Ex Arcadia
"Photography graduate, and Blackwell Academy's very own winner of the prestigious Every Day Heroes contest: Maxine Caulfield."
Principal Wells swung his arm to the side in a wide arc; Max's cue to ascend the stage. She clutched her gown and walked up the short, somewhat rickety stairs onto the stage. She was greeted with a small but warm amount of applause from the majority of the crowd. However, one small cluster near the front was going wild. Max wasn't surprised in the slightest to see that little section was comprised of her parents, Joyce Price, David Madsen and of course: Chloe.
"Fuck yeah, go Super Max!" Chloe hollered to the horror of the crowd around her, much of which was made up of families with young children. Seeing their outraged looks, Chloe shrugged apologetically.
Max rolled her eyes. She really shouldn't have expected anything different. She collected her diploma from Principal Wells, thanked him, and hurried off the stage to join her fellow graduates.
When the ceremony was over, and the traditional throwing of the graduation caps had taken place - Max had glued a picture of her and Chloe as pirates to hers – Max found herself mobbed by her family and Chloe.
"Mwah! " Chloe laid an exaggeratedly large kiss on Max's cheek. "Dude, you're like a legit graduate now!" She wrapped Max up in her arms, almost lifting her off the floor.
"We're so proud of you!" Her mom exclaimed. She joined the hug, followed swiftly by Ryan Caulfield.
"Ain't no prouder dad on Earth right now. You did good, Super Max." He praised his daughter, and ruffled her hair, which had been dyed a multitude of colours for the occasion.
Max blushed. This amount of praise was almost overwhelming. "Thanks." She said, somewhat lamely. "Though all I did was make it through three years at this place."
"Come now, Max." Joyce said, having joined the group. "Don't sell yourself short, this is a big accomplishment, especially considering all that unpleasantness in your first year."
"Mm." David grunted in agreement.
"Point is, you're awesome, and we all think so." Chloe said, her arm hanging around Max's shoulders.
Max finally gave in. She grinned, and kissed Chloe on the cheek. "I guess it is pretty cool. And you're all hella sweet."
"Speaking of sweet." A voice emerged through the general din of Max's fellow graduates and their loved ones. "Your hair looks like a damn rainbow cake."
Max turned, only vaguely surprised to find Victoria, accompanied by Kate, behind her. The remark about her hair had only been a light tease, and Max could detect the warmth behind it.
"I don't know, looks good enough to eat to me." Kate said, along with a wave towards Max.
"Hey you two." Max greeted them with a smile and a hug. "Gotta admit, I'm a little surprised you came, Vee."
Victoria raised an eyebrow. "And miss my girlfriend's graduation? If I didn't know you better I'd say you'd been into Chloe's weed stash, Caulfield."
Max laughed. "Good point." She turned back to her parents. "Mom, Dad, I think you already know Kate. This is her girlfriend, Victoria Chase."
Ryan offered a hand in greeting, which Victoria shook. "Daughter of the owners of the Chase Space, right? It's an impressive gallery."
"Thank you, Mr. Caulfield." Victoria said politely.
"Please, call me Ryan." He waved away the formal use of his surname. "This is Vanessa, my wife." He said, indicating her.
"Pleased to meet you." Victoria smiled warmly.
"You too. Our daughter's mentioned you have quite the talent for photography." Vanessa said, returning Victoria's smile.
"Has she now?" Victoria replied, not without a certain amount of amused side-eye towards Max.
"I did." Max confirmed. "I'd say you shouldn't let it go to your head, but you've got Kate to keep you from going all Ego Lord on us."
"Ego Lord?" Victoria narrowed her eyes. "You'll pay for that later, Caulfield." She jokingly threatened.
Max simply stuck her tongue out.
"Speaking of later," Ryan chimed in, "you ladies have what, a few days left in Arcadia Bay? Planning to do anything with several days of pure freedom?"
"Oh hella yes." Chloe grinned. "There's a fairground in town. We're gonna go tear that shit up."
"Don't party too hard." David interjected. "And if I smell even a little bit of pot on you two I'll-"
"David." Joyce cautioned. "They're young. Let them have a little fun."
