Switching up from my usual Gotham stories, I love life is strange so much that I had to write a story on my two favs.

Yellow streaks crawled its way into her room, having no problem invading her space as it laid across her face, the light hitting her in the eye. She groaned. Rolling away from the sun Chloe hung on the edge of her bed. She knew what awaited her today and was already dreading every moment of it. Long painful hours at Blackwell. Blowing the hair out of her eyes she lazily glanced at her cloak. The tiny black box confirming her grief, it was definitely Tuesday. Her head dropped back into her pillow attempting to block everything out. Going to Blackwell was equavilant to taking a trip through hell. Filled with fake people, snobby people, rich people and shitty people. How she got a place was the universe's way of saying 'fuck you'. "Chloe! Get up you're gonna be late!" Her mom's voice bombarded its way into her room uninvited. She didn't bother move. Sensing her defiance she was persistent. "Chloe I mean it! Now!" A much louder groan erupted from her throat as she reluctantly lifted her head back up. It was best for her to start moving or else her mom would send Sergeant Dickward into her room. And that would damper her already gloom mood. Forcing her bones to move, she dragged herself off the bed. Her limbs clicking with every movement.

Rummaging through her drawers she put on her best 'go fuck yourself' outfit that she could find. She could see the blankness in her eyes as she gazed at her reflection. Enthusiasm and motivation long gone two years ago. The all too familiar of loss flooded through her, switching her gaze over to her dad's old jacket hung by the door. "Maybe today won't be too bad." She tried. And failed. The tone leaving her bitter. False optimism was not her style, realistic and blunt was more like it. "Chloe!" Her mom interrupted once again. Huffing out a sigh she yelled back. "I'm coming!" She took her time going downstairs. Trudging down slower and slower with each step she took.

Like she gave a shit about her Blackwell attendance.

"I'm telling you Joyce you can't keep treating her so easily." Reaching the last step she rolled her eyes. David's gruff voice greeting her first thing in the morning. Oh joy. "Raising her like this... It isn't helping."

"I think mom's raising me just fine." Glaring at him dead in the eye, she shut down any remarks he had left. She hated him with every fibre in her being. She despised his stupid checkered shirt he tucked in, his rough bushy moustache and commanding voice. She would never understand what her mom saw in him, he was the complete opposite of her dad. Everyday he was there in her house. Every morning, every evening, every dinner, seeing his face so much pissed her off to the core. What did he think he was doing, moving in? Over her dead body. He scoffed, all of his attention instantly zoned onto her. "You're a stoner."

"And you're a dick." She countered. Adding the heat to their flame. She wanted to crush him so bad but her mother would never allow it. Before he could fire back Joyce jumped in. "Now that's enough." She said sternly. "Chloe watch your language." As much as she loved her mother why did she fail to see she was dealing with an asshole. Not bothering to reply she carelessly shrugged as a response. "I made breakfast. Grab yourself a plate." As appealing the food looked, the stacks of pancakes, yellow eggs and fresh bread, her appetite was long gone. "I'm not really hungry."

"I haven't seen you eating much lately. Should I be worried."

A exasperated sigh falls past her mouth before she could stop herself. "Nope. Just not feeling it." Sending a accusing look at David's way she smirked as he clenched his jaw.

"Make sure you have something to eat at school then." As if she would trust the food there. Well's hate her so much she wouldn't be surprised if he tried to poison her.

"Speaking of it's time to get going, Chloe, punctuality is the most important. And i'm sure your mother wouldn't want another phone call about how your skipping again. Your grades are bad enough truancy is unacceptable." Zoning out halfway through his lecture, she purposely failed to acknowledge him. Staring at the wall where her dad's picture used to hang. She hated how her mom tucked them away as if they never existed. "Chloe are you even paying attention?"

She snorted. "Like I give a shit." She muttered.

"I beg your pardon young lady." His voice cold demanding, daring her to say it again. She was never one to back down from a challenge, especially from him.

"Like. I. Give. A. Shit." She spoke loud and clear for him. She was done with him and his bullshit. The house suddenly suffocating. She needed a clear head, her mind barely functioning so early in the morning. Displaying him with a quick middle finger she backed out of the room. Swinging open the door before slamming it shut behind her. It was quiet per usual in Arcadia Bay, a slight warm wind breezed through her hair causal whizzing away through town to whatever destination it pleased, freely. What she wouldn't give to get the fuck out of Arcadia Bay. People mistook the quiet as peace but all she felt was insanity, the silence slowly sucking her soul dry. Even if she did manage to find a way to escape where would she go? And how would she get there? Not to mention she was broke as shit. She heard the door open behind her and frowned. Promising if David tried to chew her out one more time she would not hesitate to kick him straight in the-

"Chloe." Her mother's voice soothed over her thoughts making her less tense. There was still a chance for her to get lectured, but if it was by her she could take it. Turning halfway to her she waited for her judgmental tone to reach her ears. But it didn't come. "Come on, let's get you to school." It took her a moment to realize she was holding David's keys.

