Between The Red and Blue
Chapter 1 - I Can Tell We're Gonna Be Friends

Fall is here, hear the yell
Back to school, ring the bell
Brand new shoes, walking blues
Climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we are going to be friends
I can tell that we are going to be friends

Our story began on September 2nd 2002 in Arcadia Bay, Oregon. It was a quiet town, set on the West Coast of America, barely two hours from the social hub that was Portland, which had almost everything from cosy cafes and coffee places, to old book stores, all the way through to bars, clubs, and strip clubs.

But Arcadia Bay had none of those. It was a small town, barely a thirty minute walk from one end to the other. It overlooked a small beach and port, with a lighthouse perched on a cliff at one end of the town, with farmland situated at the other side. The main Street overlooked the Fishing Port, which played host to various truckers, fishermen, and sailors as they docked, looking for a place to call home for however long they stayed. And, where Portland had its fancy cafes and coffee houses, Arcadia was home to the one and only Two Whales' Diner, which attracted students from the local Private College, locals, and visitors alike with its home-made comfort food.

A little further in-land was Arcadia Bay Elementary School, catering for children from Preschool all the way through to Fifth Grade, before they moved onto the Arcadia Bay Middle School, which was situated only a few blocks away from the Elementary. Then, upon graduating, children would either transfer to Arcadia High, which was adjacent to the Middle School, or attend Blackwell Academy, a more distinguished establishment which catered to students from all over the country.

But, of course, our story starts at the very beginning. It is a story of friendship, loyalty, and most importantly, unconditional love between two girls. And it all started with a chance meeting in the schoolyard of Arcadia Elementary.

In the front courtyard of the Elementary School, a little girl shuffled alongside her mother and father, clutching onto her teddy bear in one hand, and her mother's larger hand in the other. She was wearing a pink woollen sweater, baby-blue jeans, and a white jacket. Her hair was a soft brown, pulled back into two pigtails which were held in place by two white ribbons, tied into bows.

"Mom, do I have to go…?" The girl mumbled, staring up at the school with terrified azure eyes, which was widened in pure fear of the unknown. She'd known kids that had gone to school and hated every second of it. She'd also had friends that had left Kindergarten and never kept in touch, seemingly gobbled up by the school's everyday hustle and bustle. And that scared her beyond words, enough to make her dig her heels into the pavement as they walked, slowing down her paces considerably. "W-what if… What if no one likes me..? What if I don't make friends…?"

"Oh, Maxine, don't be so silly." Her mother replied, almost dragging along her daughter by then, her face filled with annoyance at her daughter's behaviour. She was a small-ish woman with mousy-brown hair, which was always pushed back off of one shoulder. "You'll be okay once you get inside and meet your classmates and teacher."

Vanessa didn't know where this was all coming from, what with Maxine usually being a happy-go-lucky little girl. Sure, she had been described as quiet by her Pre-School and Kindergarten teachers. But she'd never had a problem thus far getting her to actually go into the school. In fact, although they'd had comments saying that Maxine had trouble with concentration and sitting still, she'd always been a good student, with a genuine love for school.

When she was still met with resistance from the six-year-old, Vanessa looked around to her husband for some sort of help, an exhausted expression written clearly on her face, as if to say 'help me out here!'.

Ryan Caulfield was the complete opposite of his wife in every way. Where Vanessa was small, he was exceptionally tall. Where Vanessa was slender to the point of being scrawny, he was well-built. He had grown out a large beard only the year before, and that coupled with his plaid shirts made him look like more of a lumberjack than he'd probably originally intended. However, despite appearances, he was indeed a gentle man who held nothing but love in his heart for his family, in particular his wife and daughter.

He moved forward and stood in front of Maxine, kneeling down so he could talk to her properly, and taking both of her tiny hands in his larger ones, his eyes softening towards her. "Maxine…" He started gently, squeezing her hands lovingly, and running his thumbs over her knuckles. "Honey, you know we don't like making you do anything you don't want to do… In fact, we want you to be able to make your own choices, and be able to tell people 'no'… But when it comes to going to school, you need to go… You understand me, pumpkin?"

Maxine's face fell, and Ryan's thumb moved up to wipe away a single tear rolling down her cheek, before the girl slowly, reluctantly, nodded her head; her pigtails bobbing a little with the movement. Her toe gently ran over the ground, scuffing her sneakers even more than they already were in the process.

