"Bing!" Chloe cheered, wiggling side to side excitedly. She was on the floor, flat on her stomach as she maneuvered the mouse around on one of Max's textbooks. Peeking her tongue through her teeth, she typed on the laptop, giggling when a speech bubble that read 'get fucked' popped over her character's head.
"It's 'ding,' Chloe," Warren laughed, "but congrats. We're almost ready for the first expansion." He fell against the back of the couch and yawned. "It's so early..."
"I wanted to play before work," Chloe pouted, turning onto her side and propping herself up with her elbow, "and I dinged, so we made progress. I'm ready for whatever the next thing is. I'll eat their souls."
It's a little disconcerting how much Chloe likes controlling demons and destroying people's souls.
"I'm actually surprised we're making such good time," Max said, turning in her desk chair and looking at Warren, "did they make leveling way easier?" Chloe furrowed her brow and glared at her.
"Yeah, they've streamlined it a lot," he replied, leaning forward again to tend to his laptop, "they made it way, way faster."
"You guys are really sucking the whole feeling of victory out of this..." Chloe muttered, rolling her eyes. "Oh, it's just so easy now," she mocked in a high-pitched voice.
I can't tell if she's mimicking me or Warren...
"Oh, chill out," Max giggled, "we're very proud of you, Chlo. We'll nail your laptop to the fridge so everyone can see."
"Kay," Chloe mumbled, rolling back onto her stomach and burying her lips into her crossed arms in front of her. She peered over them at Max with puppy eyes.
Don't give me that look.
"Besides, it's just fun to play with you guys anyway," Warren said. He pointed at Chloe. "The expansion is cool, it's about this world that got completely torn apart. Like, it's just all screwed up."
"Woah, forreal!?" Chloe sprang back up onto her knees. "I'm about that! Can we go now!?"
"No, babe," Max chuckled, "you have to get ready for work soon and I gotta meet up with Brooke and the girls for book club."
"Fucking..." Chloe sighed, "alright, fine. But soon, alright? I'm psyched for weird, broken world. I'm going to rule it."
"Yeah, sure," Warren said, closing his laptop. He nodded at Max. "How's the book club thing going, by the way?"
"It's cool," she replied, "we're reading Alice in Wonderland right now on Kate's suggestion. It's pretty short, so it shouldn't take too long. Plus, it's been forever since I've read it. I'm wondering if it's as crazy as I remember."
"Rachel and I got baked once and watched the Disney version," Chloe laughed, "we were like, so fucking amazed. Even though I'd already seen it god knows how many times. It was like a brand new movie." She pulled the corners of her mouth into a big, deformed grin. "That cat is shady business."
Funny how much you remind me of him.
"You really make me want to try that," Warren snickered, shaking his head. Chloe raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so?" she asked, a glint of deviousness in her eyes. Warren held up his hands.
"I'll pass. I'm just saying, you make it tempting," he said. "Skydivers also make it sound tempting, but I'm not really going to jump out of a plane."
"As with all things," Chloe began, getting to her feet and slowly stalking toward Warren, "you just need a little..." she pounced, "push!" She crashed into him, knocking him over onto his side.
"If you pushed me out of a plane, I would so break up with you," Max laughed. Chloe turned to her and narrowed her eyes.
"Would you, though?" she asked. Max stared back at her for a moment, then pouted as she looked at the floor. "Ha! You wouldn't!"
Dammit.
"I'm not proud of that," Max said quietly.
"Aren't you, though?" Chloe asked again, cackling when Max flared her nostril in defeat. She helped Warren upright, then patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, War-War, Max and I need some alone time before I need to work. You must vamonos." She flicked her hand at the door several times.
"Well, don't need to tell me twice," he chuckled, standing up and putting his laptop under his arm. "Have fun with...getting ready."
"Will do!" Max said cheerily, waving as he left the room. She stood up from her desk and joined Chloe on the couch, slinging her arms over the girl's shoulders. "I am proud of you, babe. You did very well."
