"Holy shit, that concert was amazeballs!" Chloe cried out with excitement as she practically pranced ahead of her three friends.

"Sabaton is hella' awesome. That winged Hussars song kicked ass!" Rachel added in, her smooth voice much louder than usual. The girl's long blonde hair flew majestically through the air as she nimbly moved to catch up to Chloe. Kevin found himself so enchanted by the scene that he forgot about how deaf he was. There was no denying how god damned attractive Rachel Amber was.

All too used to all kinds of attention, Rachel noticed his stare and cast him a playful wink before setting her sights back on Chloe. The embarrassment of the moment thrust Kevin back to reality. Rachel and Chloe were definitely a 'thing', and even if they weren't, he had no chance with a girl like Rachel, none at all.

Luckily, Chloe hadn't noticed his lingering stare. She was very much the jealous type. The hot jealous type, to be specific. Chloe was, for lack of a better word, a punk. She wore almost exclusively black, badass leather boots, had her hair dyed bright blue, and wore a black beanie like an extension of herself. She was so badass that her necklace had three rifle-caliber bullets on it instead of a charm.

So hot.

Not Rachel Amber hot, but hot all the same. Especially when Chloe Price wore her customary shit-eating-grin, which was most of the time.

"Dude, whatever the fuck a 'Winged Hussar' is, I fucking want one!" Chloe exclaimed with a shout. Her face lit up with excitement as Rachel drew closer to her, the mutual attraction impossible to miss.

"The Winged Hussars were Polish Cavalry—" Kevin's history lesson was cut short when Chloe turned on him, a mask of confusion spreading across her face.

"Wait, fucking horses?" Had Chloe not heard him? She and Rachel had been much closer to the speakers during the concert than he and… shit, where's Max?

Kevin discovered Max lagging in the rear, her existence almost entirely unnoticeable due to her reserved and withdrawn presence. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kevin turned back to Chloe, resuming his explanation. "Yes, that's what cavalry are—"

"Then why the shit did they have wings?" Chloe's confusion quickly turned to annoyance as Kevin sighed deeply with frustration, his ears popping as he did so. Luckily for him, Rachel's musical laughter vanquished the brewing storm of Chloe's well-known ire.

"For decoration, silly." Rachel's simple explanation satisfied both parties, dispelling hostilities before they had a chance to erupt. Chloe rolled her eyes in Rachel's direction and grimaced. Her displeasure quickly vanished when Rachel practically threw herself at her paramour. Chloe deftly checked Rachel's rapid advance, bringing her into a warm embrace.

Kevin looked away, sure that he was blushing awkwardly. It wasn't that he was bothered by the two girls' display of affection, far from it. He simply didn't know what to do in situations such as this; girls were a mystery to him. Turning away from his companions, he noticed that Max had mimicked his hurried maneuver, her freckled face just as flushed as his probably was.

Max Caulfied was the 'new girl'. She had apparently lived in Arcadia Bay years ago and only just returned recently. And if Kevin understood the gossip, and he rarely did, she had been friends with Chloe Price long ago. Not that you would learn any of that from Max herself. She was the shyest, meekest person that Kevin had ever met. She was like him whenever he was around the adorable Kate Marsh, just all the time.

Kevin felt a wave of disappointment wash over his heart. He had invited Kate to the concert, but she had turned him down, politely of course. She had cited a myriad of entirely logical and believable excuses for her inability to accompany him, but they had crushed him all the same. Kate was way too down lately. He had thought, the moron he was, that Kate would have relished the chance to go to a concert to unwind a little, to get away from the stress of Blackwell Academy.

Why did I even bother to ask her? Of course, she said no…

"You okay?" Max's tiny, nearly inaudible voice broke Kevin away from his abusive thoughts. Her soft voice was hard enough to hear on a normal day, harder still through his still ringing ears. Luckily, even after a metal concert, his hearing was better than most.

"Yeah, totally! No worries!" Kevin's sudden enthusiasm did little to dispel the shroud of doubt plaguing Max's, admittedly cute, freckled face. If the she didn't spend her time hiding behind her light-brown hair and smiled once in a while, Kevin might have even called her pretty.

Kate was pretty.