The entire drive was quiet and she rather preferred it this way. She needed to mentally prepare for the torture that was two blocks ahead of her. She could already hear principles Well's droning voice in her head. He was almost a bigger jackass than David. Almost.

Well's didn't give a shit about anything or anyone. Unless that thing had Prescott plastered all over it. Somehow he gave even less of a shit about her, not that it surprised her, she's been going against him since day one.

Pulling up in front of the school Chloe eyed the obnoxiously tall build, seeing different students crossing paths, chatting mindless carp to their friends, fitting right in with their cliques. Nothing was more cliche than school. Stepping out of the car, closing it unnecessarily slow, giving her mother the puppy eyes the entire time hoping she'd rethink this decision and allow her to leave, back in the coziness of her bed, isolated from the rest of the world. But all she received in return was an eye roll, a quick blow of a kiss and her mom's foot pressing against the gas, the car accelerating away leaving her in the dust.

Fuck.

On the top of the steps she watched everyone interact. Like she said before everyone had their usual packs. The jocks, science geeks, web geeks, geeks geeks, mean girls, skaters, cheerleaders and art dorks. Herself didn't really have any friends so she didn't have her own clique. She hungout with whoever she could tolerate with the longest. Like Justin. Together the pair would just get stoned and sometimes it would be really good fun. But other than that she classified as the outcast/loner/mute. On the level of the social ladder she was placed right at the bottom, above the creepers. Not that she had a problem with it. She thought cliques were full of bullshit anyway. She couldn't see herself wanting to hang out with prestige assholes like Nathan Prescott and Victoria Chase. The thought alone made her want to throw up.

Speaking of assholes, Nathan Prescott caught her eye. In his high quality red sweater that looked like it cost more than anything she's ever owned, it looked like he got the shit end of the stick again with the jocks. The team have been pretty pissed off lately ever since Nathan joined the team. Or brought his way in. People had a lot of mixed feelings about the guy. She personally put him on her own hate list. He was an elitist prick, walked around like he owned the place, which he pretty much did. He could do whatever he wanted whenever.

He could bring a gun to school and Well's wouldn't even bat and eye. The thought lingered.

The bell rang signalling class and she slumped her shoulder even lower than possible, watching everyone flood their way inside, buzzing with energy that was so foreign to her. She made sure to drag her feet as she moved forward.

Invisibility was her main ability at Blackwell, nobody could care less what she was up to. Unless she was finding ways to tick off Well's. She didn't want to be there. She would happily kick back and watch the place burn. Alas, that was yet to happen. She wanted to skip. Really badly. What she wouldn't give to ditch, but to her misfortune she was already in the hot seat for it. With David and Well's so far up her ass she wasn't able to go to the bathroom without someone monitoring her.

Shuffling into science she took her normal seat at the back beside the window. Despite her passionate love for science, she didn't see the point in excelling in the subject at Blackwell. "Hey Chloe." Looking up at whoever dared to greet her she allowed her narrowed eyes to soften. It was just Steph. Steph wasn't exactly a friend but she also didn't share the same relationship her and Justin had. The day Steph became a stoner, hell surely would freeze over. No, Steph was a huge dork. Loving video games and playing tabletop with Mikey. On occasions Chloe would sit with them at lunch if she was in the mood to socialize. "Sup Steph, how's it going."

She shrugged. "Not much. Mikey got completely crushed playing tabletop today. You should have seen his face."

"I guess the universe wanted me to miss out on all the fun."

"I bet you were just too lazy to get up."

"Yeah, that too."

She rolled her eyes. Sliding onto the stool at the table ahead of her, she waited for the lesson to start. Her blunt nails tapped against the hard surface as the bell went off again, Miss Grant entering with a bright smile the class began to settle. She started her lecture on how 'extraordinary' today was going to be and that was enough for Chloe to zone out. Staring out the window her mind wandered into nothing. Watching a lone leaf detach itself off a tree, spiralling down to the earth. Max would have took a picture of that. Would have called it 'the earths wisdom' or some shit. She mused. The thought of her old friend plopped her into a sea of emptiness. She hadn't thought of her for a while now. Hadn't even written in her journal a good two months either. She guessed it was because not much was happening anymore. Nothing was changing, her life was still a piece of crap.

