"...so...can't...to pick...a graduation..." Taylor said, her voice thick and oozing out over the desk.
How did we 'break' time?
"Wow." That was Kate's voice, similarly slow and distorted, "...so nice...parents. ...didn't...got cars...for graduating..."
I can't believe we might literally be the ones who end the world. Or...existence? I never expected to be that level of super villain.
"I'm...all that...?" Taylor again, accompanied by some sort of movement that might have been a shrug. "...spoiled...guess."
"I don't...my license..." Kate once again. "...stable...my family..."
How does everything fit together? There must be an explanation. If only the pieces weren't...so fucking messy.
"Katie," Victoria's voice slipped down to the floor with a sigh of sludge. A movement in her shoulder indicated she might be taking Kate's hand. "I'll buy...car...want."
What the fuck IS the other me? How can she be me? What the hell does that mean?
"...silly." Kate. Probably.
"...not entirely...how...family is," most likely Taylor said with stretched out speech, "...wouldn't...put...past her." A movement beside Max. "...about you? Do...your license?" A hand waved in front of Max's face, yanking her from her thoughts. "Uh, you in there?"
"Wha, huh?" Max blinked a few times, then turned to Taylor. "What's up?"
"Can. You. Operate. A. Vehicle?" Taylor asked again, pausing between each word for clarity's sake.
"Uh...yes?" Max snickered.
"Max, what is your deal?" Victoria asked with a tint of exasperation. "You've been freaking me the fuck out since yesterday. Are you sure you're alright?"
I did NOT think she would be this persistent. I guess I can't ever argue that she doesn't care.
"Yeah, I'm good," Max replied. "I told you I was fine yesterday. Just daydreaming."
"You're...sure?" Victoria repeated again, clearly unconvinced. Her eyes were big, full of concern. Beside her, Kate scooted a little closer, making sure their shoulders were touching.
"Oh, Jesus," Taylor groaned, "she's okay, Vic!" She drummed her hands on the table. "Leave her alone. You know she's probably just fantasizing about whatever underwear Chloe has on today." She winked at Max. Victoria glared at her, then softened as she looked down at the desk.
"Right," she muttered, "I just...I don't know, because of the thing I told you about yesterday. The timing was weird."
Nathan. What does he know?
"You never know," Max said, forcing a playful smile as she leaned forward, "maybe that is what caused it. You cursed me. Like a witch."
"Don't joke." Victoria's lips scrunched to the side. "You had me so worried. You were like, barely conscious and...I mean, just the way Chloe was acting. She...she yelled at me. She's never done that before."
"She was just worried," Max assured, thumbing through the book in front of her, "but it's okay now. Really."
"I was worried too when Vicky told me about everything," Kate added, sharing a worried look of her own. Beside Max, Taylor huffed and clutched her head.
"Guys, come on," she complained. Max sat up straight and patted her on the shoulder.
Abort topic. Switching gears...
"So, uh..." Max eyed Victoria, "it's Vicky now, eh?"
"Just, ah," Victoria blushed and tilted her head at Kate, "just for her..."
"Where did the one come from?" Taylor asked, digging into her pencil case. She took out a Ziploc bag of animal crackers, smiling to herself in satisfaction.
"Heat of the moment," Kate said quickly, then turned even redder than Victoria. "Oh, um, I mean..."
Oh okay, even with everything else going on, that's funny.
"Girls," Ms. Waters called, causing each of them to look in her direction. Max noticed the rest of the class was also staring at them. "Got something interesting to share with everyone?" Taylor blew a gust of air through her lips and moved her head side to side.
"No," Victoria said sharply, her eyes screaming at Taylor and earning a chuckle from the girl.
"Oh no?" Ms. Waters said with a little pout, which quickly turned into a smile. She shook her head. "Just pay attention, guys. Save the jibber-jabber for after class, alright?" The was a chorus of 'yes ma'am' and she nodded, pleased with the response. "Good! Now then, as I was saying..."
She continued on with the lesson, but Max's attention was drawn across the room to Stella. She was writing in a notebook, looking up every few seconds at Ms. Waters. But Max could only focus on the girl's shirt and the way it seemed to be lagging behind her with every movement, leaving blurred streaks of color behind. She chewed on the inside of her lip, then suppressed the need to gasp when Stella's t-shirt changed to a pink hoodie in an impossibly fast flash. The taste of blood met her tongue as she realized she'd bitten her lip too hard. She turned back to the desk in front of her, her hand tensing tightly around the pen she was holding.
Nobody noticed again... That's good, but how am I really supposed to pretend like nothing's wrong? And I really don't like that it's affecting people directly now. Who knows what that could do.
The bell rang out, shrieking inside of Max's head as the visage of her other self came into clear view. She clenched her jaw, then leaned to the side and snatched her bag off the ground.
"Just a second," Ms. Waters said, sitting on the desk. She waved to Alyssa as she left the room, leaving only the four girls remaining. She looked at each of them. "So, really... Are you all okay? A lot of disgruntled looks throughout the class."