"Oh… sorry." Max withdrew, retreating back inside the palpable mental shell that she projected around her petite form, protecting her from the world. Kevin mentally cursed and chastised himself for allowing his thoughts to wander to Kate in the presence of his date.

Max was his date tonight, right?

Was this a date?

Chloe and Rachel were most definitely treating tonight as a date, that was obvious. And Max had hung alarmingly close to him during the concert instead of joining Chloe and Rachel in the mosh pit. Not that he blamed her for not joining her friends. Sabaton fans weren't an overly rowdy bunch, but that mosh pit had seemed pretty intense. Definitely not a place for the mousy and frail Max Caulfield.

Were Max, Chloe, and Rachel friends? They had to be… Max had been Chloe's best friend years ago, or something like that, so they had to be, right?

Either way, date or not, Kevin was being a rude asshole for letting his thoughts drift to Kate while Max was his companion for the night.

"Don't be sorry, Max. That's my job as a Canadian. You don't have anything to apologize for anyway!" Kevin's words fell on deaf ears, possibly quite literally. Max simply shrugged to show that she had heard him, thrusting her tiny hands into gray hoodies pockets as she did so. Withdrawing entirely.

Shit… Canada jokes aren't working… What am I supposed to do now?

"Come on, you slowpokes!" Chloe yelled at the top of her lungs from far ahead. "Quit making out and catch the fuck up!" Chloe's unexpected words brought the fiery red tides of embarrassment crashing back to the surface. Kevin felt his face burn brighter than the damned sun, burning even brighter when he noticed a similar reaction on Max's face. The awkward pair hasted their stride as they made a desperate attempt to catch up to Chloe and Rachel. Neither spoke, nor dared to look at the other again.

Max's favorite part of the day was about to start. Her photography class was minutes away from beginning. Not that she would be able to hear much of the lesson today, her ears had barely recovered from the beating that Sabaton had forced upon them the previous night.

Why had she gone to that stupid concert anyway?

Dumb question, Chloe had gone. So, of course she had tagged along.

Slumping in her seat at the back of the half-empty classroom, Max felt her heart grow heavy. Max had made the uncharacteristically bold decision of returning to Arcadia Bay to finish her studies at Blackwell Academy just two weeks ago. Being home was somewhat refreshing. Being entirely free of her parents was a pleasant experience as well. But, as usual, fate had done its best to sour the good things in life.

Mark Jefferson, the primary reason why Max had chosen to attend Blackwell Academy to finish her studies, was not her teacher. It had been advertised that he was heading the new photography program at the illustrious institution, but fate was a cruel mistress. Mark Jefferson had apparently vanished. The story was still somewhat big in the news, even weeks after his disappearance.

Max had been a huge fan of his. The man's work was incredible, renowned within the world of photography. Now, to Max's unending disappointment, the world would never again be captured through the lens of a camera held by Mark Jefferson… if the rumors were true.

The investigation into his disappearance had ceased when evidence had turned up that he was dead. Whatever information that had been found hadn't been released to the public yet, but Max felt like it was true. It had to be true. Fate hated her enough to make it true.

Mr. Hans, an aging war veteran, who was a somewhat famous military photographer, was her teacher, instead of the world-famous Mark Jefferson. As the grim-looking man strode into the room, the already quiet room grew eerily silent. The old soldier grunted a greeting to the assembled students, glared at his watch menacingly, double checked the time with the room's clock, and thrust himself moodily into his chair at the front of the classroom. Max looked too. Mr. Hans had arrived precisely two minutes before the beginning of class, just as he always did.

Max's sorrows grew as she inspected the rough-looking man. A white beard covered most of his face, while a thin, graying mustache accented his thick upper lip. The man wore a pair of dark-green slacks and a faded, patched, equally green jacket that was almost buttoned up all the way, partially revealing a white undershirt. His shiny black boots and his black beret were the only items of his attire that looked well-kept, unlike the man himself.

Suddenly aware that he was being observed, Mr. Hans's hard gaze struck Max like a lightning bolt. Jolted by the intensity of his crystal blue eyes, Max hurriedly looked away, becoming keenly interested in her personal items strewn about her desk. Mr. Hans must have looked away, because Max felt like she could breathe again.