"What is the most common isotope of hydrogen?" Miss Grant questioned.

Protium, duh. Sometimes science was too easy for her. "If you know the answer why isn't you hand raised?" The smooth voice next to her made her jump. Nobody was supposed to sit next to her. How did they even know what she was thinking? Whipping her head around her question was easily confirmed. Of course he would know what she was thinking since he was after all in her head. Her dad sat on the stool beside her. A smile gracing on his lips. She cursed herself. Now wasn't the time for her mind to conjure up her dad. He wasn't real. Facing forwards she made a point to ignore him. "What, you ignoring me now?" He mocked offense.

"I don't want to talk right now." She muttered, keeping her voice low so no one could hear. Last thing she wanted was people thinking she was clinically insane.

"Maybe I wanted to talk."

"You can't just pop up whenever you feel like it. I'm in school."

"I can tell you're really into your studies." Chloe snorted in amusement, earning the attention of a boy with messy brown hair diagonal to her. Giving her a confused look she sent him her most withering glare making him turn around. "How scary." William commented. "Try it on me and I might just go away." His blue eyes and open check shirt made her soften her gaze.

"I suppose you can stick around a little while longer." A calm silence wrapped around the pair like a blanket and they stayed that way until the lesson was almost over. With her head facing the board she still wasn't paying attention to a word Miss Grant was saying, but she didn't care, for the time her mind was stable. She could still see her dad in the corner of her eye. Sitting and listening like he was a regular student. "I have this feeling." He whispered, as if anyone else could hear him.

She decided to play along. "What?"

"Something spectacular is going to happen... today."

"David getting hit by a car. That would be a true miracle."

He shook his head. "No. Something life changing. For you." She scoffed. If David losing one of his limbs by he end of the day wasn't life changing then it wasn't worth it. Maybe Max would suddenly pop back into her life or she'll be lucky to get a one way ticket out of Arcadia. Both odds seemed unrealistic to her. Questioning what her dad was even talking about when she turned to ask him he was gone. And shortly after the bell went. Students filed out of the room, rushing to their next lesson as she stared at the now empty stool.

The rest of the day was as it was expected to be a bore. Sitting at a desk for so long with nothing to do made her super agitated. Counting down the minutes till lunch she couldn't wait to go out and have a smoke. All the built up stress from the morning was yearning to be released as a puffy cloud of smoke. The second that bell rang she was the first one out the door. Speeding along the corridors, other students poured out of their classes. Moving up and down the narrow space like traffic. Rounding the corner her body collided with something small. There was a blur of blonde and blue before a horrified shriek burst her ears. She gave the person a irritated look, giving her full recognition who she bumped into. Victoria. "Ugh! This is an original Dontè sweater! You stupid clutz." Eyeing up at the culprit, Victoria looked Chloe up and down like an insect before a connection clicked in her brain. "Kari?-"

"Chloe."

"Do you have any idea what you've done." There was a big coffee stain on the centre of her sweater. She pointed at it as if she committed a felony. "This is a-"

"Dontè sweater, whatever. I'm sure you have fifty more in different colours all lined up in you prestige closet. In other words I couldn't give a shit Victoria."

"You should watch how you speak to me. I could ruin you." Like her life wasn't already a pile of shit. Victoria had this thing inserted in her small deluded mind where she thought she was Miss Popular, number one on the social ladder and the best at everything. But the sad truth of that was she wasn't. Not even remotely. She's seen how crap she was at science and if Chloe wanted too she could totally put her to shame. For rigged and obvious reasons Nathan was on top and no one had enough power to knock him down. Victoria still classed as 'one of them', she was invited to their stupid raves, sat at their table at lunch, picked on anyone beneath her (Chloe was included), and had a stick so far up her ass that it was amazing she was still standing. But she would never be the main girl, because that position was already filled. And it killed her. Chloe must have zoned out by they Victoria's lips where still moving but no words were reaching her. Judging by the deep frown and disgusted scrunch in her nose she wasn't done being over dramatic.

So Chloe decided to cut her tantrum short and barge past her. Victoria yelled something close to her name as she broke through the double doors.

