A/N:
Okay so I'll be the first to admit I don't know the first thing about writing. This is my very first attempt at fan fiction. I found this chapter hard because I have no foundation on how to form what I write, so I'm just going with the flow because I have a story in mind and an adventure up ahead that I hope you'll stick around for so we can find out where this ends together. I am now considering if this wraps up the way I want it to, I will rewrite the entire fic from the beginning as a 'remastered' version.
Props to you if you recognise one of the hidden references in here!
I love hearing feedback from everyone and I hope you like the story as much as I enjoy exploring it!
-FW

The end of 2013 arrived faster than Chloe expected, and not a moment too soon.

Six days had come and gone after Christmas uneventfully -thankfully- in Chloe's eyes. Max was doing better than before, and Chloe noticed that sunken eyes had begun to look more rested, her chin was held that little bit higher as she walked, her blue eyes sparking every now and then with captivation at their surroundings, enraptured by things the brunette curiously regarded for photography. There had been no new nightmares for either of them, and the neighbor downstairs, Shelly Dawkins, had ensured they couldn't starve even if they tried by bestowing them with gifts of home-baked goods to the point where clothes were beginning to fit properly again.

That isn't to say that everything was perfect, but Chloe was finding it better. It was slightly easier to take a deep breath in and not feel the weight of anxiety crushing her lungs, at least less and less so, and when her bones once felt like they were filled with mud she now felt lighter. She was starting to relax the tenseness in her mind and in her muscles a little more so, just a little bit, and the moments which brought her a sense of normalcy were occurring more often.

Chloe had spent the past six days adventuring with Max. Small adventures, if you could call their outings around the town that, but adventures nonetheless. They perused the shops out of curiosity and had even found a few books at the second-hand shop to read for a dollar or two. It gave them something that they could do when they were holed up in their empty apartment, avoiding the cold outdoors, aside from playing cards until they were fed up with the limited few games they both knew. Turns out there are only so many times they could play Go Fish before Max will exclaim "Go Fuck Yourself" and toss the cards in a fit of laughter and frustration, much to Chloe's amusement.

As it turns out: it snows a lot in the mountains come wintertime, so they were forced to go by foot everywhere around the town Fork River because Chloe's beaten up rust bucket of a truck was always under a mound of snow, and she definitely had no snow tires for that ex-junkyard beast. All was fine however because it allowed Chloe to spend more time exploring with Max, and it wasn't as if the town they were residing in was large by any means. It was also stunning, and for someone like Chloe who had spent her entire life in a seaside town where snow never quite settled down to sea-level, she was amazed by the amount of snow. There was something about the winter light that captured her eye and she could understand the appeal of being a photographer in a scenic hamlet like this.

They had even dropped by their downstairs neighbor for a visit or three, an activity that Chloe could see brought delight to the smaller girl, and anything that made Max come out of her shell with a smile made Chloe happy too. It was good for the both of them.

Max had dutifully been keeping in touch with her parents daily, as promised, and sometimes Chloe lay in bed listening to Max's side of the conversation from the other room. Mostly it was positive but every now and then she could hear the tension in Max's voice as a sensitive subject arose, the Caulfield's were clearly making an effort to keep the peace when Ryan and Vanessa wanted their daughter home dearly. Max would quickly play the "I am an adult over eighteen" card when that topic arose. Chloe often thought about her parents too after listening in, and what it would have been like to have them on the other end of a phone call with herself. She could not help but let her mind wander every night before falling asleep to thoughts of her Mom, Dad and even stepfather, holding Max tight for as much her own selfish comfort and support as protection for nightmares that threatened to return.

During the aftermath of the storm Chloe had been too in shock to deal with her parental figures inevitable death, and had focused her energy instead on keeping Max's head above the waters, so to speak. Aside from that moment in the motel room where she had screamed, raged, and collapsed in typical old-Chloe fashion – her usual coping mechanisms for depression leaking and pouring out in one go – she bottled her mourning to deal with in quiet moments where no one would bear witness. Max had been the one who pulled her down onto the bed and comforted her that time, and ever since the storm that had ravaged inside Chloe since she was fourteen had grown ever calmer.

