Pros ta Empros
Chapter III: Sunshine for Everyone
Max knew she could never live without Chloe. But she didn't know if Chloe could ever live with her. How will Max learn to live with the consequences of her choices, can the two girls learn to live in this new world, and will they sort through their baggage to truly understand each other?
This story will follow the cannon of Life Is Strange Season 1 closely, while using some trivia from Lis: BtS and LiS2. This story is a post-sab story set immediately after the events of Episode 5, so don't read this if you somehow got here without knowing the ending of the game.
Chloe has to deal with David and several roadside issues.
"Hey, Chloe. Max. You both… wow. You're both okay. Well, uh... I'm happy to see you." David says, but there's no life behind it. I can see it in his eyes. He's lost. He's vulnerable. He's not the same person I argued with for days on end.
"It's uh, good to see you too," Chloe responds, looking at the ground. I wish I knew what she was thinking right now.
The three of us just stand there awkwardly for a moment, before David speaks up again. "I saw the truck on the way over here. We should probably get a jump on finding the problem. I have some tools, it shouldn't take long."
"Thank you, David. We really appreciate this." I say, Chloe not having looked up.
"Well, let's go then. My car is right there, We'll be back there in 5 minutes." Funny, it took us so long to get to this roadside shop. Then again, the whole concept of time kind of has been shattered.
Chloe looks over at the car that is clearly not Davids, even though that is indeed the car David pointed at. "What happened to the muscle car?"
"A tree, nothing I could do for it."
"Who's car is this?"
"No ones, not anymore." Chloe nods, understanding everything. This new one is cleaner, and way less brown, but definitely not a muscle car. Too bad I don't know much about cars, other than the fact that it's a silver sedan. We get in, Chloe and I taking the back seat, and David starts the engine.
"So, how are you two doing?" David breaks the silence.
I start. "Shaken up, obviously. Not too great."
"Fucking pothole," Chloe mutters.
"Well, if the truck won't start then that's probably just something being knocked loose."
"That's what I thought, but I can't get to anything with just fingernails."
"You're right with that assumption. Don't worry. It'll be fixed in no time, and you can be on your way. Where are you even planning on going?"
I look at Chloe, not knowing how much to say, so she continues. "Seattle, probably. Max has family there."
"You're really just going to up and leave Arcadia then? I give it to you, I thought you'd at least stay and help with search and rescue."
"Really? What could I possibly do besides get in the way of people who know what they're doing?" Uh oh. Couldn't even finish the five minute trip. I grab Chloe's forearm, and try to get her to look at me, but she's just staring ahead.
"It isn't about digging through the whole town, I figured you'd just at least help with the rubble of the Two Whales or the house." David still hasn't raised his voice, you can just tell he isn't thinking his words through clearly.
"Screw off, there's nothing to go through but dust and concrete."
"We only found a few bodies so far, though, so who's to say-"
"She's gone, okay! Whatever you're thinking, stop. She's gone. Don't pretend otherwise, because if you even had a sliver of hope you wouldn't have dropped everything to come out here!"
David is quiet for a moment. Chloe must have struck a nerve. After a sigh, though, he continues by saying, "actually, I would have. I'm here to help you, Chloe. Please, let's not spend this time arguing after everything. You're right, there's no reason to expect anything good to come from search and rescue, but you still could have stayed to help."
"We won't be doing that, David. There's no one to help." David says nothing back, and Chloe sits back again. All things considered, I think that could have gone worse. There was barely a shout, and Chloe hasn't broken into an uncontrollable crying fit. Still, the whole situation won't improve with them pushing each other away. David keeps his eyes on the road, Chloe is looking down again.
I lean over to Chloe's ear. "Hey, what do we tell David we know?"
"We only know what Victoria told us. Other than that, we sent him the barn info anonymously, so we know nothing."
"Okay, got it," I turn to David. "Hey, we got a hold of Victoria, she said you saved her from a kidnapping?"
"Yeah, I got a tip thursday night that Mark fucking Jefferson was behind the Rachel Amber case, and a location. I got a squad together as soon as I could, which was next morning, and we went in. Found her on the floor. Real fucked up situation."
"Holy shit." I force myself to whisper, acting shocked. "Jefferson? But I thought…" I trial off, not knowing where to take the bluff. Chloe picks up for me.
