entrancelogs | The second star to the right

Entry tags:

The second star to the right

Who: Max, OPEN, and Chloe
Where: All over Neverland
When: Up to about halfway through the event
Rating: Idk PG-13?
Summary: Max explores the island, intent on finding Chloe- and actually succeeds.
The Story:

[A. She woke up on the beach | OPEN]

This is too much like another vision.

Max wakes up on the beach, cheek pressed against the wet sand, warm water lapping at her shoes. Adrenaline fills her the moment her eyes flutter open, and very quickly she's on her feet, wiping sand from her face. She still has her bag: camera, device, Oregon phone, journal, some snacks, pepper spray... good enough. This is another event, of course. They'd all been expecting one.

A nearby forest looms over her and she stares at it with trepidation, biting her lip. All of her reasoning tells her she can't stay on the beach. She needs to find other people, or water and food, or shelter. But the trees seem so dark, the spaces between them like black veils hiding unknown and unknowable things...

She tries to use the device multiple times but Chloe never responds. She's not even sure the calls are connecting on Chloe's end. Her gaze switches back and forth between the forest and the sea, which seems to stretch on forever into a dark and starless horizon. There's only one place to go.

She makes her way toward the forest, clutching nervously at her Oregon phone, the built-in flashlight shining meekly into the foliage. Finally, with one last deep breath, she calls out loudly.

"Hello?"

And determined, she pushes past the border and into the woods, flashlight swinging left and right as she warily scans her surroundings. She has to find her best friend, after all.

[B. Don't you forget about me | CLOSED to Chloe]

It's been days. She's met people here and there, and she's taken to regularly checking the network, too. But none of those strange kids ever seem to reply to anyone- and she's pretty sure by now that Chloe's in the same sort of state.

But after all this time, Max still feels no closer to finding her best friend- her girlfriend. And who knows what sort of terrible things might be happening...

But at some point, her flashlight crosses over a break in the trees, and she spots a girl. She quickly covers the light, crouching down to hide herself, hands shaking slightly. It looked like Chloe- that brownish blonde hair, so reminiscent of their childhood days.

Could Max have possibly found her, by sheer luck and tenacity? And is Chloe still safe?

Max closes her eyes for a moment and begs herself to be brave. Then she calls out in the dark, a low whisper in the otherwise quiet woods.

"Chloe?"

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"I... I know." Max notes the uncertainly in Chloe's voice. She gnaws at her lip, hoping that she's starting to get through. Despite how uncomfortable it makes her feel, she matches Chloe's stare, not turning to look away. She holds out the wooden case one more time.

"That's what this is for. It's proof." She opens the case and shows the silver glasses inside to Chloe. "After you wear them I'll do whatever you want- I'll go, or I'll even stay here with you. Forever..."

Desperation creeps into her tone. She wants so much for this to work- even if in a few days things will be back to normal (well, Wonderland normal), she can't stand the thought of Chloe spending any more time with the rough Lost Ones, in this eerie forest.

"If being kids together meant anything to you, then just... try these on. Okay?"

Chloe looks at the silver glasses in Max's hands with raised eyebrows. Max is clearly losing it if she thinks a pair of eyeglasses are gonna change things.

"What makes you even think I'll do what you want?"

Max is nearly at the point of stamping her feet, or vigorously running her hands through her hair in frustration. Come on, Chloe- every moment Max feels more and more like shit. She knows what a terrible friend she was when she left for the city- and she's had to live with that for so long already, and it feels like Chloe has that hanging over her half the time- and what's worse is that it's all true, and Chloe has every right!

But Max has been trying to make it all up to her best friend. And she thought she had... except for this damn event.

"Because then I'll leave you alone. I'll go away for good." Max can't keep the edge and annoyance- anger- out of her voice. Though it's not Chloe that she's angry at. "Or I'll stay- and we can be pirates again. I'll do anything."

Chloe doesn't say anything for a while, but merely looks at Max. She can see-- even hear-- her frustration. Max really wants her to try on these glasses. So much, that she's willing to do anything for it.

