You're obviously not there, idiot. Why are you doing this to yourself? You're so useless and stupid. While Kate was still busy freaking out, Chloe appeared like a flash. Hair's not blue. See? So stupid, Max. Jeez.

"Chloe! Chloe, what's going on? Sh-She just dropped her mug all of a sudden..." Kate. Poor precious Kate. She shouldn't have to see this. I'm her brave hero. How can I possibly face her after letting her see me like this? This weak.

"She's not exactly freaking out or anything, she's just standing there..." Victoria still tended to hide behind her sass when she was freaked out. Old habits die hard, Tori, I get it.

"Guys! You're not really helping..." Chloe's steady hands guided her into the living room to take a seat on the couch. Max was vaguely aware of the sound of Victoria and Kate cleaning up after her mess. Foolish. Useless. A waste. Despite how obviously pathetic Max was, Chloe allowed her to curl up in her lap. "Hey... Max, why couldn't the young pirate see the movie?" Her girlfriend's fingers raked through her hair and she shut her eyes tight. A dumb fucking joke. How the hell is this supposed to help me? Chloe asked again, more adamantly this time. "Come on, this is an easy one. Why couldn't she see the movie?"

"...it was rated arrrrr..." Max finally opened her eyes, wearily, and looked up at Chloe, who had this dumb grin on her face. She loved that grin.

"Your turn. Give me your best shot."

You have to do this. It's just a joke. Come on. Max was vaguely aware of Victoria coming in to join them, slipping onto the couch and pulling her feet into her lap, rubbing them gently. "Why ummm... What did the pirate say? The one with the steering wheel... on his crotch?" She did not speak like someone who was providing the set-up for a joke.

Chloe, on the other hand, looked eager to answer. Her joy was so freaking contagious. "He said 'ahoy, it's drivin' me nuts!'" Even Max had a little smile at that, how excited she was for that line. She could tell that Victoria didn't really understand what was happening, but she could see the results, so she didn't bother asking.

Kate finally joined them last, having apparently cleaned up the remainder of the spilled tea. She took a pillow and settled onto the floor so that her own face was just a few inches from Max, offering her a gentle understanding smile, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Oh, I know one. Am I... allowed to do this?"

"Of course." Max actually had no idea how these things worked or what the rules were, but there was no way she would ever tell Kate no. It wasn't possible.

Kate, too, looked excited now, already grinning. "How much does a pirate pay for corn?" Max and Chloe looked at one another, both feeling confused as to where this could possibly be going. Victoria, however, suddenly jumped a little in her seat, squeezing Max's leg with a breathy grin.

"A buccaneer!" The two high-fived, much to Chloe and Max's amusement, who soon all joined together in bright laughter – even Max. For a while they all sat in joyful silence until finally Victoria asked the question on her and Kate's minds. "So... what's with the pirate jokes?"

Max attempted to sit up only to be pushed back down a resting position. Chloe was too protective to let her push herself like that. So she had to lay there as she spoke. "It's a um... PTSD thing... From last October." She spoke bashfully, knowing how impossible her story was, even if she did have Chloe there to back her up. "Sharing jokes from when we were silly little kids helps ground me."

"Max, maybe it's time... to really explain..." She was shocked to hear Chloe talking like that. Neither of them had really been eager to go telling their big secret to anyone, and even the few things they'd let slip to their girlfriends had been met with serious disbelief. Why would she opt for honesty now? As always, it was like Chloe could read her mind. "Look at these two. The only thing you're gonna do is make them worry, okay? It will make everyone's lives easier if we share this. We're not alone."

Dammit... Chloe's voice, her words, they were so powerful in that moment. Max sniffled and finally sat up, nestling in between Chloe and Victoria, pulling Kate up and into her lap. "Okay."

So Max told them. She told her entire story, from the beginning (if it could be called that). She told them every detail she could remember, no matter how trivial, amusing, upsetting, or silly. The vision, the tornado, Chloe being shot, and suddenly being back in class.

She talked about how she used her powers to her advantage, including with Victoria and Kate. If they were upset she couldn't tell by their faces just yet. She told them about the nosebleeds and Kate hugged her just a little tighter. She spoke with a blush about breaking into Blackwell and using the pool. All the secrets about Frank and Rachel came out, assuming that Nathan was her murderer. The End of the World. And then...

With slow, careful steps, Max spoke about the biggest reason for her fears, her nightmares, her terrors, the reason she still hated sleeping alone nearly a full year later. Kate was naturally the most understanding, but as she mentioned Victoria's cameo in that awful place, everyone turned even more horrified – in particular because Victoria couldn't remember this, and indeed, was still very much alive. But it was just as Chloe had said, something about Max's story, the way she told her narrative, left very little room for disbelief, even if it made no sense.

Finally she explained about the alternate realities, jumping back and forth across timelines just for Chloe. And all the while the storm loomed. "And when I finally found Chloe again, I thought maybe we were done." But then the worst of it all, the first nightmare of many. And against her instincts, Max talked through the entire thing. The horrible things everyone said and did. Kate, Mr. Jefferson, even Max herself. "That's why I freaked. In my nightmare, Victoria, you were flirting with Chloe, talking about her tattoos. I-I guess it just... put me back there... in the Dark Room." Her breath got short again and she shut her eyes tightly. Arms enfolded her and lips kissed her and saved her from going back once more.

"So. I came to and we're at the lighthouse. Warren had me convinced the storm was my fault. Chloe said it was bullshit. Until finally I had to choose... Go back in time once more and let her die, or watch our hometown get glassed." The best friends clung to each other more desperately. "It was this terrible binary decision and... I-I couldn't do it!"

"So I did something even stupider. I went back in time and... and I dragged Chloe with me. I didn't even know if it was possible, but I had to try. A-And it worked! I'm in the bathroom, and Chloe bursts in on Nathan and starts completely deviating from the script. Together we talked him down, told him the truth about Jefferson killing him, everything. He just broke, started sobbing." Max nestled in against Chloe more, idly toying with Kate's hair, admiring how normal her undercut was starting to look. "We vowed to be as careful as possible from then on. Nathan helped us uncover Jefferson. We never broke in to Blackwell. We told Frank about Rachel and he canceled her debt. We saved you, Kate. And I never rewound once. No snow, no eclipse, no double moon, no storm. I saved everyone and no one even knew."

Despite everything, Max felt lighter. Kate and Tori weren't calling her crazy or even looking at her with shock or fear. They were concerned, but that was to be expected. The story seemed to be over, and they punctuated their love and appreciation with a flurry of kisses that elicited a squeak of surprise. "Oh Max, I can't possibly imagine what that must have put you through. And to think I was upset just because-" Kate was cut off by a counter-kiss from Victoria.

"We all had our own things going on, baby, and comparing yourself to Max like that isn't helping anyone. You were hurting too. So was I. It was a tough time, and yeah Maxine, you deserve the goddamn key to the city for what happened to you." She interrupted herself by kissing her other girlfriends in turn. "Thank you for telling us. Even if it doesn't make a lick of sense, I am all about keeping you safe, even from yourself."

The sandy-haired hipster laughed nervously and settled herself into the pile of love with a satisfied sigh. Chloe had been right. She needed this. "Would you all be alright with piling onto my bed tonight? I don't want to be alone..." Of course none of them were heartless enough to say no, not now. She was swept up in Chloe's strong arms and carted toward her room with Victoria and Kate, hand-and-hand in tow.