"The hipster trash art teacher killed Rachel? Are you fucking kidding me?" She's better at acting shocked than I am. Then, she stops acting in favor of expressing anger. "What the hell did you do with him?"
"He's in a cell at the precinct. We kept him bound while the storm passed, trying to comfort the girl. But he didn't kill Rachel. Found out it was that Prescott shithead." Oh no. I should have realized that if David and Victoria survived the dark room, that the other officers and Jefferson would have too. Oh, fuck. I put my head against the window, and cover my face with a hand.
"Nathan Prescott? Where the fuck is he?" Chloe asks, but not with hostility. She stops asking questions and puts her hand on my leg. I can't breathe, but I don't know why. I know I let David… shoot him… but I didn't want him dead. Or I thought so, anyway.
"Dead. Jefferson killed him Thursday night. We... won't be able to find the body, though. Not anymore. Now, why don't you tell me what you really know? We did make Jefferson hand everything over, I know you two were there thursday night. I know you sent that text, Max." Fuck. Not right now. I can't right now.
"Well, shit, you caught us. You knew we were doing our own work, we found the proof for you. For Rachel."
"I won't say I'm not impressed, but you should seriously never do anything like that again. I was just one day off of piecing everything together from the hotel room, you almost got yourself killed for that one day."
She did get herself killed for that one day. David's right. God, Jefferson, you sick fuck. I… I can't go back to Arcadia. Ever.
"Well Victoria is okay because of that day. Oh, hey, the truck. We're here." Great, time to play mechanic.
"Yep. Tools are in the trunk. If you need me…" I can't piece the words together anymore. "Wait, Max, what's wrong?" Words don't reach my throat.
"She's overwhelmed, probably. She'll be fine. Just needs... and breathe." Not that easy, Chloe…
"I understand, you two are probably going to have to deal with a lot of crap. You saw things people should never… wouldn't be surprised if it's PTSD. We could either... Everyone handles…" The hand on my leg is moved to my shoulder now. I hate it. His hand was…
I open the car door, and the grip on my shoulder tightens. I push it off me, and stand up. I can't hear the voices now. I start walking towards the truck, with no real goal. I'm trying to form one. I could do something. There was something that worked earlier. Something to focus on. I don't remember what it was.
I sink to my knees. Wait, but I was doing something. Running from someone. Running from Jefferson. I shake my head. No. He isn't here. I'm not running from him. I'm just… crawling. An arm goes around my back, covering me. Suffocating me. Not this time. I turn around, and swing at the man who isn't there. I blink, and Chloe is holding my wrist. Her eyes… She looks scared.
I'm scared. There's pressure on my wrists. I can't get the tape off, so I cover my face with my free hand and look down. I won't let him win. I pull my arm again, breaking free of the restraints, and fall backward. I turn around again, onto my stomach, but the arm pulls me back. It surrounds me, cutting the air from my lungs. Why is this happening? I struggle, it won't happen again. The words are in my ear. His words. All the twisted bullshit. All the threats, all the sickness and disease, all the malice. All him. And he won't let me go. I can hear the words, "I won't ever leave you."
Wait… he wouldn't say that. I open my eyes again, and look up. Chloe relaxes, leans back, her hands each on a shoulder as we each kneel on the asphalt. I blink a few times, forcing out the tears that have built up. "Oh God… Chloe..."
"I'm here. Always and forever. It's just me."
"I'm sorry."
"I know, it's okay."
"No, I'm sorry. That's twice today. I'm sorry."
"Max, I promise you it's okay. This is going to be a thing for a while, we'll work through it."
I sit there for a moment, I don't really know what to say next. I just blink at her, staring. Why does she have to have that look in her eyes? She looks like she's hearing about someone's death, like how she looked after Bongo. Or William…
"Alright, Max, we gotta fix the truck. Do you want to sit inside?"
"I… wanna help."
"I don't know what there is to help with, David will probably also be helping so I think I'll be okay."
"Then I'll just stand with you."
"Fine by me, I could use company I can stand. Which uh… can you?"
"What?"
"Stand. You good to go?"
"Yeah… I uh… think so." She offers a hand and I take it, and she pulls me up. Again. For the second time in what was probably only 3 hours, it's hard to keep track without a watch. As we walk the other 10 feet to the truck, I see David already under the hood. He turns around when we get close.
"Hey, Max, you alright?"
"I'm… very tired. But alive."
"I can see that, but it isn't really what I asked. What happened?"