This was so much easier when I was a loner.
"Oh, we're good, Ms. Waters," Kate answered. "Just a little chatty. Sorry..." She looked up at her apologetically. "That was rude of us."
"Hmm..." Ms. Waters narrowed her eyes, "okay. Just making sure. I didn't want there to be some kind of fight going on or something."
"No fights," Taylor responded, slamming her bag onto the desk, "but I'd probably win if there was."
"Let's not find out," Ms. Waters chuckled. "Well...alright, if everything's okay, then I'll see you all tomorrow. Bring your inside voices."
"Yeah, we will," Victoria said, "sorry again, Maddie."
The girls shuffled out into the hall, where Max immediately checked her phone. There were a few texts from Chloe that didn't say anything particularly enlightening, but just her checking in made Max feel better. The cruelest part of everything they were going through, Max thought, was that they had to spend any time away from each other. Before she could begin to respond, Victoria put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, we're going to go to that ice cream place," she said, "wanna come with?"
"Uh..." Max hesitated, simply because her brain wasn't working as well as she would have liked.
"From when I broke my hand," Victoria explained with a giggle. "It's not too far and I thought it'd be fun." She looked over her shoulder at Kate and Taylor, who were already near the end of the hall.
"No, sorry," Max shook her head. "Rain check?"
Rain check while Chloe and I storm check. Ha.
"...right," Victoria said, looking a bit dejected. "Sure, we'll get some later." She shifted from foot to foot and sighed. "Look, Max..."
"Vic," Max looked her in the eyes, "I'm okay. Really."
"...promise?" Victoria asked. Max hoped the wince she couldn't contain wasn't noticeable.
Dammit. Don't do this to me, please.
"I promise," Max lied. She smiled and nudged Victoria. "Go get your ice cream. An extra scoop for me, alright?"
"I think I can do that," Victoria snickered, nudging her back. "I'll catch you later." She turned and took a few steps, then looked back over her shoulder. "Uh, text if you need anything?"
"Scout's honor," Max said, holding up three fingers. She watched as Victoria joined Kate and Taylor and let out a sigh as they turned the corner.
Max headed straight for her dorm, content to lock herself in her room until Chloe was finished her shift at the Two Whales. She hoped she was having better luck with acting normal, as it had proved far more difficult than she'd anticipated. Her earlier confidence that it would be no big deal really didn't account for the relationships she'd built since her first adventure in October. Now that it was expected for her to interact with multiple people a day, it felt a lot like navigating a minefield. She kept her eyes on her phone, rereading the last text Chloe sent over and over, occasionally switching her attention to the clock at the top of the screen.
Just a little longer and we can start to try and figure this out.
"It's hard to focus your lens when nothing stays still, isn't it?" a voice asked as Max walked by, her head down and oblivious to her surroundings. She screeched to a halt, then spun around, staring at Samuel in shock.
You...
"What did you just say to me?" Max asked icily, hurrying back over to him. He'd already resumed sweeping, as if he hadn't said a word.
"You are seeing secrets," he said, still not looking at her. "Samuel can't, but you can."
"What do..." Her voice raised in volume, but she cut it off as another student passed by. She glanced around, then leaned in closer to him. "Samuel, can we speak? Privately?"
"Are you angry with me?" he asked, frowning. She flexed her hands, composing herself.
"No," she laid a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, "but...I'd really appreciate it. Please?" After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and picked up the trash bag that had been set beside him. He followed her to his shed, then stopped to set the broom and trash bag just outside the door. Once he was also inside, Max checked to see if anyone was watching, then closed the door halfway. "Samuel," she said, taking a steadying breath, "you have to tell me what you know."
"Only what Samuel is told," he responded, earning a frustrated sigh from Max.
"Do you have to talk in riddles? I'm serious." She paced in tight circles, then tugged at her hair as she started crying. "I'm losing it, okay? Please, you have to tell me what's going on. What you know. Fucking anything."
"The..." he fiddled with his fingers, showing visible discomfort at Max's tears, "the squirrels say that the clock is wounded." He shook his head in pity. "That you're trying to mend it." Max looked him over, then checked outside once more.
"What are the squirrels?" she asked. "Do they...actually talk to you?"
"They're my spirit animals," he answered with absurd normalcy. "They tell Samuel what's happening." Max rubbed one of her eyes roughly to remove the tears.
I'm going to have to humor his cryptic bullshit if I want any answers at all. Okay. The squirrels 'tell him' what's going on. Right...
"Um, okay..." She went over to a stack of books on a shelf and mindlessly ran her fingers along the spine of the top book. "The night we came back from spring break... You were talking to a group of squirrels. But," she turned to him, "Victoria couldn't see them. Chloe and me could."
"Yes," he said simply, taking a seat on a large, overturned bucket.
"Why?" she asked, clinging tightly to her patience.
"Because they want you to," he responded. He smiled knowingly. "Just as your spirit animal does."
Mine?
