chloe-caulfield94 - Tumblr blog

[chloe-caulfield94]

Max gives Joyce a piece of her mind

“Who is it that you got engaged to, Chloe?” Joyce only now noticed a new addition to Chloe’s usual hodgepodge of jewellery – a silver ring with many colourful stones on Chloe’s left ring finger. “I see he couldn’t even be bothered to buy you a proper ring. It should be gold, with a diamond. Like the one your father gave me”.

Chloe thought to herself: “Yes, that ring was beautiful. Too bad you sold it”. Chloe closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. “This is the best day of your life, Price. You’re not going to cry today”, she thought.

“It’s Max, mom”.

Joyce only now noticed Max standing behind Chloe in the doorway.

“Oh hi, Max! I’m so sorry you had to listen to our little quarrel. But you’ve been hanging around with Chloe almost every day since we moved to Seattle, so you’re used to that”.

“Mom, you’re not listening to me. It’s Max who …”

“Max is such a nice young woman. Why can’t you be more like her? She would never do something so reckless. You should …”

“Enough!” – said Max loudly, almost shouting, surprising everyone present, including herself. Max stepped in front of Chloe and continued, not as loud, but still way above her usual gentle tone of voice: “Enough. Joyce, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you ever since I met you again at the Two Whales. You can’t talk about your daughter that way!”

Joyce seemed shocked by Max’s words. David and Chloe less so.

“We meet for the first time after five years and you spend the majority of our conversation going on and on about how big of a burden your own child is? ‘Chloe chose to remain angry’. That’s what you said. Maybe you don’t even remember saying it, but I will never forget you saying that. She chose to be angry? Chloe chose none of the things that happened to her. She didn’t choose for William to be killed by a reckless trucker who fell asleep behind the wheel. She didn’t choose for me, her supposed best friend, to stop answering her calls and texts. She didn’t choose for Rachel to promise her a life together and then break up with her using a letter”.

“Max, what are you saying? Chloe and Rachel were just friends. They had sleepovers all the time!”

David furrowed his brow, surprised with his wife’s obliviousness. “Joyce, that’s exactly why they had so many sleepovers. I thought that was obvious. It’s why I always woke them up so early and tried to get them out of Chloe’s room. I didn’t want them fooling around under our roof. Just like I would if Chloe tried doing that with a boy”.

Max continued telling all the things she’d been wanting to tell Joyce for the past year: “Chloe didn’t choose for her stepfather to slap and demean her!”

David’s face turned red. Not out of anger, though. Out of shame.

“Chloe didn’t choose for Nathan Prescott to roofie and attempt to assault her and then threaten to shoot her! She didn’t choose for Frank Bowers to threaten to kill her with a knife! By the way, David. That’s why she took your revolver. For self-defence”.

David was distraught that his daughter had been in danger and he didn’t even know about it. “What? Chloe, why didn’t you tell me about it? I would’ve done something!”

Chloe responded, quoting David’s own words: “’For your own good, stay away from Chloe. She’s a loser and she’ll only drag you down’. I didn’t want to drag you down, David”.

David hung his head low, confronted with his own venomous words, having finally realized how crushing it must’ve been for Chloe to hear something like that from her own parent.

Max kept pouring her heart out: “What did you even argue with her about when I picked up that phone call? I tell you David hit her and your reaction is to yell at her? Not to hug her, to console her, to tell her everything is going to be alright? To yell at her. Then again, she pushed him. That was the problem. Chloe pushing. Not her stepfather reacting with violence to being ‘pushed’, whatever that even means, by a teenage girl. Chloe being a bad daughter, a disappointment. That was the problem. Well, I know for a fact Chloe would give her life to save yours and David’s. Without hesitation. I know that for a fact! How’s that for a bad daughter? And why do you always seem to be annoyed when you see Chloe? When she went into the diner that day, before she even said anything, you were already angry with her. Why? What was even that stupid speech about Chloe blowing her college fund on bacon? Did you really charge your own child for a few scraps of bacon? When we were kids, we would visit you at work. You always gave us pie. Are you telling me you charged us back then too? Should I be worried about my own college fund? Did you really keep a tab for your daughter and you paid it off using money William had set aside for Chloe’s education?”

“Max, that was a joke. Of course I didn’t actually charge Chloe”.

“Well if that was a joke, I didn’t feel amused to hear it. More like embarrassed. Why even joke that way? What you were trying to get at? Did you want to remind her she had got expelled from Blackwell, as if she didn’t remember that? Were you complaining that she visited you at work too often? Or did you think she ate too much? She’s rail-thin, for God’s sake. I can feel all her bones when I touch her. If anything, she should be eating more”.

Chloe blushed, as Max’s remark clearly indicated she had seen her, and touched her, while she was in a state of undress. But it seemed neither Joyce nor David picked up on it.

“When I finish my classes at U-Dub in the afternoon and Chloe is there to pick me up, that’s the best part of my day. I always smile when I see her. I cannot fathom how could anyone react to my Chloe with annoyance. And yet, you do. Almost every time I see you interact. Could you stop doing that? Pretty please, now that we’re going to become a family? Because it’s me who proposed to Chloe. And by the way, that ring was the best thing I could afford using the money I made in my summer job. I admit, it’s not gold and diamonds. It’s silvered steel and agates. But I think it suits my fiancée. It’s bold and colourful, just like her”.

Joyce was floored with the revelation. David not so much.

