Chapter 4: Safeguard
The look on Max's face as she got out of Chloe's car lit up her world like a sun. It seemed like such a small thing from the outside, but on the inside... nobody could understand how important it truly was. Turning the car on and driving away, all Chloe could think about was this new relationship that they were in. She truly felt happy and contempt with her life for the first time in years. Chloe of course wanted to tell her mom about all of this new information, but she knew that Max would get upset with her if she did.
On her way home, Chloe decided to stop at the lighthouse to chill for a moment. She wasn't tense, or upset, but she just felt like she needed to. Like it was calling to her. Whilst parking at the beach, all she could see were the beached whales. It worsened her mood by every passing second that she stared at them. It was just such a depressing sight to see. Forcing herself to break away her stare, she turned off her car and started hiking up to the lighthouse.
This was the best view in all of Arcadia Bay, hands down. Was it better at sunset? Absolutely, no questions asked. But just something about the morning glow on the water just felt completely different. Like if the sunset was calming, the morning was energizing. But it was also strangely relaxing. It was weird how everything felt sitting on that bench. Oddly surreal. The mix of emotions that Chloe felt was just... so overwhelming. She wanted to cry, but she wasn't sad or angry. She was the happiest she has been in a long time. She just wanted company at that moment.
"Max, I wish you were here right now. I still don't understand why you went to Blackwell today." Chloe tried to calm herself down by talking to herself. "I know it's been only like 20 minutes since I dropped you off, but man, I can just forget about reality with you around."
While sitting at the bench, Chloe started to tap her fingers against the wood anxiously. She just needed to do something or else she would go stir-crazy.
"Y'know, I feel like in a seperate life, I would have related to those beached whales. Probably would've said something about how shitty my life is. Sounds like something I would say..." She laughed at herself. "My life changed so much when you came back, and I could never be more thankful."
Chloe was starting to tear up. "God dammit, I'm getting too sentimental... It's not like she's dead Chloe, so stop acting like she is. You're sitting here, almost crying, when you know you have a job to do. You'll get to see Max later..."
Getting up from the bench, she took one more look off into the distance before trekking down back to her truck. She needed that moment just to vent... or rather just to be alone for a bit, even though she was pretending to talk to Max. She had grown so attatched to her within the past week. It used to be Rachel that Chloe would only think about, but something just changed her perspective of Rachel. Was it the notes that Rachel left Frank? Or was it Max that changed everything for her? The question was too hard to answer.
The drive home was quiet. Chloe didn't even bother turning on the radio. She had to focus her thoughts on building the plan for tomorrow. She didn't even know where to start, and that was the hardest part. Building a stable foundation to form the rest of the structure on.
Pulling into the driveway, she parked her car and headed not for her room, but for the backyard. She went to go grab the board with all of their drawings on it. It was going to be a bit weird lifting it up a flight of stairs when she was down a person, but she carried Max a lot last night, so it was going to be light work.
It turned out to be not so light of work. It was really awkward trying to force the huge board of wood up a flight of stairs. Joyce was still home when Chloe came back and offered to lend a hand, but Chloe was stubborn and refused. She really should've taken the help, as she was winded by the time she got all the way up.
"Yeah, Light work Chloe, light work." She mumbled to herself while opening her door. Lifting the board was the easy part, moving it wasn't. Thankfully she didn't have far to go this time. Just plop it in the corner and get to work. Now she just needed some paper...
"Hey mom, do you know where we keep the paper," Chloe asked in a rush.
"Whoa slow down, stop goin' so fast. I doubt whatever you are doing up there needs to be done this instant."
"You're right, it doesn't. But I'm in my flow state right now, can't waste my focus, y'know?"
"I get what you're saying, but settle down please. David's sleeping upstairs and the last thing he wants is to be woken up."
"Alright alright, I'll quiet down as long as you show me where the paper is."
"Fine by me. It's in the desk drawer near the bookcases. Should be enough paper for you in there."
"Thanks Mom."
Digging through the old desk drawers, Chloe eventually found the paper that she needed. It wasn't much, but she could make do with it. Turning around, she jumped as she saw her mom standing there.
"Can I uh... Can I help you, Mom?"
"Yeah you can help me. Help me figure out what the hell you've got planned."
