, Max bit her lip and took a sharp right, ignoring the stop sign and thankful for a lack of traffic. She felt her phone go off multiple times but it was either phone or drive for her presently; Max couldn't focus on two things, the tunnel vision ending with Chloe dying was too encompassing as she tried to will the old wagon to somehow go faster.
"Come on!" Max slammed an open palm against the dash, wincing at having used the same hand she'd decked Victoria with earlier in the morning. "I need you to go faster, Goddamnit! Faster!"
The junkyard seemed to take forever to get to, and Max's anxiety was through the roof as she almost exited the vehicle while it was still rolling into the rusted wasteland. Almost having forgotten, Max reached into the car through her open driver's side window and put the car in park but left it running as she ran further in.
"CHLOE!" Max screamed, cupping both hands to her mouth as her eyes darted around frantically, "CHLOE!"
There was no sign of her in the immediate area and Max felt her body start to tremble from the terror and adrenaline; She can't be… no, don't you fucking think that, Max Caulfield! Chloe will be fine, she's fine. You… You can't think she's, Max thought as she hastily began to search around for signs of her childhood best friend.
"Goddamnit! CHLOE! FUCKING ANSWER ME, CHLOE!"
"…Max…?" the brunette heard a weak voice call out to her. Where the fuck is she? It was… Was it close, or was it weak? Was it both? Ugh, fuck! Growling in frustration, Max stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a trail of blood droplets start from what looked to be a makeshift shooting range. Chloe? Oh… Oh no… Nonono, this isn't happening…
"Chloe! I need you to yell! Where are you?! CHLOE!"
"Here," a faint voice called out painfully, a little louder than before. Heading off in the general direction of Chloe's voice as she continued to cry out to Max, Max followed the blood trail and found Chloe leaning against a wall in her hideout, a bloody rag pressed against her abdomen. "H-Hey, Max…unnh, this hurts so bad…"
"Chloe," Max said in exhausted relief as she fell to her knees and looked at the wound frantically, "Have you called the police? An ambulance?"
"…" Chloe looked away, biting her lip.
"Jesus Christ, Chlo! You only texted me?!" Max swatted Chloe on the shoulder and the bluenette winced in response. "Shit! I-I'm sorry. Chloe, we need to call an ambulance. We need to-"
"Max, can you help me up?" Chloe asked, her voice strained as she reached her arms out for Max to pull her up. Getting to her feet, Max took Chloe's hands but didn't budge. "Max?"
"Chloe, this… we shouldn't move-"
"Will you just help me up already?!" Chloe snapped only to let out a pained whimper, "I-I'm sorry for yelling, Max, but can you please help me up? I'll go to a fucking hospital, I'll eat shitty hospital food, but I need you to help me up first."
"Give me just one hand, Chloe," Max said in a single breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she was on the verge of hyperventilating, "You need to keep that rag pressed against the wound, okay?"
Chloe did as she was told and Max grunted with effort as she hoisted Chloe up as carefully as she was able to. Wrapping Chloe's free arm over her shoulders, Max walked Chloe to the station wagon as quickly as she could and opened the rear hatch so Chloe could lie down. Wiping tears from her eyes, a little blood smearing across her face from having helped Chloe into the car, Max's lip quivered as she closed the hatch behind her and ran to the driver's side. Putting the car in reverse, Max told Chloe to hang on and she sped out of the junkyard as quickly as she could.
Max was almost admitted to the hospital when she brought an increasingly pale Chloe, the bluenette's face ashen and drawn as shock over what happened began to set in. Watching her friend put onto a gurney, Max felt her chest tighten and a nurse escorted her to the waiting area while taking her vitals. Swatting the nurse's hands away with an agitated look on her face, Max rested her elbows on her knees and hung her head. Her breathing beginning to normalize, Max knew she had to call Joyce and tell her what had happened. Shit, I took her car. I'm going to have to pick up Joyce. Fucking great. Fan-fucking-tastic. Max rolled her eyes and slumped back into the stiff plastic seat of her chair and nearly threw her phone out of exasperation when it started to vibrate.
Kate: I hope everything is ok. I really liked the picture.
