"Hey wait," Max said, gripping the sleeve of Chloe's jacket to stop her from continuing. "Can you guess who I am?" She brought two fingers to her lips and inhaled, closing her eyes as if the gesture gave her pleasure. Then, she lowered her hand and blew out a gust of breath, the frigid air making it appear as smoke.
"Gee," Chloe said dryly as she rolled her eyes, "I wonder."
"No, hold on! I'm not done!" Max flailed her hand before reassuming her pose, repeating the same motion as before, trying her best to seem disinterested. "Fuckin'. Hella," she said as she exhaled again. The punk gave a quick nod of acknowledgment before looking around her.
"Well, hope that was worth it. Pretty sure this ain't the best place to be using words like that. You're going to go to hell now, Max." She snorted as she turned and began walking away.
Psht, as if!
"Nuh uh," Max argued back as she followed her. "I'm too cute for hell!"
"You're also banging another girl like Travis Barker's drum set. I'm pretty sure that's a no go on the heaven thing." Chloe didn't look at her as she spoke, but did offer a tiny shake of her ass. Max could only imagine she was also sticking her tongue out.
"Whatever, Kate has the hook ups. We can be her VIP guests," Max laughed. She looked behind her briefly, then back at Chloe. "Hey, should we wait?"
"Nah, I want to talk to him first about some personal stuff." Chloe stopped for a moment and scanned around her. "Oh, come on, he's this way." She held a hand behind her, which Max took immediately.
Max followed behind for only a bit longer until they both came to a stop just before the tombstone. Despite the snow obscuring many things, the gold, weather worn plaque bearing the name William Price was still clear to see. Max felt her stomach tighten in nervousness. The last time she had seen William, she was knowingly watching him march off to death. A second death that, if she were to be unkind to herself, was entirely her fault.
Be cool, Max. Come on.
She hadn't stressed herself thinking too long about any time travel related issues since her night with Chloe. As far as she could tell, that seemed to cure it, but she didn't want to tempt fate...again (and again.) However, William was important enough to both her and Chloe that it demanded her full attention.
"Hey Dad," Chloe said cheerily, leaning forward to sweep off the thin layer of snow from the top of the tombstone. She looked back at Max with a playful look and cleared her throat. "Okay, so she's fucking gorgeous, right?!"
"Chloe!" Max squeaked.
That's your lead in? REALLY?
"Hey, I'm allowed to brag," she said to Max. She took a few steps back and slung her arm around the girl. "So yeah, I told you I'd be back with Max! She's going to take some photos too since this place looks hella pretty right now."
'Fucking' AND 'hella.' Wow, what a hypocrite. At least we can hand hold hands on the way to hell.
"Hi, William," Max said, using a playful tone. "Your daughter is still a mess. Just thought you should know."
"She loves me though," Chloe interjected, pointing at the grave. "Don't let her sassy comments fool you."
"I'm sure you don't have to convince him," Max said. "It's pretty obvious to everyone in a one hundred mile radius that I'm madly in love with you." She raised her eyebrows as she awaited the flustered response from her girlfriend.
I have this down to a science at this point.
"Okay, well...I just wanted to tell him..." Chloe murmured with noticeably pink cheeks, even for the cold.
"See how easy it is to embarrass her even after all this time?" Max asked William as she laughed. "She likes to act tough but I don't think she's getting the leading role, if you know what I'm saying." The punk bopped Max on the head with her palm. "Hey, why you hittin' me?"
"Stop being all 'muahaha' with my dad, you guys used to do that all the time. Not fun." She pouted and turned back to the tombstone.
William and I did used to give her a hard time a lot...It was kind of 'our' game.
"So anyway," the punk said. "I just wanted to come give a little update. Still working at the Two Whales! Haven't fucked that up yet, so that's good." She gave a quick self-congratulatory nod to the brunette. "Still haven't gotten on the school thing yet, but that's okay because..." She looked at Max as she hopped up and down in excitement. Max shook her head as she smiled. "Dude, tell him!"
"I'm taking next year off," Max said. "So that way Chloe won't whine about me doing homework all the time. I'm kind of taking the bullet for her here."
