“Today was amazing,” the brunette bubbled as she dove back in and nestled down with her favorite person. Max had just used the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and made final nighttime preparations before bed. Earlier, the girls ordered a pizza and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, while playfully cuddling and goofing off. Rarely could they sit and just watch movies anymore, there were always stray hands, jokes, and plenty of laughter.

“Every day is amazing when we’re together. And let me tell you, Johnny Depp ain’t got shit on Long Max Silver and Captain Bluebeard.” Chloe had one arm fully around her first mate, as Max was snuggled deep within her captain’s embrace. With her free hand, she used the tips of her fingers to trace her partner’s freckles as she typically did when she was happy. Just being beside her best friend and lover brought so much joyful contentment to her heart.

“We’re getting so close to the wedding, babe, I’m excited and a bit nervous. We didn’t invite many people, but this means so much to me. Thank you for not complaining or making a fuss about anything. I know it isn’t necessarily something you care much about, but you know that I do. I love you, Chlo, and…” Max was cut off, as her soulmate interrupted her with a swift kiss.

Releasing their lips, Chloe responded, “Why the hell wouldn’t I care about our wedding? Maxi, I care soooo fucking much. You are MY person. I want the world to know how much I love your hippie ass. Do you know how amazeballs you’re gonna look in your dress, and how badass I’ll look because I’ll be standing next to you?” The older girl bent her head down and nuzzled her partner’s neck with her nose and upper lip, taking a deep inhale on her way up. “Max, you have this smell about you that’s fucking intoxicating, have I ever told you that?”

“I have a smell?” The brown-haired girl blushed. The lovers had seen every inch of each other at this point but something about being smelled caused the younger girl to marginally withdraw.

“Hella. It’s hard to describe really. But when I think back, you’ve always just smelled… I dunno… delicious. Mmm. Why do you think I hugged you so much when we were kids?”

“Uhm, maybe I just thought you liked hugs,” Max shrugged behind a toothy grin. “Actually, I’ve noticed you sniff me before, you weirdo.”

“Weirdo? Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.”

“No, don’t you dare, Chloe Price.”

“Oh, I do dare,” the mischievous girl confirmed, inching closer and slowly poking at her fiancé’s ribs one at a time. Rapidly, she increased her prodding until they ended up in a tickle pile with the taller girl on top pinning her partner down. Max flung her legs around in a failed attempt to escape.

As the laughter faded out, and the tickling stopped, Chloe laid back down and unplugged her phone from the charger on the nightstand and opened an app. “Today has been great, dude. Every day with you is perfect, but today felt extra special for some reason, I dunno. I haven’t even checked our bank account or anything business related, been too busy being in love. Guess I should be a good business manager and do my job, yeah?”

“Chlo, do you think anything could ever change what we have? I mean, we are Max and Chloe and I know we’ll be together forever. I love where we are now, our lives are perfect. I just can’t help wondering what the future holds, ya know?”

“Max, listen to me. I know you’re a worrier, but try not to think that way. I can’t possibly fathom a reason anything could change our lives. We’ve been through so much and the universe knows it. I like to think of what we have as our reward. It’s strange to look at it like that, but dammit, we deserve happiness, and we deserve each other!” After craning her neck forward and lightly pecking her soulmate on the cheek, Chloe got out of bed and grabbed the laptop. She returned to Max’s side and propped the device on top of her knees in her lap.

The thin moon’s light casually trickled in from the curtain-drawn window casting darkened shadows throughout the room. The only other light source glowed from atop the blonde’s legs. “Check it out, Max.” She pointed to the screen at their bank account balance which enticed a barely discernable ‘wowser’ from the smaller girl. “Damn. I know you said our work isn’t about the money, but fuuuuuuuuck, that’s a lot of zeros. The Chase Space down payment must’ve come through this afternoon.”

“You know what we have to do now, babe? I want to pay my parents back plus some. We’ll call it a return on their investment. They helped us get started and we can more than afford to pay them back. After the wedding, it’ll probably be time to think about getting our own place, too.”

“Why does it excite me so much that we might share a house together at some point? We’ve lived together for years.”

“Because you love me, and it fills your heart to be able to do this with me too,” the adorable brunette responded with a slight smile and a crinkle of her nose. “So, are you gonna be my first with everything?” she teased.

