A/N: Huge thanks to Husky1980 and Wezle21 for beta-reading this chapter!
MAX:
A warm, steamy shower was what Max really needed to alleviate the accumulated stress of the day. The water soothed her skin, trickling over the bruises she had accumulated from her scuffle with Emma. In a moment of courage, the smaller Max was able to land a few blows on her aggressor's face. But she was quickly overpowered, receiving excruciating blow after excruciating blow.
She still vividly remembered how it felt: breaths that wouldn't enter her lungs, searing pain, a palpitating heart, buckling knees, tunnel vision, tears running down her face.
Wishing someone would just help her, screaming for someone to help her.
No help came. The crowd stood in awe and they recorded all of it. Max knew exactly where to find copies of these videos, but she didn't dare go down that dark alleyway. The memory was bad enough, she didn't need to relive it.
It hurt. Not just the tender bruises, but to think that people would just stand by and watch her be pummeled. Max learned a powerful lesson about society that school day: the meaning of "bystander effect."
It split her heart in two.
She brushed wet fingertips over her rib cage, frowning at how hideous the bruises looked. Her arm fell to her side and swung while a stream of water ran down it, flowing from her hand. Like water turning a water mill, the shower turned cogs in her head that powered negative thoughts.
'I don't know what to do. Should I show my parents the bruises? No… I can't, they'll lose it. I can't do that to them.' Her mind moved back and forth, not really coming to any decision on what to do.
She ran her hands through her hair, taking a step into the shower spray so her back was more exposed to it. Pressure gradually built up in her eyes, hands trembling and knees wobbling. Grief overwhelmed her; she had no choice but to let it out. What began as barely audible whimpers, soon became full on sobs. She sat cross legged on the tiled shower floor, burying her face in her hands.
Her breaths hiccupped, causing her chest to ache more, but it was cathartic at the same time. It's not good to bottle up emotions, and Max knew that. After some time, she wiped her eyes, serving to conclude her crying. Her face still burned red hot, but the shower water doused it.
A few knocks on the bathroom door startled her, causing her to jump slightly.
"Max, you alright?" It was Chloe.
Max replied so quietly that Chloe failed to hear it, "Yeah, I'm fine."
In all seriousness, she was fine. After releasing her sadness and anger, she almost felt euphoric.
"Dude, I'm coming in." The door opened and Max could make out her indistinct silhouette through the blurred glass sliding door.
Max got to her feet, pulling herself up by grabbing onto the wall's built in soap tray. Hair hung over her face in the way Samara's hair from the Ring did, only shorter… and not demonically. She moved it out of the way.
All that could really be seen of Chloe was the color of her clothing: black, black, and black. Max turned off the shower, leaving herself to drip dry and enabling her to better hear her best friend. Though, lately, Max started to wonder if she was more than that.
"Hey, I thought I heard you crying." Chloe's voice echoed around the room.
Max sarcastically replied, "Good to know that your ears are working."
She sighed. "I'm being serious."
"I know. Yeah, I was crying..." She sniffled and wiped her nose. "They just watched. Why did they watch and not do anything?"
"Um… who?"
Max wrapped her arms around herself, turning down the corners of her lips. "The crowd when I was getting beat up. They stood there like idiots and did nothing to help me."
"Fuck, that's really shitty. Sorry that happened to you. Wish I could've been there to stop it."
Max looked towards her feet, surveying the recent coat of red polish on her toenails. "I… I do, too. But it's not your fault. It's mine, for letting it happen."
She raised her voice, "Oh, for fuck…- that's bullshit, Max. It's that bitch Emma's fault."
"Okay, you're right. I can't let her get away with this." She grimaced, looking towards the ceiling. "I mean, she could've killed me."
"Why'd she do it in the first place?"
Max scratched her nose, sighing and letting her arms drop. "I don't know. She acts really weird in class, like… talking to people that aren't there."
"So, she's a fucking psycho, basically?"
She shrugged up a shoulder. "I guess?"
Chloe's silhouette moved around as if she were idly pacing. "Max, I'm gonna help you get through this, just like you helped me when I had my shit going on."
'So… It's her turn now to be my shoulder to cry on. Wowser.'
Chloe continued, "You're tougher than you think. Like, literally… your pain tolerance is off the charts. Remember when you twisted your ankle?"
