"Max," Chloe said, digging something out of her back pocket, "this is the only way." She held something out. Max took it at squinted at it for a second, finally recognizing it as the butterfly photo from Monday.

"I feel like I took this shot a thousand years ago," she said. She took a few steps toward the cliff, studying the photo even as driving rain was actively ruining it.

"You…" Chloe followed her to the cliff, swallowing to try and calm herself. She looked down at the photo in Max's hands. "You could use that photo to change everything back to when you took that picture…" she said, struggling to make herself heard over the storm. Max looked up at her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet her eyes. She looked out at the tornado, slowly bearing down on her home. She tried to stay calm, but her voice quivered as she said, "All that would take is for me to… to…" She finally broke down, covering her face as tears mixed with the rain pelting her cheeks.

"Fuck that!" Max yelled. She struggled to process what her best friend was asking her to do. She wants me to kill her, she thought, again. Max shook her head, as if trying to physically dislodge the idea. "No… No way. You are my number one priority now." She leaned down, trying to meet Chloe's eyes, but her friend just stared down at the churning waters of the bay. "You are all that matters to me."

"I know," Chloe replied, sounding like she was about to start laughing. "You proved that over and over again… even though I don't deserve it." She stared out at the town, watching as loose bits and pieces got pulled up by the encroaching storm. She could feel fresh tears stinging at her eyes even as the roaring wind whipped them away. "I'm so selfish," she spat, "not like my mom. Look what she had to give up and live through. And she did." She finally tore her gaze away from the town, meeting Max's gaze. "She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner!" she cried, her voice breaking every few words. "Even my step… father deserves her alive." She took a step back, her eyes falling once again to the whirling force of destruction bearing down on everything she'd ever known or cared about. "There are so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live…" she said, her voice weak, "way more than me…"

"Don't say that," Max cried. No… I can't do it. Not again. "I won't trade you!"

"You're not trading me," Chloe said, "Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny." She looked out at the bay again and saw a boat get pulled up from the dock. "Look how many times I've almost died or actually died around you." She forced herself to look at Max again. It tore her heart in two to ask this of her best friend, but it was the only way. "Look what's happened in Arcadia Bay since you first saved me," she cried, waving a hand at the tornado. "I know I've been selfish, but I think for once I should accept my fate…" Max turned away from her, but she grabbed her shoulders and forced her to turn back. She let her hands trail down Max's arms. "Our fate…" she said weakly.

"Chloe…" Max said, her voice nearly breaking. No. No, no, no! This can't be it. There has to be another way. I can't— I won't give up Chloe. Despite the raging storm, things seemed to grow a bit quieter around them.

"Max," Chloe said smiling a bit, "You finally came back to me this week, and you did nothing but show me your love and friendship." She leaned in closer. Her voice was still cracking and she was panicking from staring her own death in the face, but she trusted and loved Max, more than anyone since her dad. "You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years. Wherever I end up after this… in whatever reality…" Max looked down at the photo in her hands, but Chloe grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at her eyes again. "All of those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours." She let go of Max and took a step back.

"No matter what you choose," she said, "I know you'll make the right decision." She looked out at the bay as the storm started to tear roofs off of houses.

"Chloe…" Max cried. She paced around for a moment, futilely flailing her arms around. "I can't make this choice!"

Chloe grabbed her best friend by the shoulders and smiled at her. Despite the chaos raging around them, there seemed to be a pocket of tranquility around them. "No, Max," she said calmly, "You're the only one who can."

Max shook her head. She wanted to scream or cry, but she just couldn't. Chloe was so calm and at peace, even in asking Max to kill her. Just like she was when I saved William. No, I can't do that. Not again. But if I don't… She stepped away from Chloe and looked out at the town. Buildings ripped apart before her eyes, and debris flew through the air to strike those buildings still standing like cannonballs. Max looked down at the photo in her hands. Save Chloe… or save Arcadia Bay. The photo shifted a bit, and she heard the echo of Nathan's voice in her mind. How can I make that choice?

She thought back to the first alternate reality, the one she'd created when she saved William. She had been so sure she was doing the right thing. She was saving the life of her best friend's father, how could that have been bad? Yet, the world had nearly crumbled around her when she saw Chloe in that wheelchair, and again the next morning when she'd been in pain. It had broken her heart to watch Chloe drift off by her own hand. I killed Chloe, she thought for what felt like the thousandth time. I killed her… then I killed William to save her. Max looked out at the storm again. Time had stopped, and the tornado looked almost magical as the debris stood frozen in place. The silence was haunting. It weighed on her like a ton of bricks as she wracked her mind for another way.

Now, I have to kill her again… or kill everyone else to save her. She gripped the photo tighter and her entire body began to shake. What the fuck kind of choice is that? She looked at Chloe, who was serenely smiling back at her. Chloe's face was so open, radiating a love for and trust in her that she couldn't feel any less worthy of if she tried.

