Causal Loop
The principal's office had been nothing more than a formality. Kevin suspected that this was mostly due to Nathan's involvement. Blackwell thrived thanks to Nathan's father. No disciplinary action could officially be taken against his son without upsetting the man that fed massive amounts of money into the school and, if rumors were to be believed, the rest of Arcadia Bay as well.
So, even with the school's strict stance on fighting, Kevin and Warren received metaphorical slaps to their wrists. They couldn't be punished for being involved in a scuffle with Nathan due to the fact that Nathan couldn't officially be involved in a scuffle with them, even though he had.
Not that Kevin was particularly focused on such trivial matters at the moment. His armored column was charging ahead at full speed, devouring his focus. With a dozen heavy tanks leading the way, they smashed through his enemies' ill defended front line. In just a few seconds his tanks pushed through the defenders, leaving burning wrecks of armored personnel carriers and fleeing, scattered infantry in their wake.
The center objective was now his, armored personnel carriers unloading his own infantry as they rushed to secure it. Once captured, he would be able to dig in and fortify the position against an inevitable counter attack. But that was what his enemy would expect, so his armored column continued on unabated.
It didn't take too long for Kevin to realize that this is exactly what his opponent had wanted him to do. As his forces continued to press forward, his flanking scouts detected strong enemy forces moving to encircle his now exposed armored column. Equal numbers of opposing tanks were poised to strike from both sides, and if he didn't act soon, he would almost certainly lose the bulk of his forces. Smiling, Kevin called in his squadrons of gunships that had been waiting to join the fight.
Using his controller to issue orders to the first, and his headset to command the second, he simultaneously and sloppily issued a retreat to his armored forces to put on a display of panic. Kevin's enemy took the bait and the opposing ground forces charged. Just as the enemy tanks moved out of range of their air cover, Kevin's helicopters struck. A flurry of missiles struck home, heavily damaging the leading elements of the enemy force. As the gunships closed in, they unleashed their heavy auto-cannons, shredding the heavy armor of their targets.
Realizing the danger too late, his enemy attempted to maneuver his anti-air batteries into position. However, from across the field and well out of danger, Kevin's artillery suppressed them with well-aimed barrages, forcing them back. Reduced in numbers and staggering from the aerial assault, his opponent's tanks attempted a retreat but Kevin's own tank forces had reformed and mercilessly finished them off.
Arriving too late and in inferior numbers, his opponent's gunships came into view, but realizing that the situation was hopeless, they turned to retreat. Seeing that defeat was now inevitable as Kevin's forces pushed forward, his opponent retreated all of his remaining forces, conceding the match.
Removing his headset, Kevin leaned back in his chair and performed a victory stretch. As the statistics for the match compiled he noticed gleefully that his world-wide rank had now climbed into the top one-hundred players.A sudden knock at the door banished thoughts of playing another game. Putting down his controller, Kevin got up from his chair, calling out to the visitor.
As Warren entered, his eyes drifted toward Kevin's television screen to ascertain what his fellow gamer had been playing.
"Ah, Endwar. Are you the best in the world yet?" He closed the door and proceeded to drag Kevin's super comfy brown chair closer to Kevin's computer, as was his custom. Kevin sat back down in his desk chair and spun it around to face his now seated friend.
"Broke into the top one hundred just now." Warren nodded and crossed his arms as his face grew serious. Clearly something other than video games was on his mind today. Before Warren could begin to speak his mind, Kevin threw up a staying hand. Finding himself blocked in by Warren's positioning of the chair, he threw himself onto his bed and nimbly rolled off and landed at a crouch on the other side of Warren's obstacle.
Ducking even lower, he reached underneath his bed and before Warren could ask what he was doing Kevin handed him an ice-cold bottle of beer. Kevin retrieved one for himself and carefully climbed over the bed with much less enthusiasm to avoid shaking his bottle's precious contents. As Kevin returned to his seat, he noticed that Warren was still looking uncertainly at the beer that he held in his hand.
"It's for your eye bud, but you can drink it if you want. It's Canadian so it doesn't taste like urine." Kevin popped the top off of his bottle using a lighter that he kept on his person almost specifically for opening beer bottles. He still hadn't made a serious effort to acquire an actual bottle opener. Taking a less than liberal swig from his beer, he placed the bottle on an awaiting coaster at his desk. Turning his attention back towards Warren, he smiled as his friend gingerly placed his own bottle against his eye, which had already turned a shade of bluish-black.
