Chapter Thirteen
Max feels all the warmth and softness surrounding her as she slowly comes to, her little body all wrapped around Chloe under the bed sheets. She smiles as that calm, content feeling that put her to sleep still floats around inside of her. The girl imagines herself in a serene grassy field with the sun shining down on her and Chloe to warm their skin, beautiful flowers blooming everywhere and birds singing lovely songs. She also feels that certain burning desire below her belly button, slowly creeping down toward her most sensitive area. Since her legs are already intertwined with Chloe's she squirms ever closer until she feels her lady bits press firmly against Chloe's right thigh through her panties and shorts, the intimate pressure exhilarating her. Max rubs her hand on Chloe's soft stomach and plays with the punk rocker's belly button stud as she plants a series of tender kisses along her new girlfriend's collarbone to wake her up.
As Chloe lies on her back she feels it all, that affectionate attention all over her, making her shift and hum quietly as she wakes. Without opening her eyes she greets her companion. "Morning Rach."
Just like that a volcano erupts and buries her serene grassy field in lava. Max tries to understand that these mistakes happen, that things changed so suddenly over the past two days, but pain still seeps into her. "It's Max…" She quietly corrects Chloe in a hurt tone.
Chloe's eyes shoot open all at once and she casts a look down at Max, then sighs. "Fuck." She curses herself in frustration over the error, her mind immediately trying to defend itself and blaming Max for tricking her into thinking she's Rachel. Conflicting thoughts of Rachel and Max don't mix well in her mind and just agitate her further, causing her to push Max away. "You got a few kisses and now you're all over me? Quit humping my leg. I don't go from friends to fucking in a day. If that's what you wanted you should have gone after Rachel, she's all about that kind of shit."
Those weren't the first words Rachel wanted to hear when she woke up, the girl rolling to her back and just silently staring at the ceiling as she takes the painful insult.
Max pushes herself up, sitting on her left cheek and thigh with her feet curled under her to the right. "Chloe… quit being so mean! We both care about you so much."
"Yeah? Then stop lying to me all the fucking time." Chloe shoves out of bed and marches over to the suitcases to rummage through her mess of belongings.
Guilt prevents Max from responding as she just sits there on the bed watching Chloe put together an outfit for the day and disappear into the bathroom. Her eyes go to Rachel and she pushes out of bed to sit on the other one, seeing the sad look on Rachel's face. She reaches down to just hold Rachel's hand and rub her arm as the two sit in silence for a few minutes.
I'm such a fool. I thought everything was fine. I let myself feel so happy like I had solved everything, but I really haven't. Chloe's still so angry with Rachel for keeping her sexuality a secret… and she's right about me. I've been lying to her since our first conversation a week ago. And tomorrow is Friday, when I have to tell her the truth about my letter from the future… and my part in David's death. Will Chloe be able to forgive me for what I've put her mother through? I told her I was in love with her and she said "fuck you"… she didn't believe me at first. And she never said the words back. Does she even care about me or is she just using me to avoid feeling lonely right now, or because her grieving mother asked her to come back and she didn't want to upset Joyce further? I can't take all this doubt and uncertainty. If today doesn't go well… I just want to go home.
"Max?" Rachel shifts to sit up beside Max, tilting her head to look at the girl with a worried expression. "Are you OK? You're making some scary faces right now."
Max just looks at Rachel and shakes her head.
"Hey, come on." Rachel scoots close and starts rubbing Max's back. "Chloe's going through a lot right now. Don't read too much into what just happened. Just leave her alone and let her sulk until after breakfast. Once she has food and caffeine in her she'll be a lot more reasonable. Then, we can…" She gazes around the room as she searches for a plan. "We'll tell her that today is her day. All three time slots. Whatever she wants to do, we're doing it. That should do the trick. Don't give up on me, Max."
Max leans into Rachel and takes a few deep breaths, then twists her face to smile at the girl. "Thank you, Rachel. I'm not used to all this drama. My life in Seattle is so calm and gentle. I don't know if I can make it through the weekend without having a total mental breakdown."