"I don't really know. I just… needed the air."
"Alright. I won't press. Hey, Chloe, hand me the socket wrench please."
"You know, I do know my way around this engine better than you." Chloe responds, but still hands him the tool.
"You wanna do the work? I'd be glad to step back."
"On second thought, lemme know if you need anything. I'm gonna have a chat with Max."
"Alright then, stay close so I can call for you."
We walk off to the back of the truck, where Chloe climbs into the bed before turning around and pulling me up. Sitting inside, I rest my head on her shoulder. We stay there for about 5 minutes, David just working to figure out the problem. I only hear him attempt to start the car twice, and he hasn't called for Chloe yet.
"How's it going now?" Chloe asks, not moving.
"Better. Thanks again."
"Don't mention it, I'd stop everything to make sure you're okay."
"Thanks, Chloe. I really appreciate that."
"Your turn to not sweat it, or we'll end up promising ourselves to each other forever. Unless that's what you want."
"Oh, so you're planning on leaving?" I pick my head up and look at her, trying to make a face of curiosity instead of hurt.
"Not at all. I mean, like, well, we're gonna have to get jobs and stuff. Especially me, I can't just live off your parents."
Instant relief. But also, I can tell she still isn't being clear about what she means. "Nah, they'd totally be cool with you being around forever."
"Really? They'd probably, like, grow to hate me."
"Never, they always loved you."
"Then why did…"
"Why did what?"
"Nothing. Want any water?"
"Chloe." I make my voice stern.
"What?" She is so bad at deflecting.
"Why did they what?"
"Shit, I think David called. Wanna go see?"
"Chloe Price," I call sternly, but she's already up. Goddamnit. I will not forget this one. I hop off the bed, feeling as if we're jumping from place to place too quickly.
"So, David, figure it out?" Chloe asks, strutting up to David with a cocky attitude around her.
"I think so, but I would much appreciate it if you helped me make sure."
"I told you to call me." She says, acting as if her feelings were hurt.
"Fair. Can you check the transmission?"
"I don't think it'd be that. Hang on, what did you try?"
"Working with the wires that connect to the ignition system."
"Damn it. I thought it was just a loose wire."
"No, I think it's just a cut fuel line. Can you rev the engine so I can be sure of something?"
"Sure." She climbs into the driver seat, and revs the engine. David waves his arm, and she gets out again. "So?"
"Damnit, I was wrong. Go figure. Where is the inertia switch on this thing?" He looks up, wiping his forehead with his forearm.
"Not in the engine. I'll need a screwdriver to get to it, though, I bolted down a custom floor mat."
"Why the hell would you do that?"
"I dunno, it looked cool." Silence. "I know, I'll fix it." She heads into the passenger seat, and starts working on undoing the floor mat.
I turn to David and ask, "so, what are you going to do now?"
"Oh, I don't know. Fix up Arcadia. I owe it to the town. Sure you two won't help?"
"Sorry, David. There's nothing left of Arcadia Bay to fix," I respond.
"You don't know that," David remarks with a hollow tone.
"I've seen enough."
"Well, then I'm sorry to say that I will be focusing on the town for awhile. If you go further out than this, I can't help you or Chloe."
"I understand. But we need to go."
"Fine. Just… be careful out there," he resigns.
"We will. Thank you. And, hey, can I ask you one thing?"
"Sure. What is it, Max?"
"Don't ever let him escape."
"Jefferson? Don't worry. He'll never see daylight again. Although with the destruction of the town, the court may take a long time to get anywhere."
"As long as he never hurts anyone else. And tell Victoria to contact us, when we get our phones charged."
"Will do. Just make sure you and Chloe stay-" He's cut off by Chloe starting the truck up, successfully. I see her practically jump in her seat, and she claps once in a fit of triumph.
"Let's go! We did it!" She walks over to David and I. "Alright. Thank you, David. I, uh… appreciate all of this."
"I'm sure of it. Just consider coming back to Arcadia at some point?"
"I might."
"Chloe, our entire lives are there."
"Your life was. Mom's was. But mine won't be. I'm sorry, David, but Arcadia is not my home. And I'm sure it isn't Max's anymore, either."
I interrupt with a, "Arcadia was a home, but it was destroyed," but I don't think anyone heard me.
"I understand the issues you two had to deal with, and I know I'm part of the reason you always wanted to leave. But there are people there whose lives can be rebuilt," David pleads.
