Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Max stood at the cliff edge staring at the storm that was threatening to take out all of Arcadia Bay. Chloe’s pleas for her to go back and let her die for the good of the town still ringing in her ears.
‘This is bullshit!’ Max thought. ‘What ever God or entity gave me these powers couldn’t possibly be this cruel! How can I choose between my best friend (and hopefully more) and this shitty town that has been nothing but toxic. Sure, not everyone is an asshole, but it just isn’t fair. Why can’t there be a third option?’
She shifted her attention from the town of somewhat innocent people to the sight of her beautiful friend for whom she just realized she had deeper feelings. Did the universe really want its pound of flesh or was there something else that she didn’t see yet. ‘Why have these powers if I am just supposed to let her die anyway? What is the point? To get justice? Seems like that will happen anyway, right? So why am I here with the ability to change things?’
Max turns to Chloe, walks up to her with a determined look on her face. “I am not letting you die," Max says, "And I’m not letting anyone else die either.” Before Chloe has a chance to argue Max puts both hands on the side of her face and moves in to let her know why. The kiss is gentle yet purposeful. It lingers for a few moments. Chloe's initial reaction was mild shock, but quickly accepted the contact, following up with an embrace that told Max she didn’t want it to end. Max slowly pulled away.
“I love you, Chloe.”
“Max…I...I’ve always loved you.”
“I’m not letting you go. I have an idea. Do you trust me?” Max said.
“Of course I do, but what…” Chloe sputtered out, but Max held up a hand to stop further inquiries.
“Then I’ll see you soon.” With that Max dropped her focus to the butterfly picture in her hand and watched as the world shifted. Feeling the familiar pull of the image as the world warped around her.
Suddenly she was back in the bathroom at the start of that terrible week. Her idea was kind of dumb, but she knew that she would do anything for Chloe and that whatever price needed to be paid, then Max was the one who wanted to pay it. She had a precious few seconds before she knew she had to make a choice. She wanted to take the bullet. That was the only thought that came to her mind. If Nathan shooting someone in the bathroom was what was going to keep everyone else safe and bring down Jefferson then Max wanted to be the one to take that burden. The question now was does Max confront Nathan when he walks in or wait and step in front of Chloe using her powers.
‘If I jump out when he walks in will that be enough to set him off? And if it does will it still protect Chloe when she unexpectedly walks in? Or do I wait, freeze time and step in front of the bullet so I get shot, but hopefully can redirect it to a non-vital organ? He had that gun pretty close to her though. How do I get in-between?’
Her thoughts were interrupted as Nathan walked into the bathroom, rambling to himself like he did a few times before. Realizing she could just rewind if she was unable to get in-between the gun and Chloe, she figured she’d try that option first. Max anxiously waited for the scene to play itself out like it did those times before. She heard Chloe walk in, and the exchange between them. Then the worried sound of Chloe’s voice as she surmised that the gun was now out and directed at her. Max reached out her hand to freeze time. Finding it harder than she was expecting since the only other time she did it was on accident. After a few small rewinds she focused her mind on the task. Finally, she felt time stop. She stepped out into the middle of the room. Walking towards Nathan and Chloe. To her disappointment she saw that the gun was firmly pressed against Chloe’s body.
“Shit!” Max exclaimed. “Maybe if I rewind a little bit more.” Max focused on the familiar feeling of pulling the small threads when she rewinds while maintaining that focus on her time freeze. “There!” A short space of time from when Nathan pulled out the gun and brought it closer to Chloe.
‘I can fit there.’
Max didn’t have a vast knowledge of the human body, but she knew a few basics about major blood vessels and vital organ locations that she was hoping wouldn’t get hit. ‘The one time watching too much tv might have paid off,’ she thought to herself. She could feel her head starting to pound as the headache from holding time was starting to take its toll. She carefully situated herself between the gun and her best friend.
“God I hope this works. This is gonna suck!” Closing her eyes she let go of time.
________________________________________________________________
Two weeks later
Max slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with blinding white lights. It didn’t take her long to realize she was lying in a hospital bed. The sound of the heart monitor beeping steadily beside her.
“Ugh! Fluorescence!” Max croaked. She slowly looked around and noticed some items deposited by concerned friends and family; Cards, flowers, balloons sat at a table across from her. She glanced over and noticed a body lying on her lap. Blue hair sticking out of a dark blue beanie.