She had come to realize just how much Max had changed everything for her. Not just in terms of her life, but also her actual being. For years all Chloe had known was anger; her main form of expressing the dark, swirling vortex that was her mind. She had known how to build impenetrable walls and fight, pushing people away and shutting people out, never letting anyone in enough to know the truth. She would take her emotions out on her mother, blame her father for his own death because it meant leaving her behind to deal with the William-shaped void in her life, and refused to accept her step-father who didn't help by being the type of person who would push her back and dismiss her. Even Rachel Amber had encouraged her rough and rowdy ways, almost enabling Chloe's darkest sides at times (unintentionally or not), together raising hell in their own little worlds.

Though with Max Caulfield it was like finding her anchor for the storm – no reference or pun intended. Max brought Chloe back down to earth and makes her see a whole other perspective to things that she most likely would not have considered alone. She would do it by seeing Chloe for who she truly is and who she has always been, and makes Chloe feel like she is honestly believed in. Genuinely loved. Makes Chloe feel that someone in this fucked-up world has her back and understands her, and does so it with methods so subtle sometimes that maybe Max doesn't even realise she was helping Chloe until it's better, because she was just being herself. And that's without having to tear time and space apart to reverse Chloe's pain and death. Max was broken by the world too, yet she always does the right thing at the right time which grounds Chloe before she gets too lost in her own doings.

Chloe misses her mother dearly every day, with every shaking breath and silent prayer, and it was with a sense of disbelief that she will enter 2014 an orphan. A whole new year of history without Joyce Madsen-Price. They never had found her body, or rather her remains, in the torn and ravaged ashes of the Two Whales Diner in Arcadia Bay. David, Chloe's step-father, was presumed dead and permanently missing, as were the majority of bay residents who never evacuated in time. For similar reasons as to why Max couldn't bring herself to go back home to Seattle until she was ready, Chloe hadn't been able to bring herself to join her family's memorial service for her parents just outside of Arcadia when the time had come.

She didn't want to be in the presence of her mourning extended family when at the back of her head she knew that they might all be alive if she, Chloe, had died at the hands of Nathan Prescott in the bathroom of Blackwell Academy instead.

She will say her proper goodbyes one day when she was ready, and it will be something personal that she is determined to do right by her mother.

That's part of the effect Maxine-freaking-Caulfield has on her. Her best friend who was all-so-super inspired Chloe to want to be a better person. And with each day that passed, it got better. Living, surviving, whatever best describes what they are doing - it gets better. Max makes Chloe feel like she doesn't have to hate herself, or at the very least not all of the time. Max makes Chloe feel like maybe there truly is a reason for her to still be alive. Especially when her chest glows with warmth and she can use her arms to hold Max tight in the dead of night, quelling nightmares haunting from the depths of a week horror, where Chloe can protect her from any harm so long as she is there. She's aware that with all the fire in her heart if anything or anyone brought harm to Max, Chloe would rip the world apart with her own two hands.

Chloe's self-destruction was becoming a thing of the past and without the anger fueling her every self-deprecating thought ruling her mind and her life, she's allowed to just be with her true emotions. She can just lay in somberness and it was no longer so frightening to deal with whatever comes her way. Not like it used to be, in any case. It allowed her to truly reflect on the person she was becoming, the person she was always was meant to be before the world took a dump on her.

As-fucking-deep as that sounds.

They could never be children again, pretending to be pirates or painting murals in the backyard, or pushing each other on swing-sets as high as it would allow. Those little girls were long gone; they grew up through heartache and loss, death and destruction, and the freaking impossible, man. After the incredulous experiences Max and Chloe had suffered and barely survived, she had to admit they were changed people and there was no going back- only forward.

And how fucking insignificant all those years in-between seem now. One week made 5 years feel like a blip. It was all that was needed to turn my life upside down.

She had to admit to herself that with all the time she's had on her hands to reflect, that she wants to do right by her mother and father, hell, even her stepfather, from now on. All of them had wanted the best for Chloe (even if David had a terrible way of expressing it), and while she's here and they're elsewhere watching down on her for all she was acutely aware. The existence of time-travel had Chloe questioning if there was an afterlife to look forward to, it no longer seems a stretch, even if she held no religious beliefs as a science-nerd in her youth. Perhaps she was becoming agnostic. She'd reflected on her behaviour that, hell, she'd even included Max in on for a brief time. Stealing thousands of dollars in cash from a school? Getting mixed up with drug dealers? The raging and disappearing on Joyce all the time? She had nearly been as imperfect as she could possible get.