"Thanks," Chloe giggled, nuzzling her nose against Max's. "It's hard work being all...demon-y."
Yeah, I'm sure it doesn't at all come easy for you.
"D'aww," Max said with feigned pity, "does my girl need to unwind after her big day on the battlefield?"
"I could go for it," she responded, angling her head and meeting Max's lips. Max pushed her onto her back, fitting her legs comfortably around Chloe's, and softly stroked her hair as the kiss grew deeper. When it broke, she rested her head on Chloe's chest. "Man," Chloe sighed, "I really don't mind work once I'm there, but parting is the sweetest fucking sorrow."
"I've thought the same thing before," Max chuckled, "but at least I always have something to look forward to."
"Oh, that's true," Chloe mused, "when we're apart, we can always be excited for when we're not anymore. That's cute." Max raised her head and grew a toothy grin.
"I meant the part about you leaving," she teased. "God, you're just so..." she moved her hand like a yapping dog, "meh, meh, meh."
"You little shit," Chloe laughed, spearing her hands to Max's sides as she began to tickle her. "I'll show you meh, meh, meh!"
"Oh, Kate!" Max said, waving as the girl stepped out of her room.
"Hi, Max," she replied, giving her trademark smile that warmed up the room. "Are you ready for more Alice?"
"Totally." Max held up her copy of the book and shook it around. "I'm ready to be taken on a literary drug trip." She giggled. "You should bring Alice, I'm sure she'd love to hear her story."
"I've actually..." Kate smiled wider with a hint of blush, "I've read it to her before. More than once."
That is...absolutely precious.
"That's very cute," Max snickered, "and I bet she's smarter than all the other rabbits because of it!"
"Maybe," she chuckled, "I've never had her evaluated. Maybe she could take one of my exams for me."
"Or let her take one of mine," Max corrected, "I wouldn't mind the help." There was a brief lull of silence where they only stared at each other and Max cleared her throat, trying to keep a straight face. "So, uh, I saw Victoria sneaking out of your room this morning."
"She was sneaking?" Kate asked incredulously, then she sighed as the blush from earlier returned even stronger. "Oh, I see what you're saying."
Oh, I'm sayin' it.
"So, things are going well, then?" Max asked. Kate only nodded sheepishly. "That's very good to hear. And, uh..." She leaned against the wall, restricting a frown. "Any news on the home situation?"
"Not...really, no," Kate responded, thumbing through the pages of her book. "Abby's said that my mom is just kind of behaving as normal, like nothing happened. Even though everybody else in the house is on edge." She gave a small shrug. "I don't know if that means she's erased me in her mind and now it's just time to move on or...something?"
"That's awful," Max said quietly. "I mean, she's your mom, right? She loves you and she'll learn to accept it in time..." Even as she spoke, the sentence lost its conviction.
"I think..." Kate looked at Max with a sad smile, "I think that might not happen in real life as much as we see in the movies."
I really lucked out with cool parents...
"Yeah..." Max tilted her head down, trying to read Kate's eyes, "are you okay?"
"I am." She nodded resolutely. "Okay doesn't have to mean everything's perfect. It just means...I can deal with the fact that it's not." She held out a hand to explain. "Prayer of Serenity, you know?"
The Anti-Time Travel Motto.
"I know," Max said. She smirked and placed a hand on Kate's arm. "You're a badass. You know that, right?"
"I am?" Kate asked, somewhat surprised.
"Definitely," Max said.
"Huh..." Kate snickered and shook her head, "I kind of like that." She turned around and started toward Brooke's door, with Max following behind her.
"Good," Max laughed, "you should wear that title proudly!" Kate gave her another quick smile and roll of the eyes, then knocked.
"Hey guys," Brooke greeted as she opened her door, "just in time."
"Hiya Brooke," Max replied, ducking inside after Kate. Alyssa held her hand up in greeting. "And hey to you too. What's up, Alyssa?"
"Same as always," she said somewhat dryly, turning left and right on the rotating stool in the center of the room. "And hi." She nodded at Kate, who responded with a cheery wave of her own.