It's not… that's what kind.

Max looked down at the town. I'm so sorry, everyone. She closed her eyes and willed time to start moving again. Rain and wind pelted her face, and the roar of the storm filled her ears. "I can't…" she said weakly. She opened her eyes and looked up at Chloe. "I'm sorry, Chloe," she called over the storm, "but I can't lose you. Not again." She ripped the photo in half and let the pieces fly in the wind.

"Max!" Chloe cried, "What are you doing?" She reached out for one of the photo pieces, but it flew past her hand and out over the bay. She grabbed her friend by the arm. "Quick, Max, rewind and get it back. You have to go back and change this." She waved a hand at the storm. "This is so much bigger than… than me. I'm not worth this!"

"Yes, you are," Max said forcefully. "I went through so much to save you." Chloe looked away, ashamed, but Max gently laid a hand on her cheek and brought her face back up to meet her gaze. "And I would do it all over again—even the Dark Room with Jefferson—in a heartbeat. You are worth it. You're worth all of that and more."

Chloe laid her hand on top of Max's, coveting the warmth on her rain-soaked skin. "But… everyone else," she said quietly.

"Fuck everyone else," Max shot back, "I wish I could save them. Fuck's sake, I could save them, but I won't give you up to do it. Everything else can burn for all I care. You're my world, now." She stepped forward and pressed her lips to Chloe's in a fierce kiss. She felt her friend stiffen for a moment, then relax as she kissed her back. Chloe's free hand came up and tangled in Max's hair as their lips moved against one another.

"Damn, Max," Chloe muttered once they broke apart a few moments later, "you are hardcore." She gazed into Max's eyes, and she felt happier, safer, more whole than she had in years.

"I love you, Max."

The words slipped out before Chloe could even finish processing the realization in her mind. She opened her mouth to… she didn't even know what she was going to say, but Max's finger on her lips stopped her.

"It's okay, Chloe," Max replied, grinning, "I love you, too." Their lips met in another kiss, this one much slower and more tender than their first. When they separated again, Max couldn't help but laugh at their situation; declarations of love and first kisses in the middle of a storm. She blinked and furrowed her brow, causing her best friend—or is it girlfriend now?—to raise an eyebrow. Everything was so quiet, peaceful even. The driving rain and howling wind were just… gone. She turned out to face the bay, and everything was perfectly still. Time had stopped.

"Holy shit," Chloe murmured, looking around. It was beyond surreal to see the world frozen in time. She reached out and poked a raindrop. Her finger broke it apart and passed through it, but the droplets stayed suspended. "Max," she said breathlessly, "how did you…"

"I don't know," Max responded. "I didn't, or at least, I didn't mean to." She turned back to Chloe, baffled that the other girl was somehow still synced with her rather than the rest of reality. How? she wondered. How did I keep Chloe from freezing? She pushed the thought out of her mind and resolved to figure it out later. "Welcome to my world," she said dryly.

"Max, this is… I don't even have words," Chloe said. She stepped back and twirled around, arms outstretched. "This is so beyond incredible." Her eyes fell back on the town, where everyone she knew was at the mercy of the storm. Suddenly she felt like shit; she was alive, but they might all die because of that. She walked back over to Max and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Max," she muttered, pressing her face against the other girl's soaking wet hair. "I can't imagine making that kind of choice, and I can't even begin to thank you for saving me." She loosened her embrace and pulled back, looking Max in the eye but keeping her arms draped around her waist. "And I promise that I'll do my best every day for the rest of my life to be worthy of that choice."

Max smiled and stretched up to kiss Chloe on the cheek. "You don't have to do a damn thing," she said. She smirked, then added, "Except maybe kiss me again." She gripped Chloe's shirt as they kissed, wishing the moment would never end. Then again, I guess it doesn't have to, she thought. However, the pain mounting in her head told her that she was almost out of power and time would restart soon whether she wanted it to or not. She winced as the pain spiked momentarily.

"You okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Max replied, "It's just getting tough to hold all of… this."

Chloe took one last look at the frozen landscape, unsure if she'd ever get to see it again. "Well," she said, "if you're going to start the rain again, do you want to head into the lighthouse?"

"No. I caused all of this," Max said flatly, "I chose all of this. The least I can do it watch what my choices have caused." She slipped out of Chloe's embrace and stepped over to the edge of the cliff, gazing at where the tornado was starting to come onto the beach. She heard the squishing of Chloe's shoes as she came up next to her.

"Okay, Max," Chloe said. She reached out and took Max's hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'll be right here, no matter what. You and me, forever."

Max raised her free hand and got ready to restart time.

"Forever," she whispered.