Warren: Uh, hey. Sorry 'bout this morning, Mad Max. Heard what happened, saw the video – too bad ur suspended but u decking Vic was EPIC. Hand later? ;)
Taylor: I just want you to know that you got off light, Max. Yeah, we're kinda shitty to Kate but that doesn't make you punching Victoria any cooler than you already WEREN'T. You can't just punch people like that. * *
Dana: That WAS SO COOL. You're like our very own Champion of Kirkwall, only it's Blackwell. …If you tell anyone I play Dragon Age there could be bloodshed. ;p
Juliet: I want an interview for this moment in history, Max. Hit me up!
Max: *GROUP TEXT* MY BEST FRIEND IS BLEEDING OUT IN A HOSPITAL SO RIGHT NOW YOU ALL NEED TO PLEASE BACK THE FUCK OFF! AND CUT IT OUT WITH THE GODDAMN EMOJI! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡
"J-Joyce?" Max asked timidly, calling up Chloe's mother after waiting a few seconds to the grim satisfaction of her messaging inbox ceasing to blow up, "I-I… Chloe's been hurt, Joyce. Yeah, it's why I… Joyce, I'm s-sorry! Please, please don't be mad at… Oh, okay. I don't know why, no… Joyce, you need to try and calm down. I'm on my way… Yes, I'm leaving right now. I'll be here as soon as… Yes, as soon as possible! No no, don't bring David! Chloe, she doesn't need the stress… I'm her best friend, that's how I know shit's going on between them… I'm sorry. I just… Yeah, I'm on my way," Switching her phone off to look at it sorrowfully, Max stuffed it into the camera bag and ran back out into the parking lot. Joyce will never forgive me for this, Max thought grimly, I've never heard her… She's never been mad at me like this before. Well… Well, fuck her if she's mad! I'm mad! Whoever did this is going to pay!
The car ride was nothing but awkwardness and the occasional sidelong glance exchanged between Max and Joyce as Chloe's mother now drove the station wagon. Seeing her waiting in the Two Whales parking lot, Max had hit the brakes hard only to get hurriedly scooted into the passenger side as Joyce did a U-turn and headed back the way Max had come. This is all my fault. I should have never gone back in time, should never have tried to fix things. I've… I've ruined so much… When she felt the sobbing coming, Max opened up the passenger side window and leaned against the door, letting the rushing wind drown out her choking sobs as she folded her knees against her chest. In that moment Max wished that she'd died in the car with her parents, that none of the past five years had come to pass. So much pain and loss at such a young age, Max felt she couldn't take the heartache anymore and just wanted to wipe it all away.
"Max…," Joyce's forced calm failed to reach Max as the station wagon pulled into a parking spot at Arcadia Bay's hospital, "Max… Hun, I'm sorry for before. I know that Chloe trusts you and that I should. …You should have told me, Max…"
Sliding out from her side, Max ran around to Joyce as she exited from the driver's and pulled Chloe's mother into a hug, her body shaking as she continued to cry.
"I-I'm so s-s-sorry," Max stuttered as she buried her face in Joyce's blouse, feeling the older woman pat her back to try and calm her down, "P-Please… Please don't be mad at me, J-Joyce. I d-don't think I can t-take much more of t-this…"
"Oh, Max," Joyce wrapped her arm around Max's shoulders as she walked the brunette toward the hospital, "Chloe's tough. S-She'll be alright. You make it… You make it sound like you've seen death first-hand."
My parents. My parents and Chloe. Chloe can't die, too, she can't! Max sniffled and wiped at her nose with the back of her arm, wishing she hadn't gotten rid of that hoodie she'd found herself in from yesterday. Pulling up the hood on her jacket as she dragged herself over to the waiting area once more, Max felt her phone go off and screamed before pulling it out. WHAT THE GODDAMN, ACTUAL FUCK DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME?!
Dad: Max, your mom told me what happened at school today. She won't tell you this but we are proud you stood up for your friend. I hope you're doing okay, considering you got suspended. I love you, honey.
Max's phone fell to the floor, her shaking hands unable to keep ahold of it as her eyes widened in horror. Those words…, Max thought as the memory of her parents dying before her eyes at age 13 assaulted her senses. The smell of burning oil, the sound of metal being folded onto itself and breaking glass, the taste of copper as she had bit her lip hard. The image of her mother dead and her father dying before her eyes. Max watched it play out in her head like a horror movie before switching to the image of Chloe dead inside the hideaway she'd nicknamed "American Rust" in Max's original timeline and the brunette couldn't feel anything: Joyce shaking her, the nurse lifting her up, and the hoarseness of her own throat as she let out a chain of bloodcurdling screams.