Max's eyes briefly glazed over as she recalled. "Yeah, you carried me all the way home in the rain and I was crying like a baby."
"I don't remember you crying at all. Not even a single tear, and when I first tried to carry you, you said you'd walk home. That's some bad-assery right there."
That didn't ring a bell to her; she narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure we're talking about me here?"
Chloe rapped a few fingers against the glass. "Max, you don't pay enough attention to yourself. In a way, that's a really good thing: you're selfless and gentle and people really like you for that. I know I do. But at the same time, it means you hardly even know you."
'I swear, she really reminds me of both Joyce and William, they'd tell me the same kind of stuff. I'm so lucky to have her.'
Her face brightened. "Chloe, I think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Chloe put her hand against the glass, fingers spread apart. Max did the same, putting her handprint against Chloe's.
"Same here, Max - I mean, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, too."
From the time they were young, Max knew that they'd be inseparable. For, like the Earth orbits the Sun, Max's world revolved around Chloe. It was obvious that Chloe felt the same way.
CHLOE:
Max's head rested upon Chloe's chest, serving as the cloud pillow her weary little angel slept upon. But a storm brewed inside the cloud; rain fell in sheets within her stomach and lightning struck her heart.
It became unbearable; she had to act now.
Reaching for the nightstand, she grabbed her cellphone and fired off a text message to Kristen, the glow of the screen illuminating her face.
Chloe: Hey, ready to do this?
She set the phone back on the nightstand and stroked Max's hair, evoking small coos from her - ones that made her head rush with happiness. 'God, she's so cute.'
A few moments later, the phone buzzed and she picked it up.
Kristen: Yeah i'm all set. When we're done emma's house is gonna be COVERED in toilet paper
The whole idea was that they'd meet at Emma's house and toilet paper the living shit out of it, because it turned out that Kristen knew where it was; she relayed Chloe the directions.
With gritting of the teeth, she thought to herself, 'Nobody hurts Max without consequences, nobody.' She began to slide herself out from beneath Max, taking care not to wake her. She failed.
Max whined and clumsily lifted her head, squinting at Chloe through tired eyes. She mumbled, "Whereya gohmm…"
Chloe stopped and furrowed her eyebrows, taking a moment to understand what she said. "Oh, I'm going to the bathroom, be right back."
A little white lie, of course. 'I want it to be a surprise, because I plan to show her Emma's freshly tp'ed house when we're done with it.'
Max's head drooped back upon the bed, signaling it was time to go. After throwing on some better clothes, she opened and closed the door, sneaking through the hallway and out of the house. Right away, visibility was an issue. The humidity of that night created a thick fog that crept along the streets. Weather-beaten street lamps dimly lit her path on the cracked sidewalk, and she took one hell of a wrong turn and found herself disoriented. Darkness reached out a hand and shielded Chloe's eyes.
'What happened to the streetlamps? They just died out and now I can't see shit!'
Her legs became jelly and her skin froze over. The fine hairs on her neck were needles. She gulped and stared through the inky void that surrounded her, inhaling mist with ever quickening breaths. Past the thumping in her temples was nothing but maddening silence, and each second that passed was a second closer to panicking.
With a frustrated snort, she thought, 'Why the fuck did I not bring a flashlight? This is ridiculous.'
She fumbled for her phone and dialed a number with flying thumbs. The phone rang once… twice, before Kristen answered it.
"Hey, Chloe. Where are you?"
She steadied herself against a dead streetlamp to her side, hoodie sleeve being dampened by unseen droplets of water that dotted it. "No idea, and I'm about to freak the hell out!"
"Uh… what do you see right now?"
"That's the thing: I can't see."
"Really? Like it's too dark?"
She huffed and sarcastically replied, "No, I'm blindfolded - Yes, it's too dark!"
"Are you in an area where the streetlights don't work?'
Chloe wondered how she even knew that. She just attributed it to her knowledge of the area.
"Yeah."
"Okay, sit tight. I know exactly where you are."
The tightly-wound spring within Chloe unraveled as she let out a sigh of relief. "Just hurry, please," she pleaded.
The call ended; through the grains in her vision, memories began to form.
...
Max twisted the corkscrew as far as it would go, gripping the handle and pausing, nibbling on her bottom lip as the wine bottle sat on the kitchen counter.
Chloe tapped her foot, growing increasingly impatient. "Come on, open it chicken!"