"I um... Do I have to?"
"I would really appreciate if you could explain what you're doing, yeah."
"I'm just planning something out for Max and I. That's it, I swear."
"Now was that so hard?"
"I guess not..."
"Now I have another question for you."
Oh no.
"What's that, Mom?" Chloe was getting more and more nervous by the second. She didn't want to spill the beans to her mom, mostly because Max told her not to.
"Mind cluing me in as to what's going on between you two? You guys met up just two days ago and it seems like you guys are closer than you were 5 years ago."
"Uhhhh... I don't think I can." Chloe was now sweating bullets. Her anxiety was sky high at this point. She couldn't just break her promise to Max like that, but her mom would not give up that easily. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Yeah and why's that?"
"I made a promise to Max."
"Chloe, you can talk to me. I can tell that it's eating you up inside. I can keep a secret."
"Promise not to tell Max that I told you this?"
"I promise, Chloe."
"Fine... Me and Max are... dating."
"I had a feeling that was the case."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Oh come on Chloe. It was kinda obvious when you made her breakfast this morning."
"Was it really? I didn't think it was that obvious. I figured you could've made breakfast for friends."
"You can, but just not the way you went about doing it. Does that make sense?"
"It does. I don't know, I thought I was being subtle about it."
"Well you weren't. Now, when did you guys admit it?"
"Last night. After we finished watching movies, we kinda just started to chat and Max admitted to it."
"I see. Well I'm happy to see you happy, Chloe. I almost forgot what you looked like when you smiled."
"Yeah I know the feeling. It's been way too long since something like this has been in my life."
"I appreciate you telling me what was going on with you and Max, Chloe. You look way more relieved now that it's off your chest. I'll let you continue with your work."
"Thanks for the talk, Mom. I really needed it."
"Anytime. It's what I'm here for."
The talk with her mother eased her mind more than she thought it would. The thought of trying to keep the secret of their relationship plagued her mind. It was all she thought about, and it was going to be hard to work if she didn't have a clear mind.
"Alright Chloe. We got a plan to make, but where do we start?" Chloe started to think out loud. She had to keep it down so she wouldn't wake David in the other room.
"So, we could possibly run to Blackwell in the morning and grab Nathan's phone. That part should be easy, considering Max's guard dog, Warren. Not a particularly scary or vicious dog though. Like a chihuahua, annoying and will bite you if need be... Nice one, Chloe."
Chloe was in her element right now. Yeah, talking out loud kinda made her sound insane, but she hardly cared. This plan had to be finished, no matter how crazy she sounded.
"We need some evidence to show David, because otherwise we will just sound bat-shit crazy to him. Also, the code for the dark room is in the bag with Nathan's phone, so we will need that if we wanted to go anywhere. Now as far as actually getting into the dark room, we would want to go near the evening, maybe 4 or 5 pm. Don't go inside, but just doing a bit of surveillance."
Chloe scrambled to write all of these ideas down, scribble little drawings on them to give a visual as to what's going on, and pin them on to the board. Now she could admit that she was going a bit fast with this, and probably looked like a rabid squirrel with how her movements looked, but she was in a peak thinking zone. She felt like the detective this time, instead of Max.
"Alright, so the plan for how everything leading up to telling David is laid out. Now for the time and what to tell him when the time comes. We could do it at night, which would be preferrable, but we have no way of knowing if Jefferson will be there. Hmm... Yeah night time would be best probably. Before the party, though. From there, David will be able to take care of it with his police buddies, I guess."
Time was flying by as she wrote down her ideas and doodled her little plan ideas, and she made one extra plan that wasn't necessarily agreed upon, but she would deal with that when the time came. She looked at her phone and it was nearing the time for her to pick Max up. The plan she made was as good as it was going to get by herself, so she needed to have Max smooth out the rough patches.
-ring-ring-
Speak of the devil...
-
"Yo, what's up Max?"
"Nothing really, just another swell day at Blackwell."
"Is that sarcasm I hear?"
"No never..."
"So you need me to come pick you up?"
"I would love that, thank you."
"Alright, on my way. See you in a bit."
"See you."
