Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! I really can't wait for you guys to see what I have in store for this story.
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"Hey, Mad Max."
"Chloe?!" Max cried. She let go of the door handle and backed away, eyes wide.
"Max, wait, before you freak," Chloe said as she walked in and shut the door behind her. "we obviously need to talk about this."
"No shit!" Max said. Her hand went to her chest to make sure that her heart was still beating, put two fingers to her neck to make sure she still had a pulse.
"You're still alive, Einstein." Chloe said.
"But... But you..." Max stuttered. "This isn't real... You're not-not real... Someone's fucking with me..." Her eyes began to water. "I swear to God, Nathan... Victoria... whoever you are or whoever put you up to this, this shit isn't funny!"
"Max, chill the fuck out for a second!" Chloe said. "I don't think you have the right to panic right now!"
"You're supposed to be dead..." Max said.
Chloe marched up to her and grabbed her hand. Max jumped back automatically, but Chloe held fast. Her expression melted from frustration to sad determination. "Do I feel dead to you?" she said softly. "Do I look it at all?"
Max tried to pull away again but Chloe wasn't having it. She held tighter until Max ceased and took a second to take in everything. Warm skin, slightly flushed cheeks, pale blue eyes with matching hair and... and...
And no bullet hole.
Her white shirt was free of blood.
Max's tense body went slack and Chloe grabbed her before she hit the ground, holding her up on her knees. Max hung her head and the tears began to flow. "I'm crazy... I-I've lost my mind..."
"Max, please..." Chloe said. "Pull yourself together for two seconds, okay?"
"I'm back in a nightmare..." Max went on, ignoring Chloe's pleading. "I'm gonna wake up any minute... Please, please wake up..."
"Max." Chloe said again, her voice a gentle but strong demand. She placed a finger under Max's chin and lifted up her head to stare at her.
"Chloe..." Max said, and her heart kicked up. "H-how...?"
"I don't know." Chloe said. She slowly backed away from Max and stood up, leaving Max on her knees. "I don't know. I...I remember... I remember being dead." She gave a small smile. "Remembering death...strange..."
Max stood up on shaky legs. "You remember?"
"Yeah. I can even still feel where the bullet struck." Chloe placed a hand on her stomach. "But..." She looked up at Max. "What's today?"
"April eighth." Max said. "Twenty fourteen."
"S-six months?" Chloe said. "I've been dead for six months?"
Max bit her lip and nodded once. "What happened? When you..." She didn't know how to finish the question, but Chloe understood immediately.
"I woke up," Chloe said. "in my bed. Everything was different, but...but the same. I sat up and I felt around, trying to figure out what was going on..."
"And then?" Max said.
"And-and then Joyce knocked on the door and poked her head in..." Chloe sucked in a heavy breath. "She told me she was off to work, and that she loved me. It was hella off, Max. She was smiling, but her eyes...her eyes were so..." She looked at Max helplessly. "I could see so much pain in them, as if she'd been crying and mourning."
Max started to say something, but words failed her and her mouth snapped shut again. Instead, she reached out slowly toward Chloe's hands and took them in hers. She stared down at them and took in the moment, running her thumbs over the back of Chloe's hands and remembering the last time she'd touched her. Her eyes began to water.
"Oh, Chloe..." she murmured, her voice strained as she started sobbing once more.
She felt Chloe's arm slip around her and pull her close. She buried her face in Chloe's neck and let it all out. She took her hand from Chloe's and grabbed onto her shirt, sliding her fingers against the dry material. She pressed against her stomach and felt it rise with her breaths. She could smell the faint fragrance of Chloe's cologne as it flowed through her being, electrifying places she thought to be long dead.
Chloe could sense Max's willpower draining and slowly eased them both to the floor on their knees. She placed her forehead on top of Max's head, waiting out her best friend's confusion and pain. She took a deep breath herself and closed her eyes. When Max's crying started to soften, and her breathing began to even out, she gently lifted her head and hunched down slightly to meet Max's gaze. Her turquoise eyes were shining with tears. He cheeks stained from tears and blood rush, which made her freckles stand out more than usual. The slight pout of her lips transfixed Chloe's gaze and she felt her heart clench in her chest.
"Max." she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "What is going on?"
Max's gaze remained at a loss and she sniffed. "I don't... I don't know, Chloe. This is so... This is..."
"Impossible?" Chloe filled in. Her signature smirk started to show. "Confusing? Fucked up?"
Max laughed softly, the sound seeming so new to her. "Yeah, all of those things." She picked her head up to properly meet Chloe's eyes and placed a hand on her cheek. "I've missed you so much, Che..."
Chloe overlapped Max's hand with hers. "I can imagine. This is hella fucking surreal. I don't even know where we start to figure out what happened."
"I don't either, but..." Max's expression turned curious. "Wait, how did you get here without your truck?"
Chloe chuckled. "I might have hoofed it here."
"You walked?" Max said, taken back. "What the fuck, Chloe?"
"What? You think I was going to call you and ask for a ride?" Chloe questioned. "I'm mean, but I'm not cruel."
Max started to argue but her mouth snapped shut at the realization that Chloe was right. Had she of found out that Chloe was alive over the phone, she probably would have called the cops and had them trace the call.
Or just break down crying right then and there.
Either way, it wouldn't of turned out well.
"Fair point. Did anyone see you besides Joyce?" Max asked.
"I don't think. so." Chloe bit her lip for a second. "But if my mom didn't notice anything was wrong, would anyone else?"
Max raked her brain for an answer, but she had tampered with time so much she wasn't sure she understand the rules anymore. She got to her feet, taking Chloe with her. "Well, there's only one way to find out."
"And what way is that?" Chloe said. The mischievous glint had returned to her eyes.
"Follow my lead." Max said.
