~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner was amazing, Joyce is a fantastic cook. We were laying on Chloe's bed digesting, and just killing time. Joyce would have to be in bed before we slipped out, and it really should be full dark before we go anyway. "Ugh... I ate so much." I groan softly as I turn my head to grin at Chloe. She gives me an incredulous look that only barely replaces the worry she's been showing since we came up here to wait. She shakes her head at me. "I have no idea how you can eat like that at a time like this. What we're going to do is illegal Max. We could get into so much trouble..." She hadn't really eaten much at dinner, but her mask didn't really break till we were alone, so Joyce wasn't suspicious, just a little concerned about Chloe's health. I frown at her and shake my head. "Dude, chill. It'll be fine, I promise we won't get caught. We've got the power Chloe... plus I've done stuff like this before. I'm kind of a pro." I take her hand, and squeeze it, but look away from her. I mean fuck her if she judges me for doing what I had to do, but I mean I don't want to See her judging me either. I don't really mean that, except the not wanting to see her judgment, I all kinds of mean that. She squeezes my hand, pulling my attention back to her. "Max... I... I don't know what you had to go through, what you needed to do, but I didn't go through that. I'm not tough like you, or skilled, or confident..." My body twists violently till I'm facing her completely, and she turns as well, though more sedately. "Chloe, you were So fierce when we were growing up. I know that's still in there." I reach up and poke her gently in the middle of her chest. "You just need to dig down deep, and let your inner punk out to play. Take some chances.. go wild! Get out of your rut, and just live." She frowns at me, pulling into herself meekly. "Oh yeah sure... and how am I supposed to do that? It's not that easy for me you know..." Our fingers twine together, and I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You just have to start letting go, maybe start small like... I dare you to kiss me." Wait... did I just fucking say that out loud? Chloe looks at me in shock. Her mouth hangs open adorably. "You heard me, I double dare you. Kiss me Chloe." I have officially lost my fucking mind. There's no way she's going to go for it, and a good chance she's going to freak out. I've pushed way too... My mind goes completely blank as she surges forward, and our lips meet. Shock leaves me wide eyed and stiff. My lack of response causes her resolve to start to waver, but before she can pull back, I squeeze her hand, and press back in. In for a penny, in for the whole enchilada, or something like that. She gasps softly into my lips, and I take the opportunity presented to gently tease her with my tongue. I'm surprised for the second time in so many minutes when instead of shying away she takes my lead instead. Our tongues dance together gently, and I'm taken by just how good she is at this, how magical this all feels. Unthreading our fingers, and dealing with the sudden loneliness that engenders, I slip my hand over her hip, and around her back. Pressing in till there's no space left between us, I hold her there gently as our tongues continue their playful dance. This is perfect. Every little thing is perfect, the world is amazing right now. I could live in this moment forever. I guess it really wouldn't be a moment anymore if I did though. It's still tempting...

Chloe eventually breaks away leaning her head back, and staring me in the eye through her eyelashes. Her breath comes in short huffs, and her cheeks are flushed adorably. Her lips are still slightly parted, she just looks amazing. I kinda want to rewind and do that a million more times, but that doesn't seem fair to Chloe. I stare back at her through half lidded eyes for a time, before I take a breath to speak. "That was hardcore Chloe..." her name slips out breathy and full of need, like a prayer for water. Fuck, it was only a dare Max, just because she did it, doesn't mean she wasn't just trying to prove you wrong. I need to do some damage control. I clear my throat. "I mean, I totally knew you were a bad ass underneath that shy hipster mask. I guess all those Blackwell bros are out of luck." I put on a playful smirk I'm definitely not really feeling. "But maybe the those Blackwell ladies should watch out now? Chloe Price is on the prowl?" She stares at me looking a little confused for a few moments before she breaks out in a fit of laughter. " What the hell are you talking about Max? You are such a dork..." Mission accomplished I guess, I feel more like I kinda lost out on something here though. She looks a little panicked, and then self-conscious as I pull away, and sit up. "Seriously though Chloe, are you ready for this? We need to do Something, or we're not going to find out anything, but we can probably wait a day or two if you want..." She shakes her head negatively. "No... You're right we need to do something, and your next plan is even crazier, so maybe if we do this we won't have to go that far. I'm nervous, but you're right as long as we're together we can do this." Fuck, I'm blushing a little. "Max..." I flash her a smile, and stand up, speaking to keep her from saying whatever she's about to say. I'm too afraid to hear it, good or bad. "We should probably get ready to go. Dress darkly, but not in all black, and make sure it looks casual enough not to be taken as out of place if we're seen anytime before, or after we get in there." She looks at me for what feels like an eternity, her lip caught between her teeth. She finally sighs, and nods, looking just a little bit disappointed. "Alright, I bow to your superior knowledge of "criminal undertakings"." The finger quotes, and eye roll stings a little, but I totally deserve it. Why do I have to be such an awkward tool? Chloe gathers some clothing, and heads out to the bathroom to change, leaving me the privacy of her room to do the same.