And with that, the phone call ended. It was brief, sure, but not every phone call needed to be long winded. It was just nice to have a short chat. As Chloe grabbed her keys, she gave a once over to her room. To see if she was missing anything, and look over the plan once more for herself, just so she can brainstorm on the way to getting Max.
The drive was calm and easy. Chloe didn't think of anything else to add on to the plan, as she already thought it was pretty well developed. As for it actually working without any issues? That was a big no. Yeah, sure, the plan sounds pretty decent in concept, but there are too many variables going into it that could screw everything up.
As Chloe pulled up to Blackwell, she could see Max sitting on the stairs, writing in her journal. She was completely oblivious to everything around her. Chloe's truck, the chatter of students, and everything in between. Chloe thought about honking her horn to get her attention, mostly because she thought it was funny, but she decided against it. Didn't really feel like getting on Max's bad side.
Chloe turned off her truck and swung open her door. She started to walk over to Max to get her attention instead. It wouldn't scare her as much, and that's probably for the best. She tapped on her shoulder, and Max removed her earbuds. Turns out she wasn't as oblivious as Chloe thought.
"What are you writing about?"
"Oh you know, just... thoughts and stuff."
"Do you wanna talk about anything?"
"Eh, not right now I don't think. Maybe later I guess."
"Alright, I'm gonna be holding you to it."
Chloe took Max's hand and lifted her up off of the step, then guided her to her truck. Chloe noticed that Max seemed a bit stressed out compared to this morning. There was something going on in that brain of hers, and she needed to know what it was.
The drive back was too quiet. It bothered Chloe how silent it was between them. Chloe wanted to say something, but just... couldn't. She didn't know what to say, or if she did say something, if it would upset Max in some way. It was a risk that she wasn't willing to take. As they made it back to Chloe's house, Max finally spoke up. Thank god.
"So how did plan making go?"
"Pretty good actually. I got a decent plan laid out for tomorrow. Of course, we still need to smooth it out, but I feel like I did pretty well."
"Alright, let me hear it!"
"Actually, I think it would be best to show you."
"Wait... You're meaning to tell me that you wrote everything down and stuff like that?"
"Kinda..."
Max was shocked at this. She knew that the both of them were decent detectives, but this is a new side of Chloe that she hasn't seen before. They made their way up to Chloe's room, and when she opened the door, all she could see was paper flung everywhere. Stepping inside, Max could see what Chloe has been up to all day.
"Chloe... How did you get this board up here by yourself?"
"You know there's actually a really funny story behind that. Well, not really a story, and it isn't funny... Anyways, I don't really know I guess. My mom offered to help me out with it, but I declined."
"I bet it wasn't easy, huh?"
"Lifting it kinda was. I thought it was going to be light work moving it up here, but uh... It proved to be not so light."
"I get it. Also, this is pretty well organized Chloe! How long did this take you?"
"Oh not that long."
"I know that's bullshit. I can tell by your face."
"Ok it maybe took me until you called, but I feel like I did some good work."
"I'm sure you did, Chloe. I'm sure you did. Now let's look over this plan, shall we?"
Max walked over to the board sitting in the corner of Chloe's room, and all she could see was paper. It wasn't very organized looking, but knowing Chloe, there was probably something that she did to make it flow pretty well.
"Ok first thing, you want to go steal Nathan's phone in the morning? I thought we agreed that we wouldn't be needing evidence."
"But the thing is, we will need evidence to show David, or else he will think we are just crazy. And plus, we will only be getting the phone. We don't need Frank's logbook, and frankly... no pun intended... I don't really feel like dealing with him."
"You make a good point Chloe. I guess I didn't think about it that way."
Max continued to scan the board, and she couldn't really see anything else worth mentioning. It seemed pretty clear-cut to her. Although for one thing, she thought she would add an idea that she thought of while reading the plan.
"Ok so, I like this plan. It makes sense, and seems pretty clear cut."
"Now where's the but?"
"What do you mean?"
"You can't say all of that and not add a 'but' at the end of it, Max."
"Oh yeah, I was going to say that we could go to the party tomorrow night, and lead David and the police to Jefferson. We already know that he will be at the junkyard after the party, so we could just trap him, y'know?"
"I'm gonna have to pass on that one Max. Yeah sure, we do know this, but that would require us digging up Rachel, and frankly I'm not too keen on that idea, Max."