"Lead the way, Batmax." Chloe said with a mock salute.
Mac smiled and there was a flutter in her chest. Reevaluating the situation, she realized that she'd probably handled this much too calmly compared to anyone else. Then again, when you have mad time powers and have been through multiple realities what was there left that could really take you by surprise?
And how many other people out there had to deal with this?
She cracked open her door and peaked out. The hallway was deserted. She opened the door the rest of the way and stepped out with Chloe close behind. Chloe closed the door softly. "What now?"
"Kate is usually up at this point to feed her rabbit and watch the sunrise." Max said. "I guess we go to her first."
"Wakes up to see the sunrise?" Chloe said, raising an eyebrow. "Does she realize how much valuable sleep she's losing?"
"Well, some people like to watch the sun come up. Like me." Max said.
"And I thought you couldn't become more of a hippie." Chloe teased.
Max rolled her eyes and crossed the hall to Kate's door. She hesitated for a second, worrying her lip over the possible outcome. She knew that if anything went wrong she could just rewind and tell Chloe it was a bad idea, but she wanted to keep her power especially limited until they were sure what was going on. One wrong move and Chloe could end up back in her grave.
A shudder passed down Max's back.
She raised her hand and knocked three times, taking a small step back as if she were ready to run. She backed into Chloe and jumped slightly. She wasn't expecting her to be so close. Chloe's hand slipped into hers and Max's heart skipped.
There was a click and the knob turned. Kate opened the door and relaxed instantly at the sight of Max. "Oh, good morning Max." She said before looking to Chloe.
In that moment, the strangest thing happened. Max watched Kate's features closely, there was no way she could've missed it or mistaken it for something else. Kate's eyes widened and the look of pure shock began to overcome her. Then she froze, as if time was fucking up again, and the same relaxed pursue she held when answering the door returned and she smiled. A gentle squeeze on Max's arm told her she wasn't the only one that noticed.
"Chloe, right?" Kate said.
"Y-yeah." Chloe said.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Kate asked them.
Shit, I didn't plan this far ahead... Max thought urgently. She knew her expression was distressed when Kate looked at her concerned.
"Max? Are you okay?" she said.
"Yeah, she's fine." Chloe spoke up suddenly. "But she's a little low on supplies. That time of the month, y'know? Just too embarrassed to ask if you got any pain meds."
"Oh, of course." Kate said. "One second."
She disappeared from the doorway and Max nudged Chloe with a smirk. "Quick thinking." she said. "'Time of the month?' Genius."
"What? It is a valid issue amongst the female population that's plaguing the world today." Chloe said with a smartass undertone. "There'd be no reason for her to question it."
"I don't know what's scarier. The fact that your back from the dead or that you managed to compile such a smart sentence." Max teased.
"Be hella terrified, Maxipad." Chloe winked at her and her face grew hot.
They heard shuffling from behind the door and Kate returned, holding out a bottle of Ibuprofen. "Here you go, Max. Feel free to keep it, I can get more."
"Thanks so much, Kate." Max said, adding a grateful smile to the mix. "I'll see you in class later."
"Yep. You two enjoy the rest of your morning." Kate said.
She closed the door and Max's tense shoulders went slack, her arms dropping at her sides. "What the fuck was that?" she said as they reentered Max's room. She collapsed on her bed and stared at the bottle in her hands.
"I don't know, but it was hella strange." Chloe said. "Did you notice how her eyes never really lost the sense of shock?"
"Yeah. It's like the reaction was just glazed over." Max said.
"Like my mom. She was smiling, but her eyes had so much pain in them." Chloe said.
"I think we need to start getting to the bottom of this immediately." Max said. She stood up and went to her mini closet.
"How are we supposed to do that when we don't know what the fuck we're looking for?" Chloe said.
"Simple." Max said as she took out a shirt and a pair of jeans. "We start with researching time paradoxes and go from there."
"Whatever you say, Max." Chloe said. "But where exactly are we supposed to do this super sleuthing?"
"The library, duh." Max said. She started changing out of her pajamas and into her choice of clothes for the day, all the while feeling Chloe's eyes burning holes through her.
Which made her think. What were they now? Now that Chloe was back (for God knew how long), what did that mean for their relationship? She recalled how she felt after returning from the Alternate Chloe's timeline, how when as soon as she saw her blue hair and pissed of face she wanted to kiss her again. That had almost been the case here. She was back, she was alive. But going through this didn't feel like the proper time to bring up relationship statuses.
"Hey, my jacket." Chloe said.
"Hm?" Max hummed as she finished getting dressed.
Chloe walked over to the chair at Max's desk and picked up her jacket, holding it up to inspect. "You have my jacket. I was looking for this when I left. Guess I should've figured Joyce would give you my stuff."
Max turned around and caught the sad smile that Chloe wore. She swallowed a dry lump in her throat. "You can have it back if you..."
Her sentence fell short when Chloe lowered her arms and approached her and placed it around her shoulders. "Nah, I think you rock it better than I did. Your inner punk rock girl is finally starting to show."
Max smiled and properly put the jacket on. The weight of it differed since Chloe was there. Wearing her dead friend's clothes had been hard enough, but knowing she approved made it lighter.
Although, she felt as if would have Chloe approved the whole time.
"Ready to go?" Chloe said, breaking the moment much to Max's dismay. But they had a job to do, there was no time for daydreaming.
"Yeah, come on." Max said. Instinctively, she took Chloe's hand and they left her dorm in search of the library.
...
I was going to include their time in the library in this chapter, but something's telling me that I should stop here. I'll start in the library in the next chapter.
And if you feel like Max didn't handle the "unexpected surprise" realistically, you have to remember (as I state in the story) that she's been through so many alternate realities and tampered with time so much that almost nothing could knock her off guard.
Thanks for reading!