It was Thursday night and Max was sitting at the computer, scanning through the various photography contests that were currently open. She sent a few pictures off to the ones which sounded applicable, before closing the browser with a sigh. "Well, now it's time to play the waiting game," she muttered to herself. It was the first time she'd ever entered anything or attempted to display her art, except for once in another time entirely, when she handed her prized work to Mark Jefferson.
"What's that, babe?" Chloe asked from her perch across the room on the dining table, pencil in hand.
"Oh...nothing," Max said, partly tired and partly nervous from what she'd just done. With a distaste from some bad memories. "I've just sent some stuff out. Entered a few contests. Now I have to wait to find out. Some of them are months away." Chloe snapped her notebook closed and bounded across the room, smiling widely. Max stood up from her chair and met the on-coming hug.
"Max Caulfield!" the blue-haired girl announced triumphantly. "You've done it! Finally, the rest of the world gets to see your gift." Chloe's tone was deliberately over-dramatic, but the words she spoke, she truly believed. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks hun," Max said, grateful for the support. "It's hard. I've never really put my work out there before. I mean, I know I could've won the 'Everyday Heroes' contest, because...well, I did. And people seemed to love my display when I was in San Francisco," she paused, thinking of all the different worlds, and the lives that she'd lived. Ones in which people she knew were happy, whilst in this timeline they lay dead. "It's just that now...this," the younger girl struggled to find the right words, also wrestling with her own self-doubts. "This is real life. And I'm scared that maybe...I don't know...my photos will be shit."
"First of all, my love, your photos were always amazing. Lately they look even more so," the older girl said assuringly. "Don't sell yourself short, Max. You're almost weirdly talented. And second of all. And most importantly," Chloe smiled rebelliously, "Fuck them! Who cares what people think? You do something because you love it. That's what matters. That's what's important. Even if a bunch of dumb fucks think it's shit-awful, there's still gonna be some people out there that are like, touched by it. I know I always am...with everything you do. It's your expression, Max. It doesn't have to be anything more. That's the very thing that makes it beautiful. It's art. You're unique and you're stunning and so is what you do." Max stood, absorbing the words of her partner like an apprentice does a maestro.
"Chloe..." the younger girl stood staring at her lover, "That's so...beautiful. Thank you." Max felt inspired by the words. "I'm, honestly...so in awe of you. You just seem to...get it. It's like you have this brilliant mind that's worked out all the angles and when you say something, it's always exactly what I need to hear."
Chloe put her arms around her young lover, smiling at her with glazed eyes. "Max, you're so sweet. But I'm gonna have to make a list of my horde of fuck-ups and stick it on the wall for you...just so we can set the record straight here. Brilliant? I've been called other things."
"Yes, brilliant. Just shut up and let me be serious for a minute here, ok? Even when you say things like that, you make me laugh." Max went on sincerely, "Chloe. I know...you know, even if I never said sorry to you again for leaving you...that every minute of every day I feel it-"
"Shh babe," Chloe stopped her short.
"No," Max cut the older girl off this time. "Chloe I know you went through hell. And yeah, you probably made some pretty bad decisions. But I know you, Chloe...like you know yourself. Even back then you knew exactly what you were doing. You only did what you did because you were angry...and hurt. By me." Max was starting to make herself cry, quite unexpectedly, and she was taking Chloe along for the ride. She had been having thoughts of Jefferson and her other photo entry, wishing she could better separate this new, happier memory from the old one. Wishing she could erase it and the destruction around it from her mind completely somehow. The memory brought with it this very unexpected wash of emotions which Max thought, or at least wished she'd overcome. She wanted to continue though, for Chloe. "Ever since the storm, I've been with you. I've watched you...absorbed you. You already know that you're my whole world. But Chloe, you really are so very special and I don't know how else to say it," Max paused for just a moment. "You're so strong. I've seen you rebuilding yourself at times when you thought you were alone. Fighting demons away over and over again when anybody else would have just given up. And you did it...for me. I saw it all. I could never have survived without you, Chloe. Even when everything you had was gone, you still carried me." Chloe wanted to stop her partner and tell her she didn't need to go on. That she understood completely and that she had done so for a long time, which was completely true. But the words were too perfect to interrupt. Tears filled her eyes as she listened. "You're a gorgeous, brilliant soul. You inspire me to make art...to live! Every single thing you do and say...it's all like...poetry. I need you, Chloe. I fucked up...for five stupid years...and now I don't know how I could survive a single day without you. But I don't know why I even deserve you."
"Jesus, Max. That was like...so unnecessary. Can we just say it's a mutual admiration club with the girl who bent time and space to save my ass, over and over again?" Chloe said, feeling quite overcome by her girlfriend's words. Max smiled through her own tears. "Honestly, every single thing I hoped for in life, back when we were kids...all the dreams of conquering the seven seas...the only treasure I ever wanted was you, Max. Nothing else. You're everything. So don't you dare fucking ask why you 'deserve' me."
"Sorry. I just...I don't think I'd ever even have the guts to show my pictures without you. Or do anything without you," the brown-haired girl smiled tearfully. "Hell...I wouldn't have any photos to show. Thank you." Max could no longer contain the urge to throw herself at her lover and kiss her deeply. So she did.