The last thing Max remembered was taking a seat in the waiting room as she awoke to find herself in a hospital bed. Looking down, her mind feeling a little sluggish, Max saw that she was alone in the room and dressed in a hospital gown. An odd taste came from the back of her throat and she tried to cough up whatever it was but nothing seemed to work. Did I pass out…? What… What happened? Her mind clearing a little bit as she carefully sat up, Max checked herself to see if she had somehow gotten injured, her mind a blank as to how she'd gotten into a hospital bed when she jumped at the sound of Joyce walking into the hospital room. Her hair a mess, eyes puffy from crying, Joyce crossed the space between the room's door and Max's bed on the other side and gave Max a tight, squeezing hug.
"How you feelin'?" Joyce asked as she pulled away from Max and stood bedside.
"I-I don't understand how I got here," Max said, looking around with a perplexed expression on her face. "What happened, Joyce?"
"The doctor told me that it was likely a nervous breakdown," Joyce's voice was cautious and measured as she intently watched to see Max's reaction. When the girl simply looked at her incredulously, Joyce let out a small sigh of relief, "Max, you had everybody in that waiting area terrified, and that includes me. You wouldn't stop screaming, your whole body stiff and your face, Max. You looked like you had just survived one of those horror movies you used to make Chloe watch with you."
"Really?" Max asked, her eyes searching Joyce's face to see if she was joking. When Max realized Chloe's mother was being serious, she put a hand to her palm and let out a tired groan. "I'm such a freak…"
"Max Caulfield, you are many things but a freak is not one of them," Joyce chided Max, lightly poking the girl in the shoulder for emphasis, "You saved Choe's life so don't you dare think that, d'you hear me?"
"Chloe's okay?" Max nearly leapt out of her hospital bed, leaning against the railing to the point that Joyce took a step back to avoid getting headbutted.
"She will be," Joyce's expression wavered and she frowned before looking up at Max again, "Max, she lost a lot of blood and is refusing to tell anyone what happened. Not the doctors, not the police, and obviously not me. When you get a chance, could you talk to her and find out what the hell happened? I put you on the list and since you're both being held overnight, Chloe likely two nights, you spending time with her here shouldn't be a problem."
"I will get to the bottom of this," Max stated, swinging her legs over the bed's side so that she could take Joyce's hands in her own, "I will find out what happened, Joyce. I swear it."
The hospital staff wouldn't let Max out of her room until the early evening hours, not satisfied that she was sufficiently calmed down until she said in no uncertain terms that with her best friend getting stabbed their asking her to calm down was "fucking ridiculous". Walking down the halls toward the ward just out of ICU that Chloe was staying in, Max could feel the cold tile through her thin, hospital-issue flip-flops. Changing into the clothes she'd bought from Goodwill the day before, Max had been too weary to slip on all of the clothes. Leaving the stockings and boots behind, she'd padded out into the chilly hall in just a tank-top and her jean shorts until she came to a door with Chloe's name written on a slate by its narrow window. Peering inside, Max watched Chloe as she looked up at the TV from her hospital bed, her shoulders and head raised to near-sitting level. Max watched Chloe glance at the door from the corner of her eye and smirked when a wry grin came across her friend's face.
"Hey," Max said quietly, opening the door just enough that she could peek her head in, "Are you decent?"
"Hey back, and I'm never decent," Chloe said, wincing a bit as she snickered, "Max, you're letting all the hospital funk out. Get in here and close the door, nerd."
Stepping inside, Max closed the door behind her with a soft click and walked to a chair set alongside Chloe's bed. Chloe was still a little paler than usual, her beanie sitting back where it belonged on her head, but the smile on her face and gleam in her eyes was different than when Max had seen it last. Smiling back at Chloe, Max reached out with a slightly trembling hand and took one of Chloe's, getting choked up when the bluenette intertwined their fingers together. So much like… No, that's not right. Chloe's here, right here, and she needs you.
"Are you okay?" Max asked, knowing the question was stupid to ask but unable to think of anything else to say. "Who did this to you?"