"I guess. I hope you enjoy yourselves." David said, only a little begrudgingly.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Guess you finally loosened that stick up your butt, huh?"
David scowled. "Don't push it."
Chloe grinned, and bopped him on the shoulder. "Nah, I'm kidding. You're not so bad. Sometimes. When you get your head out of military macho mode."
"I'll take that." He said, with only a hint of exasperation underlining his voice.
"A'ight, cool." Chloe's good mood didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. She held a hand out to Max, grin plastered unwaveringly on her face. "Shall we?" She proffered.
Max cast a quick look to her parents.
"Go on." Her father said. "Go have fun, you're only young once, as Joyce said."
"Thanks Dad." Max pecked him on the cheek, gave her mother a quick hug, then took Chloe's hand, and allowed her girlfriend to pull her into the crowd.
The sun was halfway under the horizon before they arrived at the fairground grounds, bathing Arcadia Bay in an exquisite diffusion of crimson-tinged light, with the exception of the large patch of turf occupied by the fairground, where the bright, golden lights of the various rides and attractions punched through the slowly fading luminance of dusk in a dazzling display.
Max and Chloe would have arrived much sooner, but Chloe had insisted on doing Max's makeup, saying "It's your last night in Arcadia Bay. You gotta fucking rock it, babe."
Max had quietly acquiesced, and sat still while Chloe poked at her with various brushes, pads, eyeliner pencils and some things she couldn't even name.
When Max looked in the mirror, she had to admit the results were impressive. Dark purple, smokey eyeshadow. Glossy black cherry lips. Chloe had even contoured her cheekbones.
"Wowser." Max had whispered. "I don't even look like me!"
"What you look like is fucking hot." Chloe had said, letting her arm encircle Max's waist.
"You just wanna get in my pants."
Chloe simply winked at her.
Now, as they walked through the dazzlingly lit archway that comprised the entrance to the fairground, Max was having second thoughts about the way she looked.
"You sure this isn't too much?" She asked.
"What's not too much?"
Max gestured to her face. "All this. I mean, it's only fairground rides and stuff."
Chloe stopped. Turned to Max. Put her hands on her shoulders. "Dude. Trust me. It ain't too much. Plus, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't like, entirely for my own benefit. Because you genuinely look beautiful. And if you disagree, fuckin' fight me, Caulfield."
Max giggled and blushed. "Alright, alright. I'm not gonna fight you. I'd rather make love, not war."
Chloe grinned lecherously. "Oh I can hella get behind that."
Max stood on her tiptoes so she could whisper into Chloe's ear. "Play your cards right, and I'll definitely let you get behind me later."
This time, it was Chloe's turn to blush. "That's so unfair. Why do you always know what to say to turn a girl on?"
A smirk wound its way across Max's face. "Practice. Also, you're easy."
Chloe shrugged. "Fair. Now come on, Super-Max. We've got rides to sample."
She took Max's hand, and pulled her into the fairground.
"C'mon." Chloe muttered through gritted teeth. "You got this."
She exhaled, and stared down the sights of the rifle.
Max clung onto her arm, looking nervous.
"You sure about this?" She asked.
"Totes." Chloe replied. "Anything for you."
Max kissed her on the cheek. "Just don't shoot yourself this time."
"Sure." Chloe frowned and looked away from her target. "Wait, this time?"
Max's eyes widened. "Uh. Nothing. Don't worry about it?"
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "This is time bullshit again isn't it?"
Max at least had the grace to look sheepish. "... Yeah." She reluctantly admitted. "Though in my defence, it was forever ago."
"I don't wanna know, do I?"
"Not really, no."
"I'm gonna have to hurry you, ladies." The owner of the stall, a man with a thick handlebar moustache, interjected.
"Right." Chloe brought her attention back to the target, a circular pad on top of a metal pole, sporting a brightly coloured bullseye.
She set her brow into a determined frown, set the butt of the rifle into her shoulder, and let herself relax as much as possible.
Chloe pulled the trigger.
A loud pop emanated from the air rifle, and a millisecond later, a clang was heard as the pellet hit the dead center of the bullseye.
