Note: Hey folks! Sorry for being a few days late. School's just stared up again, so I am busy! This chapter is entirely from Chloe's point of view. I had intended to switch halfway through, but changed my mind. Don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave my reasons at the bottom. Enjoy!
The drive was taking way too long. With Max asleep on her shoulder, Chloe had nothing but music to distract her, and it wasn't doing it very well. Chloe's thoughts were a roiling mess, pushing this way and that, with no end in sight. She ended up talking to herself more often than not.
"Come on, it's not fair to blame her for all of this!"
"It wasn't fair of her to abandon me for five years. It wasn't fair of her to make that choice for me. I think she's got not fair more than covered for both of us."
"She didn't ask for this anymore than I did! And you know what, now that I think of it, shut the hell up!"
"I wouldn't be saying it if you didn't think it. You're talking to yourself, remember?"
"Fuck off."
"Sorry sista, no can do. You're stuck with me."
After nearly an hour and a half of this, Chloe nudged Max with an elbow, "Yo, wake up hippie!" Max groaned, and buried her face in Chloe's shoulder, "Wow, that's cute. But I need you right now Maxipad," she thought, then said louder, "Max, wake the hell up!"
"What's going on?" Max asked sleepily, peering at Chloe through one eye.
"I dunno," Chloe said uncomfortably, "I just- Think maybe you've slept enough?"
Max gave her a little smile, "Someone get a little lonely?"
"Fuck no!" Chloe said, and winced at how loud and oh so obvious she sounded, "I'm fine, shut up!" Max's smile faded a little, and Chloe bit back another stream of curses.
"Come on asshole, try to be a little sensitive!" she thought to herself irritably.
"Sorry," Chloe muttered out loud, "Scary punk asshole, right?"
Max gave her a quick hug, then sat up, "How long was I out?"
Chloe shrugged, and resisted the urge to check the clock, "Awhile. You sleep hard man."
Max glanced out her window, watching as the cityscape passed by, "Is this-"
"Portland," Chloe confirmed, "We finally made it. Not exactly how we thought we would but..." She trailed off, and Max glanced at her guiltily.
"Chloe, I-"
"Don't, okay? You're sorry, I get it. Hell of a lot of good it does my mom." Chloe swallowed hard, and they sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Finally, Chloe sighed, and said, "That was stupid. I know... Max I know this isn't your fault, I really do, but-"
"I know," Max said softly, "We all have bad habits we have to break," They rode in silence again as Chloe thought hard about what to say next.
Eventually, she pulled the car over, ignoring the questioning look Max gave her, "Okay, so my first instinct right now is to flip out at you cause I'm pissed, right?"
"Um-"
"Just, hang on okay? I have a point here." Chloe drummed on the wheel nervously, "God, being high would make this so much easier," she thought, then pushed on, "Look, I want to get mad, but I also know that that won't help you. So I'm just gonna, you know say what's on my mind. No filter."
Max raised her eyebrows, "Wow Chloe, that's so different from who you normally are. Have you been replaced by an alien or something?"
Chloe smacked her arm lightly, "Shut up! I'm trying to be serious, okay?" Max nodded, and gestured for her to continue. Chloe drummed harder on the wheel, focusing on not shouting, "Max, I- I was ready to finally do the right thing, to be selfless." Max opened her mouth, but Chloe plowed on, "I was finally going to not be a selfish bitch, and save everyone, but you had to go and be the fucking hero again. And now I'm left holding all this shit, my mom's probably dead, along with who knows how many people, and what am I supposed to do?" Chloe's voice had slowly risen until she was yelling, her hands gripping the wheel like a vice, her knuckles turning white. Chloe took a deep breath, trying to control herself, trying not to turn into a stupid blubbering mess. Finally, she mumbled, "Why did you stop me Max? Why didn't you let me save them?"
Chloe hadn't looked at Max the entire time, and when she glanced over she saw tears welling in her best friend's eyes. A twinge of guilt passed through her, but she pushed it aside, "Sorry Max, I had to say it. I have to know,"
"Chloe, I'm so so sorry," Max stuttered, "I- I didn't want-"
"No, none of that bullshit right now, just tell me why! Why couldn't I be the hero for once, why couldn't I have just-"
"Because I love you, you idiot!" Max shouted, and Chloe shut up, "I love you, and I couldn't lose you again. I couldn't watch you die, again. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let you die before this week ever happened! You would've died thinking that- That-" Max broke down crying, burying her head in her hands.
