Max closed the door behind her and grumbled, adjusting her arm so that her bag slid off her shoulder and onto the floor with a thud. Muttering incoherently, she flopped onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. To her delight, it smelled faintly of Chloe's shampoo.
Stinkin' up my bed with her deliciousness. Maybe I can convince her to stay over tonight even though I just got a fuck ton of homework. I'll just bat my lashes extra hard.
She rolled on to her side and yawned, wiggling her hips to burrow herself into the covers. She plucked her phone out of her pocket as it buzzed.
Kate: LOL Max we were so bad in class today! I don't even know what we learned!
Kate was referring, of course, to Max's insistence that the two play games in their notebook throughout the class. She had started with tic-tac-toe, which then evolved into hangman. Max had definitely preferred this kind of noose as opposed to the last one she had seen in Kate's notebook. Kate managed to end in a win when Max's brain refused to believe the word in play was none other than 'penis.' The little blonde seemed particularly proud about her mischief there. She wasn't sure why she had decided to start playing games with Kate, and part of her felt a little bad about depriving her of the day's lesson, but over the past few days she had been trying to spend more and more time with her. As much as Chloe told her not to beat herself up over it, the nightmare Kate's questioning of their friendship had managed to eat away at her a bit.
Well, I'm glad you had fun, Kate. Making you smile is one of my greatest achievements.
Just as Max began to respond, her bed started to rumble. No, not just her bed, but the entire room. It sped up, becoming more frantic so that the more dainty items in the room began to tremble with the vibrations. She sat up and looked around in confusion.
What the fuck?
She focused on Lisa's leaves as they fluttered, slowly slipping from the bed and walking over to them. The noise came next. It was a loud, mechanical groan that seemed to exacerbate the shaking of the room. As the roar grew louder, a sense of alarm finally dawned on Max and she raced for the door.
Is this a fucking earthquake?!
She yanked the door open and yelped as the view before her wasn't what she expected. Instead of the dorm hallway, she stared out into black abyss. The tremors and noise continued to escalate as a blinding light exploded in front of her, fading out to reveal the familiar scene of the junkyard train tracks. Her eyes, wired and afraid, followed along the rails until she spotted Chloe. The girl was struggling and crying, feverishly tugging at her ankle to pry it free. She looked up and made eye contact with Max and screamed for help. Her shriek was cut off as the train blocked Max's view, passing right by her door and continuing toward the punk with screeching brakes that spewed sparks.
Oh, fuck! Not this! No!
"Chloe!" Max screamed, leaning out from the doorway with her hand raised. In another moment, the train was gone, replaced with Chloe once again fighting with all her might to escape the tracks. Max lowered her hand and narrowed her eyes as the train came again, blocking her view of her girlfriend as it presumably ran her over. As the train disappeared again, another Chloe sat on the tracks, screaming in terror. They once again locked gazes, and even from far away Max could see the little bolts of horror scattering through the blue haired girl's eyes. Her chest became heavy with sadness, but it also ached with an all too familiar pain. She felt the lump in her throat build as the terrible roar of the train came near once again. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, taking a hasty step backward as she closed the door.
Just a nightmare...Just a nightmare...
"Just can't bear to watch, huh?" It was her voice asking the question in the most sarcastic tone possible. Max stumbled backward and glanced around the room, looking for its source. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to face her mirror. The reflection had a hand on her hip with a cruel smile splayed over her face and an entirely different outfit. "Just too hard to look at, right? Too hard to accept?" The anxiety tightened its grip, the sensation of blood in her veins chilling over and sprouting goosebumps along her skin. She stared at the Other Max in the mirror, giddily shaking her hips left and right. Max had gotten so used to seeing herself with her new piercing and her bullet necklace that the reflection without them provided an extra sense of unease. She absentmindedly reached up and grasped the bullet hanging around her neck. As she made contact with the surprisingly cool metal, the pain that had been filling up her head parted momentarily, allowing the memory of Chloe's impassioned request for Max to fight back to emerge. "What?" The Other Max asked impatiently. "Too much? You can watch hundreds of Kate's die but a few Chloe's and you're done?"
"No," Max said through gritted teeth. She forced herself to relax a bit and exhaled a scoff through her nose, smirking at the Other Max. "Just bored." Her reflection dropped the acrid smile and stared back with an intense anger.
"Bored?" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah," the brunette said coolly. "I'm not scared of you."