"My spirit animal?" Max glanced around her, feeling increasingly claustrophobic. "Do you mean the doe?"
"Yes," he said excitedly. "The doe is kind. It watches over you and tries to keep you safe. Much in the same way you do for those you care about."
"But Chloe can see it too," Max said, drawing the words out carefully, as if it might trip him up.
"She is very important to you." He reached a hand out and slowly, Max would also say creepily, rubbed his finger along the corner of a metal shelf. "Just as it watches over you, it watches over her."
"Samuel, I..." Max sighed, "do you...I mean, you do understand how insane this all sounds, right?"
"Not anymore," he admitted with the smallest shade of humor.
"We're talking about...about fucking spirit animals," Max said, waving her hand. "That's impossible. That doesn't exist! There aren't ghost animals that are like, assigned to people!"
"Which of us are you trying to convince?" he asked, head tilted in curiosity. A quiet growl vibrated in Max's throat, though it was aimed at herself. "Denial does not erase the things you've seen."
I wish it did. Okay, fine. So the doe 'watches over' me.
"So...what, uh, what do squirrels do, then?" Max asked, holding her hand against her pocket with hopes of feeling a vibration.
"They...are different, yes," he said, nodding knowingly. "The doe is quiet. It asks to be followed. It watches." He gestured at Max, drawing emphasis to their similarities. "You see with your camera. You see with your heart. You notice." Max tightened her stance, again noticing how small the room was. "But squirrels... They are busy. Very busy. They talk. Share their information. Like..." he showed his teeth in a rare, true smile, "whispering down the lane."
"O-okay," Max said, finally resigning herself to the Escher-esque nature of his answers. "And what have they been saying lately?"
"They are...happy to see Arcadia Bay breathe again," he said, but his expression took on one of concern, "but they are worried."
Worried?
"What do you mean by 'breathe again?'" Max asked. Samuel thought for a moment.
"A flower blooming after too long in the shade," he replied. Max nodded for him to continue, then quickly changed her mind, holding up a hand to stop him before he could. She stepped backward and poked her head out the door, then pulled it all the way open.
"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the deep red flower where the Tobanga once stood.
"A flower," he responded. A surge of energy shot through Max's arm and she had to actively stop herself from swinging at something violently.
God dammit, Samuel.
"What kind?" she asked through clenched teeth, then forced herself to calm down. "I have never seen one like that before."
"You would not have. They are unique to Arcadia Bay," he said, then lowered his voice to a whisper of awe, "the Blood of Arcadia."
"No," Max shook her head, "no, no. That's not...how this works. How can it be native to just Arcadia Bay? Why isn't that a bigger deal?" She flailed a hand. "There should be...I mean, if it's so fucking special, it should be in high demand. Why doesn't anyone here care?"
"It hasn't grown in a long, long while," he said, pulling one of his legs up and resting an ankle on his knee. "But even so, there are cataracts all around. The others... Their sight is hindered. They do not see secrets as you do."
"How is that possible?" Max scratched her hands through her hair. "That doesn't make any fucking sense. A flower can't just spontaneously exist without a seed. I mean..." She looked around her wildly. "Crabs don't just thrive out of season. Fireflies don't fucking live by the swarm when there aren't any others around for hours." The walls of the room seemed to bend toward Max, hastening her breathing. "What...what is going on with this place?"
"It's breathing," he said, looking deep into Max's eyes.
Almost like the opposite...?
"So..." Max scowled and closed the door once again when she noticed someone staring at them. "So, what? These things are just...happening out of nowhere and nobody's phased by it?" She shook her head. "No, there was a, uh, fisherman who was clearly very aware of how weird things were. He was..." She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "He didn't care. Not really. He was just happy."
"Why wouldn't he be?" Samuel asked, seeming to be genuinely confused.
"Because it's fucking weird!" Max shouted, regretting it when Samuel flinched. "Sorry," she held her hands up in apology. "I'm sorry. Please, you have to understand how difficult this is to understand."
"I do," he assured, then gave a restricted shrug, "I used to."
"Sure," she said, assuming an understanding tone. She took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. Samuel... Why are the squirrels worried?"
"They don't want it to stop," he said, his expression flickering through nervousness. An uneasy feeling seeped through Max's bones as the walls seemed to shift in her periphery.
"What don't they want to stop?" she asked, then clasped her elbow anxiously. "What have they said about me?"
"That sometimes," he spoke slowly, "we are our own worst enemy."
Max's throat constricted and, as if on cue, the walls on either side of her lurched at her. They passed through her, and each other, before becoming still once again. Everything in the room, with the sole exception of the sprinkler controls, had switched sides. It was mirrored. She choked down the urge to cry, channeling the energy into her clenched fist where her nails broke skin. As expected, Samuel didn't react in any way. Completely oblivious.
"Um," she glanced at the floor, trembling as she tried to focus on being able to swallow, "have they said anything about how to...fix it?"
"No," he said with disappointment, "I'm sorry. But it's as Samuel said in the other place... You and Arcadia Bay are connected by time and tide." Max cocked her head and looked him up and down.
