Chloe's POV
I wrapped my arms around Max more firmly and pulled her into an embrace full of warmth and affection and before I knew it, I felt Max's small frame practically vanish beneath my own as she settled herself into the embrace. My heart seemed to swell grotesquely within my chest, overheating more and more with every beat it took. It seemed to melt, the blood dripping down into my stomach and staining my ribs with red... It was wonderful.
"I love you too, Max Caufield." I whispered into her ear.
Max's POV
Her response was as pure as heavily anticipated sunlight after a thousand years of nothing but dark storms. Chloe's six words made my lungs feel as though they were failing to function properly, for my breathing felt ragged and fleeting.
Tears welled up within the corners of my eyes, blurring my view.
They rolled down my pale, freckled cheeks like rain racing across the glass of a window during one of those dark storms I had always been enduring. A sniffle escaped from my grasp, signaling my state of weeping. Chloe's grip on me loosened and she quickly sat back to look at me. The light in her eyes faded fast as she took my face in both of her hands and looked into my teary ones. "Max?" she said no softer than a whisper, "What's wrong?" Chloe searched within my soul for an answer. I could feel it.
I sniffled once again and smiled beneath my tears. "Chloe, I'm uber happy..."
Her eyes widened briefly before she erupted into a violent fit of laughter. At first I expected it to be from my use of the term "uber" but I was incorrect, for Chloe kissed my cheek before burying her face into my neck. "I'm uber happy too, Madmax." She said. That's when I realized the reason for her laughter. It was an eruption of joyfulness that had been bottled up within the depths of my partner in crime. She had been finally able to release it.
"Oh God, I can't believe you actually fell for a shitbag like me..." Chloe stated. I raised an eyebrow. "Shitbag? More like... uh, awesomebag?" I attempted. The punk goddess who held me in her arms giggled, which was something completely unlike her to do. "Nice try, doe girl." she replied. I gave a little shrug of amused defeat and gave her a little squeeze, letting her know that I still thought otherwise in regards to her being a shitbag. The tears had finally ceased, only ghosts of them remained in dried up trails across my face.
I pulled out my phone and unlocked the screen in order to figure out what time it was. "Hey, Chlo, it's already noon." I told the love of my life. "Oh, yeah?" she said, acknowledging the information that had been presented to her from my lips. I nodded my head at the same time my stomach growled, which made me blush in embarrassment. Chloe noticed. "Guess we should get some food in ya then, huh?" she said. I nodded again before she stood up slowly and outstretched her hand to me, offering to help me stand as well. I hesitantly reached out my own hand in order to take the offer, before I noticed a smirk spread across Chloe's face. "I know what you're thinking, we won't topple over this time." she said. I let out a small eruption of laughter before officially grabbing ahold of her hand. She pulled me up quickly, using more strength than I had originally thought she possessed. My left foot slipped a little and she caught me easily, kissing my forehead after aiding me in restoring my balance. I thanked her sheepishly, which presented me with a nod from Chloe. She took my hand in hers, intertwining our fingers as we walked back towards the dump in order to find her rusted out pickup again.
Once we found it, the two of us loaded ourselves into it, Chloe in the driver's seat, me in the passenger seat. Before starting the ignition, Chloe sighed and looked at me with a longing expression on her face. "You're beautiful, Max..." I blushed intensely as my mind emptied itself of thought, leaving me without a response. Chloe chuckled and started up the engine before grasping my hand that rested on the middle seat, intertwining our fingers once again. She backed out of the placed we had parked and then put the truck back in Drive and took us onto the main road.
"For the record," I said out of the blue, "I fell for you because you were the first person to give me some sort of strength."
Chloe couldn't do anything but smile wide.