The target went down.
Max whooped, jumping and cheering.
"Congratulations!" The owner said, only looking a little surprised. "Now, what prize would the lady like to claim?"
Chloe looked over at her girlfriend. "Max?"
Max's arm shot out, pointing directly at a stuffed blue bear wearing an eyepatch and a pirate hat.
"That one." She said.
The owner chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Alrighty, one Captain Bluebear for the lady with the rainbow hair."
He handed it to her, and Max immediately hugged it to her chest. "Thanks!" She said brightly.
Chloe took her by the arm, and led her on into the crowd.
"You're the best!" Max beamed at her.
Chloe chuckled. "Anything for my best gal."
Max leaned her head on Chloe's shoulder, and the two of them walked on, slowly meandering their way through a myriad of faces - most of them happy, with the exception of a few upset children being chaperoned by exasperated parents.
After a brief stop for cotton candy, the couple found their path had led them to a slightly quieter, more secluded part of the fairground, with attractions of a slightly more mature nature. The main attraction was a "haunted" house, which Chloe would normally have made a beeline for, but the lengthy queue outside put paid to the idea of having any spooks at that present moment.
Instead, what caught her attention was a relatively small tent sporting a sign that enthusiastically read "Novelties and Curiosities".
"Max!" She pointed. "We have to go in there! They might have weird shit."
Max popped the last bit of the cotton candy in her mouth. "You're enough weird shit for me, sweetheart."
"Thanks - wait, was that even a compliment?"
Max winked, enigmatically so.
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Just for that, we're going in."
Max took her arm again. "As you wish."
Chloe made a small moan. "Princess Bride quotes. What did I do to deserve you?"
In response, Max moved an arm, and looped it around Chloe's hip. "Many, many things." She whispered.
"Hnnng." Chloe's noise of approval wasn't exactly subtle.
Max chuckled. "Come on, let's go in before you get too distracted."
The interior of the novelty store, depending on who you asked, was either a magical, enchanted place filled with wondrous trinkets … or just a gaudy tent stocked with cheap tat.
Either way, Chloe was entranced.
She flitted from display to display, cooing over the various things for sale; including a fake monkey's hand, a creepy looking collection of matryoshka dolls, and even a slightly-questionable-in-taste range of "I survived Arcadia Bay" mugs, caps and shirts.
Max raised her eyebrow at that last one. Chloe had either ignored or failed to notice them.
"Yo Max." She enthused, holding up a snowglobe that featured Arcadia Bay's famous lighthouse, except it was decked out with pulsing LED rave lights. "This place is fucking awesome."
Eyebrow still raised, Max couldn't help but smile. "A bunch of weird shit and tacky souvenirs? Yup. Definitely your kind of place."
Chloe stuck her tongue out at her, and resumed examining the disco lighthouse.
Amused at her girlfriend's puppy-dog enthusiasm, Max wandered off to peruse the rest of the novelty store's wares. A curtained-off area immediately caught her eye.
Apparently, the store was big enough to have a back section.
A back section that was probably packed full of more adult oriented wares.
Max's eyes lit up.
"Chloe!" She called.
Chloe was there in two seconds flat.
"What up?" She said.
Max merely pointed at the mysterious curtain.
"Yeesssss." Chloe whispered, grinning maniacally.
She grabbed Max's hand, and pulled her through the curtain.
Max's suspicions about the back section being of a more adult variety were immediately confirmed when the first thing to catch her eye was an entire shelf of edible underwear.
"Hey Chlo," Max whispered, pointing at the underwear, "You know that fantasy you have about tearing my clothes off with your teeth?"
"You read my mind, Caulfield." Chloe winked at her.
Max drew her in for a kiss, but before she could claim Chloe's lips, a soft giggle caught their attention, followed by the sound of hushed voices.
"We can't get that!" Said one voice. "It's way too expensive!"
"Oh hush." Said another. "It's not like I'm hurting for money."
Max and Chloe cast a look at one another. The voices were coming from just around the corner of another shelf, blocking their view of whoever was speaking.
"Yes, but-" The conversation resumed.
