Max and Chloe casually drifted into the Two Whales Diner, acting perfectly normal. Completely unlike two girls who not five minutes earlier breezily violated the laws of temporal causality in order to scam high grade weed off the local drug dealer.
Well, one girl.
Chloe smirked. "Dude, I gotta hit the little girls room, so why don't you grab us a table. Mom'll probably come and food us up before I get out. She knows what I like, so you just order whatever you want."
Max nodded once, then slowly made her way across the old prefab-style diner, a slice of life from the late nineteen-fifties, towards a both in the back. She took her sweet time about it, trying to soak up every detail, every nuance that she could. It was surreal to her, being back here again after all this time. It was the scent of Pine-sol and bacon grease that did it for her, immediately flooding her with nostalgia for the past; so many memories of times she and Chloe would hang out and plot their little schemes, curling up by the windows and watching the world pass by. It was practically a second home to her by the time she was taken away from Arcadia Bay.
The cherry red booths with their white trim, the chipped counter and dingy tile clacking underneath her boots, the curved display case featuring today's baked goods, not to mention the old jukebox sitting sullenly in the corner, twangy country music coming out of it's tinny speakers. The walls practically dripped with faded pictures of citizens long since gone and forgotten, little windows into the past of the sleepy little fishing village. Max imagined that if she were a normal teenager, she might find it embarrassingly hokey, but today? It was a symbol of the impossible, a manifestation of everything that was taken away from her by the Damocles Initiative. Even if she could only hold onto it for a few fleeting seconds, those sights and sounds and noises were enough to fill her with hope and joy to carry on for a hundred years of living on the run.
So this is how normal people live. The truckers, and the cops, and the fishermen. They all have their lovely little lives and shit, and none of them know how fucked up the world really is. That New York City almost bit it yesterday in a nuclear fireball, or that this town was almost destroyed five years ago this month.
Max longed for a little slice of their ignorance.
She slid into the booth and sighed gently, the last of the adrenaline from her larcenous adventure in time draining from her blood and bones. She stretched out, fingers tracing over the peeling fabric.
I missed it. This stupid little hick fishing town. I missed it. So badly. It was everything I ever knew. Geezus, I wonder...if. Huh. Probably best that Mom and Dad don't live in town anymore. They might run into me, or worse yet, I couldn't resist running home to see them, and then everything would go to hell. Still, I wish I didn't have to leave it again. Not so soon.
Max let her gaze trace across the assembled patrons at the counter.
Oh fuck, is that a cop!? Wait, I gotta...play it cool. No! No don't put the hoodie up, that'll just draw attention. Just act casual, stare out the window.
It was barely a minute before Joyce Price, clad in the Two Whales blue polo dress, apron, and sensible flats, walked up with coffee pot in hand.
"Well there she is. Max Caulfield. I thought I heard you scampering around the house yesterday night. When David told me a positively glowing tale about the lovely young woman he ran into in Chloe's room..."
Max gave a nervous smile of her own, and tilted her head in the other woman's direction. "Hi Joyce. It's nice to see you again. You look the same."
The other woman looked down at herself, and goodnaturedly mused, "Like I'm still a waitress at the Two Whales after all these years?"
"No, like you still look pretty."
Oh shit...Max. You could have done better than that!
All the same, it seemed to have the desired effect. "Nice save, kid." Joyce responded. "You're still smart. But I still would have liked a hi-how-are-ya before now."
Max blushed, and nodded. "Sorry about that. I guess...I just...well Chloe and me got so engrossed in catching up, you know? Just lost track of time. It was a shitty...sorry! A dumb thing."
Joyce smirked, pouring her a cup of coffee. "Well, I understand how girls, even young women, can get thoughtless. Especially when they haven't seen each other in so long. But tell me honestly, Max: are you really joining the - what was it David told me? - the Marines?
Max weighed her options as quickly as she could. She hadn't planned on having to keep up the deception for long, figuring she'd probably be gone soon enough. In David's case, she could have strung him along for most of a week, but Joyce?
Her other mother?
No. Even after years of government-grade secret spy school training, she couldn't lie to Joyce.
Well, not easily.
"Ah. Uhhh. No. S-sorry, Joyce. Just Chloe told me she and her step-dad didn't get along so hot, and I wanted to make a really good impression, you know? I guess I just got really crazy carried away with it. Because I'm studying acting, and it just kind of came out."
