Wrote this when I was convinced Rachel had time powers but as it turns out game writers aren't that clever. Still kind of think it fits so oh well. Hope you enjoy.
"Hurry up!" Chloe shouted from the open window of her truck.
She honked her honk a couple times which was greeted by a slightly pissed off Rachel flipping Chloe off as she walked out of her house.
Chloe laughed.
"Is that really necessary?" Rachel asked as she got closer to the truck.
"You were taking forever." Chloe complained.
"You know you could just come inside?"
"Nah, you know you're fancy ass house freaks me out."
Rachel rolled her eyes before walking around the front of the truck and getting inside.
"Well come on lets go." Rachel said excitedly almost bouncing in her seat.
"Do we have to go?" Chloe whined.
"Oh come on it won't be so bad."
"I hate these stupid Vortex Club parties. Can we just go to that bar that doesn't card and you can flirt for free drinks?"
"No, and besides you haven't been back to Blackwell since you were expelled. Isn't there anyone you want to see?" Rachel asked.
"Not really. Most of the people at that school are assholes and besides," Chloe said. "I'm just some dropout to them now. They won't even want to talk to me."
Rachel looked sympathetic but she was still determined to get Chloe to that party.
"Fine, how bout you drive us there, you dance with me for one song, and then you can spend the rest of the night getting blazed in the parking lot with the rest of the skaters."
Chloe was thoughtful for a moment. "Fine." She finally she said with a sign.
"Yes!" Rachel said victoriously as Chloe started the truck and headed for Blackwell. Chloe still didn't have a good feeling about this party but she couldn't help but smile at Rachel's excitement.
Once at the party Chloe didn't feel any better and was starting to regret agreeing to drive because the only thing she wanted to do was get hammered and not remember where she was. Chloe could feel the eyes on her as she walked up to the gym and she could only imagine what they'd say once she left.
But Chloe didn't have too much time to dwell on her discomfort as Rachel grabbed her hand and pulled her to the center of the dancefloor filled with moving bodies. Once they were surrounded by people Rachel turned around to face Chloe with a devilish grin as she started to dance the music.
Chloe on the other hand just stood there.
"Dance with me!" Rachel shouted. "You promised! It was our deal!"
Rachel reached out and grabbed Chloe's hips and started to move them in time with the music. Chloe laughed and started to dance. With Rachel's hands still on her hips Chloe reached out and put one arm on Rachel's shoulder. Chloe just focused on Rachel and the beat of the music, drowning out the rest of the party. Without realizing it Chloe started to close the space between them, Chloe was so focused on Rachel and her movements she hardly noticed when the song changed.
"Your times up. Go be free." Rachel said with a laugh and let go of Chloe.
Chloe started regretting agreeing to only one dance.
"I'll be outside." Chloe shouted above the music and made her way to the doors that lead to the parking lot. At one point Chloe tried to look back and spot Rachel but she had already been absorbed by the party.
Once outside Chloe instantly felt better and it didn't take long for her to find the usual suspects in the corner of the parking lot with their cloud of smoke and skateboards. As she made her way over there she passed two girls who whispered something as they passed. Chloe felt anger flair up inside but she managed to push it aside and ignore it.
"Hey if it isn't the Blackwell escape artist." Trevor shouted when he saw Chloe walking over.
Chloe rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as she approached the guys. They were all hanging out, passing a joint around as a few of them tried to do skate tricks.
"Did you guys miss me?" Chloe asked as she grabbed the joint.
"Every day, skipping class isn't the same without you." Justin replied.
"I'm flattered." Chloe said as she sat on the curb watching the guys.
She felt more comfortable out here than the she ever could in there. Chloe let her mind wander and couldn't help but wish she could keep up with Rachel. And maybe she could if it didn't involve being surrounded by rich snobs who thought they were better than her. But then again dancing with Rachel had been nice, their bodies so close…
Chloe tried to snap herself out of her own thoughts. She did not want to deal with these feelings right now.
There was a sudden sound of a door swinging open. Chloe looked in that directions and saw Rachel stumble out of the door before falling down. Without any hesitation Chloe ran over to Rachel and tried to help her up.
"Are you ok? What the fuck happened?" Chloe asked panicked.
"I think…someone put something in my…drink." Rachel said slowly.
"What the fuck?!" Chloe yelled attracting the attention of the guys. "Are you ok?"
Rachel shook her head.
Trevor walked over to where Chloe was bent over trying to get Rachel off the ground.
