This is a drabble. Feel free to make a request or two.
I had been there when Chloe had died. I had had the power to save her. But no matter what I tried, the storm always came. A storm that would wipe Arcadia Bay from the map. Now that the storm no longer threatened the town, I began to doubt all the lives saved would ever mean more to me than Chloe's.
"I want to hear you." I said and touched the mirror. "Mock this dress. Just tell me how lame I am. Just tell me something like...like...how I'm the saddest looking person at your funeral."
I jumped and then realized it was just someone knocking at my door. It took a moment to calm down before I could move.
"Victoria?" I asked as I opened the door a crack.
"Good, you're not a total idiot." Victoria said and entered before I could say anything.
I hadn't wanted to let her in. At least not until I could figure out why she wanted to talk to me. Victoria wouldn't just be paying me a visit. She would have another angle. She believed that the only way to move up in the art world was to tear other people down. So what could she want from me?
Victoria just looked at me even after I shut the door. She was silent for way too long.
"Why are you here?" I asked angrily.
Victoria merely looked me over with a look of utter disdain on her face.
"You don't have to make it that obvious that you're going to a funeral, Max." Victoria finally said. "We're all sad about Chloe's death. But at least some of us aren't crying like babies."
What the heck? I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs for her to get out. But then...then one of the alternate timelines came to mind. I had warned Victoria about Nathan which made her think Mr. Jefferson wasn't a threat.
It had been my fault that she had nearly died. Or had a version of her actually died that night?
"Is there anything else, Victoria?" I asked with a sigh.
"I don't like you like this, Max." Victoria answered and dramatically pointed to me. "You're usually all helpful and caring. Now you're just wallowing away in your room."
Wait...what?
"You noticed?" I asked.
"Hard not to." Victoria replied.
"Victoria, do you care about me?"
Victoria sighed dramatically as she sat on the edge of my bed. It was unnerving that she was in my room at all. It was also comforting to have someone to talk to. Even if that someone was only putting on an act. I was way too lonely right now.
"Fine, I do care about you." Victoria admitted. "How could I not? You were right there when Chloe died. What if Nathan noticed you? That is too much for most people to handle. You're such a...kind person. It must be harder for you."
"You think I'm going to kill myself." I said.
I wanted to say that she thought I would end up like Kate Marsh. But she had no memory of how her bullying had lead to an innocent girl's death. She was not picturing Kate when she looked at me. To her Kate was still alive and had never jumped off the roof.
"Fine. Yes." Victoria said curtly.
There was something in her voice. I had been on the receiving end of Victoria's bullying countless times before. But there was something different in her voice. Softer. I looked at her eyes and saw a gentleness in them that seemed to be from someone else entirely.
"Take a picture." Victoria said as she met my gaze. "It'll last longer."
"Sorry." I replied. "Is there...something else you want to ask me?"
Then the strangest thing happened. Victoria blushed and tried to hide it by turning her head. But I had seen it.
"I...I can't ask you." Victoria said after she stopped blushing. "It wouldn't be right. At least not now."
That blush. The way she suddenly couldn't look me in the eyes. She was usually so strong and yet now it was as if her walls had come crashing down around her. She wanted me in a way that didn't make any sense to me. While in the alternate timeline we had been friends, there had been nothing romantic about our relationship.
Had there?
And why didn't I loathe the idea of us being much more than friends?
"You want to date me?" I asked. "Why not just say it?"
"Your friend just died." Victoria said. "I know everyone thinks I'm this monster, but I'm not. I'm not just going to ask you out when you're about to go to her funeral."
Chloe wasn't just my friend, she was my girlfriend. She completed me in a way that no one else had. We were soulmates and I had killed her. I had decided on saving Arcadia Bay and now I would never see her again. She had trusted me to make the right decision. Had it been worth it?
I couldn't tell Victoria any of this as none of the events of the past week had happened for her. She wouldn't understand and I didn't want to tell her yet. Maybe if we started dating I would break down and reveal everything to her.
"So...when will you ask?" I asked.
"I don't know." Victoria answered. "I guess whenever you get over Chloe's death. And if you tell anyone I have a crush on you and we're not dating, I will call you a liar."
"That's not all you'll do. You'll make my life a living hell."
"For you I won't."
She was being honest with me. She had a crush on me and not a tiny one. One of the kind of crushes that make people insane. Why did the fact that Victoria more than liked me make me feel so warm? She would never replace Chloe, no one could, but that didn't mean loving her would be a betrayal to my late girlfriend.
"So you don't know if I'll say yes, do you?" I teased her. "I could just say no and you'll have to spend late nights...looking at my selfies."
"I wouldn't mind that." Victoria laughed. "I can't imagine anything more embarrassing than having you as a lover."
"Wouldn't want to ruin that image."
Victoria got up and walked to the door. I watched her and thought about how her being my girlfriend would be. It didn't matter to me she had a helluva lot of money and could open doors for me. It didn't even matter to me that she was gorgeous.
What mattered to me was I would see a side to her that not many would. A side that loved me. A side that was kind.
"Hey, Max." Victoria said just as she was about to open the door. "I'll meet you at the funeral."
"Don't worry, I'll keep my distance." I teased.
"Oh, shut up."
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