The...other place?
"Do you...remember that?" she asked.
"No," he said once again, with a similar amount of disappointment. "I only know what the-"
"What the squirrels tell you, I know," Max huffed. She turned and bent down, cautiously touching the recently switched cardboard box. "You know about it, then? About me?"
"I do," he nodded, "but not all the puzzle pieces. Only the border."
"That doesn't freak you out?" Max looked back at him, suddenly feeling something close to embarrassment. Like she was an abomination. "Are you...afraid of me?"
"Yes," he answered quietly. Feeling further self-conscious, she looked away. "I know you're a good person, Max. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Max's lip quivered, but she managed to shake it off.
"Hell?" she asked. "Really?"
"It's just an expression," Samuel replied with a chuckle. Somehow, that he was correcting her on that only made it worse. "It is a mistake nothing can fully avoid."
"I tried," she whispered, "I really tried." He smiled at her understandingly. She picked at the skin around her fingernails and took a deep breath through her nose. "So...you know about the conversations we had in the, uh, other place?" Samuel nodded. "Okay. There was something you said when strange things were happening. That it was...only the beginning."
"I'm sorry," he responded. "You talked to Samuel, but not to me."
Fuck. Right, right. This is so confusing.
"I...know, I'm sorry." Max's lip quirked to the side. "I just thought..."
"Samuel does agree with myself," he added. "I don't think anything ever really ends. They just begin again." He looked down, thinking it over. "Yes. A serpent eating its tail. A flower out of shade."
I don't know what to feel. I want this to end, but not...like that. And this is so bizarre. The squirrels know about the other timelines? That's... Oh no...
"Samuel," she said, a thought striking hotly at her heart, "the squirrels tell you about things you don't remember doing, right?"
"Yes," he replied.
"Um," Max closed her eyes, "sometimes when strange things happen to me and Chloe, or to others, it messes our heads up. It can make us really confused. It can even hurt. Have you...felt anything like that?" In the space before he could answer, she decided to find out. It pained her to do it, but she had to know. "Do you know that while you were painting up on a ladder, a bucket of paint fell and splashed all over Victoria Chase?"
"Because of your tampering," he said, though it lacked any sense of confrontation. Max winced, shaking her head.
Dammit. Dammit...
"So you already knew that," she said, then took a step toward him, making it a point to stare deep into his eyes. A memory of the night she returned from spring break drifted center stage in her mind.
When Chloe joked that he was the eyes and ears of Blackwell... Oh, no. Samuel...
"They...use you, don't they?" she asked, frowning.
"They try to help," he responded, "but only Samuel can hear. And few listen to me."
"Is..." she swallowed, staving off the deep sense of sadness, "is that why you speak the way you do? You're...mixing up your words with theirs. Like they're talking about you." The anxious glance to the floor from Samuel seemed to confirm her suspicions. "They...made you this way." She realized she'd let a tear escape. "I'm so sorry."
Is this my fault? Knowing things he isn't supposed to know... It fucked up his head.
"Samuel is happy to have friends," he assured.
"But...you've been like this since before I even knew you," she said.
"They've talked to Samuel...to me for as long as I can remember," he answered with a shrug.
Is that why they've also been in my nightmares? They're...what? Not linear? What the fuck?
Finally, Max felt a vibration against her thigh and she quickly dug her phone out.
Chloe: off omw
"Uh..." Max looked at him, "listen, Samuel. I need to go now, but we can continue this later?"
"I enjoy talking with you," he said with a smile, getting to his feet and taking hold of the broom. Max tried, but she couldn't return it.
"Thank you for taking the time," she said. She exhaled sadly and stepped closer, giving him a quick hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"There is no reason for you to apologize," he replied. Max nodded slowly and opened the door. She stopped as she took one step outside, a final question settling in on her tongue.
"Samuel..." she said. "Sean Prescott can see the doe too. Do you know why?"
"Because it wants him to," he said, repeating his earlier reasoning.
"Is he dangerous?" Max asked quietly. Samuel's eyes glazed over as he stared outside, then he nodded.
"He is shade," he said.
"Hey," Chloe said as she came through the door, flinging a hand behind her to shut it. She sounded tired, which made sense given their lack of sleep. "How are you, babe?"
"Way fucked up," Max responded, trying and failing to add a snicker to her words. She pulled her feet up onto her bed and hugged her knees. "I just had a pretty crazy conversation with Samuel." Chloe's expression immediately switched from dull to something much more alert and she sat down next to Max.
"How crazy?" she asked, taking Max's hand into her lap. Her thumb began tracing small circles on the back of her hand.
"Uh..." Max narrowed her eyes, "crazier than whatever you're imagining. I feel pretty safe making that bet."
"Awesome," Chloe replied with a sigh. "Well, let's hear it."
Where do I even begin?
"Okay, so...the animals," Max began. Chloe made a disgusted sound and hung her head. "So, they're...real? I mean, I guess we...knew that. But they're for real."