"Hold on." With a grunt she pulled the cork out. The bottle clinked against the counter as she did, causing the red tinted wine to violently slosh around inside. "And I'm not chicken!"
"Prove it! You drink first, Max!"
"No way! It was your idea, Chloe!"
"Whateva. Give me that bottle."
Max slid it over and Chloe gripped the bottleneck, picking it up with both hands and tilting it into her mouth just to taste. Slightly bitter, but it was basically the same as grape juice.
"Well?"
She quit sipping and wiped away a small dribble from her lip. "Tasty. Very tasty."
The smaller girl motioned for the bottle. "Here, I want a sip!"
Chloe stepped back and held the bottle against her chest. "Sorry, this is not for kids."
"Don't be greedy!" Max reached for it. "Gimme some!"
With a grin on her face, Chloe ran out of the kitchen and around the living room; Max chased her, continually trying to grab the bottle. Near the couch, she finally got ahold of it, resulting in a tug-of-war with Chloe. Being slightly weaker, Max's grip on the bottle loosened and caused Chloe to yank it back towards herself, dumping quite a bit of it on the carpet.
Chloe froze, eyes widened. "Oh shit, the carpet!"
Max stared at the fresh stain, slouching. "There's wine all over! What do we do now?"
"My parents are coming! Cover it up…"
'Man, we were so innocent. I miss those days. Dad was still alive… I was naïve, ignorant… happier.' Not that she wasn't happy then, her relationship with Max was going in a new, exciting direction and she was ecstatic over it. But that was the only thing she was truly happy about, and it was all she needed.
Like a cloud of smoke blown away by the wind, her flashback faded away when she eyed a yellow beam of light cutting through the fog.
"Kristen, is that you?" She yelled. The beam swung onto her, illuminating her immediate area.
She yelled back, "Yeah, it's me. How did you even-" She yelped, tripping and thudding against the concrete. The sharp impact of shattering plastic cracked the death-still air and the light died. "Fuck! Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow."
"Shit, are you okay?"
She croaked, getting back up, "Uh huh, but... the flashlight isn't."
Chloe groaned and looked up at the stars, only barely managing to see them. "Oh, that's just fucking perfect. Now neither of us can see."
Kristen's voice cracked with every syllable, "This is bad, really really bad."
"Ya think?"
Chloe became aware of the faintest sound of whimpering. She took a deep breath, pressed her lips together, and said, "I'm coming towards you." She took many careful steps forward, losing the street lamp to support herself and her wobbly legs. The whimpering gradually got louder, before turning into jagged breaths. She tried to pinpoint her location through the sounds, which were actually proving to be helpful in finding her. 'Don't stop crying, Kristen. Don't stop crying.' The sound came right within reach; she grabbed at something soft and warm.
"Uh, Chloe? You're… you're touching my boob."
She yanked her hand back like she'd touched a hot stove, face aflame. "Sorry, dude. You okay?"
Kristen sniffled. "Yeah, I'm just really scared of the dark."
She grinned, empathizing one-hundred percent. "Kristen, you should've seen me. I was about to have a fuckin' panic attack."
"Heh, seen."
She rolled her blind eyes. "You know what I meant."
"Yeah. So… what now?"
"I say we call it, this is a bad fucking night to be out."
Kristen audibly scratched at some part of her body, voice still shaky, "I completely agree with you. What was I thinking?"
"I dunno, but I'll tell you what I was thinking: Emma's gonna get what's coming to her."
She lowered her voice, "Just not tonight…"
"Guess not…" Chloe scratched her lip, bitterly saying, "...as pissed off as that makes me."
For a while Chloe just stood there, grinding the gears in her head to figure a way out of this predicament. An idea nearly presented itself to her, like a turtle poking out its head from beneath its shell. She was the predatory bird rearing to strike, but like the turtle, the idea retreated deep into the shell that was her gray matter at the sound of Kristen's voice.
"Uhhhh, this might sound like a weird question… but can we like, hold hands or something so we don't lose each other?"
It was a pretty weird question to Chloe, but it made sense. She didn't want to get separated again.
"Alright, sure. If… I can find your hand."
After reaching around in the dark, she felt Kristen's clammy hand ravel around hers. They started to walk, taking great care not to trip over something. With slow steps, they walked until the light from a street lamp gradually faded in. It was akin to a sunrise at midnight for Chloe, and the feeling of liberation could be sensed at the visceral level. Kristen released Chloe's hand as they continued to walk.