Joyce needed a moment to process the news: “What? But … I mean … That’s wonderful, Max! I’m so happy for you. I know you will be a good influence on Chloe. I know you will help her change for the better”.

Max sighed. She was no longer angry and she reverted to her normal, gentle speaking voice. But she still had a lot to say: “Joyce, Chloe is not some kind of work in progress that needs finishing. Not any more than any other human being is. I love her for who she is now, not for who she might become. My love for her is not conditioned on her changing in any way. She will, of course, just as I will change going through life at her side. This is going to be our journey. But it doesn’t have any set goal, other than being together. Our love, it’s not a one-way street. I stand to gain from it just as much as she does. Chloe saved my life. Twice. When Nathan Prescott caught me snooping in the dorms, Chloe shielded me with her own body and pushed him away. Even though he was armed and had threatened to murder Chloe just two days prior. And when Frank Bowers lunged at me with a knife, Chloe stopped him. She wrestled a taller, stronger man armed with a knife to save my life, with no weapon of her own, because in my unmatched wisdom I had told her to discard it. And she did save my life”.

David nodded in respect, impressed with his daughter’s tenacity in defending her loved ones.

Max continued: “She taught me how to overcome my fears. How to be strong. And she proved she would be willing to die just to spare me from feeling guilty. Which is something I would never accept. But it’s proof how loyal she is and how far she’s willing to go protect the people she loves. To protect me. Joyce, I’m not the child you remember me to be and I’m not the perfect young woman you imagined me to be in my absence. You don’t really know me. You don’t know what I did and what choices I made. I think I’m much farther away from your idea of a good daughter than you think I am. And Chloe is much closer to it than you think she is”.

Max paused for a while. Both Joyce and Chloe sniffed. They had tears in their eyes. David’s eyes expressed profound sadness as well.

Max decided to tell the last thing she’d been wanting to tell Joyce for a long time: “Joyce, I’m going to tell you something now. I’m not telling this to hurt you, or make you sad. On the contrary. When you hear what I have to say, even before I’m finished, I want you to interrupt me. I want you to be indignant. I want you to tell me I’m wrong. That I have no idea what I’m talking about. That I have no right to say things like that. I want you to throw me out of your home for daring to say that, do you understand? Here it goes. Based on how you always have patience, support and kind words for me and how you have very little of that for Chloe, it seems to me that you’d rather have me as a daughter than Chloe. Is that true?”

Joyce did none of the things Max wanted her to do. She rested her elbows on the table and hid her face in the palms of her hands.

Continue reading: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55536358

[chloe-caulfield94]

[chloe-caulfield94]

The Lack of You - a Pricefield fan poem

From my bygone days

of a science nerd

I remember that

black holes

(quite counter-intuitively)

are actually infinitely

heavy

I find that very easy to believe

because the hole

torn in my soul

by the lack of you

keeps weighing me down

with an incomprehensible force

I hate all the pictures we drew

littering my room

I hate all the photographs you took

hanging on strings

over my bed

I hate the tape you left me

as a salty bandage for my wounds

Because all of that is proof

that a key ingredient is missing

and therefore I am incomplete

without you

But I could never hate

you

Even if I wanted to

Even if I tried

And I wanted to

And I tried

And I failed

It's the only failure

out of many in my life

that I'm proud of

I love you way too much

to be able to hate you

I've never been

good enough for anything

How could I have possibly

been good enough for

the most amazing girl in the world

to stay?

As I drifted into sleep

I saw your face

in the cloud of cigarette smoke

hanging over my still alive corpse

Then I had a dream

In it, you

were faced with a choice

Either

to see me alive

for the last time

in the rear windscreen of your parents' car

on the day of my father's funeral

Or

to see me alive

next to you

in the front seat of my truck

on the first day

of the rest of our lives

I had a dream

of you

You were gone

But it was alright

Because you came back

rendering the black hole

in my soul

weightless, as all holes should be

The black hole in my soul

turned into a hole

to another universe

[chloe-caulfield94]

We're always together. Even when we're not.

"I told you once that we are always together, even when we’re not. And you repeated that on the tape you left me. That wasn’t just us being mushy. That has always been true. I never stopped imagining how your life went, what you were doing. I would often think about that. About you. There was always a version of you present with me. When you left, we were both still kids. But the part of you that stayed with me, she didn’t remain a kid. That part of you was not a memory. Memories of lost loved ones are dead, frozen. But she was alive. She kept growing with me. She lost her ponytail and grew out her hair. Her pudgy face of a kid gave way to a beautifully sculpted face with prominent cheekbones. She started having her own style of dress and makeup. And at some point I realized I not only had lost a best friend. I also had lost a person I wanted to fall in love with. When I realized that, your absence, the lack of you, already unbearable, hit me even harder. And when I met you again … I realized the part of you that stayed with me and the rest of you, you both grew up to be the same. You looked the same, you talked the same, you felt the same way about me and I felt the same way about you. She wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. She really was a part of you. Perhaps it’s been me all along who’s had some kind of superpower. Perhaps I wasn’t just imagining what you were doing. Perhaps I really saw you from time to time with my mind’s eye. Telepathy or however you want to call it. Or maybe it wasn’t any kind of superpower. Just love. I mean, wasn’t the source of your time travelling power love as well? Why a butterfly? Insect wings, like a seraph? A guardian angel? You wanted to be my guardian angel. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is”.