"'But' nothing. We're getting it. Besides, it's not like you were complaining the last time we tried something new."
A small giggle could then be heard.
"I remember I made you cry out for God in more ways than one." Said the more confident voice of the two. It was beginning to sound exceedingly familiar.
"Wait, is that-?" Max began to say.
"Victoria!" The second voice protested.
Chloe's eyes lit up. She beamed a manic grin at Max.
"Oh no." Max whispered.
Before Max could stop her, the blue-haired punk stepped out from behind the shelf.
"I fucking knew it!" Chloe exclaimed, levelling an accusatory finger at - who else - Kate and Victoria.
Max sighed, and followed Chloe, taking in the scene in front of her.
Kate had already turned a flamingly vibrant shade of red in embarrassment, looking like she wanted the Rapture to beam her away right then and there. Victoria looked shocked, but only for a moment, before she covered it with haughty indignation.
"Price? And - Max? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for fun shit." Chloe replied, her shit-eating grin never wavering even for a millisecond. "What'cha got there?" She said, nodding at the box in Victoria's hand.
"None of your business." Victoria hid it behind her back, and threw an icy glare in Chloe's direction.
"Hi Max." Kate awkwardly said into the ensuing silence.
Max just waved, unwilling to break the tension between Victoria and Chloe.
Thankfully, it only lasted a few more seconds, before Chloe burst into laughter, earning her an even more hostile glare from Victoria. There was even lip curling involved.
"Nah I'm kidding, dude." Chloe said through the giggles. "I don't care what you two use to get your rocks off. Hell, if I kink-shamed you guys I'd be the biggest hypocrite of all time."
Victoria raised a still-somewhat-haughty eyebrow, as befit the Ice Queen of Blackwell Academy. "Oh?"
Chloe looped an arm around Max's waist, grinning lecherously. "C'mon, Vee. Me and Max have been banging each other for years. You think we don't use toys and shit?"
Now it was Max's turn to blush.
"Chloe!" She protested.
"Just sayin'." Chloe shrugged. "C'mon, it's not like everyone here doesn't enjoy eating the fuck outta some pussy, am I right?"
"Oh my god. " Victoria, Max and Kate all managed to chorus in unison.
"And with that, my victory is complete." Chloe struck a pose.
"If I could roll my eyes all the way back into my skull, I would." Victoria admonished the punk. "Honestly, you're fucking hopeless, Price."
She paused for a second, adjusting her composure. "But - and I can't believe I'm saying this - you're right. We all have similar interests. And if it wasn't for you two supporting Kate, we probably would never have gotten together."
She brought the box out from behind her back.
Chloe's eyes immediately lit up. "Dude, is that a WeVibe?" She grabbed it out of Victoria's hands.
"It is." Victoria said coolly.
Chloe turned the box over in her hands and began to read the marketing spiel on the back. "Always wanted to try one of these!" She enthused. "I mean, me and Maxipad have a similar thing, but not quite as good and it's more of a strap-on to be honest, but it still vibrates and-"
The conversation immediately railroaded itself into Chloe effectively talking shop with Victoria, with both of them discussing the various positives and negatives of their favourite toys, what personal preferences they had, and even favourite positions.
All the while this was going on, Max was standing awkwardly next to Kate, fervently wishing she was somewhere, anywhere else. Max glanced up, and immediately wished she hadn't when her eyes caught Kate's. Now she had to say something, otherwise the awkwardness would kill them both.
"So." She began.
"Yeah." Kate continued.
"Did you think something like this would happen when you got out of your bed this morning?"
"What?" Kate's lips twitched twitched. "That our respective girlfriends, who normally never really talk and used to actively hate each other, are currently discussing exactly what they like to do in bed?"
"Yeah."
"No. Not really. Though you got one thing wrong, Max."
Max turned to her, a little confused. "I did?"
"Who said it was my bed I got out of this morning?" Kate whispered conspiratorially, a mischievous smile tugging at her mouth.
Max gasped in mock outrage. "Scandalous! I never would have expected such a thing from a sweet little church girl like you."
Kate swatted her arm playfully. "You of all people should know I'm much more than that."