Chloe had briefly wondered if her father's grave had survived the destruction of the tornado in Arcadia Bay's cemetery. She'd wondered if she had died before that Friday in October, would she have been buried next to him. William Price and his daughter, Chloe. What would her father have thought of her if he had re-appeared in her life that week much like Max had? What would he have thought of his perfect little girl, middle-school science athlete and school fair winner, with blue hair, tatts and punk clothes confronting a psycho rich-boy with a gun to con him out of money during the lowest point of her life? All because she just wanted to get the hell out of there.

Dad probably would have liked that I was expressing myself, he was so supportive of me like that. He would have liked the blue hair, made fun of my clothes in a light way, and probably would even have grown to like the sleeve over time. Then because he was basically the most understanding father in the world, he would have held me tight and stopped me from destroying myself by encouraging the better side of me.

He would have been disappointed, shit, he would have told me to get my fucking act together.

But he would have loved me anyway. Nothing would have stopped him from loving me.

Chloe sniffed and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. She was finding it easier every day to not have to crawl up into a ball and sob.

It's good, she thought. I'm getting better at this.

After all: hindsight is 20/20.

Guilt had been creeping up, as it always does, when she thinks about her mother Joyce dying in that diner. She hoped that wherever she was now that it was peaceful and loving and nothing like the cruel world that had conjured up a tornado (for whatever-fucking-reason the universe had for it) that took her away from Chloe. It was also with a painful stab of regret that Chloe's mother had died with the knowledge that her daughter was a highschool drop-out rebel who spent all her time smoking and breaking the law.

And nothing short of a fuck up.

As undeserving as Chloe had felt about the person she was before her mother's untimely death, Joyce had loved her unconditionally. And fuck-it if I let her memory go to waste! The more Chloe learned about herself through being by Max's side recently, the more she was inspired to do something about it. Like she had said to Max in the diner: they've just got to keep moving forward.

If anything, she could always just be a better person for Max. She owed it to Max's love and loyalty that she was still kicking it around, anyway. With every moment they shared she was learning more about what it was like to truly care in trust in someone who had all the power the power to hurt her and trust that she wouldn't.

Speaking of the devil, Max snapped her out of her reverie by walking into the bedroom whilst humming to herself. Chloe had been lost in thought while fully dressed and laying on the bed waiting for Max to get out of the shower so they could get ready for another late-night adventure. It was just after ten on New Year's Eve and they wanted to do something special for the occasion by joining the festivities in the town square where posters around town promised a small firework display. Max had pointed out that it might be a nice photographic opportunity when she had brought it up that morning.

Max stood at the end of the bed directing a raised eyebrow at Chloe below. Always intuitive, this one, Chloe remarked. She could tell that Max always knew when she was deep in some serious whirlpool of thoughts. As if on cue, the girl softly spoke.

"You alright there, Chlo?"

No use denying anything, they were meant to be working on being honest for each other.

"Just uh… re-evaluating life and the shit that's gone down this year, I guess. New Year's vibes." Chloe confessed.

Max nodded but didn't press any further. Chloe forced herself to sit up and watch the smaller girl shuffle through their floor-drobe for her coat and winter accessories. They were going to need it, it was a pretty chilly night. Chloe had even stuffed the blanket from her truck in a backpack as an extra measure to help keep them warm, and was wearing her beanie and a few extra layers under her own jacket. When Max found what she had been looking for, equipped herself with her usual messenger bag and camera, she approached Chloe's side with an outstretched arm and warm smile.

"You ready?" She asked.

Chloe smiled back and took her hand, allowing Max to pull her up off the bed.

"Yup! Let's go!"

Frigid air seeped through Chloe's lungs and she half-trudged a few steps ahead of Max, eager to conjure up some warmth before her teeth fell out from all the chattering. They weren't talking, which wasn't negative at all, since comfortable silences were their thing. It came with knowing someone for over half of the years of your life.