"Now, I know for a fact you were raised to know that lying is wrong, Max. We're the same, remember?" The Other Max said. It was true – Max was still very much afraid, but she promised Chloe she'd fight it. Even if the Other Max could know what she was thinking, she was determined to brute force through it. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, the mirror showed her actual reflection. She took a step forward to analyze it before hearing a voice from behind her. "You're really into this amazing little theory she cooked up, huh?" She turned around to find the Other Max standing by the window with her arms crossed, looking out into the blurry, orange walls past the glass.
"Wait a second," Max smiled. "Are you...actually bothered by that? She's right, isn't she?"
"No!" The Other Max shouted, whipping around to face the girl. "I'm just fucking disappointed that you still can't accept the truth. Instead of actually making peace with the fact that you've pulled reality apart, you're diving cinder block shoes first into some fantastical bullshit that Chloe cooked up in ten minutes." Max stared at her, trying her best to simultaneously seem imposing while inwardly fending off the sludge of panic.
"I don't think so," she said. "You wouldn't be this upset. Why would you care if she wasn't right?"
"How can you possibly believe her!?" The doppelganger lurched toward her angrily. "Have you seriously forgotten all the bullshit she put you through during that week?"
"What bullshit, though?" Max asked, crossing her arms as she perked an eyebrow. She was beginning to feel more comfortable and confident. "Because we played with my powers? The ones I didn't ask for? The ones that activated when Chloe was killed?" Now she stepped toward the Other Max, leaning forward as she viciously bared her teeth. "Sorry, but I'm not buying the antichrist spiel anymore. I didn't ask for this to happen, it just fucking did. So I could save her." As she spat the last words out, the Other Max winced, tightly gripping into her own arm as she squinted at Max. "Everything you've thrown at me, Chloe has been able to fix. So, yeah, you know what? Take your best fucking swing because I'm not fucking scared anymore." This time, she almost even meant it. The Other Max recoiled, her eyes filling up with hatred. She grunted as a small crack dashed across her face, splitting her cheek open.
"As usual," she mocked quietly as she held a hand against her cheek, "you think you have all the answers. So, Chloe made it so you could feel good about being a photographer? She made it so you weren't afraid of rain? That's really fucking swell, Max. But I know you. There are still things she can't even fix." The Other Max let it linger only for a moment. "I know why you haven't been able to fuck her." At that, Max's fight began to slip, the girl gasping quietly. Behind her, she heard the door knob turn, followed by the slow creak of the door opening. She maintained eye contact with the Other Max even as she was submerged in the head splitting pain once again, the one that accompanied all of her nosebleeds. The girl simply grinned at her in a twisted manner.
"Ohhhh, Max," a shivered, delighted voice said from behind her. She could hear the quiet clicks of a camera.
"No," the small girl begged quietly, clenching her fists as she looked down at the floor. "Not him. Please."
"Max, could you please turn around? I don't like that I can't see your beautiful face," Jefferson said. Max remained still, only glancing up to see the sick look of enjoyment on her copy's face. "I'm not mad that you let David kill me, Max. Really. No hard feelings." The noise from the camera became louder, each click sending a shiver through Max's body. "Max," his voice took on a note of irritation, "please turn around. Don't make me dose you. You promised you'd cooperate." The brunette squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
"Look at you shaking!" The Other Max laughed as she pointed. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you're not scared of me, huh?" Max felt herself tremble as the camera snaps picked up their pace. She took a deep breath and focused, trying to will herself out of whatever stupor she had fallen into. "Teach got your tongue?" The evil Max asked. "Oh, well..." She chuckled. "In some timelines, I guess you did give it to him willingly." The pain in her head exploded as her knees buckled.
"Fine," she said, focusing on her doppelganger. "You managed to make me afraid again. Congrats. Wow. So cool. Much fierce." The Other Max cocked her head in confusion at the brunette's continued defiance. "But Chloe's not scared of you. She figured you out and now you're just doing your best to keep me here. You're grasping at straws. I might be scared...but so are you." She turned and confronted the open door, though all she could make out was a glistening pair of glasses swaying left and right in the darkness. Taking a deep breath, she charged to the door and slammed it shut. "We're the same, right? That's what you keep saying. So, you're scared too. Scared of being beaten," she said as she faced the shocked Other Max.
"You can't beat me, Max," the reflection replied with annoyance.
"Never said I could," she responded. "But she can. And clearly," she gestured to the out of breath copy, "she is." The Other Max shuddered as a another crack dashed along her forehead, branching out as it crawled over her left eye and nose. With a hint of alarm, she gingerly touched her nose and scowled.