Patting down her pockets she came into contact with her lighter and cigarettes. Lightly tucking the cancer-stick between her lips she attempted to make her lighter obey her wishes. The cheap lighter sparked but no flame. Come on, I need you. Finally, after a couple more clicks the orange flame burst out of it's prison, greedily bringing it forward she inhaled deeply. Allowing the smoke to curl in her lungs before blowing it out to the wind. Her muscles relaxed. Time seemed to stand still. She entertained herself, blowing smoke rings and watching them fade into nothing. She couldn't help but think how easy it would be for her to hop over the small silver fence into the world. Go the the park, take a trip down the beach, chill on the train tracks, literally anything would be better than being in Blackwell. She knew a short cut to that lighthouse at the edge of town? The idea tempted her. A bit of the ocean breeze would surely calm her down, especially from her dad's random freak appearance earlier.

She made a mental note to keep that in check. She didn't need her mom catching her and be convinced by Porn-stache to send her to a shrink.

She did have twenty minutes to kill and she doubted anyone would care if she was at least ten minutes late for her next class. So it wasn't total truancy. Just a smidge.

Flicking the end of her cigarette to the ground, Chloe grinded her foot into the earth. Her mind made up as she approached the fence, stepping over it with ease. Proceeding to be extra cocky with her victory she gave the academy a heartfelt middle finger. No longer feeling as trapped she let out a refreshing breath. Briskly walking across town she followed up the path to the park. Counting every pink cobble stone contrasting with the white. Finally, she embarked on the fresh greenery of the forest, tall trees, wild bushes, rough bark, everything she related to.

Exploring the deep forest dropped her in her bright youthful days, reminiscing the times she craved adventure searching for buried treasure with Max and her pirate hat. Those were the days. Maybe if she was lucky within the deep forest she'll find some gold coins and skip town. That's been a very tempting dream, leaving. Even if she did leave where would she even go? She didn't know or see a lot of the world. She remembered her dad wanting to take her to Paris. To see the stars and eat a shit-load of cheese. But now, the idea of the Eiffel tower made her nauseous. A lot of things made her sick now.

She was getting side tracked. Raising her left hand to her face, she read the black bold words she wrote in marker. Get to the lighthouse. Clearing her head she recalled her whereabouts. A small trek up hill and I'll be there in no time. Easy.

Nothing was ever easy for her. The universe didn't do easy. All it knew how to do was be ten times more difficult than it already was.

A cry. Muffled but loud whimper shook her to the core as it yelled out to her within the trees. It seemed panicked, frantically trying to gain someone's attention before there was a long deafening pause. A huge part of her was hoping she imagined it. Grasping for an explanation as to why her mind would conjure up such a noise. But soon there was low voices, mumbles that set her on edge. She knew the forest was a public area but in the middle of a school day on a Tuesday afternoon she expected to be relatively alone. Right now she most definitely was not alone. Twigs cracked in the middle of the silence. Heating up the anticipation she felt bubbling in her stomach. "Come on! Get it moving!" A demanding voiced boomed forward. She took a step back, like the echo was forcing her back. Pretty soon she spotted three silhouettes coming towards her. And that was enough for her to turn the other way. She managed to take three short paces without being caught, resulting in keeping herself hidden away behind a thick bulky tree. The dullness of her clothes blended in with the shadows and blandness of the forest. She thanked the heavens her mom hadn't talked her into wearing brighter clothes. As the trio got closer she could see them more clearly, all evidently contrasting one another.

Tied and raw, one stumbled along the grass forcefully pushed to move forward. Limp and skinny resembling a snake. His beady eyes pleaded at the others. Tape stuck across his mouth restricting him from speaking. That explained the muffled cries.

Another, brooding and tough. One look was enough to know he was not someone you would want to mess with. From his long arm tattoos each representing something she wasn't keen on finding out. He leered down at the skinny man, unfazed like it was his typical Tuesday afternoon. His stance, his walk, the gruff grunt he would let out randomly screamed he meant business. For a split second her hear stopped beating thinking they made eye contact, but instead he looked right through her.

Finally, the last guy looked so out of place with his grey suit and black tie. His raven black hair slicked back in a style of someone important. He was more skittish and nervous. Cautiously glancing at the tough guy with the tattoos. Out of all the weird shit she'd seen this had to be the most sketchy. The man's muffled cry burst through the air again and was rewarded with a harsh blow at the back of his head, causing him to stagger forward onto his knees. "For Christ sakes, Damon, is that really necessary." The one in the suit pleaded. Pulling a handchief out of his pocket he patted the sweat off his brow.

Damon? Why did that sound so... familiar.