"Spooky doe confirmed, got it," Chloe said flatly. She held Max's hand just a little tighter.
"And the squirrels," Max added. "Uh, some of them, anyway. The ones you and I could see but Vic couldn't."
"Does this..." Chloe shook her head and flitted a hand in frustration, "does this actually have anything to do with the end of the world or is it just another fucking thing we have to deal with?"
"I...think so?" Max gave a halfhearted shrug. "It's all really nebulous. But the squirrels are definitely aware of what's going on. Samuel, too. By proxy, I guess."
"You sound fucking batshit, you know that?" Chloe puckered her lips. "Don't get me wrong, I don't have even a toe to stand on to argue against it. It's just...the squirrels 'know.' Sounds insane."
Yeah, no shit, babe.
"I'm acutely aware," Max said dryly. "But it's true. Samuel knows about October. He knows about my powers. I mean, the only thing that actually does make sense is connecting the two together."
"Yeah," Chloe agreed reluctantly. "Okay so, what did the rodents have to say?"
"Apparently they're worried about the whole universe imploding thing," Max said, scanning around the room as she spoke.
"Same," Chloe said.
"Right." Max looked back at her with something in between annoyance and adoration. "But there's also something...weird as hell going on with Arcadia Bay. It's completely out of whack. It's actually like," she opened her mouth and moved her jaw as she searched for words, "it's the total opposite of what happened back in October."
"When all the animals were dying and shit..." Chloe nibbled her lip. "Was that still happening in the, uh..." she made a circular motion at her hip as if spinning a wheel, "you know, other universe? I can't remember if I saw that."
You saw too much, anyway.
"It was, yeah," Max responded.
"So the storm was still coming..." Chloe held up an index finger. "Okay, and how does that work exactly?"
"I've actually thought about that," Max said, slipping her other hand over Chloe's so that it was trapped between both of hers. "I think it's because I would have never been able to go to that timeline if you," her nostril flared, "if you didn't survive. Do you know what I mean? You surviving made that possible, so..."
"So it still comes back to the bathroom," Chloe said. "Why the fuck was life so bent on me getting shot? That feels a little bit like I was singled out." The corner of her lip tugged up in a smirk.
"Yeah, well," Max managed a chuckle, scooting over and resting her head on Chloe's shoulder, "I think you might literally be the center of the universe. Not just mine."
"Didn't sign up for that," Chloe replied. She stretched her legs out straight in front of her. "So, Arcadia Bay is freaking out instead of dying?" She looked to the side in thought. "You know, I could swear every fucking flower in Mom's garden bloomed overnight a few days ago. All of them at once. Thought I was just imagining things."
"No," Max sighed, "that sounds about right."
"Almost..." Chloe snorted, her eyes faraway, "almost makes the name thing sound like it has some truth to it." Max scowled.
"That can't be..." she growled and flailed her hand, "fuck it, we're not using the word 'can't' anymore. Fine, whatever." She rolled her head on Chloe's shoulder so she could see her. "Let's assume Arcadia Bay is some kind of spooky whatever. Why would it just now be happening?"
"Did you ask the squirrels?" Chloe asked sardonically. Max glared at her in response. "No, seriously. They'd know, right?"
"Something about...I don't know, it's all riddles." She pressed Chloe's hand between hers a bit tighter, then released the pressure. She sat up straight, a shadow of spite sweeping over her features. "Well, no. A certain someone did come up in conversation. Our common thread."
"Of fucking course he did," Chloe bit the words off angrily. "What the fuck is going on with those people?"
"That is our lead," Max said. "We need to..." she sighed, "we need to talk to Nathan."
I can't believe I'm saying this.
"How in the fuck are we supposed to do that?" Chloe asked. "Don't know where he's being kept. Don't know when their visiting hours are. We'd have to do it without seeming suspicious, which is impossible." Chloe shook her head. "In this timeline, you don't even have a reason to want to visit him. It would be totally random."
"I know," Max admitted, "but we have to figure something out. First things first, we need to get info out of Victoria. Which is great because she's currently the one who's most suspicious. So, you know, good place to start." Max gave an unenthusiastic thumbs up.
"So, cool, let me just recap this," Chloe said, falling onto her side slowly enough that Max could go with her. "We need to sneakily get info on my attempted murderer from one of our best friends. Because ghost animals said so. And hopefully, that will help us stop the world from ending."
"When you put it like that..." Max said, giving a toothy smile. "If it's any consolation, there's no one I'd rather joke about existence ending with."
"A very small amount of consolation," Chloe replied with a quiet snicker. She leaned up just enough to plant a kiss in Max's hair. "So, what's the plan then? How do we wring it out of Victoria?"
"That's a fantastic question," Max muttered, burying her face in Chloe's chest. "As soon as we bring Nathan up, she'll connect the dots to my bloodbath at the diner."
"Don't suppose we could just explain it all to her," Chloe offered, and Max's head snapped up with an incredulous look. "I'm joking, Max."
You fucking better be.