~oOo~
Barely a moment later Chloe's phone, which sat on the dining table, started to ring. "Well...dammit," the older girl said prising herself away, smiling and drying her eyes on her sleeve.
"Whoever that is has really shit timing," Max yelled as Chloe walked over to the table.
"Justin!" Chloe answered enthusiastically. Max saw the happiness in the older girls features, obviously glad to have another old connection. They spoke for a little while before Chloe covered the phone and asked "Wanna chill with Justin on Saturday?"
"Of course, babe." Max answered, smiling. Chloe smiled back in agreement. She hung up the call a short time after. "Time to get our host on again?" Max asked.
"It's Justin, dude," Chloe said with a grin. "If by 'host' you mean ordering pizza, then sure." She put her phone down roughly on the table and walked over to Max. "Now...I believe we were in the middle of being smitten with each other or something like that. And hopefully it was going to lead to sex. So..." She grabbed her young partner, who was in the process of letting out a surprised laugh, and pulled her towards her, kissing her lustfully.
~oOo~
It was stormy Saturday evening when Justin arrived at the girls' house, running to shelter and knocking on the door loudly. Chloe was about to greet her old friend with a hug when she noticed his wet clothes. She settled for a fist bump. "Come on in, dude," she smiled. "It's good to see you."
"Hey Justin," Max followed from just behind her friend, offering a fist bump to match Chloe's. It wasn't something Max was particularly used to and she probably punched a little too hard.
"Yo, yo, Max! How's it hangin' bro?" the skater said, sounding like a skater.
"Uh...a little...to the left?" Max grinned and Justin started laughing. Chloe ordered a couple of pizzas and the trio sat and talked as they passed around a joint.
"So how long have you two been in Portland," Justin asked.
"Almost the whole time," Chloe exhaled. "We went to Seattle for a week or two and then came here to see my mom. She was pretty messed up but she's ok now."
"Oh shit, man. Glad to hear it." Justin said, taking the spliff from Max. "I used to love Two Whales when I was baked, dude. Which was pretty often." The girls both laughed and Justin grinned as he pulled on the joint.
"What about you, dude. What have you been doing?" Chloe asked.
"Not much. Chillin' at my mom's. I busted my arm in the storm so I couldn't hit the board for ages." Justin thought back to that night and looked over at Max seriously. "Dude, you like saved my life man." Max was surprised at the words, but they stung a little. 'No...I caused it all' she thought to herself. "I was having a shit time at that Vortex Club party. You told me to go out and shred and that's exactly what I did. I saw that tornado coming later on, so I ran back to the dorms. Who knows, man, I could've got stupid wasted and passed out and never even seen it coming. Thanks, man."
"Just happy you made it," Max said, grateful but wanting to deflect any more attention from herself.
"How did you guys get out, anyway?" Justin asked before dragging on the joint.
"We were just chillin' at the lighthouse when the storm came. Saw it hit and everything," Chloe said as she had done many times before. "Just lucky it didn't turn our way."
"Shit. Sounds like you two were pretty lucky all right," the skater said, oblivious to the truth. Max and Chloe knew all too well though. Almost subconsciously they reached out and grabbed each other's hand.
"I guess so," Chloe offered before changing the subject. "So, are you like, working?"
"Nah. It took a while for my arm to get better, but I haven't really been able to find anything since." Justin stubbed the roach out in the ashtray, "Besides, I'm gonna move to the Cali with Trev' and Dana. I want to get them to shift down to San Diego though. Always wanted to live around O.B. you know?"
"Sounds like a sweet plan," Chloe smiled.
"Yeah that was why I called you. I was gonna say you should get down there. At least to come visit or...something," he said, obviously still fond of her.
"Well I do want to take Max on a road trip down the coast so, yeah, that would be cool." Chloe had always known that Justin liked her and she made sure to subtly infer her relationship. She squeezed her partner's knee.
"Oh. You two are, like...going out?" Justin said feeling a little embarrassed, thinking that the girls were best friends, which of course they also were. "I...I didn't realise."
"All good," Chloe laughed nonchalantly. "You've only been here for like fifteen minutes. But I think we do a pretty good job of making it obvious most of the time, hey 'Park Bench Max'?" The older girl winked at her partner who could only blush and grin in response. "She gets pretty handsy," she teased, poking Max in the ribs.
"Chloe...shit!" Max laughed somewhat awkwardly.
"These are probably a bit of a give-away too," Chloe said, showing her wrist tattoo to the skater, Max following suit.
"That's wicked guys. Guess you found your 'cool chick without all the baggage'," Justin smiled at Max, remembering the words she'd told him on the night of the party. "Must be my turn."
~oOo~
The friends sat eating pizza, smoking joints and talking until late into the night. "Max, wake up." The younger girl roused from where she lay curled up against her blue-haired lover. "Let's get to bed, cutie," Chloe smiled. "I told Justin he could crash in the spare room so he didn't have to drive."
"Man...so bent. How...how long was I out?" Max asked groggily.
"Like an hour," Chloe laughed. "Come on." She dragged the smaller girl by the hand.
"Shit. Sorry babe," Max grumbled through only half-open eyes.
"Looks like I'm gonna get to have my way with you tonight," Chloe grinned lasciviously.
"When do you not?" Max smirked.