Greetings one and all to another song-based story. This one is based off of a song by the very talented Hayley Kiyoko, This Side Of Paradise. Unlike my first story, At A Glance, this one actually has a clear enough path that I want to take it down. I hope I can keep it that way :) Of course, I'll be sure to tell you guys if anything changes!
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~False start, ya sleepyhead
I'm caught up in the day with my night dreams
And my mistakes...~
It's early morning in Arcadia Bay, no later than eight o'clock. The usual traffic is active outside with the usual honking and pleasant calls of 'good morning' and 'hey'. It's a somewhat cloudy day, which results in only minor sunlight streaming into bedroom windows. One window in particular has a curtain that casts the sunlight in multicolor on a teenage punk's floor and bed. Her head was buried under her pillow and her blankets were haphazardly tangled around her legs.
But she was awake. Well, for the most part. She was in that middle space of alertness and unconsciousness. She could hear the birds outside her window and could see her dreams forming before her eyes at the same time. It was really the only rest she'd ever get. The only kind of rest she's gotten in the past five years. Chloe Price could never properly get to sleep no matter what she tried. And if she did, it wasn't for long. Sometimes she didn't mind not sleeping, though. Because she hated her dreams. They wouldn't leave her alone, and it made her want to drown her brain in bleach.
Like the one she had last night.
It was about her father. The day he... She didn't want to think of the word. But it hurt no matter what. If only her mother didn't need a ride home that day. He'd still be around. She blames her mother for that. Didn't speak to her for weeks. She refused to even look at her. She knew she was being harsh, and she knew she was being unreasonable. But how could she see she was wrong when her heart was broken?
A chime from her phone caused Chloe to start a bit and groan quietly. The blue haired girl turned over onto her side facing the wall. She reached down and picked her phone up off of a box below and brought the device up to her face. She shifted onto her back and rubbed her eyes with her free hand to clear the sleep from them. When the phone came back into focus, Chloe saw that she had one new text message. Who has the nerve to text her this early in the morning?
Cursing under her breath, Chloe unlocked her phone and opened up the message. Her anger dissipated when she saw who it was.
Rachel: get your ass up girl
Chloe rolled her eyes.
Chloe: and what if I don't?
Rachel: just get up
Chloe: but its fucking monday
Rachel: you big baby. get up and be over here in 30.
Chloe groaned again and sat up, stretching her arms over her head. She ran a hand through her hair. Rachel was lucky she was Chloe's best friend, otherwise she would cuss her out for making her get up this early. Chloe detangled her legs from the blanket and stood up, leaving her phone on the bed.
The fuck does she want anyway?
Chloe walked over to her closet, sulking as she did so. She roughly yanked open the door and scanned her exhausted gaze over her wardrobe. She could go with the usual, her Misfit Skull tank, torn black jeans, leather jacket and purple beanie. Or, she could change it up a bit. No one really cared anyway what she wore. So long as it wasn't overly revealing, her mother never got on her case about it. Not that she'd have to worry. Chloe wasn't that kind of girl.
After a thoroughly wasted four minutes of looking through her clothes, she settled on a light blue button down flannel (deciding to leave it unbuttoned), a black t-shirt, blue jeans with minor tears, and a red cap that she'd wear backwards. She was feeling more tomboyish than punk that day. She gathered her choice of outfit and wandered towards the bathroom.
"Oh, Chloe."
Joyce was exiting her room just as Chloe started to enter the bathroom. She was already in her uniform and was finishing pinning up erh hair. Chloe looked at her, her grumpy expression still set in place. "I'm surprised to see you up this early. Especially on a Monday."
Chloe scoffed. "Rachel texted me." It came out harsher than she'd meant it to, and the huskiness of her voice didn't help.
Of course, Joyce knew how her daughter was. "Rachel? How's she doin'?"
"Fine, mom." Chloe was growing impatient. The longer she stood here making small talk with her mother, the more aggravated she would get. "Can I go shower now?"
"Alright, alright. I'm off to work, so I'll see you later." Joyce kissed Chloe's cheek, and Chloe kept herself from flinching away. It wasn't anything against her mother, it was just too early. "I love you, darlin'."
"Love you, too." Chloe said.
As soon as her mother turned away from her, Chloe closed the bathroom door behind her and set her stuff on the basin of the sink. She turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature to one she could manage. She undressed and climbed in, sighing contentedly when the water hit her skin. Aside from coffee, this was the next best thing to wake Chloe up.
I wonder if Joyce made coffee this morning. she thought as she started washing her hair. Her hair was fading and her roots were starting to come in again. She made a mental note to redye it later.
Ten minutes later, Chloe was toweling herself off and getting dressed. She grabbed a comb and ran it through her still slightly damp locks and topped her head with the red hat. A brief once over in the mirror and Chloe went back to her room, tossing her pajamas in the direction of her duffle bag she used for dirty clothes. It was overflowing. She needed to do laundry. She grabbed her phone just as it vibrated and sounded that she had a message. She checked it.
Rachel: better be on your way
Chloe: keep your panties on, im headed out the door now
She tucked her phone in her pocket and snatched up her keys from her desk. Just as she went for the door, she turned to look at her bed to a small metal box sticking out from under it. Chloe rocked on her heels for a second before giving in to her instinct. She crossed to her bed and knelt down, pulling the box out. It had a number lock on it. She put in the code and the lock came undone. Chloe removed it and opened the box. She reached in and pulled out her 'little toy', as she sometimes referred to it being.