"But we don't know that. We could fool Jefferson into thinking that we were the ones at the junkyard. He'll text us and we could tell David everything immediatetly."
"What about the cameras in the barn? Wouldn't he be able to see David on them?"
"Not if we take care of those. They have to be connected to a power source in order to operate. If we could just find where it is, we could just turn the cameras off."
"But the door to the Dark room is electrical as well, so wouldn't we be cutting off power to that as well?"
"I... didn't think about that."
"I mean technically there should be power directed to certain parts, right? So we could just look for where wires lead and make sure we flip the right switches."
"But what if it doesn't have any switches?"
"I don't know, we shoot the cameras I guess?"
"Are you fucking crazy Chloe? Why would we shoot the cameras?"
"I don't know, to make sure they never work again?"
"Chloe we can't just shoot the cameras."
"Yeah, we can't, but that doesn't mean David can't."
"Oh my god Chloe, how do you think of things like this?"
"It's called having great ideas, Max. I'm kinda like... on a roll today."
Max just resulted to smiling and nodding her head at Chloe. She wasn't going to win this argument, so she decided to concede and let her have her fun.
"So what now, Max?"
"I'm not sure. I guess we could just chill for the rest of the day."
"Wanna use that raincheck from this morning?"
"I suppose I can..."
"Wanna grab a bite to eat? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"Did you eat anything while you were working on all of this today?"
"Nope, too focused gurl. Gotta keep that mind on track."
"Jesus christ Chloe, we need to get you something to eat, like, now!"
"I mean, I kinda did propose the idea of going to get something to eat, but you know..."
"Yes, we can go somewhere to eat. I could eat something right about now. Not as hungry as you must be, but that's kind of expected."
"So where do you want to go? Have any places in mind?"
"I'm fine with whatever. It'll probably be good if you pick it anyways."
"I did see this one restaurant that seemed pretty nice while driving around one day. Thought about taking Rachel there if she ever came back... but we know how that one turned out."
"Chloe, we don't need to go there if you don't want to, if it means you'll be upset."
"I'm not upset, Max. I need to go there anyways."
"Why do you need to go there if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well if you really must know, I have a date with a really cute girl there." Chloe winked at Max at the end of her sentence. Max blushed at this, as she wasn't expecting Chloe to do something like that.
"Alright, well we should probably get moving then. Don't want to be late, now do we?"
"Late? What do you mean late? Don't tell me you..."
"What? Make reservations at a nice restaurant at exactly-" Chloe looked at her non-existent watch, "-5:30 p.m.? No, I would never do something like that."
"Chloe, are you serious right now?"
"Are you mad at me for doing this behind your back?"
"No, not at all! I'm just surprised is all. I wasn't expecting you to do something like this. You said it was a nice restaurant, so shouldn't we wear something nice as well?"
"I'm fine with what I'm wearing, but you on the other hand-"
"Don't you dare Chloe."
"-look absolutely breathtaking."
"Why!? Why did you have to say that?" Max was incredibly flustered at Chloe's comment. She hated how much of a smooth talker Chloe was. Well, she didn't hate it, in fact she kind of liked it, but not like this!
"I have to, Max. Just who I am. Anyways, we do need to get going."
"Alright, I'm right behind you."
The restaurant was indeed nice. It wasn't like a suit and tie/dress type of place, but you weren't going to be wearing street clothes here either. Chloe opened the door for Max and waved her inside. Max was loving every moment of this. Yeah, it felt like it was going a bit fast for her, considering they made everything kind of official just that morning, but Max wasn't going to let that ruin this experience.
The inside was dimly lit, not like candle-light dim, but just slightly dark. Although, Max wouldn't be surprised if the waiter pulled out a candle and lit it on their table. Chloe trailed off from behind Max and went to the receptionist desk to ask about their reservation.
"Hey how's it going, I have a reservation here at 5:30."
"At 5:30, you say? And what was the name?"
"Chloe Price."
"And I see that it is for 2 people, correct?"
"Yeah."
"And if I may ask, is your guest with you today?"
"Yeah, they are. Hey Max, come over here for a sec!?"
"Coming!"
"You must be Ms. Price's guest tonight, is that correct?"
"Um... yes sir."