"Shitty phrasing," Chloe snirked under her breath. "And hey, don't act like you're not the one complaining all woe-is-me about homework all the fucking time! You're all mad because I want you to do better in school instead of us just..." Her eyes narrowed as a mischievous grin appeared on her face.
What is that look for?
"Hey, Dad," Chloe said, her voice quieter than it had been as she tiptoed toward the grave. "Guess what? Max Caulfield seduced me! Your precious daughter!"
WHAT NO
"Chloe!" Max shrieked. "What the hell!? I...I..." She took a few steps closer. "William, I didn't seduce her! Seriously!" She held her hands up in defense.
"She totally did!" Chloe shouted joyously. "Get the shotgun, Daddy! She deflowered your little baby!"
"Oh my god," Max spun toward her, clasping her hands to her head. "Why would you tell him that!? He won't like me anymore!"
Oh my god oh my god oh my godohmygod
"William, it's not like that! I...I love her so much!" Max's voice was breaking under her nervousness. "I didn't seduce her! We...we were just..." Chloe cut her off by engulfing her in a hug.
"Dude, chill," she giggled. "My dad would be so happy that we're as into this as we are. He knew I liked you even back in the day. He'd totally high five me." Max gasped.
"You knew about this!?" She asked William.
What a traitor!
"Yep, yep. He totally did," Chloe responded for him, sliding behind Max. She rested her chin on the brunette's shoulder. "Dad, it's so crazy. Everything we've been through and I'm finally so, so happy. I can just imagine you chasing me around teasing me and saying dumb shit like 'well if you love her so much why don't you marry her?'" She laughed, her grip around Max tightening. "Or did you find some better jokes? I imagine they must have improved after all this time, right?" Max looked over the grave with a smile as she remembered all of William's terrible jokes. Then she felt Chloe's whole body tremble against her. "Daddy?" Her voice was much different, more fragile and quiet. "He never answers back..."
Oh, Chlo...
"Hey, hey, come on," Max said as she spun in Chloe's arms until they faced each other. The girl was silently crying, her knees quaking with the tears. "Babe, it's okay. It's alright." Max tightened their hug, kissing the tear sliding below the punk's eye.
"He'd be so bummed that I'm crying," she whimpered, raising her arms to adjust into a big bear hug.
"Chloe, I don't think I've ever seen William bummed at you. You ruled his world." She kissed her softly on the lips. "I know it's hard. I know. I'm here, okay?"
"See how amazing she is!?" Chloe half wailed, half laughed at William's grave, shaking her fist. "It's fucking ridiculous!"
"Okay, calm down," Max chuckled. "You are being an emotional machine gun right now." Chloe started to laugh as she buried her face in Max's neck.
"I know, I know," she muttered against the girl's skin. "Just a lot of feelings at once. The only way I can figure out how to organize them is to vocalize." She finally straightened out and stretched her neck. "Okay, do you think we could do a little silent talk with him?"
"Babe, of course," Max said. Chloe turned toward the grave and stuffed her hands in her pocket. Max did the same, only she swung her arms behind her, catching her left wrist with her right hand. Glancing to the side, she could see Chloe's lips move in small, half-formed words. She took a deep breath and began her own dialogue.
Hi William...
It's kind of weird how I just saw you a few months ago... Would you even know about that? Do ghosts or angels know about different timelines? And if you DO know...what could you possibly think? Are you mad? Happy? It's so confusing.
Max felt Chloe's fingers wind between hers. She closed her eyes as she released a small, pleasant snicker.
Not gonna lie, your daughter is kind of high maintenance. I used to think I wouldn't want to date a guy if he didn't hold the door open for me. Chloe? Sure, I'll tear apart reality for her. No big thing, just let me get my coat. You and Joyce really created something amazing. I just hope you'd think I was good enough for her. Trust me, I will protect her no matter the cost. That I can promise. She means everything to me.
I hope wherever you are, you can see her and how amazing she is. I'm so proud of her and I know you would be too. She's really grown up in so many ways. I mean, probably a bit too many dirty jokes, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I wouldn't...I actually wouldn't change ANYTHING.
She exhaled through her nose, fighting the urge to smack herself in the forehead with her palm.