"You have to accept what you've done!" Other Max screamed, throwing her hand up and beckoning the door open once more. Before it was fully open, Max caught it with her hand, not breaking eye contact as she slammed it shut.
"Gladly," Max said. She approached the Other Max and leaned into her face. "I accept that I saved Chloe Price. Are you happy?" The doppelganger shrieked in agony as yet another crack darted from her chin across her lips. Max crossed her arms, grimacing at the twitching twin before her. "Wow, and you call me pathetic?"
"You can't ignore this forever..." The Other Max said breathlessly. "It's going to happen. Everything's going to collapse."
"Sorry," Max said. "Like I said, I'm not interested in what you're selling. Let alone that you're missing the point." The reflection simply stared. "It doesn't matter. I have Chloe. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Fuck your make believe consequences." The Other Max shivered as a trail of blood began to seep from her nose. As she touched it, she looked at Max, her expression finally registering true, unfiltered fear. "Wow, I almost feel bad for you," Max said. "Fine," she said with a smirk as she faced the door, "we'll play your little game." She reached for the handle.
"No, wait!" The Other Max begged, thrusting her hand out to stop the girl. She jerked the door open quickly...
"Woah, are you fucking psychic now?" Chloe asked. She stood in the hallway with her hand in a fist, like she was just about to knock on the door. Max gasped and turned around, but her twin was nowhere to be found. Everything was normal again. She faced Chloe in complete shock.
"Chloe? Is that you? For real?"
"I mean," the punk looked down at herself, "I think so? I'm not up to speed on secret clone technology, so I guess the possibility is there."
"You...smartass..." Max sighed out a small laugh and clasped a hand to her head. Her knees grew weak once more and she slipped forward, but Chloe caught her.
Always there to catch me...
"Shit, are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah yeah...I'm fine," the brunette said. "Just trust fallin'. You passed." Chloe shook her head with a warm smile, but it was erased as her eyes grew wide.
"Fuck, Max, your-"
"I know, babe," Max said, swiping a finger beneath her bloody nose. The pain in her head was still there, but fading. Chloe continued cursing under her breath as she carried Max to her bed.
"Max, what happened?" She asked with worry.
"I...fought back," Max chuckled. When Chloe only grew more concerned, Max leaned up to kiss her cheek. "Don't worry," she said. "You should see the other me."
"How can someone so tiny be such a badass?" Chloe asked as she combed through Max's hair. The brunette was lying with her head in the girl's lap. Max rolled onto her back and stared up at her.
"Took a lot out of me," she admitted. "I'm totally beat."
"Still, you pulled yourself out of it! That's hella hardcore, Max." The blue haired girl let out a surprisingly childish giggle as she swung her feet. "Holy fuck, you are so goddamned amazing."
"You are!" Max shot back, raising her finger to Chloe's nose.
"Argh," she groaned. "I'm not just trying to sweet talk you, babe! I mean, you are seriously fucking amazing! An absolute goddess." Max blushed and burrowed her face into Chloe's stomach.
A goddess, huh? I guess I'll take it.
"Well," the brunette sat up and shifted so her legs dangled off the bed, "at least now I know I can actually fight back, right? I just hope it...slows down. I can't make this a frequent thing." Chloe thought it over and nodded.
"Maybe you're done?"
"I don't...think so," Max scowled. "It still feels like it's in there." She closed one eye and looked at Chloe, then shrugged. "I just worry..."
"Worry about what?" Chloe asked as she wrapped an arm around her. Max began to speak, then laughed and shook her head.
"I don't know, man. This is stupid." She let her head rest on the punk's shoulder. "I just kind of have that feeling that I pissed her...it...whatever, off. So, next time it'll be extra bad. As if my own mind can retaliate against me with free will?"
"You got this, kitten," Chloe encouraged with a big smile. "We'll put some brass knuckles in your boxing gloves." She held out a fist, the smaller girl bumping it with a smirk.
"With you in my corner, I don't think I can lose."
"I mean, worst comes to worst, tag me in and I'll dome that bitch with a chair," Chloe laughed.
"Undefeated tag team champions," Max agreed with a nod. She placed her hands on the punk's shoulders and straddled her. She snirked as she poked the girl's scalp. "Look at all this blonde hair creeping up."
"Yeah, I need to touch it up," Chloe said. She wrapped her arms around Max's waist and pulled her against her body, burrowing her face into the brunette's chest. "Yo, man, why are your boobs covered?" She asked innocently.