"That's my girl… Let's get in there, Pumpkin… You go show these other kids just how smart you are…" Ryan smiled, standing up and keeping tight hold of his daughter's hand, as all three of them walked inside, with Maxine trailing between the two adults sadly; still scared, but more confident now than she'd been before, determined to see the day through.

The first set of morning lessons passed far too slowly for the six-year-old. They seemed to span an entire lifetime, as opposed to the two hours they actually took, eventually ending for morning recess, the entirety of the class pouring out onto the playground, cheering happily at the top of their lungs, most of them running to the jungle-gym or the ball-cart, throwing themselves into whatever activity they'd chosen.

All except one.

Maxine Caulfield had wandered off on her own, with a small egg carton in her hands that had a hole cut into the side, acting as a lens, and an eyepiece sticking out of the top, which she'd made from a TP tube and stuck down with craft tape. It wasn't amazing by any means, but it was something she'd done for months now; playing 'photographer' with her parents, in which she'd find an image and draw it for them, presenting them with the 'photo' once she'd finished.

And she'd set off with the exact same intention, determined to present her mom and dad with a picture when the day ended, come rain or shine.

During their first lesson of English, she'd spent the majority of it staring out of the window wistfully at one particular part of the school grounds; secluded enough to not be disturbed, and shadowed by trees, but open enough to be able to at least see the other children and hear their happy yelling. So when she'd trotted out with her picture in mind, she'd made her way straight to that spot, looking around in complete awe.

It was perfect.

Quickly, she set up; finding the perfect angle through her 'camera' and pulling out her drawing book from her bag, and getting to work, the soft scraping of pencil on paper being the only sound she cared to listen to for what seemed to be the longest time. She always seemed to lose herself in more practical tasks, liking something to keep her hands busy and her brain occupied. Her parents had even bought her a fidget toy to try and help her concentrate in class, in an effort to improve her feedback from Kindergarten teachers. And it had worked for a while. But then a kid had snuck it out of Max's backpack at lunch, and decided to swallow one of the moving parts.

Both of the children's parents, and the teachers, were not impressed to say the least.

So instead she stuck to the less dangerous task of drawing.

Well, she would have done. That's If three of the boys in her class (who she hadn't had chance to learn the names of quite yet) hadn't made themselves known, sidling over into the grass and snatching up the 'camera' and Max's 'photo' with sneers on their faces, evidently pleased with themselves at disturbing her.

"Well, well, well, look here boys!" One of them grinned, laughing menacingly, almost as if he was trying to act like some big villain from a cartoon, with the comical way he set his hands on his hips and pushed out his chest, each 'ha' coming out enunciated and harsh. "It's the new girl!"

He knelt down and took the picture from one of his cronies, waving it in front of Max almost tauntingly. "What'cha doin' new girl? Drawing a pretty picture for mommy and daddy?" He almost spat, hissing the words 'New Girl' in a way that could only mean something bad, causing Max to flinch in anticipation of being hit. This wasn't good.

This was not good at all.

She'd only ever dealt with one case of bullying, and it had started in almost exactly the same way, back in Pre-K, except the bully was a girl, not a boy. She'd made Max's life absolute hell for months before it had been found out, with Max walking out of the day-care that night with the biggest, blackest shiner any four year old could have.

Her mother and father had gone ballistic, and that was the last thing she wanted. Ever since that day, her life had been made a living hell by the other kids at day-care, branding her a 'baby' and a 'mommy's girl'. Of course, she hadn't let it bother her back then, but that was only because she'd had maybe two months before they were due to finish.

If her mother started screaming at the school, she'd be branded with those names for life, or at least until they moved up to Middle School. But even then, there was only one of those in Arcadia Bay. The only way she'd ever be away from it is if she were somehow lucky enough to go to Blackwell; the town's elite, private high school, but even then she'd never be lucky enough to even dream about attending.