“Chloe,” she croaked. She clearly has not used her voice in sometime.
‘I wonder how long I’ve been in here.’ She instead reached out with her free hand (the one without the IV) and stroked the gorgeous head of blue hair. Chloe, slightly startled, shot up a little and looked desperately at Max.
“Holy shit you’re awake!” Tears started to form in her eyes and they just stared at each other for a few moments. “You jerk,” Chloe said. “You had me so scared!
“Hello to you too,” replied Max.
“You hella saved my life, Max! I…I don’t even…” The words seemed to stick in Chloe’s mind, not able to articulate the joy, shock and confusion that was fighting for dominance in her brain.
Max was too tired to use her brain past her last memories. “I’m not dead. Good.” Was all that came out of her mouth next. Chloe looked at her a little confused and just decided to give her a cautious hug. Max tried her best to return the embrace.
"I better tell the nurse you're awake." Chloe runs out of the room, returning soon after with Max's doctor. It was a pretty routine bout of questions and exams, Max thought, and she didn't give them much attention. A few minutes later Chloe and Max are alone again.
“How long have I been out?” Max asked.
“Two weeks, dude! The doctors said you were hella lucky!”
“Yes, I’m sure their exact words were, hella,” Max retorted with a small smile.
Chloe returned her smile and just stared back at her. “How are you feeling?”
“Alive.”
“At least you’re still a smart ass.” Chloe said.
“Ah Chloe, you know me well.”
Chloe couldn’t help herself and responded a little bitterly, “I thought I did. You haven’t spoken to me in years.” Max was reminded yet again of her failure as a friend. She knew she had a lot of work to do again to get back to a good place with her. Especially after the tumultuous week she just shared with an alternate Chloe. Thoughts entered Max’s mind on how she was going to convince Chloe of how she ended up here.
“Oh shit! Chloe…you said I have been in here for two weeks?!” Chloe just nodded her head. “Was there a storm? Like a huge storm?” Max looked at Chloe with hopeful yet worried eyes. The fact that she was sitting in the hospital seemed a good sign, but she had to know.
“No.” Chloe said with a little confused look. “Why?”
Max just ignored that question and followed up with more of her own. “Did…” She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to phrase the next set of questions. “What happened to Nathan?”
“The asshole that shot you and tried to shoot me? It all happened so fast. I just remember him dropping the gun. I kicked it across the room and then David burst in the room and tackled his ass. It took me a minute to realize it was you in front of me. How did you even get there? I’ve been wracking my brain for days!” Clearly the thoughts Chloe had been harboring started to spill out in droves. But Max interrupted again with another question.
“What happened after that…did…?” Chloe could tell there was something else on her mind but couldn’t get past the initial stammering.
“What do you mean? He was arrested, of course.”
“No, I mean…did he…confess anything else?”
“How did you…” Chloe looked a little suspiciously at Max. “He apparently broke under pressure and claimed a bunch of crazy shit. Then a day later that teacher at Blackwell was arrested. I tried to get more details out of David, but he was being evasive.”
Max sighed in relief and reached out for Chloe’s hand intertwining their fingers together. “The step-douche wouldn’t give anything away, huh? I’m not surprised.”
Chloe smiled a bit at the fingers that were laced with hers until the other thing she said finally registered. “How did you know David is my stepdad? You been stalking me, Caulfield?” A somewhat amused look creeping on her face. Max just shook her head and gazed at Chloe. A slight tense look adorning Max’s face. Max took this opportunity to open the subject of her powers. Because no matter what, Max knew she was going to be fully honest with Chloe about everything.
“Chloe...,” Max hesitated for a moment; not knowing exactly how to prove her powers without actually demonstrating them. And she was sure that in her current state a physical demonstration was not in the cards at the moment. “…I have to tell you something that is kind of hard to believe, but I’m gonna need you to trust me until I get out of here and can prove it. Do you trust me?”
“Always.” Chloe’s response was almost immediate. Her intense gaze at Max broken only slightly as she looked momentarily surprised at her quick answer. Regardless of the time spent apart from Max, of her feelings of abandonment, her emotional ups and downs, and all the other negative thoughts and feelings that threatened to poison Chloe, her unchanged love for the girl she knew was stronger. And deep-down Chloe’s true nature won over and gave Max the benefit of the doubt. Max just smiled back at her and enjoyed the moment that she felt between them before continuing.