"As if the death toll isn't the population." Chloe's voice is again filled with sarcasm.
"Chloe. We don't know that. There can still be survivors." David practically pleads.
"Well Mom isn't one of them. Nothing else matters." Chloe turns away, looking down.
"Chloe… I'm sorry we don't see eye to eye about this."
She looks back at him, and says, "me too, David. Me too." There is silence for a moment, and Chloe turns to me. "Alright Max, get ready. We still have, like, a four hour trip on our hands."
"Alright," I respond, "Just uh… finish up here, I'm good to go."
"I think I'm good," she nods. She turns to David again. "Are we good?"
"I suppose so. Good luck, you two. I gotta go back to town, now. Relief camps are already all over. There are survivors, believe it or not."
"Goodbye, David," Chloe says with sternness. Truth be told, he isn't getting us any closer to turning around, and Chloe is clearly annoyed with his attempts.
"Goodbye." David turns around and heads back to the 'not his muscle car,' while Chloe and I climb back into the truck. As Chloe starts the car, I see David stare at us for a few seconds before shaking his head, and driving off. He… probably isn't happy with our decision to head off. I can't help but feel bad for him, he really did just lose everything. Still, Chloe did too. There really wasn't anything there for her. As for me, I really only went back for… Jefferson… but the only thing that really matters now is Chloe. I wonder if anything survived the dorms…
"Alright, time to hit the road," Chloe says as the engine starts. She hits the gas, and we start back into Beaver. The trip is even quicker this time, or so it feels. Except, it slows down drastically after we get past the auto shop again. Back on track, except now it's somewhere between 1 and 3 pm and we still have a several hour trip to go. I'm so glad there are road signs for people without the convenience of a phone GPS. Just a few hours, and we make it to Seattle. I look over at Chloe, realizing she hasn't said much as of late.
"So, what now?" I ask her.
"I dunno. We keep going, we stop if we have to."
"I mean like, what are you doing? How are you feeling?"
"Tired, Max. What am I supposed to feel? Happy that I got to talk to David?"
"No… Sorry, Chloe. I just want to-"
"It's okay, really. It's just… gonna take a while. What about you? Still freaking?"
"Please stop trying to deflect everything."
"I'm not trying to do anything other than make sure you're still doing fine."
"We do enough talking about me. The only time I get to know what you're thinking is when we're arguing."
"Sorry, Max, I just don't feel like talking about how utterly awful this day is going."
"You think I don't know that?"
"I think you're not being very accepting of my not wanting to describe my feelings. Everyone handles things their own way."
"Shutting down isn't handling anything."
"Alright, then let's handle stuff. How are you doing after the anxiety attack earlier?"
"Chloe, stop."
"What? I'm trying to talk."
"No, stop ignoring me and actually listen!" I recoil immediately, not wanting to raise my voice. "Just… tell me what's going through your head."
She sighs, and starts slowly. "I didn't have much there, but what I did have is gone now. And I feel lost. That's about it. Happy?"
I sigh, happy that she at least said something. "We're… gonna be lost for a while. But we'll figure it out, I promise."
"At least you have something waiting for you."
"Chloe, I'm waiting for you."
"I know, and I'm grateful, but… why?"
"Because you're my number one priority now."
"Yeah, I know. But why?" She asks, putting emphasis on the 'why.'
"It's… because I care about you. A lot."
Chloe doesn't say anything, probably because we both know it'll just be a continuation of 'why.' She does change the subject again, though, asking, "What about you? You haven't talked about the Jefferson thing in any detail."
"I… guess that's fair. I told you I was drugged. You know about the pictures. That was largely it, though. Just… binds and needles."
"Yeah, I… figured. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
"You're here now, just please don't get yourself killed again."
"I won't. Wouldn't even think of it."
"Alright, you better."
"Promise."
"Good." That's it for the conversation, and nothing else really comes for a while. We just end up staring ahead. After a bit, I get an urge to take Chloe's hand again, but I probably shouldn't. Wouldn't want her to be concerned as to why I keep doing it. I don't think she'd mind though, unless it's just annoying while she's driving. Yeah, probably should let her focus. Although she can focus and talk… But she might need both hands, so I'll just let her focus on the road.
