"Ugh… god damn it…"
The hair stylist that had given her the bottle of hair dye beforehand had warned her about the potential bleeding effects that it could have on her scalp – not literal blood, mind you, but the blue, icky substance could still be enough to end up making her look like some kind of blue-faced Oompa Loompa.
Fortunately, this hasn't exactly occurred just yet, with no more than a few dried spots of colour lightly cascading the top of Chloe's forehead near her hairline. Still though, she can see now why the stuff had been so cheap.
Turning on the faucet and waiting for the water to warm up, Chloe scoops a handful into her hands and basks in the refreshing feelings it's giving her. The steam soars to the ceiling as she haphazardly swings her foot back and kicks the door shut behind her, not wanting her Mom or step-douche to come prancing in and giving her a hard time about… well, whatever it is she'd done today to get her into trouble. These days it almost feels as though she'll get yelled at for dropping a bread crumb off of her sandwich.
She wishes that she could wipe away a lifetime of bad memories down the drain along with some of the hair dye. That would certainly take a load off of her mind and put her at ease, and perhaps she could even resort to not smoking dope in order to get into her peaceful nirvana. Nothing feels more painful than the realization that your life is going down the tubes, and the fact that it all started on that one fucking day.
As selfish and awful as she feels about this, Chloe can't help but want to blame her Dad for all of these troubles. Her real Dad, not this straight as a board, military jackass one that she's been having to deal with for years now. If he hadn't gotten in that car, then he likely wouldn't have gotten into an accident, and her life would be completely perfect. Max wouldn't have left on bad terms, she'd be a lot more stable at home (probably), and maybe she would've felt more obliged to actually try at Blackwell Academy, instead of flunking out and just barely scraping by on selling hardcore drugs. Why did he choose to go get some fucking groceries on that day out of any of them?! It's not fair!
…but truth be told, that's just the hurt and need talking. The man left a gaping hole in her heart, as corny as she thinks that may sound. Chloe hasn't felt as strong a connection like the one she had before with anyone besides her father, with the possible exception of Max. But even that's stagnated over time.
Five years without as much as a phone call will do that to you.
"Chloe? Are you using up all the hot water? You know we need to conserve that so we don't get billed too high!"
Judging by the tone in her voice that Joyce means business, Chloe groans audibly before shutting the tap off and going over to grab a towel from the rack. Wiping her soaking hair down until it becomes a frizzy mess, she looks herself over once in the mirror and gives her head a shake; secretly feeling pretty troubled and disconnected with herself. It's almost as if this punk-rock persona that she's been adapting over the years has been nothing more than a sham, a façade that she had placed upon herself to break away from what she was before. Deep down inside is the spunky, fourteen year old girl wanting to bust out of her prison and go back to how she was before.
None of this can come to pass though. Without the cash to pack up and leave, Chloe's been having to make do in Arcadia Bay, despite not being entirely honest with Max when she had mentioned wanting to blow the place to smithereens. She's got roots here, but they've become brittle and dull as of late. There's much less in terms of emotional attachments to keep her glued to the spot in Oregon.
If only she had some idea where Rachel was… she usually had the brains to back up Chloe's crazy schemes.
Felling her phone buzz against her thigh in the front pocket of her jeans, Chloe reaches down as the screen flickers to life, revealing the caller ID as Max's face shows up.
Making sure to take the call in a place where nobody will be listening in, Chloe tiptoes from the bathroom before darting the rest of the way to her room; shutting her door and leaning a chair up against the knob. A little paranoia might not be uncalled for after witnessing Frank get annihilated by an oncoming train.
"Yello?" she chirps, so used to addressing her friend over the phone that way. They've done it ever since they were kids – kept the conversations a lot more light-hearted.
"Didn't you read my text, Chloe?"
"Nope… was I supposed to?" she replies while leaning her head back against the bed frame; stretching her legs out and relaxing for the time being. "Chillax, Maxine – we're talking now, aren't we? What's going on? You sound all uptight and shit."
Hearing static on the other end of the line for a moment, Chloe waits impatiently as she drums her fingers over the bedspread. The cellphone reception around Arcadia has been really spotty lately, which is weird since normally it's really crisp and clean.
Coughing once as she clears her throat, Max's voice returns to an urgent whisper as she returns. "This is serious! That girl that we saw at the junkyard? The one in the blue and white hat?" Max mentions, catching the teen's attention as she sits upright slightly. Chloe knows exactly what this call is about. "Well, she's here! At Blackwell! I've got no idea what to do!"