“I don’t know how else to say this…I have powers.” Remembering how Chloe responded last time she confessed her powers, Max headed off the inevitable doubt. “Please let me finish before you say anything. It will make sense…eventually. I promise.” With that Chloe just gave a silent nod and waited for Max to continue. Max gave the room a quick once over again to make sure they were not being overheard. “I can rewind time, but it’s a little more than that. I first got my powers October 7th. I was in photography class when I had a vision…of the future, I guess, or a possible future. I was so freaked out that I went into the bathroom to splash water on my face and just calm the fuck down.” Thinking about the events of the bathroom the first time around Max just closed her eyes and let out a frustrated grunt. “God that damn bathroom! Chloe…I saw you die. Nathan shot you. I was hiding behind the stalls and when the gun went off my body just took over and that is when I first rewound time.”
Max could tell Chloe was itching to respond, but she held up her hand to remind her she wasn’t done. “I know this sounds crazy. That week of the 7th…I lived it before…with you after I saved you the first time. Shit got crazier after that. Like Chaos Theory strange: weird weather, animals dying, and to top it all off the biggest fuckin tornado anyone has ever seen! That was my vision…the tornado. It was going to destroy the entire town that Friday”
Max fell silent. She knew she had much more to say than that. Much more to explain, but her brain was just swimming in the insanity she knew her story sounded. After a few minutes of silence, Chloe took that as a cue that she could ask a question or two. “Well…what caused it?
Max just shrugged, “My powers? I’m not really sure, but you seemed to think that your life was the cause.” Max looked into Chloe’s eyes, a small tear forming in the corner, “You wanted me to go back in time to the beginning of that week and let you die. Even if that was true and you were the cause, I could never do that Chloe. No fucking way!”
Chloe’s face was a mixture of shock and adoration that Max would be so devoted to her. “I…want to believe all this Max. I mean…I guess it kind of makes a weird bit of sense. How else could you have just appeared in front of me in the bathroom. I thought I was going hella crazy or something. Stress of the moment and all that. You know?”
“I promise I’ll prove it when I get out of here. Assuming I still have these powers that is. I’ve changed so much maybe I’ve changed that too. But regardless, I will always be up front with you. No secrets. You can ask me anything. I am an open book.” Max deflates a little at the exhaustion of all these confessions. “And if you think I’m crazy, after all is said and done, then…well…I guess I’ll just be crazy.”
Chloe thinks on the things Max has said so far. “Ok…if you have lived that week already…” Max could see the wheels turning in her brain as she was deducing an inevitable chain of events. “…and you were unconscious for the last two weeks…” Max could see a question building behind Chloe eyes. “…then you should know things about me that I haven’t told you yet. Stuff from my life now, not five years ago, right?”
Max smiled a knowing smile. “Yes. I know quite a bit about the you now, Che.” At the nickname Chloe sat a little straighter and grinned back at Max as if to say, ‘bring it on, Caulfield.’ Max continued on with a few things she learned about her best friend since coming back to Arcadia Bay. “Well…you are totally into women now and are a shameless flirt.” ‘And you are a total chicken when it comes to owning up to your feelings,’ Max thinks to herself, remembering the time in her bedroom when she basically fled after double daring Max to kiss her. Max just smiles to herself at the memory. ‘Maybe I’ll tell Chloe about that one later.’
“Let’s see….” Max continues. “…you had crushed pretty hard on your friend Rachel.” Realization crashes down on Max as she remembers the fate of Rachel and how hard Chloe took that news. No doubt she has heard the news in this timeline too, and without Max’s shoulder to cry on maybe Chloe was still a raw nerve on the topic. She freezes slightly after mentioning Rachel to look closely at Chloe to gauge her response. It was just as she suspected, devastation was the closest word to the look on Chloe’s face. Max immediately tried to comfort her friend.
“Shit Chloe, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up like that.”
“You know about Rachel?” Was the only response that came out of her shaky voice.
She was a little shocked that there wasn’t more of a breakdown, but maybe that will still come. Max knew she needed to approach this gently. “Well yeah. We worked together to find her. To find answers.” Max continued delicately, “…to…get justice.”
Max was relieved when she saw the look of understanding on Chloe’s face. She was just glad that she wasn’t telling her something Chloe didn’t already know. ‘Ok. So it seems they found Rachel Amber too and Chloe knows about it.’ Max was careful in asking her next question. “Did you get to see her?” Chloe just nodded.