Chloe's pupils painfully dilated at the introduction of light. "Jesus Christ. Remind me not to forget a flashlight next time."
Kristen looked towards the sky, holding her hands in mock prayer. "Hello? Jesus Christ? Remind Chloe not to forget a flashlight next time, please?"
"Ha ha, very funny." She dryly chuckled.
"Anyways, do you know how to get back to Max's house from-" She was interrupted by the ringing of Chloe's phone. "Oh, someone's calling you."
She halted her stride, reaching into her pocket. "Yeah, might be her."
As soon as she answered, Max's voice burned with frustration, "Just going to the bathroom, Chloe?"
She sighed, bit her lip, and said, "Max, I… I'll explain it to you when I get back."
"No, you lied to me! Explain it n-"
She clasped the flip-phone shut. Doing so caused pangs of guilt to burn a hole in her chest.
Kristen asked, "She's not happy, is she?"
The tall blonde shook her head. "No, not really."
The phone rang again, causing Chloe to wince. "Fuck."
"Sounds like you should hurry."
"Yeah… see you around, Kristen." She waved.
"See ya later." Kristen reciprocated the gesture.
On a T intersection, Chloe went right and Kristen went left. She made it back to Max's house without a single issue.
With a lump in her throat that could not be swallowed down, she opened the bedroom door. A lamp beside Max's bed was on, casting stark shadows across the doe-eyed brunette's face. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the door; at the sight of Chloe, she stood up and walked to her, ending up face-to-face with the taller blonde.
Max blinked her eyes, simply asking, "Where'd you go?"
Chloe dodged the question, looking away. "Around, Max. It's nothing."
"Che, look. I'm not mad. Just wondering where you went."
She felt confused. "It really sounded like you were mad, though."
"Okay, maybe a little bit, but that's because I was worrying about you."
She rubbed her neck and chuckled, regaining the ability to look Max in the eyes. "I know. Heh, I was worried about myself too. I've never been that lost in my life."
Max sighed. "So what did you sneak out for?"
Exactly the question she was hoping not to be asked, but at this point, it was inevitable.
She fidgeted with her hoodie string. "Kristen and I... were planning to get back at Emma for hurting you. So, we um… we were gonna tp her house."
Max tilted her head. "Kristen was with you?"
Chloe put her hands on Max's shoulders. "Yeah, dude. We're both really fucking pissed about what Emma did to you."
"I mean, same here, but how is tp'ing her house gonna make anything better? You'll just be stooping to her level."
Chloe released Max's shoulders. "Her level is about as low as somebody could get." She put her hands on her own hips. "Even if I tried, I'd never be able to drop to it."
Max briefly smiled. "I really appreciate what you and Kristen are trying to do for me, I'm cereal about that. But, I have my own idea on how to deal with this and I think it might actually work." She looked towards the ground with a sly grin.
Chloe lowered herself to Max's height with bent legs, trying to get a better look. "Uh… what's that smile?"
"Kindness... I'm gonna kill her with kindness."
"You can't be…" She used air quotes. "'Cereal' right now."
Max looked up at Chloe. "Why not?"
She threw out her arms and stood at her normal height. "Because somebody like Emma doesn't even know what kindness is."
"That's exactly my point, Chloe. I'm gonna show her what kindness is."
It clicked. Total fucking genius. 'Take somebody that doesn't know kindness and give it to them. What happens? They burst into tears!'
Chloe smiled, slowly shaking her head. "Dude, if that works I'm kissing you."
Max took a step forward. "What's stopping you from doing it now?"
With the flick of a switch, she remembered Max saying exactly this: 'I guess I owe you a kiss the next time I see you.'
Chloe held up her index finger. "You know what? I just remembered something: On the phone a while back, you said you owed me a kiss the next time you saw me. So…" She smiled and winked. "I'm waiting."
"Wait no more." Max stood on her tiptoes and leaned in, closing her eyes.
Their lips connected and Chloe felt a pleasant tingling radiate from her stomach all the way to her head, akin to that "roller coaster" feeling. Her eyes shut, taking in the sheer thrill of what was happening as she became increasingly drunk over a cocktail of so many crazy emotions at once. This moment seemed to last forever, and Chloe wished it would, but she had to come up for air at some point or she'd drown in happiness. She slowly pulled back and reopened her eyelids, just as the hipster did, whose eyes now shimmered like the sun over the deep blue sea.