A shiny black pistol.
Chloe flipped open the bullet chamber.
Three bullets. Sweet.
Chloe put the lock back in place and tucked the box back under it. She stood and tucked the gun in the waistband of her jeans, using her shirt to cover it. With that taken care of, Chloe left the house.
Fifteen minutes later, she's pulling into the Blackwell Academy parking lot. She drove around it a bit before thinking 'Fuck it' and carelessly double parked in the handicapped spot. She wouldn't be long anyway. It didn't matter either way, she simply didn't give a fuck. Chloe climbed out of the cab of her truck, slamming the door behind her intentionally. If she had to be out and about, and be hella pissed about it, she wanted to let people know.
Chloe headed up the stairs, casting sideways glances in both directions. If there was any chance of her step-douche being around, she wanted to be ready to take cover. With each step she took, she glanced the other way. When she looked to the left, and didn't see what was coming from the right.
"Look out!"
She didn't hear it quick enough. Just as she looked, she saw a flash of green crash into her. Chloe stumbled back, heard a clattering sound, a loud "oof!" and something hit her ankle. She turned to look at the newcomer, eyes blazing and hands clenched.
"Watch where the fuck you're going-"
Chloe froze. Her sentence caught in her throat. Her arms and hands loosened. Sitting on the ground was a girl, not too much younger than Chloe herself. She was definitely smaller, with short brown hair sticking out from her green helmet. She was wearing a pink shirt with a doe on it that read Jane and light gray jeans with a similar colored jacket. She was rubbing her wrist and her expression was twisted in pain, from what Chloe could see since her head was cast down.
"Shit, are you okay?!"
A boy came running up behind the girl. He had scraggly brown hair, a blue shirt with a box saying Meow, and blue jeans on. He knelt down beside the girl, his arms going around her to help her up. The girl winced and looked up at the boy. Chloe's heart seized. She had freckles dusting her cheeks and her eyes were a captivating blue, though slighter darker than Chloe's.
"Yeah, I'm okay, Warren." the girl said. "My wrist just hurts."
It was then that Chloe heard her name being called from behind her. When she looked she saw Rachel coming her way, grinning ear to ear. She waved she she saw that Chloe recognized her. Chloe could feel the eyes of the girl and Warren boring into her, but she couldn't make herself act on it.
"Hey, Max- woah." Rachel said when she reached them, the smile on her face disappearing. "What happened here?"
Chloe snapped back into her senses. "She ran into me." She mentally kicked herself when she realized her voice hadn't caught up with her composure. It camed out annoyed and tense.
"It-it was an accident." Max said meekly. A blush appeared on her face. "I tried to warn her... but I was too late."
Rachel rested a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Calm down, bulldog. It was an accident. Max is the most accident-prone chick I know." Rachel laughed when Max looked down. "Chloe, this is Max Caulfield and Warren Graham. Guys, Chloe Price."
"Nice to meet you." Warren said.
"Hi." Max said. Chloe felt a stab in her chest when she figured out that Max was avoiding looking her in the eyes. She must've scared the poor girl when she yelled.
"I'm...sorry, for going off." Chloe said. She tried to make her voice softer, be more careful with her words. She added a reassuring smile to the mix. "It's just been that kind of morning, y'know?"
She felt instant relief when a shy smile graced Max's features and she nodded. Rachel cleared her throat and leaned over Chloe's shoulder. "We'd better be going and you need to get some ice on your wrist. I'll catch you dudes later."
Before she turned away, Chloe looked down to see what hit her ankle. It was Max's skateboard. She bent down and picked it up, still looking at it before giving her attention to Max. She held the board out to her. "Here."
Max took the board with her good hand and finally properly locked gazes with Chloe. Her blue eyes were wary, but intrigued at the same time. Chloe could look into them all day.
"Thank you." Max said.
Chloe felt Rachel's hand grab her by her elbow and tug impatiently. "Come on, Chloe."
The bluenette gave in and turned away from Max, walking away from the scene with Rachel. Rachel smirked as she tucked her hands in her pocket. "Nice first impression, Price."
"Why have you never mentioned this Max girl before?" Chloe found herself asking. The thought didn't even process before it was out of her mouth.
"Aww, don't be jealous Chlo." Rachel teased. "She's just a girl in my photography and Calculus class."
"Still." Chloe huffed.
"What? Are you getting a crush on her or something?" The snicker under Rachel's tone was obvious and Chloe rolled her eyes.
"You're fucking ridiculous." she said, but chuckled herself.
"But you're not denying it!"
"Whatever."
The conversation drifted from there and Chloe couldn't help but look back. When she did, she could see Max and Warren heading in the direction of the school, probably on their way to the nurse. Warren had taken Max's skateboard and had it tuked under his arm. Even from the distance she was at, she could see that Warren was talking. But she could also see that Max wasn't paying him any attention.
Because she was looking back at Chloe.
...
That's all for this chapter! I hope you liked it and if you did, then please leave a favorite, follow or review! They're much appreciated :)
Also, I know that Max says "can't skate worth shit", but I had this vision in my mind of Max actually on a skateboard and doing pretty okay until she crashes into something (or someone, I.e Chloe.)
CaptainVampireQueen awaaay!