Continue reading: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55400779

[chloe-caulfield94]

The Other Max’s Case Falls Apart - a LiS fan poem

The time is up

The clock has run out

It’s time

The execution was

stayed for five days

and now five days are up

I never wanted to be the judge

You thrusted this upon me

I put on my black robe

and I sit on the bench

What a strange trial this has been

with the punishment

meted out up front

Today

no further stay will be granted

and no pardon will be issued

But hold your

ravenous

bloodthirsty

smirk

for I am sure

to wipe it off your face

because I find her

innocent of

murder

torture

kidnapping

selling date rape drugs to

violent boys

and taking bribes for covering up

the violence of boys

Since she is innocent

of all the crimes

the Storm was meted out for

I will not allow that

headman’s axe to touch

her swan neck

The firing squad

will remain silent

never to play

its disgusting music

ever again

The prosecutor

who stole my face

is fuming

A case of

unreasonable expectations

Did she seriously expect me

to sentence to death

someone who has always been

my friend?

This I rule

wearing the same black robe

she would wear

standing

and smiling

over her victim’s coffin

The time is up

The clock has run out

It’s time

Find me one atom

of an hour

or one molecule

of a day

The way we measure time

is a matter not of nature

but one of culture

It’s a matter of

choice

So faced with

the question of time

I choose to make

seventy more years of it

No, scratch that

Eighty more years of it

I’ll just tell her to quit

those smelly cigarettes

and greasy strips of bacon

[chloe-caulfield94]

Max, Chloe and David drive to Away

On the road to Away, Chloe was sitting next to David in the passenger’s seat, with Max nominally in the backseat, but with her arms wrapped around Chloe and her head between the front seats. That way both David and Max got what they wanted. David had Chloe riding shotgun and Max had Chloe firmly in her embrace. It wasn’t a particularly safe sitting arrangement, but David took that into account and drove slowly, even though the desert road was completely empty.

“So, David, how does it feel to be an accomplice to two cartel operatives slash Hezbollah terrorists slash Chinese spies slash whatever else the fear-mongering media cooked up?” - Chloe inquired.

“You mean the Diaz brothers?”

“Yes, David, I mean the two fugitives that broke through a police cordon at the border and drove off in a hail of bullets! The ones everyone is talking about!” - Chloe pursued the topic.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call myself an accomplice. Sean and Daniel stayed in Away for a few weeks. I gave Sean a little bit of advice. And then they were on their way.”

“I knew it!” Chloe energetically patted Max’s arms, which were entwined around her. “You owe me five bucks, Max!” Seeing David’s puzzled look, Chloe explained: “When we heard that the Diaz brothers had went through Arizona, so close to your place, I immediately knew you had bumped into them. We bet on that with Max”.

“You won Chloe. But how exactly am I supposed to cash you out? We pool all of our money together anyway”.

“How are you supposed to pay it out? By handing me an oversized check in front of cameras, of course!”

“If by ‘cameras’ you mean my polaroid and by ‘an oversized check’ you mean a page ripped out from a notebook, then sure, it can be arranged”.

“Fine, if you can’t conduct a proper award ceremony, then I guess you can exchange those five bucks into kisses. One kiss for one dollar”.

“Hey! My kisses are worth far more than a dollar a piece! Then again, you’re my favourite customer and I value your continued business, so I can offer you an even more favourable exchange rate – one kiss for 10 cents”.

“It’s a deal, Max!”

David smiled, listening to their playful banter. He was reminded of one particular moment from years ago, when he goofed around with Joyce while making pancakes. When he still thought he and Chloe could become a family. Before he fucked it all up. But in the end, they did become a family. He just wished Joyce could be there to see it. To see her daughter smile and laugh and be hopeful again.

“For the record, David, I didn’t bet against you meeting the Diazes because I thought you weren’t cool enough to hang out with alleged domestic terrorists. I just didn’t think the world was that small. Them being from Seattle and on top of that them meeting you? That seemed implausible” – Max explained.

“Max, your incredulity becomes even cuter with every strange mess we get ourselves into. So, David, what kind of advice did you give to Sean Diaz? How to manufacture IEDs?” – Chloe wanted to hear all the juicy deets.

David sighed. “I told him they should surrender. That seemed like the best advice I could give to a teenage boy chased by hundreds of cops who would love nothing more than to gun him down. But I’m glad he didn’t listen. I was being naïve. He would never get a fair trial. The media had already convicted him for being a cop killer”.

Chloe stopped goofing around and spoke in a more serious tone: “It’s okay, David. You meant well. At the end of the day, that’s all we can demand from ourselves. Sometimes we wish to do good, but the results are different than we expected. But as long as we want to help others, instead of hurting them, everything is fine”.

Both David and Max fell silent, because Chloe’s words spoke volumes to them. To Max, the part about meaning well but causing unforeseen consequences. And to David, the part about helping, instead of hurting others. After a brief moment, Chloe realized how her words might have been received. She cursed at herself in her thoughts. She wished she had bitten her tongue instead of speaking. “This is why you should leave philosophising to Max, you numbnuts. Because when you speak, you tend to make people sad”. She radically changed the topic to turn Max’s and David’s attention away from the past and towards the present, or better yet, the future.

“Listen, dad, before we get to Away, we need to stop at a store and buy some essentials. And nothing is more essential right now than sunscreen for Max. Arizonian sun doesn’t jive well with tender Irish skin. Not everyone can be of stout Germanic stock like the Prices or the Madsens. Some people are delicate Celtic flowers from the Emerald Isle".