"It's called a shirt. Isn't it neat?" She chuckled as the blue haired girl pulled on the collar, exposing some chest for her to kiss.
"Kinda hate it, to be honest," the punk muttered against her neck. They were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Hey, Max, you in there?" It was Warren. Chloe huffed as her head fell back, causing Max to laugh.
Dangit Warren but why.
"Yeah! Come in," she responded.
"Oh shoot! Sorry, Chloe I didn't know you were here. I'm not...uh...interrupting anything am I?" He asked nervously.
"Nothin' that I won't resume later," Chloe shot back. Max rolled off of her lap next to her. The punk narrowed her eyes at the boy and grew a big smile. "So...what brings you to girls' dormitory?" She snickered and slung her leg over her knee, assuming a position of dominance. "I mean, what's up, man? What's going on in your world? Anything interesting?" Her smile shifted into a predatory grin as Max watched her in confusion.
What is her deal?
"Man," Warren huffed as his face turned a dark red. "How could you possibly know?"
"Know what?" Max asked, glancing between the two, but she was ignored.
"Well, your hair is messier than usual. Your face is flushed," she chuckled, "and I mean, your belt is undone." The boy glanced down at his waist and yelped as he finished buckling his belt.
"I'm gonna go, actually," he muttered as he turned back to the door. "Gotta go...die of embarrassment. In the corner, probably."
"No, no, no," Chloe cackled as she leaped off the bed and in front of him, blocking him from leaving the room. "Warren," she said, bowing her head in sincerity. "I care about you. We're friends. We're bros! So, as someone who cares about you..." She placed a hand on his shoulder as she smiled ear to ear. "Did you get it fuckin' in!?" Max watched the two, finally catching up to what Chloe was insinuating.
"Oh my gawwwd," Max shouted with pink cheeks and pointed at the boy. "What has she done to you?!"
BROOKE NO
"I was just coming to say hi," he complained.
"Answer question!" Chloe demanded with her hand in the air, primed for a high-five.
"No, okay!? We did...other things," he said, the sentence slurring into a mumble. "I'm not talking about this with you guys!"
"Oh really?" Chloe asked, striking a commanding pose. "And who are you going to talk to? Dish, little War-War. I want details."
"I do not want details!" Max flailed her hands. "Warren is a baby! He's only seventeen! This...this is unholy! I'm calling Kate!"
"Oh, Jesus Christ," he grumbled as he buried his face into his hands. "It's like you're my parents."
"Yes," Chloe agreed. "She's the prudish mother who won't kick her babies out of the nest." She pointed at Max, with the girl returning a pout. "And I'm the hip as fuck dad who wants to congratulate his son on tappin' that ass."
I'm not prudish!
"There was no tapping!" He argued with his hands in the air. Max placed her fingers into her ears and began to loudly sing the Imperial March. Both Chloe and Warren looked at her in confusion and burst into laughter.
"Okay, fine," Chloe laughed as she tossed a pillow from the couch at Max. "But, seriously," she playfully punched his shoulder, "if you ever need to talk about this kind of stuff, I'm here for you." For added effect, she licked the palm of her hand and began to straighten his hair. He simply closed his eyes and sighed as Max giggled.
Okay, in fairness...he probably doesn't have anyone else to talk to about this stuff... Wow, he and Chloe actually are 'bros.' Seriously, stuff like this...how can I really believe we didn't fix things?
"Hm, oh yeah," Max said. "Once you're done being groomed by Momma Price, I do have some things to catch you up on." Warren's expression immediately became concerned, even more so when he glanced at Chloe to evaluate hers.
"Okay," he said, sitting down on the couch. "I'm all ears, Max."
"Holy fuck," Warren mumbled quietly once Max had finished her story.
"Yeah, pretty much," she replied. She sat cross-legged on her bed while Chloe was splayed out on the floor. She noticed how uncomfortable the girl got when she was telling the story, flinching a little any time Max described the pain and discomfort she had been in. Which hurt Max's heart, but also made her love her even more.
"Wow, I'm so impressed, Chloe," he said, gesturing to the punk. "You thought of all that by yourself?"
"Yeah," she said, blushing a bit. "I mean, we don't know that it's true, but it just made sense to me..."
"Well, it's working," Max added, finally launching a pillow counterattack at the blue haired girl. "She's too modest. She's always saving me." She winked at Warren.
"I never thought I'd hear that word used to describe me," she quipped back snarkily.
Yeah, well, me either you li'l bitch.
