Feels like Destiny

Chapter 4: Saturday Afternoon

"I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart."

After lounging in the backyard for a while, Chloe and Max headed back inside to hang out in Chloe's room.

"My room looks a bit different than the last time you saw it," Chloe said, throwing herself onto her bed and leaning on her side, head resting on her hand as she looked at Max.

"It's cool. At least we can chill out." Max's gaze followed the mess of posters and wall graffiti around the room. Yeah, it looks a lot different.

Chloe scoffed at that, and she reached over her bed to grab a blunt and ashtray. "This isn't exactly my 'chill-out' zone. The step-führer makes sure of that." While Chloe smoked her weed, Max took to closing Chloe's door and sitting down next to Chloe on her bed, her back against the wall.

Hard to believe Chloe was my BFF just five years ago. She looked over at the suitcase on the floor, noting the number of beer cans and bottles. Taking out her camera again, Max wondered if she could take a photo of the room—of what Chloe was like now. The whole room just radiated punk rock, from the signs of underage drinking, Chloe's blatant smoking, the numerous band posters on the walls, the sharpie'd graffiti of aggressive phrases drawn everywhere.

Taking another drag of her joint, Chloe breathed out, "So, what does Max Caulfield do for fun now that she's a grown up?"

"You know me. I like to watch the world more than participate." She raised her camera for emphasis.

Chloe snorted. "I can't say I know you much anymore."

Shifting a little to avoid the smoke from Chloe's weed, Max responded, "Then you can get to know me now." To show proof, Max began to take out the handfuls of Polaroids she had in her bag, placing them on the bed between her and Chloe. Max always brought some of her favorite photos with her when she traveled, but a lot of photos she took were her favorites; naturally then, her bag was full of Polaroid snapshots.

"I take photos. Of me, the world, everything. And I like to bring my favorite photos with me wherever I go." Digging around for my Polaroids, Max tossed them onto Chloe's bed, where Chloe picked a few up.

"It sounds kind of sad, but I have a blast taking photos all the time," Max continued, smiling fondly when she picked up a photo of her first sunset at Blackwell. Chloe leaned over to get a better look—the golden colors had made the sky like a painting, the bright sun casting sharp shadows across the campus. It'd been a perfect moment to get a picture of her new life.

"I'm happiest when I have a great image in my lens..." Max almost hesitated saying her next few words, but being honest with Chloe was the best thing right now.

"...I'm not lonely, not afraid," she finished quietly, and she glanced up then to see Chloe's expression had softened. Chloe, of all people, would know what it's like to be lonely and afraid.

"Now that's inspiring. I don't feel so totally helpless." Chloe grinned then, and suddenly remembering her manners, Chloe offered her blunt to her. Max laughed and shook her head. "I'm good, thanks."

They spent the next few hours talking about Max's life at Blackwell (they both agreed that the Vortex Club was full of snobs, and they'd both burst out laughing at that) while perusing Max's collection of photos. Max pointed out the ones she wanted to put up on her memorial wall back in her dorm room. Chloe suggested some (she'd laughed at Max's numerous selfies), then pointed out the ones she liked. Without hesitation, Max offered them to her. Her best friend had put down her weed then, raising her eyebrows in surprise, but Max insisted.

Max's heart fluttered a little when Chloe smiled then—a genuine smile, and her heart leapt from joy at having made Chloe a little bit happy today at least. After Chloe gave her thanks, the pair began to clean up Max's clutter of photos from Chloe's bed—until Chloe saw a worn, old, picture they hadn't looked at yet.