"Thanks. You are just full of surprises. No one would ever expect mild mannered Kevin Anderson to have a stash of booze under his bed. And thanks for backing me up against Nathan… he's such an ass." Kevin nodded at Warren's assessment of Nathan. Recalling the altercation, he felt his face flush with color as his body tensed. A sensation of rage brewed deep within his chest as he reached for his beer, but he cut his movement short as he decided against it. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear before dude, you went all John Woo on him and raged, pretty badass. Kinda' scary though."
"Yeah… I saw him going after Max and I just lost it, ya' know?" Warren nodded but shifted uncomfortably. Removing the beer from his eye, he regarded it for a moment and after a second of hesitation, he used a bottle opener attached to his keychain to remove the top. See even Warren has a bloody bottle opener. I really need to pull my life together and get one... soon. As he grumbled to himself, Warren nursed his beer and nodded approvingly to Kevin despite his grave expression.
"I wanted to talk to you about that… Word is that you and Max hooked up or something. Normally, I'd congratulate you, like a good friend, but dude you knew that I was going after Max. Not cool, not cool at all." Kevin could see the anger of betrayal seeping out of his friend, despite his relaxed posture.
"Warren, and this is me being completely honest with you, absolutely nothing happened between Max and I. I had this killer migraine and she helped me back to my dorm. She stayed for a bit to see if I was ok and that's all that happened. Don't buy into Victoria's bullshit, trust me, nothing happened." Kevin watched as his friends' posture slumped slightly as he recoiled in bewilderment.
"So, nothing happened? Oh man…" Shaking his head, Warren drained some more of his beer and to his credit, Kevin had expected him to choke on such a large swig, but he handled it like a champ. "I totally freaked and didn't even think about asking Max to the movies… but when I saw Brooke later I asked her instead… I mean she said yes and everything so that's cool but-."
"Yeah, nothing happened, you know I wouldn't pull a dick move like that on you, bud. You're like my only friend here. But that's cool that Brooke said yes! I'm sorry that this bullshit stopped you from asking Max, maybe it's for the better. Brooke's totally obsessed with you anyways." At this Warren's mouth dropped open and he froze in place.
"Wait… she is?" Kevin nodded in response as a sly smile crept across Warren's face. "Really?"
"Dude, how have you not noticed?" Warren shook his head slowly, his shaggy mass of brown hair tumbling this way and that. Kevin shrugged at his friend's inattentiveness. The geeky, insanely smart Brooke, had been smitten with Warren for ages. It was obvious. The two were so much alike: smart, science nerds, socially awkward, the list went on. Warren had probably been so caught up with his crush on Max to even notice poor Brooke and her drone.
"And besides I've got my eyes on Kate anyways… just ask Max." Idiot. Kevin cursed himself for revealing his possible interest in Kate just so Warren, the gullible fool that he was, could get over the rumors that were being spread around about him and Max. Am I interested in her like that… I might be… or I might just be an idiot. Either way… probably an idiot. Kate's cute right? But she's super religious and leads that abstinence campaign that everyone gives her flak about… would she even reciprocate my attraction?
"Oh yeah? I mean she is cute but I didn't think she was your type… wait what am I saying? She is totally your type! But dude, she's been acting really strange lately, do you think it has to do with that video?" Kevin felt his eyebrows shoot up as he unconsciously leaned backwards in his chair, defensively crossing his arms.
"What video?" He asked, feeling a sudden change in the atmosphere of the room. Warren's eyes went wide with surprise. He nearly spit out the mouthful of beer that he had just consumed.
"Wait, you haven't seen it?" Kevin shook his head as he suppressed feelings of annoyance as he waited patiently for Warren to get to the point. "Dude she is like all over a bunch of guys at this Vortex Club party. Like she's making out with guys like hardcore… dude check it." Warren had apparently brought up the video on his phone because he had it in hand and was leaning over to show him.