"Woah, is she good?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, she's about to run a fucking marathon." Chloe snapped sarcastically.
"What? That's so crazy I didn't know she could do that."
"Oh my god, just help my carry her to my truck."
Trevor, despite being stoned out of his mind, managed to be helpful and get Rachel safely into Chloe's truck.
"Thanks." Chloe said to Trevor as she shut the door behind Rachel.
"No problem. Guess this is good night then." He said sounding kind of sad.
"Yeah, gotta make sure she gets sobered up."
"Right, well it was good hanging with you. I know you're too cool for us Blackwell kids now a days."
"I was always too cool for you guys." Chloe said smugly.
"Ahhh yeah, true that." Trevor said before walking back.
Chloe got in the truck and went straight to her house, grumbling the entire time how it was a bad idea to go to the party. She looked over at Rachel who looked like she was sleeping except she seemed to be mumbling something but Chloe couldn't make it out.
"Hey, wake up!" Chloe shouted as they pulled into the driveway of Chloe's house.
Rachel groaned but seemed to be more responsive than she had been before.
"What?" She mumbled.
"We gotta get you inside but you have to be quite. It's late and step douche will kill me if you come in acting like this."
"I got this." Rachel slurred before opening her door and proceeding to nearly fall down as her feet touched the ground.
"Shit." Chloe cursed as she jumped out of the car and to help Rachel walk into the house.
Getting up to Chloe's room wasn't easy but they made it. Chloe dumped Rachel on her bed and by that point she was rubbing her head and starting to talk almost normally.
"I'm going to get you some water." Chloe told her.
"I could actually go for a beer." Rachel said.
"Do you not realized I had to practically carry you up those stairs?"
"Please." Rachel begged. "I'm feeling better now I promise."
Chloe sighed. "Fine but you have to drink the water first."
It was only a couple of minutes before Chloe was back only to find Rachel playing with the stereo.
"Don't play anything too loud or it'll be my ass that's in trouble." Chloe threatened.
Chloe handed Rachel a glass of water as she started playing some mix CD Chloe had made for her months ago. Rachel took one sip before putting the glass down on Chloe's desk.
"Dance with me." Rachel begged.
"Nope. You got your free dance out of me." Chloe said and sat on her bed. Chloe couldn't help but let her mind wander again to how good it felt to dance with Rachel at the party and she could feel her face turning red.
"Come on." Rachel slurred. "Dance with me, please."
"You're drunk." Chloe complained.
"You're high." Rachel countered.
"Fine." Chloe said, finally caving in.
Chloe got up from the bed and walked to the center of the room where Rachel was dancing by herself. As Chloe reached her the song changed to a slow one. Rachel giggled and wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck. Chloe sighed and felt her heart skip a beat as she placed her hands on Rachel's hips and swayed to the music with her.
It was a peaceful moment, them just dancing together. As they continued to sway to the music their bodies grew closer until Chloe could feel Rachel's breath on her neck. Rachel looked up at Chloe and they locked eyes as the air around them grew heavy.
Without much of a second thought Chloe closed the space between their lips as well as pulling Rachel's body toward hers. Rachel's arms were already around Chloe's shoulders but she moved to gently tangle her fingers in Chloe's hair. Chloe put all of her feelings in the kiss hoping Rachel could tell how she felt, and she must have because she kissed back, at least at first.
The next second Rachel pulled away and took a few steps back. Chloe felt her face turn red and she saw Rachel put her hand to her lip.
"I'm sorry." Chloe whispered.
"Chloe…" Rachel said softly.
"You don't have to say it."
"Chloe, you know I love you but-"
"I know, but not like that. I know." Chloe said a little angrier than she meant to.
"Hey," Rachel said softly and put a hand on Chloe's cheek. "You're my best friend and I would do anything for you."
"Then why did you kiss me back?" Chloe asked as she pulled away, running her fingers through her hair as she turned around and sat on the edge of her bed.
"Because…I don't know." Rachel said and looked down at the floor. "Cause it felt nice and maybe I just wanted to be kissed."
"That's not fair." Chloe argued.
"I know."
"I love you." Chloe whispered after a couple seconds of silence.
"I know." Rachel said quietly as she knelt in front of Chloe. "And I love you too, but not like that, not the way you want, not the way you deserve…One day I want to love someone they way you love me and I want you to find someone who's going to love you the same way. But I can't pretend, it wouldn't be fair to either of us."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"No…maybe." Rachel asked with a small chuckle and rested her forehead against the other girls.