"Well, regardless of its true or exactly right or whatever, if it works then you should keep it up," Warren said. "Besides, I don't...I mean, we've established that I don't know shit, but I don't understand this multiverse collapsing concept." Max raised her eyebrow curiously. "Why wouldn't something so horrible and cataclysmic happen immediately? I don't know why time would be confined by another layer of...time? With the storm, you think it's because you kept using your powers, right? But this doesn't have that qualifier." He squinted and shrugged. "And, if your nightmares are based around your fears...I kind of did bring up the universes colliding thing. So, that might be my bad. Uh...sorry..."
"Mouth quiet," Chloe commanded from the floor. "Don't blame yourself. We're all in this together."
"Agreed!" Max cheered. "You've been totally awesome handling this stuff, Warren."
"Not gonna lie, part of me is still waiting for you guys to throw a bunch of confetti in the air and shout 'gotcha!'" He shook his head as he chuckled. "Fucking time travel what the hell. It's so crazy... We all dream of having powers like time travel and mind control, but once you actually think about it, it's...so fucked up and scary. Spider-Man was right!"
"I would like to be able to climb on walls though, that sounds pretty fun," Max added with a pout. There was yet another knock on the door, but this one quiet. She could tell who it was just from the timidity of the knock.
"It's Kate," Max said quietly with a smile. "Come on in!" She shouted.
"Oh! Hi, guys!" Kate greeted, waving at Chloe and Warren. The two waved back, though Chloe did so in a grandiose, frantic manner. "I just wanted to..." She looked at Max, then glanced down to the paper in her hands, her fingers tightening enough to scrunch the edges. "Um," she said with a hint of blush, "I thought you might be alone..."
"Everything okay, Kate?" Max asked as she got up from the bed. "Do you want to talk outside for a minute?"
"No, no! I guess this is just a little embarrassing. I, uh," she held the paper out for Max sheepishly, "drew you a picture." It was a drawing of her and Kate hugging with the letters 'BFF'' written in a big, balloon style at the top. Max 'aww'd' and held it against her chest.
Too good for this world.
"Kate, this is adorable. I will treasure it forever."
"Can I see?" Chloe asked excitedly. Max looked to Kate for approval, which she gave shyly. "Oh my fuck," the punk squealed. "This is awesome, sweetie." She held the drawing up for Warren to see. Max headed over to her desk and picked up her camera, bounding back to Kate and putting an arm around her shoulder.
"I wanna trade," she said as she held the camera over their heads. The two girls smiled and she took the picture. She flicked it until the image became clear, examined it for a moment, then handed it Kate.
"This is so sweet," the blonde chirped as her face grew more flushed. "I'm going to frame it!" She eyed Max for a moment and giggled. "This is going to sound silly, but you're kind of my hero, Max." The brunette recoiled in surprise as she was flooded with vulnerability.
"You're...hero?" She asked.
But I didn't even do anything.
"Well, yeah..." She shrugged cutely. "I mean, you've always been so nice to me. And you're so cool, like you're authentic. You're special."
"Wowser, Kate..." Max felt self-conscious and completely unworthy of the title. She gripped her elbow as her shoulders shrunk down.
"Mine too," Chloe added as she draped her arms over the girl's shoulders, issuing a sweet kiss to her cheek. "Saved my life," she said quietly, leaning so her lips hovered directly next to Max's ear.
"Super Max," Warren agreed with a nod. Max glanced around, the attention making her slightly uneasy. Then, she smiled and laughed.
"You guys need higher standards," she joked.
I...think that about proves it. Hope you're listening, evil Max. I'm an Everyday Hero.
Suddenly, there was a high pitched scream, causing all of them to jump. Kate immediately turned to open the door and raced into the hallway, quickly followed by the rest.
Oh Jesus, what now?
"Jul!" Dana screamed as she kicked Juliet's door. The girl was frantically pulling on her jacket with a flustered Trevor next to her.
"Dana!" Kate called as she took off down the hall. "Is everything okay!?" The cheerleader stopped and looked confusedly at the group before bursting into laughter.
"Oh my god, sorry," she squeaked through her hysterics. "I'm just excited!" She turned back to Juliet's door and pounded on it twice before the girl opened it, looking disgruntled. She opened her mouth to speak, but Dana reached forward and latched onto her shoulders. "It's fucking snowing!" She looked back at Max and the rest. "Come on! It's the first snow of the year!"
Max leaned into Chloe, resting her head on the punk's shoulder as they and several other students stood in the courtyard watching the snowflakes fall.