"Calm yourself down fancy pants. Unless you wanna get us caught." Looking around the forest he looked satisfied with their location. "As for you, I want you to shut the fuck up." He spat in the begging man's face.

"We don't have to do this... we could just- just do something else."

"No. We do this my way." Ripping the tape off his mouth the man yelled in pain. "You know why your here." That wasn't a question. He whispered, refusing to meet his dark gaze.

"Damon... please. It's not what you think-" his answer didn't please Damon in the slightest. His hand cutting his plea short, closing in around his throat. He choked.

"Are you fucking with me, Gabriel!" Damon hissed. Having no issue getting in his space. "A little birdy told me that you've been running your mouth to the wrong people. And because of this I have lost a lot of money!"

"It was a mistake- I swear. Damon-" he begged, he gasped, his words fumbled. All the while Damon's annoyance grew.

"I can't allow snitches to go around unpunished. What kind of reputation would I make?" From his back pocket he revealed a thick blade, waving it in front of the man's face who instantly paled. Struggling against his tight grip.

The man in the suit took a large step back. "Damon! This is not what I agreed too. Put that down!" His command went unheard.

His name suddenly clicked together like a puzzle. Damon Merrick. As in Frank's partner Damon Merrick? The biggest gangster and drug dealer in Arcadia. His reputation was known for being dangerous. Psychotic. Whenever she asked about him people would claim up and avoid the topic. You would have to be all different shades of fucked up to have that kind of terror. Even now, she was getting chills just looking at him.

It was like everything happened in slow motion. The protesting yells, the desperate cries, thrashing and struggling. His blade thrusting forward meeting its target, piercing past his skin into his gut. And then red. There was blood lots of blood. The victim's body went limp, collapsing onto the blanket of muddy leaves and grass.

Holy shit!

Without meaning to Chloe gasped. Taking a frightened step back her foot landed on a twig with a sharp snap. Unfortunately, that sound caught both of their attention, and she'd never regretted something so much in her life.

"Who the fuck is out there!" Bloody knife still in hand, he moved forward. He couldn't spot her exact location but a few more steps and it'll be impossible for her to go unnoticed.

Perfect time to get the fuck out of there.

Scraping up any courage she could salvage she made a break away from the scene. Her legs taking long strides, she'd never been so thankful to be lanky. From behind her she heard Damon yell at her retreating form. Her heart hammered against her chest. Not daring to look back in case they were right on her trail. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Huffing out short breaths she could feel her legs begin to weaken, her energy lowing. Against her better judgement she glanced over her shoulder. Searching the area she had been fleeing from she saw no one. Relief flooded through her but it was short lived, running smack into a low branch she fell on her back. Groaning in agony she cradled her left eye.

If this was her dad's idea of a 'spectacular day', she would hate to experience the bad ones.

Dry leaves crunched around her making her jump back up. Had Damon caught up to her? Looking around she didn't see anyone, but could sense someone was around. There was a seed of paranoia planted in her chest, growing by the second. She was going to die, in the middle of the forest. She could almost envision it now. Damon dragging her by the hair, monologuing about how she should mind her business and how she was a big fucking idiot (which she was), pinning her down, and with the same bloody knife he would line it up against her trachea and in one swift motion slit-

Something small collided into her back and she screamed. Another thing she regretted. The impact wasn't hard enough to knock her down but had her stumbling for a second. A tiny thud came from behind her followed by a soft groan. Almost female? Last time she checked Damon wasn't small weak and female. What she saw next made her pause. Cause this was the last person she expected to see. Sitting painfully on her arse her face portrayed mild shock before shaking it off. She looked questionably up and Chloe before her face softened. Their eyes met for a split second and she was instantly sucked into those hazel orbs. She'd never seen eyes so... vibrant.

"Rachel Amber?" She asked unsure of herself. She was seeing all types of weird shit today. Without the boost of weed.

Parting her mouth she looked as though she was about to speak. But was interrupted by a booming voice. That still sounded peeved off beyond belief. Zoning out of her weird trance she remembered what she was doing and who else was in the murder forest with her. "Run!" Was all she uttered and without explaination grabbed Rachel's hand, dragging her out with her. She was a bit surprised she was going along with her without question.

Making haste in the opposite direction, they were completely cleared from the forest entering the peaceful park of playful dogs and oblivious joggers, Chloe couldn't find it in herself to stop. Not until she reached the top of a steep hill and felt a gentle tug on her arm she realised she was safe. Damon no where in sight. There would be too many witnesses around for him to make a scene. Desperately fighting to catch her breath she made an attempt to control her breathing.