“How the fuck are you so cute? I just wanna hold you and squeeze you forever.” Chloe ran her fingers through her partner’s soft hair.

“You have me forever. I am yours. Nothing will ever change that.” Max tilted her head up slightly, making eye contact with her lover.

A mysterious electricity whirled between the girls; whose clear cobalt eyes became fixed on each other, never withdrawing. As if nothing else existed in the universe, the girls continued to stare at one another. A reality bending wave of energy and pure love flowed in and out and all around their hearts and minds. A pulsing tremor nearly pushed the girls from their seated positions against the bed headrest.

“Whoa!” Chloe swooned. “What the fuck was that?”

“Wowser,” was all the photographer could say.

“Max, did you feel it? I know we’re both head over heels in love with each other, but that felt… different. In a very damn good way. I think it happened once before, after the AMA, remember?”

“Of course. My dog, that was… that was… intense.”

“Fuck, every day and everything that happens between us… dammit… it just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to marry you.” The girls immediately got lost in a tangle of arms, legs, and tongues, and enjoyed exploring each other’s bodies and hearts. After several minutes, they broke away from their tunnel vision.

“Maybe we should call it a night,” Max suggested. “We need to start the exclusive shoot tomorrow morning, and we have to decide if you’re going blue or not.”

“Oh, I thought you already decided it was a ‘no’.”

“Well, the more I think about it, the more it seems like a good idea. The artistic element is still my favorite part about photography. Victoria and Jessica are right, recapturing those moments as similarly as possible will make for a fantastic addition to the collection. Victoria always had an eye for these sorts of things.”

“What about the wedding, Maxter? I want to look my best for you. If you want strawberry blonde rather than blue, that’s what you’re getting.”

“We know the blue doesn’t completely come out for a long time after you color it, so it definitely will be visible in the wedding pictures. But I think I’ve come to peace with the fact that it doesn’t matter what you look like. I mean, you’re absolutely gorgeous no matter what color hair you have. I’ll still look into your perfect eyes and say ‘I do’ regardless of your hair.”

“Looks like we’ll be making a stop at the store for hair dye in the morning. Then it’ll be photo shoot time,” the future bluenette affirmed. “I need to check our email before we fall asleep.” After a large almost obnoxious yawn, Chloe noticed there was one unread message in the M3 inbox.

“Oh, look. Do you remember a Reddit user named Brody during the AMA? Looks like he’s starting his website again and will be in the Seattle area the week of our wedding. He wants to come and write a story about us.”

“Oh yeah, I remember him. His stories were fascinating. I feel sorry he lost his mom and all, but it seemed like he found closure after returning home. If he wants to come to our wedding, by all means, he’s welcome. It’ll probably be smart to meet him beforehand, just to make sure he’s not a creep or anything.”

“Great idea, love. I’ll respond tomorrow, and you have a blog post to write this week, don’t forget about that.” The girls snuggled back together as they did every night. “I’m about to pass out.”

“Yeah, same. Good night, Chlo. I love you… always.”

“Good night, Maxi Max, my sweet fucking amazing, perfect person. I love you… forever.”

“Chloe, wake up.”

“Hey, get up.”

“CHLOE!”

“Okay, okay.” Slowly sitting up in the bed with her eyes still closed, she ran her fingers through her own hair. She knew it was way too early to be awake, so she laid back down again.

“Get your ass up! We have a lot to talk about.”

Immediately, it occurred to Chloe that it wasn’t Max’s voice she was hearing. She hurriedly flung her eyes opened and noticed the ceiling. It glowed a purple hue with speckled bright white stars. “I know this place,” she said aloud. Looking up and to her left, she saw a star-shaped wall light glowing with an amber tinge. “Rachel?”

“Yep, it’s me,” the other girl confirmed. “I brought you here. Do you like the setting I created?”

“But, Rach, you’re… you know…”

“Oh, yes, that. Yeah, I’m still dead.”

“I can hear you but I can’t see you. Why?”

“Look harder, Chloe. I’m here.”

She sat up, rolled to the edge, and spun around, seeking the body that belonged to the voice. The taller girl desperately cut her eyes back and forth, searching around the dim room. Faintly, she spotted the girl she sought sitting at her desk looking in Chloe’s direction.