"Seriously though, that is not an option," Max said. "Who knows what would happen if she-"
"Helloooo?" a voice came from outside, accompanied by an enthusiastic knock. Max sighed and let her face smack against Chloe's body. "Hey, you guys in there?" There was a giggle. "If I open the door and you guys are banging, do I get to watch?"
Not the time for this... Dammit.
"Come on in, Dana," Max said loud enough so that she could hear. She shot Chloe a look, her mouth drawing in a straight line as she sat back up.
"Aaaaand," Dana opened the door, then pouted, "that's disappointing."
"Sorry," Chloe said, summoning a playful tone. She also sat up, hanging her legs over the side of the bed.
"I guess it's okay," she said, feigning her discontent. "Well, anyway, I was just checking to see if you guys wanted to ride together over to the apartment?" Max arched an eyebrow, glancing back and forth between Chloe and Dana.
The apartment? What?
"Uhh...I think we're going to pass on it tonight?" Max said, confusing clear in her voice.
"What! No way!" Dana stood in front of them and put her hands on her hips. "You promised you'd chill with us tonight!"
Promised?
"What?" Max shook her head. "When did I do that?"
"Uh, like two days ago?" Dana's smile slowly faded. "Wait, do you honestly not remember?" She took out her phone and tapped on it. "Hey Max," she began to read, "do you want to hang out at the usual place? Having a small party and you know I don't like being the only one that's an outside of the group." Max squinted at her as Dana held up an index finger. "And then you said: Yeah, definitely. Promise we won't leave you hanging." She poked the screen. "And then emojis."
What the hell? I seriously don't remember doing that at... Aw, fuck.
"Oh, right, right," Max said, nodding. "Sorry, I just don't think I'm feeling up to it tonight." Discretely, she tapped Chloe on the lower back, hoping that she'd understand it as...something, at least.
"Oh..." Dana pouted, this time in sincerity. "That sucks, but if you really don't want to, I won't pressure you." She shrugged with a smirk. "Maybe a little bit." She clasped her hands together pleadingly. "I reeeeeally want you there. And if you're just in a funky mood, you know it'll make you feel better. Right, Chloe?" She turned her attention to Chloe. "What do you think?"
"Dude, I have no fucking idea," Chloe replied, covering her face with her hands. It sufficed as an answer to the question, but Max could tell it was more of a general comment. Dana cocked her head to the side.
"You guys are being super weird," she said, frowning. "Everything alright?"
That question is going to get so old.
"Yes, yes!" Max said quickly, then amended the irritated tone. "Yeah, we're all good."
"Right, well..." Dana swayed back and forth, "if you change your mind, I'll be waiting with drinks and laughs and fun."
"Sure," Max said, "thanks."
After a brief silence, Dana nodded and waved before escaping the room. It was the only time Max had ever seen her behave with any hint of awkwardness. Something about that made her feel particularly guilty. She sighed and reached across Chloe to get her phone, then searched through it. With a huff, she let her weight fall against Chloe's shoulder.
"That is so fucked," she said. "I definitely didn't make any promises, but it's right fucking here." Her eyes darted around in thought and she snorted. "Well, that explains why I had to fucking help her clean up after Valentine's Day."
"Are you kidding me? That was months ago!" Chloe chuckled bitterly. "Great, has this shit been going on for that long? And not only is it changing random shit, now it's changing how we act?"
"Super awesome," Max said flatly. "I saw two others today. One was the fucking room changing in Samuel's shed, and the other was Stella's clothing. I don't like it getting that close to actually...changing a person." She pointed at the door. "Bonus points, by the way, for adding Dana to the list of people sketched out."
"Argh, dammit," Chloe growled, scratching through her hair. "That's not going to fly..." She bit her lip. "Okay, why don't we just go?"
Excuse me?
"Dude, what? This is so not the time for a party," Max argued. Chloe held her hands up in defense.
"I know that, Max. But listen," she said. "It'll help make it look like nothing's up. We don't even need to stay long, you know? Just enough to show up, say hey, and bail." She added a small shrug. "I could...use a little fun, too."
"Chloe, this isn't..." she sighed, "I don't know if we can afford to waste time like this."
"Alright," Chloe said, swinging to the side and taking Max's hands once again. "I'm deferring to you. But it sounds like you had an enlightening conversation with Samuel and our only move right now is Victoria. Can we do that tonight?"
"Good point," Max admitted, "she's not even here right now, and I assume she'll be busy with Kate."
"Right," Chloe nodded, then hunched over a bit to look into Max's eyes. "Listen, this isn't like me bullshitting around and sneaking into the pool. I'm taking this seriously, I promise. But if we're playing chess here, we need to capitalize on every moment. And right now, our move is to try and keep up appearances." She smiled uneasily. "Better than sitting here just freaking."
That's...definitely true.
"Another good point..." Max smirked and gently booped Chloe's nose with her thumb. "You know, this detective thing is going to be a lot easier now that you're all mature."
"God," Chloe sighed out the word and fell back onto the mattress, "I sure fucking hope so."