"Huh. I thought so. Maybe I haven't seen you in half a decade, and maybe you've grown up a lot, but I still know how Max Caulfield ticks." Joyce laughed lightly.
"So, the truth then?" Max murmured, a blush coloring her cheeks.
"That'd be nice, darling. I'll forgive you for bullshitting David this once, so long as you don't pull it with me." Joyce gave her a kind but warning expression.
Max shook her head. "No! I know. And the truth is, I did graduate high school, a year early. On account of all the time I spent in the summer, studying and earning credits. Mom and Dad they...they got kind of crazy about achievement, you know? Once I made it into Zion Academy."
Joyce nodded sagely. "Well, I must admit, you're parents...Oh Max, please don't take it unkind, but I always thought they went a little strange after you left."
Max nodded, sadly. "Yeeeeah. I know. Please don't think too bad of them, Joyce? They just thought they were doing the best for me. Pushing me so I could fulfill my full potential. But, well, we aren't exactly talking much at the moment, on account of all of that. It's sad, but right now, it's probably for the best."
It hurt, painting her Mom and Dad like crazy tiger parents who went off the deep end; She focused on remembering that this was all for the best. To keep everyone safe. She reached up, brushing a honest tear from her eyes, coughed lightly. "Sorry."
Joyce reached over, squeezing her shoulder. "Oh darling. You've got nothing to apologize for. It is good to see you again, after all this time. Chloe, she's had a hard time of things lately. I'm sure she's told you some of it already. Point being, you've come at a time when she could really use a friend. If nothing else, I was hoping you could be a good influence on her. As much at least as David seems to think you are."
Max nodded once, smiled shyly. "Yeah, I can see that. And I'll try to be, while I'm here. Just - I wish I was staying longer, is all. I haven't figured out college. I mean, I do want to go, just not sure where. I've got one or two places in mind, a safety school on deferment. I just need the next year to get my head on straight. After five years of being nothing but school school school. Push push push."
She paused, and then winced, "And...and I'm sorry about William, Joyce. So sorry. I didn't even..." She paused. She couldn't say she didn't know until yesterday. That'd bring up too many questions.
Max continued, "I know I didn't write, or call or - just believe me when I say it's complicated? I'm hoping to woman up for some of the shit of the past, you know? Balance out my karma."
Joyce leaned in, kissing Max on the top of her head.
"Darling, it sounds like you're moving on ahead with your life. That's a good thing. I moved along as well. Chloe? She's just chose to stay angry." Joyce drawled.
"Still, Joyce, I am so sorry about William. I have really great memories of him."
The older woman nodded. "Well, that was his gift to us. Wonderful memories of him. Even if Chloe doesn't understand yet."
Max shrugged sheepishly. "I dunno. I think she understands, but she needs time. As much as that much suck for you."
Joyce rolled her eyes, "Oh, she hit all the phases: expulsion, running away, drugs, bad boys, tattoos, piercings, blue hair. Now she's gotta rebel against her stepfather."
Max simply shrugged. She didn't feel like treading down that particular path.
And bad...boys?
"Anyhow" Joyce stated. "Let's get down to the nitty gritty. I saw that lazy daughter of mine come in with you, so I know what she wants, but what would you like to eat?"
Max's stomach gurgled in anticipation, and she laughed lightly. "Feeling nostalgic, Joyce. Gotta go for the waffle, you know? Maybe a side of bacon?"
"Mmmmhmmm. Coming right up. Why don't you finish your coffee in the meantime?" With that,Joyce wandered off, to call the order in.
A few minutes later, she came back, plate in hand, with a softly announced, "Incoming! I can hear your stomach rumbling from here, Max. Here, you'll love this."
Max rubbed her hands together and looked down at her food. She could count the number of times on one, maybe both hands that she'd eaten breakfast - or any meal, really - outside of Zion Control. And a donut snagged from some East Coast chain hardly compared to the delectable, not to mention nostalgic, feast laid out before her.
"I'm already drooling like a b-"
Max stopped short.
Wait. Wait back up a second. What? Where did that come from? The flash on eating a donut...or something? Where...New York?"
It was an incredibly mundane detail to suddenly recall, but it now rattled around, echoing inside the blank void in her memories; what little she could recall of everything between rolling back time in Seattle to her waking up in Chloe's bedroom.