Max looked around, taking note of Brooke's room. She'd only seen it twice before, and it was still something of a wonder to her. There was a bookshelf in the corner crammed from top to bottom, which filled Max with just the slightest bit of envy, and a large whiteboard against one wall with equations and scientific notes scribbled on it. A small skeleton dangling by a hook took residence on a corner of her desk, while a globe preoccupied the other. Max thought that, really, if someone only had a passing glance, they might think it was a classroom. Or maybe that was just her distaste for school showing through.
For sure Warren's speed, but not exactly mine.
Max took a seat on the couch, smiling when Kate sat next to her, and held up the book.
"We're on chapter two, right?" she asked.
"Yep," Brooke confirmed, dragging her desk chair to the center with Alyssa, "we should be able to get through a few today. They're short."
"Are we doing the sequel?" Alyssa asked, "I wouldn't mind."
"I'd like to," Kate said, "but we can do something else in between." She flipped the book open and grinned. "Can...I go first?"
Oh thank god. I don't like being the first to read out loud. And Kate's so cute with the way she acts it out. She'd make a great mom someday.
"Sure!" Brooke smiled at her, clearly thinking the same as Max. Kate clapped happily, then cleared her throat, giving one last glance around to make sure everyone was ready.
"'Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice," Kate put a hand to her face as if telling a secret, "she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English." Max perked an eyebrow and turned to her, narrowing her eyes in a brief shimmer of suspicion. "'...now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was!" Kate flailed herself to the side, giggling as she threw her feet out, "'Good-bye, feet!'"
Max pranced down the steps from the dorm into the courtyard, inhaling deeply through her nose once she reached the bottom. Even more so than the previous month, spring was ruthless in its defeat of winter, casting the world in rich green and colorful spots of flowers. The bees had been particularly busy, as they constantly hovered around the garden bed that lined the front of the dormitory. Coincidentally, Max had also recently found out that Victoria was very afraid of bees.
She glanced up at the sun, then sighed at the realization that the time for her trusted hoodie had come to an end. She tied her hair into a ponytail, then rolled her sleeves up to her elbows, a little disappointed that this would probably be the last time she wore it. Still, it was a small price to pay for compensation on the surprisingly snowy winter they had gotten. It could've been the photographer in her, but she really liked having each of the seasons reach a degree where they were actually different. The thought of celebrating Christmas in eighty degree weather, for example, always rubbed her the wrong way.
I suppose I could spare a few minutes for a photo or two...
Removing her camera from her bag, she lazily wandered forward, searching for a worthy subject. It was somewhat uncommon for there to be no other students around, but the silence provided by their absence was soothing. Finally, a flutter of blue caught her eye, and she turned to find a blue jay perched on one of the lampposts.
"Hello, you," she said quietly, bringing the camera to her face, "do you mind if I take a photo?" She hesitated for a moment, smiling as she awaited permission, then chuckled as she took the photo. As was to be expected, the bird flew off at the sudden sound of the camera. "Oops, sorry. Not a fan of paparazzi, eh?"
Too famous for me, my bad.
Pleased with her photo, she strolled around the perimeter, humming a tune to herself that Chloe had gotten stuck in her head. Chloe was always in her head in some way, shape, or form. Even though she wasn't particularly fond of the song, that made it more than okay with her. She rounded her way past Samuel's shed, then stopped when she noticed a splotch of red on the hill where the Tobanga once resided. Curious, she made her way to it.
The spot where the statue stood was still barren, a round circle of dirt that had been deprived growth for who knows how many years. Or...it was mostly barren. In the very center of it was a single flower, rich and red in a way that reminded her of blood. She smirked.
Well, that seems oddly poetic. How have I not noticed this yet? Gotta snag a photo.
Once again aiming the camera, she shifted slightly to the right to achieve a better angle, then snapped the photo. She smiled as the camera dispensed it, gently flicking it to draw out its image. Though, when she looked at it, she was struck by a peculiar thought. She looked back to the actual flower and crept closer, bending down to analyze it.