That sentence gave Max pause, memories of the night her, Kate and Chloe had shared rushing through her brain like water through a burst pipe.
A thought occurred to her.
"Kate, have you … told Vicky about that night?"
A momentary cloud passed over Kate's face. "No, but … I'm going to. Soon, I promise."
"You should." Max encouraged. "Even if it feels like it might be painful, communication is easily the most important part of any relationship, especially with someone like Vicky. For cereal."
"I know, and I will. Thanks, Max." Kate tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Don't think anything of it. You'd tell me the same thing." Max said, pulling Kate in for a hug.
"Ahem." Came a quiet but deliberate cough. Max and Kate pulled apart to find Victoria and Chloe giving them A Look .
"I hope you're not planning on stealing my girlfriend, Caulfield." Victoria said, hands on canted hips.
"Of course not." Max replied. "What do you take me for?"
"Dude, you could be a total 'Ms. Steal Yo Girl' if you wanted." Chloe interjected. "Like, no one can resist that cuteness."
Max rolled her eyes, and flipped Chloe off.
"If we're done with the love-in here," Victoria said, scowling, but only a little, "Can we get a move on?"
When no one disagreed, she flounced out of the back section, with Max, Chloe and Kate in tow. She placed the box on top of the counter, in front of a bored looking woman with purple dreads hanging over shaved back and sides. While Victoria paid, and received maintenance and cleaning instructions from the clerk, the other three women made their way back out into the cool night air, blinking a little as the bright lights of the fairground practically assaulted their corneas.
Once the curtained entrance to the novelty store had swished shut, cutting off Victoria's line of sight to Kate, Chloe immediately looped an arm around the smaller woman's shoulders.
"Hey, listen," She began, "I still wouldn't admit this in front of her, because she'd never let it fucking rest if I did, but you and Vicky are a good match. You got a good thing going on."
Kate smiled, and rested her hand on Chloe's. "Thanks. I think so too."
Chloe smiled back, and winked at her.
Moments later, Victoria exited the tent, clutching an intentionally discretely designed carrier bag in her hand.
"We're done here." She declared.
"Awesome." Chloe said. "So, what's the plan now? Go ride the tilt-a-whirl? Eat cotton candy until we puke? Laugh at carnies?"
Kate and Victoria shared a look.
"Actually…" Kate said.
"We were thinking of, well…" Victoria continued.
Chloe's eyebrows shot into the stratosphere.
Max sighed, knowing what was coming.
"Say no more." Chloe held out her hand, palm facing Kate and Victoria. "If I'd just bought one of those babies, I'd definitely wanna take the next train to Boneville."
"Oh my god." Muttered Victoria.
Chloe's shit-eating-grin was back. "Y'know. Ride Splash Mountain. Stop at the taco stand. Plunder a merchant vessel."
"Chloe." Max said.
"Visit Mr. Magorium's Coitus Emporium."
"Oh god please just stop."
"Scissor me timbers."
"Why do I even allow you in public?"
"Okay, fine. I'll stop." Chloe said to an almost hysterical Max, a fuming Victoria, and a flushed and embarrassed Kate.
"But you guys are way too easy." She pointed out.
There was a brief silence, before it was interrupted, surprisingly, by Kate.
"That's what she said." Kate said, with a small, but proud, smirk.
Chloe's face lit up. "Attagirl. We'll make a sinner out of you yet, Church Girl."
Before either Kate or Victoria could protest, Chloe linked an arm with Max, and began walking off into the crowd. "Bye, dorks!" She called out.
Max waved back at the confounded couple. "You two better Skype me!" She said.
"We will, promise!" Kate called after her.
Victoria didn't say anything but, as Max watched, lovingly extended a middle finger, in classic Victoria style.
It was almost a perfect moment, until:
"Hey!" Chloe yelled. "Enjoy the sex toy!" She shouted, far too loudly, across the crowd, causing heads to immediately turn.
"Chloe!"
"So," Chloe queried of a still-solidly-facepalming Max, "What now? We've got the rest of the night and most of this place to unleash ourselves upon. Pretty sure we can do anything we want, too." She sidled a little closer to Max, and surreptitiously slipped her hand down from Max's waist and grabbed a handful of the photographer's ass.