But now here she was, being almost growled at by a group of boys, with her eyes wide, and her face paling by the second. "P-Please… Please leave me alone…" She managed to mutter, her voice quieter than usual, thus making it barely audible over the sounds of the other children playing. "I-I… I just wanted to draw something for my mom…"

The wanna-be-leader of the group of boys forced another laugh, holding up the picture again and quirking an eyebrow at her. "Oh, this? This piece of poop? You call this a picture?" He chided, his voice oozing fake curiosity, before his hand clenched around the paper, wrinkling it in his palm until it was a ball, throwing it down in front of the cowering girl's face, who was crying by this time, tears falling slowly down her face.

The bully snorted when he noticed, and knelt down, his face inches from hers, snarling out his next words. "Oh, look… You're such a baby… Your picture wasn't good anyw—"

His words were cut off by footsteps in the foliage behind them, and he turned, paling immediately at the sight. Max noticed his sudden silence and sniffed, rubbing at her eyes to clear her teary vision, before looking up, her eyes locking onto the intruder.

It was a girl; a year or two older than them, standing with her hands on her hips. Her hair had been pulled back into a loose ponytail, and she was wearing a t-shirt beneath a blue plaid shirt, with a pair of cargo shorts and white (albeit muddy) sneakers. Her eyes were the brightest blue Max had ever seen, and only stood out more when coupled with her strawberry blonde hair.

She was… terrifying. At least with the expression of pure loathing that was written clearly on her face at that precise moment. Her hands were balled into fists, and her brow furrowed, glaring at the three boys in front of her as if her life depended on it.

"Leave her alone!" She snarled, taking a large, heavy step forward, which had all three boys (and Max) scuffling backwards, out of pure fear. Somehow, in the sudden scrambling to get away from the incoming girl, Max somehow managed to scrape down her knee and graze her hand, causing a hiss to fall from her lips.

"W-what're you going to do about it? You're only a girl!" The leader of the group of boys retorted, still standing with his back pressed into his friends, forming almost a triangle formation by now with them, slowly backing away as the girl advanced.

"I'm a girl who can kick your butts into next century if you don't stop picking on her!" She replied instantly, her hands clenching and unclenching now, cracking her knuckles menacingly as she did so. Max wasn't sure, looking up at her looming form, whether she was serious or not; but the boys seemed to make their minds up instantly, shaking their heads and scampering away whilst mumbling between themselves about the 'stupid girl who thinks she owns the school'.

Max gulped, looking down in embarrassment at the leaves below her, noting the crumpled up picture lying useless on the ground, balled up and trodden on. She reached out slowly, her fingers closing around it and pulling it up to her chest, her face scrunching up in an attempt to hold in her emotions. So far, school had been a nightmare; and it was only the first day. Plus, coupling this with the stabbing pain running down her leg from her knee, it wasn't helping things at all.

The other girl rounded, her eyes falling onto the small brunette in the grass, sidling over a little awkwardly, before kneeling down, reaching out tentatively to take the picture into her own hands. The blue eyes that had previously been filled with absolute anger and contempt towards the boys were now filled with concern and tenderness, evidently concerned about the girl in front of her.

"Hey… I'm sorry about those guys. They were just being idiots for the sake of it." She said softly, having gently pried the picture from the shorter girl's fingers, carefully starting to unwrap it from it's ball. "My name's Chloe. Chloe Price. What's yours?" She prodded, pushing the picture against her thigh now and attempting to flatten it down, to no avail.

Max gulped, and looked up (finally) into the blonde's eyes, locking for only a moment before she spoke, her voice almost inaudible. "M-Max… Max Caulfield…"

Chloe smiled softly, tucking some blonde hair that had fallen from her ponytail back behind her ear, gesturing to Max's knee with a sigh. "Well, 'Max Caulfield'," She started, extending a hand and offering it out to help the other girl up, standing up at the same time. "It seems like you've got a nasty cut on your knee… Y'should go see the nurse to get it looked at."

The brunette gulped, allowing herself to be helped up with a small grunt, a hiss coming from her when she put even the smallest amount of pressure onto her knee, which had now left a trail of blood flowing down the front of her leg, directly down the centre of her shin. Normally, she would have been in full-on panic attack mode at the blood; having developed a phobia when she was younger. But now…? She felt like she had to prove herself to the other girl, that she wasn't so much of a wimp that she cried at the sight of a little bit of her own blood.

She gulped audibly again, before looking up at Chloe, with there being quite a bit of height difference. "I, Uh… It's my first day… I don't know where it—where anything is."