She barely took notice as Joyce continued to talk, "Still can't believe you're a woman. When I look at pictures of Chloe - oh." She shifted her gaze over towards the other end of the diner as Chloe emerged from the bathroom. "Speak of the devil."
Chloe strode calmly across the diner tiles, like she owned the place. Perhaps not in any legally binding sense, but it was clear she considered The Two Whales her turf. She passed by some 'bro' Max didn't recognize, sitting in a booth near the door, and gave him a fist bump.
She smirked, and slowed up, "Mom and Max, together again."
"And Chloe, looking for a free meal." Joyce sighed with disdain. "You've put your whole damn college fund on your tab."
Max blinked, feeling a sense of helplessness well up as she was confronted with a wholly alien experience: derisive friction between Chloe and Joyce. In her mind's eye, circa 2008, Chloe and her Mom were still close. Maybe not the way she and and her Dad had been, but still. The thought of their relationship being strained these days cut through Max like a jagged knife.
"I'm treating Chloe for breakfast." she suddenly announced, putting on her winningest smile. Certainly, she had the cash to afford it, and if it defused the situation...
"This your way of atoning for yesterday?" Joyce asked. It was said lightly, with a hint of a playful smile, but Chloe jumped hard on it.
With a heavy roll of her eyes, she said, "Oh Mom, please don't give Max any shit for..." Suddenly, she paused. "Wait, what?"
Max blushed and confessed. "I - uh - couldn't pull the same trick on your Mom I did with your Dad. Sorry, Chloe...but it's Joyce, you know? I told her the truth, about me finishing up at Zion Academy early, and just getting my shit together while I defer college for a year. Even told her about how I'm not talking to my parents anymore so, it's cool."
God, I hope Chloe picks up on the change in plans...c'mon, of course she will! She's Chloe. She's been following my lead, or...or I've followed hers for...well. Not the past five years, but for a long time before that!
Joyce shook her head. "It's alright. I know you're a good girl Max...er...woman. I promise not to spill the beans to David. For now."
Chloe stretched out, biting down on her bottom lip in visible frustration, hands stretched behind her head. "Good. 'cause she's too old to get any lectures from you or Sergeant Pepper.."
"Call him David if you don't want to be lectured." Joyce interrupted testily, before adding. "You only get one slice of bacon today." and walking away.
Not immediately sitting in the booth, and instead choosing to lean against it, Chloe glanced down at Max, who said, "Damn. I know you guys always used to poke at each other, but there's that and now - now this shit. Sorry, Chloe. Harsh."
"Another reason to blow this town." Chloe muttered, then glared angrily in the corner. "What is this shit on the jukebox?" She drifted lazily over, put in a few coins, and picked something out that Max thought she vaguely recognized as an old punk song from Cammie's music collection.
I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow? Sounds close enough to it, at least.
As she made her way back to the booth, Chloe gripped the table and the upper part of the seat, lifting up her legs and leaping in, before sliding down onto her butt, prompting a grin from Max.
Hah...I love how you strut around like a badass, Chloe.
"Let's talk about your superpower!" the blunette whispered conspiratorially.
Chloe's brain was still reeling from the trick that Max pulled off earlier. From her perspective, it looked like Max did nothing short of producing some killer weed out of thin air. She trusted her of course, when her best friend told her that she actually went through time, did biz with Frank, and took it all back, weed in hand and that dickbag none of the wiser.
But there was still that bit of doubt in her mind.
Can't help it. Occam's Razor's kind of a bitch.
"Chloe..." Max started to softly groan out, putting her elbow on the table, laying her face against an outstretched palm.
"C'mon, Max! I'm sorry, but this is too cool! I want more proof you can really manipulate time! You know, we'll start slow, right here and now, and..."
Max gave a heavy sigh, and mumbled, in a bored tone of voice, "You have a panda bear keychain in your pocket, along with a cheap package of cigarettes with seven cigs still left. Also, eighty-six cents in change, including the quarter you're gonna think about holding in your hand to try and trip me up. Finally, a warning ticket dated September 21st, 10:34am, bitching about your shitty parking. You got a hoop you'd like me to jump through, while I'm at it?"
"Whoa...whoa hey now, Max. Chill." Chloe said, holding up her hands defensively. "Don't go jumping all over me, I didn't even say anything. Shit, I don't even know what's in my pockets."