With the jeep parked safely down the road, we hoof it the rest of the way to Blackwell. It will be more difficult to make a quick escape if we need to, but the vehicle won't draw any attention like it could in the parking lot. I take Chloe by the hand, and we climb the steps up onto the campus proper. We slip slowly, and quietly around the fountain towards the main entrance. Too much of my attention is being taken up by Chloe's hand in mine. I know this, intellectually, but I can't seem to focus on what I should be doing. All I can think about is what happened earlier. "Hey! What're you kids doing out here?!" I start at the sudden intrusion into my trip down memory lane. There was a guard coming around from behind a tree, just as we stepped out from behind one of those pretentious billboards that they have set up all over the place. I don't even really think about it, I just react, and begin to rewind.

Something is wrong. Time is moving backwards like it should, but it feels like someone's pouring hot lead directly into my brain. Focusing on Chloe's hand in mine is the only thing that keeps me from prematurely letting time flow normally again. Wait... Chloe's hand in mine? I peek back at her to find her staring, open mouthed, at the world reversing around us. Well, at least I know I can keep someone from being effected by touching them. I finally stop reversing time with a gasp, and Chloe's able to pull me back behind a billboard to wait for the guard to pass while I recover. She fusses over me silently as we wait, and I do my best to offer her a reassuring smile. It's weak, but it's passable, as her fussing comes to a stop, and she just mouths "Wow." at me. I try to keep to a whisper as I respond. "Let's keep that for emergency use only too. That Really hurt..." I chew my lip nervously for a moment. "Also... if you taking me with you was anything like that, I'm sorry I even suggested it, even if it's good thing we found out. I mean I already was before, that it hurt you I mean, just... even more so now that I have my own example of just how badly that hurts?" I should just not talk ever, that was lame, and stupid, and makes me sound callous about how she felt before. I really just want her to know how much I care, even if I keep fucking everything up. She looks at me like she thinks I'm an idiot. To be fair, I think I'm an idiot right now too. Her look slowly morphs into one of concern. "Are you okay? Thinking clearly, vision clear? You sound a little confused..." I shake my head. " No, sorry, I'm fine, it just caught me a little off-guard." I peek carefully around both sides of the billboard to make sure the guard is out of sight, before beckoning Chloe on. "Come on, let's see if we can get in there before another guard heads our way."

We slip towards the main entrance quickly, and quietly. I kneel down in front of the lock, and pull out my tools. "Would you keep a look out for us Chloe? I'm going to be pretty distracted. Just make sure I know someone's coming and I can just rewind so we can try again." I wait a moment for her to acknowledge my question with a response of some kind. It never comes. A frown forms on my face as I turn to check on Chloe, only to find she's not there. Panicking seems to be the only course of action I can manage, so, I do that, and frantically begin looking around my immediate vicinity to try and see where she might have gone. The sound of the door opening behind my draws my attention, and I whirl around ready to rewind, or kick some ass, but I'm greeted by none other than Chloe herself. "Huh? How..."I can feel myself deflating as she smirks at me. "I've been inside the school before, I just teleported in. I've also been to the principal's office, I can just teleport in there as well." I can feel myself deflate even further, as my cheeks attempt to catch fire with my embarrassment. "Oh, yeah. Right. That...makes a lot of sense." Her smirk intensifies, and she turns beckoning me inside after her. I trudge along behind her, my head hung in shame.