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed, before her face lit with recognition and a little sympathy, her arm immediately reaching out to wrap around Max's shoulders, giving her a small tug in the direction of the school. "C'mon, Max. I got you covered. I'll walk you back to class afterwards, too."

True to her word, Chloe did in fact escort her newly acquired friend to the nurse's office, who had simply cleaned and dressed the cut on Max's knee with a colourful Band-Aid, and giving the girl a lollipop for 'being brave'.

Of course, this had embarrassed Max to no end, especially seeing as Chloe had stayed with her for the trip to the nurse's office. She'd only just met the girl, and she was already embarrassing herself in front of her; all because she was too much of a scaredy-cat to stand up for herself against those bullies.

The taller, older girl smiled as they walked the hallways, making sure to glance around her every so often to ensure that the boys wouldn't return to finish up whatever they were doing. Her hands were stuffed in her pockets, and her head held high on the way back towards the first grade classrooms, only two or three doors past the door to her own.

"Listen," The blonde girl started as they reached the door marked 'Mrs Easton', turning on her heel to lean against the doorway, while leaving enough room for Max to get through when she wanted to. "I couldn't help but notice you were playing alone out there… So, if you want then, maybe we could sit together at lunch? I mean—I get it if you don't want to, and you wanna play on your own. But I thought—"

"I'd love to!" Max's words cut off her tangent, before Chloe had chance to get too side-tracked too far off course. The brown haired girl's freckled cheeks immediately darkened with a slight blush, noting how her words could have come across as a little… desperate, at best. But, honestly, even with her only knowing Chloe for their morning recess, she somehow trusted her to not judge her, or make fun of her.

The theory was only further backed up when a grin spread across the blonde's lips, revealing a large gap where one of her teeth should have been (had that been there earlier?! Max hadn't even noticed, in the entire scuffle that had gone down).

"It's a date! See 'ya later, Max! I'll save you a seat!"

And with that, she was gone, turning on her heel as she disappeared down the corridor. There was a small flash of blonde hair as she whipped around into her own classroom, leaving Max alone in her wake. Then, the bell rang, signalling the start of class, and the brunette grinned as she walked inside to take her seat.

'I just made a new friend…' she thought, as other students began to file in. Even the bullies who'd been pestering her outside couldn't bring her down.

Surely enough, 12:30 rolled around slower than Max would have either liked or wanted it to, with her next two morning lessons (Math and Geography – ugh) dragging by at a snail's pace. When the school bell rang yet again, signalling the beginning of lunch, Max was the first in her class to stand up from her desk, and was surely enough the first out of the door; her lunchbox swinging in her hand as she happily marched towards the lunch room.

Though the school wasn't huge by any means, Max's new-kid status meant that she was delayed for around ten minutes thanks to taking a wrong turn and ending up with the sixth-graders, who'd simply laughed at her misfortune, before turning her away. So, thus, by the time she'd managed to loop back around to where the lunch room was, It was almost full to the brim. So much so, that Max's shoulders dropped in disappointment at her first pass of the cafeteria, her eyes scanning the rows and rows of heads, only to come up with nothing in the way of her new friend.

She was about to give up, her shoulders low in defeat as she dragged her way to the corner, where there was a few other kids already sitting, alone, and not making eye contact with each other. 'Good going, Max. First friend at School and she's already—'

"Max!"

That voice was unmistakeable, and the young brunette whipped around, her eyes immediately catching the shock of blonde hair above a group of kindergarteners. Max's face almost instantly lit up, and she pushed her way through the crowd, until eventually managing to reach Chloe. The older girl's earlier lunch due to her higher grade seemed to have come in handy, meaning she'd been able to snag one of the small tables on the very far edge of the room, away from most of the other students.

"About time! I thought I was gonna have to send out a search party for you!" Chloe grinned as the younger girl finally reached the table, sitting down with her lunchbox swiftly being placed onto the table. Max's face seemed to have turned a dangerous shade of red in pure embarrassment. The older girl noticed, and quirked an eyebrow, concern spreading on her expression. "Hey, you know I was only joking, right? There's nothing bad about getting lost on the way here. My dad said that everyone gets lost at least one time in school."