Jesus, why you so pissed at me?
She tried to tamp down whatever hurt was welling up inside her at Max's sudden attitude adjustment as she emptied the contents of her jeans and jacket pockets onto the table.
She busied herself for a moment, double-checking everything...
...Max hadn't missed a single detail. She was perfectly correct, on all counts.
No...no way! How could she...this is impossible!
"Amazeballs..." Chloe hissed softly. "I literally just got chills over my neck!"
Max gave her a pained expression, and lifted her head up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get pissy with you. It's just..." she narrowed her eyes into a steely sharp-gaze, and pointed it out towards the distant lighthouse through the window. "...five years, Che. Five years, they poked and prodded me, and asked me to do all kinds of experiments. Push and push and push, trying to make me more powerful. Max, what happens if you rewind back with this in your hand? Max, take this file folder and hand it back to me, that way I know the experiments begun...Max..."
Chloe felt her heart sink down into her stomach, and the urge to crawl under the table burn hot at the back of her neck.
Fuck...FUCK! God, Chloe, you can be so stupid sometimes.
"No it's me being a total ass, Maxima. I just...I'm sorry."
"For the record," Max smiled. "Now that it's over and done with, I actually don't mind showing off. I mean, only for you, of course. Because, you know, you think it's cool, and you aren't trying to figure out how to make an actual weapon out of it. That, and you'll let me leave the table when we're done."
And now Chloe's heart felt so much lighter. Before she could say anything more, Joyce returned.
"Take that crap off the table, Chloe!"
She quickly scooped everything into her pockets, mumbling, "sure, Mom", making room for the plate.
"How's the food, Max?", Joyce asked.
"Better than I remembered." Max said with a heartfelt smile.
"Very good save." Chloe's mother remarked, before heading off to take the next order.
Chloe stared down, grateful for the sudden shift, and began to attack her food.
"Man, I'm hungry like the wolf!"
"Clearly." Max remarked.
Barely a few seconds passed; Chloe just couldn't help herself, her mouth running ahead of her brain.
"I'm sorry Max, I'm still freaking out about what just happened. I mean, I know I've seen you do crazy shit before, but right here, right now, as an intentional thing? I...shit! Sorry...I'm gonna shut up now, okay? Like you said, you're not a lab rat. Not anymore."
Max reached out, squeezing her hand warmly. It sent chills up her arm, down her spine, in a way that seemed curiously familiar, and oh-so-delightful.
"Chloe, I don't mind. For you, I seriously don't mind, now that I've had a moment to check my inner bitch at the door. Because - ah - because...I mean, I wanted to show you this from day one. Seriously, I spent hours trying to figure out how to explain it to you and...oh. Oh holy shit."
Chloe tilted her head. "This a good shit, or a bad shit?"
"I forgot. You remember the day they took me away? During school, I said I had to talk to you about something at the Two Whales Diner?"
"If you say so, Max." Chloe said. "Sorry, my memory's crap at best. I'm not even going to try and avoid blaming the weed."
Max snerked. "Okay, so...so I'm just going to pretend this is that moment we never got together, right? The moment they took away from me, where I was going to show my best friend in the whole world this awesome new power of mine."
Chloe felt her throat tightening, another flush of warm tingles, tinged with disgust over what had been stolen from both of them by those uncaring assholes in the government.
"O-okay, Max. Whatever you've got to show me." she paused, then spoke in an increasingly confident tone. "What do you got that you possibly think can top all the craziness you've done so far, huh?"
Go on, Max! Be a star! I'm ready to cheer on your continued awesomeness!
Twitching her lips, Max began to wave her finger in the air in circles, almost as if it were a magic wand. "For my neeeext act..." she drawled. "I will predict the future. The next thirty seconds."
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, leaned back and said, "I stand ready to be amazed! Or...sit ready."
Max started to point out as she calmly, confidently predicted. "The trucker guy over there? He drops his mug, and your mom totally rips him a new one for it. A few seconds later, the cop at the counter gets an alert call, but he complains because his partner in the car leaves without him."
"Dooo go on..." Chloe murmured, grinning like a loon.
"Then those two dipshits over there..." Max paused, blinking. "Oh! That's Justin? Huh. He looks like...yeah. And you tell me the other guy's name is Trevor. They get into some kind of bro-fight, and Joyce breaks it up."