“Yes and no. We had a funeral, and I saw her casket, but…I didn’t want my last picture of her to be whatever they did to her.” Tears were running down her face, but she quickly wiped them away.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe.” Max wanted her to know everything of that week even if it was hard for Chloe to hear. “I know you loved her. We found her; you know. I know it sounds bad, but part of me is glad you didn’t have to see her like that in this timeline.” Chloe looked up at her with such a sad and shocked face. “A lot of the stuff we did to find her…I’m not proud of.” Max hung her head low now. “I’ve seen a lot of terrible shit. I…” Max’s voice started to break. She wasn’t expecting to get this serious so soon. “…I went through so much shit to get back to you.” Tears finally broke free from Max and she turned from Chloe to shake off the bad memories that were forcing themselves into her brain.
Chloe reached out, but Max shook her head. “Look. It is ok now. Crazy, fucked-up shit happened, and I want to tell you all about it, but…not yet. Ok?” Chloe nodded in understanding.
Silence overtook them once again. It seemed to drag on a little as they both were lost in their thoughts. Finally, Chloe broke the silence. “So…heavy shit, huh?” She was clearly trying to lighten the mood and pushing her own feelings down for the time being. Max reached out again to grab Chloe’s hand. It was a welcomed feeling for Chloe who didn’t pull away and reciprocated by placing her other hand on top of Max’s.
Max knew she probably didn’t need to continue, but she was still determined to tell Chloe everything. “You owed around $3,000 to Frank. I bet you still do, huh?” Chloe was broken out of her thoughts by the sudden statement/question, but Max continued before she could say anything. “Funny story…we actually broke into Wells’ office, found $5,000 that may or may not have been dirty money, and used it to pay Frank off.” Max was looking at their connected hands, but kind of looking past them, deep in thought as she continued her story. “You wanted to go to Portland with the extra money and hit up a strip club,” Max laughs. “That was a great night.” Max pulled herself out of her reverie and looked up at Chloe now.
“I…,” Chloe stammered, “…I can actually believe that. Hey, do you think that money is still there?” The hopeful look on her face was kind of cute, but the look Max gave her told her she wasn’t about to do that again.
“Nuh uh, Price. I am NOT tempting fate again.” Chloe’s disappointed look was immediate and Max couldn’t resist teasing her, “…buuuuut….you never know.” A big smile stretched across Max’s face at the last statement.
The two spent the next 30 minutes talking about more details from the lost week. Chloe was admittedly taking a lot on faith, but she couldn’t help trust the woman who took a bullet for her. After 15 minutes of the easier parts of the week, Max decided to just get as much of the uncomfortable parts out of the way. She basically verbally exploded on her poor friend, but Chloe to her credit took it all in stride.
“Wow,” Chloe exclaimed, “I don’t even know what to say. I feel like my brain is gonna melt out of my ears.”
“Try living it.” Max stated exasperatedly.
At that moment a nurse walks in with a tray of food. “Dinner Ms. Caulfield.”
“Maybe I’m just hungry, but that actually looks good right now,” Chloe stated. At that moment a noticeable grumble comes from the vicinity of her stomach.
“Step away from the food, Price, or I will stab you with this fork,” Max says as she picks up the fork off her tray. The nurse watches the interaction and just giggles to herself as she turns and heads out of the room.
“I guess this is the perfect time for a cigarette break. I better get a shower and food too, I suppose. I have been basically living in this room since you’ve been admitted. Do you have your cell phone?”
Max just shrugs, “Hell if I know. I have been out of it this whole time, but if you find it that would be great.”
Chloe rifles through the bag of personal belongings that is sitting in the corner of the room. “Ah ha! Victory!” She looks at the phone and fiddles with it for a minute. “Damn, battery is dead. No worries, when I come back, I’ll bring a charging cord for ya, k?” Max nods as she is already deep into her dinner, mouth full of food. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Maxaroni.” She stands up and stretches like a cat waking up from a long nap. Before she makes to leave the room there was a noticeable hesitation where it looked like she was thinking about coming closer to Max. Even though she was busy feeding her face, she definitely noticed the moment.
“Hey Chloe,” Max says between bites. “Thank you.” She wanted to say so much more. She wanted to hug her, spill some feelings on her, but she hoped that the sincere stare of her desperate eyes conveyed a little of that emotion. Chloe must have felt it a little, because she paused and gave Max a gentle smile before swiftly moving out of the room.
