WHO: Chloe & Mirrorverse!Max. WHAT: Running into Mirror!Max. WHEN: Thursday afternoon. WHERE: In town. WARNINGS: Low-ish. STATUS: Closed/Complete gdoc.
It was now July and from the stories she heard, plus a couple experiences herself, Chloe knew it was around this time that something crazy would happen. Sure enough, she was hearing things about people disappearing or people acting different than usual. So far, though, neither she or Max had been affected.
She had gone to work this morning until it was time for lunch. She usually headed to Hinkles or grabbed a slice of pizza. Today she felt like having a cheeseburger, so she headed to the diner. On her way, she bumped into Max. But what was strange was her clothes, they were dirty and torn. "What happened? Did you fall into a dumpster while trying to snap a photo?" she asked, not knowing this wasn't the Max she knew and loved.
*** What the hell had just happened? One minute Max had been fighting for her life in the desolate and dark streets of Madison Valley and the next she was surrounded by light and laughter? Max blinked against the bright sunlight and looked around her. Madison Valley? How? The streets were far more populated than ever and people were actually smiling. Max pressed herself up against a wall to avoid bumping into a family.
The only explanation was that Madison Valley had pulled its crazy mojo again, but to what extent, Max didn’t know. It was clearly her town, but not the same one. There were buildings and faces she’d never seen before. People weren’t miserable or dirty. No one was wearing ripped clothes, but her.
Cautiously, she started down the street and found herself bumping into a young woman with familiar blue hair. Max stepped back, eyes wide in disbelief. No, no it couldn’t be. Chloe was dead. Dead and home and dead in Madison Valley. Yet, that was clearly her.
“Chloe? You’re...You’re alive?” Max reached out a shaking, dirty hand to touch her friend’s face.
***
At first, Chloe just thought Max had gotten into some sort of incident that caused her to get dirty. But the two of them had known each other since they were kids and the more Chloe looked at her, the more she realized this wasn't really the Max she knew. Sure, she looked the same but she could tell it wasn't. Not just how dirty she was, but her eyes just seemed so lost and hopeless. Nothing like the Max she knew and loved.
The next words out of her mouth pretty much confirmed Chloe's suspicions. "Huh? What are you talking about? Of course I'm alive. Why would I be?" Maybe if she knew what happened, she could clue in on what was going on here.
*** Where the hell had Madison Valley sent her? Was this some kind of sick joke? Showing her a perfect world where Chloe was alive and well just to snatch her away from it at any moment? Max withdrew her hand and it fell back to her side. She looked away, anywhere else but at the young blue haired woman in front of her. Was any of this even real?
“Because you were killed. You died. Just like back home and I couldn’t stop it,” Max replied bitterly. “That’s why. And Madison Valley is playing some sick joke on me by bringing me to some dream world or something.”
***
"But I didn't," she replied, shaking her head. But she didn't continue, because part of her believed Max. Even if it was a different one, Chloe knew when she was telling the truth or not. The way she said it, the look in her eyes... she could tell Max wasn't playing some weird joke on her.
"It's not a dream world, it's real," she told her. "An alternate version of Madison Valley." She had no idea if this Max believed in alternate universes, but Chloe had dealt with this sort of thing before so she figured that was what happened.
*** Max believed in practically anything now. Living in Madison Valley for almost a year did that to a person. Still, she found it hard to believe that this was, in fact, real. That it wasn’t a dream or some messed up trick that the town was playing on her. That she was in an actual alternate version of Madison Valley where Chloe was alive.
“Alternate…” Max forced her gaze away from Chloe and back to the world around her. It was...real? Max turned back to her girlfriend and suddenly hugged her. If this was a dream, she would no doubt wake up at this point.
Instead, Chloe remained solid and real in her arms and Max buried her face in her girlfriend’s shoulder and choked back tears.
“I never-I never thought I would see you again.”
***
Chloe had no idea how things were in that other Madison Valley, didn't know if they dealt with strange occurrences like they did here.
She nodded, about to reply when Max suddenly wrapped her arms around her. She froze, not quite sure what to do before eventually hugging back. "I know, but I'm here," she said soothingly. Or as soothing as Chloe Price could get. It felt a bit weird since she saw Max this morning, now here she was consoling a completely different Max from an alternate universe. Only in Madison Valley.
She pulled away. "You hungry?" she asked. "I was gonna grab a slice of pizza if you want to come along. Though you could also use a shower too," she added.
*** Max knew this technically wasn’t her “Chloe.” Her version of Chloe was dead, but that didn’t matter to Max at the moment. All that mattered was Chloe was alive here and she was safe. There was a part of her that knew that meeting Chloe here was temporary and she was probably going to get sent back to her world sooner rather than later. It made their chance together all the more meaningful to Max.
Eventually, Chloe hugged her back and Max relaxed a little. The blue haired woman pulled away and Max reluctantly allowed her to.