The illustrious and infamous Vortex Club, a school-promoted club helmed by Victoria Chase and Nathan Prescott. Kevin rarely paid the notices around campus concerning their gatherings any attention. If he was going to party, he'd sooner find himself among Warren's crowd: geeks and nerds. The simple fact that Kate had been at a Vortex Club party at all nearly floored him.
"That doesn't sound like Kate, not in the slightest," grumbled Kevin, he was beginning to feel slightly ill thinking about it. The sensation confounded him, did he really like Kate that much?
Warren shrugged and continued to hold out his phone, despite Kevin's obvious reluctance. He eventually accepted the phone and against his better judgement he hit play and immediately felt unclean. He watched as Kate made out with a number of guys that he didn't recognize. Feeling slightly ill, he had a sinking feeling that something more than party euphoria was unfolding before his eyes. It was only because of this that he focused intently on Kate's body language and her eyes during the rare moments that they were open.
Seemingly in a daze, it appeared to Kevin that Kate was being passed around from guy to guy instead of moving to them. Her movements were uncoordinated, and her balance was certainly off. This could be attributed to over-drinking but he had a sinking feeling that something more was going on. Her eyes were glossy and unfocused, it seemed as if she wasn't ever really looking at anything in particular.
Every movement Kate made was most certainly reactionary, even the kisses that she was dragged into were half-hearted but not forced, they just happened. Possessing no passion, each kiss seemed more mechanical than anything as if Kate's brain was running on autopilot. The video suddenly ended and Kevin remained staring at the screen of Warren's phone, dazed by what he had just witnessed.
"It's always the quiet girls, am I right?"
Snapping out of his reverie, Kevin noticed that Warren had said 'am I right' as if it had been a single, nearly incoherent word. Staring in disbelief, he noted that his friend's beer was completely empty. Warren was quite noticeably intoxicated. Regarding his own barely touched beer for a moment, he handed Warren his phone back, who nearly dropped it due to his lack of coordination.
"Whoa, that hit me fast!" slurred Warren.
"Come on buddy let's get you back to your room so you can lay down… or something. A bit of lightweight, eh?"
Warren gratefully accepted Kevin's assistance as he walked him back to his nearby dorm.
Helping Warren to his bed, Kevin noticed that that, during this maneuver, Warren dropped his phone. In the time it took for Kevin to retrieve Warren's phone from the floor, his friend unceremoniously passed out. Still holding his friend's phone, he tapped Warren on the shoulder and was rewarded with no response. Shrugging, Kevin began to place the phone on the nearby nightstand when he froze mid-motion as his ears began to ring softly. He noticed the world imperceptibly shift around him.
Damnit, Max.
Realizing that he had no way to get into contact with her to see if she was in any sort of danger, Kevin quickly and shamelessly memorized her number from Warren's phone and plugged it into his own. Frowning slightly, he noticed that Warren had Kate's number as well. Feeling that he might need to reach out to her at some point, he copied it over, just in case. Casting one last look at his fast-asleep friend, he was glad that things had worked out and Warren hadn't tried to slug him for 'stealing' Max.
As Kevin quietly shut Warren's door, his thoughts went back to Kate. Kate's mood lately probably means she's been harassed about what happened and she might even know about that video… maybe this is what that security guard was messing with her about.
Shaking his head, he shot a text to Max, walking slowly back to his room. Stopping at his door he looked down the hallway, wondering if he should go and check up on Kate. He wasn't technically allowed to go into the girls' section of the dormitories but that rule was so rarely enforced. Punishments were even rarer. Before he could come to a decision, his phone buzzed in his pocket with a response from Max.
Breathing a sigh of relief as he read her text, he relaxed somewhat. Everything was fine. As he returned his phone to his pocket, a second text cut the motion short and he noted that it was also from Max. Come meet us at the lighthouse? Kevin wondered if the 'us' mentioned in the text was the blue haired girl that Max had escaped with earlier. There was only one way to find out. Quickly responding that he was on his way, he hastily opened his door and went in search of his keys.
Everything in his room was ordered and always had a specific spot. His keys were the exception to this rule. He always seemed to put them in a different spot, no matter how hard he tried to designate a permanent place for them. During his search, he found his wallet and noticed his now no longer ice-cold beer sitting on his desk. Grumbling to himself, he wiped the condensation off of his desk that the coaster failed to catch. You had one job... Popping open one of his two windows, he dumped the beer out.