The three of them smiled all the way to Away. Max at being called an Irish beauty. David at being called “dad”. And Chloe at the fact that with each day she was getting better at making others smile.

[chloe-caulfield94]

alt Max's and alt Chloe's engagement

Nine months after the Storm, Max graduated from high school. Chloe was there when she received her diploma. That evening Max decided she was done waiting for good things. She asked the question she had been wanting to ask for months.

William and Joyce, sitting on the couch, with William massaging Joyce’s feet after a brutal shift at the restaurant, heard Chloe’s response.

“YES, YES, YES!”

They went over to Chloe’s room.

“Mom, dad! We’re getting married!” – Chloe exclaimed, unable to contain her happiness.

William and Joyce hugged and kissed their girls.

Max was embarrassed. “I don’t have a ring for Chloe …”

William reassured her: “Don’t worry about that, Max. Love and sincerity are the most important parts of proposing. And you are full of both. A ring is just something extra. And besides, we can do something about that. Hold on”.

Chloe’s parents disappeared for a while in their bedroom. Once they were back, Joyce was holding a little black box. William was embracing Joyce, his hands on her shoulders. Joyce opened the box. Inside there was a thick gold ring with a large diamond.

“This is the ring William gave me when he popped the question. I always wanted it to one day pass to you, Chloe. After your accident, we were so desperate for money. I considered pawning it off. But William convinced me not to go through with it. He told me …” - Joyce’s voice cracked - “He told me you were going to need it one day, Chloe, when you get married” - Tears streamed down Joyce’s face - “I’m ashamed to say I didn’t believe him. I didn’t believe it would ever happen. But now, your father’s faith has been rewarded. The faith I couldn’t keep. I’m sorry ...”

“Joyce, honey. You’re the best wife and mother in the world. You have never failed and never faltered. I love you. We all do. And you did believe that. Why else would you take the ring with you when we fled the Storm? Now, Max, do the honours”.

Max placed the ring on Chloe’s finger, kissed her hand and kept holding it. It was the best moment of her life. Best moment of her life so far.

When William and Joyce were alone in their bedroom that night, he told her: “Honey. You owe me a dollar”.

“We are totally broke. You really expect me to pay you?” – Joyce argued playfully.

“It’s just one dollar. I’m fairly certain there’s some loose change in your coat. And I’m not going to spend it. I’m going to put it up on a wall”.

“Fine. I’ll give it to you tomorrow”.

“Maybe I should turn to gambling? That would end our money problems. I clearly know how to pick a winner” – William joked.

“We bet on that so long ago. Even before Chloe’s accident. How did you know?”

“I saw the way Max looked at Chloe when you cut Chloe’s hair short for the first time. They must’ve been around thirteen then. To tell you the truth, I was worried for a moment when Ryan and Vanessa moved Max to Seattle, but in the end she did come through. And back when we made the bet it wasn’t even legal for couples like them to marry! My skill of predicting the future is unmatched!”

“William Price, you are the smartest man in the world”.

He kissed her in response to the compliment.

Seeing Max and Chloe together was definitive proof that love can withstand any hardships. But William and Joyce already knew that, from their own experience.

[chloe-caulfield94]

This is not the end

Not unless we choose it to be

Stop saying you don't deserve love

You deserve mine, like I deserve yours

Love is not mercantile

You can't buy it or sell it

You just give it and accept it

It wasn't the thought of repayment

that made me dive into fire

after you

I did it because this cruel world

would be even crueler without you

shining

guiding me like a lighthouse

through dark rooms

We saved each other

over and over

in ways different and alike

If you need a reason

to soldier on

let it be that

I want you

and I need you

This midday dark as midnight doesn't scare me

as long as your hand is in mine

I paid the price of my pain

for you

and I'd do it again

and again

with no doubts

But I would never pay

with you

Not for anything

No matter what horror

the world threatens to unleash

My mirror told me you were a burden

so I smashed it to pieces

wielding memories of you

like a shield

and like a sword

Never a burden, you're my rock

Loser, whore, thief, slut, broken

All lies

vomited by those who don't know

the whole of your universe

like I do

There's strength in you

that cannot be crushed

no matter how hard they try

There's tenderness

in the palm of your outstretched hand

waiting for someone to take it

and I desire to be that someone

You are my date today

and tomorrow you'll be too

and all the days after that

With you, I'm stuck in time

but in a good way

I'm riding shotgun

as long as you want me to

Regardless of what you and I

are destined to be and do

I take the reins of my life

and I choose you

in my past

in my present

and in my future

always

and forever

[chloe-caulfield94]

I won’t do this

I can’t

I don’t want to

There’s no absolution to be gained

for my sin

by sweeping its victim

under the rug

It crushes me to know

that you wanted crumbs from my table

to be your last supper

I don’t know

what happened yesterday

A switch was flipped

in my brain

(or in my soul?)

and I became

a better version of myself

for a day

She’s gone now

but the feelings she brought

from a different world

beyond the sea

still remain

like a pirate’s treasure chest

full of Spanish dubloons

that people would kill for

I feel

bitter shame

that I left you

in the rear-view mirror

Cool relief

that now I know

why I am in this world

Sweet joy

of hearing your voice

Electric excitement

of touching you again

It doesn’t matter if we manage

to claw back from the universe

all the years I stole from you

or if a storm washes us away tomorrow

We can be happy

and carefree

and yes

we can love

even on the darkest of days

Your life is not yet forfeit

even if you can’t see it now

because of my cowardice

I want to hold your hand

even though you can’t

hold mine back

I want to kiss your lips

and I know you can

kiss mine back

Whatever time we have left

I desire for it to be filled

with many more days

like the one we just had

The real treasure is love, I said

in what feels like another life

But it was just a few steps from here

and I still mean it

I promised over and over

to stay at your side

and with all my heart

I intend to keep my word

this time

Even if you don’t want me to

Yet

----------------------------------

„I am never leaving you again!”. The powerful and beautiful promise was still hanging in the air, like the last part of an echo slowly fading away, when Max regained control of her body.

