A/N: I beat the game a week ago... now I have the sickness and don't want it to end. So to vent some of that frusteration, I write this. I definitely am a Pricefield shipper, with no regrets. ;0;...
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It seems that the more I came upon the majestic tornado, the less fazed I was by it.
What is wrong with me? Can't I get it right?
The dread and misery was becoming more frustration and anger. This was changing me in ways that I could only barely acknowledge now.
No, there had to be a way.
It was the only path I could give any thought to.
Between the death of the good but troubled people of Arcadia Bay, or of her... No! This couldn't possibly be the only decisions I have!
I had to refuse it.
Somehow, as I shared what should have- could have- been the last embrace of her slim comforting arms- something had enveloped us.
Time stood still, and it was just me and her.
Did I even have a choice? Was destiny being so cruel to me, as to say I could have a chance to save her- save them all- and then pull it away just as quickly? Why? Why me- why us?
"Psh- really Max? You really thought you could save them all?" In the distance of our embrace, the shadow of myself snorted in amusement that turned to laughter, "It doesn't work like that, and you know it." She said sharply, coldly twisting the knife into my back.
I clenched my eyes shut, the cold tears of the sky still tickling my skin though still in time. I held her, wishing to just be engulfed and disappear in her embrace. No, not her. I couldn't let her go, not after everything that's happened.
"It's only been one week. Do you really think you even know her anymore?"
I can't listen to her. She doesn't know her like I-
"I am YOU. Of course I know."
I shook my head slightly. This was worse than anything I could imagine. Being stuck between two of the hardest decisions fate could throw- and having myself ridicule me. Jeez- you seriously are off the rocker Max...
But I glance to the side, looking to her. She's still there- she's still alive and well. Or as well as you could be with a giant tornado about to sweep you up into oblivion.
"Are you just going to stand there and try to live in this second forever?"
"Can I...?"
"Jeez, stop acting like a sad little puppy. So much for Super Max. I figured you'd be an adult by now... with all the different timelines and scenarios you've torn and failed through- just wake up! Don't you get it? Life isn't just sunshine and rainbows- pirates and fantasies- it's brutal. You CAN'T save everyone!"
Don't you think I know that? My sadness swelled to anger. These people helped me through my week of constant rewind. I couldn't give them just a second, and then throw them away.
Let alone her. Chloe... almost half her life was nothing but pain and longing for her father- for Rachel- for... me. And I... I had failed her! I ran off to Seattle, got swept up with new friends, new hobbies-
"Boohoo Max. So you're guilty, put up with it. Stop whining. It IS your fault. You should have been there for her when she needed you most. But you can't change that."
Can't I? ...
...
A silence falls between us.
My grip on Chloe loosens as I feel almost a relief.
"Of course you can't. You don't have a photo. And being cute isn't going to change that."
That passing thought again. Like the fluttering butterfly who seemed almost like a warning from the first day of this crazy fucked up world.
"I can go back in time. I can alter realities. A photo really isn't my biggest concern." A pathetic laugh trails off from the last word. No, my concern is Chloe and Arcadia Bay. There's a reason I was given this power and since the answer is still up in the air- I REFUSE to just let things end this way!
I hold her warm, but firmly. I can't let her go. I won't. Chloe, you didn't deserve any of this. You lost too much. And I'm partly to blame.
"This is crazy Max! You- you need to stop!" She cried out to me, her voice seeming to fade into a stand still.
Chloe...
Agh-! Aaahh! Damn it! That pain... no- it makes sense... I... this pain... is it working?
I almost lose my footing, but Chloe holds me.
That day... I remember it...
"What? Y-You're just- leaving?"
I-it's her- Chloe.
"I don't want to..." I murmur under my breath. I stop myself before I can finish the sentence. It could be exciting in Seattle. Damn, it found it's way out... only, more quiet than I remember.
"I-I know but... we were supposed to go together Max! This is just... Max? Max! You're bleeding!"
Everything went white, for only a second. Until I see her- it's her. Chloe..
"Chloe...?" I ask, feeling as though my head was stories above my body a second ago, "Ugh.." I stumble back but Chloe grabs me.
"Max- oh god! Mom!" She shouts as her words get fuzzy. I glance up, seeing her. I-I did it? Am I... going crazy? ... Her blue... it's gone...
I laugh a little under my breath. Of course... she didn't dye it yet...
"Max, why are you laughing...?" She says in confused desperate panic.
"Chloe what's- oh Max..!" Joyce comes into the room, as there's nothing.
Nothing.
But...
I did it...
...
...
...
..
.