"Goddamn I'm a dick," Chloe thought to herself, and put one arm around Max, pulling her head so it rested on her shoulder again.
"Fuck Max, I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
Max pushed away, wiped her eyes, and looked fiercely at Chloe, "No, let me finish. I have to finish." Max took a shaky breath, "If you had died in that bathroom, you would have died at the worst time in your life. Nathan had just drugged you, Rachel was gone, and I-" Max closed her eyes briefly, but drove on, "I hadn't- We weren't best friends anymore. You would've died thinking no one loved you, and after everything we've been through this week-" Max's voice broke, and she clenched her teeth, and wiped her eyes again, "I couldn't let that happen. I'm sorry I chose for you Chloe, I really am, but I couldn't lose you, not again." She looked at her lap, then glanced up shyly at Chloe.
"Damn girl, emo much?" Chloe joked halfheartedly, her heart in her throat. Max glanced down again, but Chloe grabbed her hand, "Hey, come on. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't realize- I dunno, I just didn't think of it like that I guess." She squeezed Max's hand, "You know I would've made the same choice, right?"
Max looked up, her eyes wide and wet, "But your mom-"
"I know." Chloe said, glancing away, "But still, no question. Partners in time, remember?" Max nodded, and Chloe gave her a small smile, "So, obligatory hug time?"
Max let out a choked laugh, and nodded again, and the two girls hugged each other tight, "Love you Che," Max muttered in her ear.
Chloe's heart skipped a little, but she ignored it, "Love you too Super Max." They broke apart, and Chloe started the car, "Picking out some nicknames for me, huh?"
Max blushed a little, and shrugged, "I dunno. You just have so many for me, just seems right I guess." Chloe grinned a little at that, and hit the gas.
They spent the remainder of the drive chatting idly, and Chloe put way too much effort into trying to make Max laugh. She shamelessly made jokes, puns, innuendos and subtle hints to anything she could think of, trying desperately to keep their minds off of what they had left behind. Chloe didn't succeed often, but when she did she felt her heart swell a little.
When they had about an hour left, a thought began nagging at the back of Chloe's head. She wrinkled her nose in irritation, and tried to put it out of her mind.
"What is it?" Max asked, glancing nervously at Chloe.
"What's what?" she was going for nonchalant, but didn't entirely succeed.
Max gave her a pointed look, "Come on Chloe, I know you better than that. What's up?"
Chloe grunted in annoyance, "You sure your damn power portfolio didn't include mind reading?"
"Che-"
"Fine! You don't have to use your cute new nickname to guilt me into it, alright?" Max blushed a little, but motioned for her to continue, "I was just thinking... This last week was hella confusing, and I for one would like a clear story to tell your parents. Cause I have a feeling we should avoid the whole thing about, you know, bending time and space to your will."
Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Chloe, about that..."
"What's on your mind, friend of mine?" Chloe winced, "Alright, even I have to apologize for that one."
Max didn't crack a smile, "Chloe, be serious."
"Well, Lupin, if you insist, I'll be Sirius. I'm certainly not Pettigrew."
"Chloe!"
"Fine, fine, what's going on?"
Max took a deep breath, then carefully said, "I can't use my power anymore."
Chloe looked at her in disbelief, "What? Come on, there's-"
Max cut her off, "Chloe, I'm not gonna argue you with you, not about this. After everything I caused, all the damage I did-" She broke off, and swallowed, "I can't risk it. We have no idea what we're messing with, and it's already messing back. It's only been a week, and look how much damaged my powers caused. No way, not again."
Chloe furrowed her brow, "But look how much good we've done too! We could-"
"Chloe, I said I'm not arguing with you. You were pissed I made the choice for you at the lighthouse, right?" Chloe nodded grudgingly, "It's my power. You have to let me choose."
After a minute, Chloe sighed, "You always said your power might not last."
Max smiled gently, "And you said?"
Chloe groaned, "You're really gonna make me say that sappy shit again?"
"Yes."
"I said we'd last forever." Max grinned victoriously, "Asshole." Chloe shoved her playfully, making the car swerve slightly off the road.
"Dude, watch the road rage!" Max said, laughing.
"I don't think either of us wants to watch the road rage. It could give us a flat, or just swallow us in a sinkhole." She glanced at Max hopefully, "Get it? Cause the road is the one raging?"