Not only was that an embarrassing oversight on my part, but now I also don't get to show off my sweet lock-picking skills to Chloe. With this in mind, it occurs to me just how badly I fucked up earlier tonight. If I could figure out how to go back that far, I'd definitely take the opportunity to do so. I just have to make sure that if I get another chance, this time I really take it. No wussing out, no excuses, no panicking, just go for it. She chose to kiss me, and it wasn't some chaste little thing. Even if I was able to convince myself it didn't necessarily mean anything before, it had to mean something right? Fuck, I don't know, I have so much self-doubt about this one. I can't deny what I want anymore though, that self-delusion is well and truly shattered. I shouldn't have just pushed her away like that, blown her off? I'm not even sure how to categorize what I did, just that it was the wrong thing. I just hope that Chloe is actually into me, really forgiving, and gives me another opening. "Max!" a harsh whisper pulls me from my thoughts. I blink at Chloe for a moment, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry... I just spaced out a little." She looks at me concerned, but the tension breaks as she starts laughing fondly. "Same old Max Caulfield..." Laughter bubbles up out of me as well, and I shake my head. "Yeah I suppose that much hasn't changed." Chloe takes my hand, and begins to gently guide us towards principal Wells office.

I'm back in control of myself by the time we get to the office door. A quick look around reveals a bunch of keys on the wall, and maybe a chance to keep Chloe from pushing herself too hard tonight. "Hey Chloe... There are some keys over there. What do you say we save the magic tricks for later?" She tilts her head at me curiously, her brows furrowing. "Max... are you suggesting we do a sensible thing instead of the super cool flashy thing?" I stick my tongue out and she laughs at me. "Whatever, I was just trying to save you a potential headache later... I know I get them if I rewind a lot. Or a nose bleed." She looks at me tenderly, and shakes her head. "It does hurt if I do it a lot, but I'm good right now Max, I promise." My lips purse, and I shrug. "Alright, well if you're sure you're good..." She nods, and does her thing. It's really weird to watch it from the outside. It's like she suddenly just gets folded sideways into thin air. The door swings open moments later, and she gestures me in grandly. "Welcome to my parlor..." I smirk at her as I pass. "Am I the fly in this scenario? Are you going to... Eat me up?" I accentuate my phrasing with a waggle of my eyebrows. Chloe giggles, her cheeks coloring a little bit. Score! "Shut up and start searching.. this was your idea after all." My smirk grows to a grin. "Oooh bossy... I like it." Her cheeks color more deeply, shaking her head as she makes her way towards principal Wells' desk. "You're impossible." I shrug nonchalantly, "It's a gift." and start looking around the room.

There's a little desk set up against the wall, with some files on it, so I home in on those first. The files in question turn out to be Chloe and Kate's records. I have to check these out, I'm pretty sure it's part of the bestfriend code, or something else that excuses my nosiness. Kate's file mentions some concerns over bullying, but doesn't mention any major incidents. She's a model student, her grades are good, it's very boring. Chloe's file is pretty much more of the same. All A's, very few absences, and no disciplinary notes. There is a note from a couple of her teachers expressing concern over how withdrawn she seems to be in school. It notes she doesn't speak up, or seem to engage much with other students unless she's forced to in class. Oh Chloe, it hurts me to think my being gone had anything to do with this, or that I couldn't be here when William passed. I'll get you out of that shell of yours, I promise. I peek back over at where Chloe sits in the principals chair. She catches me looking, and grins at me. "Dude this chair is Sooo comfy." I can't help but laugh, and shake my head. "I've got your file over here... Verrrry interesting." I give her a wink, and a grin, as I hold the folder up. "Yeah right..." she laughs shaking her head. "I bet all it says is that I'm a good student." Turning my eyes down to the folder, I lean my nose in real close, and squint while pretending to read. "It says here, that you are a Super Nerd, and you totally need to loosen up and break some rules." She laughs rolling her eyes. "And what do you call what we're doing right now? Hmm?" She perks a brow at me, and I laugh holding up the file in surrender. "Touche." Placing the files back down on the table, I begin looking around the room again, searching for more files. Pausing, I pull out my phone, to snap a picture of Chloe looking intensely at the computer screen as she attempts to access the files stored digitally. She looks up at me questioningly, and I shrug my shoulders. "You looked like you were in the zone, I thought it looked cu-...photo-worthy." I snap another one of her sitting there behind the desk looking at me. "I took that one because now you look like a bond villain at your evil desk, in your evil lair. I mean come on? Who even has a bronze bird on their desk outside of a movie?" I gesture to the object in question on the desk, laughing merrily. Chloe joins in my mirth, and shrugs. "I don't know... rich people I guess." I shrug right back at her and return to my search."I guess so."