"Alright," Chloe said, giving a nod to Max, "an hour? Two tops? Not too long, right?"
"That should be fine, yeah," Max replied. She looked at the door in front of her, listening to the muted thrash of music bouncing against it from the other side, and manged a small smile. "Remember the first time we came here?"
"How could I forget?" Chloe chuckled, nudging Max with her elbow. "You were so silly. Feels like forever ago."
But like yesterday, in a way.
"It does," Max agreed. She looked up at Chloe and her smile grew bigger. "I don't know," she said with a bit of embarrassment, "even with everything so fucked up, I'm so happy to have what we do. We have so many memories now."
"And more to come," Chloe said, pecking Max on the cheek. "Like hell we're letting anything come between us and a long, happy life." She knocked on the door, then rolled her eyes. "That was the most pointless thing I've ever done," she grumbled as she opened it.
Even after coming to this place a handful of times, Max still wasn't entirely sure how it operated. She'd only ever met the actual owner of the apartment once, with them being 'somewhere' every other time. Though she obviously liked Justin, Trevor and the others she'd grown to be familiar with, she still had trouble believing someone trusted them enough to come and go as they pleased.
"You came!" Dana shouted, running up and snatching Max in a hug. "Hell yes!" She released Max, then hugged Chloe. "What made you change your mind?"
"Your puppy dog eyes," Chloe said, earning a victorious grin from Dana.
"My greatest weapon," she said sinisterly, then she shrugged and cupped her breasts, "next to these, maybe."
Real nice.
"I can only imagine the things you make Trevor do," Max snickered.
"You know it," Dana giggled. "Come on, let's get you guys something to drink. You can crash here tonight."
"Uh, sure," Max said, "but I don't know how long we'll be staying." Dana turned around and frowned.
"Aw man..." She headed over to a cooler and flipped the lid open, "then not much drinking, okay? Only one or two beers and you have to stay long enough to make sure it's out of your system."
"Jeez, yes, mother," Chloe chuckled.
She is rather maternal sometimes.
"Hey, if I get teased for trying to keep my friends safe, it's worth it," she responded. She held out an invitational hand over the cooler and Chloe snatched two bottles out of it.
"So..." Chloe scanned around her as she twisted the cap off, "pretty crowded tonight, huh? What are we dealing with?"
It was true. In all of the times they'd been there, it was easily the biggest collection of people. They weaved in and out of different rooms, some just tending to their drinks casually while others moved about with more pep. Multicolored lights splashed around the walls, spinning freely from a machine not unlike the one Max had seen at prom.
"I don't even know," Dana said with exasperation. "The usual crowd, but one of the boys brought his girlfriend who brought all of her friends. Girlfriend friends."
"I thought that was our gig," Max replied, taking a small sip of her beer.
"No, you're just part of the group," Dana pointed out. She went onto her tiptoes and looked around, then waved for Max and Chloe to follow. They entered the spare bedroom, which, to Max's surprise, was empty, and she closed the door, blotting out the noise. She sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. "Ooookay, good enough reason for me to take a timeout."
"Where's Trev?" Chloe asked, taking a seat next to her and then pulling Max into her lap.
"Playing pong," Dana responded, then she cringed. "Losing pong. So hard."
I'm amazed that he keeps trying.
"That sounds about right," Chloe chuckled. Dana nodded, then laid on her back.
"So, I've been thinking about after high school," she said, letting the sentence trail off.
"Oh yeah?" Max regarded her with pursed lips. She had a feeling the conversation would quickly dip into deeper territory than she really wanted to deal with at the moment, but...she couldn't help but feel it was important to hear Dana out.
"Yeah..." Dana flitted a hand above her, "I have no idea what I want to do. I mean, I like modeling. Acting. But those aren't exactly the kind of thing you take off to college for."
"I'm sure there's plenty of schools that do that," Chloe assured, propping her chin on Max's shoulder blade.
"Probably, yeah. But still." Dana carefully guided her cup directly over her face and tilted it down, managing not to spill any on herself. "I just don't want to feel like I'm jumping into something for the sake of doing it. And I mean, Trevor hasn't filled out any applications..." She perked an eyebrow and looked at Max. "You're hanging around for another year, right?"
"I am, yeah," Max confirmed. "Are you thinking about taking a gap year as well?"
I don't hate that idea... Assuming we have the opportunity to enjoy it.
"It's glanced across my mind," Dana laughed. "Just kind of...chilling without the pressure of school to figure myself out." She narrowed her eyes sheepishly. "And I don't want to leave him."
"Aw, cute," Max said with a smile.
The things we do for love, right?
"You know," Chloe snickered, "I totally support whatever decision you make, but we are such a good example of young people basing their big decisions on high school relationships. Naive or whatever?"
"And what decision did you make?" Max asked with a mocking look.
You have to pay the toll if you want to be cynical.
"Uh..." Chloe rocked her head side to side, "I mean, sure, okay."