Without another word they both got ready for bed. Rachel grabbed one of Chloe's shirts to sleep in while Chloe went and brushed her teeth. They both got into Chloe's bed and faced each other. The room was dark except for the moon light and the shine of the streetlights that came through the window.
Chloe closed her eyes and focused on the sound of Rachel's breathing. It wasn't long till she was drifting off to sleep.
"Chloe?" Rachel asked so quietly Chloe wasn't sure if she actually said anything.
"Hmm?"
"I think I might have done something bad."
Rachel she sounded so far away and Chloe was so tired.
"Like what?" Chloe mumbled.
"Something I might not be able to undo. Something that isn't going to end well for me."
"I forgive you, go to sleep." Chloe said and took hold of Rachel's hand to reassure her. "We can figure it out in the morning."
Chloe felt the bed shift as Rachel rolled onto her back. With her last bit of energy Chloe opened her eyes and looked at Rachel who was staring at the ceiling, she seemed more alert than she had all night.
The morning came all too soon and the moment Chloe opened her eyes she hissed at the invading sunlight. Chloe grabbed a pillow and put in over her head to block out the sound of some terrible neighbor up too early mowing his lawn.
Chloe looked over at the other side of the bed and it was empty. Rachel must have left before Chloe even woke up. With a groan Chloe felt guilt start to twist in the pit of her stomach. Stupid, so stupid. She had talked with Rachel several times about her feelings for her and every time she explained that she didn't feel the same.
Rolling out of bed she headed to the door when she spotted the shirt Rachel slept in last night on the floor.
So stupid.
Chloe sighed and grabbed her phone off her desk and checked for any messages but her phone was blank, no call or texts. Chloe dialed Rachel's number and braced for the worst but she never answered. After several rings it went right to voicemail.
"Hey, Rachel, uh I'm sorry about last night.…" Chloe sighed. "I know there's no excuse for what I did. I shouldn't have kissed you, I was being a shitty friend and you have every right to be pissed. I promise it'll be the last time. Just call me, ok? Bye."
When she hung up her phone she felt like shit but made her way downstairs. Chloe went straight to the coffee pot when she entered the kitchen and hardly noticed Joyce and David eating breakfast at the table.
"Nice of you to join us." David commented as Chloe took a sip of coffee.
Chloe rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Mom, did you see Rachel leave this morning?"
"No. I didn't see her, didn't even know she was here last night." Joyce said sounding a little annoyed.
"Alright." Chloe said and went back to her room.
Now she was starting to get nervous, why would Rachel leave so early?
Without wasting time Chloe threw on some clothes and headed for her truck. She had to find Rachel and talk to her or at least explain herself and apologize.
Chloe drove to all the usual places, Two Whales and the junkyard turned up empty. No one at the diner had seen her, except for the crazy lady who was always eating there by herself but Chloe didn't take anything she said too seriously.
At the junkyard Chloe sat in their hid out for a while waiting, hoping that she would show up eventually. Part of Chloe wanted to believe if she sat there long enough she would Rachel just walk through the door any moment. But as the sky grew cloudy she finally left but not before she started to get even more nervous and think that there was seriously something wrong.
Once in the truck Chloe thought of one person to turn too, even though the thought of it made her stomach churn. Chloe pulled out her phone and made a call.
"Chloe, what a surprise. But I'm glad you called, we have a lot to talk about." Frank said as he answered the phone, sounding way too pleased with himself.
"Yeah Frank." Chloe said uneasily. "Maybe another time. I need to find Rachel, have you seen or talked to her today?"
"No…why? What happened?" he asked sounding more upset than she had expected.
"Uh, nothing. She just left my house last night while I was sleeping and now she won't answer her phone." Chloe explained.
Frank was silent in the moment, "No, I haven't seen her."
"Not even a call?" Chloe asked desperately.
"No." Frank snapped. "And you know what next time you call me, you better be ready to talk about that money you owe me."
With that he hung up and Chloe sighed.
She was out of options, there was only one last place to check and Chloe didn't have a whole lot of hope Rachel would be there. The truck grumbled up the winding roads that climbed up the hills that over looked the bay.
Chloe reluctantly pulled her truck into the drive way of Rachel's house. She sat in her truck for a while before she got out. Chloe couldn't help but think about the first and only time she ever had diner at Rachel's house. It was a disaster. Rachel's parents had started fighting, her dad stormed out and her mom started crying right there at the dinner table before leaving and going to her room. After that Chloe never asked why Rachel always wanted to be at her house, not that her house was much better.