"Oh, score!" A fancy ass bottle of scotch, unopened, and waiting for me, is my next discovery. Holding it up to Chloe I grin at her. "It's the good stuff too." Chloe frowns at me, and shakes her head. "We don't want anyone to know we were here. You can't take that." It's my turn to frown, and I shake my head. "No one will know We were here, just that Someone was, And if he drinks enough to hide booze at work, he might even think he drank it himself anyway." Chloe doesn't look convinced. "Max... I just really don't think it's a good idea." I roll my eyes. "Dude, what's he going to do? Call the police because someone stole his work booze? Besides even if he notices it's gone, there's no way anyone would suspect you, let alone connect it to you." She chews her lip nervously, and sighs. "Alright, you're right.. it's fine." I pump my fist. "Yes! We are going to have so much fun..." She wrinkles her nose. "I don't think I'll be having any fun with that." I grin back at her. " I was talking to the bottle. Me, and it, we're going to have a blast. You're invited though anyway, if you want." She snorts, rolling her eyes. "Pass." I shrug, and slip the bottle into my jacket. "More for me then." The search continues quietly from there.

Lot's of paper files here, more than I expected really, but they're helpful. Or they would be if I could find one that had anything to do with anyone we want information on. Finally! Rachel Amber in file form. I look through the file carefully, but there's really not much here. She was a pretty good student, her teachers seem to think she was amazing or some shit. There's a note about her missing persons case being suspended until more information surfaces. In other words a big fat nothing. I groan annoyed, and put the file away. "Nothing useful in Rachel's file... unless you count the fact that all of her teachers spoke so highly of her that she was probably fucking every single one of them." Chloe wrinkles her nose at me. "Gross...Though Juliet did say she was sleeping with the photography professor..." she shrugs mildly, and shakes her head. "That's probably not a clue though." A sigh escapes my lips, and I nod my agreement. "Yeah, probably not. I still need to find Nathan's file though." She nods at me, and we both go back to our searches.

Finally Nathan's file reveals itself, or well I dig it out of the cabinet it's tucked away in. This guy really needs to think about a new organizational system or something. Who am I to talk really? My system is throw whatever it is somewhere nearby, and try to remember approximately where I tossed it when I need it later. The file is unfortunately extremely disappointing considering how long I spent looking for it. I guess not that long really, but it's still disappointing. There's not much in it. It's spotless. Decent grades, no disciplinary notes, nothing. "Fuck! This is bullshit! There's no way this is the real file. There's nothing here. You said this dude was like a bully and shit right?" Chloe looks away from the monitor, and nods at me. "Not exactly... more like a major asshole, with a major chip on his shoulder. I mean he's made trouble in his classes before, like Major trouble, but he wasn't punished as far as I could tell. I didn't really pay much attention to him or anyone really, till recently, so I'm not sure the full extent of it." I frown, and put the file away. "Fuck, that's messed up. So, did you find anything yet?" She nods, and turns back to the computer screen. "Yeah... I found the files we want, I think. Want to come over and look with me?" Smiling, I cross the room to brace my hand on the desk, and lean in over her shoulder. "What do you have for me oh mistress of technology?" Chloe laughs softly, and begins opening up a few files. She points out things on the screen clicking through various files slowly. "Dude look at this... Threatening e-mails from Mr. Prescott. Notes on secret probation... All his real behavioral problems, and psych notes. Holy shit!" I nod, reading along. "Yeah this is really fucked up. What's that one?" I point out what looks like picture file, and Chloe opens it up. It's creepy as fuck, like eyes staring at you from the darkness. "Dude what's up with this fucked up picture... Is that a titles up there, or just a sentence? "There's a storm coming."? What's that even mean?" I frown, looking over at Chloe. "Look closer it's even freakier. That's not just scribbled in darkness. It says "Rachel in the Dark Room" over, and over again." Chloe says turning her head, and meeting my eyes. We share a worried look, before I speak up. "That looks like a fucking connection to me. I'm not sure what it means exactly... but they were definitely connected somehow." I frown at the screen, and shake my head. "Is there anything else? It's a clue of sorts, but it's not really much to go on. We should definitely consider his threat more seriously now though." Chloe looks a little overwhelmed by all of this, but she nods at me. "Yeah... we should take this seriously, and yeah.. this is all I could find on Nathan."