What...kind of flower is this? I've never seen one like it before. ...then again, I'm not exactly a botanist. I'll have to look it up later.
Shrugging to herself, she tucked the photo away and pulled out her phone to check the time. Deciding it was the perfect time for food and pestering her girlfriend, she hopped down the hill and made her way to the bus stop.
As the town went by her, she took note of how much it had grown to feel like home again. She was much less a student who just happened to be away from home and much more a resident of Arcadia Bay. There was something comforting in that. Almost as if, though Chloe had accepted her back, she worried the town never would. That she'd be locked out as merely a visitor for the rest of her life. But instead, it had welcomed her once again. And despite talking about all of the places she and Chloe might live someday, she wasn't sure any of them were quite as appealing.
The bus rolled to a stop just outside of The Two Whales, and she removed her headphones as she stood up. Before stepping off, she turned to thank the bus driver and thought for a moment about how strange it had been to see David in that position. She wondered, what would this person have been doing in that timeline? Would they still be a driver that just worked different shifts or would they be doing something else entirely? It was still hard to grasp just how much she could alter with just one change. She still didn't like thinking about it very much.
Once off the bus, she started heading toward the diner, then stopped and looked at Frank's RV. It had been a couple of days since she'd seen him, and in a town the size of Arcadia Bay, it was almost difficult to pull that off. Deciding she could spare a few minutes, she went over and knocked on his door. She smiled when Pompidou's bark could be heard through the open windows.
"Oh, hey Max," he said, stepping out of the RV and closing the door behind him. He looked her up and down. "Cool hair." Max pouted, not even hearing the compliment.
Whaaaat?
"I don't get to say hi?" she asked, crossing her arms. Frank snickered and shook his head.
"He's supposed to be eating," he said, "I'm trying to keep him on a meal schedule. He's getting to be a little porky."
"That just means there's more to hug," Max argued, then giggled as she relented. "Okay, fair enough. I figured I'd just say hey before I go in to bother Chloe."
"Have you ever actually bothered her?" he asked with a laugh. Her eyes rolled in an arc as she thought it over.
"I'm sure I must have," she said, "I poke her a lot. That's probably annoying." She prodded him in the stomach for demonstration.
Maybe I do that too much. Hm.
"Sure, sure," he said, smiling as he glanced at the building. "Well, how are you doing?"
"I'm good!" Max held her arms out. "The weather is lovely."
"It's nice," Frank agreed, "I've been wanting to take Pompidou to the park. Let him run around a little bit."
Aw, I can just see him running around like a little free spirit. Eating dandelions and then gagging on 'em. So cute.
"That'd be cool," Max said, "I'm sure he'd love that." She arched an eyebrow at him. Something seemed different. "Aaand how are you?"
"Alright," he chuckled, "I actually just got off the phone with my mother." He rubbed the back of his next in a somewhat guilty manner. "I don't...talk to her a whole lot. I haven't even seen her since I stayed with her after Rachel's funeral, so I had a lot of catching up to do."
"Oh?" Max regarded him curiously. "How'd it go?"
"Really well," he said, "I told her about the job and everything. She said she's proud of me." He laughed disbelievingly. "She's always been a good mom, but she hasn't used that word since I was a kid. It felt good to hear it again."
That's what's different. You're...giddy.
"Dude, that's awesome!" Max whacked him on the arm. "I'm so happy to hear that."
"Yeah," he said, "it feels like things are finally coming together. God knows how long I've waited..."
"I know," Max said, "but it's here now. Your patience and hard work have paid off!" She smiled. "Seriously, Frank. I'm really happy we're friends. You're a good guy."
"Thanks..." he replied, looking at the ground sheepishly, "I'm happy we're friends too. You two have made all the difference." He turned his head when Pompidou let out several shrill barks, and he laughed. "I should get back in there. Let me know whenever you want to hang out, alright?"
"Always," Max responded, giving him another affectionate punch on the arm.