Rachel pulls Max close and plants a kiss on the girl's temple. "We'll get through it together."
The two girls quietly lean on each other until they hear the water stop running in the bathroom, signaling the end of Chloe's shower. Rachel goes to her suitcase to put together an outfit for the day and waits for Chloe to come out so she can take second shower, while Max collects her journal and props some pillows up to lean on as she writes down all that happened yesterday.
Chloe emerges from the bathroom in her quilt patched blue jeans with suspenders flopping about her thighs, and her black punk-rock shirt. She adjusts her bullet necklace and brushes her hands through her blue hair as she passes Rachel without looking at her, waiting for the girl to be in the bathroom before she speaks to Max. "Why are you always writing everything down?"
Max glances up as she writes in her journal, hesitating as she worries how her words might trigger more hostility. "I just want to remember everything that happens on this trip. Even the parts that hurt."
Chloe frowns and stoops to put her black boots on. "Oh boohoo, poor Max. You have so much to be hurt about. Of the three people here you've lost the least, so cut the pity seeking shit. You'll be fine." She stands up and looks around for her black jacket and a keycard.
As she puts her journal down Max shakes her head, casting her hurt eyes over the seemingly nonchalant Chloe. "Is this how you treat your girlfriends? I thought we moved past this last night. Was I just fooling myself?"
Chloe pauses to catch that hurt look and sighs, deflating a little as she stuffs her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. "You literally begged me for a chance with all your heart, Max. What was I supposed to do, say no? Look…" She takes a breath and steps closer to the bed, her face and tone finally showing some signs of softness. "I like you a lot, Max. I'm hella into the idea of dating you, but last night… we weren't being realistic. This isn't a fucking Disney movie. I'm going through a lot of shit right now, and it takes time to deal with… more time than we have. You're flying back to Seattle in three days, and I'm stuck in Arcadia Bay. You know that, right?"
Max shifts about uncomfortably on the bed, knowing full well what Chloe is saying to her and having no good argument to reason it away. "I know… but you'll graduate in June. Then maybe…"
"What, you want me to move to Seattle for you?" Chloe exhales a disgusted sound and shakes her head as she turns to move toward the door. "Yeah, remember what I said on the way here about moving to L.A. this summer with Rachel? I already got burned on the future plans thing. Not about to make any more plans with anyone right now. At least TRY to understand the shit I'm going through, Max."
Max just watches Chloe leave, having nothing to say, no logic or emotion that will defeat what Chloe just said. So, she just picks up her journal to try and finish her thoughts on yesterday, doing all she can to keep it together.
Oh man, she's right. She told me in that coffee shop in Eugene that she and Rachel had plans to move to L.A. after graduation. But I was so selfish… I ran off after she said it because it wasn't what I wanted to hear. All I've cared about this trip is what I want for Chloe's future. I never supported what she wanted. I need to rethink everything… I need a new strategy. A grand gesture like in the movies. I have to do something to prove to Chloe that I'm worth making future plans with.
Soon Rachel emerges from the bathroom and Max goes in to take her turn, once again feeling the zip of physical need down there as she washes. She contemplates and decides there's no chance Chloe's going to want to do anything sexual with her today after that conversation. It's agonizing for her to try and suppress the heartache of having her hopes crushed that morning just so she can relieve her carnal desires in the shower, but with enough focus she's able to do it. The rest of the time in the bathroom she spends thinking of romantic comedies and what grand gesture of love she might be able to pull off with Chloe.
Max comes out of the bathroom in her crisp white jeans and little purple belt, with her pink Jane Doe shirt up top. She sees Rachel waiting for her and doesn't blame the girl for staying rather than heading out to find Chloe by herself. After putting socks and shoes on and grabbing her grey hoodie, Max leads the way out of the hotel room and to the elevator.
They discover Chloe sitting on one of the big chairs in the waiting area of the lobby, link up with her by sight only, and wordlessly make their way into the dining area to order breakfast. Things remain quiet and awkward as they only speak their orders to the waitress and spend the rest of the time scrolling through info on their cell phones. After breakfast is nearly finished it's Rachel that breaks the silence, taking a risk and speaking directly to Chloe.