"Alright, well now that all of that is taken care of, allow me to show you to your table."
Max thought the receptionist walked too stiff, like he was being forced into a rythym that his brain didn't follow. It just looked weird to her, but Chloe didn't seem to pay any mind to it. She was just happy to be there from how her face looked. The table was pretty tucked away in the corner, not completely removed from everything else, but still it's own cozy little nook.
"Alright here is your table. May I get you two started with anything to drink?"
"Water's fine."
"Just a water for me."
"Two waters? Those will be right out to you two shortly."
The pair sat in their seats quietly whilst waiting for their water. They occasionaly glanced at each other, like they wanted to say something, but no words ever came out. Maybe they didn't want to ruin the mood? They seemed to be pretty chill with just sitting there in silence, just listening to the ambience of the restaurant and the faint sound of classical music. Max wasn't surprised to hear classical music at a place like this, it was just a tad bit too cliche for her though.
Flipping through the menu, all Max could see were high prices. Yeah she knew that this was a nice place, but not this nice! Did Chloe know what she was getting into when making that reservation?
"Chloe... the prices here are insane!"
"Yeah, but I heard the food here was to die for. So I thought it would be nice to come here. By the way, has anything piqued your interest yet?"
"I don't know... I guess a lobster roll. It's been years since I've had one of those."
"Goin' for a comfort pick? Can't say I blame you. I'm getting a burger. Shits probably hella good."
"Oooh that does sound good..."
"Alright, here are your waters. And are you two ready to order? Or do you need more time?"
"I think we're good to order now, yeah."
"Alright what can I get you two today?"
"Go ahead Max."
"Oh um... I-I'll have a uh... Lobster roll with fries."
"And that comes with a side of either a soup of your choice or a salad."
"Uhhhh... Clam Chowder sounds good for me."
"And now for you Miss?"
"A burger and fries for me, thanks."
"Alright, your food will be out in a short while."
"Thanks."
"Thank you."
"So Max, I gotta know."
"Gotta know what?"
"Your thoughts. On like this place and everything, or just in general, I guess."
"I think we are way over our heads being here. Like it's out of our league."
"Max we can be fancy if we tried hard enough, can't we?"
"Yeah, maybe if we were dressed a certain way and didn't order lobster rolls and burgers at a fancy restaurant."
"Yeah you kinda have a point."
"Anyways, I have a question for you now, Chloe?"
"Alright, lay it on me."
"Why are you doing this? Like I'm not upset with you, just... shocked I guess."
"Cause I love you, duh. Also you deserve something nice after this past... I don't know... week? You went through hell, and you deserve something like this. Even though this is small compared to what you actually deserve."
"Stop Chloe, I don't deserve any of this. It's too much for me."
"Max, I know this is probably a lot for you right now, but I wanted to do this so we could just step away from reality for a bit. I know shit sucks right now, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy something from time to time, right?"
"I guess so... Look, I don't want to be bringing down the mood with all of this... sad shit... I just have a lot on my mind is all."
"Don't worry about it, Max. I know you have a lot on your mind, but like I said before, think of this as an escape from reality, just for an hour."
"Alright... yeah, alright. You're right."
"I think your soup is coming, you better let me try some."
"You don't even like clam chowder, Chloe."
"I do too!"
"Here is your soup ma'am. And your meals should be out shortly, as well."
"Thank you sir."
"My pleasure."
Max and Chloe looked back in awe as to what he said. They never had gone to a restaurant and had the waiter say "my pleasure" before. They were used to the usual "No problem", but never "My pleasure".
"Dude, did he just say my pleasure to you?"
"I think he did. Are you sure we're still in Arcadia, Chloe?"
"Ha ha, good one Max. Now let me try the soup."
"No dude! I haven't even tried it yet. Wait your turn."
"Fine... fine... I guess I was hungrier than I thought."
Max unwrapped her silverware and went in for a bite of her soup. It looked amazing to her, and tasted even better.
"So? How is it?"
"You gotta try this."
Max slid her bowl over to Chloe's side of the table, making sure she didn't spill any. Chloe was still fumbling with her silverware by the time the bowl got to her. Chloe finally managed to get her spoon out and went to go take a bite of Max's soup, and then her eyes widened.
"Oh my god..."
"Isn't it good?"
