I didn't ship Chloe and Rachel. But that was before I read TonightAppearance's masterpiece, The Road Not Taken. And now, I ship them more than I ship Chloe and Max. Seriously, go check it out. Everything about that story is amazing.
First written at 9:12, finished on 12:03 on the same day: Sunday, 3rd of March 2019. I did a bit of editing on 20:26, 16th of March 2019, just to wrap things up.
The two of them were on Rachel's bed. Rachel had worn a tank-top a size too small for her. It revealed her midriff. The shorts she wore was so short it should be an underwear. All on purpose.
She laid on her stomach, facing Chloe, pretending to be doing her math homework. Chloe was sitting cross-legged, leaning against the wall. Unlike Rachel, she actually was doing her math homework.
It was easy to forget that Chloe, in secret, loved studying. Especially with that punk getup and her 'fuck the world' attitude.
Heh. Nerd.
Where was she? Oh, yeah; trying to seduce Chloe and getting her to kiss her.
It should be easy. Rachel was a pro at this game. She'd learned how to flirt sooner than she'd learned how to walk and talk.
"Okay," she said, all too loud, causing Chloe to tilt her head to look at her. Yes. She got Chloe's attention. Rachel pushed herself up, giving Chloe a view men and women would die for. "So…"
Chloe, much to her disappointment, maintained eye-contact. Those blue eyes never travelled down to Rachel's you-know-what.
Chloe scrunched up her nose. "So?"
But Rachel was not a quitter.
With a flame of want dancing in her eyes, Rachel leaned further until she was laying on Chloe's lap. She pounced Chloe's damn math book aside, flattening Chloe's eyebrows. Chloe's only reaction was to blink and tilt her head to the side in a questioning manner. It lit up Rachel's ambers even brighter.
Rachel fluttered her long lashes and shifted left and right, making herself comfortable.
She then took her book and showed it to Chloe, using it to hide her mouth. "What do you think about this?"
Chloe hummed a low hum with a light rasp to it. "I think…"
Rachel licked her lips. "Yeah…?"
"I think… you got it all wrong." Chloe took Rachel's book away, revealing her dumbfounded face. Chloe tapped her pen on the page, her face dead-serious. "Seriously, Rach. I thought I told you to multiply everything by the number of the denominator. That way, it'll be easier for you to figure X out."
The only coherent word Rachel could form was "what?"
Chloe looked down on her, wearing a playful smile. "Got that, star-student?"
"... Right. Yeah, I got it." She didn't, but she was too confused to say so. Instead, she took the offered book, retreating to her former position.
In defeat, Rachel went back to pretending she understood these math gibberish.
What the fuck was that?! That trick always worked with everyone she flirted with! Why didn't Chloe react at all?! Was she that clueless?
In the end, thinking it over gave Rachel a headache. Knowing that this homework was due tomorrow, she should start working on it.
"... Umm, Chloe?"
"Rachel?"
"What's… a denominator?"
A tired sigh. "The bottom half of the fraction, Rach."
"Oh."
… Nerd.
…
They were walking on the empty street at night. The 'feels' of it reminded her of the Tempest incident months ago. Everything had been so magical, Rachel had given Chloe her bracelet. She'd felt like they could burn the world down and get away with it.
It was one of her fondest memories.
Rachel, holding her hand, walked in a stronger pace, adopting that 'I can take on anything!' posture. Chloe, one or two feet behind her, strolled in a more casual and slower way, showing a more 'Whatever' posture.
It was time to start her plan. This time, it must work.
"Aww, man. Totally forgot to bring my jacket." Her free hand clutched her forearm, rubbing it. Rachel, the drama kid, acted her shivering. It was convincing enough to worry Chloe. "It's so cold out here."
She was quite excited when Chloe let go of her hand.
Turning around, Rachel found a jacket thrown right onto her face.
Well... that excitement was quick to get squashed down.
"There you go" was Chloe's disinterested response.
Rachel pulled the offending fabric away from her face and stomped her foot.
"Chloeeee."
"What?" Chloe's confusion and worry looked genuine. Rachel would've found it cute and heartwarming if not for the situation.