_________________________________________________________________
It was shortly after 4pm on Monday and Victoria was finding herself highly disappointed in the direction her photography class was headed. Since that creep Mark Jefferson was arrested and everything him and Nathan did came to light, the photography class felt like a black hole of uncertainty. Wells assured the class that a new, credible instructor was going to be hired, but until then the class turned into a study hall of sorts. Filled only by whatever teacher was available to fill the void in the moment. Stability was loose. At least Jefferson left a lesson plan, so the students weren’t floundering too much. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t take the direction too seriously. ‘Honestly, who wants to teach themselves?’ Victoria thought. She was less than impressed.
But that issue wasn’t even the main concern on her mind lately. She found herself on autopilot, walking back to her room, telling her friends Taylor and Courtney that she wanted time alone again. She had started isolating herself shortly after the shooting two weeks ago.
At first things were relatively normal. Well as normal as things can be when one student shoots another in a bathroom. That alone was abnormal, but still in the realm of possibilities (even in this fucked up world of violence.) Victoria remembers the day Max was shot by her best friend Nathan. She was trying yet again to shmooze up to Mr. Jefferson when a loud bang could be heard all the way down the hall from the photography classroom. Then the shouts and screams drew the rest of the students’ attention, including Victoria. As she neared the bathroom, she first heard Nathan screaming and crying, followed by Mr. Madsen yelling at him to ‘stay still’ and ‘stop resisting.’ Drawing closer she saw the door open and someone lying on the floor with blood pooling below.
She soon realized that the person on the floor was Max Caulfield and another person with blue hair was kneeling on the floor over her, clearly holding their hands on her wound. Whispers around Victoria told her that Nathan had a gun and shot Max. Victoria stared at the scene shocked, and that’s when it happened; Something that is not in the realm of possibilities (or at least that’s what she assumed at first.) As if the scene flashed from one reality to another, she instead saw the blue haired girl lying on the floor in a pool of blood with Max on her knees crying over the body. But as quickly as that scene flashed before her eyes, in a blink it was back to normal. Victoria didn’t think much about it at the time. Chalk it up to stress or the insanity of the moment, but her brain didn’t register the moment as anything unnatural…that time.
Over the course of that week more and more weird reality flashes kept happening to Victoria. The night Max was shot she could have sworn she saw snow. On the following day (Tuesday,) after Jefferson got arrested, she also could have sworn she saw Kate Marsh jump off the dorm roof. Rushing to Kate’s room she instead found her crying. The vision was scary enough that it prompted Victoria to clear the air and apologize to Kate. Other reality flashes involving weather and dead animals further freaked Victoria out. But what really shook her to her core was during (and soon after) the ‘End of the World’ party.
She saw Max warning her about Nathan’s declining sanity, she saw herself bound and drugged lying on a cold, white floor, and she saw Mr. Jefferson looming over her. She had been drinking that night at the party of course, but there was no explanation why she was seeing Max in these vision flashes. Max was in the hospital all week. But there she was in these weird flashes, tied to a chair, talking to Victoria, telling her that they will escape and to be strong.
So here she sat, in her dorm room, digging through her stuff and looking for items she had purchased a few days prior. She hadn’t had any weird vision/reality flashes for a week, but she was determined to figure out what was going on, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Max was involved somehow. She had purchased a ‘get well’ card and a cute, stuffed doe she found in some random shop in town. Victoria figured it was the cutesy crap that Max liked, and she wanted to apologize for Nathan. ‘I suppose it is the least I can do,’ she thought.
Up until the day she was shot, she didn’t think much about the hipster. Sure, she respected her skill as a photographer and she admired her ability to basically not give a damn about what others thought of her, but Victoria’s own insecurity kind of drove her to basically be a bitch to those who seemed so secure with themselves. But after all those reality flashes she saw a different side to Max. She even saw a different side to herself. And even though she didn’t understand it, she felt like she owed Max somehow.
“I must be going crazy,” she says to herself. Logically, she knew that Max could not have said or done any of those things she saw/heard. She even had a weird dream in which Max approached Victoria that day of the shooting and gave her a sort of encouraging speech about ‘lifting people up instead of bringing them down’ and ‘inspiring people.’