"Dude that isn't good, that's fucking amazing! Why didn't I get this!?"
"You're more of a chicken noodle person, that's why."
"I mean you aren't wrong, but this is still really good."
"You can have a few more bites then. I don't want to get too full before the main meal, y'know?"
Chloe just nodded her head in agreement. She was way to invested in the soup to manage to let out a response.
"Anyways, I've kind of been craving a lobster roll for a while now, and I wanna savor that sandwich when it gets here."
"No i get that. I can't even start to imagine how good my burger is going to be just based off of this soup."
"Speaking of soup, can I have it back now?"
"Yeah, sorry. Kinda got caught up in it."
"Thank you for giving my soup back to me."
"Mhm, no problem. Least I could do really."
Max and Chloe sat in silence while they waited for their meals to come to the table. Chloe was excited to see what her hamburger was going to turn out like, while Max just ate her soup in peace. This was really nice to her, and Chloe was right. She needed this, just to leave the world for a moment.
"Hey Max, our food is here."
"Huh? Sorry I spaced out for a bit there."
"Yeah I can tell. Had to shake you to bring you back to life."
"Are you serious? I was out that hard?"
"Pretty much. Anyways... It's time for us to dig in!"
Max couldn't lie, her sandwich looked really good. And Chloe's burger? That looked really good as well. She saw her go in for a bite and just saw her eyes widen. It must've been good. Max went to take a bite of her lobster roll, and all she felt was pure amazement. She has never had such a good lobster roll in her life, and she lived in Washington for five years. So this was crazy to her how good it actually was."
"Max, this food is absolutely insane. This is worth every penny."
Max couldn't even respond to what Chloe was saying. She was too caught up in eating her meal to really pay attention.
"I'll take the silence as you agreeing with me."
"Oh... Sorry. No, I definitely agree with you. This food is to die for, Chloe."
And after that, they just ate in peace. They couldn't think about anything to talk about, so they chose not to talk at all. They could always do that afterwards, when their mouths weren't full.
After they finished their food, they felt like they were in heaven. It had been one of the best meals they had ever had in their life. Then Chloe got the bill. Max just saw her face go from happy to desolate in a matter of a second.
"What's wrong Chloe?"
"Oh um, Nothing. It's fine."
"You sure? Cause your face says otherwise."
"Yeah, yeah... It's all good. I'm gonna go pay for this, brb."
"Alright Chloe."
That tone that Chloe had did not sit well with Max. Not in the slightest. How much was the bill? She knew that the prices here were high, but how high was it really? She wanted to know how much the total was, but Chloe probably wouldn't tell her. She didn't know why, but probably so Max wouldn't freak out about how much she was actually spending.
As Chloe came back from paying the bill, she took out some money and set it on the table for the tip. She didn't know if she needed to or not, but she did regardless.
"Everything all good, Chloe? You look upset."
"I'm good Max, don't worry."
"How much was the bill?"
"More than I was expecting to say the least."
"But like the dollar amount? How much was it?"
"It doesn't matter how much it was. All that matters is if you had a good time or not. Did you?"
"I did, Chloe. This was very nice. Thank you."
"Good, so did I. I'd say that this was well worth it then. Wanna head out now?"
"I'm ready if you're ready."
Chloe walked around the table and took Max's hand, helping her out of their seat. Max loved this side of Chloe, and it was a side that she was showing a lot more now.
Opening up the door for Max, Chloe had a question for her.
"So... What are your thoughts on Ice Cream, Max?"
"I don't know, pretty good I guess? Why do you ask?"
"Wanna get some? I'm personally craving some after that meal."
"Sure I could go for some dessert. Do you want me to pa-"
"No Max, you are not paying for it. I made these plans, and by god I will stand by it."
"Alright, alright. Just thought I'd ask."
"Max I appreciate it, I really do, but I can't let you pay today. I made this plan today and I just want you to relax."
"Thank you Chloe, I really am thankful for this evening, you have no idea."
"I'm happy you are, cause I was really hoping that I was the only one who was enjoying it."
"Dude, are you serious? This entire evening has been great. Yeah sure, it was a bit jarring at first, but I realized how nice what you were actually doing was."
"Good. I'm happy to know that tonight is going well."