“I love you” – Max said in a loud and confident voice.

Chloe turned her head towards Max. Chloe’s eyes, red and wet from crying now expressing surprise. And something else. Was it a tiny flicker of hope? Max wanted to believe that.

Max continued her confession: “I love you. I promised to always love you on that stupid recording which I sent you after your accident, as salt for your wounds. And here I am, years too late. But I love you!”

The flicker of hope was gone from Chloe’s eyes, like a tiny flame blown out by cold wind. She lowered her gaze to her own motionless body and said: “It’s fine, Max. You don’t owe me anything. I should have never asked you for that”. In a much quieter voice she added: “Your tape was not like salt. It was like a bandage. It got me through the months after my accident. I would listen to it on repeat. Even after it became clear you would never come”. Chloe lifted her gaze and looked at Max. The utter hopelessness in Chloe’s eyes broke Max’s heart. Chloe continued: “You don’t have to wallow with me in my misery. You don’t have to sit here. I release you from your promise. Go back to the life you’ve built out there, outside of my cage. Go back to the friends who won’t bring you down. You’ve spent a day with a dying friend. You’ve done your good deed”.

Even though Chloe spoke calmly, her words were like a whip. Max was filled with shame, so bitter that she could taste it on her tongue.

“I am not here because of words I said years ago. I’ve already proven that I don’t care about my own word. I am here because I love you now. I know I don’t have to be here. But I want to. You can release me from my already broken promise. But you can’t tell me not to love you”.

“What does that even mean, Max? That you love me?”

“It means this …” – Max placed her hand on Chloe’s hand. Even though Chloe didn’t feel it, she blushed. “And it also means this …” – slowly, looking Chloe deep in the eyes, Max brought her face close to Chloe’s and gently kissed her on the lips. Chloe kissed her back, making up for her inexperience with eagerness.

A smile lingered on Chloe’s lips for a while. But then her hopelessness dealt her another blow.

“God, Max, I am so pathetic. You saw me staring at you the entire night and you decided to give me a pity kiss goodbye”.

Max knew making up for years of neglect was going to be difficult. But she wasn’t about to give up easily.

“That was not a kiss goodbye. It was a kiss welcome. And I kissed you not out of pity, but because I wanted to. Very much”.

“Max, you know I’m dying, right? We don’t know how much time I have left. Maybe in six months I’ll be long gone”.

“I don’t care. If the time still left is short, that’s all the more reason not to waste even a moment of it. Chloe, it kills me to know that you wanted crumbs from my table to be your last supper. Just one day and that’s it? But what if we could have many more days like that?”

“But … I didn’t think you’d actually want to stick around with me for longer than that”.

“Whatever time you have left, however long or short it might be, I want to share it with you. Every moment. That’s what me loving you means”.

They sat looking in each other’s eyes for a longer while, processing the momentous revelations of the day. And it was still just early morning.

The beautiful moment was cut short when an alarm in Max’s cell phone started ringing.

“Shit! I have classes soon. I’ll come back straight after school, I promise, Chloe”.

When Max was at the door, Chloe said to her: “Max, please. If you don’t mean the things you've said, if you don’t actually want me, if you’re not going to come back, you have to tell me now. You can’t give a gift like that and then take it away”.

Max walked over to Chloe, kissed her hair and said confidently: “I’ve never been more serious in my life”.

Chloe was smiling when Max left the room.

[chloe-caulfield94]

“I like the black parts more. Once your arm is completely covered, it will mean something more than simply plastering over the past. It will be a blank slate. That we will fill with our own stories. Isn’t this how we roll? Fate wrote cruel stories for the both of us. We rejected those stories. Erased them. Replaced with our own, beautiful ones. Blank slates fill me with hope. They represent a chance at something good. A new beginning. They make me think about the future and what I want to do in it. In my future, I want to be with you, Chloe. I want to write many more stories with you”.

Chloe nodded, impressed once again with the wisdom of her wife.

“I want that too, Max. Just promise me one thing”.

Max looked Chloe deep in the eyes and said with conviction: “For you, everything”.

“Promise me that at least some of those stories will be about us sitting on the couch, watching movies and sipping hot cocoa”.

-------------------------------------

A butterfly flew out of your mind

On its way it took on the colour

of your hair

and of your sadness

It sought me out

and it taught me

that it's never too late

even when the universe

lies to you it is

A million typewriters

operated by the wind

wrote for us a story

unsurprising in its cruelty

unoriginal in its inhumanity

I took the paper it was printed on

and tore it in half

I erased the letters of it

lingering in the air

We wrote a story of our own

in which something

that's supposedly a cliche

but in reality almost never happens

happened

Love conquered hate

Care conquered neglect

Hope conquered desperation

Confidence conquered doubt

Tomorrow conquered yesterday

Life conquered death

There still remain

many more stories

to be written by us

We will draw them

on the canvas of black ink

on your arm

[chloe-caulfield94]

Did I hear someone order Chloe being reconciled with her mother? With the powers of fanfiction, I bring you just that, in the form of Chloe visiting her parents in the alternate timeline:

“Max, I’m freaking out. I don’t know if I can do this”.