Collecting her thoughts, Max felt her heart sink further than it had before, her daily ritual of disappointment reminding her that Mark Jefferson's absence wasn't the most disheartening part of her return home.

Chloe Price was.

Chloe, Max's former best friend, the one person in the entire world that she had ever made a connection with, had a new best friend. A better best friend, in every way possible.

Rachel Amber was the most popular girl in the entire school. She was pretty, really pretty, impossibly beautiful, frustratingly gorgeous. She was almost universally liked, adored by all, smart, witty, outgoing, the polar opposite of Max in every way possible. Things got worse though, Chloe and Rachel were… a thing… or something.

Max hadn't been bothered with the rumors around school before last night. Now, Max felt the truth of the rumors deep inside of her gut. Strangely, the feeling hurt. A burrowing sensation of dread had been forcing its way around her bowels ever since she saw the pair sneak a quick kiss the previous night. Ever since that moment, Max had been fighting back a panic attack. Her woefully inadequate amount of sleep last night had done little to soothe her unraveling nerves.

The abrupt, loud shriek of the class bell nearly knocked Max out of her seat, wrenching her back to reality. Kevin came barreling into the room at the last second. Max found herself glaring at him as he made his way to his seat.

"Cutting it damned close, Mr. Anderson!" Mr. Hans growled irritably from his desk, spearing the now seated Kevin with his deadly gaze.

"I'm sorry, Professor Hans—" Kevin blurted out, but his words were instantly cut off.

"How many times do I have to tell you kids not to call me that. It's Gerrard, or Mr. Hans, if you can't manage that simple task… and don't apologize like a damned fool either! Now sit up straight and pay attention. Not one more peep out of you, understand? We've already wasted enough time on your tardiness, Mr. Anderson."

Kevin's posture, which was already ruler straight, somehow became straighter. Max was almost certain that she saw the hairs on the back of his neck go just as rigid. Max's anger towards her classmate vaporized, leaving a feeling of empty regret in its wake.

It wasn't Kevin's fault, he was kind and sweet. Sometimes irritably so, but still, he wasn't to blame for her current situation.

She was.

Roughly five years ago, Max's parents had dragged her away from her best friend in the entire world. Max's father had been given an amazing job in Seattle, but the timing had been awful. Chloe's father, William, a hero to Max, died in a car accident a few days before Max and her family were scheduled to leave for their new life in Seattle. Chloe lost her father, and then she lost her best friend.

To make things even worse, because that's what Max was good at doing, she had done a terrible job at keeping in touch with Chloe. Max wanted to explain, needed Chloe to understand why it had been so hard, but it was too late now. After that first missed text, that first forgotten phone call, a supernatural entity of shame had been born. With each failed long-distance rendezvous, it had grown, festered, feeding on Max's ineptitude. Max had tried to fight it, but the creature proved too strong, too consuming. In the end Max did the only thing that she had the strength to do, she gave up the struggle.

Chloe never left her thoughts during those years, but neither did the oppressive beast forcing them apart. Max had been so worried when she ran into Chloe on her first day at Blackwell that she nearly died of fright. She had expected that Chloe to be furious as her, and rightfully so. But she hadn't been. It had taken a few moments, but once the pair recognized one another, the beast within Max's thoughts shattered, defeated in an instant.

Unfortunately, just as the perfection of the reunion was reaching its crescendo, Rachel Amber eclipsed the light of the universe. Max picked up on Chloe's body language immediately, noticed how the pair gravitated towards one another, caught onto the way Chloe looked at Rachel. Five years ago, Chloe had looked at Max that way. Now all Chloe saw was a ghost from the past, a stranger. Max was certain of this.

Max had lost Chloe, and it was all her fault.

Drama class with Rachel was awesome. Rachel was awesome. Everything was awesome.

Chloe sighed impatiently as she repositioned herself against the wall in which she was slumped against outside the dressing room. Rachel always took forever.