It sounds totally bonkers when I say it all together like that. I wouldn't change anything...after a week of rewinding even the smallest interaction. Rewinding the way I looked at someone! Everything is as perfect as it can be. Don't know if I even still have the powers but I'm never using them again. I got what I wanted, as selfish as that sounds. I think it's...probably also what you would want, right?
Like I said, I promise I'll look after Chloe. I'll do my best to make her as happy as I possibly can. She deserves it. And no, don't worry, I'll still give her a hard time when she's askin' for it. That I can do in your honor. I miss you, William. Love you.
Max ended her conversation with William but remained still as Chloe continued. She took the extra moment to look around at the mostly unstirred snow in the graveyard, giving it a blindingly pure look. Finally, Chloe gave her hand a little tug as she smiled.
"It's weird that I still get nervous like he's going to scold me," she laughed quietly. "But I kind of really like coming here. I mean, still feel like shit for avoiding it for all these years but..." She rolled her eyes. "No time like the present, right?"
"That's right," Joyce said, giving both girls a small startle. Considering her somber environment, she had a beautiful glow in her smile. Max had assumed most of this could be attributed to David standing next to her, their arms looped together. It seemed like he was forcing a 'serious' expression, though she could tell it was something more like nerves. He held a vibrant bouquet of flowers by his side, which twitched up and down with his anxiousness.
He's...worried about making a good impression! Oh, David. That's so sweet.
"You guys are like turtles," Chloe teased. "Me and Max had enough time to read War and Peace to him while you caught up."
"Sorry," David said. "We were doing some sightseeing. And wanted to give you girls some time alone." He took a deep breath as his gaze fell between Max and Chloe, focusing on the tombstone. "William Price..." His voice was quiet as he read the name
"That's him!" Chloe replied, skipping away from Max to take a spot next to him. She slung an arm over his shoulders. "Go on, I'm sure he's psyched to meet his Eskimo brother!"
Chloe, why would you even go there?
"I don't know what that means," Joyce said accusingly, "but I'm sure it's something unsavory." Chloe pressed a hand to her heart in mock offense. "Yeah, play innocent. I know how to Google."
"Please don't," Max pleaded, taking her own place next to Joyce. She let her head rest on Joyce's shoulder. "Trust me on that one."
"Fine," Joyce said, reaching up to pat Max's head. "For you, I'll remain ignorant."
"Well," Chloe began, taking a big step away from David, "I think me and Max are going to go look around and see if she can get any cool photos! Probably go see Rach, too."
"Okay sweetie," Joyce said. "We'll meet you at the car. Say hi to her for us."
"I can't believe that camouflaged teddy bear drove the half hour round trip just for some flowers," Chloe said with a snicker as she and Max walked along the graves.
"Says the one who's provided me with enough flowers for my own personal greenhouse," Max quipped back, nudging her shoulder into the punk. "It's really sweet that David wanted to come and meet him." She pulled her camera out of her bag and examined it.
"It is sweet. And weird. It's sweeird," Chloe mused. "That guy is so full of surprises I'm not sure he actually has any bones." She let her hand rest on Max's shoulder as they kept pace on their stroll. "Oh, hey! What about that?" She pointed at a statue of an angel, dusted over with snow. Its head was bowed as its hands were clasped in prayer.
"Good eye, cutie," Max said as she aimed the camera. "You don't think it's weird to take photos in a graveyard?"
"No way, man. It's so pretty. Like...it's sad, duh. But it has a certain charm." She laughed a little as Max shook the Polaroid. "Plus it's not like nobody ever has taken a picture in a cemetery before. Where do you think they get all cover art for shoegaze albums?"
"As always, you present an infallible argument," Max giggled. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Here, hold this a sec," she said as she handed the camera to Chloe. Max bit the finger of one of her gloves and shook her head until it hung between her teeth. She retrieved her phone and swiped along the screen until she found a text that made her chuckle.
Victoria: Tell bitchface to answer her fucking texts I'm going to strangle her s2g
"You're in trouble," Max teased as she showed the punk the phone.
"Oh, whoops," Chloe laughed. "It's on silent. Can you just let her know that I'll get back to her in a little?" She jostled the camera. "You'd think she was an explosives expert with the way she blows up my phone."
Have they really been texting that much? Weird...
"She's been texting me a lot too since she went home. What, uh..." Max scratched at her hair through Chloe's beanie. "What has she been blowing up your phone for?"