Max put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Chloe, I’m right beside you. It’s going to be okay”.

Chloe inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Let’s do this”.

They exited the car and entered the building. They didn’t use the entry phone, because Max knew the door code by heart. They were holding hands. Max led Chloe down the corridor. The Prices’ apartment was on the ground floor, for an obvious reason. The building didn’t have an elevator.

They stopped before the apartment door. Chloe squeezed Max’s hand tight. Max saw on her face a mixture of fear and anticipation.

Max considered ringing the doorbell, but she decided that a reunion like that shouldn’t take place in the doorway. And it would be good to be close to the couch if someone became overwhelmed with emotions and needed to sit down. She pulled out her key that William and Joyce had given her five years ago, so that she could always visit Chloe. She’d kept it even after Chloe had moved in with her. And now, using the same key, she was bringing Chloe back home.

The apartment consisted of a dark, tight corridor leading to a living room with a kitchen annex, a bathroom and one bedroom. Max stood at the edge of the living room, Chloe behind her in the corridor, trying to hide behind her, despite their height difference. William was dozing off in the armchair.

“Dad? Hi, dad” – Max said softly.

William woke up. He looked at Max and smiled. He got up and went over to her.

“Hi sweetie. It’s so nice to see you”. He hugged her. Max hugged him back with her left arm, her right arm still holding Chloe’s hand.

William let Max go and said to Joyce: “Honey, it’s Max!”

Joyce was hidden behind the corner, preparing a meal in the kitchen annex. “You’re just in time, Max. I’m making hash browns. They’ll be ready in a moment. Have a sit”.

William only just noticed that Max wasn’t alone.

“You brought a friend? How nice”.

He offered his hand to Chloe. “I’m William, I’m Max’s father-in-law”.

Chloe’s thoughts raced. “He doesn’t recognize me! It’s been ten years, how could he? I shouldn’t have come here!”

William, with his signature smile, continued: “And what’s your … name …” He stopped. The hand he’d been offering to shake now touched Chloe’s face. He gently traced the outline of her face with his fingers.

“Chloe … You are so tall!”

Chloe smiled. Her fear was gone.

“You’re used to me sitting or lying down, but that’s how I’ve always been. I get it after you, dad”.

William embraced them both. He turned his head towards the kitchen annex and called: “Joyce, quick! It’s our daughter!”

“Yes, I know it’s Max! I’ll be there in a minute! I can’t leave the pan!”

“Joyce! Both our daughters are home!”

Joyce’s head peered from behind the corner.

“William, what are you saying …” – she paused, seeing Chloe.

“Chloe!” – she shouted and ran towards them. She crashed into the three of them, almost knocking them down, adding her own loving embrace into the mix.

Crying tears of joy, she repeated: “My child is home! My child is home!”

Chloe looked Max in the eyes and mouthed: “Thank you”. Max smiled and nodded. With her left arm, Max was embracing William and Chloe was embracing Joyce with her right, but in the midst of this group hug they kept holding hands.

William and Joyce sat their daughters on the couch and surrounded them on both sides, hugging them, laughing, talking over each other.

Chloe cleared her throat and spoke: “So, you’re probably wondering how it’s possible that I’m alive …”

Joyce laughed out loud. “No, sweetie! We’re wondering what to buy you for Christmas! There’s still two weeks left!”

William chimed in: “And we don’t have to wonder how you’re here. We know that”.

“You and Max love each other so much you just couldn’t stay away” – Joyce said confidently.

Chloe’s face turned serious. “Mom, dad. I have to tell you something”. She turned to William: “Dad, I’ve never stopped loving you. No matter what I said, I’ve never stopped loving you”. Now she turned to Joyce. “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I loved you. I should’ve told you that every day. I’m so sorry things went bad between us. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the daughter you needed …”

“Chloe!” – Joyce stopped her. “You are exactly the daughter we needed and wanted. You are the greatest gift for me and for your father. You are our purpose. You mean everything to us. I would give my life for you. We both would”.

Chloe cried, loudly. Her wife and parents embraced her tightly.

When Chloe’s breath calmed again, Joyce joked: “But Chloe, did you absolutely have to take the time to go to a hair salon and a tattoo parlour before visiting your folks?”

All four of them laughed.

“I for one like our daughter’s bold new look” – said William.

“I like Chloe’s new look too!” – emphatically added Max.

----------------------------------

This is part of a larger fanfic, centered around alt Max and alt Chloe. After alt Chloe passes away due to her illness, she and prime Chloe have to share one body for a while, which allows prime Chloe to visit her parents in the alternate timeline. In the end, alt Chloe gets her own body (due to the power of Max's love, duh) and both pairs of Maxes and Chloes get to live happily ever after.

thinking about how chloe never got to mend her relationship with her mom in either ending

[chloe-caulfield94]

Chloe the Anger Management Therapist

Chloe paused for a moment. Her face betrayed she was thinking intensively.