As he returned the empty bottles to one of the two six packs he had in his tiny fridge, he was shocked to discover his keys sitting all alone underneath his bed. How the hell did you end up down here? Shaking his head, he snatched them up and managed to bang his head on the underside of his bed as he tried to stand up. Rubbing the back of his head as he stood with greater care, he reflected on his clumsiness.
Get a grip… you're falling to pieces.
It had taken some time for Kevin to realize that the best place for him to park was a small parking lot that was very close to the beach. His suspicions were confirmed as he neared the parking lot and he saw the dirty brown pickup truck was the sole occupant. As he reversed his car into a nearby spot, he observed both Max and the mysterious girl with blue hair leaning against the front of the truck.
As he exited and locked his vehicle, the two girls turned to greet him with contradicting expressions. Max's warm smile contrasted sharply with her companion's glacial glare. Nodding to Max, his eyes locked onto the challenging gaze of the blue-haired girl. Max chose to ignore the obvious stare down. She stopped halfway between the two and introduced them to each other as they continued to size up one another.
"Kevin, this is my best friend, Chloe." Despite his best efforts, Kevin tore his eyes away from Chloe to stare at Max in slight surprise. Best friend? That explains a bit I suppose, but I'm still a little confused. "And Chloe, this is Kevin, a friend of mine from school." I suppose that's better than 'some guy from school who is immune to my crazy time powers.' When he returned his attention to Chloe, her cold stare morphed into a predatory smirk as she stalked toward him with feline-like aggression. The girl with blue hair was now looking at him hungrily, as if he were a meal soon to be devoured.
"So… this is why I've only just heard from you now Max, he's cute." As Chloe said this, she looked him up and down approvingly. Max let out an exasperated sigh as her friend eyed him mischievously.
"It's not like that, Chloe... we're just friends. I already told you why it took me so long to talk to you..." Hearing this, Chloe's smile only widened as she turned towards Max.
"Oh, that means I can have him then?" Chloe was rewarded with yet another exasperated sigh from Max, pleasing her even more.
"Knock it off, Chloe… you'll have to fight Kate Marsh for him if you want him that badly."
Wait, she will? Kate likes me?
Chloe's face went serious just long enough as she responded to Max's comment.
"I can take her." At this she let out a playful laugh and lightly punched Max's shoulder. Regarding Kevin with a less aggressive stance and a friendlier face he felt a slight chill run down his spine. Don't lie to yourself. You think this is a little hot. "That was hella' badass the way you slid across my truck and tackled Nathan's punk-ass. Mad props, dude." Chloe approached him and extended her fist, he accepted the fist-bump with ease and received a nod of acceptance from her. "Let's get this show on the road!" And with that the trio was on their way up the trail from the beach to the lighthouse which according to a nearby sign, was a fifteen-minute walk.
Soft waves crashed against the empty beach as a fair wind swayed the clustered trees back and forth. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow over Arcadia Bay. 'The Golden Hour,' it was called by photography snobs, but not matter how pretentious of a name you gave it, there was no overstating the magic of the scene. The path was easy at first, but as Chloe led the way and Max followed close behind her, the path slowly steepened.
"So, are you like some kinda' ninja dude?" Chloe was clearly still captivated by his maneuver. She stopped and turned to face him as she waited for his answer, her hands resting lightly on her hips. To be fair, Kevin was just as fascinated about it as she was. How the hell did I manage that feat of awesomeness anyway? I've never done anything anywhere close to that badass before!
"I'm Canadian." Kevin responded with a polite smile, as if it explained everything. Clearly not satisfied with his answer, Chloe decided to antagonize Max as punishment.
"Max, quit bullshitting me, I know you're lying about you and Canadian Bruce Lee over here. Word is you two were making out in his dorm for like, ever. It's ok I won't tell anyone. I mean it's not like everyone doesn't already knows since Justin told me all about it. But I'll keep your secret, promise."
"Oh my gosh, how did you hear about that? It's just some stupid bullshit that Victoria is spreading around because she's got it out for me." Max was clearly frustrated with Chloe's antics but her friend put her hands up defensively.