It's been quite a few hours now, mostly nothing. There were a few small conversations here and there, we talked about the scenery of Portland for a while, but it was all meaningless. It's been a long time, now. Probably had 30 minutes left of daylight, judging by the sun. Which means it's almost 6. Usually, this wouldn't be a problem. However, today has not been the most normal of days, so things can never just always work.
"Damnit Chloe! Pull over!" I shout, my voice racing.
"It's fine, we only swerved a bit." A bit. Right. You only almost slammed us into that oncoming truck.
"Pull over before you get us killed!" I'm struggling to stay calm, it clearly isn't working.
"Fine!" Chloe shouts, pulling over suddenly. "Happy now?"
"Chloe did you sleep at all? That's the third time you almost passed out while driving."
"I can sleep soon, we can be there in 2 hours." She said, wiping her eyes.
"Not if we're dead. If you don't want to stop, then let me drive."
"Very funny, Max." She doesn't even look over.
"I'm serious."
"You can't drive without a license."
"Then we go to a motel, you can't drive without sleep." There is genuine pleading in my voice.
She seems to think it over for a bit, before starting the truck up again and saying, "fine, we'll be at one in… a few minutes."
"There's one right off the next exit, see the sign?"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." She's struggling to keep herself focused. Did she really not rest at all while we were in the lighthouse?
We pull off the exit, Chloe turning the truck too sharply, and pull into a motel lot a few moments later. As we get out of the car, we see a man in the window glaring at us. It's not exactly a warm welcome. We head inside, and Chloe walks up to the counter.
"Hey, I'll take the cheapest thing you have."
"How many nights?" There is a slight hint of hostility in the man, and he seems as if he'd rather be anywhere else than here. The attitude is concerning. We just got here, what's the problem?
"Just one."
"That'll be $67, your room will be door 13. Wifi password is on the key ring. Here you go."
"Uh… thanks." Chloe whispers, taking the keys. We walk over and start looking for the right room. This place is… really crappy. The carpet is stained, the wallpaper is old and faded, and there are a few missing light bulbs. I guess you get what you pay for.
We walk inside, and the decor is faring no better than the lobby. It's all old and run down, but we aren't paying for royalties.
"Here we are. Happy to be off the streets?" Chloe asks, making an exaggerated gesture at the mess.
"Chloe, you should get some rest."
"It's not even seven." She says matter-of-factly.
"And you've been up for who knows how long. Please."
"It's only been… 40 hours. I've gone longer," she shrugs, "plus, we are off the road."
"Fine, but that just means we're stuck here longer."
"Whatever, we got nothing but time."
"That's not funny."
"What?" She asks, then reflects on what she said. "Oh. Sorry."
"It's fine," I say, and I go to plug in the charge Chloe bought at that grocery store, where we did not get any groceries. Plugging my phone in, I go to turn on the tv. Chloe walks over the the mini fridge in the corner, opens it, and starts talking about how she is surprised it's even running.
"Wow, with how ass this thing is, this little thing is a miracle."
"Well, that's one thing." I say, adjusting the tv cables so it actually plays sound.
"Watch ya gonna watch?" Chloe asks, sitting down on the mini-sofa with a bottle of water.
"Probably just the news," I say, picking up my phone. I turn it on, careful not to unplug it so it doesn't immediately die again. I'm immediately flooded with tons of notifications from different people. There are texts from Kate, Victoria, my parents, and numerous failed service alerts. I should probably call all of them… but for some reason I'm finding it hard to entertain the idea.
"Well, I won't tell you what to do, but maybe skip on news for now."
"You're probably right," I say, turning straight to the news channel anyway. I am not at all surprised to see news coverage of Arcadia Bay. No one understands what's going on, it's been 12 hours since the storm cleared and little progress has been made. It can be difficult to clean up whale carcasses, apparently. So far, the death count is twelve hundred people. The missing count is thirty hundred. That's… eight hundred confirmed survivors, about, if I remember correctly. That's… not a lot. Not at all. I'm finding it hard to take my eyes off the screen, but I know Chloe is no longer next to me. A few seconds later, I feel her hand on my back shoulder.
"Hey, sun's setting. Isn't it that fancy time?"
"Yeah, it's fancy time."
"What's it called, again?"
"The golden hour," I answer instantly, while my mind drifts back to the alternate time.
"That's the one. Hey, where's the camera?"
"The truck."
"Why?"
"Chloe, I don't want anything to do with pictures right now."
