Get dressed, we're leaving in 5
Max rolled over on her bed and frowned at the text. Chloe was known for her random outings and crazy late night ideas, but Max didn't expect a new adventure every day. It was a Friday night so she didn't have any classes in the morning but it was still a risk to sneak out of the dorms at night.
Where are we going?
She texted back before standing up to stretch and find a pair of jeans. After putting on a discarded pair at the foot of her bed, Max grabbed her favorite grey jacket and checked herself in the mirror.
Choppy brown bangs covered her eyebrows making her appear emotionless as she poked at the bags under her eyes. God she needed a break or three from school.
Bzzz bzzz
Max flopped back on her bed and checked the message.
You'll see! Look outside
Max cocked her head to the side and went to her window.
"Are you for cereal?" She rolled her eyes at the blue haired punk holding onto a low tree branch, swinging with a drag of her boots on the ground.
After a few minutes of sneaking through the dorm halls, and almost falling on her face when she heard Victoria's laughter in the bathroom, Max got outside and gave Chloe a playful glare.
"Hey Maxi-Pad, glad you could make it!" Chloe let go of the tree branch and skipped a step forward.
"Chloe how the hell did you get past your step dad? Isn't he on guard today?" The shorter glanced around cautiously.
"Dickhead is sick and his stand in Carl is a total alcoholic, dude already left the gates." She grinned widely before grabbing Max's hand. "C'mon lets go! There's a garage band playing on the beach tonight for fun."
"Wouldn't they be a beach band if they're on the beach and not in a garage?"
"You're killing me here Caulfield."
The two girls slipped outside the gates and into Chloe's truck before anyone could spot them. Chloe excitedly revved the engine before driving off down the road towards town as Max rearranged the contents in her bag. She didn't want to hurt Chloe's Dads camera, and honestly she needed her polaroids if she wanted to keep up with this time travel stuff.
As they cruised down the road Max couldn't help but admire her friends profile, the setting sun making her glow. Chloe had always been pretty, even when they were kids. And yet she was Max's best friend. Not anyone else's. The flash of a memory of pirate hats and a cheap eyepatch flew through Max's mind as she smiled and turned to look out the window.
Once at the beach the two climbed out of the truck to see the last rays of the sun disappear under the waves.
"Max, over there!" Chloe pointed at a bonfire slowly growing in the distance. It looked like a lot of people for a small band, but Max was open to doing anything if it involved Chloe.
"So how did you know about this?" The hipster started leading the walk through the sand.
"When you were gone, Rachel and I were really into partying. This was one of the few bands that came into the clubs once in a while. They're really cool, Rachel didn't like these guys much because they stuck to calmer music. But they're still really good." Max nodded at Chloe's words, the two of them making distance lazily.
"You must have had a lot of fun with Rachel..."
"Yeah, you would have liked her Max."
The bobbed girl made an uncertain face as the group of people neared. Most looked like Chloe, beanies and grungy looking clothes with dyed hair. The people who she assumed was the band looked relaxed. They were sitting up against different prices of driftwood and talking to the others, one tuning a guitar.
"Chloe?" Max stopped before the reached the others.
"What's up?" The punk grinned down at Max.
"What if we can't find Rachel, after all of this?" Blue eyes looked at each other.
Chloe's face hardened. "But we are going to find Rachel. She's out there, I know it."
"But what if she's not-"
"We will find her! Max, I know we will." Chloe started to walk ahead to the bonfire, leaving an upset Max in the dark.
The band began to play, the two singers in perfect harmony. Max recognized the song as Tear in my Heart. Looking up to see Chloe talking to the others, she couldn't help but smile at the bittersweet irony. It was worse than a tear, the pain Max felt knowing Chloe still loved Rachel more was like a hangnail that never ended. It was like watching Chloe get shot again for the first time. The brunette let out a sigh and walked up to join Chloe by the fire, humming to the song. The guitar player noticed and smiled at her, winking before going back to his playing.
Chloe smiled when Max returned to her side, worried she had upset her old friend. The bonfire gave a beautiful glow to Max's face, and Chloe admired the freckles scattered across her cheeks and nose.
Is she humming? She knows the song? Chloe chuckled. Of course she knows it, lil hipster.
That's when the punk noticed Max looking somewhere specific. She caught a glimpse of the guitarist winking at Max. Chloe frowned and took Max's wrist, pulling her away from the players and to an open spot to sit by the fire.
"Sorry, that I yelled." Chloe mumbled, sitting with her knees to her chest.
"Don't be, I shouldn't have asked that. I know how it feels to loose someone close to you." Max sat next to her, crossing her legs. She was talking about when she moved and lost Chloe as a friend when they were younger.
"Still. I think I'm just...afraid. I want to talk to her, ask her about why she left and about Frank and about us. I'm scared I'll never get answers, or my friend."
Max looked at Chloe, her face downturned and focused on her knees. The fire glowed off of half of her face, the skin beneath her bangs darker than the sky. Max knew there would never be a 'right time' for this, but she turned to Chloe anyway.
"Did you love her?" The punks eyes looked at her as she hid her face on her arms folded across her knees. Max tilted her head, her eyes pleading the other. Chloe looked back at the fire.
"Yes"
Max's finger started drawing in the sand, the silence between them deafening since the band's playing had ended. Strumming started up and Collide by howie day was heard. Some of the people around them had begun slow dancing, the couples spinning away to the melody.
"Do you still love her?"
Chloe's eyes closed, so Max turned away, focusing on the fires flames. They twisted and curled around each other like the dancing couples. It was enticing to watch, like being with Chloe. Max smiled at her thought. Chloe was truly like fire. She was bright and cunning and graceful, but also headstrong, wild, and a force to be reckoned with.
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide
Don't stop here
Chloe stood up, making Max jump a bit before looking up at her.
I've lost my place
She extended a hand.
I'm close behind
Max took it, letting Chloe bring her to stand before pulling her to dance. The two watched each other's face, their eyes and frozen lips. Neither really knew what to say in that moment as the music softened.
You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collided
Max found herself engulfed in a hug, Chloe's face hidden in her neck. "I'm not so sure anymore." Max blinked in surprise, realizing Chloe was answering the question from earlier.
The two stood there like that for what felt like an eternity, rocking to the sound of the beach waves before the band started playing another TOP song. Chloe pulled away shyly from Max's neck before noticing the others blush. She smirked at Max's reaction to their closeness.
"So Caulfield, liking the tunes?"
Max rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Tunes? Who even says that anymore?"
Chloe shrugged playfully. "I do?" The two laughed as a faster paced song began. They gathered with the other music lovers and danced to the beat, staying close throughout the night.