"You saying I shouldn't follow your lead, then?" Dana giggled.
"I think it'd be cool to still have you around," Max said, leaning her head back and onto Chloe's shoulder. "Especially if, you know, everyone else leaves." She frowned. "God, I really do ignore that fact a lot."
I need to get my head out of the clouds.
"It's pretty sad," Dana agreed. She came back into a sitting position and smacked the back of her hand against Max's arm. "All the more reason to take the time to have fun instead of just staying in your room all sad, right? Before it all ends?"
Great choice of words.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Max said quietly.
"Yep," Chloe added shortly, taking a long sip of her beer.
Just then, the door to the room burst open. A boy and girl stumbled in, sloppily kissing as they bounced off of the door frame. Both of their eyes closed, the girl tugged at his belt ravenously. Dana scrunched her nose, giving both Max and Chloe a look, the cleared her throat loudly. The couple turned to them in surprise, with the boy growing a sleazy grin.
"Shit, babe," he said, swaying with inebriation, "I didn't know you were into this. This is awesome."
"Uh, I didn't-" she began to say.
"Oh hell no," Dana shouted with disgusted laughter. She pointed at them. "Not even kind of what's going on here. We're just talking and you're interrupting us!"
"But...if you're not really using the room..." the girl said, letting the silence imply the rest of the sentence.
I mean, we are though...
"I guess I'm not really in the mood to be a cockblock," Chloe said with a giggle. She tapped Max on the leg, and the girl got to her feet. "Come on, let's go watch Trevor get fucking wrecked in pong."
"Ugh, fine." Dana stood up and followed as Chloe and Max left the room. She stopped and glared at the couple. "Do not make a mess."
The three of them made their way out to the most crowded area of the apartment, joining the small mass of people looking on at the display of party games. Justin came beside Max, happy to see that her and Chloe had decided to come. The music thumped, rattling through their stomachs. When Max had a particularly noticeable amount of anxiety in her eyes, Chloe got another drink for her, explaining that she could afford it since she didn't need to drive. Reluctantly, Max accepted, giving in to anything that might calm her nerves. The music thumped, ricocheting around her head, stealing space away from all her worries.
A different kind of thumping filled her head as consciousness seeped in. She opened her eyes, her vision hazy with a dull ache. As her sight came together, she grew confused. The ceiling was...not familiar. It was an off yellow color, which was certainly not one she'd fallen asleep under in recent memory. Her first thought was agitation. More changes. In truth, it made her a little uneasy how her primary reaction to the changes was anger. Still scared, sure, but mostly it was an...exhausted rage. The desire to be completely done with it all.
She closed her eyes again, then rolled over. When she opened them back up, her heart sank. She didn't really expect to be alone in bed, but she did expect to recognize the person next to her. Facing away from her, all she could make out was blonde hair spilling out from the top of a lump of blankets. Eyes prying wide open, she took in a sharp breath and rolled back over onto her other side, becoming even more panicked when she realized that not only was the ceiling unfamiliar, the entire room was. She wasn't in her dorm and she wasn't in Chloe's house. She was somewhere else entirely. Spotting her phone on a nightstand next to the bed, she very slowly reached for it, careful not to disrupt the person beside her. Bringing the phone close to her face, she pressed the home button. Her stomach dropped. It was the exact time and date that it was meant to be. No distortions. No mismatching details. She was simply somewhere else. With someone else.
What the fuck!? What the fuck!? Why can't I remember what happened last night!? There's...there's no way this is happening. Wait, what the hell was...?
She woke the phone back up, her brows knitting together. The wallpaper was different. Still of her and Chloe, only they were in swimsuits somewhere with palm trees. Some place she'd certainly never been before. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure her bedmate next to her was still asleep, she typed in her password. It didn't work. She typed it again, more carefully, and it still didn't unlock. Then she felt movement next to her and her heart thrashed in her chest.
She turned and watched as the girl rolled over. She brought her arm from under the blanket, then let it flop back down on top of it. A storm of colors stretched down the length of it, a familiar cluster of butterflies and thorns. Her blonde hair, which was longer than Max had been able to tell before, slipped over her shoulder, revealing a faded blue at the ends. Her eyes fluttered open. Blue eyes. Her eyes. A sleepy smile stretched itself across her face.
"Mornin' sexy," she rasped. Max stared at her, her mouth bone dry and devoid of words. She swallowed, her throat sticking together due to lack of saliva. Then she found her voice.
"...Chloe?"
A/N: I've been taking a break from posting chapters to work on a big stretch of them, but I kinda felt bad about keeping them back, so I'm putting up 67 to help ease the wait. At least there's no cliffhangers or anything! ;)
Wanted to give a little shoutout here to Mee Luffy (of Priceless Cosplay fame - I'm sure you know her, but if not, look them up!) for beta reading and just helping me get a feel for how the chapters are looking. She even caught some typos! Hell yeah!
Aaaaanyways, hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you again in a bit! Promise that I'm working very, very hard on on this, even if it doesn't seem like it. Muah!