Not everything was awesome, Chloe had to admit, but it didn't seem to matter when she was with Rachel. Her step-dad was still a step-douche, he probably always would be. School still sucked hard, except for drama and her science classes. Rachel's dad was still a lying scumbag. Arcadia Bay was still a giant stain on the map, and yet, Chloe and Rachel still hadn't left. There had been several false starts to their escape. Each time they would steel their resolve and prepare to set off into the sunset, only to back out at the last minute.

They still talked about escaping, just later, always later. It didn't really matter when, so long as they left together. As Chloe's thoughts wandered, she counted the pencils that were lodged into the ceiling at the far corner of the room. Were there more today, or less? This was Chloe's daily ritual. As she waited for Rachel to get her skinny, yet beautiful, ass back into her tight jeans, she counted pencils. And her mind meandered aimlessly.

Max was back. This was still a shock to her. Max was actually back. The ghost of her past had finally materialized into something real, something concrete. It had been weird at first, hell, it was still kind of weird. Chloe had wanted to yell and scream when she saw the mousy little girl for the first time in five years, either that or run and hide. Thank God for Rachel.

Rachel always knew what to do. While Chloe had stood there, paralyzed with indecision, Rachel had shoved her into movement. Rachel knew who Max was, knew who she had been. She knew of Chloe's anger towards her old friend, knew of the abandonment, even shared in the bitterness. But Rachel was perfect. She forgot all of that the day that Max had suddenly reappeared. Rachel had greeted Max like an old friend, the way Chloe should have done. Taking Rachel's lead, Chloe remembered how to be a human being and everything was now history.

Max was back.

The anger was still there, somewhere deep inside, but Chloe saw no need for it, so she ignored it. Max had always been shy as a kid, but it seemed that her time in Seattle had only made this worse. As far as Chloe could tell, Max wasn't making friends that quickly, even with Rachel's help. Rachel was friends with damn near everybody, even the stuck up spoiled rich kids like Nathan and Victoria. Rachel and Chloe had introduced Max to the nerdy gamers like Steph and Mikey, the artsy photography quacks like Evan and Kate, the book-worms like Alyssa and Samantha, and even Justin's skater posse. Nothing seemed to stick. That was until Kevin and Warren came along.

Chloe thought that Max would get along with the board gaming nerds, they were right up her alley! Steph and Mikey adored her too. However, it was the science nerd Warren, and his gaming buddy Kevin that Max seemed to warm up the most to. Well, they warmed to her or something, whatever, so long as she was making friends. But again, it was thanks to Rachel.

Rachel, bless her heart, had caught Kevin in the act of damn near proposing to Kate Marsh, and getting shot down. Rachel, with Chloe forcibly in tow, had expressed interest in Kevin's little concert. At the time, Chloe had groaned, the joke was on her though. Sabaton fucking rocked last night!

Kevin had politely responded, like the Canadian he is, that he only had one ticket. Rachel was already two steps ahead of him though. She was always two steps ahead of everyone. Except for Chloe, she was only one step ahead of her thank-you-very-much. Rachel had draped her slender arm around Kevin's shoulder and led the near terrified boy down the hall towards Max's locker and damn near shoved him at her. Somehow, disaster hadn't struck. Max had said yes, but only after catching on to the fact that Rachel and Chloe were going as well.

Chloe hadn't missed that little detail.

She also hadn't missed the look on Max's face when Rachel had kissed her.

What the hell was up with that?

Chloe wasn't sure, but it made her a little angry, but only a little, and only for a moment. Rachel was done changing, and, as usual, she looked fabulous.

The bell rang, releasing the students from their seats. As Kevin's classmates filed out of the room, he remained seated. Kevin was just as eager as the rest of his peers to flee the presence of the gruff Mr. Hans, he just had something else on his mind.

He had a plan.

A bold plan, a cunning plan, the best plan.

Turning to his right, he cast a quick glance over his shoulder.

The plan was ruined.

Not only had Kate seen him turning to look at her, but she and Max were talking. Worse, they were talking about him… they had to be!

Abort!

Kevin shot to his feet, hastily gathered his belongings, and bolted for the door. He didn't make it far.

"Mr. Anderson! Desk, now!"

Wincing at his teachers' words, Kevin spun on his heels. Not daring to glance at Kate again throughout the maneuver.