Max fell back upon her bare heels, dreamily sighing and smiling all the while. "Wowser… That was nice."
Chloe's heart thudded in her chest as she smiled back. "It sure was."
Shortly after, they fell asleep in much the same position as before: Chloe the Cloud and Max the Angel.
MAX:
No wonder Chloe got lost on the way to Emma's house, the road that led down her neighborhood was easy to miss, well hidden in plain sight by the sheer generic appearance of it; all the other streets looked identical.
The brunette and the blonde actually walked past it at first but once they realized their error, they doubled back and went the correct way.
There was one defining feature that stood out in the bright daylight: the faded yellow "children at play" sign appeared as if a baseball bat had been used on it, leaving it bent and mangled. 'Emma must've done that. Not surprised.'
Compared to Max's neighborhood, this one was much more bleak: not a single tree in sight, lawns unkempt and yellowing from neglect, and the aging houses themselves looked as if they'd seen better days.
But it was right next to a park, so that was a plus.
Chloe warily eyed their surroundings as they walked, holding Max's hand. "You sure about this, dude?"
She squeezed Chloe's hand tighter as they walked past a dead, rustling bush. It almost felt as if some unseen pair of eyes was upon both of them. "No, not really."
This was Max's idea: to personally visit Emma's house and be as disgustingly kind as possible. She wasn't even sure what the outcome would be, but she hoped it would be a good one.
Max's mind was elsewhere. Last night's kiss was playing on a loop in her head, still reeling with disbelief over how she'd just kissed her best friend… and enjoyed it, no less. She'd always expected a boy to be her first kiss, so having it be Chloe felt very odd but so right at the same time.
But Life is Strange like that, and she couldn't be happier.
Chloe dragged her feet, eventually halting altogether and momentarily letting go of Max's hand. She scratched her head. "Shit, I'm trying to remember which house it was that Kristen told me about."
Max nodded, yawning and adjusting the bangles on her wrist. Not that she was bored with what Chloe was doing, but she didn't sleep that much the previous night. Still, there she was, looking to confront her bully.
Somewhat unbeknownst to Chloe, Max knew that Emma most certainly struggled with a mental illness of some sort, since the girl would actually have crying meltdowns in class fairly often. Her bully had a habit of wearing long sleeved shirts exclusively, but on some occasions Max was able to catch glimpses of her wrists and forearms: absolutely covered in slitting scars, many of which were freshly scabbed over. They were deep, too; Max could tell.
It was all a damned shame, really, because Emma was actually a very pretty girl. One of those rare natural redheads and green-eyed? It was safe to say she was genetically blessed.
Yet, as terribly as she treated Max, she couldn't help but feel concerned about her. It only takes one mistake to nick an artery and with how deep her cuts went, it was only a matter of time before she slipped.
At the same time, Max feared she'd do it on purpose.
"Hey, I think that yellow-ish one is her house." Chloe pointed ahead and to the right slightly. "Right there."
Max leaned in and squinted. "It might be. I'm gonna see what the last name on the mailbox is when we get closer."
Her hand found its way into Chloe's again and she began to walk, almost pulling the blonde with her. Strangely, she wasn't all that nervous. Maybe because, for once, she had a bit of self confidence; being with Chloe seemed to do that to her.
"Dude, if something goes wrong," Chloe held up a clenched fist. "I'll be right there to fuck Emma up."
"Let's just hope that isn't necessary."
After walking several feet on crumbly sidewalk, they stood before what should be Emma's house. 'Huh, Pelletier.' Max read the name on the mailbox and said, "Yeah, this is her house."
"You sure you don't want me to punch her in the face or something?"
"Yes, Chloe. I'm sure."
"Okay, I'll just hang out back here." Chloe's hand once again left her grasp as the taller girl stayed by the mailbox. "You got this, Max. I believe in you."
The hipster managed to flash Chloe a small smile before approaching Emma's front door. The few wooden steps leading to it creaked and groaned as she loosely held on to the railing, which terminated onto a porch. She gulped and rang the doorbell, taking a step back and waiting. The door opened with a whoosh of air and sure enough, Emma peered from behind it, barefoot and in pajamas.
"Max?"