"Whoa, calm down, Max. I was only kidding. I knew those rumors were bullshit the second I saw you look at him. If there was something going on you two would have been all over each other, you know, with your eyes though."
"Hah hah, you're not funny, Chloe." Max groaned as she continued her way up the path.
"He thinks I am." At this, Max turned around to glare at Kevin and the smile that had spread across his face disappeared completely. Laughing at the chaos she was creating, Chloe continued on after Max, leaving Kevin in the rear. The trio continued on for a few minutes in relative silence, giving Kevin time to collect his thoughts. I wonder if Max has told Chloe about her time powers… probably not… even with the whole 'best friend' status, why would she believe her?
"Still though, he must hella' be in love with you cause' he came flying out of nowhere to you rescue you." Growing used to Chloe's antics, Kevin decided to play along.
"Well, that and I really don't like Nathan." Max groaned at this, but Chloe burst out laughing as she shot him a conspiratorial smile. "But if you want to talk about 'flying out of nowhere', I think you take the 'hella' in love with Max cake." Kevin noticed Chloe's face redden slightly as she reacted to the jest. Turning her head away to cover her reaction, Chloe went silent. He smiled at beating the girl at her own game.
"I'm just glad that you two are getting along. I was worried there for a bit." Max must have felt the tension rise when he and Chloe had sized each other up. Chloe was certainly the alpha when it came to things between the two of them, she had obviously perceived him as a threat. But once she had seen that there had been no truth to the rumors concerning her friend and this new guy, she had relaxed considerably.
What's the deal here anyway, if these two are supposedly 'best friends,' why have I never seen her before? It's obvious that she doesn't go to our school, she sticks out like a sore thumb. What was it that Max said… it took her awhile to talk to her again or something? Should I even ask? Best not… seems like a sore subject.
Chloe made a dismissive noise but added nothing further. As Max turned to look at him he simply shrugged nonchalantly and pressed on. As the dense forest around them began to thin, their destination was revealed. Bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, the lighthouse stood tall and proud. Slowly coming to a stop, Max removed her camera from her bag and snapped a quick shot of the majestic structure.
Chloe moved over to a bench that faced the cliff-edge, a perfect spot to watch the sun go down. She nimbly vaulted over it and plopped herself onto the bench. Within moments, she appeared to be smoking. The light breeze brought the scent over to Kevin, he noted that she most certainly wasn't smoking a cigarette. Enshrined in a golden aura Chloe sat there, gazing out at the open ocean. Taking another drag, she exhaled and the smoke that escaped her mouth diffused beautifully against the picturesque backdrop.
Damn that's a nice shot… as he thought this he reached instinctively for his laptop bag where his digital camera spent most of its time. His hand found nothing but air and he realized grimly that he had left his laptop bag sitting in the back of his car, but his failure was Max's opportunity. Her trained eye also noticing the near perfect opportunity before her.
Grumbling at his failure and cursing himself for being so careless, he watched as she lined up the shot and waited patiently for Chloe to exhale another burst of smoke. When the moment came, Kevin heard her camera snap and moments later it ejected a scene of captured beauty. Shaking the photo dry absentmindedly, Max turned to face him and smiled warmly. As Max joined her friend on the bench, Chloe cast a quick inquisitive glance back at him and he froze.
"Max, can I borrow your camera for a moment, please?" Hesitating for a second before carefully handing over her polaroid camera, Kevin immediately noticed that this was not the camera that she usually carried. Quickly dismissing the minor detail, he crouched down behind the bench just as Max had before him. Both girls turned to face him. Damnit! Frustrated, he lowered the camera and glared at them.
"What?" Chloe demanded as she noticed his reaction. Moving forward, Kevin began to mold his masterpiece.
"Alright, Chloe, I want you turn a bit to your right and turn your head to look right there, see? Good. Now put your right arm over the backside of the bench… yes perfect. Now Max, scoot on over to Chloe. Come on now you guys are best friends, right? Go on Scoot! There, good! Now slouch down just a bit. No, not so low. Ok, perfect. Now rest your head against Chloe's shoulder and turn your body to the right so I can see the side of your face… yes that's perfect!" Kevin quickly retreated and got back into position and framed up the shot. Hesitating for a moment, he realized that something was missing. "Chloe, put your right arm around Max and I want you to make that face you made when you thought I was Max's new boyfriend. Yeah that one… And Max, stay... just... like... that." Kevin inhaled and then slowly exhaled, but halfway through the breath he stopped and willed his body to freeze. In that exact moment he took the shot.