The both of them agreed that the evening was going amazingly. Max wasn't worried about anything, and Chloe was just happy that she was happy. Instead of making coversation on there car ride to the ice cream parlor, they just listened to music instead and enjoyed each others presence.
"Aaand we are here! Haven't been to this place in years."
"Isn't this the same place that we used to come to when we were kids?"
"Yeah, it is. Although it looks to have gone through a bit of changes."
"New name, new look, new place."
"Eh it can't be that bad. Probably still has some killer ice cream."
"Hopefully. Don't really know what I'm gonna get yet. Too many options."
"If you want, I can help you pick out a flavor. I feel like I know what you enjoy."
"I'll take you up on that. I want to see what you guess."
"Alright, well after you."
As the pair entered the parlor, the both shivered in response from the difference of temperature in there compared to outside. Chloe already knew what she was getting, but she continued to scan the options to figure out what Max would like. She finally landed on a flavor, that being rocky road.
"Pick me out a flavor yet?"
"I'm not super confident as I thought I was, but I think I got something that you'll like."
"Ok then, can't wait to hear it."
"Uh hey-" Chloe waved her hand to the guy behind the counter, "-we're ready to order."
"Alright then, what can I get you two?"
"I'll have a scoop of coffee ice cream in a waffle cone, and she'll have a scoop of rocky road in a-" she looked at Max as if wanting an answer to the question she was thinking, but apparently thoughts can't be linked between people, so she was left to guess what she wanted her ice cream in.
"-In a waffle cone as well."
"So a single scoop of coffee ice cream and a single scoop of rocky road, both in waffle cones. Is that correct?"
Chloe nodded her head in response to the clerk's question.
"Alright, well that'll be $6.75."
Chloe searched through her wallet and pulled out a 10, then handed it to the clerk. She was unsure if she made the right choice for Max, but she wouldn't know until they started eating. She looked over at her to see what she was up to, but all she saw was Max smiling at her in a very particular way that she couldn't describe. She couldn't tell if it was because she made the right or wrong choice, or if she was just genuinely happy.
"Alright, here's your change. You guys can take a seat either outside or in here and I'll bring it to you two."
"Alright cool, thanks."
"No problem."
Now that was the type of customer service that Chloe was used to. That restaurant was great, but she didn't care for the atmosphere. Too snobbish for her.
The two of them walked outside and sat at one of the metal tables next to the door. It was starting to get nice outside. The sun was starting to set, and it was getting a tad bit cooler outside. If they looked up, they would've probably seen smears of purple and orange smeared on to a blue sky. It was close to 6:30 by now, probably even a little later if Chloe had to guess by how it looked outside. But the time didn't matter to her. All that did was seeing the person across the table happy.
"Here you guys go. Enjoy the ice cream."
"Thanks."
"Thank you."
"Ok Max, I'm gonna cave. What's that face for?"
"What face?"
"The face you have on right now. I don't know what that smile means. Did I make the wrong choice or something?"
"No Chloe, you didn't. What you picked was fine."
"So why did you keep on giving me an 'are you serious' type of look?"
"Didn't mean to. If I was worrying you, then I'm sorry."
"No it's fine, Max. Don't worry about it. Now eat your ice cream before it melts."
"Not before I take a picture of you. You look too nice to pass it up."
"Do you want me to hold your ice cream then?"
"No it's fine, I can take it with one hand."
Max pulled out her camera from her bag and went to take the picture of Chloe. It was too pretty of a shot to miss. Chloe's face being lit the way that it was, the ice cream in her hand, and the multi-colored sky in the background just made for the perfect shot.
-Click-
The photo slowly spewed out of the front of the camera. It was going to take a minute to fully develop, but that gave Max some time to eat her ice cream. The flavor Chloe picked wasn't her first choice, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.
"So how did the photo turn out?"
"I don't know yet, haven't looked at it. Wanna tell me how it is?"
"I'd love to."
Max slid the photo over to Chloe, making sure not to ruin it. Film was expensive nowadays, so she couldn't waste a photo by letting it get damaged by a table. Chloe picked up the photo, and her jaw instantly went to the ground.
"That bad, huh?"
"Shut up, Max. This picture is... it's amazing."
"You're just saying that."
"No seriously, look at it!"