"Or do whoever we want." She flirtatiously whispered, batting her eyelashes at Max.
Max threw her a look. "Is it always about sex with you?" She asked.
Chloe simply bit her lip and sent a wink Max's way.
"You're incorrigible." Max laughed.
"I don't know the meaning of the word." Chloe pointed out, ignoring that it was actually true. "And I'm not hearing a no." She continued.
"A 'no' to what?"
"C'mon, do I gotta spell it out for you?"
Max stopped. "Wait, here? In the middle of an insanely popular fairground? Chloe, are you insane?"
"Maybe." Chloe shrugged. "Plus, like, you're one to talk, Little Miss Exhibitionist. I have distinct memories of almost going all the way with you in a thrift store fitting room. Not to mention all the times we broke into Blackhell's pool."
"One," Max pointed out, "It was you who ambushed me in that fitting room. Two, also you who stole the keys to the pool, again. And three, definitely you who was like 'Oh lemme just whip out my titties, that won't affect Max at all'."
Chloe nonchalantly crossed her arms. "Yeah and, your point?"
For a second, Max stood, practically vibrating with disbelief, mouth opening and closing like a particularly bewildered goldfish. Then, she blinked, and found her voice again.
"God you suck so fucking much sometimes."
She grabbed Chloe's hand, and yanked the punk into the crowd, looking for an alley, or a little corner hidden away, anywhere that was out of public view.
"I really do." Chloe said to herself, not without a hint of pride.
Thankfully, it didn't take Max long to spy a suitable spot between two darkened tents and the outer wall of an old, abandoned diner. She pulled Chloe into it, and aggressively shoved her up against a wall.
Her lips met Chloe's with ferocious intent, and while Chloe was surprised for a second at just how hungry Max's mouth was, she recovered in an instant and kissed back, hard.
Chloe nipped at her partner's lower lip, and was ecstatic when Max growled in response, igniting a fire in her belly and making her ever so thankful she knew how to push Max's buttons just right in order to get her to go into super-domination mode.
Her brief reverie was interrupted, however, by Max shoving her knee forcefully between Chloe's thighs and pushing her further into the wall. Her hand worked its way up Chloe's tank top, diving under her bra and palming the warm flesh of her breast. Her other hand flicked the button on Chloe's jeans open, making her intentions abundantly clear.
Yesss. Chloe thought to herself. Getting Max to drop her inhibitions was sometimes a little difficult, but boy were the results spectacular when she did.
The next thing she knew, her shirt had been pulled up, exposing her toned stomach, and Max was kissing, licking and nibbling her way down Chloe's chest, then onto her belly, while giving her the sultriest bedroom eyes Chloe had ever seen.
Chloe shut hers, and bit her lip.
This is where the fun begins…
A sudden moan was heard.
But it didn't come from either of the two women.
Chloe's eyes snapped wide open, as Max jumped to her feet. Chloe yanked down her tank, and hastily buttoned her jeans, while trying not to looktoo guilty in case someone was watching.
"The fuck was that?" Chloe whispered.
"I don't know." Max whispered back, peering into the gloom. "But I think it came from over there."
"I swear if it's some perv watching us and jerking off, I'mma kick 'em in the dick so fucking hard." Chloe growled.
Max frowned. "Wait, before you go nuclear, did that noise sound like a girl to you?"
Chloe stopped in her tracks. "... Actually, yeah, it did."
She grabbed Max's hand. "C'mon, let's go see!"
"Wait, Chloe! Not so loud! Whoever it is could hear us and- oh my sweet fluffy Jesus what the fuck?!" She whispered in shock.
The cause of Max's sudden outburst was what lay just around the corner, in another secluded pathway. Sequestered away, partially blocked by wooden crate, was Warren.
To both Max and Chloe's horror, his pants were around his ankles, and since he was - rather unfortunately - facing away from them, they were presented with a full moon view of his entirely bare ass.
Chloe immediately threw her hands over her eyes, blotting out the sight that lay before her.
"My eyes!" She wailed. "Dear god why?"