Halfway to their destination she couldn't bear it any longer and she was silently regretting not wearing even more clothing, and she looked to Max who seemed to be doing fine.

"Hey, come here." Chloe leaned towards Max, catching her by surprise.

"Huh, wha-" Max uttered out as the taller girl linked her arm through her own and pulled her close.

"I'm freezing, gimme some of your warmth." She grinned, and Max laughed as she allowed Chloe to pull her close .

"Yeah, yeah okay, here." Max unlinked her arm and instead wrapped it under her jacket and around Chloe's waist, snuggling a bit closer until they were practically flush against each other while walking. "Better?"

"Much." Chloe agreed, and they kept walking that way. She didn't know quite why the action was making a slight blush rise on her cheeks, but hell if she could help it, she thank god Max couldn't see it in this light. It wasn't as if they hadn't walked with their arms around each other before, though.

"That's good. I don't want you to be cold." Max said.

"It's a good thing I have my own little space heater." Chloe joked.

Max snorted. "Ha! Ohh, so, is that why I'm here?" She jeered in classic Caulfield sarcasm.

"Nah, you're also nice to look at." Chloe winked.

What the hell, Price?

Max made a weird sound that sounded half-scoff and half-laugh and didn't say anything, yet looked up to her with a sheepish grin.

Wait, is she blushing? No, Chloe you idiot. It's just cold. Change the topic.

"I, uh, I've been thinking. About things. Kinda like a New Year's resolution thing." The words came out unsure. Max's expression changed to something more quizzical as she looked at Chloe.

"Hmm? I didn't think New Year's resolutions were a Chloe Price thing." She stated, but it wasn't unkindly. It was a gentle, curious.

"Yeah you're right. I don't. But this is more like…" she waved her hand in the air but wasn't sure how to finish the sentence, "Um. I just have some things on my mind that I really wanna do, and like, it's important to me that I do them. Or at least...try."

"Oh." Max said. "Oh, like what?"

Max raised her brows with a little surprise in her eyes. Chloe suddenly felt nervous, as she always did when it came to opening up about something she considered vulnerable about herself. It must have showed since Max softened and followed up, "Whatever you want to tell me, I'll listen Chlo. I'm always here for you."

Yeah, you always are Max.

"I'm just, like, so fucking glad this year has come to an end. And I get to see what the hell twenty-fourteen is going to be like. I know it's not gonna be great, it might even be worse – if that's even possible - but even so…" -she shrugged- "...I just want to do something good. Something I can show for myself. You've helped me see that, you know?"

Yup, Chloe's cheeks are definitely red now, but it's dark out and hopefully the streetlights are washing out the color in her face. The look Max has now isn't of pity, like she expects. Instead her eyes are searching Chloe's as if she sees something…hopeful.

More quietly she explains herself.

"I-I've been thinking about Mom a lot, and how much she worked just to look out for me, you know? Aaand I've never had a job before. I've been thinking I'm gonna try and find a job in this weird town. Then maybe we can stay a bit longer and I dunno, maybe I could work at the grocery store or something. We're running low on cash, and I think it'll help, you know?" Chloe mentally notes that she inserts "ya know" into her dialogue whenever she's nervous. "I've never had a job before. Not a real one at least, not one that didn't involve doing jobs for Frank... It'll give me something to do, then maybe I wont feel so bad about living off money that isn't mine…"

Chloe wants to cringe at how much truth she feels in that statement. She feels a hand grasp her own softly, and she looks down in surprise as Max pulls them to a stop.

"Chloe…" Max starts, then seems to shake a thought off before continuing. "You don't have to...you really want to get a job here?"

"Yeah. Why not? Do you want to leave?" Chloe asks.

Max shakes her head. "No. No, I like it here. It's kinda nice. And I'm tired of living on the road, and tired of always moving, and it's good to just be able to stay put and-" she frowns and cuts herself off with a sigh. "...but… I don't know. You'd really do that?" It's not a tone of disbelief, more like concern for Chloe.

"Yeah, Max. I really do want to do that. I'm not doing it out of guilt, or anything. Well, sorta. But I really want to find a job. Also, I had an idea."

"An idea? What's the idea?" Max asks.