"I'd like to give my time to you today, Chloe. Whatever you want to do, I'm down. Or I'll just go do stuff on my own if you two would rather just spend the day together."
Max looks at Chloe, who doesn't respond verbally though her face definitely shows a range of emotions. So, Max makes her offer. "I want to give you my time, too. But only on the condition that Rachel stays with us. We're all supposed to be enjoying this road trip together."
Chloe sips at her coffee and looks between the two girls, then rolls her eyes and sighs. "Alright, fine, you win. I'll take the lead today and both of you get to chill with me. But no complaints about what I choose, Max. And I'm still mad at you, Rachel."
Rachel nods and replies very quietly. "I know." Then she just stares down at her lap.
"Wait, why would I complain?" Max can't help but be concerned, wondering just what she's getting herself into. "You don't plan to do anything super illegal, do you?"
Chloe can't help but give Max a mischievous grin at the question, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table as she speaks in a mysterious tone. "Oh, you'll just have to wait and see. And it's too late to back out, now."
Max sends an apprehensive look toward Rachel who just returns a soft smile and shrug, already having resigned herself to doing whatever it takes to begin earning Chloe's forgiveness. A series of knots form in Max's core as her imagination runs wild about what this punk-rock girl might ask her to participate in, watching Chloe work her phone for several minutes to find what she's looking for.
"Come on!" Chloe excitedly jumps up all of a sudden, startling the other two girls. "I'm gonna show you two how it's fucking done!" She twists and hustles down the lobby toward the parking lot, forcing the others to run after her to keep up.
Chloe drives them straight to the gas station to buy a six-pack of beer, which causes Max a world of worry, but Chloe promises they're for later and she doesn't drink right after breakfast. Then a short drive east takes them to the Burnside Skate Park. It's a community built skate park under the highway for anyone to come practice or show off their skater skills. Max is both shocked and relieved that Chloe just wants to hang out there for a while, feeling quite safe that nothing super illegal should take place.
The three girls sit up on a good perch to watch the whole park, a few skaters using it in the morning and more slowly coming in as time goes on. Max finds herself sitting in the middle with Chloe in one ear and Rachel in the other, each of them trying to teach her all the cool skater terms. She gets lost somewhere along the way but doesn't want to interrupt since Chloe and Rachel are sharing such positive vibes over their shared love of skateboarding.
It doesn't take long before three skater guys approach them, finding the three pretty young ladies an irresistible attraction at their local skate park. The curious local boys try their hand at flirting, which leads to them falling under Rachel's spell rather quickly, and the girl convinces two of them to relinquish their skateboards for a time.
Max is surprised to see how well Chloe and Rachel handle themselves, actually doing some real stunts and tricks as they zoom around the skate park. She jumps right up to start working her camera, taking the best pictures she can to capture this beautiful moment as the two set aside their relationship troubles and enjoy themselves. They stay until around noon, then thank the local boys for the boards and disappoint them by not agreeing to go out to lunch together.
For lunch, Chloe takes the three of them to Pine Street Market, a bustling food court with communal seating. The place is noisy but Chloe seems to thrive in the environment, taking a seat right in the center of the warehouse-like space. With food vendors all around there's plenty to choose from, but Chloe has an idea and tells the girls to wait while she runs off to fetch their lunch. She returns with a platter of hot wings and starts yelling that they're going to have an eating competition, drawing the attention of all the surrounding tables. Chloe isn't taking no for an answer and uses the crowd to rope Rachel and Max into the competition, getting everyone nearby riled up about it. When they begin Chloe is ravenous, out-eating her friends from the get go. Max can't stand all the hot sauce and falls behind, while Rachel is just too worried about ruining her makeup to keep up with Chloe. The blue haired punk wins and climbs on the table to pump her fists in the air, earning uproarious applause from the room.
After lunch, while the three sit in Chloe's truck enjoying a beer to wash down the hot wings, Chloe asks on their day without her. "So, what did you two do when I wasn't here?"