Once he'd gone back inside, she started back toward the diner, then stopped at the fisherman who was sitting at his table. He'd been gone all winter, and this was the first time she'd seen him back at it. This time, though, the table lacked the pamphlets about the waning sea life and instead had bait and bobbers on display for sale, along with a two bushels teeming with crabs.
Dang, I could so go for that.
"Woah, big haul, huh?" she asked, peering into one of the bushels.
"You're tellin' me," he said, "I've never seen it so lively out there." He shook his head. "The sea's acting out of schedule. She must be making up for the drought we've been having. It doesn't make a lick of sense."
Out of schedule? Pfft.
"What do you mean?" Max asked, picking up one of the fake, rubbery worms and jiggling it.
"I mean these fellas are way out of season," he said, gesturing to the crabs, "usually, you have to wait until fall for anything decent, and even then the output is never this good. It's completely backwards."
"Really?" Max cocked her head inquisitively, setting the worm back down. "That's...pretty crazy. Any idea why?"
Did you lose your way somewhere, little crabs?
"Not a clue," he replied, "never seen anything like it in my life." He shrugged, then leaned back in his chair with a dreamy smile. "I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, though. Whatever it is, it's good for me. Gives me hope, too." He took a quick glance at the RV. "Hey," he said more quietly, leaning forward again, "you know Bowers?"
"Huh?" Max mimicked his glance. "Oh! Yeah, we're friends."
"You are?" the fisherman asked in surprise.
"Yeah, he's cool," Max said, just waiting to build her case.
Hopefully someday that won't seem so crazy.
"I've noticed he seems to be more..." the fisherman closed one eye as he pondered, "put together, recently. I gotta say, it's heartwarming." He bared his somewhat yellow teeth in a smile. "Nice to see everyone can turn it around if given the chance."
"Definitely," Max agreed, "sometimes that's all people need."
"Here ya go, sweetness," Chloe said, setting the plate of pancakes in front of Max. She slid into the other side of the booth and rested her elbows on the table, propping up her head in her hands. "So, how did book club go?"
"It was chill," Max replied, cutting into the food, "I actually didn't mind reading out loud."
"Hey, there you go," Chloe said proudly, "you're getting even better at kicking that shyness' ass. There's hardly any left in you."
"I blame you," Max snickered, "ruining my brand. Just an awful influence."
"Right, says the one who's turned me from anarchist to puppy dog romantic," Chloe said, "I think we've both taken a hit on our original style."
The towels stained pink would have to agree with you.
"You're still rebellious," Max corrected, taking a bite of the pancake, "you think I don't see you when you sneak your little fingers into the bag and eat the grapes at the grocery store?"
"Fuck, you caught me," Chloe laughed, "get out the handcuffs." Max perked an eyebrow and Chloe smiled, her cheeks turning pink. "Did not mean it that way."
Uh huh.
"Make a memo," Max giggled, giving her a wink, "we can revisit that locale later."
"Ooh la la," Chloe said, her eyes shining impishly. She stood up and leaned across the table, opening her mouth so Max could place some food into it. "Anyway," Chloe chewed, "what do you want to get up to after work? It's nice as fuck. We could do an outside activity."
"That actually sounds good!" Max thought for a moment. "What about...we explore the woods? Like when we were kids?"
I've really been wanting to do that again.
"That sounds...really fucking cool," Chloe responded, her fingers drumming excitedly on the table. "Maybe we can, I dunno, find some treasure or something?"
"Like pirates?" Max asked, her eyes falling half-lidded as she looked back sweetly.
"Yeah," Chloe nodded with a big grin, "like pirates. Captain Bluebeard makes her fabulous return."
Oh, how I've missed her.
"Alright, cutie," Max chuckled, reaching across the table and stroking Chloe's hand, "when do you get off?"
"Soon!" Chloe hung out of the booth and checked behind her, then got to her feet. "Sec, gotta check on the customer."
"I'll miss you!" Max reached out for her dramatically, putting the back of her other hand against her forehead. Chloe simply laughed and scurried away.