"This is getting good! Can't wait to see what happens!" Chloe said with rising expectation.
"Annnd finally? That jukebox goes nuts over there, just as a cockroach crawls over it. Ugh..." Max glanced down at her food. "And suddenly I'm not so hungry anymore." She shrugged, and after a few more seconds, went back to eating, undeterred.
Max continued eating, completely unconcerned, and showing absolutely no interest in whether she was right or wrong. Chloe, on the other hand, was on the edge of her seat, preparing to be dazzled.
And then, like a glorious domino arrangement falling into satisfying place...
"Ooops!"
A mug shattered noisily on the floor
"Did you break another cup? Really? No refill for you!" Joyce groaned in dismay.
The police radio the African-American officer was wearing crackled to life.
"Shoot, now I gotta take this call and leave my breakfast. Hey, where is my partner?"
A police cruiser just outside roared to life and took off without him.
Chloe couldn't believe it. Not a damn second of it. She gripped the side of the table, gazing at Max for confirmation. All the other girl did was smile sweetly, chewing through her waffle. Suddenly, she grabbed her fork and waved it around like a conductor's baton.
"Hey...hey Chloe... watch this." Max mouthed the following words...
"You're a dick!" Trevor called out.
"Don't slap me, bitch!" Justin retorted.
"Take your fight club outside!" Joyce demanded.
"He started it!"
"I'm finishing it!" she added.
Max stopped lip synching, jabbed at a piece of waffle and then lifted it to her lips, wiggling in her seat in victory. She snapped her fingers behind her, and like clockwork, the jukebox started to go haywire, playing songs at random.
No...no way! This isn't...this is crazy! Impossible!
"Go on." Max giggled at her.
Chloe sputtered. "What...go on? What the hell do you mean?"
"Say it. Whatever you were just about to say." she cooed.
Chloe laughed sharply. "Fuck, you already know whatever it was! Why should I?"
"C'mooon. I wanna hear it. Again. You look cute when you say it."
C...cute? Well then...and I mean...yeah! I guess I was about to...
Chloe genuflected across the table, and in an exaggerated fashion, declared, "I pledge allegiance to Max, and the power for which she stands!"
Max shook her head, still laughing lightly. "You know, it is a lot more fun, doing this with you. I mean, Jenkowitz, that asshole. He'd laugh and he'd hoot and shit, but I always felt like he was laughing at me. But you're enjoying the moment right along side me. It's really different."
"How could I not be! This is like the best toy ever! Hell, you can bang anyone with no strings attached, rewind time, and boom! It's like it never happened!"
Max covered her eyes, shaking her head, trying her best to keep from smiling. "I can't believe that's the first place you went to, Che."
Chloe wasn't sure why she said what she did next. Something inside was egging her on. By the time she realized the words came out of her mouth, it was too late.
"Maybe you made a move on me already, and I would never know!"
The two of them stared at each other, across the table, both blushing furiously, as the conversation screeched to a dead halt. Chloe reached up, rubbing the back of her head, laughing nervously.
"Just..cause...ah...you know. Jokin', Max. Ha ha...mouth's running away, cause I'm thinking of all the cool shit I'd do if I was you...you know...without the government shit happening, and...ach!"
She immediately proceeded to abort the conversation by shoveling food into her mouth.
Max held her light smile, staring at her. Chloe did her best to ignore it. Not that it was unpleasant. Really, it was totally the opposite.
Can't believe I just said those actual words. God, what the hell, Chloe?
Fortunately, Max must have taken pity, because she busied herself by falling silent and working on the rest of her meal as well.
They said nothing more, simply eating together, and occasionally sneaking glances back at each other. Max's smile slowly faded away into an expression that Chloe would best describe as 'troubled concern'. She couldn't help but get the sense that Max was working up the nerve to tell her something.
Just as she started to open her mouth, Max beat her to the punch.
"Chloe? There's something I wanted to tell you."
"Oh yeah?" she muttered around her mouthful of toast.
Max nodded, fidgeting at the table. Taking a deep breath, she started to talk, then lost her nerve. Took a drink of her own coffee and tried again. Failed, and then glanced around nervously. Her friend then leaned in across the table, beckoning her close.
"Wow, some heavy duty shit about to go down?" Chloe gently teased. She regretted saying it, as soon as she saw the pained expression it produced on the other girls face.
