soulmates au

[analogthis]

( Continued from here. )

[She's fucking this up, and that was one of the things she'd been worried would happen when she finally met up with Chloe again. The longer it took for her to answer her, the harder it had become, the more she felt like Chloe would be mad at her. And she'd never really come up with the words to say to explain, to lessen Chloe's hurt. Did those words even exist?

In the end, she can only really be honest, and hope for the best.]

Chloe, you don't have to apologize to me. I'm the one who deserves to be sorry, and I am. And I'm not... Asking anything of you, I wouldn't. Whatever these clocks mean, it doesn't really matter, it doesn't have to change anything. But... I do have to say that... It feels like it could make sense to me, because I spent so long feeling my best when I was with you. When I had to leave, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to make it without you. But I had to. And if I have to make it without my soulmate for the rest of my life because I fucked up our friendship that badly, I'll do that too. Because your feelings are more important to me than whatever destiny does or doesn't say, okay?

Comments

[tagartist]

[ Chloe can hear the pots and pans clinking in the kitchen and her mom's laugh echoing like the volumes been amped up to 100. Her fingers tap against the top of the table, debating whether or not it would be less awkward to ditch or to get food and keep trying, but she's only got a few seconds to decide here before Joyce would be back out and she'd spot the familiar face and try to talk.

She doesn't think too much as she reaches out to take one of Max's hands in hers, squeezing it tightly. Even with all the anger, all the desire for answers, this is still Max Caulfield, and she's not giving up on anything that easily. ]

Can we go somewhere not here? Mom'll wanna catch up and I don't want to deal with small talk about how much of a fuck up I've become since you left.

[analogthis]

[Right, Joyce. As nice as it would be to see her and talk to her again, she gets that now might not be the best time. She shifts, casts a glance over to the kitchen, then looks back at Chloe and returns the squeeze to her hand. It feels good, really good. There's a surge of excitement, a giddy fog that masks the mountain of guilt inside her for the moment, and Max can't stop a small smile.]

Sure. I mean, I came on the bus so... You'll have to lead the way?

[tagartist]

[ Chloe nodded, relieved by her agreement and going to slide out of the seat, keeping her hand in Max's in a way that felt all too familiar for how long it had been. She'd dragged her around on so many made up adventures once, hadn't she? It felt like a lifetime ago, when things had been simple, happier, more... stable. It almost seemed like another life.

It made her cling to her hand a little harder as she started to head for the door, only letting go when they got to the parking lot and she started to dig for her keys as she headed for the beat up old truck that was... most definitely illegally parked and sporting a new ticket because of it. She pulled it off of the windshield, shoving it into her coat pocket with the others to remain ignored, before hopping into the car and waiting for Max to do the same.

Deep breath, Price. You can do this. ]

[analogthis]

[Max gets that feeling of familiarity and nostalgia too, having Chloe pull her along by the hand. She manages to get her photo and camera stuffed into her bag before they head out, and her eyebrows raise for a moment at the reveal of Chloe's ride.

...Does this thing actually run? And yes Chloe, she does also notice that ticket she's pulling off the windshield, though she refrains from commenting. Instead, she pulls herself up into the passenger seat and closes the door without a word. In truth, she's still feeling guilty about having ghosted Chloe for so long, but she's also really happy to get to see her again. She looks so different, but so cool that Max has to stop and consider for a second what she herself might look like with dyed hair, because Chloe pulls it off so well.]

I'm digging the blue hair, by the way.

[Yes, this comment will make things less awkward, right?]

[tagartist]

[ The comment at least earns a small smile as Chloe turns the key, bringing the engine of the beaten up Ford to life. She's been doing pretty well at keeping it fixed, even if she's pretty sure that she'll never get on top of it with how much money it keeps forcing her to sink into it.

There's the faintest rattle as she puts it into drive, making her nose wrinkle. Great. She goes to pull out of the parking lot of the diner without really looking, something that gets an immediate and angry honk, but hey, they didn't get hit, so it's fine. ]

Thanks. [ Wow, that was delayed. ] My step-shit says it makes me look like a delinquent. All the more reason to keep it, right?