Here is the second chapter! Thank you guys for the review. If you read Polarized then you saw this one coming, if not I still recommand that you give it a quick read to understand this more since the stories are related. I'll still explain stuff at the end of the chapter.
The second time fate cut thread was on the 7th of October.
Max woke up from a terrifying nightmare.
There was a storm, and a tornado. The last thing she remembered was the lighthouse falling on her.
It felt too real, and she felt pained and saddened, and she didn't understand how a dream could make her feel this way.
She was sure she didn't even fall asleep. Mr. Jefferson would have scolded her if she did.
Then what was that?
She couldn't focus on the boring lecture, so she took a selfie instead, which of course caught everyone's attention. What was she thinking? She really needs to keep her selfie needs in check.
She was startled when Jefferson said her name after his rambling about selfie expression. "Now, Max. Since you captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation. Can you please tell us the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?" He asked and waited for an answer while all eyes were focused on her.
Great, just great. She scolded herself and tried to avoid all eyes. "Uh… you're asking me?"
"You either know this or not!" She jumped slightly when his palm hit the desk. She was still scared from what she was and he was certainly not helping.
She ignored Victoria's comments and sighed in relief when the bell rang.
The ringing made her heart pound even more. She just wanted to take a minute to relax before her anxiety gets the best of her. She was about to leave but the teacher stopped her.
She really did not feel like hearing his lectures right now, even if he was her favorite teacher.
"I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture." Jefferson started, much to her dismay (and Victoria's annoyance but who cares?).
"I didn't have any time. Too much homework." She said.
"Max, you're a better photographer than a liar. Now I know it's a drag to hear some old dude lecture you. But life won't wait for you to play catch up…" That was when she lost all her focus on the conversation.
Life won't wait for you to play catch up.
Why did she feel as if she was about to suffocate upon hearing that sentence?
Thankfully, he didn't press on the matter so she left the classroom quickly.
She stared at the student walking in the hallway, and being surrounded by so many people made her feel dizzy. She put on her earbuds and played her favorite song, hoping to decrease the anxiety building up. She took a deep breath and made her way to the bathroom.
She walked into the bathroom, put away the earbuds, and washed her face.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked pale and tired and scared. This wasn't the face of a great photographer. This was the face of a loser.
She looked at her photo for the everyday hero contest. "Stop torturing yourself. You have a gift." She said before looking back at her reflection. "Fuck it." She tore the photo.
Then a butterfly flew in through the window. She could've sworn she saw it somewhere. She didn't know she saw it another timeline, in a stormy day. But she knew that something about the blue butterfly drew her to it.
Something familiar.
She pulled out her camera and took a photo of it but when she did, someone walked into the bathroom. She took a peak and saw Nathan Prescott talking to himself.
She didn't know him personally, but she had a feeling that he was trouble.
And trouble indeed started once a blue haired girl walked in.
She heard them arguing about money and drugs, but there was something distracting in there. She knew the girl's voice and it was way too familiar.
Her heart almost stopped when she saw him pointing the gun at her.
Her whole body and mind and everything was screaming at her telling her that something was wrong and it wasn't the fact that he was threatening someone with a gun but it was more than that.
She couldn't let him shoot that girl, and her body moved on its own.
"NO!"
She heard the gunshot and she felt an intense pain in her chest. Nathan looked horrified by what he did while the girl looked at her shock. She clutched her chest and fell on the dirty floor.
She could heard Nathan freaking out and running.
"Holy shit! Max Caulfield?" SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" She heard the girl's panicked voice.
She felt an arm pulled her up and a hand pressed against hers, trying to put pressure on the wound. "Max can you hear me? It's me, Chloe."
Her eyes widened at her words. This was Chloe, her best friend that she left behind for five years. Her best friend who was having a terrible time and she didn't bother to help. Her best friend that… she just happened to save.
She saved Chloe.
She would have laughed if it wasn't the fact that she had trouble breathing, and that she was scared shitless. She got shot, and she was probably going to die. She couldn't even freak out.
"Don't you fucking die! Not when you finally came back!" She felt warm tears against her skin. "Please Max…"
She lifted her hand slowly to touch Chloe's face. She rested her palm against her wet cheek and focused on her clear blue eyes.
If Chloe's face was going to be the last thing she was going to see… then let it be. But knowing her best friend, she would be pissed off if she died. Would she be sad? Or would she move one quickly?
She did abandon her after all.
Max knew how much she messed up, and how much of a failure she was.
The world would be better off without her, right?
The thread was cut.
Max Caulfield is dead.
If you read polarized then you already know this, but here we go: The reason why Max's first rewind is different because when she came out of hiding she got shot, the rewind was a bit like the photo jump, her mind rewinds back to her previous state, while the Max her is the version she left behind. Chloe's death was only a 'vision'(from the universe in part one, the one she's supposed to avoid in the new timelines) she saw while rewinding because she sees vision of things she needed to stop, and Chloe being alive is important to the whole mystery.
Now this is the scene written in the nightmare in Polarized, just a bit more detailed since this is the first max's pov instead of last max seeing her first (or second) death.
Next time we have... you know what, I'm not going to say which version of Max next :D No spoilers!
Have a nice day!