But Victoria is a stubborn person and refuses to accept simple solutions or assume she is just going crazy. Her plan is to talk to Max when she wakes up. To see if she can possibly fill in some blanks. And even if she never actually did any of the things in these flashes, she could thank her for them anyway.
Finally, she finds the items she was searching for, the card and stuffy and planned on bringing it to her. Around last period she got word that Max had woken up. And Victoria figured now was the time to visit.
____________________________________________________________________
In the hospital Max was just finishing her second helping of pudding. She managed to convince the nurse to get her a second pudding cup. There is nothing those sad doe eyes can’t convince others out of. ‘I bet I could convince Chloe to give me her underwear if I wanted,’ she thought. She chuckled to herself at the thought. Where these devious thoughts came from, Max wasn’t sure, but one thing is for sure, she is way more daring and freer after all she has been through. “Life is too short to be afraid,” she says to herself. She puts her tray to the side, lays back and closes her eyes, finally letting herself relax. After that long conversation with Chloe, she feels slightly drained, but also strangely invigorated. “I hope I convinced her.”
“Convinced who?” Max looks up and sees someone she never expected she’d see visiting her in the hospital.
“Victoria,” Max says with a shocked yet light tone of voice. “It is good to see you.” Even though she was shocked, she was genuinely happy to see her. She remembered what could have happened to her and is just glad that Victoria is safe.
“Really?” Victoria’s voice sounded soft and apprehensive.
Forgetting herself a little Max responds, “Of course. I’m just glad you are safe.” Max leans back into her pillow on the hospital bed and closes her eyes again.
Victoria just looks at her slightly confused. “Why would I not be safe?”
Max shoots her eyes open realizing what she said probably didn’t make any sense. “I…uuhhh…”
Before Max can say anything else, Victoria just smiles gently. “Thank you.”
This, in turn, confuses Max. “For what?” Even though she knows what she had done for Victoria in the alternate timeline she can’t fathom why Victoria would be thanking her in this one.
Victoria doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose, apparently deep in an internal struggle. She looks around the room for a second, noticing the gift table she walks towards it. “I…brought you something,” she says as she sets her gifts down with the other ‘get well’ items. She walks around the bed Max is lying in and finds the open chair beside it. “Mind if I sit?” Max answers by gesturing with her hand for Victoria to take a seat.
Sitting down, Victoria doesn’t know where to start. “I’m sorry, Max.” Her gaze is down on her lap, and she continues, “I have been acting terrible to you and others. This whole situation is totally fucked.” She glances up to meet Max’s eyes briefly and Max can see the glisten of tears forming in Victoria’s eyes. “I know I can’t control the stupid shit Nathan did, but I should have taken my head out of my ass long enough to see the truth.” This confession shocked Max. “I feel like such a fool.” Her head slumping back down to gaze at the hands in her lap again.
Silence fills the room for the next couple minutes as a sniffle can be heard from Victoria. Max reaches out and touches her shoulder. “Hey…” Max’s voice is gentle. Many thoughts run through Max’s mind. ‘Should I tell her it’s ok? Should I comfort her and tell her that she couldn’t have possibly known?’ Most of the typical responses seem too placating. So, she just settles on, “I forgive you.”
Victoria looks up at these words. She stares at Max and those beautiful blue eyes. She suddenly finds herself mesmerized. Pulling a tissue out of her purse she carefully dabs her eyes, clearing away any tears that were forming. Her gaze returns to Max’s eyes and she pauses. She opens her mouth to say something, but quickly closes it again. A loss of words is something she is not used to. She shuts her eyes tight, trying to refocus. ‘Ok…you’re here for answers too, dummy. You can do this.’
Max notices the hesitation and internal struggle going on within Victoria. “You ok, Vic?”
(‘Do you think it’s like fate that we’re not supposed to be friends?’
‘Why not?’)
The memory of a particular reality flash echoed in Victoria’s head. Her eyes shot open and looked to Max again. “Only my friends call me Vic.”
Max looked just slightly taken aback. “Oh.”
Before Max could say anything else Victoria interrupts, “You can call me Vic if you want.” Max smiles at this. “After all, why can’t we be friends?” This was more of a rhetorical question, but she continues, repeating verbatim the line Max said to her in the reality flash, “we’re both into art and photography, we’re both kind of weird and pretentious…” Max’s jaw dropped slightly at the words Victoria was saying.
Max finished the line she had said once before, “…If we hung out without attitude we’d get along fine.” Victoria stopped dead, jaw dropped, and staring at Max now. The look of shock on both their faces.