“Max, do you sometimes feel … angry? I used to feel angry all the time. Angry that even though I tried my hardest to be a good daughter, a good friend and a good student, my life collapsed anyway. Angry that I fucked up my scholarship at Blackwell, which was the last thing my dad would’ve wanted. Angry that I always seemed to chase away the few people still in my orbit. Is that how you feel, sometimes?”

“Yes. I feel like that. Angry with myself for all the wrong choices I made. Angry with the people who hurt you and me”.

“Max, do you trust me?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then come with me, I know what would make you feel better!”

They left the Caulfield residence. Ryan and Vanessa, seeing them walk out, said: “Have fun you two! Don’t be too late!”, thinking the girls were simply leaving for a Friday date.

Chloe drove Max to the auto garage she worked at. Nobody was there and all the lights were out.

“Are you going to show me some expensive car that a rich client left for repairs? In the hopes that on the backseat of such a car it would be easier to steal a kiss from me?”

Chloe knew some of the other mechanics tried things like that with their dates. If a particularly trendy car found itself in the garage, it could become a spot where more than one couple kissed.

“You know my tricks too well, Max”.

But instead of taking Max into the auto shop, Chloe took her around the side of the building, to a grassy backyard next to it, surrounded by trees on three sides. It was secluded and not covered by the garage’s security cameras. Stacks of garbage covered it. Cardboard boxes, polystyrene packaging, wooden pallets, rusting car parts. Chloe told her to wait. She soon came back, carrying two sledgehammers, two pairs of thick gloves and two pairs of plastic goggles.

“Max, do you know what a demolition room is? It’s place where you can unload all your anger. Well, this here is not a room, more of a demolition backyard. I had something similar set up in the junkyard, back in Arcadia Bay. Unfortunately, there are no old TVs here, which are the most satisfying thing to break. But there’s lots of other stuff to smash. Want to give it a try?”

Chloe thought that Max would require some convincing or even a demonstration before she would dare to begin demolishing. But Max snatched the gloves and goggles from Chloe’s hands and quickly put them on. Placing the goggles on her face, Max was reminded of the time they had murdered Chloe’s dolls by blowing them up. Chloe stacked up cardboard boxes and polystyrene pieces. Max began to demolish. Swinging the hammer, she flattened cardboard and splintered polystyrene. Max imagined the boxes she squashed were heads. Each time she squashed one, she insulted its owner.

“Eat shit and die!” - she shouted when she squashed Mister Jefferson’s head.

“Fuck off with your teary voicemail! Nobody forced you to hurt Rachel and to attempt to do the same to my Chloe!” - she shouted when she squashed Nathan.

“How about a sledgehammer up the ass?” - she shouted when she squashed Frank.

“How does it feel? Like the good shit you knew Nathan hooked Kate up with?” - she shouted when she squashed Victoria.

“I’m sorry! But you just keep pushing me!” - she shouted when she squashed David.

Chloe stood there, leaning on her sledgehammer, in awe of Max’s fury.

When Max was done decimating the cardboard and polystyrene army, Chloe brought a box full of empty beer bottles. None of those bottles had been emptied by Chloe. The other mechanics knew she was still a year shy of legal drinking age, so they never offered her a drink. But even if they did, she wouldn’t. She never liked the taste of beer. She had begun to drink in a vain attempt to drown her loneliness. Now, her loneliness had already been drowned, in Max’s affections. But the other mechanics provided a steady supply of empty bottles.

Chloe lined twenty bottles up. This time, they smashed together. Once they were done, they were both panting, with their brows and hair covered in sweat.

Max dropped her hammer, took off her gloves and goggles and jumped at Chloe, kissing her passionately. Chloe removed her safety gear too and kissed her back. Each run her hands through the other’s hair. They collapsed into a pile of cardboard, which cushioned their fall and turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

Max was very bold in her kisses and caresses. Chloe stopped her: “Hold on, Max. You want our … first time to happen here? On a pile of garbage?”

“No, I want it to happen in a place where my wise and empathetic girlfriend cured my anger. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be Chloe the Elf Barbarian? Isn’t making love with your sisters in arms on piles of fallen enemies what you barbarians do?”

“Woah, Maximus! Making love on piles of fallen enemies? Was that a flashback of the time you were a gladiator in ancient Rome?”

Max laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny Max?”

“Maximus! You haven’t used that one in a while! Hearing that, I imagined you as the emperor’s sister …”

“Hey! I could totally be Roman royalty!”

“Of course! With your naturally commanding presence, you could be a Roman empress, like Irene of Athens. You even have a Greek name, too. I laughed, because if you are the emperor’s sister, then I’m Russell Crowe!”

They both laughed, pearly.

And then it happened. Exactly in the place Max wanted it to happen.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Max is standing at the edge of the cliff, looking at the butterfly photograph, mesmerized.

Other Max: Good, you are here. Now we can begin. My purpose will be fulfilled. Your power will be unleashed against the person whose life it was meant to save.

Max: No. I won't use my power anymore. I saved Chloe, we found Rachel, we brought Jefferson to justice. It's over.

Other Max: You can rise as a mighty hero, Max. But you need to be taught one final lesson. That heroes always kill their love in service of greater things. That is why I used all my strength to set up this choice for you.

Max: You told me the Storm was my fault! You told me I murdered everyone! But it was you all along! All of this is because of you!

Other Max: This is your intended function. You will earn a hero's glory. She was born to be the sacrifice, you were born to pierce her heart.

Max: No. No, I won't!

Other Max: The Storm has come. You will be the one to appease it with your love's blood. Her heart is ready to receive the bullet.