"She's kind of all over the place, but there's a lot of Kate 'undertones,'" she said with a smirk. "Apparently she accidentally thinks I know what I'm talking about."
"That is weird." Max snarked. "You clearly have no idea what you're talking about." She closed her eyes and grinned at Chloe, who released a loud huff. "But I'm dying to figure out what they got each other for Christm..." She stopped talking as her eyes strayed over the punk's shoulder to David in the distance, his head down as his hand rested on William's grave. Joyce stood off to the side, giving him room. Prickles of excitement scattered along Max's skin. "Give me that!" She tore the camera out of Chloe's hands and jerked it up to her face. "Stay...just like that, okay?"
David and William together... This is a beautiful shot. But I gotta be sneaky.
"You're not even really aiming it at me..." Chloe said, her eyes holding a flicker of suspicion.
"Oh, so you're a critic now?" Max taunted, though her attention mostly stayed on David. She took two little hops closer. "I'm an artist, Chlo. You gotta let me experiment."
There, I set that one up for her.
"Heh, yeah, I think I let you do plenty of experimenting, Maximus." Chloe wiggled her eyebrows proudly as Max snapped the photo of David. She quickly took it from the camera and began flitting it in the air until it became clear, then slipped it in her bag between the pages of her journal.
"You are far too easy," she giggled, booping the punk on the nose. "And I'm not referring to the experimenting thing, either."
"Oh! You took a Christmas picture, didn't you?" She nodded slowly. "Very sneaky, ninja Max. As your reward, I won't even turn around to see what it was."
"Yeah, I'm cool like that," she said, kissing the punk's nose. "See any more cool photo ops?"
"Hmm..." Chloe threaded her fingers through Max's and began to walk again. "I don't know, I don't have the eye for it. You could put the camera into the air and take a picture of nothing and then have this crazy explanation for it. I'd just be like 'yep, makes sense to me.'"
"Well, you'd be taking a photo of the sky. It's not 'nothing,'" Max chuckled.
"Alright asshole," Chloe grumbled, unable to hide her smirk. "I took a pretty cool shot the last time I was here but it kind of...turned out weird." She turned and began leading Max up a small hill.
"What do you mean?" She asked. "Did you have your thumb over the camera?"
"Har har," the punk mocked. "No, I took a pic of this doe but I think I was seeing things because it wasn't there when I looked at it afterward. Like, poof! Magic doe." Chloe stopped and pointed in front of her.
A...doe that didn't show up in a photo?
"Kind of a shame though because it was right here. It was a really pretty picture." Max followed Chloe's gesture to the tombstone before them. Reading the name Rachel Dawn Amber sent shivers through her spine.
And the doe was standing by Rachel's grave... She's still looking out for us, I guess.
"Yeah," Max said quietly. "It sounds like a really beautiful shot."
"Not as beautiful as yo face, though," Chloe said, oblivious to the girl's thoughts. She grabbed Max's cheeks and pressed a kiss against her lips. She pulled away and spun toward the tombstone. "Ha! See! I bet you never thought you'd see me kissing Max fucking Caulfield!" She held both middle fingers up, alternating pumping them in the air.
"Oh, you're showing off, now?" Max snickered. Rachel's grave was noticeably cleaner looking than William's. A fresher wound. She sighed as she held onto Chloe's arm and laid her head on her shoulder. "At least it's peaceful here. Until we showed up, anyway."
"A-K-A, she's bored as fuck. We should come out here with speakers and blast some good music for her." Chloe began to wave her hips side to side. "Turn this place into a fucking thrash zone, you know?"
Two girls running around headbanging in a cemetery... I'm SURE that'd go over well!
"Maybe," Max said with a wink. "We don't want to accidentally make real life Thriller." She chuckled into Chloe's shoulder. "Also, hey, Rachel. I'll give you an actual greeting."
"Psht, dude. Middle fingers were basically our waving." She widened her stance a bit as she tightened her arm against herself, trapping Max's arms. "So, Rach..." She briefly looked down at Max with an evil smile. "I have some puh-retty interesting things to tell ya."
"Chloe!" Max squeaked as her face turned red all over again.
"Okay but," Chloe began, lurching forward and grabbing David's headrest, "I've been listening to them and I really think Special Forces is better than Wild-Eyed Southern Boys."