“There. You’re right there,” she pointed with squinted eyes. “Uhm, Rach? I can see right through you. Are you a… ghost?”

“No, not really. Well, I dunno, maybe. This, though, is a dream, try and focus directly on me; do not wake up. There are several things we need to discuss, one of which is a threat to the most important thing ever in your life.”

“Max?”

“Well, not exactly.”

“There’s nothing more important to me than her, Rach. You know that.”

“I need to show you something, but let’s chat first.” The translucent girl stood up and approached the bed where her friend still sat focusing deeply on her. She took a seat and put her hand on top of Chloe’s, where it passed through creating a non-tangible yet warming sensation.

“Rachel, I’ve missed you. It was so hard after I lost you… twice. I think about you all the time.”

“I know you do. I can hear it. Thank you for not forgetting about me, like I asked. But you wanna hear something fucking beautiful? Max thinks about me as much as, if not more than, you do. She thanks me nearly every day for protecting you when she couldn’t and for giving you two the lives you have together.”

“Fuck, Rachel. She is so damn wonderful. Something new happens every day that makes me love her more. And yeah, thank you. Thank you for sacrificing yourself for us.”

“I look at you two and see this shimmering connection beaming from within, and I know I made the right choice, and I would do it again, a million times. You two are a perfect match, and a love like yours deserves the chance to thrive.”

“Rach, I can’t help but think about your happiness, though. Your sacrifice and what you mean to Max and I. You deserve happiness too. It feels like a strange question to ask, but… are you happy?”

“I don’t have all the answers yet, Chloe, but I have an eternity to find them. Death is a release from the burdens of life. It’s like a weight has been lifted. I do feel a sense of pleasure when I see you two together, but I fear one thing, which is why I suspect I haven’t passed on yet.”

“Passed on?” The dreaming girl questioned.

“I still have a purpose. When my purpose is fulfilled, I won’t be, as you called me, a ghost anymore.”

“Were you able to see the memorial Max made for you?”

“Yeah, I was there. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She did that for all three of us, but mostly for you. You know, she grieved then too, Chloe, but she had to be strong for you. That girl is so damn tough.” They sat in silent reflection for what seemed like several minutes.

“You said you fear something, and that it involves your purpose,” Chloe said, breaking the silence. “You said there’s some sort of threat; is that why I’m here now?”

“Yes.”

“That scares the shit outta me, Rach; not gonna lie. Please, please tell me what’s going on.”

“When your body dies, you are completely released from the flow of time. It’s hard to explain properly, but, at any point, I can see the past and the present.” She paused briefly then continued. “And I can see the paths of endless possible futures. I am very concerned with yours and Max’s.”

“I believe we make our own future, Rach.” She unconvincingly said in a failed attempt to sound brave. “Max believes the same thing.”

“I agree also. But I have seen over a hundred different paths your future could take. Not once have I seen it change from this one specific outcome, which is why I had to reach out to you directly. It’s terrible, Chloe, but maybe my intervention can help change it somehow.”

“Rachel,” Chloe’s voice hitched, “what terrible outcome? What are you not telling me?”

“It will be easier if I show you.” The ghostly girl pointed up towards the star-shaped wall light. Chloe hesitantly followed her finger trail, eyes stopping and fixing on the star’s light, watching as a vision began to form. She sat there observing as the events played out. A spectrum of emotions, ranging from extreme and affectionate joy to desperate and hopeless horror, rolled through her heart. Tears filled her gorgeous sapphire eyes, and, as the vision ended, she understood in a deep and powerful way, that, despite the love she and her soulmate shared, things were about to change.

“Those freckles,” the girl stuttered through breathy sobs. “Those fucking freckles.”

“I only show you this, Chloe, because I believe you two have the power to change it, and I think I might be able help. You’re about to wake up, and I need you to know a few more things before you do.” The purple glow, the wall light, and the rest of the room began to fade rapidly from sight.

“Quickly! Remember these three things: Time does not exist in the dreamspace… your power is still within you… and I can hear your thoughts…”

“…we can do this… all three of us…”

“…up for one more adventure, Professor Price?…”