"Oh. Yeah, okay." She looks out the window, watching the sun. I keep my focus on the tv. It's… probably not healthy. But I don't know what else to do, so I stare down the consequences of my actions. That's better than running, right? Better than ignoring it? I hope so, anyway. But… it doesn't matter, not really. It still happened, whether I face it or not. Everyone is still gone…
Chloe is back behind the couch. "Alright, Imma go smoke. You good here?"
"Yeah."
"M'kay. See ya in five," she says, walking to the end table. She turns the tv off with the remote, and leaves. Guess I really shouldn't be torturing myself. I pick my phone up, and dial my mom. It only rings once.
"Good heavens, Max, is that really you?"
"Yeah, hi mom." I say, without any of the excitement she has.
"Oh, good lord, I was so worried, you weren't answering, I saw the news, and I just thought, your father was worried wick, we were getting ready to drive down and-"
"Mom, it's okay. I'm… safe."
"But Blackwell is gone… and your dorm… where are you?"
"I'm actually at a motel right now. I'm… on my way over. My phone was dead until now. Sorry."
"Oh, Maxie… where are you specifically? I'll come get you."
"It's fine, I'm with Chloe."
"Chloe Price? You two are talking again?"
"Yeah, it's a really long story. But… we're on our way. That's okay, right? You're okay if she's with me?"
"Yeah, of course. Are you sure you two don't need us? We can come down right now."
"I'm sure, I'll be there early tomorrow."
"Okay, thank God for that. I was so… scared."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to say sorry, it isn't your fault this just… happened."
Well… it kind of is…
"I know, mom."
"Good. Just make sure you keep that in mind. So… is it just you and Chloe?"
"Yeah. Joyce… didn't make it."
"Oh… oh Max, I'm so sorry… Joyce was… a great person…"
"Yeah… she really was," I start to choke on my words. She's really gone.
"I… Please be safe out there, Max, wherever you are."
"I will, I promise. I'm sorry mom, I have to go. I love you."
"You sure? I understand. I love you, Max. Come home to me, please."
"I will, goodbye, mom." I hang up, and set the phone back down. Putting my head in my hands, I feel the tears start flowing through my fingers. Goddamnit, why the hell does this have to be so awful? I mean, why did it have to go this way? It's not fucking fair, I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for any of this. I just wanted to go to school and learn more about photography, and now I'll never be able to touch a damn camera again. And it's all because I killed 4,000 people using powers I never wanted in the first place. I didn't want to be here!
I hear the door open on my left. "Hey, Max, I'm back, how- holy shit, not again." She runs over, and sits next to me. "Max? You there?"
"Yeah, hi Chloe," I sit back, wiping a few tears from my face. "What's up?"
"What's up with me?" She asks, rhetorically. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing, I just killed thousands of people."
"No, you didn't, Max. You didn't."
"It's hard to think I didn't."
"I know." She sets her arm across my back, pulling me in. "Trust me, I know."
"Chloe… I don't know what I'm going to do."
"We'll figure it out."
"How do we figure this out? We know nothing about what happened this past week."
"I don't know, we just keep moving."
"How? Chloe, I watched you get shot three times. My idol fucking drugged me. I almost watched Kate jump off a building. I watched people die again, and again, because I wasn't good enough. I have powers I can never tell anyone about. I don't know how to live with this. I don't know what to do!"
"I don't either, Max. I don't know how we keep going. But we will."
"I know, Chloe. We keep going. Together. But at what cost? What is it going to take for us to just fucking stay alive? Hell, we didn't even stay out of trouble today, between those thugs and your gun. God, we're just having the same conversations over and over again."
"And we will keep having them, if that's what it takes."
"What if it takes too much? What happens if something happens to you again? I can't not bring you back."
"Yeah… I'm kind of worried about that, not gonna lie."
"Exactly. Chloe, I killed 4,000 people to keep you with me. And the worst part is that I'll do it again in a heartbeat. For you. But I don't know how to live with myself, knowing that about me."
"I get it, Max. It's… terrifying to know what you would do for someone."
"Not what I could do, what I did do. What I will do. Chloe… I'm scared of myself."
"Max, I understand. I think… I think I'd do the same for you."
Yeah… like shooting Frank, if you had too…
"Why would you?"
"Because I care about you. This 'number one priority' thing works both ways."
"But would you kill my mom for me?"
"Don't do that, Max."