"Yes, Prof— Mr. Hans?" Kevin's late correction rewarded him with a stern glare, a silent, yet all too proficient reprimand.

"I suppose I should be thankful that you at least show some aptitude in learning… Now, about your tardiness—"

"It won't happen again, sir."

"See that it doesn't… and quit calling me sir while I'm still in a good mood," Mr. Hans said with a second glare. "Now get out of my sight before you say anything else that I'll regret."

Too afraid to say speak, lest he dig himself into a deeper hole than he was already in, Kevin turned and bolted for the safety of the door. He felt Kate's eyes on him the entire way.

Kate squeezed Max's hands and leaned in closer to the anxiety ridden girl. Lowering her voice so that the few people left in the classroom wouldn't hear her words, Kate smiled warmly at the freckled girl.

"Max, is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, Kate." Max answered hastily.

"Max… I know that we've only been friends for a short while, but you can tell me anything. It will stay between us. I'm not one to gossip, you know this." Kate's heart grew sad as Max forced a thin smile across her lips. Keeping her own smile as bright as possible, Kate continued to press Max. The poor girl was suffering, she could see it, feel it. Max was a gentle soul, and even though Kate knew that Max would never ask for help, she was going to get it.

"Come to me all—" Too far, Kate knew she had pressed Max too far. Even before Max withdrew her hands and stood.

"Kate, I have to go… I'll catch up with you later… sorry I'm bailing on our tea date… next time." Max's hurried words pained Kate further, but she didn't hold anything against Max. Most people, Kate had found, in their times of greatest need, often retreated into themselves instead of reaching out.

Watching Max go was hard, yet necessary. The girl would come to her when the time was right, and her need was great. Kate's knowledge of this didn't make her feel any comfort. It was hard to watch anyone suffer, especially someone as sweet as Max.

A flash of movement caught Kate's attention as someone dashed to the door at the front of the classroom. Smiling, she stood, Mr. Hans had certainly put the fear of God in someone today. Wondering who his latest victim had been, she approached her teacher, smiling warmly as he turned her way.

"Ah, Ms. Marsh, how's the flock today?"

"Troubled," Kate admitted with a heavy sigh, her smile waning.

"Cheer up, kid. You can't save everybody, so stop trying. It's a damn miracle you sorted Ms. Chase out the other day. Don't expect lightning to strike twice so soon." Her teacher shot a grim smile her way as he leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting firmly on his desk.

Victoria… Kate would never have guessed that anyone else that walked the earth would prove to be more difficult to reach than her, but it seemed like Max may yet prove her wrong.

"I appreciate your advice, as I always do, but I must try. Doing nothing… would be wrong." Her words received a stiff shrug, but Kate could tell that her teacher was chewing on his words. She waited patiently.

"Advice, eh? Well here's some more… During the war, I saw a lot of people wearing that same look that little Miss Caulfield was wearing as she slinked out of here. That girl is a ticking time bomb. Don't be next to her when she goes off. You hear me? I'll sort everything out, don't you worry."

Kate felt her spirits lift immeasurably, the sage veteran would most certainly be able to get through to Max if she couldn't

"Really?" She was so caught up in the moment that she only managed the one word.

"Yeah, I'll let Principle Wells know first chance I—"

"You can't!" Kate blurted out, surprising both herself and her teacher.

"Miss Marsh… it's been a long damned time since anyone has told me that I can't do something… but since it's you… I'll humor you. Go on, why can't I?" Leaning back in his chair, Mr. Hans folded his arms across his chest. It took a few moments for Kate to collect herself, that had been so out of character for her! She was certainly lucky that Mr. Hans treated her far better than he did most everyone else.

"I'm worried that she won't respond well to that. Right now, she needs a friend, a kindred spirit, a companion, not an authority figure that will misunderstand her and view her as a statistic," she said, pouring her heart and soul into her words.

"Alright, damn it, alright. Just don't go getting down on yourself when this whole crusade of yours explodes in your face… or when I say 'I told you so,' because I damned well will."

Kate sighed with relief and excused herself.

There was no time to waste.

Unfortunately, she hadn't the first clue on where to start. Biting her lower lip in frustration, Kate checked the time. Max would have to wait. Victoria was supposed to be stopping by her dorm sometime soon.