Max took the photo from Chloe's hand and took a look at it for herself. Part of her wanted to discredit it because she was the one who took the photo, but she couldn't. The picture came out perfectly, and she loved it.
"You know Chloe, this would be a great entry in the everyday heroes contest." Max could not say that with a straight face. It was impossible.
"Yeah bullshit it would. I'm hardly a hero, let alone an everyday hero."
"But you are. To me."
Chloe blushed at what Max said to her. It wasn't true in the slightest. Max was the real hero, and Chloe was just the 'partner in time'. She tried to be one, but she just couldn't best Max.
"Come on Max, stop giving me so much credit."
"I'm serious, I really think you are."
"Why? I just don't see what you see in me."
"Yeah, you may not have saved my life, but you were there for me, Chloe. You were always there for me, even after 5 years. And when we got sucked back in time all the way to Monday and we had to deal with all of that shit, you still helped me out, even though you had stuff to deal with on your own."
"Max, I... I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything, just accept the fact that you are my hero. You're what keeps me going, Chloe. Don't forget that, alright?"
"I won't forget... ever."
The two of them started holding hands midway through the conversation. They wanted to kiss, but there was a big metal table in between them. It didn't pose as much as an obstacle though, as they still managed to kiss each other. Yeah it was kind of awkward reaching over an entire table, but it was still a romantic moment for them nonetheless.
"Hey Chloe? Remember what I said to you this morning when you were taking me to school?"
"Something about how different this timeline is compared to the last one?"
"Yeah pretty much. Anyways, I never really told you how different today was, did I?"
"No I don't think you ever did. You kinda hinted at it, but never really fully went into detail."
"So, back in the old timeline...universe... whatever it is, I would've been in the alternate reality where you were dying on this day."
"Oh I see..."
"And I don't know if what we are doing today is changing any of what happened there. But I know one thing for certain."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"I am so incredibly happy of how today is turning out. You have no idea as to how special today actually is for me."
"I could guess, but I probably wouldn't get it right."
"Yeah you probably would. Anyways, wanna start heading out? It's starting to get a bit chilly."
"Yeah no problem, one question though."
"What is it?"
"Do you want to go back to my place? Or do you want to go back to your dorm?"
"I think I'll go back to your place if you don't mind."
"I would love if you joined me."
"So want to watch a movie or something?"
"Yeah that sounds good to me. Have any ideas for what you want to watch?"
"I don't know. I think I'm in a kind of in a mellow "Blade Runner" mood."
That sentence sent chills up Max's spine. It was the same sentence that Chloe had said to her in that alternate timeline. It made her hands clammy and she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Hey Max, you alright? You don't look so hot."
"Yeah I'm uh... I'm fine. It's nothing, I swear."
"If you say so... anyways do you oppose to the thought of Blade Runner, or are you down to watch it?"
"I'll watch it with you. I love that movie."
"Same. The ending always makes me cry."
Again, the same thing was said. Not the same context as last time, but still the same statement. Max was starting to get really freaked out by this, and she wanted it to stop.
"Alright, show time! Move over Max, make some room for me."
Chloe dropped on to the living room couch right next to where Max was sitting. Max leaned onto Chloe's shoulder as the movie started. She needed to stop the feeling that she felt from getting any worse, so she opted to cuddling to cure it. It worked wonders for her, as she was feeling significantly more relaxed by doing so.
"Max, don't fall asleep on me already! The movie literally just started!"
"What? Shouldn't you be telling that to yourself? You're always the one to fall asleep first during movies."
"I'll try, I'll try. No promises though."
"No promises from me either. I could fall asleep right now."
"Well as long as I'm awake, you're staying awake. Well for now I guess. Only because we just started, though."
"That's fair. I'll try to stay awake for you though. I do kind of want to watch this movie."
"Now that's something that we can both agree on."
As the movie progressed, the two of them got more and more drowsy, and eventually fell asleep in each others arms. Max clocked out a bit earlier than Chloe did, but only by about 15 minutes or so. The day really tired the both of them out, and they both needed their rest. They needed it for tomorrow.
Quiet lover, don't you turn away
I will try to show my better face
I will try to come right out and say
There is nothing that I would replace
- Foreign Fields "Don't Give Up"