She jammed her hands into her pockets. "Hi, Emma."
"What're you doing here?"
"I just want to talk to you."
The redhead closed the door behind herself, blinking at the girl before her. "Talk then."
Max lifted her chin. "I want this stuff that's going on between us to end. You're better than this."
"Whaddaya mean I'm 'better than this?' You don't know me."
"I mean that it's possible for you to change."
Emma furrowed her eyebrows and glanced towards Chloe, gesturing with her head. "Why'd you bring her?"
"Because, I'm not going anywhere without her."
"Real cute. Now, are you done wasting my time?"
Max sighed and rubbed her temples, feeling frustrated that this might not be so easy. "Do you know what it feels like to get beat up while everybody else is watching?"
"No, uh…" she blinked a few times. "No."
Max knew this was a lie; Kristen had kicked Emma's ass in a fight and others were certainly watching.
Max lowered her eyebrows. "Well, it doesn't feel very good."
"Boo-fucking-hoo."
She grit her teeth, tightly pressing her lips together. 'This doesn't feel like it's working.'
"What's with your arms, anyways?" Max asked.
Emma shrunk back. "None of your business."
"Those are cuts, aren't they?"
"That's it, we're fucking done here. Go fuck yourself." Emma stepped back through the door and tried to slam it.
Max caught the door with her hand, making her palm sting. "Wait," she said, tensing up with shame over having asked that. "Look, I'm not trying to be a bitch about it, but you're kinda worrying me with that stuff. Even if you're not that nice to me."
She glared through the crack in the door. "Why the fuck would you, out of all people, be worried about me?"
"Because you're a fellow human being and I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"You…" She sighed. "I think you're the first person to actually give a shit."
Hearing that made Max simultaneously feel sorry for Emma, but it also made her internally whoop with victory over having cracked her shell.
"Is that really true?" she asked. "Does nobody else care?"
"No," Emma stepped completely out from behind the door again, leaving it open. "Not even my dad. He gave up on me a while ago."
The innermost corners of Max's eyebrows raised. "I'm really sorry."
"Not your fault. I… I mean, I did it to myself. I asked for it."
"Don't blame yourself, Emma. It's not your fault either."
Her eyes welled up, voice beginning to crack. "Then whose is it?"
Max rubbed her own arm. "It's nobody's fault. Whatever you're dealing with that makes you feel this way, just know that I'm always able to talk to you if you need."
"I guess I'll tell you what it is... if that's fine."
"Of course."
She took a deep breath. "A few years ago, I lost my best friend." Her lower lip quivered as her voice rapidly grew shaky. "And even after all this time... it hasn't gotten any easier."
Hearing this made Max's stomach flip over. "Whoa… I had no idea. I'm really sorry you had to go through that."
Emma's mouth opened and closed shakily, and then her face contorted. Tears flowed from her eyes, whimpering and losing all control of her emotions, which poured out between sobs. She tried to hide her eyes with one hand, steadying herself on the door frame with the other.
Max felt her own eyes begin to tear up out of empathy, yet she remained unsure of what to do. 'Should I try to comfort her, or should I just leave her be?' She opted to remain silent, feeling her body shudder from hearing and seeing someone else break down in front of her.
"I'm sorry…" Emma wiped her eyes, letting her hand slide off the doorframe, coming to rest at her thigh. 'It's just… it still hurts, and I can't control my anger."
Max began to think about losing Chloe in a situation like that, causing a few tears to run down her cheeks. "I can't imagine how awful that must've been for you."
Emma sniffled. "You know what, Max? You're alright. Sorry for…" she visibly swallowed. "...doing all this terrible shit to you. Never again."
"I forgive you." Max managed a smile, but hidden behind the upturned corners of her mouth was a whole lot of pity. "Take care of yourself, Emma."
"Yeah…" her mouth barely turned into a smile. "You too." She turned around and went back inside, gently shutting the door.
Max took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and went back down the wooden steps towards the mailbox that Chloe leaned an elbow against. Once their eyes met, she left the mailbox and met Max halfway.
"Dude, was she crying?"
Max nodded, bearing an enigmatic smile. "Yeah, I killed her with kindness, just like I said I would."
Chloe toothily smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you."
"Me too. Now, let's go home before my parents notice we're gone."
A/N: I don't know why I named this two part chapter "The Troll" in the first place.