I begin opening up the drawers of the desk, poking around in the contents curiously, and causing Chloe to give me a questioning look. "One last look around to make sure we didn't miss anything before we get the fuck out of here." I reply, without looking away from my task. Chloe sighs, but she doesn't really sound too annoyed, and she doesn't say anything. My snooping totally pays off when I find a ratty envelope full of cash. Jack pot! "Holy shit Chloe look at this." I hold the envelope up, waving it around. "Super sketchy envelope labeled... "Handicap Fund" Yeah right." I begin to count up the bills inside, all hundreds. "Dude this is like ten grand! Holy fuck... We should totally take this. There's No way this isn't bribe money." Chloe gives me a look, something like worry, mixed with disappointment. That really kinda hurts. "Max... I don't think that's a good idea, and what if it really Is the handicap fund? Wouldn't you feel like shit taking it?" She's not wrong, I would feel shitty taking it if it really was the handicap fund, but... I shake my head at her. "There's no way this is for anyone but the principal's scotch fund, or whatever. Seriously! Just think of what we could do with this... We could blow town, go on a road trip... Weed, booze... we could get matching tats!" I can't help the way I dance excitedly. "We could throw in some nerdy shit for you... maybe a strip club." I waggle my eyebrows, and watch as Chloe's cheeks turn red. "I'm just kidding..." I pause to consider the idea for a moment."Probably kidding...but, maybe." Chloe shakes her head. "Max..." I shake my head and interrupt whatever she was going to say. "Come on.. don't get all moral on me now..." I sigh starting to deflate. "I could give it to Joyce instead. Like rent or some shit... you know, help out. I mean her and William were practically my parents too..." Shifting from foot to foot, I turn my head away, looking back at Chloe through the corner of my eye. Chloe frowns, and shakes her head looking more resolute. "Dad would be so disappointed if we took that money... and I'm pretty sure your parents would too. We should leave it." It feels like she just punched me in the heart. "Fuck you! That was a really low fucking blow Price." I jam the money back into the drawer, because I'm so very grown up. I just can't handle myself right now. I can't handle the hurt, the memories, so instead I just get mad. It's easier, even though I know it's not helpful. I'll probably end up pushing Chloe away someday if I don't stop it."Let's get the fuck out of here already." I turn and stomp towards the door. Good job Max, way to suck it up, and be mature...

- Chloe -

We exit the main building of Blackwell Academy fairly quickly. Max was upset, and incautious, but we seem to be lucky, not a guard in sight. I know she's been through a lot, and I know she's hurting still, but the way she went off on me hurts. It's really not fair that she takes it out on me like that. As much as I want to be though, I'm not mad. I just wish there was something I could do to help. I can see the tension melting out of her as we walk, so maybe she just needed some time to process. She stops dead suddenly in front of the pool building, and turns to me with a huge mischievous grin. Or maybe she needed time to repress. "So... even though you didn't let me take that money, this was still a win for us right? So we totally deserve a little reward...right?" Her grin somehow gets even bigger, and she jerks her thumb towards the building. "Let's go check out the pool. It'll be awesome!" Looking around nervously, I bite my lip. "I don't know Max... I mean what about security? Couldn't we just go to the beach or something?" Her face falls, and she starts to pull in on herself a little. "It's gonna be cold as fuck out there... I mean it was a stupid idea anyway let's just.. go." Her disappointment cuts me like a knife. I bite my lip, and reach out to grab her hand. "Wait... I mean I want to, I just... wouldn't it be more fun to like go find that secluded spot we used to bury our treasure at when we were kids, and build a fire, or something?" I watch a slow grin spread across her face, her eyes lighting up from within. "Hella fucking yes! Dude, that'll be awesome. Sand, the surf, moonlight on the water, and a fucking bonfire? Chloe you're a genius!" Her actions earlier left me unsure exactly what it is she wants out of... us, but seeing her smile like that leaves me absolutely certain what it is I want. I'm in so much trouble if she's not serious. She begins to drag me by the hand, in a hurry to make it back to her car. "We need to make a quick stop first... I know just where we can get a shit-ton of wood." Working to match our paces, I move up beside her and look over at her curiously. She's starting to look ashamed of something. She huffs out a breath, and looks over at me for a moment."Also I'm sorry for being a douche. I... It doesn't make it right, but I never really learned any healthy coping mechanisms. I shouldn't have freaked out on you for... for doing the right thing." She rushes through her little speech, and turns her eyes ahead. I can see her peeking at me from the corner of her eyes nervously from time to time. "I have no idea what you're talking about... all that happened was we were total ninjas, and then you asked me to go swimming with you." She squeezes my hand, smiling gratefully. "Then let's get out asses to the junkyard, there are pallets we gotta break up so they fit in the jeep."