"...ld be waking up any minute..." A woman's voice. Should I even open my eyes...? What if I don't like what I see?
Only barely, I lift my lashes and see a blinding white. A hospital. As though on cue, the same sterilized air hits my nostrils that had when I met Kate. Hospitals always creepily smelled the same.
Kate... Kate... for some reason her name throbbed forward into my mind.
I groan slightly. The headache was back, but not as bad as before. No, definitely not.
"Maxine?! Is she okay?" Mom. She sounds so worried... wait, Mom?
I tried to look at her, but the pain shot through my head again.
"... she's never had these migraines before..." She seemed distressed.
"Mom..." I mutter quietly.
I felt her take my hand, "Yes- dear, it's me..." She says in relief. Did she not expect me to be able to talk to her...?
There's a silence as I feel it. That feeling I felt when... I would stop time. Oh god, no...
I hesitantly open my eyes as everything is blindingly white. Then it dims as I can see her, my Mom. She seems... different. And Dad, he's here too... and... I remember that jacket. He wore that the day we were... leaving.
I want to jump up out of bed. But I can't. I feel too... weak. Instead I wobble back and forth to sit up right. Mom, Dad, the doctor... they were all still... and then...
There's a rush as they seem to leap forward in time. Oh god, what's happening? I should have known everything wouldn't be perfect...
I quickly sink into my covers. It they're moving forward, then I can't seem like I sat up in half a second!
"Are you okay, Honey?"
"I-I think so..." I murmur nervously. I can't mess this up... and after what happened, jumping back in time doesn't seem like a good idea.
She sighs in relief as Dad steps forward with a smile.
"You really had us worried Max..." He says, as I notice his eyes to be slightly red. Was he crying...?
Wait, we didn't leave today... so... I already changed something. Jeez, I didn't actually expect it to work...
"Maxine?" My mom asked from beside me, probably wondering why I was staring into space.
"She needs rest, we should probably give her some space..." Dad said in the background.
Come on thoughts, recover...! We have to think this through... grrh..! My head is throbbing whenever I try to think. This is...
"We'll be right outside if you need us." I hear Dad say as I look to them and nod slightly. The doctor is talking to them. A leap forward again. Jeez, this is crazy. Did I do.. too much?
Maybe things just need... time to settle down.
I wince at even the mention of time. I wonder where Chloe-
"Maaaax!" I hear quick footsteps and look up to see the blob that is Chloe shoot forward and glomp me, "Max! Max! Maaaax!"
I groan slightly as I try to return the hug. For some reason it feels like my head is heavier than it should be.
"I was so worried!" Chloe's joy shifts quickly to sadness as she whimpers slightly, "You were bleeding globs, like from a horror flick- you know?- it was hella fucking nuts!"
"Chloe!" Joyce says in disapproval in the background. But I'm too absorbed in Chloe's face and voice, and just... being. She's here, she's okay. And not only that, none of the crap that went down before has happened. Not yet, at least...
"Sorry- it's just, you're okay..." Chloe's quick words shift to relief, "Jeez, and right after you drop a bomb on me too!" That sadness, relief, turn to anger. Damn Chloe, I haven't gotten a chance to say a thing.
"I..." I trail off as Chloe sits beside me. She looks to me, as I meet her eyes. She seems conflicted with herself, as I find myself feeling similar. But not for the same reasons...
"Max, sorry to unleash Chloe on you like that. I should have known she'd jump you the second she saw you awake." Joyce says coming toward the bed, "Chloe's just been crazy with worry, I thought she might sneak out and broke in here just to see if you were alright if I didn't take her today..."
Chloe looks to her mom, trying to hide her blush of embarrassment from me, "Foiled yet again..." She mutters coyly, "Thanks a lot Mom." She looks to me smiling cheekily to hide her nervousness, "Anyway, any idea when the mad crooks are gonna set you free?"
"I think I heard something about letting me go today..." I muttered as though the memory just settled in my head. Things were definitely going nuts right now.
"Great! And before you get any ideas of running to Paradise without me, we have some serious things to talk about the moment you're let loose..." She says in a lighthearted tone, though I knew she was more than serious.
I swallow the lump in my throat. There's no way out of this, not that I'd ever imagine being out of her sights again.
"Aye aye sir."
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..
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I look to the sky as I leave the hospital with Mom and Dad.
This is nuts.
I can't stop thinking. About everything. And my migraines are gone, at least for the moment. But it's probably the meds...
I managed to go back 5 WHOLE YEARS. Fucking NUTS!
But this is horrible... right? I mean, usually this sort of scenario never leads to anything good, in movies. I've basically screwed with reality in such a way that could probably lead to more than just a colossal tornado... You're officially going to bring the end of the world, Max.