She turns her attention to the silver specs in Max's hands. Well, Chloe thinks to herself, what could go wrong with wearing eyeglasses, right? Despite everything that has happened, Chloe believes that Max wouldn't hurt her-- Jeez, what am I saying? She freaking left me.

No she didn't, says another voice-- the more rational but almost unheard voice-- at the back of Chloe's mind. Max didn't choose to move to Seattle. Her parents made that decision for her; there's definitely a difference.

Chloe fiddles with the notebook in her hands, still deep in thought. At long last, after what seems like hours but were actually just a couple of minutes, Chloe holds up her little finger to Max. "Pinky promise you'll do what I say after I wear the glasses?"

Max can tell how deep Chloe's thoughts are running. She wants to push further, really insist, but she also knows how fragile things are right now- she fights back the need to talk, and instead waits patiently for Chloe to decide, tense and worried.

Whole minutes pass. Minutes where Max can look at her twelve year old friend and remember happier, simpler times...

Then Chloe holds out her finger, and Max grins.

"Yes." She twists her own finger around Chloe's, then adds on the finger from her other hand as well. "Double pinky-swear." She tries not to sound too happy or victorious. Chloe still has to actually put the glasses on- maybe then Max can gloat. (Though she knows she'll mostly just feel relieved.)

Chloe just looks at Max's little finger, but doesn't return the second pinky promise. In fact, she hurriedly disentangles her finger from Max's. Let's get this over it. She takes the specs from Max's hands. The sooner I wear these, the sooner I can get rid of her.

Carefully, Chloe unfolds the delicate glasses and puts them on. For a few seconds, she repratedly blinks and looks around. Then she gives Max a smirk. "So, what now? Everything looks the same---"

She comes to a sudden halt.

Her eyes become round and she starts to stutter.

"Looks-- looks the same..."

A rush of memories floods Chloe's mind-- Rachel, Nathan, Jefferson, Wonderland... Wonderland with Max.

The zombie apocalypse, the photoshoot, the kiss. Every single memory Chloe's had ever since Max left for Seattle comes rushing back. Chloe tightens her grip on Max's journal in an attempt to steady herself. She looks down and gasps. Not because of the little notebook she's holding but how little her fingers are. She holds up one hand, closes it into a fist, then opens it again to stretch her fingers. What the fuck is going on? Why are my hands so small?

Through her fingers, she sees Max's face-- Max's face, which seems a little higher than usual. Chloe lowers her hand and realizes that Max is taller.

What.

Chloe looks up to Max-- this has never happened before.

"Max. What the fuck--"

She stops talking for a while and rubs her throat. Is it just me or my voice sounds a little higher?

Chloe tries again.

"Max."

Yup, it is definitely higher. What the hell is happening?

"Max, what the fuck is going on?"

Max stares at Chloe, waiting for something to happen. She sees Chloe's grip on the book tighten and steps forward, one hand on Chloe's shoulder and the other on her wrist, steadying the girl. Max grins as Chloe holds up a hand and examines it, opening and closing- and her grin widens as Chloe looks at her. The shock on her face is kinda cool.

It's rare I get a one-up on Chloe...

"Earth to Chloe?" she teases. "Do I have my best friend back yet?"

She squeezes the young girl's wrist. And she takes the glasses, now a dull gray, off of Chloe. "It's okay. It's just an event- you don't remember? You're a little kid again. Squeaky voice and all."

Max smiles, fond and encouraging. "It brings back a whole load of memories."

"I-- I'm a what?"

Chloe starts examining her hands and her arms. Yup, they do look thinner. Then she runs her hands over her sides, her boobs-- holy eff, they're tiny!-- her waist. She even cups her cheeks with her hands, then moves up to her hair, where it feels longer.

Dreading of what's she about to see, Chloe pulls a lock of hair so she can see better-- Jesus it's blonde.

Her hair's not blue. It's freaking blonde. Again.

This is too much to handle. "What kind of fucking event is this?!" she exclaims.