"Mom told me what happened, Max. With you in the waiting room," Chloe's voice was soft and she reached over with her other hand to cup Max's hand in-between her own, "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? Chloe, you were stabbed," Max gave Chloe a tired look, "Am I okay? Who cares if-"
"I do," Chloe motioned for Max to scoot closer and she brought a blue-nailed hand to Max's face, gently rubbing her thumb where there were faint lines from Max's tears, "I do, Max."
"…You're being awfully sweet," Max chuckled nervously, looking off to the side as it started to grow warmer to her. When Chloe hooked a finger under her chin, Max resisted for a moment before letting Chloe's slender finger bring her back around to look at the blue-haired girl watching her with a mysterious look on her face. "Chloe…?"
"I sat there for, I think, five minutes before I texted you? Did you know… No, of course you fucking couldn't," Chloe said, bringing her hand to Max's cheek as she rubbed at it with her thumb, "I sat there, bleeding, and thought for a moment that that was it. I was done, that I'd reached my ending. Max, I was ready to die."
"C-Chloe…," Max pressed her hand onto Chloe's feeling the cool fingers on her face and she bit her lip to stop it from quivering, "Don't… D-Don't say things like that, Che. Just don't."
"You called me 'Che', just like when we were kids. 'Maxaroni n' Che', do you remember?" Max nodded when Chloe finished her question, a light-hearted smile on the bedridden girl's face, "We were gonna take over the world, go on crazy adventures together and escape this place. I was ready to escape it today, in my own way…"
"Chloe, what happened? Who did this to you?" Max's pleading tone seemed to win Chloe over, Max watching as Chloe glanced away in thought for a couple seconds before looking back over at Max. Pulling her beanie off, Chloe set it in her lap and scratched at her hair with her free hand, her other hand rubbing small circles on Max's cheek with its thumb.
"I owe this dude in town, the guy I get my weed from, and he caught me in the junkyard. I'd stolen one of my stepdouche's guns and was messing around with it when he fucking came up from behind me. He was chill at first, but he wanted 'his money' right fucking then and there, Max. I don't have three grand lying around – do you? Anyway, I tried to calm him down and he flipped. I got this," Chloe jutted her chin downwards to the area Max had seen her bleeding from in the junkyard, "A reminder to not fuck with him."
I'm going to kill you, Frank, Max thought as she watched Chloe lean back into the elevated mattress and shift a bit under the blankets. Max's thoughts were devoid of emotion; it wasn't a murderous rage, but an inevitable fact that she was going to kill Frank Bowers. Turning her attention back to Chloe, the look on her friend's mind told Max that the bluenette likely knew what she was thinking.
"You're not going after him, Max," Chloe's voice was strained but stern as a frown lined her face, "I didn't get you to bring me here just so you could fucking join me. We don't need matching stab wounds, okay?"
"But Chloe-"
"Max, please swear that you will not go after him."
"But Chloe-"
"Max, just swear? Please swear? I… I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt," the anxiousness of Chloe's words only partially masked something behind them to Max.
"Chloe…?"
"When I sat there," Chloe started to talk, looking up at the powered-off television as though avoiding Max's pleading face, "At first, I thought of Rachel. She… She was my angel, keeping me together sometimes. She totally saved me in a really dark time in my life. When she disappeared months ago I thought that I would be alone forever, thought that she'd bailed on me. Maybe she has, I don't know. When you think you're dying you kinda have a lot of epiphanies, 'coulda shoulda woulda' bullshit."
"Chloe-," Max said only to be cut off from a plaintive look on Chloe's face.
"Just… Let me finish, Max. Need to give my shoulders some rest, get rid of all this fucking baggage, okay? Where was I?"
"Epiphanies."