Time to make the Vortex Club before Nathan or Victoria comprehend it.
Ha! Not...
I watch the scenery change as the car rolls by. We're heading home. Well... my home before we went to Seattle. Seattle... oh god, how am I going to get out of going to Seattle?
Really? You want to change THAT much for Chloe? Jeez, why don't you just kiss your future good bye.
No, but we- erh, I mean I could just continue school here... and just grow up with Chloe! And leave everything I had in Seattle in the pa- ... erh, other reality. Gosh this is bonkers.
"..so we'll be looking into heading to Seattle in a couple weeks instead."
I manage to catch. I hope he wasn't talking to me that whole time. I was too busy contemplating the reality and fate of my best friend and the universe.
"Did you hear your father, Maxine?" Mom says. Ugh, it's Max, Mom.
"Max, remember she likes that name now." Dad reminds her for the millionth time. She just scoffs a bit but I'm not too worried about that.
"Dad..." I mutter, "I don't really want to go..." I say as there's a silence in the car.
"I know... Max. And I'm sorry, but we think this is the best for you."
Okay Max, there's no turning back now. This could make or break you. Well- Chloe...
"I can't just leave everything I know behind...! I love this place! And what about Chloe? She's my best friend! And she's... going through a lot!" I say looking to the rear view mirror to my dad, who seems rather surprised by my outburst.
"W-well... Max... you seemed so excited before..." I hate putting Dad on the spot like this... we usually joke about never having teenage drama issues.
"We're going Maxi... Max. It will be great for you. You have a better future in Seattle, and we've already made arrangements." Mom seemed less patient with me. Ugh, she's the hardest person to argue with sometimes- not that I really want to argue... but, this is all happening for a reason.
I can't go to Seattle... we're in this deep, you have to at least TRY Max!
"I like my school here. And I can practice photography here while having plenty of passion in my shots, because I have stories and reasons for my pictures here. How can I have that there? I don't know anything there... and I don't have my friends there..."
"You'll make new friends. And there's many more interesting locations for pictures there. It's much more green and luxurious." Mom says. Jeez, I'm not getting anywhere...
"I don't want to go..." I stress, sounding more upset. This journey is really making me feel like I'm hopeless, despite having time altering powers, "I don't want to leave Chloe... she's my best friend. I can't just ditch her like that...! She needs someone here for her..."
Those images. Seeing her die over and over. Having to rewind and redo everything just to let her free of that destiny. Living through the storm where she DID die... I was so desperate, trying to get to Warren just to turn it all back again. This is really starting to- no... it HAS, gotten to me.
The water works start up. Oh jeez Max, don't do that. God Chloe, if you only knew what was going through my head right now. But this is... only the beginning of your pain. William died only a few months ago. And as screwed up as it is, we had just moved away on the very same year. Jeez, I didn't fully realize how brutal this must have been for Chloe...
Maybe... that screwed up version of me was right. Maybe there really is no hope. She was just... she was meant to...
I wipe the tears. No one should have to go through that much pain, then die. I refuse to believe that.
My dad's sigh brings me out of my thoughts.
"Can I go to Chloe's?" I ask, "I want to see her..."
"You were just in the hospital Max." My mom says sternly, "You should get some rest at home..." I frown in annoyance. You just don't get it Mom... but I know it's unfair to assume you would- but could you please just-
"Alright." Dad says.
"Alright?" Mom looks to him.
"She can stay at Chloe's... she's been through a lot... besides, I think we should straighten a few things out..." He mutters the last part to Mom. I just find relief in his answer, "Joyce already brought up that Chloe had been pestering her about Max coming over ASAP. So I'm sure they're expecting it anyway." He says.
Yes! Dad, thanks AGAIN.
"Thanks Dad..." I sigh. I can already see Mom frowning through the back of her head at me. Sorry Mom, but this is bigger than just some teenage angst.
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..
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"I want you to promise me you won't horse around too much..." Dad says. Mom rustles through her bag and offers me a pill bottle.
"If you feel another headache coming along, take one of these- and call us right away!" She says sternly, looking into my soul. I smile nervously.
"Sure Mom, love you both!" I say kissing them both on the cheek before quickly climbing out of the car.
"Max! What did I say?" Dad calls through the window as I look back to them.
"Sorry Dad, I'll slow down..." I say as he raises a brow. I walk to the front door of the house, looking over and admiring the lack of blue paint. It's a bittersweet feeling, and I feel the familiar sense of deja-vu as I ring the door bell.
The door opens.
Chloe.