"I need to you to share your body heat with me!" she said, feeling her cheeks burning.
Chloe's eyes went wide, a small grin forming that intensified the heat in Rachel's cheeks. "What?"
"Your body heat! We have to, like, hug and make out together while walking or else I'll die of hyperthermia!"
"It's hypothermia, Rach." Was that what Chloe was focusing on? Seriously?! Chloe's amusement faded away, and a more thoughtful look painted her enchanting face. "Well, if you're freezing…"
Chloe shifted her weight from one foot to the other, biting her lip. She then ran a hand through her dyed blue hair. It was a small tick of hers that always made Rachel's heart go wild because, damn, that's hot. Chloe scratched her chin, her eyes squinting with something behind them.
Rachel waited, her lungs refusing to inhale nor exhale.
The glow of the streetlamp above them casted a unique look to Chloe's form. It made her look like an art rather than a human like the rest of them.
"Then… we should get inside." Chloe smiled a beautiful smile. "I'll make us coffee. We can watch horror movies and shit. It'll be fun."
When Rachel gave a slow nod, Chloe's smile brightened. Chloe took her hand and they walked the opposite direction, back to Chloe's place. This time, it was Chloe who took the lead and Rachel followed behind.
Once her brain started working, Rachel realised that, yes, Chloe didn't get the hint again. She, under her breath, whispered, "Idiot. Absolute fucking idiot."
Chloe, always so attentive and always so precious, looked over her shoulder. "What's that, Rach?"
Fucking- "NOTHING!"
…
Rachel had had enough. She was tired of this bullshit. She wanted Chloe to be hers. She wanted it as soon as possible.
She was sweating, pacing around Chloe's room, hugging herself. "Chloe, I have to tell you something."
Chloe, sprawled out on her bed, taking her time pushing herself up, cigarette in one hand. She frowned, worried, upon noticing the disheveled state Rachel was in.
Rachel took a breath intended to be deep and calming and focusing. It ended up being shaky and forced, causing her to cough and choke on her own breath.
"Whoa, Rach. You okay there, girl?"
This is so fucking humiliating, thought Rachel as she tried to get her breath - along with at least half of her wits - back.
Rachel twirled a lock of her tangled hair, nervous. She wasn't wearing any make-up so she was sure she looked kind of pale and less attractive than she usually was. Her eyes must've looked manic, because Chloe looked worried.
It was now or never.
"Chloe…"
"Yeah…?"
"I…"
She closed her eyes, her body going rigid. After another shaky breath, she finally said what she'd wanted to say for months.
"I love you."
A beat passed.
Then another.
Then, Rachel heard a soft "oh" sound. She opened her eyes, finding Chloe holding her cigarette. A small trail of smoke came out of her mouth, hovering across her face, giving her this misty look, if that made sense.
Chloe gave her a smile too pure for a punk rebel.
"You're a cool girl too, Rach. Love you too."
All rational thoughts ceased.
"... Oh, fuck it!"
And so, Rachel marched towards Chloe and gave her the most passionate kiss ever, ending the mark of friendship, starting a new mark of more kisses, more hugs, and more kisses.
…
One day, Rachel admitted that she wasn't sure Chloe was going to kiss back that day. The day she'd taken the leap of faith and kiss her out of the blue.
Chloe's response was… annoying, to say the least.
"Jeez, you didn't know I was into you?" A chuckle and a shake of the head, coming from Chloe. "You're so clueless, Rach."
Rachel stared.
"... Fuck you, Chloe."
This is the first time I used Hemingway Editor instead of Grammarly. So far, I really like it. I discovered that I write sentences too long and I use too many unnecessary adverbs that can be replaced by stronger verbs.
Wowzers. I think I'll use it on one-shots only, since it does get a little tiring to use.
I also tried not to use dialogue tags, and when I do, I stuck to "said" only, because dialogue tags, no matter how smart it makes you feel when you use them, usually distracts the readers and messes their reading experience. So... yeah. Only use dialogue tags when it's necessary.
I'd recommend it for everyone. It's great, and best of all, free.
Ciao~