"Oh, right. So I'm sitting there, right, and I'm thinking of Rachel when you pop into my head. Not the drama with you going AWOL for five years, Max. Just you. Your smile, how your nose scrunches up when you're really happy. The way your hair kinda looks in the sunlight. Your giggles and how warm you feel when we're crashing together in bed…"
Max felt her lip start to quiver again and she let it, every word Chloe said hitting her like a sledgehammer. Every wall Max had ever built started to crumble and she felt something catch in her throat. A faint whining noise escaping her, Max looked away in embarrassment only to shift her eyes back to Chloe when the girl in the hospital bed brought a thumb to Max's lower lip and stopped the quivering with just a touch. Chloe…
"Max, I need you to tell me you won't leave me again. I'm not complaining, not trying to guilt you into it. I need you to promise me that-"
"Chloe, I'm so sorry for leaving you!" Max leapt out of her seat and buried her head in Chloe's blanket-covered lap, shaking from anxiety, "You don't deserve this, being hurt and in the hospital, and I don't fucking deserve you. I-I failed you as a friend, and I can't help but inevitably fuck things up just like you think you do. Chloe, people don't choose to leave you, at least I didn't. I know William didn't, either, but I'm no good for you. I'm bitter and angry so much, I get defensive so easily and just fucking withdraw from the world entirely. There are things, events in my life, that are too horrible to ever share and I'm so fucking twisted and broken inside that I think all I will do is hurt-"
"Max, please stop and look at me," Chloe's voice was tender as Max paused to look up from her place in Chloe's, "Max, I forgive you. For all of it. That's kinda where I was going with this, because the truth is I would want you in my life. I want the Maxaroni to my Che back."
"…I-I-" Max lifted her head up and watched Chloe try to lean forward, "Chloe, you shouldn't do that-"
Chloe's lips were dry but warm when Max felt them reach her own, her friend's breath tasting like cheap cigarettes and hospital gelatin. She tastes like cherries, Max thought as she found herself leaning in as they continued to kiss. Max brought a hand up to Chloe's cheek and felt her moan slightly at the touch. As they continued to kiss, Chloe's lips became wet from Max's and there were faint smacking sounds as they would part to breathe only to collide once more. The kissing intensified, Max feeling Chloe's tongue try to pry her lips apart only to open her mouth and slide her tongue against Chloe's. Clumsily getting to her feet, Max climbed onto the hospital bed and straddled Chloe as she leaned down to continue their kissing. Max's worries and doubts, the terrified 13 year-old girl who watched as she was brought to a stranger's house to live, all fell away as she melted into the girl lying underneath her. Five years of hell for Max became a fading nightmare when brought to bear against the hot lips of Chloe Price. Pulling back when she felt Chloe wince and twitch, Max remained seated on the bluenette's lap and panted as Chloe caught her breath as well.
"W-Wowsers," Max muttered, raising a hand to her lips to feel the wetness left behind by Chloe, "Che, I-"
"I… I'll need some time, Max, and we need to find out what happened with Rachel, but when all this is fucking done I'd like to try you and me as… I want you to be my girlfriend," Chloe said, looking away the entire time until she began to fidget when Max didn't answer straight away, "Max…?"
"Is… Is it okay if I kinda call you my girlfriend before we're done with our quest?" Max asked, sliding the fingers of both her hands into Chloe's, looking up at the bluenette with a shy, lip-biting smile.
"…Is that a yes…?" Chloe asked, her face turning scarlet as she swallowed hard and looked at Max, "You can't use this level of cute on me, Maxaroni. I'm fucking bedridden, I'm-"
"It's a hella yes, you fucking dork," Max said, leaning down to give Chloe an Eskimo kiss before bringing their lips together for a real one.
"Amazeballs."
Author's Note –
This concludes Chapter 10 of Fighters, and I hope you all liked the ending of this part. Will Max ever go back to her own timeline? I can only shrug in response because I'm not fucking telling so nyah.:P
Seriously though, after that ending do you actually want her to go back? I never said it would be one way or the other, but what does that mean? Am I implying something? Is this foreshadowing? Are you cereal? Max is in the timeline she's in and that's all I am going to say. While the storyline was thrown into the game's main timeline Punk Max has already had an effect only two days in. I know the Chasefield shippers might have thought I was going somewhere with that tender Polaroid moment, but a punch to the face does not make Max go happy-happy with Victoria Chase.
What will Punk Max do next, now with something of a budding romance starting between her and Punk Chloe? Can Arcadia Bay hand these angsty girls now that they're together? Will Lisa survive, having only been watered once? How will Max being suspended alter events in comparison to the game?
Will Warren ever get to "Go Ape"?
Read, review, and I'll see you all later with Chapter 11!
Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls!
PS – The Best…Is Yet…To Come…*newspaper clippings blow in the wind only to smack Alyssa in the face*