"I killed Joyce…"
"No, damnit Max, the storm killed Joyce. Not you and your powers, not me and my asking you to use them. It was the storm."
"That I caused."
"That was out of our control."
"But was it?"
"We'll never know."
"Unless I have to save you again."
"Maybe… I don't need to be saved."
"Then Arcadia was for nothing."
"Damnit Max, listen to me. You didn't do that."
"Yes, I did! Stop bullshitting yourself! I killed them, Chloe! I killed them. All of them…"
"Max, you saved me."
"I know, but-"
"No, Max. You saved my goddamn life. A life that few people gave two shits about. You gave a shit, and you made a choice. You saved me. I'd do the same for you."
"That's… not healthy. We shouldn't say things like this."
"But unlike everyone else, we got the chance to prove it. Whether that makes us bad people, or people just trying to survive, you proved that you give a shit about me. You gave us a chance to keep going."
"But it took-"
"Yeah, it cost too much. We paid a price, Max, but we didn't know it was there. What matters is how we go from here. And we can't risk trying to bring everyone back, so we just need to move forward."
"Yeah, I know. But it doesn't matter. We can go forward, but we'll be empty. It won't really be living."
"No, the living will come. First, we just have to survive. And we will survive."
"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about the next time I have to save your life."
"Well, don't worry. I'm gonna do things differently now, I won't get myself in trouble anymore."
"That's not what you said earlier."
"Look, the thing with the gun was for you. We need to be here for each other. We stay out of trouble until we're in it, then we get out of it."
"It's not that simple."
"I know, I'm fully aware of the risk I took earlier today. But it was risking you, which I couldn't do."
'I… I know." The sick feeling starts to fade.
"Good. Just making sure. We're stuck protecting each other now."
"Okay…"
Chloe and I fall silent. She seems to want to say something, but decides against it. Instead, she stands up. "Alright, come on. We gotta get to bed."
"Okay." I stand up, and we walk towards the bed. Chloe grabs a pillow, and turns around. "Where are you going"
"There's only one bed."
"Oh, shut up and take the bed. I'll take the couch."
Chloe pauses for a moment, and then I see a little life return to her eyes. "Fuck it, we both used my bed a few days ago, this one is just smaller."
"I guess that's fine," I say, feeling a falter in my voice. Why do I feel weird about this? I stopped feeling sick five minutes ago. Whatever, it doesn't matter. I know I should tell her about how I… feel weird sometimes, but I don't think it's the best idea. I mean, she did dare me to kiss her… but then she pulled away and joked about it. She definitely didn't expect me to do it. So why did she ask?
I shake my head, and just decide to lay down. Chloe joins me immediately, since our shortage of clothes means we'll just change in the morning. Staring at the ceiling, I start to wonder if I should say- or do- anything. Would she mind if I got closer? The space is pretty tight. I dunno, maybe I'll just stay like this.
"Hey, Max?" Chloe whispers, turning towards me.
"Yeah?"
"So why am I your number one priority?"
"Oh, uh… I don't really know. You're just… my best friend." And maybe more…?
"Really? How did that happen in five days?"
"I don't think it was the five days. I don't think it ever stopped."
"Then… why did you stop answering my texts?"
"Because… I thought you'd be better off without me. I mean, I thought you'd grown to hate me."
"Well… I did." Ouch. "But it didn't last, clearly."
"Clearly. So… why am I yours?"
"Pfft, who said you're mine?"
"Damnit, Chloe, not what I mean." I say, hoping she can't see the blush on my face. I'm surprised there's humor right now, I expected this to be a lot… darker.
"I know, I'm just kidding, Sherlock. Let's see… I dunno, I think it's pretty obvious that we'll always be bffs, even if things get rocky sometimes."
"Yeah… I'm sorry about that, Chloe."
"You've apologized enough for that."
"I guess so…"
"Yep."
The silence is back, and I hate it. Silences suck. I turn around and look Chloe in the eyes. Surprisingly, she smiles. I smile back at her, wondering if I should say something, but decide against it. Despite the mess in her hair and tired eyes, there is hope and life in her eyes. They close, her smile fades, and over the next three minutes her breathing quickly becomes regular. It's… peaceful. A stark contrast to the hell of the day we just went through. Usually, night is the time where things are the worst, where I'm reminded of just how awful things can be. But right now, all I see is her. It's a beautiful sight to see.