Chloe, she needed Chloe.

Max's heart hammered away inside of her chest, or was it in her ears… or her throat?

It didn't matter where it was, it needed her best friend.

Max was so worked up, that she had forgotten to start her music. Upon leaving the classroom, she shoved in her earbuds and set off towards the drama wing of the school. Chloe might still be there if she hurried. As her messenger bag bounced around behind her, Max withdrew her phone from the pocket of her jeans and started her music.

'To All of You' by Syd Matters flooded into her awaiting ears. It's soothing guitar melody eased her frantic mind. When the lyrics started, however, Max hurriedly skipped the song. Now was not the time to be listening to that song, not at all.

'Crosses' by Jose Gonzalez came on next. Poised to jump to the next song, Max relented. It was a sudden occurrence, but the song made her think of Kate, so she let it play. Max liked Kate. She was so sweet. She felt so bad for blowing her off like she did, but Max didn't want to do anything right now, be anywhere with anyone… other than Chloe.

Thoughts racing, Max hurried her way through the crowded half of Blackwell until her destination was in her sights: Mr. Keaton's drama class. Hoping that she hadn't already missed Chloe, Max rushed to the open door, and stopped.

Chloe was kissing Rachel. Not just a peck on the lips like the other night, no, this was something entirely different. The two girls were hungrily devouring each other's lips, desperately pouring their souls into one another. Chloe had Rachel pressed firmly up against the wall adjacent to the rear dressing room, entirely too preoccupied to notice Max watching her every move.

Max wanted to move, to run, to bolt, to hide from the nightmare before her, but she was frozen in place. Her chest ached, a pressure of staggering intensity weighed down upon her. Constricting and suffocating, it crushed her beneath an ocean of dread. The feeling only intensified as Rachel ran her fingers through Chloe's hair. Max could almost feel it herself, taste Chloe's lips, smell her the sweet sweat off her body.

The world came to a sudden halt when Rachel opened her eyes. Max could only see one of them, Chloe's head was blocking the other from view, but Rachel's one perfect eye saw Max. As Chloe withdrew from Rachel, Max saw a smile blossom across the girl's parted, flawless lips.

Max ran.

It hadn't been the look of pure ecstasy in Rachel's eye that had set her free from her invisible prison, nor the wicked smile that had formed on the girl's lips, it had been Chloe.

Chloe had started to turn.

What if Chloe had seen her? What would she have done? Would she have been angry? Would she have cared at all? Was Rachel going to tell her? How would Chloe react? Why was everyone so… blurry?

No, no, no! Not here, not in front of everyone!

Max tore through the halls, desperately trying to hold back her tears. The pain in her chest ravaged her, stealing her breath away. Once Max was outside, the air around her felt less heavy, less oppressive. The enchanting September morning brought her a brief respite. Slowing her pace, Max found that it was easier to breathe now that she was free of the constricting hallways of Blackwell. As Max walked, a burning sensation began to nip at her heels. Moving faster, Max tried to flee from it. As she steadily approached the dorms, the sensation spread.

Struggling with effort, Max opened the heavy door on the outside of her dorm building, only now realizing how weak she felt. She was so close, her dorm was just up the stairs. Crowded, the halls were too crowded. Even the stairwell offered her little respite. The stares, she couldn't stand them, people had to be staring. Max could clearly see the taunting looks surrounding her, even though she was blinded by tears.

Her door was just too far away, the hall kept getting longer. Longer and unstable. The icy fingers of fear clutched at Max's chest. She wasn't going to make it.

A soft melody tore through her fugue, lending her strength.

Kate!

The girl's door was slightly ajar, leaking out the sweet melodies of her violin to the world. Kate's room was miles closer to Max than her own room. The hallway shortened, and Max was now just outside Kate's room. All at once, Max was inside, sealing herself off from the rest of the world as she slammed the door behind her. The music stopped and Max heard Kate cry out in alarm as she sank to the floor. The tears flew forth on their accord. The tightness in her chest eased, if just barely. It felt good to give in. It was easier than trying to be strong.

Max felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her. It felt good to be held, even though she knew it wasn't Chloe.

It probably never would be.