“Sure. I mean yeah, we don’t have a lot of access to showers in my version of Madison…” Max trailed off, blushing brightly. “I suppose I should probably take one before going anywhere.”
***
If the roles were reversed, Chloe probably would've acted the same. Which was probably why she didn't mind the hug and had decided to help this Max.
Even in such a situation, Chloe was still a bit blunt. Maybe too blunt. But Max did look pretty bad and dirty right now. "Sounds like an awful place." Not just the lack of showers, but just in general. "How about we pick up the pizza then head to our place. You can take a shower there."
*** Max welcomed the bluntness. It was something she missed since the Chloe in her world was gone. She nodded at the suggestion. It was probably for the best that Max stayed outside the pizza place given that she was dirty and no doubt smelly too.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Max replied. “I should probably wait outside while you do. I’m...kind of gross.”
***
Chloe nodded as they made their way to the pizza place. She went inside and about five minutes later, she came back out with two personal pizzas and two cans of soda, one of which was Max's favorite. She figured it had to be the same even if this was a different Max.
"So I just started to wonder," she began as they headed to the apartment complex she and her Max lived in. "If you're here, then where's my Max?"
**** As soon as Chloe returned with her favorite soda, Max popped the top and took a long drink, almost choking on the carbonation as she did. It tasted so good! Max coughed, sputtering, before she managed to catch her breath.
Yes, the other Max. She cleared her throat as they started towards presumably where Chloe and that other Max lived.
“My guess would be that she is in my world. Or my version of this world rather.”
***
"Whoa, Max, take it easy," Chloe said as she patted Max on the back, hoping it helped. "You alright?" she asked. No matter what version of Max she was with, she'd always cared and probably always would.
Once things were settled, they started walking again. But only for a few moments as Chloe suddenly stopped. Max was in that other Madison Valley? The one where she had died and Max looked like she'd been through Hell and back? "What's it like over there?" she asked a bit tentatively. She hoped it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but she had a horrible gut feeling that it was worse.
*** Max swallowed. How did you tell the girlfriend of your other self that she’d gone to, essentially, hell? Max opted for another sip from her soda before responding. What words could she come up with to explain?
“It’s...bad. To put it lightly,” Max replied softly. “Everything is destroyed, run down, and there isn’t enough supplies for anyone. Alex pretty much runs the town with Sam and Dean. No one is happy. It’s all fighting all the time. Supernaturals are hunted.”
***
Chloe had expected to hear that. She had an inkling what that other Madison Valley was like. Still, she didn't like hearing it. Now all she could think of was her Max stuck in that world. And as much as she tried to remain calm, she couldn't help the slight panic in her voice.
"Okay, well, if it's the dome that did this, then maybe she'll be back within a week at most." That was one thing she knew for sure would happen. But would Max survive until then? That's what she was starting to worry about.
*** Max paused on the sidewalk and looked over Chloe. She picked up on the panic in Chloe’s voice. She didn’t blame her. The Madison Valley Max came from was not a nice place and no doubt her Max was looking for Chloe as they spoke. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t find her. That part made Max sad. It would devastate her as it had her counterpart.
She reached out and touched the young woman’s shoulder. “She’ll be okay,” Max said softly. “Knowing this place, she’ll be back, like you said, in a week and I’ll-I’ll be gone.” Max wasn’t looking forward to that. No Chloe, no food, no anything. Just sadness, but at least she had comfort in knowing Chloe survived somewhere.
***
Chloe's mind filled with various thoughts - very awful thoughts - about Max and what she was doing right now. Thoughts about her being scared and hungry or hurt or worse. She tried to get rid of them, but they just kept coming. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she relaxed a tiny bit.
She nodded, believing the other Max. She was right. She had to be. But the last part Max said made Chloe frowned. "Shit, I didn't even think of that." She'd been preoccupied with her Max and her own worries, she hadn't really considered this Max would be going back to what was essentially Hell.
"Wish you could stay here."
*** Max pulled away and looked down at the can of soda in her hand. It was beautiful here and everyone was happy. Plus, there was Chloe. It was perfect compared to her hell. With a faint smile, she looked up at Chloe again.
“Me too, but I doubt the two of us could exist together. It’s okay. All that matters is you’re alive here and there is a Max here to protect you.”
Max took a step forward. “Why don’t you lead the way? I should probably take that shower.” She looked down at herself. “I am pretty gross.”
***
Chloe nodded. She still felt awful knowing there was a Max out there who suffered so much. But she was right, there can't be two Maxes in the same universe no matter how much she wished there could be.
She smiled a little. She was still worried and hated knowing what will happen to this Max, but unfortunately it was inevitable and they couldn't do anything about it.
She was about to say that they shouldn't dwell on things out of their control. Instead she just smirked. "Yeah, you really are gross right now," she nudged the other girl with a little grin as they continued on their way.