There's a flashback in Chloe's mind of a time when she sat at the wheel of an RV, dreaming about driving up the coast of Big Sur while Max joked about kissing her again.

Then another of youthful versions of themselves playing on a swing-set, where Max wants Chloe to be her bodyguard whilst she took pictures of their adventures, traveling the world far away from Arcadia Bay.

"Well I thought that maybe if I could save up some money then we could buy a cheap van. Do it up a little, make it self-sufficient and shit. I could sell off my hunk of rust from Arcadia Bay, then maybe we could travel, just you and I. Start seeing the world. You know…" she shrugs one shoulder, "Just like we said when we were kids."

Max is blinking rapidly, and Chloe thinks that perhaps this was a stupid idea to bring up. She is once again surprised when the smaller girl wraps her arms around her waist and leans into her.

"When we were kids... y-yeah, I remember that. Dog, that feels like such a long time ago." Max looks up and it's the way that those freckles sort of glow in the light that makes Chloe's heart skips a beat. "It sounds like a great idea, Chloe. I would love that."

"Y-yeah. Ahem. I know how you have always wanted to travel. Probably time, don't you think?"

"I guess there's nothing stopping us." She replies thoughtfully with a smile.

That cheeky Max Caulfield smile that hasn't changed since they were kids. Chloe has to be careful not to get too lost in it, or she's going to end up looking like a creep.

She leans back into the hug, then lets out a small laugh to lighten the mood. "It's just an idea. We can still go with the flow. Anyway c'mon, I'm still freezing my butt off here. Let's get there before it starts without us."

"Ditto, I'm down."

Chloe decides that she wants to leave the rest of the year on a lighter note.

So when they reach the park, bubbling with the noise of a large crowd and music and illuminated by bright lights, they spend an hour sharing lighthearted banter and laughter. They find hot food and drinks, warmth radiating from the packaging and thawing chilled fingers, and Max giggles when Chloe gets ketchup on her nose from a stray chip she accidentally dislodged too quickly from the box. Max's sweet laughter causes flutters in Chloe's chest, but she guises the emotion with a typical sly Chloe grin and attempt to paint a freckled brunette's nose to match. She swears those playful protests could make her start a fire with the heat that rises in her chest with joy.

She'd half-expected Max to have taken a photo by then and when she asks, Max shrugs and points out that her film was about to run out and she wanted to save it for the perfect shot that night.

"I want to take one last photo for this year and I want it to be right, something special." Max explains.

Chloe figured she was waiting for the fireworks to start.

With only half an hour of the year left they manage to find a spot to sit and wait for the display. A little way up the hill and sheltered by the edge of the trees, the ground was dry enough and without fresh snow for Chloe to lay her blanket down. At first they sat down next to each other but as soon as Max shivered and Chloe admitted to still being cold, she pulled the smaller girl into her lap so she could hug her from behind and wrap the sides of the blanket over their legs.

"This okay?" Max asked, hinting concern that she was nervous of making Chloe uncomfortable. Always looking out for Chloe more than she does herself.

Chloe was more than comfortable, though. With Max in her arms she was beginning to feel warmer, and she had to admit, nothing felt more right to her than holding Max close. It's the number one thing that keeps Chloe grounded.

"Never better, you?"

"Snug as a bug in a rug." Max jokes, and Chloe can feel her laughter against her own chest.

"Dork."

That just elicits more snickers. She could swear, Max likes that pet name more than anything else.

They had a good view from their little spot on the hill and they will be able to see everything for the countdown. Chloe notices Max fidgeting with her camera in her hands.

"What are you thinking now, Max?" She asks.

"I think I've decided what I want my final photo to be this year." Max answers.

"Oh? Is it of the fireworks, 'cause that would be pretty cool."

"No," Max moves a hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. "I've decided that I want my last photo of the year to be of us."

Oh.

Max continues,"I just think it's the only apropos thing to do. I'm really glad you're here with me, Chlo. I'm glad we get to be together, right now, after everything, and I wouldn't trade you for anything." The last part of that sentence is spoken so quietly but with such conviction it causes Chloe to blink a few times. Her stomach does a little flip as Max turns her head to meet her eyes."You're the most important thing in my life."

Oh, Max.