Max took a sip of her coffee, then leaned against the wall as she stared through the window. She focused on the lighthouse and smiled, once again thankful that it was able to guide more than just ships home. The memory of when she first convinced Chloe she could time travel surfaced in her mind, and she exhaled a small laugh through her nose.
"Maybe you made a move on me and I would never know..." Christ, I really was dense.
Chloe went by Max and around the counter, disappearing into the backroom for only a moment. As she came back out, the bell above the diner door jingled and she smiled, though it seemed a little confused. She raised a hand in a wave, and before Max could move over to see, Victoria was falling into the seat across from her. She immediately threw her head back against it, paying no mind to the thud of it hitting solid wood.
Woah, what's all that about?
"Uh, hey Vic," Max said, "are you...okay?" She felt several soft pats on her shoulder, and she scootched over so Chloe could sit beside her. Victoria sighed and slowly rolled her head forward to look at them.
"Yeah? I'm okay, just...drained," she answered. Max and Chloe exchanged a concerned look.
"O...kay," Chloe said, "do you need me to grab you anything? Coffee?"
"Actually, yeah, that'd be cool," Victoria responded. Chloe nodded and sprung from the seat, hurrying over to get a mug and the coffee pot.
"What's up?" Max asked, "you seem really distressed. Did...something happen with Kate?"
No way things went that south in that small amount of time.
"What?" Victoria's brows knitted together. "No! No, Kate and I are fine. She's how I knew you were here. No, we're great." Chloe was back at the table, pouring coffee into a mug. "Thanks, Chloe."
"Alright," Chloe said, returning after quickly ditching the coffee pot. She sat down next to Max again and moved her head side to side to get a read on Victoria. "What's the deal?"
"So...okay," Victoria sighed again, "I don't know if you guys are going to be mad at me or something."
"Probably not?" Max shrugged. "Unless you did something awful, I guess."
"You might think so..." she took a deep breath, "I went to visit Nathan."
Holy shit, what?
"You did what?" Chloe asked, then quickly followed it up with, "does Kate know?"
"Yes, she knows," Victoria said. "We talked about it for like...three hours. I just..." She winced. "I just needed to see him one last time."
I guess before school's over...?
"Okay..." Max said, glancing to gauge Chloe's reaction, "can I ask why?"
"I don't know," she responded, "just... He was important to me, you know? And honestly, I wanted to be like her."
"Who?" Chloe asked, her tone still tiptoeing along interrogative.
"Kate," Victoria said, flailing her hand. "She has forgiven...so many people. She forgave me. She forgave Tay and Courtney. Frank... She just...she forgives and forgives and fucking forgives. And she's so strong for doing so. I wanted to do that." She shook her head, making a sound of disgust as she wiped her eyes. "I wanted to forgive the person who hurt me the most."
"Oh...Vic," Max said, hanging her head.
I totally understand now. Kate has really made a difference for you.
"Alright, alright," Chloe said, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples, "I...I can respect that. Honestly." She looked her up and down, then frowned. "Did it not go well?"
"It went...okay?" Victoria said, pausing to drink her coffee. "I don't know, he was so...out of it. At first, anyway. I guess maybe whatever medication he's on. He wasn't like, a zombie or anything, but just extremely...docile?" She scrunched her lips to the side. "But he actually seemed really happy to see me. He smiled. And we talked a little bit."
"How's he doing?" Max asked.
After all this time, I do feel the tiniest bit of sympathy for him. Especially after meeting his dad.
"He seems like he's doing okay," Victoria said. "He said he was sorry, and I really think he meant it. It was just...sad." She leaned forward and placed her head in her hands. "It just reminded me of how crazy everything got."
"I know," Max replied sadly. A clang of metal drew her attention away, and she looked to see the grouchy trucker she'd learned to recognize as a permanent fixture of the diner get off his stool and bend over to collect his fork. A barely audible noise of irritation came from Chloe beside her. She glanced back to Victoria, and smiled as the girl was tugging open a sugar packet in a much more familiar expression of annoyance.