Max rubs at her hoodie and pink shirt, a little upset that she got sticky orange sauce all over them. "We checked out a few museums."
Chloe blinks at her for a moment, then laughs aloud and shakes her head. "Damn, you two are hella boring. What, school isn't enough, you gotta stand around learning shit on Spring Break? Lucky I came back to save your asses from more of that!"
"We really are lucky." Rachel responds. "Thank you for coming back to us, Chloe."
"Tck, quit kissing my ass." Chloe smirks over at Rachel, her demeanor toward the girl clearly improving. "But hey, it's almost 2pm. Hurry and finish your beers, we've got appointments!"
Max goes wide-eyed at the notion, watching Chloe chug the last of her beer. "Appointments? For what?"
Chloe just hops out of the truck and swallows, beckoning them along. "Just come on!"
Chloe leads the two girls to the other side of the parking lot and into a hair salon, where sure enough, all three of them have appointments. Chloe's faded blue hair is turning light purple and blonde at the roots, while Rachel's three tones aren't as vibrant as they once were, the two of them having their work done months ago. So they're both scheduled to redo their current looks, while Chloe insists that the stylist do something exciting for Max. The poor introvert is terrified as Chloe starts talking about a rainbow colored Mohawk, but soon reveals she's only teasing. In the end she convinces Max to have little red streaks put into her hair while leaving the rest its natural light brown. The end result makes Max feel so wild, never having dyed her hair before, and both Chloe and Rachel are highly supportive of her new look. But, Chloe promises she's not finished with Max yet, prompting a new wave of anxiety in the girl.
Max soon finds out what's in store for her as Chloe drives the group to Another State of Mind, a punk, goth & metal store. As soon as they're inside Chloe starts picking things out for Max to try, confiscating her hot wing sauce stained grey hoodie and pink Jane Doe shirt and not letting Max out of the changing room without picking something to buy and wear for the rest of the day. Virtually every article she's given by Chloe is black and has some form of skull on it. Max chooses a black hoodie with pink flower graphics all over the sleeves, and large skull patterns on the front and back with more pink flowers. To wear beneath it she picks a black tank-top with a yellowed skull on the front that has green brambles and roses wrapped around it and blue butterflies hovering about, oddly reminiscent of Chloe's sleeve tattoo. With her safe clothes still in Chloe's possession, Max has no choice but to leave the store in her new goth-punk clothes. The look on her face as Max emerges into public like that is wildly entertaining to Chloe, who decides she wants to walk the four blocks to their next destination, just to enjoy watching Max squirm more.
Chloe leads them to Cal Skate Skateboards, an obviously named skater shop. While Chloe and Rachel engage with the employees and share exciting skater stories, Max is free to slink into the corner and hide. She's still embarrassed by her look, even though none of the strangers know it's anything out of the ordinary for her. While Max is hiding in the corner she finds something that profoundly strikes her as the perfect thing she needs for later, sneaking up to the front to make a purchase and stuff the item in her photography satchel unbeknownst to Chloe and Rachel. Eventually those two finish all their story swapping and decide to each purchase a cool skater t-shirt before leaving.
With a little time to burn before dinner, Chloe escorts the girls east to the LGBT center of Portland. At finding the CC Slaughters Nightclub and The Fox & Hounds, a prominent gay club and gay bar in Portland, Chloe feels the urge to stop every passing stranger on the street and ask if they think she and Max would make a cute couple. It has Max blushing furiously most of the time, but she's relieved to hear the overwhelmingly positive reviews from the gay folk of Portland that are out on a Thursday evening. After half an hour of this Max feels much more comfortable in her new goth-punk attire, and about her feelings for Chloe, and wonders if somehow Chloe had planned this out.