Damn, she really needed to quit smoking.

Remembering she wasn't exactly alone she chanced a glance at the other girl. Her face completely unreadable. She probably looked crazy. She probably was. With their hands still locked together like they've been friends since kindergarten Chloe quickly swiped it out of her grasp. "Sorry..."

"That's okay," she shrugged "Are you alright?"

"Yea- yeah... I just- I'm-" the words weren't forming properly in her mouth. Looking down at herself her hands were beginning to shake. Was she going into shock? She needed to sit down.

Finding a near by park bench she all but collapsed onto it. She was fine, safe even. The likeness of Damon charging out of those woods to confont her infront of so many witnesses was unlikely, so she was good. For now. What about tomorrow? Or the next day? Or next week? Did they even see her face? What if he recognised her. Found out who she was, where she lived, what school she went to. Him and Frank were close, one word from him and she'll be smoke. How would she explain this to her mom?

Hey, remember when you told me not to be careless and skip? I did exactly that- and as a bonus bumped into a scary murderous drug dealer in the woods, who may or may not be after my blood. How did your day go?

She was dead. Hypothetically and literally. Did someone cut off the oxygen? Because breathing was becoming a very difficult challenge.

A small hand rested on top of her shoulder, without meaning to Chloe flinched. Looking up Rachel was still there with something close to concern in her eyes. "Chloe? You gotta calm down, okay." She knew her name?

Looking back at those mesmorizing hazel eyes Chloe forced her mind to relax. And it was actually working. Her hands stopped shaking and her heartbeat was regaining back to normal and a weird sense of serenity washed over her. Clearing her throat she leaned back onto the bench, embarrassed of her little outburst. She suddenly felt very exposed right now. "Sorry... didn't mean to freak out like that."

The corners of Rachel's mouth turned upwards, looking suspiciously close to a smile. Unless she was just seeing things. "For someone who just had a panic attack, you apologize a lot."

"This doesn't usually happen. It's just... uh." Should she mention what she saw in The woods. This was Rachel Amber, the DA's daughter.

"Not to pry or anything," she started. "But you ran out of there like you saw something that you wasn't supposed to."

"You hit the nail on the head with that."

"What did you see?"

"I'd rather not say." Chloe couldn't help but have questions of her own. Like, why was Rachel Amber, Blackwell's straight A student and top girl, wondering woods on her own on a school day with five minutes to spare till class? But instead she asked, "How do you know my name?"

Rachel seemed genuinely surprised by that. "Chloe Price. We go to school together. Blackwell Academy, ring any bells."

Chloe shrugged. "I mean yeah, but how do you know me." Compared to Rachel she was less noticeably than the cockroaches on the floor.

"We have chemistry together."

"We do?" Chloe was sure she'd be able to spot Rachel Amber in her class. Instead of being offended like she thought she would she laughed it off. "I sit on the third row, in front of Victoria and Taylor."

She snorted. "Like Miss Wannabe deserves any of my attention. She probably mixes a bunch of chemicals, trying to brew a potion that makes everyone do her evil bidding." She emphasized her point by wiggling her fingers. Realising she was acting like a freakin dork she stopped.

No more tabletop with Steph and Mickey. She was turning into ultra-nerd.

"Well I see you around. The tall dark and mysterious one in the back of class."

"You make me sound like I'm interesting."

"Maybe you are." There was this twinkle in her eyes that made Chloe flush pink, like she was analysing her and looking at her. Like really looking at her. It made her feel all bubbly inside, it was... weird. "Shouldn't you be in school now? Classes started like ten minutes ago."

Rachel raised a brow. "Don't you mean we?"

With a weak chuckle she frowned. "I uhh, don't feel like getting my education on. Not that Blackwell could teach me anything anyway, except the many different areas I can smoke a joint."

"Bad girl, huh."

"The absolute worst." They fell on a strangely comfortable silence but Chloe still couldn't help but feel slightly on edge. She has never in the history of ever expected to a conversation with Rachel, least of all have it last this long. She knew who Rachel was. Everybody did. She was the main girl, right at the top next to Nathan. Teacher's loved her, guy's drooled over her, girls wanted to be her. She was smart, talented and beautiful. (The beautiful part was from all the rumors she'd heard, definitely not her personal opinion.) On rare occasions she would spot her in the hallways but most times she was swarmed by her fan club of peers. She didn't think she paid any sort of attention to her though.

She was just, Chloe Price.