"You are nuts," David said, shaking his head. He pointed at the stereo. "You can't beat this."
"Dadvid, you're tripping, man," Chloe flung her arm forward, though the seat belt kept her from being able to reach any of the buttons. He playfully swatted her on the wrist. Joyce turned to the window, glancing back at Max with a smile as she shook her head. The brunette only shrugged in response.
"And how long are we going to sit in the driveway talking about this?" Joyce asked, turning her head to David. He seemed to cower just a little, though Chloe picked up the slack.
"As long as it takes! This is serious, Mother!" She shot a quick glance at Max, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. Max shook her head sternly and patted her on the knee.
"I appreciate your valor, but I'm cold and would like to go inside, please," Max said. Chloe immediately flopped back onto her seat with a small pout.
"Sorry, cutie, let's get you inside," she responded as she unbuckled Max's seat belt, then her own. Joyce and David, both with their necks craned, stared into the backseat in awe. They looked back at each other, with Joyce narrowing her eyes a bit.
"My wildchild daughter stops everything when her girlfriend asks her to," she said, turning her nose up at David. "I clearly need to think some things through." He turned and glared at Chloe as she opened the car door, though he was only met with a grin.
"You know," Chloe said as she stood up, "we technically just went on a double date. I'm not sure how to feel about that."
Double date with parents! Eeeewwwww!
"You should be feeling 'thanks for the free food,'" Joyce replied. "Are you full, Max?"
"Oh, yeah! Stuffed!" Max patted her stomach for emphasis. "Thank you so much for inviting me out with you guys." Chloe swooped around the trunk of the car to wrap Max in a hug.
"It's our pleasure," David said, leading the way to the house. "You staying the night?" He asked her as he opened the door.
"Yep, I am! Starting tomorrow, I'm taking care of Kate's bunny over the break so I won't be able to stay here all that much."
"So I guess that means you'll," he nodded at Chloe, "be spending most of your nights at Blackwell." The punk nodded happily as she kicked her boots off and skated into the kitchen. He chuckled, then looked at Max. "Head of security and I'm letting my stepdaughter run rampant. You'll keep her in check for me, right?"
I have my ways, yes. Usually the puppy dog eyes do the trick.
"You can count on me!" Max said back, offering him a salute. To her surprise, and probably his, he actually ruffled her hair.
His dad powers are activating!
"Sorry," he chuckled. "I don't know what came over me." He thought for a moment and stretched his neck as he pressed a palm against it. "How uh, how is Kate doing by the way?"
"She's doing great, actually. I think she's been putting in a lot of work with doctors and we've all be there to support her." She snorted. "You should see how motherly Chloe can be with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth!"
"I'm glad to hear she's doing well after everything she went through." He laughed quietly. "Cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Reminds me of my mom. You know, I think..." He paused as he watched Joyce and Chloe playfully squabble in the kitchen. "I think you and I are very lucky to have found the Prices."
"I think you might be right, David," she replied, her smile growing as the punk approached her, hunched close to the floor as if stalking. The way her hair, longer now than when they had first met back up, flowed through the air with each dramatic step closer sparked the tiniest, silliest lightbulb in Max's head.
I guess she might like it, right?
"I'm like Jaws, see?" Chloe finally said as she pounced toward Max and lifted her into the air. "Wanna go watch a movie? Doesn't have to be shark related. I know you're a scaredy-otter." David had slipped by them and was now with Joyce in the kitchen.
"Uh huh, sure, just give me one second," Max said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Chloe shrugged and began to climb the steps.
"Don't keep me waiting too long, Miss Caulfield," the punk called behind her. Max voiced a small 'yeah' as she scrolled through her phone.
Max: Hi Courtney, when are you leaving for the holidays?
Courtney: Not for a few days. Why, what up?
Max: I think I'm going to need your help with something...
A/N: Hey! I wanted to give a big shout out to Rayne for making an adorable and amazing fanart of Ouroboros! You can find it here: raynedrawsthings . tumblr . compost/149774371429/this-fic-is-a-godsend-and-no-one-can-convince-me (mind the gaps, kind of hates links for some reason!)
Make sure you check out their other work too! :D
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, you rock!