Max: Look at all those memories, all those moments of joy. They will all be erased!

Other Max: This is our destiny.

Max: This is not my destiny!

Other Max: You will comply.

Max: I won't be controlled. I am not a piece of someone else's design. I'm no hero. And I'm going to end this now!

Max grabs the photograph in both hands, preparing to tear it in half.

Other Max: No. Stop! Don't do it! Don't!

Alt Max: Do it!

Other Max: Don't!

Alt Max: Do it!

Other Max: Don't!

Alt Max: Do it! Do it.

Max tears the photograph in half. Other Max melts back into the lead-coloured clouds from whence she came.

Alt Max: Max? Thank you for showing me yesterday how much she means to us. I swear to fulfil the oath you made to her. I will be with her in the days still left.

----------------------------------

This is repurposed dialogue between Adora and Light Hope from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 4.

If Other Max is the devil on Max's shoulder, our girl deserves an angel too. That's only fair. And who better for that role than Alt Max?

[chloe-caulfield94]

Chloe: I'm going to save Arcadia Bay, no matter what it takes. Your death won't be in vain, I promise.

William: But at what cost? I never wanted to die. I walked out that door so you would never have to suffer. Why are you doing this, Chloe?

Chloe: It's better this way. Max won't have to feel guilty. She'll be happy.

William: And you? What would you want if this was all over?

Chloe: I ... It doesn't matter. This is what I'm supposed to do.

William: You're worth more than what you can give to other people. You deserve love, too. You're so close, Chloe. Don't give up yet.

----------------------------------

This is repurposed dialogue between Adora and Mara from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 5.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Chloe hands Max the butterfly photograph.

Chloe: All that would take is for me to ... To ...

Max: Why? Why are you like this? Why do you always have to be left behind by everyone else? When do you get to choose? What do you want, Chloe?

Chloe: I ... This has to be done, Max. Only I can be the sacrifice.

Max: You can't give up. You have never given up, no matter how much the world tried to break you. You haven't given up even on me finding my way back to you. So don't you dare start now!

Chloe: It's too late. We both know I don't matter.

Max tears the photograph in half and lets the wind take it.

Max: You matter to me! I've got you! I'm not letting go. Don't you get it? I love you! I always have! So please, just this once. Stay!

Chloe: You love me?

Max: You're such an idiot.

Chloe: Yeah! I know! I love you too.

They kiss, slowly, as it's not a kiss goodbye, but a kiss welcome.

--------------------------

This is repurposed dialogue between Adora and Catra from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 5.

What's the deal with tall blondes always trying to sacrifice themselves? Fortunately there's always a short brunette to pull them from the brink.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Other Max: I see you and Chloe are close again. Do you really think that's wise?

Max: It's none of your business.

Other Max: But it is. If your emotions are blocking you from becoming an everyday hero, it's all of Arcadia Bay's business. To unleash your full strength you must be focused, clearheaded. But you are letting your emotions pull you in too many directions. Chloe, she distracts you, confuses you. Haven't you hurt each other enough? Arcadia Bay needs Max the everyday hero now, not Max, Chloe's BFF.

Max: Stop! I will never forgive you. You are a part of me that ruins everything. You try to ruin any chance I could ever be happy. Haven't you done enough?

Other Max: I did what I had to do. I always steered you on the right path.

Max: Keep telling yourself that. I'm going to take the photograph to the lighthouse and I'm going to save Chloe. It has to be my destiny to save her. Because it's the destiny I've chosen for myself. I'll do everything I can to make sure you never get your hands on her.

---------------------------------

This is repurposed dialogue between Adora and Shadow Weaver from S5 E11 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Jefferson: It is interesting reading your reactions. Your predecessors were by design based on a similar predication. Their hope and optimism, which they carried with them like an aura, were meant to create a profound attachment to others, facilitating the function of an everyday hero. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific. Vis-a-vis, love.

Max: Chloe.

Jefferson: Apropos, she offered to be sacrificed to save your guilty conscience at the cost of her life.

Max: No!

Jefferson: Which brings us at last to the moment of truth. There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the school bathroom and to the salvation of Arcadia Bay. The door to your left leads back to the cliff, to her, and to the end of your hometown. As you adequately put, the problem is choice. But we already know what you’re going to do, don’t we? Already I can see an emotion. An emotion that is blinding you from the simple and obvious truth. She is going to die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

Max walks to the door on her left.

Jefferson: Love, it is the quintessential delusion. Held by those who desperately cling to their innocence, who in vain resist the inevitable shift from white to black to grey and beyond. It is impossible to become an everyday hero without experiencing corruption. Because heroes always choose lesser evils which lead to greater goods. Lose your naivete, Max. Kill your love in service of greater things. And as you willingly choose to commit an act of necessary evil, I'll be there to capture it with my camera. You will become my piece de resistance.

Max: If I were you, I would hope that we don’t meet again.

Jefferson: We won’t. Not in this timeline.

______________________________

The above exchange is a combination of the Architect's speech from Matrix: Reloaded and Jefferson's ramblings.

I absolutely love the parallels between Max and Neo. They were both faced with the same choice. Neo's choice of Trinity vs Zion is exactly the same as Bae vs Bay. And Neo chose his Bae without a moment's hesitation.

Both Chloe and Trinity were shot in the heart. And both Max and Neo, using their powers, pulled the bullets out of their paramours's hearts and jolted them back to life.