Then Chloe points to Max accusingly. "And how come you're still you and I'm a little kid?!" (Chloe probably knows what the event is about but she's too shocked to figure it out right now. Give her some time, Max. She'll come to her senses.)

Edited 2016-10-31 05:35 (UTC)

Trying to suppress a laugh (at Chloe's expense!) over all of Chloe's panic, Max tightens her grip on her best friend's shoulders, and pulls the younger girl into a hug.

"I have no idea! Some of you are kids now, and they're all pissed at us, but... I got you to wear those glasses the Duchess gave to me. They made you remember everything."

She steps back, holding Chloe at arms length to get a good look at her. "You know, I forgot how much smaller you, we, were." She grins, teasing. "God, Chloe, I'm just glad you remember everything now." She looks around at the trees. "Uh, any chance you remember how to get out of here, too?"

Chloe takes a while to respond; she's still too busy checking herself out. After (finally) accepting that she really is a kid right now, Chloe just lets out a long sigh. Stupid Wonderland. Always fucking things up in the craziest ways.

She looks around, trying to calm herself down and remember the event. There was music... Neverland... and the Lost Ones.

Right.

There are other kids lurking around the woods, who probably have more dangerous weapons than her. She takes out her slingshot from her pocket and gives back Max her journal so she can use both hands on her weapon.

"Right, the exit." Chloe starts making her way through the woods, following the same path Max took to get there. "It's somewhere in this direction. We just need to follow the trail."

Max takes the journal back gratefully, storing it carefully in her bag. There's a ton of stuff in there she'd hate to lose in some random event forest. The glasses go into her bag too, though now all they have is a dull gray sheen.

Max turns to look where Chloe is going, shining her phone light into the woods. "There's a trail?" she complains, face-palming. That certainly would've made her two-day trek more pleasant. "Lead the way... Dora."

Yeah, totally still making fun of the kid thing.

And, despite being low on supplies, tired and icky after being lost in the forest, Max can't help but smile. The edge in her voice has been completely replaced by an almost enthusiastic cheerfulness.

Chloe glares at her best friend as she makes the whole "Dora the Explorer" joke, but because she's a kid, the supposed death stare just comes out more like a pout. She rolls her eyes instead and starts pushing branches aside as she follows the trail.

Barely a few feet from Max however, Chloe suddenly stops and turns to Max. "Wait. We can't leave yet," in her squeaky, kiddy voice. "There's someone else we need to bring along."

That little death pout brings back a lot of memories and emotion, and Max only grins back like an idiot. And right after that comes the- yup, there it is, Chloe's signature eyeroll, just as Max predicted.

What she doesn't expect is Chloe's sudden stop, which brings Max up short before she bumps into her best friend. She frowns at Chloe's words.

"...Uh, who exactly?" she protests quietly. "I'm not a huge fan of spending more time in here."

"There's this kid..." Chloe starts, but then stops again. How is she gonna explain this to Max without breaking a pinky promise she made? She tries again.

"Uh... Do you remember Tim? Also from Wonderland? Well, he's here too and..." she fiddles with the slingshot in her hands. "I-- I can't leave him."

She makes her voice a little firmer, with a finality in her tone. "I just can't.

Not after the weird shit he's been seeing.

She really didn't realize Tim and Chloe were already that close. They had what, one network conversation and-

And the entire event together, so far?

Max studies her best friend's expression, trying to figure out how negotiable this particular side-quest is. The fact that Chloe's even hesitating to explain it all to Max is a pretty big clue already- and Max couldn't say no to Chloe's face anyway, not with that lovable kiddy look.

She sighs.

"Okay, okay. We go find Tim, but promise me we jump ship immediately after that." She raises her flashlight again, pointing it back deeper into the woods.

Promises. Here we go again.

"Yeah, sure. We leave once we get him." Chloe starts to trek back to the direction where they came from, wondering the whole time how in the world is she gonna convince Tim to come with her, when he just had that insane meltdown and practically doesn't trust anyone.

Well, fuck.

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The second star to the right

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