At the sound of Chloe's voice, Warren's head whipped round. "Oh, fuck." He said when he saw who was behind him.
Almost simultaneously, a figure, who had previously been blocked from view by the crate, yelped in panic and rose to their feet, from a suspiciously crotch-level position in front of Warren.
"Brooke?" Max said incredulously.
"Oh God." Brooke exclaimed, trying and failing to not look guilty as sin.
Warren hurriedly pulled his pants back up, fumbling with the zipper and his belt.
"That sounded like a zipper." Chloe said, her hands still covering her eyes. "Please tell me there's no more pasty white dude ass, because I don't think I can take that again."
Max rolled her eyes. "No, there's no more Warren butt." She said, causing Warren to blush furiously and stare at the ground. Brooke followed suit a second later.
Chloe let her hands fall to her side, and opened her eyes. "Good, because I'mma gonna need some goddamn eye bleach after that." She said.
Before Max could stop her, she leaned over, tugged the hem of Max's shirt down a couple of inches, and stared directly down her cleavage. "Girlfriend boobs. Noice." Chloe said.
Max swatted her hand away in annoyance. "Chloe no."
"Too late."
Max rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that evening.
Silence fell, thick as tar.
"So," Max said to everyone and no one in particular, "This is kinda awkward, huh?"
"Tell me about it." Brooke muttered. "You're not the one who just got caught en flagrante delicto."
"Yeah, it's not even the First of May." Chloe joked, looking around expectantly, only to be greeted with utter silence. "What, just me?"
"So yeah, sorry about that." Warren chimed in, having found his voice again. "We thought we were hidden enough."
"Obviously fucking not, dude." Chloe said.
"I don't know." Brooke interjected. "I'd say this is fairly out of the way. What were you two doing here?"
"Nothing." Max answered far too quickly.
"Yeah, definitely nothing publicly indecent or suspicious." Chloe said, suspiciously.
Brooke narrowed her eyes at them, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh-huh." She said, sounding massively unconvinced. "You've got lipstick on your chest there, Chloe."
Chloe looked down. Brooke was right: an obviously lip shaped mark was peeking out over the upper hem of her tank top.
"Well would you look at that." She said, attempting to sound nonchalant. She turned to Max, with an expression Max recognised as "internally screaming panic".
"Come on Max, these two are obviously busy and we should leave right this second. "
Keeping true to her word, the mortally embarrassed punk immediately took hold of Max's hand and swiftly began leading her away.
Before they rounded the corner, Max turned back. Warren still looked mortified, but Brooke had an amused smirk on her face.
"Bye, I guess." Max called back to them. "Warren, I'll message you." She promised, and then mouthed sorry to the both of them.
"Bye, Max!" She heard Warren say.
A second later, just as Max and Chloe ducked out of view, Brooke called out.
"Yeah, catch you later you hipster sex freaks! Oh wait woops, tautology!"
"That was the most awkward fucking thing I've ever experienced in my life. " Chloe wailed, her palm looking for all the world like it was permanently glued to her forehead. "Just, kill me now, dude."
"Nuh-uh." Max shook her head, causing her bangs to shake back and forth. In the midst of the fairground lights, it looked like her head momentarily turned into a round, fuzzy rainbow. "Death is forbidden." She cautioned her exasperated girlfriend.
Chloe managed to remove her hand from the proximity of her face in order to give her an amused look. "Maxipad, you can't ban death."
"Too bad, 'cos I just did."
Chloe chuckled. She couldn't help it; Max just had a seemingly never-ending ability to make things right, often just by simply existing.
She pulled Max into a one-sided embrace, walking along hip-to-hip.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Chloe said.
Max looked up at her, a radiant smile easily making her the most beautiful thing Chloe had ever seen.
"Yes," Max replied, "But I could stand to hear it again."
"I love you, Max Caulfield."
"And I love you, Chloe Price."
Max leaned in for a kiss, something Chloe was more than happy to oblige. Her lips still tasted like cotton candy. Good enough to eat.
"So," Max said when they parted, the ever effusive smile still gracing her delicately freckled hipster features, "What now?"