"Fuckin' snow!" Dana shouted, skipping around in circles with her arms triumphantly in the air.
"It's barely snowing," Juliet said as she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you pulled me away from my new story for this."
"Ah, lighten up, Juls," Trevor laughed. He positioned himself in Dana's path and bent over, catching the girl over his shoulder on her next rotation in the circle. She squealed in delight as he began to spin her around.
"It's actually supposed to snow pretty hard," Warren said, holding his hand out flat. "I mean, a couple inches, nothing too crazy." The chaos in the hallway had alerted Brooke and several of the other girls to what was going on, so she now took her spot next to Warren. Max snickered to herself when the girl took his other hand into her own.
Cute, but not as cute as me and Chlo.
"I fucking hate snow," Victoria said as she appeared next to Max. She dramatically rubbed her arms as she shivered.
"You didn't have to come outside," Max replied with an eye roll.
"They made me," she said dryly, pointing at Courtney and Kate who were both spinning in circles with their tongues out as they stared up into the overcast sky.
"She twisted your other arm?" Chloe asked with a shit eating grin. Max opened her mouth like 'oh snap' and giggled.
"You guys suck," Victoria pouted. She turned her nose up at the girls and walked away toward Courtney and Kate. Warren and Brooke had wandered away as well, leaving Max and Chloe alone.
"We should build a snowman," Chloe said as she squeezed Max against her. "And do the blood ritual to make him Frosty."
"I never understood why Frosty needed a pipe," the brunette replied with a smile, tilting her head up to receive a kiss from her girlfriend. "He can't smoke, he'd melt."
"Yes, Max. That's where the logic about the magic snowman fails." Chloe booped her on the nose as she laughed. "Not the magic part."
"Hey," Max responded quietly, but with snark. "I don't think we're in a position to shit talk magic." At that, both girls seemed to have the same realization. They remembered the last time the two of them saw snow. Max's expression softened as she frantically searched for the punk's hands, threading their fingers together. Chloe just stared at her with a look Max now associated with 'love overload.' "Hey," Max said as she held one hand interlocked with Chloe's up. "How come your fingers were made for me?"
Seriously, her cute fingers are meant to be locked with my dumb ones. I definitely got the better end of this deal!
"Wow," Chloe whispered. She noticed the girl had been softly crying.
"Baby?" Max asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Man," she laughed as she briefly turned away from the brunette. "Can't a girl let a few tears out and it not be a big deal?"
"But if they're sad tears, I need to fix it," Max said as she reached for the punk's cheek and wiped them away. Chloe snorted in feigned disgust, then lifted Max off the ground. "Woah, hey!"
"You're fucking ridiculous," Chloe mocked. "Like you can actually say something like that and not even notice how devastatingly adorable it was."
"Well," Max grunted as she wrapped her legs around Chloe's waist. "I'm a tactical nuke of cute, I guess." She brought their noses together and swished from side to side, eliciting an enormous grin from the blue haired girl. "But seriously, why are you crying?"
"Just thinking about that week," she said. "We went through fucking hell together and..." She closed her eyes as more tears formed, her lip quivering. "It breaks my heart that you didn't make it all the way out yet, you know? I wish I could do more. I feel like I abandoned you." The wording was so exact, Max could feel her chest swell with a sadness.
"Babe..." Max whimpered. She couldn't help it. She dove in for a kiss and felt how Chloe pressed against her lips with desperation. As they broke the kiss, she rested her forehead against the punk's. "I mean," she reached one hand beneath her and placed it on Chloe's as she stared intensely into her eyes, "from this view, it looks a lot like heaven to me."
"Fuckin' mushroom cloud," Chloe laughed. She sighed, her breath splashing against Max's lips. "Max, you are my everything." Max puffed out her bottom lip, her eyes falling half lidded in pure admiration.
"Chloe Elizabeth Price," she said as she brought a hand to the girl's cheek. "You better start saving up your money." She giggled soundlessly as the punk arched an eyebrow in confusion. She kissed her on the nose and smiled. "I want my fucking ring."
A/N: Max is badass confirmed (like we didn't already know.) Also THIRTY CHAPTERS whaaaat! *throws two pieces of confetti*
Sorry this one took a while! Had some timing issues that prevented me from working on it as much as I would've liked.
Also, great, big, huge, gigantic thanks for all of your support - you guys are so ridiculously motivating. Seriously, you all make me smile so much. You're the best and don't let anyone tell ya otherwise.
Hoping the next chapter will be up soon. I'm VERY excited about it and hope you guys are too.