Prologue: Quantum Mechanics states that there are an infinite number of worlds. This is boring, and you have likely heard it before. Something more interesting that you might have not heard is that on one of those worlds, Max Caulfield never met Chloe Price before leaving Arcadia Bay. Let me tell you the story of what happened when she came back.

Chapter 5: Good Morning

Monday, September 16th, 2013 (7:30 AM)

Joyce slowly opened the door to her daughter's bedroom, hoping to high heaven the door didn't squeak. The last time she had woken up her daughter this early, she had been beyond grumpy for the rest of the day, only appeased when Joyce had cooked salmon surprise for dinner, Chloe's favorite.

Peeking through the now open door, Joyce was greeted with the sight of her daughter sleeping soundly on the bed, her arms wrapped around their guest from last night, a girl she hadn't seen in 5 years, Max Caulfield.

The early morning shone in through the open window, painting the two sleeping girls in varying degrees of light and shadow. As she saw her daughter and her best friend sleeping, Joyce wished she had the photography skills of the latter. Chloe looked more peaceful than Joyce had seen her in years. If only she could capture this moment…

Monday, September 16th, 2013 (9:00 AM)

Chloe woke up, feeling like a million dollars, though she wasn't sure why. Her arms were wrapped around someone smaller than her, and someone eminently warm. Hugging them closer, Chloe realised they were wearing a dress. But how was someone still dressed if she had slept with them?

The conundrum too great to allow her to continue sleeping, Chloe blearily opening her eyes, looking at the girl she had her arms wrapped around. Max? Everything from last night caught up with her, and she carefully extricated herself, trying not to wake her friend and surrogate teddy-bear.

Sitting straight up, Chloe rubbed her eyes. She decided to wake herself up the way she had every day for the last 5 years. Not coffee, which was under the purview of her mother, or beer, which step-douche guarded with a vengeful wrath. No, Chloe Price woke herself up by walking over to her bathroom and taking a shower, stripping out of her panties and bra.

As the hot water hit her scalp and ran down her body, Chloe exhaled, letting out a sigh of relief. As much as a good meal hit the spot, and as much as she loved smoking a great joint, there was nothing she appreciated more than a good shower.

Running her fingers through her hair, Chloe rinsed it out, feeling at the roots where she could tell that blond hair was pushing through. Did she let it push through? Or re dye it? She'd probably dye it, but she was entertaining the thought of reverting to her natural hair color for now.

Adding shampoo to her blue locks, Chloe mulled over the previous day in her mind. Max had come over for dinner, it had been going well, and then she had kind of ruined it by arguing with step-douche. Chloe winced. She'd have to apologize to her mom and Max later. And then it had gotten worse when Max had blacked out, an apparent after-effect of her concussion. God, that had sucked.

And in spite of all that, Chloe thought of yesterday as a good day. Well, a good night. She'd had the best sleep of her life in the past 5 years. All because of that wonderful girl, Max Caulfield. And they had talked. Chloe was remembering this now. Max had asked her if she could love her. That wasn't a question. That really wasn't a question. Of course she loved Max. Wowsers. She loved Max Caulfield.

No, the real question was, Chloe mused as she started to rinse the lather out of her hair, was whether or not she was good enough for Max Caulfield. This girl was so cute and petite, and amazingly talented, and genuinely one of the nicest people Chloe had ever met or talked to. What was she compared to that?

Why would Max Caulfield want to date her? What could that fantastic girl want with the blue-haired, beat-down punk that was Chloe Price? She had dropped out of her senior year, and only had a diploma due to the miracle that was Internet (School online rocked!). All she did was sit around the house and smoke weed. What did she have that would entice the wonderful Max Caulfield?

And so, as Chloe Price stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself, she decided one thing. Through Hell and high water, she was going to become worthy. She was going to make herself into someone who deserved to date Max Caulfield. Because Max was the only good thing she had left.

Monday, September 16th, 2013 (9:45 AM)

Joyce Price watched as her daughter came down the stairs, dressed in a white singlet and, for once, a pair of jeans that weren't ripped. She padded over to the kitchen, and raised her eyebrows at the two plates of breakfast that Joyce had placed on the counter. They were hot and steaming, each bearing a bacon omelette. One had fresh fruit, and the other had Belgian Waffles with whipped cream.

"What's this?" Chloe asked her, surprise evident in her voice. "You only make breakfast for me like this on special occasions. Did I miss a holiday?"

Joyce laughed, a simple honest laugh.

"Maybe if you acted more like Max Caulfield, I'd make breakfast more often. This is for her, not you, you hell-raiser."

Joyce waved her spatula at her daughter expected a snappy retort or the like, but to her surprise, Chloe nodded knowingly.

"So is the plate with the fruit for me?" Joyce nodded, smiling.

"There was some left over, luckily. I figured since you were up, you can have this. I'll start frying up David's when he gets up." Her daughter's expression soured at the mention of Joyce's husband. Hoping to alleviate this, Joyce leaned over the counter, planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"Now go bring up this food to your girlfriend, before it gets cold. I can hear her up and about." A rare smile graced her daughter's face, and she grabbed the plates, carrying them upstairs like she was the one who had been a waitress all her life, rather than Joyce.

Joyce smiled, watching Chloe bringing breakfast in bed to a girl she had met only 2 days ago. If this was the effect Max Caulfield had on her hell-raiser of a daughter, Joyce definitely wanted to see more of her in the future. And seeing the smile on her daughter's face, Joyce got the feeling she would.