Breaking pallets actually didn't take as long as I thought it would, though I'll probably be sore tomorrow. I watch Max dig out a little pit in the sand, and ring it with rocks we collected for that very reason. She looks back at me, and gives me a wink before she starts arranging bits of pallet, drift wood, and branches we found while combing the surrounding area, and woods for rocks. She pulls a bottle of lighter fluid out of her jeep, and begins to apply it liberally to our soon to be fire. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I just have to ask. "Why do you keep a bottle of lighter fluid in your car?" She looks back at me, before heading over to set the can down. "You never know when you might need help starting a fire." My eyes go wide at the implications of that, and she laughs. "No... not like that. I mean I was living the free life for a while. Sometimes it gets really fucking cold out, so... a little lighter fluid here and there was a good investment." she shrugs nonchalantly, before heading back over to the little fire pit. She crumples up a bit of newspaper loosely, and lights a corner of it with her lighter. Max carefully slides the burning paper in at the base of the little woodpile she built. She steps back quickly, and we both watch it roar to life. I don't know much about building fires, but I suspect Max doesn't either, and I doubt this would have caught if she hadn't used an accelerant. Still she got the fire going, and it's starting to get nice and toasty over here.

Max smiles over at me, and drops her jacket on the ground to sit on. She begins to tug her boots off, and then peels her socks away afterwards. It's when she goes for her shirt that I look away. I can hear her laughing, probably at my expense. "Come on nerd... get out of those clothes, and let's go get wet. Splish splash!" Hearing her take off towards the water, I look up to watch her go. My cheeks begin to burn when I notice she's not wearing anything at all right now. Max is completely naked right now, and she doesn't seem to care at all. I just have no idea how she could be so wild, and carefree like this. She's just so different from how she used to be, from how I am now. "Get you ass over here Chloe! Don't force me to come back over and drag you in!" she yells back at me, in a playfully threatening tone, not that I don't believe that she'll deliver. Standing I begin to shed my clothing quickly, pausing a moment to look out at Max already in the surf. She's very obviously specifically not watching me right now, and it's pretty cute actually. I reach back to unhook my bra, but, I'm too timid, I can't quite make myself do it. If our lives had gone different ways, maybe I'd be the one willing to run naked into the surf right now, but they didn't and I'm not that girl anymore, if I ever really was quite that bold. Still having Max around makes me feel braver than I have in a long time. I give up on skinny dipping, and make a mad dash towards the water. I'm not willing to tempt Max into coming after me, as oddly fun as that prospect sounds.

