Quroscuro

Cross Process

He had gotten there first, this didn't surprise him one bit. Chloe has probably milked every detail out of Max by now. Even though Max and him had put their differences aside he felt uneasy about Chloe. Chloe struck him as being stubborn, the kind of person who you would hold grudges and take a lot of time and effort to appease.

He sighs.

He hated those kinds of people, they are too quick to judge and then they get stuck in their judgments. That's one of the reasons why he liked Max so much, with her a first impression isn't set in stone. Victoria hadn't been the nicest with her either but she still comforted her when she got covered in paint. He respected the fact she didn't thirst for revenge like he did. It almost seems like Max stabilizes everyone she touches.

Chloe's car enters the parking lot and she pulls up next to Nathans SUV.

"It's going to be okay, Max has probably spoken to her and cleared things up so don't stress." He whispers to himself trying to calm his nerves.

It couldn't get more tense than this, hell he would rather be meeting Max's parents rather than having to win over Chloe. He takes a deep breath and exits the SUV to met Chloe. Max watches from the car.

"Nathan!" Chloe's voice is serious and intimidating.

He knew he needed to stay calm and prove to her that he could be chill. So he just nodded and tried to keep his mouth shut.

"You better take good care of Max, I will never forgive you if you hurt her! Understand?!"

He felt the anger rising, how dare she insinuate he would harm Max. But his past record was against him especially with that whole scene she had witnessed in the Blackwell parking lot. He pauses for a moment to rationalize the situation.

"I know my past actions might make it hard to believe but I will never lay my hands on Max out of anger ever again. I'm done with being seen as this shitty person who blows his top over every god damn thing." He said with sincerity.

" You better be hella done with that shit! Max is my angel you understand that?"

"She's my angel too Chloe, she's given me a second chance and I'm going to take it by the horns." He replies confidently.

Chloe clasps her hand on his shoulder.

Chloe whispers "I love that girl Nathan, I know I have been a bit selfish and I admit I have been a bit possessive of her. But I loved Rachel and Max just reminds me so much of her you know?" She sighs deeply. "I can't tell if what I am feeling is actually because I love Max or if it's because she reminds me of Rachel. Please look after her, even if this love isn't real our friendship is."

Nathan clasps Chloe's shoulder in return, giving it a slight squeeze.

"Thank you Chloe, you don't know how much this means to me. I will look after her I promise."

A massive grin appears on Chloe's face.

"Good man! I'll let you two love birds have your privacy." 

She ushers Max to get out of the car.

By the look on Chloe's face that must have went well, Max thought slipping out of the passenger side. Chloe bounded up to her like an excited puppy 

"You're right Sista he can be a chill guy, he's gonna take hella good care of you or he'll have me to deal with." She said grinning ear to ear. "Just come and tell me when you are ready to photo hop? I want to at least be able to say goodbye properly."

"Of course Chloe, and thank you for giving Nathan a second chance, I know it wasn't an easy thing for you to do."

Chloe smiled and turned to walk back to her car. "I can't keep holding you back." she said under her breath. She slid back into her seat and lit a cigarette, she puts on her Raconteurs CD and skips to Steady, As She Goes.

A/N

Bit of a shorter part. Steady, As She Goes is on spotify if you want to listen to it. It's probably a bit light for Chloe's music tastes but I felt like it fit the situation.