You and Max Caulfield never got along. Well, maybe never was a really strong word. When you were young, you got along just fine. But then, Max moved to Seattle, and everything kind of changed. Before, it was always you, Max, and Chloe. After Max moved, it was just you and Chloe. Well, sometimes there was Rachel Amber, too. But that wasn’t really important. Somewhere between being 13 and watching Max’s family drive away for what you thought was forever, and being 18 and suddenly having the squad back together, you and Chloe fell in love. And stayed together for five years, in fact.

But then, Max came back.

And to Chloe’s credit, she didn’t cheat on you. But it became clear that you were just a placeholder for Max. They began spending a lot of time together… without you. And as much as you loved Chloe, you didn’t want to force the relationship. So, you gave her your blessing and stepped back. But things didn’t exactly go back to normal. You were hurt, and angry, and bitter. Your friendship with Max suffered. (And by extension, your friendship with Chloe.) But could anyone blame you? Even if you tried to be okay with it, it was still kind of fucked up to see your friend date your ex. You faded away from them. You refused to get involved in Max’s super power bullshit. And the last act of kindness between the three of you was Max protecting you when she chose Chloe over Arcadia Bay. The two of them went on their road trip adventure, and you went off to college.

But that was ten years ago. You guys were 28 now. And Max hoped that the two of you both ending up at Caledon University meant you could reconnect. She knew that you and Chloe got close again, and was hopeful that the two of you could too.

And hey, you did try. You tried to put the past behind you and remember how good of friends you used to be before everything went to shit. You would talk and hang around with her. It wasn’t the same as it was before, but it was something. And when Sadi died, you came around even more to check on her.

Somewhere in all of this mess, Max realized she had feelings for you. She’d actually talked about it with Safi before she died. Her friend had tried to encourage her to tell you how she felt, but Max couldn’t actually bring herself to do it. She still remembered the way you looked at her every time you saw her and Chloe back then. She didn’t want to ruin the fragile peace you had built together. (And she was seriously thinking of talking to her therapist about masochism, because this certainly felt like that.)

But after Safi’s death, it really hit Max that people around her keep dying. Life is shorter than it seems. And Safi would want her to actually live her life. So, she makes a promise to herself to get her shit together once she brings Safi back. And after saving her friend, she plans to do two things: make up with Chloe, get her permission, and then tell you how she feels. She’s merged the two timeline. Safi is back The first parts of her plan go well. She and Chloe could never truly stay mad at each other. But the last part…? Yeah, not so much.

Max took you to the Snapping Turtle to hangout. She tells you everything that’s been happening - losing her powers, getting new powers, getting her old powers back, reviving Safi, merging the timeline. She doesn’t remember how, but you end up arguing when Arcadia Bay comes up. Your hometown didn’t exactly hold happy memories for you.

During the argument, Chloe came up. Max’s eyes widened as realization dawned on her. “That’s what this is about? Chloe?” Her shoulders slumped a little. Of course. Of course it was about Chloe. How stupid could she be to not have realized you still have feelings for her?

Something bitter settled deep in the pit of her stomach. What made Chloe so special that everyone - herself included - always got so hung up on her? And why wasn’t she good enough on her own? “I’m trying to tell you something important, and all you can think about is Chloe? Seriously? Right now? I’m the one that’s sitting here in front of you now, not her!”