"Oh, fucking thanks," the trucker swore loud enough to hear as the fisherman Max had spoken to accidentally kicked the fork, sending it further away.
"Sorry, Jim," he said quickly, then continued on into the bathroom.
"Yeah, sorry, sure," the trucker said, finally sitting back down.
Man, that guy is just...the worst. So freaking grumpy.
"Fuckin' douches, man," Chloe said quietly. She turned back to Victoria. "Anyway, yeah. It got crazy," she swirled a finger through the air, "he shot me." Victoria glared at her, then her shoulders fell slack.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm sorry..." She shook her head. "But that was the weird part. I was able to talk to him and we got to the part in the conversation where I could...'forgive' him." She used air quotes on the word 'forgive.' "But then he asked me how I was doing. I told him I was with Kate and that you two were my best friends..."
Max listened intently, though something snagged her attention outside. She leaned over just enough to not be in Chloe's lap and watched the fisherman hold something up in the sunlight, looking it over with satisfaction. She began to feel uneasy.
Wait, that's...weird...
"And when I told him that, he got all...crazed," Victoria said, her eyes growing big as she tensed her hands like claws, "he completely snapped out of his sedation..."
Max glanced away from Victoria again, staring at the fisherman outside. The hairs along her neck and arms stood up.
Something's wrong.
Then, to her horror, the fisherman came out of the bathroom and stopped, glancing up at the television as he wiped his hands with a paper towel. She blinked, gulping as she tried to make sense of it. He was outside and inside. The same person. And nobody seemed to notice.
"...he started ranting about all of this crazy shit," Victoria continued. Max slowly turned to her, her eyes pried open with fear and breath caught in her throat. "He just..." Victoria's expression turned into one of incomprehension, "he kept going on and on about some kind of...storm?"
Max was yanked down into the abyss of her mind, swirling end over end as her head lit up with pain she hadn't felt in months. It pulsed, clawing at her skull and she fell forward onto the table, clutching her head in agony. Somewhere, far off in the distance, she could hear Victoria shouting, saying that her nose was bleeding. Then she could hear the echo of Chloe's panicked swearing. She might have felt something on her, a pair of hands grasping around her or shaking her. But she was stuck, observing only the darkness of her own head.
And then she heard a voice.
"It's really not hard, Max," it said, coming from everywhere at once. "You created infinite, unstable timelines that are chaotically tangling through existence. Eventually, they'll crash. Then...collapse." A bitter laugh scraped at her mind. "And uh, that won't be pretty. Eventually, all running water reaches the ocean..."
The pain grew more vibrant, stabbing its roots into her and twisting her stomach into nauseousness. The taste of blood was finally noticeable as it filled up her mouth. She could still hear Chloe, but her voice was now nothing but screams beating against Max's eardrums, begging to be acknowledged.
"You don't understand anything!" the voice said. "Stop pretending like you do! I mean, fuck,you still think that the storm was-"
Something shifted in the darkness of her thoughts. There was a slow, wavering motion as a figure staggered out of the shadows. It was her. Or...the other her. Several cracks ran through her face and her mouth was coated in bright red blood. She grinned wickedly, showing off her stained teeth.
"- your fault."
A/N: Alright, gang! We're going to play a little game called How Much Trust Has TomorrowHeart Earned From You Over The Last 340k+ Words. It's a fun one.
So, I've been waiting two years to finally reach this part of the story. Literally! Ouroboros' second birthday is on the 18th! It's going to get puh-retty crazy, but I'm excited as hell to finally be here. Hopefully you guys might be too!
Anywho, I'll see you guys in a little bit with the next chapter. Shouldn't be...too long! As always, thanks SO much for reading and you're all beautiful.
P.S. Shout out to the readers out there who've spotted any continuity errors/increase in characters becoming confused about something for no real reason! I know I got a few comments about the Tobanga being there in Ch. 58 when it definitely should not have been. Though...still a little surprised no one pointed out that Ms. Waters' name changed from Margaret to Madison. Oh well~