Feeling triumphant and having no need to look at what could only be perfection, he nearly snatched the photo as the camera spat it out. Shaking the photo as a wave of euphoria washed over him, he grinned as he approached his two subjects who hadn't moved much at all since the camera had released them. They seemed to be ignoring his momentary lapse of mania, which was probably for the best.
"That better have been worth it…" Chloe grumbled as she took a deep drag of her joint and exhaled with clear annoyance. As he approached he took notice of how her arm that was still draped around Max tensed, just slightly. Smiling to himself, Kevin was pleased that he was able to notice such things. Max, however, showed no signs of noticing just how protective her friend was being as he drew close enough to them to show off his handiwork.
"Whoa…" The word escaped Max's mouth softly as she inspected the picture. Needing a better angle, Chloe leaned closer to Max until their heads were mere inches apart.
"Damn, dude…" Chloe's voice trailed off as she was captured by the pure emotion that was emanating from the photograph. Chloe sat on the bench, arm protectively wrapped around her friend as Max appeared to be huddling closer into Chloe's embrace as if seeking comfort or safety. Chloe's face was fixed with a determined, defiant expression. Meanwhile, Max's face radiated security and comfort. A slight breeze that Kevin had failed to account for had grasped a few strands of Max's hair and dragged them across her face ever so slightly.
The sudden intrusion of randomness reminded him that he shouldn't try and control everything when it came to photography. The unplanned gust of wind had added to the shot. The entire scene was enshrined in the soothing golden glow of the setting sun, which could be seen as it was just beginning to vanish off into the horizon. Slowly handing the picture back to Kevin, Max finally noticed the closeness that she and Chloe were sharing and carefully began to disentangle herself from her friend.
Naturally being less subtle than Max, Chloe moved quickly away and took another drag on her nearly spent joint. Coughing lightly, she stood and stretched. Max stood as well and retrieved her camera. As he was about to inquire about her seemingly new camera, he noticed that her face had gone completely blank.
Reacting purely on instinct he managed to catch Max and her camera as her body crumpled to the ground. Chloe cried out and moved to assist and together they carefully laid her down. Chloe knelt down and used her lap to cushion Max's head and gently caressed her friend's head with her hands.
"What the shit just happened?" Panic crept into Chloe's voice. Kevin shook his head as he checked Max's pulse at her wrist, he was surprised to discover that it was quite rapid.
"She just blacked out and fainted-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was overwhelmed with a number of intense sensations. Chloe's further inquiries were muffled by the sound of a howling wind that was clearly not present. The nearby trees swayed slightly, entirely unconcerned. He felt as if he was being blasted by an intense outside force and his body went cold as it registered a sensation that was not unlike pouring rain. Doing his best not to freak Chloe out even further, he attempted to outwardly project a calm appearance and mechanically looked over Max. Somehow, through what sounded like gale-force winds he thought he could hear Max's soft voice but he couldn't quite make out the words.
Suddenly the world returned to normal and Max gasped in shock as she awoke. The strange sensations dissipated entirely, leaving him cold, confused, and terrified.
"Jesus, Max. Are you okay?" Chloe asked hesitantly.
As Max attempted to scramble to her feet Chloe forced her to remain where she was, obviously still worried about her friend.
"Chloe… you're here. I'm back. Oh my Lord. This is real… it's real," Max moaned breathlessly, cradling her head. Despite Chloe's best efforts, Max slowly made her way to her feet. Refusing to give Max even an inch of space, she kept her arms around her friend.
"Max, what's going on? You totally blacked out-" Chloe was nervous and kept frantically looking from Max to Kevin as if seeking an explanation. Kevin was still recovering from his own experience and was getting the sinking feeling that it was directly connected to what had happened to Max.
"I didn't black out… I had another vision… the town is going to get wiped out by a tornado." And there it was. This was what Max had been keeping from him. She didn't just have her time control powers, she was also having prophetic visions of tornadoes. I wonder if that's what was happening in class when she went all catatonic?