Ah God! Chloe, stop with the make bad talk do, already!
"The day I went back, the very first time? It did it because - because your Dad died. And I managed to stop it." Max held up a hand, immediately cutting Chloe off before she could react. "This happened in 2008. Not 2009. Like I said before, it was the day your Dad took that last picture of us together. He couldn't find his keys, had to take the bus in order to pick up your Mom. And then a few days later, I got taken away."
Chloe nodded once. "Yeah. Yeah, I told you, I remember that day."
What the hell, Max?
Leveling an intense gaze at her, Max continued. "That isn't how the day happened. Not originally! Your Dad found his keys, took the car, and...and there was an accident. He died. A week or two later, and I was in your room with you, right after the service. You were so torn up about it, in so much fucking pain. All I remember is that I was intensely, incredibly desperate to comfort you, but I felt like I was absolutely powerless to help you through the grief. I just kinda zoned out, you know. On the picture in your wall, of the two of us. The next thing I knew, it was like I somehow took over my body in the past. I tried to hide the keys the first time, but your Dad found them. That was when I figured out not only could I go back in time through the photograph, but I could rewind time around me as well."
Max took another long pull of her coffee, her hands trembling. "Took me a few tries to get it right. Tried a bunch of things, shit with the phone, shit with your Dad's keys, but it wasn't until the fifth or sixth time that I finally succeeded. I mean, it was like time itself was fighting me, you know? Telling me 'Hey! No! No fucking around.' But I did it, Chloe. I beat it. Your Dad had to take the bus, and then next thing I knew, I was back in my body, but the present changed. We were having dinner, and I was so happy. You even said..."
"'...I don't know where you scored the stuff, but can I have some?' Or something like that. Shit, I actually remember when that happened." Chloe interrupted. "I wondered why you were suddenly normal one moment, and then so totally jazzed the next."
And then it hit her. Max's revelation made its way past the mere intellectual acknowledgement, and finally struck her emotional core like a piledriver.
She reached over and grabbed Max's arm, a sense of wild desperation overtaking her. "What happened, Max? What happened? You say you saved my Dad, but he still died!"
Max choked back a sob, turning away, trying her best to keep from making a scene. "I know! I know, I mean! I didn't know until you told me yesterday! And I don't know why he still died...again! Maybe it was just bad luck. Maybe God or the Universe or Time was pissed, and decided he needed to die anyhow. I don't know, Chloe! Believe me, I don't know! I never tried to use that power ever again. Davies...uh...she...she was like my teacher at Zion, and kind of like a Mom to me and...well...it scared her too. She told me I needed to pretend I couldn't do it anymore. Shouldn't even try. I just..." her body shook quietly with another couple of quiet sobs. "I'm sorry, Chloe! I'm so sorry! I don't even know why I just told you, but I feel so guilty about it now."
Chloe reached over, comfortingly rubbing Max's arms and shoulders, glancing around and making sure that they weren't attracting any undue attention She stared out, far away, gazing at the dingy little diner, and the shitty little town that surrounded it.
Fucking Arcadia Bay. This shithole. Taken away everyone I ever loved. Best thing that could ever happen to this place is for them to nuke it to glass! It's what it deserves! But...but now...maybe it could be better?
Without even pausing to consider the consequences, or even the appropriateness, Chloe immediately asked, "Could you do it again?"
Max blinked, rubbing her eyes and sniffling. "W-what?"
Chloe looked Max dead in the eyes, trying to keep her voice as even as possible. "Go back in time. Back to that day, Max. Seriously, do you think you could?"
Max stared back at her. She didn't answer at first, clearly shocked, acting like she didn't hear the question properly. But the look on Chloe's face...
...shit...I don't need a mirror to know what I look like right now. Like I've never been so desperate for anything in my life. Oh God...I'm sorry, Max. I'm sorry, but I need to know. I gotta ask. I gotta!
"D-dunno. Never tried. It's been five years now, Chloe. Five years, and I have no idea. But...I mean, you're not seriously asking? Right?" Max asked, clearly not liking where this line of conversation was leading.
Chloe pushed down the knot of guilt and trepidation building up in her gut. The tiny voice in the back of her brain, the one that whispered 'Chloe, perhaps we should pause and consider the ramifications here.' - which was never all that powerful to begin with - flared up briefly, and then was snuffed out.