"Yes, I'm not that dumb!"
"I was just making sure," Chloe muttered.
"Anyway, I got us off topic." Max scooted forward in her seat, "The other thing about telling my parents is that-" Max swallowed nervously, her eyes glancing away from Chloe, "Things happened to me. In the Dark Room, and... Elsewhere, that didn't happen in this timeline.
Chloe scratched an itch on the back of her head absently, "Yeah. If I ever get my hands on Mark Jefferson, I swear-" she broke off, muttering various obscene things.
Max gave Chloe a grateful look, and gently took her hand, "But all that never happened in this timeline. So if David-" Max bit her lip, but continued, "If David ever talks to anyone about how he got Jefferson, our story sounds like bullshit.
"Yeah, assuming he's alive, what are the chances Step-spy is going to tell anyone anything?" Chloe said under her breath. When Max gave her an annoyed look, Chloe sighed, and said, "Yeah, yeah. I know he saved you. He's only 60% of a dickwad. So we don't tell them about Jefferson and you in the Dark Room or your powers."
"We may want to avoid the part about breaking into Blackwell too."
"Ah come on, I like that part!"
"Well I like the part where we aren't arrested for trespassing."
Chloe sighed, "Yeah, I guess I like that bit too."
They had driven for nearly another fifteen minutes, and were rapidly approaching the city limits. As they began up a hill, Max sat up excitedly, and smacked Chloe's arm, "Watch, you have to see this."
"I'm driving nerd! Would you rather me stare somewhere that's not the road? You want me to check you out or something?"
Max blushed, "Shut up! When we come over the rise, you'll be able to see the city. Trust me you wanna look."
"Max, I'm sure it's cool but-" They came over the hill, and Chloe caught her breath, "Holy shitballs."
The city was much bigger than Chloe had thought, a towering skyline amplified by the purple dusk behind it. Skyscrapers towered throughout the center of city, and Chloe could see what she assumed was the Space Needle's dome. It immediately drew her eye, and it took her a minute to pull her eyes from the glowing cityscape. When she did, she saw the dark finger of Puget Sound to the west, and the Olympic Mountains rising far above the city to the east.
"Yeah, that was kinda my reaction when I first saw the city," Max said quietly, "It really is beautiful."
"Ten bucks says I know what you said."
"Not taking that bet Price. No way."
"It was wowser, wasn't it?"
"No! Shut up!" Max's voice had risen an octave, and Chloe grinned.
"Got it in one." Chloe stared out at the city, "I've never seen anything like it. I mean, don't get me wrong, Portland was hella cool, but. Shit." She trailed off.
"Chloe Price, lost for words. I'll need to remember this moment." Max teased.
Without looking at her, Chloe flipped her off, "Take a picture, it'll last longer." Max's face instantly fell, and Chloe started swearing to herself, "What? What'd I say?"
Max shook her head, "Don't worry about it. Just. Haven't felt like taking any pictures since... You know."
Chloe sighed, and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl, "Hey, don't worry. You'll get through this. And if not, I'll find Jeffershit and punch him in the dick. Sound good?"
Max giggled a little, fighting back tears, and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder, "Yeah Chloe. Sounds good."
"Great!" Chloe said, sounding more chipper than she felt. Any reminder of Arcadia Bay tended to suck some of her energy. She slipped an arm around Max's shoulders, and squeezed, "Come on then. Let's go meet your parents."
Note: I had originally intended to switch perspectives after their argument, and have the chapter end with them meeting Max's parents, but I decided I really wanted to see Chloe's reaction to the Seattle skyline. It's a beautiful city, and other than Portland she's probably never been far from Arcadia Bay before. Like I said I had intended to bring Max's parents in this chapter, but this ending point seemed more natural. Up next: Max's parents, their house in Seattle and a reveal I am very much looking forward to. You might have some idea, but I doubt you'll see it all coming ;) I certainly hope not anyway, I'd hate to be becoming predictable! Anywho, I'm going to write this chapter over the course of this week. I have no classes Monday, so I'm making that my deadline. If I can, I'll post sooner (Maybe this weekend if I can swing it) but since I also have to edit, my guess is Monday. Please Favorite/Follow if you like this story, review if you're so inclined, but most importantly keep reading! I appreciate it. Thanks muchly, and talk to you all later!