Absentmindedly biting her fingernails, Chloe glances out the window and jolts a little bit on the spot as yet another bird smacks into the glass and reaches its demise. That's six this week, all within nearly the same spot. She had considered earlier trying to bury them as some kind of means of respect (Chloe's always been fond of animals), but staying out of the county jail for being the accomplice to a murder has kept her a little preoccupied.
And suddenly, the one witness to the crime has once again made her way onto the scene.
Chloe knew this would happen. Maybe not exactly like this, mind you, but one way or another she had figured that that wouldn't be the last that they'd see of that slithery vixen. It was just a matter of when, and apparently fate has determined that now would be the best time for the cards to get stacked against them.
But fuck that! Chloe's always believed that you make your own destiny, and she's determined to work around this obstacle!
"Hello? You still there?"
"Yeah, just got distracted for a moment…" she admits, likely only further fueling Max's worries. "Just chill, alright? We've got this – it's nothing that you and I can't handle if we use our heads."
"You're not the one having to go to the same school as her!"
"Which is why you're going to be doing most of the grunt work on this one," Chloe reasons, continuing as if Max hadn't even spoken at all. "Lemme coach you through it, alright? Time to put on your sneaking skills and get them to work for ya! Don't forget, Max – you've got super powers! You can make the world bow! Doing something like this should be a piece of cake!"
Listening as Max sighs in exhaustion on the other end, Chloe heads back over to the window as she slides it open and frowns in sadness. Looks like this birdy didn't join its fellows on the ground, not that they should be up there anyways. Blue jays have always been one of her favourite species, having always been captivated not only by the colour of their beautiful feathers, but by how majestic and rare they looked while in flight. No restrictions, no rules, no weights holding them down. Just the freedom to go wherever the hell they pleased… there was something to be said about that.
Feeling a little sick to be doing this, but knowing that it's necessary in order to not get sick herself, Chloe snaps a twig off of a nearby tree and sets herself carefully on the roof. Next, with no small amount of dexterity and grace, Chloe starts to move the dead bird over towards the eavestrough; moving her wrist until the creature falls onto the grass below.
Be at peace, little guy, Chloe thinks to herself, tossing the twig over the fence and hurrying back to her room – just in time to relay her instructions. "Alright, Max. Here's what you need to do…"
"…she's over with Kate, but I think that they're done talking…"
"Good. Is she heading out the door? If she is, then keep a good distance away and follow her ass! Hide behind corners and trees and shit if you have to."
Taking a deep breath, Max nods even though her friend can't see her, and heads down the hall when Kate passes by with her head held down. It's pretty depressing seeing her like this, but that heartbreak is squandered right now for her desire to track this girl down.
She's got no idea what to do when the inevitable comes to pass and she's forced to confront this girl, but Max supposes that she'll cross that bridge when she gets to it. One step at a time is what she needs to do.
Nearly getting hit in the head with a flying disk as some of the other girls toss it around, Clementine ducks and quickly jogs ahead to the sidewalk without missing a beat. Max quickly waves to Alyssa and hops over the schoolyard fence before she can even say hello, all the while maintaining a suitable distance away from the mysterious girl to avoid detection.
Because you know, all she needs is for the teen to turn around and start screaming to the heavens that Max is a god damned murderer… nothing frightening about that at all.
"I bet you look totally bad ass doing this stealth mission right now!"
"That's not really what I'm concerned about, Chloe," Max replies, but still unable to resist sniggering at that a little bit. Chloe's got that effect on her. "…though I do feel pretty hard core. Man, a couple of weeks back with you, and already I'm in serious shit! Did you plan this or something?"
"Shh! Less talkie, more followie!"
Doing as she's been instructed, Max crouches down low and speeds up when the girl turns left and disappears behind the corner of a brick wall. So far she's managed to stay almost perfectly out of sight, with no hiccups to disrupt her master plan. She's had it in mind for a few minutes now of how she wants to play this and how she wants to confront her, but the possibilities are endless as to what could happen. Mugging her and backing the girl into a dark alley isn't an option, since not only will it freak her the fuck out but it also wouldn't look too inconspicuous out in the more cluttered part of town. One scream for help and it'd be game over.
…of course, it'd never hurt to try, and she pretty much has all the time in the world…
"…screw it," Max mumbles, hustling as she sprints down the sidewalk and prepares to either tackle the girl to the ground, or at least get the jump on her so that she can rewind and end up directly behind. Whichever method works best is the one she's going to finish this odd with.