"Oregon gets about five tornadoes every twenty years. You just zoned." Chloe responded, somewhat confused. Smiling grimly to himself, Kevin figured that he would have been assisting Chloe in being the voice of reason if the circumstances had been different. But they weren't different. Max had some manner of control over time and her experiences in her vision had bled over to him. Somehow. Fuck this… as if things weren't weird enough...
"No, no. I saw it, I could actually feel the electricity in the air…" Max was still shaking from the experience, her words were coming out between quick gasps for air as she frantically tried to convey the experience to her friend.
"C'mon take a breath okay?" Chloe was desperately trying to calm her, unconsciously tightening her grip on Max.
"Chloe, I'm not crazy. But there's something else I have to tell you. Something… hardcore." Shit, here she goes… Kevin made a move to stop Max from possibly making an already dicey situation even worse, but he hesitated when he realized it was already too late. Him intervening in any way would just complicate matters further.
"Talk to me, Max." Understandably on edge, Chloe kept glancing at Kevin. She was probably a little freaked out due to how calm he appeared. Max turned towards him as if looking for support and seeing no other alternative, he simply nodded.
"I had this same vision earlier in class… when I came out of it I discovered I could reverse time." As I thought. So, her visions and her powers are connected, but why? How? Shit I'm not supposed to be thinking about this… How can I not though? What the hell is going on? Sighing heavily, he cast his troubling thoughts away, dreading their inevitable return. It's about time I said something...
"I know how it sounds, Chloe, but Max is telling the truth." Chloe's jaw dropped noticeably as she regarded the two of them in turn.
"Like I said: not crazy," Max added confidently. Seemingly glad that Kevin was there to back her up, Max relaxed but only slightly. It was still going to take a huge effort in convincing the now bewildered Chloe that Max hadn't gone insane.
"But high, right?"
Chloe if anyone is high right now it's you… not that it helps the situation any… or maybe it does?
"Listen to me. How do you think I saved you in the bathroom?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.
"By reversing time? Yeah, sure," Chloe scoffed as she rolled her eyes. Despite Max's pleading, Chloe was putting up a stiff defense and he couldn't really blame her. Who in their right mind would believe something like this?
"I saw you get shot, Chloe. Saw you actually… die. I was able to go back and hit the fire alarm-" Max cut herself off as she looked back at him. She was clearly remembering his failed attempt at resolving the situation on his own. Even though he was trying his damndest not to think about it, his hand reflexively went to his stomach.
"Okay, I see you're a geek now, Max, a geek with a vivid imagination. But this isn't an anime or a video game. People don't have those powers, you guys." This would make a crazy sweet video game though and probably an even crazier anime…
"I don't know what I have… but I have it. And I'm scared shitless," Max admitted.
You and me both. This is bullshit.
"You need to get high. We all do. It's been a hella' insane fucking day…" As Chloe's voice trailed off, Kevin started to think that he was already high. Not sure when the breeze had died down, he stared in disbelief as what appeared to be the beginnings of a light snowfall make its way down to the earth.
"What the hell is this?" Chloe was as equally shocked as he was, but she turned accusingly towards him.
"Snowflakes?" Max caught one with an outstretched hand and it melted almost instantly as it made contact with her skin. After a few moments, she too glanced nervously over at him.
"Oh, for fucks sake… sure blame Canada, eh? Don't look at me!" Flabbergasted, he shot the pair an incredulous look and crossed his arms. Oh yeah and my powers allow me to control the weather and I choose to make it snow — because Canada!
"It's like eighty degrees… how?" Chloe was even more unsure of herself as the snow continued to fall in mute defiance of the current temperature. It was astonishingly quiet now. Kevin could no longer hear the birds, the woods behind them seemed deathly still, even the crashing waves below seemed muted.
"Climate change…" Max suggested and Kevin scoffed at her words. How would climate change create magical snow that didn't melt in the air when it was eighty degrees outside? "Or a storm is coming."
"Guys… start from the beginning… tell me everything," demanded Chloe.
Sighing loudly, he performed a quick, yet thorough scan of their surroundings. Kevin motioned towards the bench and the trio sat down and discussed all of the strange events that had taken place today as the snow, unabated, continued to fall around them.