I need to convince her to try. Holy shit...could I really get my Dad back? For real? Make things so much better for me. And...Joyce! She could go back to being just Mom again!
Chloe leaned in further, gripping Max's hands in her own, and hissed softly. "Max. Please. Pleasepleaseplease. I'm begging you, if you can make it work, give it a try. I need you to go back, however you do it, to the day my Dad died...I mean...I mean 2009? Shit, this is confusing! Whatever you did before, I need you to do it again!"
Max gave a strangled cry, jumped a bit at the contact, but otherwise held still. She whispered back, eyes flashing with alarm and confusion, "Chloe! I can't! I don't understand how I did it in the first place! And I'd be changing five whole years if I could go back. It would be...oh God, it could be so..."
"...good!" Chloe interrupted. "Max! My life - fuck it, my life has been shit since Dad died. I mean you saw David, you know how pathetic it is that Mom lowered herself, clearly she was lonely and desperate. And I got kicked out of school, and...SHIT! Max, this could fix so much for me, so much! And...and..."
No...don't go there Chloe...don't...dont dont dont...
She gave Max a vaguely wheedling look. "I mean it could help you out too, you know? Maybe not the five years you're stuck in some Government internment camp or whatever, but when you finally make it back again. Think of how much better it'll help you too? Imagine if my Dad was still alive! You could convince him to help out, yeah!? We could both be on your side, and just imagine. Because - 'cause he knows people. I mean, he knew. Like media people and lawyers and...I just..." she swallowed back the bitter, acrid tang of guilt, brought on by manipulating her friend in such a petty fashion.
I shouldn't be doing this. God help me, but I can't fucking help it!
Chloe was practically on the edge of hysterics by this point. "I need you to try, Max! P-please! Just, just once. I'll never ask you for anything again. Please..."
She was shaking, tears welling up. There were few times she'd ever experienced anything even close to this sort of self-loathing inducing need. Everything bad in her life was tied up in her father. There was never any question of trying to make this happen, once she learned the truth, no matter how much it might hurt Max.
She'll understand. She will, in the end!
Max bowed her head. Bit her bottom lip, squeezed her hands. In a tiny, frightened voice, she croaked out.
"Okay. I'll try."
Chloe rushed forward across the table, hugging her tight, and whimpering. "Oh God. Thank you! Thank you! What do we need? Do you just go back now, or?"
"Pictures." Max groaned, in a monotone voice. "I think I need a picture. Can try one of you and your Dad together, right before he died, but it probably won't work."
"I still have the one of you and me! I know it's the wrong year in that one, but maybe you could go back and try to convince me somehow!?"
Max simply nodded, withdrawn and quiet. She didn't protest when Chloe grabbed her by the hand, and led her in a rush out the door and into her truck. Neither spoke on the way back to her house, and it was all Chloe could do to keep from pressing the gas pedal down to the floor, and speeding like a bat out of hell.
Just keep thinking about getting Dad back. Just keep focused on that!
A/N: Oh Chloe... *shakes head disapprovingly*
So hey! It's Black Swan Saturday! Lyta pulls the puppet's strings, and Corentin stares with stark, black disapproval in Chloe's direction!
I must admit, one of the things I always wanted to tackle was Life is Strange's stubborn refusal to let Max tell Chloe what the hell happened when she tried to change the past until the very, very end, and then Chloe just kind of shrugs it off when told. I was so displeased with how that was handled, that I actively FORGOT that Max even told Chloe at all until Theo reminded me. That's like, a pretty major fucking thing right there. To just kind of shrug it off the way she did really disturbed me. Because it's obvious Chloe has abandonment issues, and so much of that is tied up in losing her father. I figured if there was something, some all-corrosive One Ring like situation that would make Chloe absolutely trip out, it would be this. It just felt right.
This was originally going to be part of one LOOOOONG 12,000 word chapter, but I realized it worked better as a two parter, especially because now I get to torment you with this cliffhanger ;-) But anyhow, I just finished the first draft on chapter 24 last night, and chapter 25 should wrap up all of the "Tuesday Arc" of the series. So I should have updates all the way straight through until February 20th before we have to go on hiatus again. Boy, ultimately eight - or possibly more - chapters just to get through one day. Pretty damn eventful day!
Have a wonderful weekend!