“Super Maaaax!” Chloe picks this time to burst through the door. Both Victoria and Max jump at the sudden interruption. Chloe is halfway across the room when she finally notices Max’s guest. A grimace covers her face as she looks between the two women. “What the hell is Bitch-Toria doing here?”
Max and Victoria just sit there in shocked silence for a few moments, clearly confused at the last few minutes of revelations. Mouths hanging open as if to say something as their brains try to catch up to the blue-haired woman’s presence and question.
Max manages to speak first, “Hi Chloe. You remember Victoria.”
Chloe glances between the two, glaring at Victoria, “How could I forget? This bitch was a constant thorn in mine and Rachel’s side.”
Victoria had long deduced that the blue-haired person that helped Max in the bathroom that day was none other than the drop-out queen Chloe Price. In the days that followed the shooting, she discovered that her and Max were apparently close or used to be. Rumors only filled in so much of the story. Regardless, Victoria knew (thanks to random reality flashes) that Chloe’s fate would have been so much worse had Max not stepped to intervene. She still was unclear on details, but if the flashes were anything to go by, Max is almost a damned martyr. With all this in mind, Victoria’s usual bite-back comment died in her mind before even forming. Instead, she just drooped her shoulders in admission. “Yeah.” Her eyes fell, refusing to meet Chloe’s.
Ignoring her seemly defeated attitude, Chloe couldn’t help herself, “What no bitchy retort? Why don’t you call me Keri a few more times? You get bored ordering your minions around? What the hell are you even doing here anyway?”
Max looked up towards Chloe, who was standing on her other side opposite from where Victoria was still sitting. “Chloe…she apologized. Please, I don’t want to fight.” Max pleaded with a sad and exhausted tone.
Victoria just looked at her with a grateful smile. “I don’t want to fight either.”
Chloe looked taken aback and slightly offended suddenly. “What, one sorry and you guys are best friends now?!" Max just gives her an incredulous look.
“Hey, there is enough of me to go around.” Max jokes. Max glances between the two women on each side of her, a devious smile on her face. Victoria jerks her head in Max’s direction a slight tint of pink on her cheeks and the look on her face hints at soft surprise. Chloe, who is already looking at Max finds a little smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. Continuing her joking manner Max says with mock incredulousness, “What…you two don’t know how to share?”
“You cheeky little minx,” Chloe chuckles.
At this point Victoria doesn’t know how to proceed. She feels like there is more to discuss, but also, she is completely lost on what to do with this new situation. Pulling out her more stoic nature, she collects herself and stands. “As fun as all this is, I guess I should get going now.” She turns to Max, reaching down to gently touch her hand. She doesn’t know why she does this; she just feels like it’s the right thing to do in the moment. “Get some rest, Max. Call me if you need anything.”
“Oh shit! Your phone!” Chloe suddenly runs to the other side of the room, pulling out a charger cord from her pocket. Grabbing Max’s phone she calls out, “Where is the outlet? Nevermind…found it. I’ll plug your phone in over here. K, Max?” Max just nods.
Victoria turns to leave, but for some reason Max isn’t ready for her to leave. She reaches out for Victoria with her right hand. “Wait!”
Suddenly she feels the familiar sensation of time pulling backwards again. And once again she didn’t mean to rewind but is weirdly surprised that she is glad her powers are still intact. However, she notices that as things rewind, Victoria who is still within arm’s reach, is not rewinding. Seemingly frozen in shock both Max and Victoria watch as Chloe is moving backwards in time from the moment she plugs in Max’s cellphone. Max releases her pull on time.
“Oh shit! Your phone!” Chloe once again shouts and moves towards the other side of the room to plug in Max’s phone.
“What the fuck!” Victoria exclaims.
“Where is the outlet? Nevermind…I found it! I’ll plug your phone in over here. K, Max?” Chloe seemingly oblivious to the outburst by Victoria.
Max looks up at Victoria. “Vic…you didn’t rewind.”
Confusion floods Victoria’s facial expression. “Max…what the hell was that?! What do you mean rewind?”
By this time Chloe’s attention is drawn in by the word ‘rewind.’ “Wait…Max…did you just rewind?” Victoria is further confused at the unspoken conversation that is going on between Max and Chloe’s eyes.
“Victoria,” Max says. “I think you should sit back down. This is gonna be a long night.”