But she needed to talk to Rachel. Walking up the steps a knot formed in Chloe's stomach. She knocked on the door and held her breath.
Rachel's mom opened the door.
"Oh…hello, Chloe. What are you doing here?"
"Hi, is Rachel home?"
"No, not that I know of. I figured she was with you." Rachel's mom said with a laugh.
"No she left my house this morning while I was sleeping and I've been trying to find her all day."
"Well she's not home. I don't know where she is."
Chloe sighed and couldn't understand how calmly she admitted to not knowing where her child was.
"Do you mind if I run up to her room then? I left something up there last time I was here." Chloe asked. Maybe if she could get to Rachel's room she could figure out where she went.
But when she got to her room it looked the same way it always did. A mess, with clothes everywhere and posters all over the wall. It's didn't make sense, there should be clothes or a bag missing but as Chloe looked around everything seemed to still be there.
"She finally did it didn't she?" Rachel's dad asked smugly from the doorway.
"Did what?" Chloe asked turning around quickly as he startled her.
"Run away. God damn it." He said shaking his head as he entered the room and looked around too.
"It was only a matter of time." Rachel's mom said as she came up the stairs.
"No! She wouldn't run away. Not without me." Chloe shouted.
"Look, sweetie, I'm sure she'll be back in a couple of days when she runs out of money. You know how she is, so…dramatic." Rachel's dad said.
"Exactly, I doubt she can get far. I give it a few days at most. Why don't you go home and we'll call you when we see or hear from her. How does that sound?" Rachel's mom agreed.
Chloe felt rage build in her chest and she couldn't keep it in.
"You don't give a fuck about her." Chloe spat at them before pushing past them and storming out across their perfectly manicured lawn.
Chloe started her truck and pulled away with squeaking tires. Her anger was the only thing that kept her from breaking down as she drove. It felt like forever before she saw the familiar outline of her street. She could barely unlock the front door her hands were shaking so badly, her breathing heavy.
The house was empty when she entered and she walked over to the phone where her mom had written a note.
'Gone shopping be home soon.'
It suddenly felt like the walls were closing in and Chloe felt like she was going to scream. Without think she grabbed the vase on the table and threw it on the ground with a yell, shattering it into a million pieces.
Chloe went to her room and slammed the door. The room still felt too small so she opened the window, hoping it would help and she sat on her bed. Closing her eyes Chloe tried to focus on calming her breathing but her mind was still going too fast.
No one believed her.
Rachel was missing and no one seemed to care or even notice. She wouldn't have left Chloe without a word unless something terrible happened to her. They hadn't gone more than a day without talking to each other, Rachel wouldn't do something like this. Something was wrong and nobody could see it.
Chloe pulled out her phone with shaking hands. The screen lite up a picture of her and Rachel and Chloe felt her stomach drop.
Chloe dialed Rachel's number, it rang and rang until the voicemail message played, "Hey it's Rachel". Rachel's familiar voice came through the phone, Chloe was there when she got that phone and recorded that message. She could even hear her past self shouting something stupid in the background. Chloe's throat started to tighten and tears start to fill her eyes as her panic started to spread again.
Before the message beeped she hung up and dialed the number again and again. Every time there was no answer and she would hang up. Tears started to fall down Chloe's face and she began to breathe heavily. No matter how many time she called it was the same thing every time.
"Hey it's Rachel!" This time Chloe listened closely trying to absorb everything.
Rachel laughed at something Chloe had said. "Obviously I can't get to the phone cause I'm doing something super awesome…Chloe shut up!" Rachel's voice shouted and laughed again. "So leave a message and maybe I'll call you back. Bye!"
Chloe covered her face with one hand and held her phone tightly in the other.
"Rachel," Chloe said weakly into the phone. "I don't know if this is a joke. If it is it's not funny, not even close. I've looked everywhere for you and I don't know why you're not answering me. If you're mad please talk to me, I can change, I can do something, anything. "
The more Chloe talked the more it felt like she was speaking to a ghost.
"You can't do this to me." Chloe sobbed. "Not after what I've been through, after what we've been through. Not after my dad, not after Max. I'm sorry, so sorry. Please come home. I just want to talk to you."
Chloe took in shaky breath.
"Where are you?"
Thanks for reading!