Right across the street to the south is Hobo's Restaurant & Lounge, the gay-friendly dinner spot Chloe picks out for the three of them. They discover a warm atmosphere inside with a piano and fireplace, and while Max and Rachel can't order alcohol that doesn't stop Chloe from using her fake ID to make her evening more enjoyable. The service is slow and food average, but once Chloe has downed her cocktail she cares little for such things and announces to the room that she's responsible for turning Max gay. It earns laughs, but another table decides to challenge her to prove it, and with enough goading Chloe gets Max to stand up and make out with her in front of everyone. While thoroughly confused about the nature of her relationship with Chloe and where it's actually going based on mixed signals from the last 24 hours, Max decides not to complain and happily gives into the kisses.
As they're leaving the restaurant the very buzzed Chloe is definitely not finished yet, as she leads them onward to a mystery destination. One block south and two blocks east and they arrive at the White Stag building. Determined to get to the roof to stand under the historic White Stag sign, Chloe searches the building to find an entrance. All doors are locked, but to Max's shock and dismay Chloe produces a lock pick and begins working on one of the doors. She actually manages to break into the building and find a stairwell up to the roof, where there's a second door to pick to get to the roof. They enjoy an exciting but brief time on the roof, taking pictures of each other under the famous lit sign welcoming people to Portland, but then the police show up since the doors triggered a silent alarm. All three of them are almost arrested, but then the officers start talking about Chloe being the step-daughter of the Hero of Arcadia Bay, and decide to let her off the hook due to current circumstances.
The three of them are a bit stunned by what just transpired as they slowly walk west, checking their phones to see the latest news about Arcadia Bay. They learn that the full story has gone public now, and that David Madsen is being hailed as a local hero. It makes Chloe tear up, but Max and Rachel each take a side and hold onto Chloe, surrounding her with love and keeping her spirits up.
After walking a few blocks they arrive at Chloe's late night choice, Dante's. The award winning live music venue has a black interior and colorful lights, and is known for its loud rock shows. Once they're inside Chloe is immediately rocking out to the music, hardly interested in sitting anywhere. She just runs right up to the front of the stage to rock out only feet away from the band playing, and they don't seem to mind so Max and Rachel soon feel comfortable doing the same. Chloe orders another alcoholic beverage, while Max and Rachel order sodas to try and get some sugar in their systems to keep up with the blue haired cyborg that never seems to run out of juice. About an hour into their visit the band actually invites the girls on stage to dance for the audience for one song, everyone seeming to enjoy the energy the rambunctious teens have brought to their venue. But, eventually midnight rolls around and the exhausted Max and Rachel have to drag Chloe out of there to get her home. Rachel insists on driving once they get back to Chloe's truck, and they're able to safely make it back to the hotel room.
"Was that day awesomesauce, or what?" Chloe slurs a little from all the alcohol she had that day, one arm over Max who is escorting her to their bed.
"Yeah, that was probably the craziest day I've ever had. I've never dyed my hair, had a public eating competition, interviewed a bunch of gay people about how good of a match I am with another girl, made out with said girl in front of a bunch of strangers, almost got arrested for breaking and entering and trespassing, or rocked out on stage with a real band, and today I did all of those things." Max lets out a little grunt as she tosses Chloe on the bed, nearly collapsing herself.
Chloe grins up as she flops onto her back and comes to rest, pointing an index finger up at Max. "You're welcome, Maximum Overdrive. Now you know how it's done."
Max just smiles back and shakes her head, though she can't help but to sigh in relief that they made it back to the hotel safely after their wild adventure. "I'm surprised I didn't end up with a tattoo or piercing." She reaches down to tug on Chloe's clothes, helping the intoxicated girl out of them.
"Those things were on my list, but I had to nix em 'cause you're not eighteen." Chloe admits as she squirms out of her boots, jeans and shirt at Max's tugging.
Max giggles softly as she leaves Chloe in her bra and panties. "Glad I didn't wait till next year to do this, then!" She drops Chloe's things on her suitcase, then starts slipping out of her own clothes.
While Rachel busies herself with brushing, flossing and washing her makeup off in the bathroom, Max flops into bed to snuggle with Chloe in her own bra and panties, waiting her turn to use the sink. Chloe takes to petting Max's newly red streaked hair with one hand, while the other rubs over Max's soft tummy, almost tickling the girl.