It's cold! Oh dog it's cold! I gasp and heave for breath as I barrel into the frigid water. Max moves in quickly, and begins to circle me lazily. "Careful now... these are shark infested waters. Dun dun, dun dun, dun dun dun..." She laughs continuing to circle me. I splash water at her, eliciting a surprised shriek. "Oh come on, you're so obvious... besides as I recall you were the who was always freaked out by that movie." She reaches up placing her hands on my shoulders,"Facts won't save you now Price!" and jumps, while pushing downward on me. She dunks me. I come back up as quickly as I can, gasping and sputtering. Oh, it's definitely time for a little revenge. I cast about wildly looking for her, and when I spot her I send as much water as I can muster in her direction, as fast as possible. She shrieks, backing away, and sending some water ineffectually back in my direction. "I could just rewind a totally dominate right now!" she calls at me, still trying to avoid my assault. "You're such a cheater!" I yell back in response. She laughs, and slowly comes to a stop. "I believe the term you're looking for is winner." I send a couple of vindictive splashes her way before I too let the game end. We move in close to each other, and our eyes meet. "Chloe... our time together, it's been..." she exhales softly, a wistful, wanting sound. "It's been amazing. I feel like I actually know what I'm doing for the first time since... I don't, it's been so long." Her eyes slide timidly away from mine, never for long, but no longer lingering either. My mouth feels dry all of a sudden, and I take a deep breath. "Max, I... I know what you mean. I haven't felt this brave in years, I feel like I can do anything, as long as you're with me." Her eyes lock onto mine again, an intense look in them. "Forever." Is all she says, but she speaks with such certainty that I can't help but believe her. It's my turn to look away now, suddenly very nervous about what she means. I have to ask her about earlier tonight, I can't just let that go. "Max..." She doesn't let me finish. "Chloe.. when I, dared you to kiss me earlier... Did you kiss me because you wanted to, or because I challenged you?" I want to laugh so badly right now, in relief, at the ridiculousness of the whole thing, at myself, and her, and our completely stupid insecurities about each other. "No Max... I mean yes. Yes! I wanted to, I mean... ugh... I've been freaking out wondering what that meant to you. If it was just m-" She interrupts me for the second time, but I really don't mind this one. She throws her arms around my neck, and hops to get her legs hooked around my waist. Our lips meet for the second time today, and it's just as electric as the first time. I can feel it spreading through my body, and finally pooling in my center. I could do this for the rest of my life. I let my lips part invitingly, and Max doesn't hesitate. Our tongues meet once again, and continue their playful little dance from earlier. My arms slide around her middle, and press her tightly to me, every little bit of space feels like miles. I can feel her heart pounding inside her chest, or maybe it's mine. It's definitely racing like crazy right now. It feels like she might be slipping a little, so I slide my hands down to add some support under her butt. That's when I'm reminded that she's completely naked, and go stiff. She pulls back slowly, her breathing a little ragged, and looks at through half lidded eyes. "Something wrong Chloe?" her words come out breathy, and soft, and I am so tempted to just say no, and kiss her again. Unfortunately I'm too embarrassed, I can't quite forget the fact that her bare ass is currently resting in my hands. "Uh... Max, you're um... Naked." Her cheeks flush, and she laughs awkwardly. "Oh.. right, yeah I am." She carefully disentangles herself from me, and backs up. I miss the feeling of her against me, and her warmth. It's suddenly feeling very cold out here again. I wrap my arms tightly around myself, and she does the same. "Okay, so yeah I'm starting freeze my ass off now. Maybe we should get to shore?" she gestures back to the beach, where our clothes, and a fire await.