"Like," She looked around, as if searching for answers on the lunch room walls. Honestly, she felt so bad for the girl in front of her. First day in school, and she'd been almost beaten up, taken a trip to the nurse's office, and gotten lost on her way to the lunch room. "My mom always says that 'bad things come in threes' whatever that means. So you've, like, maxed out your 'bad thing' allowance already."

It took a moment for Chloe to realize the pun, after a grin spread out slowly on Max's freckled face, as she attempted to hide it behind the lid of her Lion King lunchbox. "I guess I have 'maxed' it out…"

Chloe's jaw dropped, and her eyes narrowed playfully, before she huffed, and grabbed one of the garden peas from her tray, using her spoon to flick it in the other girl's direction. When it bounced directly off of the brunette's forehead, earning only a laugh in return.

Then, the blonde's eyes landed on Max's lunchbox, and her eyes widened in excitement. "You like Lion King?! Me too!"

Max's blue eyes trailed down to the bright blue box on the table, halfway through a bite of her Peanut Butter-Banana sandwich (her favourite sandwich of all time – as long as the crusts were cut off thoroughly), before she nodded happily, swallowing the mouthful of food as she spoke. "Yeah! It's my favourite Disney movie! My mom said I should like all the princess ones, but I really like Lion King."

"My mom says the same!" Chloe grinned, picking up her own sandwich, and taking a bite. A small grimace followed, and she tentatively set it down, picking up one of the slices of bread with a small, disappointed groan. "Ewww… I told her I don't like Cheese and Pickle…"

Not even a split second later, a crustless sandwich was held out, hovering above Chloe's lunch bag by a small, freckled hand. Chloe looked up and followed the arm to the source, finding Max's smirking face at the other end, a knowing look in her blue eyes.

"It's okay. I never finish the whole thing, anyway." She explained with a shrug, placing the food down beside Chloe's, before it retracted back to her own half, picking it up once again.

"T-thanks… I… Uh… She normally remembers but… She works a lot more lately." Chloe mumbled, blushing a little as she picked up the sandwich. She sent another small, embarrassed yet grateful smile towards Max, one thought running through her head as she tucked in to her sandwich.

'… I like this girl… I like this girl a lot…'

"Yarrrr! Land 'ho Long Max Silver!" Chloe grinned, standing atop one of the overturned logs that the school used as benches with her 'sword' (which, in reality, was a twig) extended, one eye closed, and her free hand on her hip. "We rescued the fair maiden from the scurvy dogs, and found our Pirate booty! Drop anchor and mast ye sails, our voyage be done!"

"Aye aye, Captain Price!" The brunette grinned in response, a giggle falling from her lips as she fell down against the bench, spent from all the adventuring that recess had consisted of. The whole Pirate-ing business was, in fact, more difficult than TV shows and movies made it look.

Captain Chloe Price and her First Mate Long Max Silver had set off from 'The Bay of Arcadia' with a quest from their Pirate King, to find the buried booty and rescue their daughter from a crew of evil pirates. Sword-Fighting, Rigging their ship, a run-in with pirate-hungry Sirens, and one happy ending later, the girls had collapsed with grins on their faces, content after all the excitement of their new-found friendship coupled with the story they'd played out.

"That-" Max panted, her hand moving up to flip up her eye patch, so it rested upwards on her forehead, the skull and crossbones design no longer visible. Her freckled face was a little redder than usual, sweat starting to sheen on her freckled skin. "- was so fun! Best recess ever!"

The blonde girl, now adorned with her own pirate hat, laughed alongside her as she plopped down, sweaty and panting. Her blue eyes turned to the side, locking onto the side of Max's face, her smile never seeming to leave her own. "Yeah, it was! We should play together every recess! We could be cavewomen, scientists, astronauts, Rockstars—Max, are you okay?"

Blonde brows furrowed and Chloe sat forward in her seat, worried suddenly at the expression that had formed on Max's face. It was one of a mix of shock and (what she thought was) worry, which immediately had the young blonde on high-alert. After all, she'd been called 'bossy' before by teachers. What if she'd pushed away her new friend already? After one recess? Aw man, this was wh—

"No, no, I'm okay, it's just—" Max started, cutting off both Chloe's thoughts along with her own sentence, taking a deep breath as if trying to form the words to orate her thoughts. God, she didn't want to mess anything up… "Are you sure…? People used to do this thing last year where they'd, uh… pretend to be my friend.. And then they'd pick on me and—"

"… What…?" The word came from Chloe before she could even stop it, brow even more furrowed by that point, with her head quirked to the side, and her ponytail hanging even looser than it initially had been before they'd started playing. "Max, I… I wouldn't do that to you… You know I wouldn't, right…?"