"It would've been nice." Chloe speaks in a quiet, warm tone as all the alcohol in her system makes her feel very relaxed.
Max looks at her and blinks a few times. "What, getting me a tattoo or piercing?"
"No." Chloe shakes her head and takes a breath. "Us dating. Would've been nice."
As Max looks the girl over she adopts a concerned look. "What do you mean? We still can. Nothing's happened that will prevent us from doing that."
Chloe shakes her head again, leaving Max perplexed for a while before she speaks again. "Not now. A long time ago. Before all the bad shit happened."
Max finally realizes what Chloe's saying, unable to keep a forlorn look off her face as she thinks back on the past. "You mean when I was thirteen?"
Chloe offers a small smile and nod, then leans her face down to rest her cheek on Max's shoulder and push her freshly blue hair against Max's cheek. "Yeah. Last night you told me you had a crush on me back then. Well… you were my first crush back then, too. That's why I said yes to you last night." She offers a revelation in her drunken state she likely would not have otherwise. "If only I had the power to go back in time and change one thing… I'd have told you. Then, maybe you wouldn't have abandoned me…"
Oh my God… now it all makes sense. That's why she wanted to die when she never heard from me after I moved to Seattle. That stupid move caused us so much suffering… I caused us so much suffering. And now, such cruel irony, Chloe telling me she wishes she could go back in time and change something. If only she knew how hard that was… if only my future self knew how hard this is. I can't keep this in anymore. I have to tell her about the letter. I have to get this secret out of me!
"Chloe…" Max begins, welling up with tears as her emotions overwhelm her, and preparing to give her speech. But, just as she opens her mouth to speak she's interrupted by the hot and grotesque sensation of Chloe throwing up all over her bra and stomach. "Auugh, fuck! What the fuck!?"
Max rolls out of bed and hits the ground with a series of thuds, then scrambles to her feet and prances through the room. "Oh, so gross!" She barges into the bathroom and tugs her bra and panties off as she moves past Rachel to jump into the shower and rinse all that vomit off as soon as possible.
Rachel runs out of the bathroom once she realizes what happened, towel in hand, and goes to aid Chloe in rising from the bed. "Damn it, Chloe, you shouldn't have gone hyphy tonight! Now look at you." She does her best to towel off the bed sheets and Chloe, then helps the drunken girl to the bathroom.
"Pffff, I'm fiiine." Chloe shrugs it off, leaning over the sink to rinse her face off, then just begins brushing her teeth like nothing major happened. "I got this." She slurs out past her toothbrush, Rachel barely able to understand it.
"Sure, dude, you just puked all over Max. You definitely got this." Rachel smirks and pats Chloe's back, staying with her just in case.
In a minute Max emerges from the shower and wraps herself in a towel, approaching Chloe to see how she's doing. It seems the punk-rock girl finally ran out of steam, and when she's finished brushing her teeth Rachel has to help her to bed. Max takes her turn brushing and flossing while gazing into the mirror, admiring the red streaks in her hair and wondering what her parents and friends in Seattle will think when they see her.
When Max comes out of the bathroom she sees Rachel rubbing the carpet with the towel, apparently having done her best to clean up every last bit that she can find. Chloe is resting in the closer bed that Rachel was going to use, and Max soon realizes they're switching beds because of the vomit making one position too gross to sleep in. So she collects a t-shirt and pair of night shorts from her suitcase and slips them on, then tosses her towel back in the bathroom to go flop down in bed next to Chloe, tucking the two of them in. Finally, Rachel shuts the lights off and takes the far side of the other bed to get some rest.
Well, that was crazy. Max stares at the ceiling as Chloe falls asleep next to her, hoping the girl won't throw up again. I hope Chloe's going to be OK. If she wakes up in a foul mood tomorrow it's going to be very dangerous for me to reveal the truth in that letter. And David Madsen is being called a hero now… will that help my case, or hurt it? And is Chloe cool with Rachel now, or do I still need to help with that? Ugh, so much to consider… too tired to think after all that. At least I found that perfect item for my grand gesture.