Max takes my hand, and laces her fingers with mine as we head back to the fire pit. I settle close to the fire to dry, careful to keep my back on Max, as she puts more wood on to build up the flame. Shivering, my arms wrap around my middle unconsciously as I try and warm myself. A sudden weight on my shoulders pulls my attention up, as Max gently wraps me in her jacket. It's heavy, and warm, and smells like Max, as I cuddle into it soaking up the warmth. I smile gratefully up at Max, as she settles herself down with her bottle of ill gotten scotch. She offers me the bottle first, and I wrinkle my nose shaking my head. "You're adorable..." she laughs softly, and takes a swig, before setting the bottle down between us. My hand snakes out of the jacket, and across the sand to gently make contact with Max's. My fingers trace slow, random patterns across her knuckles, as I work up the courage to speak. "So...um... What does this make us now?" She looks over at me her brow perked a little, and she shrugs. "I don't know...No, I mean..." she frowns, and takes a deep breath. It looks like she's searching for the right words before she speaks again. "It's whatever you want it to be Chloe. We'll take this at your pace, whatever you're comfortable with. If you just want to..." she lifts her free hand and holds it palm up as if holding, or measuring the weight of something, her lips pursed. "I don't know.. just mess around a little to.. see, we can do that, or I mean if you want we can pile in the jeep right now and head for the state line to elope or some shit. I'll marry the shit out of you Price." She laughs softly, but she looks a little anxious, like maybe she's worried she actually means that, or maybe just worried I'll believe she means it and freak out. Still thinking about a serious relationship with Max, I have butterflies now. I entwine our fingers together, and squeeze gently. "Max, I don't just want a casual thing... but You don't need to force yourself to do anything you're not comfortable with either. If you're not into relationships or... whatever, then maybe we can figure something out." She releases a breath neither of us seemed to realize she had been holding, and she shakes her head. "Chloe... I don't want to be casual, not with you. You're way to important to me for that. If we're going to do this, I want to do it right. You're my best friend." she shrugs one shoulder, her voice hitching a little. "Fuck, I'm getting all mushy..." she reaches up her free hand wiping aggressively at her face. "Max, it's..." She shakes her head cutting me off. "Chloe, It's okay... I know I disappeared on you one day, not my fault, but I did, and I know you didn't spend five years doing everything you could to get back here, to find you again. So we're going at whatever your pace is, because I know it's probably crazy, but I'm already there." My heart thumps in my chest, and I can't decide if it's because what she said made me feel good, or scared. On one hand, she's only been back for about a week, and not even quite that. On the other... I'm feeling like maybe I've had feelings for her since I was a kid too. At what point are feelings obsession? Do I even care about the distinction? Max is nervously trying not to look like she's watching me, I don't honestly believe she'd ever hurt me on purpose. To be fair, I never really stopped wondering what happened to her either, never stopped thinking about her, is that obsessive? I turn my head, and look over at Max, really look at her. In this moment I realize I don't care about any of that, I just want her in my life, so I tug her towards me gently my decision made. "How do you feel about skipping the awkward first date stuff, and move right into girlfriend territory?" She smiles relieved as she slides over towards me. "I think that sounds just about right. We had a long time together to build a foundation, develop feelings. So we took a little break in the middle... we're together now, and it still works, even if we're a little reversed." she laughs, and slides her hand under her jacket to wrap her arm around my waist. Her head lays gently on my shoulder, and I lean my head against hers. We stare out at waves as they kiss the sand, and just exist together in this moment.

We don't completely disengage from each other all the way home. We hold hands on the car ride, and, she wraps an arm around my waist, and I wrap mine around her shoulders, when we get out to walk to my door. Hand in hand we make our way quietly up the stairs and to my door. She stops in the doorway there, and pulls me in for a kiss. She doesn't let it linger quite so long as I'd like, but it's soft, and sweet, and magical. She shuffles her feet nervously for a moment, and takes a deep breath. "I guess I should go start sleeping on the couch now... considering..." I frown at her and tug her into my room with me. "Nuh-uh... you're not getting away that easily Caulfield." I stick my tongue out at her, and she laughs softly. "There's no reason for you to go downstairs, unless you don't believe you can control yourself?" I perk a brow at her, more mockingly than anything. She smirks at me, and shrugs."Well... you Are pretty hard to resist, but I wouldn't do anything you didn't want me to." I grin, and pull her in for another quick kiss. "Then I see no reason we can't continue to share the bed." She gives me another quick peck, and nods. We release each other to prepare for bed. I head for the bathroom to brush my teeth, and leave her to change first, then we switch. I crawl into bed, and get comfortable to wait.

"I should probably get my own toothbrush since I'm staying here regularly now... That way you don't have to share yours anymore." she says as she walks back in and closes the door. I look up at her curiously for a moment, and shrug. "I don't care if you keep using mine, it's no big deal." She shrugs, and climbs into bed. I turn to face her, and she turns in response. Our hands come together like they're magnetized, and we both shuffle closer almost in unison. We lean in towards each other till our foreheads touch, and we gaze through the darkness into each others eyes. "Max... I'm really glad you came back." She lets out a soft breath, and leans in till our lips touch. "Me too.." she whispers against my lips punctuating how much she means it, with a kiss. She continues to place soft kisses on my lips, until I finally fall asleep.