Nearly twisting her ankle as she skids to a stop, Max whips her head to the left and tries to catch up, only to realize that there's nobody on this sidewalk at all. Following this street would lead her almost all the way to the Five Whales, but where could she have gone? There's nothing around here except…
"You lost?"
Nearly jumping out of her own skin, Max falls to the pavement as the same girl steps forth from the shadows, having been hiding behind a dumpster in anticipation. Playing it off as exactly that, Max quickly nods her head and dusts the dirt off of her knees. Maybe she should just take this to wherever it leads and see how it goes…
Unless of course this girl decides to pull out a knife or a gun of her own; ending it or at least trying to get Max to leave her alone. Neither of those are very fun alternatives.
"Y-yeah actually…" Max chuckles in embarrassment, highly doubting that the girl wouldn't recognize her. Something about the golden fire in this girl's eyes is throwing her off the beaten path completely. "I was, uh… just heading out from school and I had saw you walking by yourself. Figured you might know your way around."
Perplexed and slightly perturbed, the girl slightly tilts her head to the side as her hair lightly sways underneath her ball cap. "Right…" she mutters as her eyes turn ice cold for a moment, retaining their neutral look only seconds later.
She knows, Max thinks to herself, obviously recognizing the signs as the teen folds her arms across her chest. But if she knows about the killing and had witnessed it herself, then why is she acting so natural about it?
With a time rewind ability basically tucked away in her back pocket in case this all goes to hell, Max decides that being straight up and demanding information would be a good first step. It's helped her talk to people in the past, even though technically she's cheating… well, life basically. Under normal circumstances, she probably wouldn't have been able to connect with even half the kids at Blackwell, regardless of the circles they may have gathered towards. Skaters, punkers, Vortex Club, bookworms, photo nuts… none of that would've mattered.
Clearing her throat, Max steps forward and drops the nice girl act entirely.
"I know that you saw what happened… out in the junkyard with my friend and I," she insinuates, noticing the slight twitch in the girl's eye as she tries to keep a confused expression. "I doubt that you'll believe me, but there was no other way around it. Chloe – my friend – would be dead if I hadn't done what I did. I couldn't let that happen, regardless of what you may have seen. Frank had to die in order for her to live, so… there."
"…what do you mean you killed someone?"
Max's heart skips a beat in worry and excitement over this revelation. Does this kid really not know what transpired? Did… did she somehow erase the girl's memory?
Studying her face for a brief second, Max tries to find any doubt or lies within the girl's countenance. She's shaking of course, since it's not every day that you come face to face with a killer, but either the girl has an incredibly effective poker face, or she truly doesn't remember the death.
But… if she doesn't know, and the timeline truly was messed up so badly, then how would Chloe possibly remember?
"You… you don't know?" Max asks dumbly, stepping forward in case she tries to take off. "Come on now, you… you must remember something! I didn't go through all of this trouble for you to straight up lie to me!"
"I… I have no idea who you are or what you're talking about…" she insists, backing up and smacking my hand away as her fists clench. The fear in her eyes tells Max that she's been putting up a charade – the only question is why. "Get away from me… just… just leave me alone! I'll… I'll…"
"Call the cops?" she concludes, feeling the anxiety gripping her tightly as she gives up trying to chase her. What would be the point if she can just reverse time and have her standing right back where she was before? It'd be a waste of energy, especially when she needs all that she can get.
With one flick of the wrist and a hand held out in front of her, the world starts to spin as the cars reverse from where they were driving down the street. Squirrels scurry back down the tree and onto the sidewalk, looking for nuts or whatever it is they can scrounge up. Winter is coming, and clearly Max has been watching too much Game of Thrones.
Even some of the clouds roll back slightly, only seeming to move an inch from where Max is standing. She can even feel the breeze coming through from the opposite direction of where it went before, as the cool wind brushes past her shoulders.
All of this is going on – time is being bent to her will, and all seems as if it will be perfectly normal again.
"Wh-what the fuck?!"
The girl stands there in shock; completely baffled and terrified of what she's seeing as Max nearly has her eyes pop out of her sockets.
The girl isn't getting affected by her time powers, and is experiencing the same sensation that Max has been going through for weeks now.
As time reverses to its normal state, Max, seemingly out of breath, collapses to her knees as the girl towers over her with her fists clenched tightly.
"What the hell did you just do…" she trails off, grasping Max by the collar and glaring fearfully into her eyes.