Chloe realises her mouth has dropped open in surprise, so she shuts it with a little heat rushing to her cheeks. She smiles back at Max, "I better not mess it up with a stupid expression this time, huh?"

That makes Max laugh again, "Dog, yes. I think we have enough photos of dumb faces. Not that there's anything dumb with your face."

"Hey!" Chloe huffs, trying to look indignant, but fails at Max's sly grin. She can't even fake anger at Max, not right now. "Okay, so we pose nice for this one. I'm ready when you are, Super Max."

The small brunette shuffles down a bit and Chloe tucks her chin over Max's shoulder so they're both level height. Max is raising her arm attempting to guess the right position, while Chloe is a bit distracted by the heat of Max's cheek, the closeness of their faces, the way the low night lights fall across her face-

"Alright," Max warns, "Three. Two-"

Chloe raises her eyes from Max and flashes a toothy grin just in time for the "-One! Smile!"

CLICK. Whirrr.

"Three minutes to go 'til the countdown!" A speaker announces across the crowd, and Chloe checks her phone just as Max removes the polaroid with one hand to let it develop. Sure enough '11.57 PM' flashes across the screen, and Max murmurs, "Didn't realise it was so soon already."

A feeling of anticipation rises from Chloe's gut and she realises, if only for a moment, that she's both incredibly nervous and excited for this year to end.

"I'm so ready for this year to be over." She sighs in admission.

Max sets her camera aside and shifts in Chloe's lap to look back up at her, and she can't read what Max is thinking but the way she's looking at her right then steals Chloe's breath away.

Because she swears those wide, blue eyes are telling a story even though Max doesn't utter a word; a tale of joy and sorrow, longing and care, and her eyes are so deep that Chloe's worried she could get lost -even drown- in them as she stares back. It's that look that suddenly causes a shiver to run down Chloe's spine, not because she's cold but because it feels like she's glowing from the inside out.

And she realizes that it's that look that makes her glad that she's still there, alive, heart beating and breathing and with Max in her arms.

Glad to be with Max, a girl with the power of a god, who happens to fit perfect and snug into Chloe's chest when she wraps her arms around that small frame. Chloe realises she would do anything, anything, to protect Max and keep her safe, to make her laugh and smile, to make her feel loved.

Because nothing feels so right to Chloe as holding Max and looking into those eyes. She's searching that freckled face and all she's finding is Max, her best friend, her partner in crime and time, the one reason she's still there to send off the year.

Chloe knows she's right where she's meant to be. She doesn't feel nervous any more.

She just feels love.

A countdown rises from the crowd and Max breaks contact to look to all the people, "-fifty-six – fifty-five – fifty-four -"
Chloe doesn't want to lose sight of those eyes.

"Max."

Blue-on-blue searching once again.

"Chloe?"

"-forty-eight – forty-seven – forty-six–"

She has a flashback to an October morning, standing in front of Max in the hazy light of her bedroom.

"I dare you to kiss me."
"What?"
"I double-dog dare you, kiss me now."

"-thirty-five – thirty-four – thirty-three –"

Max is waiting for her, patiently.

Screw the odds, the science, let's just live.

"Will you be my New Year's Kiss?"

"-twenty-nine – twenty-eight – twenty-seven –"

Those glistening eyes widen, but only for a second, before Max breaks out the most radiant smile.

Chloe's heart truly skips a beat or several, and she forgets how to breathe.

"-nineteen – eighteen – seventeen –"

Max's smile is warm. It's endearing. Loving.

It's a smile that Chloe has loved for years, and it's a smile that Chloe could melt into given the chance.

It's Max.

Chloe's heart is thudding against her chest so enthusiastically that for a split second she can't believe she ever truly died, not in any timeline or alternate reality, because she's never felt so damn alive.

"-ten – nine – eight –"

Oh no, Chloe is definitely not breathing when a small, soft hand cups her cheek. Max's face comes up to meet hers, and Chloe could count every freckle if she wanted to and, instinctively, eyelids fall to half-mast.

Unlike that lazy morning in her bedroom in October, Chloe does not pull away this time.

Three...

Two…

One-

Neither of them quite notice the lightning in the distance disguised by the explosions in the sky above.

Chloe and Max welcome the new year with a kiss.