When she saw the smaller girl's hesitation once again flood onto her face, Chloe's heart dropped, and she turned her entire body, tucking one leg beneath her in the process, before reaching out to take her new friend's hand, giving it a firm squeeze when she tried to pull away. "Max, I promise you, I won't do that. I promise. I want to be your friend—I really do. More than anything. And I promise you that anyone who tries to hurt you again – like them boys this morning… I'll protect you."

Max looked up, eyes filling with happy tears as the blonde girl spoke—simply from the sheer amount of genuineness she saw pouring from the blue eyes staring back at her. In all of her life, no one had been so honest with her, except her mom and dad, of course. "Y-you promise…? Y-you wanna be my friend…? For real…?"

"Yeah, for real." Came Chloe's response. Her hand moved so they were gripping each other's firmly, thumbs locked across each other, with their fingers on the back of each other's hands—like in the play her mom dragged her to see the year before. "There. My mom took me to see this play last year… And it was about two boys who promised that they'd be best friends forever by holding hands like this. I promise you, Max. I'll be your best friend forever… But only if you want me to be."

Max was awestruck—here she was, a loner, shy, nervous girl who barely even said two words the entire time she'd been in class, with a girl who was so loud, and confident, and just so excitable… And she actually wanted to be her friend. For real. No lies and no joking. She had no idea what to say, or how to even react, other than to nod her head, and accept the firm hug that was suddenly thrown around her skinny form, her free hand that hadn't been encased in Chloe's moving up to clutch at the back of the older girl's shirt, with Chloe's voice muttering something or other. But there was only one thought that was on Max's mind at that particular moment, running rife as genuine happiness consumed her.

'I have a best friend… I actually have a best friend… I don't have to be alone anymore…'

Whatever may have come afterwards was suddenly interrupted, however, by the sudden sound of a teacher approaching them, her entire expression giving away just how angry she truly, truly was. "Chloe Elizabeth Price, I have been looking for you for five minutes! Didn't you hear the bell?! Get to class this minute and put away those toys!" She yelled, standing a good fifteen feet from the pair with her hands firmly resting on her hips, giving the typical 'scolding teacher' glare to the two girls.

The blonde girl, it seemed, had no other choice but to comply, giving her new friend one last squeeze before she stood. "See you later, Max! Meet you here tomorrow, yeah?" She called over her shoulder as she ran towards her teacher, who grabbed her shirt and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the school building, Max's eyes trained on her the entire time.

Just as they reached the door, though, the blonde girl stopped and glanced over her shoulder at the playground, her own eyes locking onto Max almost immediately through the crowd of first graders that were still playing, before she sent a small, excited wave. Then, it seemed that her teacher once again yelled, as with one last look behind, she disappeared, the door closing behind her.

"… I'll be right here…" Max muttered to herself, a smile forming, with a sense of warmth flooding through her that she'd have initially thought impossible at the start of recess. She set down her eyepatch, balling it up in her pocket to put away once they were taken back inside, thumbing it almost lovingly. "I promise, Chloe… Forever and ever…"

Tonight I'll dream while in my bed
When silly thoughts go through my head
About the bugs and alphabet
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
That you and I will walk together again
I can tell that we are going to be friends
I can tell that we are going to be friends

A/N:

Wellllllllllll I said i would get this up at some point this year. And I kept good to that promise.

I guess you could say it's overdue- this little piece has been in the works since March (I think), with other chapters having been planned out. But with the release of Before The Storm, and general life getting in the way, it had to take a seat on the back-burner.

But now I have time, I can finally write this up and get it out to you guys! So... Yay!

Please feel free to leave feedback for me, and to leave situations you'd like to see me write out. I have a rough idea of where I WANT this to go, already, but the journey and how I get the story there? That's completely down to what people want to see.

Thank y'all for reading! Hope to update soon!

See 'ya,
Amy :)