"Uh…" Chloe reluctantly cast her gaze away from Max, looking for something to do. Fortunately, an answer swiftly presented itself.
"How 'bout a romantic ferris wheel ride?" She offered, pointing at an eighty foot, colourful circle of metal adorned with hundreds of golden lights.
"Sounds perfect." Max said. The smile never wavered.
Minutes later, and they were high in the air, with luck having gifted them the very top car of the ferris wheel.
Max sighed. "It's beautiful." She said.
Chloe knew she meant the Bay, which stretched before them: an alcove of warm, welcoming light in the midst of the vast darkness of the sea, the soothing noise of which could be heard above the ambient sounds of the town, rendered small and unobtrusive by the sea and the wind. In the distance, the lighthouse winked lazily at them: a last bastion against the encroaching night. If Chloe had been looking, she maybe would have remarked that maybe, just maybe, Arcadia Bay wasn't so bad.
But all Chloe could look at was Max.
"Yeah… she is." She murmured.
Silence ensued, but it was the soft silence of lovers comfortable in each other's presences.
It was a perfect moment.
A moment Chloe inevitably had to ruin.
"You know, I never thought Brooke and Warren of all people would be up for going down in public. Literally." She paused. "Always had them pegged as 'missionary sex for the sole purpose of procreation' types, y'know?"
Max threw her a look.
"I mean," Chloe continued, obliviously, "I would've said that about Kate, but she's too busy slamming Vicky's pus-"
"Chloe."
"Right. I'll stop, sorry."
Max snuggled up to her and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder. A few moments passed, with nothing but a soft breeze tugging at their hair. She sighed contentedly. "This was a good idea." She said.
"Yeah…" Chloe absently replied. Then, "You gonna miss this place?"
Max took a few moments to think. "I think so, yeah." She eventually said. "Even with all the crazy bullshit in that week, and almost losing you, and the storm… I am actually gonna miss it here. And of course, there's a certain someone who made the last couple of years at Blackwell so much better than it probably would've been."
Chloe ruffled her hair. "Flatterer."
"Seriously though, you made everything worth it."
"So did you. You saved me, Max."
Max kissed her cheek. "Because you're worth saving."
"Now who's the flatterer?" Chloe teased her, before growing a little more serious. "If it wasn't for your folks inviting me to stay for a couple of weeks, I think I'd go crazy without you."
"Me too. We'll have to make the most of it."
Chloe grinned. "Oh I'm sure we can get up to all sorts of shit. Just imagine it: you and me tearing up Seattle for two entire weeks. Shit's gonna be tight."
"You and me against the world."
Chloe drew her closer. "Yeah… but. After that…"
"After that?"
Chloe sighed. "You know. The long distance thing. Because I'm stuck here for now… You'll be in Seattle again..."
"Chloe." Max cupped the punk's face in her hands. "It'll work. I promise. It won't be like when we were younger. I'll come back as often as I can, and you can drive out to Seattle. I'll even pay for gas."
"I believe you." Chloe giggled. There was Max's ability to fix things again.
Max kissed her, long and slow. "Good. Because we're always gonna be Max and Chloe. Together forever."
The ferris wheel started up again with a small jolt, bringing them slowly down back to Arcadia Bay.
"Yeah…" Chloe smiled. "Together forever."
Author's Note:
I, uh, don't really know what to say here, other than it absolutely wasn't my intention to have such a long gap between chapters. I always intended to continue it, it just obviously took a really fucking long time (well over 18 months, I think). So, to anyone who was invested in this story, I wanna apologise for taking so long. Hopefully this chapter will have been worth the wait.
I did actually start writing it soon after I published the last chapter in June 2017, but things got in the way, I had a ton of Real Life things to deal with, and I ran into a pretty severe case of writer's block with that graduation scene. I also chose to focus on my Star Wars/LiS crossover, as that was simply easier to write, so that's all on me. But anyway, What If's is back, and while the pace of writing was agonisingly slow, I think I've gotten back into the groove of writing it.
As ever, if you have some feedback, or simply want to berate me for taking almost two years to write a new chapter, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Peace out.