Monday, September 16th, 2013 (10:00 AM)

I woke up, blinking my eyes at an unfamiliar room. There were posters and graffiti everywhere, the room a chaotic swirl of color. Sitting in my dress, which was still rumpled from sleeping in it, I sat up. Wait, I had slept in my dress? Shit. That was going to take forever to iron.

The events of last night slowly pulled into focus as I shook my head. I had eaten a nice dinner with Chloe, Joyce, and her asshole step-father. And then I had blacked out. Looking around, I assumed this was Chloe's room, and that she had carried me up here after I blacked out. I blushed at the image of Chloe carrying me, bridal style.

Then I remembered Chloe crawling into bed with me, and us falling asleep with our arms wrapped around each other. That explained why I felt like a million bucks, even after I had blacked out, and slept the entire night on an unfamiliar bed in my dress. I very nearly had to prevent myself from swooning, and stripped off my dress, feeling very hot all of a sudden.

As I stood up, I looked down at the bed, and realized clothes had been laid out, along with a sticky note. The clothes consisted of a red flannel shirt, along with a set of jeans. Simple and comfy, just the way I liked it. I then picked up the handwriting, having to squint to read the handwriting of whoever wrote it.

Yo Maxaroni!

I carried you up here yesterday after you fell asleep, though I don't know if you remember when you woke up yesterday. These clothes are Rachel's, she left them here last time she slept over. She's your size, so I figured it would be fine. Anyways… my Mom made us food! Your's is on the desk, though I don't know if you want to shower and dress before or after you eat. It should be fine either way, it's warm enough. Anyways, take a shower, get dressed, chow down, and come find me downstairs! I'm gonna drive you back to Blackwell, though now that I think about it there might be someplace I know that we can swing by on the way.

From the girl you spooned with yesterday,

Chloe

I blushed at the last bit, but smiled at all of the sticky note. I got a shower at somewhere other than the shitty Blackwell showers, Belgian Waffles, and some comfy-ass flannel? Best morning since I got here! Stepping out of the room, I found the bathroom, and, stripping off my underwear, turned on the shower, letting the hot water wash over me.

For the first time since Saturday, I engaged in my morning ritual of going over the previous day's events in the shower. Wow, yesterday had been chaotic. I had woken up from a concussion, gone to someone's house for some great food, and then blacked out. Wowsers.

Deciding that I didn't want to guess which of the ambiguous bottles was the shampoo, I stepped out of the shower, quickly toweling myself off, before picking up my underwear and heading back to Chloe's room. Once there, I put on the clothes laid out for me, marveling at how well they fit. The flannel was a little loose in the front, but that just meant it was tons more comfy.

I sat down at Chloe's computer, breathing in deeply over the food laid out. It smelled delicious. I dug in, finishing it up in a few minutes. God, Joyce was a good cook. After I finished, I headed downstairs, looking forward to whatever Chloe had in store for me.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw Chloe practically bouncing up and down by the door, clearly trying to stifle a Cheshire Cat grin. She spoke immediately, clearly impatient.

"Dude, let's go! I've got some hella cool places to show you." I grinned, excited. (though not quite as excited as Chloe)

"Gimme a sec, I have to talk to Joyce, thank her and stuff." Chloe's enthusiasm faded for a moment, but then returned full force a few seconds later.

"All right Max, go talk to Mom, but don't keep me waiting. I don't want to be a doctor," I frowned at the last bit, confused.

"What?" Chloe's smile stretched even wider, and she explained.

"I don't have any patients!" I started laughing, and playfully swatted her in the arm, before walking over to where Joyce was. She was sitting at the dining table, digging into a plate of her own eggs, similar to the omelettes she had made me and Chloe.

She looked up towards me, and took a moment to finish up her omelette, and taking a big sip of OJ before giving me a slight smile.

"Why Max, I didn't know you started taking fashion tips from Rachel Amber." That made me smile, and I looked down at my clothes. Chloe had said they were Rachel's and they totally looked like something she would wear.

"Chloe let me borrow them, said Rachel left them here. Me and her are the same size, I think." Joyce nodded, and I continued speaking. "Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for letting me having me over for dinner yesterday, and being so accommodating after I blacked out, letting me sleep over and all."

Joyce got up, and she pulled me into a hug. This caught me off guard, but I hugged her back as soon as I got my bearings. She released me, and started to speak quietly.

"Max, with how happy you make my daughter, and how good an influence you are on her, that was the least I could do. Thank you."

I smiled some more, and responded at equal volume. "Well I'll thank you as well, for being the mother of the girl who makes me this happy."

Joyce smiled some more, and spoke again.

"Well you better get going, because I think that girl's gonna explode if you keep her waiting any longer. See you around, Max."

"See ya." I walked away, heading back towards Chloe.

Once I reached her, Chloe grabbed my hand, before pausing. "Are you ready to go?" I nodded, before rolling my eyes.

"Of course, Chloe. Take me away to wherever your heart desires." I said dramatically. Chloe winked at me, quietly speaking.

"Be careful what you wish for."

I stepped out the door, content to go anywhere, so long as it was with her.

AN: Sorry for the late upload guys, but I've been swamped on Thursdays recently (Well kind of late it's definitely still Thursday in my timezone, I don't know about your's). Because of this, next week's chapter will likely come out on Wednesday. Also, let me know in a review what you thought of the POV swapping in this chapter. Note that the first-person will always be reserved for Max, regardless of who's POV it is. Anyways, keep on reading, and if you enjoy, drop a review! :)

Uploaded Thursday, March 31rst, 2016.