AN: So I initially approached PriestessAmy with this Victoria/Chloe concept hoping that she would write it herself as part of her charming Arcadia Gays series. She very sweetly turned me down, explaining that she's most comfortable writing pure drama-free fluff, but she was nice enough to give me her blessing for a spinoff set within her universe. All credit and praise for Arcadia Gays goes to her.

I'm titling this story Between the Lines because I'm interested in the moments that the main Arcadia Gays stories don't show; the rough patches, the arguments, the heavier themes. It's not going to be grim and dark, far from it, but I'm aiming for a bit more of a mature flavor. I'm not sure if this will ever be more than a one shot, but the format leaves the possibility wide open. If you have any great ideas along those lines feel free to mention them in your reviews.

For anyone unfamiliar with Arcadia Gays, it's set in a timeline where everyone survived and life at Blackwell continues as usual. Chloe, Max, Kate, and Victoria become involved in a four way polyamorous relationship, the story of which is told in Arcadia Gays: Beginnings.


Victoria folded her arms under her breasts and pouted, slouching slightly as she surveyed the piles of garbage that made up the landscape of American Rust.

"When you said you wanted to take me somewhere special this wasn't quite what I had in mind, Price."

Chloe let out a bark of laughter. Unlike Victoria, who couldn't have looked more out of place with her designer clothes and perfect makeup, the punk rocker was dressed for the post-apocalypse and seemed fully at home amid the wrecks and ruins. This wasn't Victoria's first time at the junkyard, but she had only come once before with the Vortex Club, and that had been at night. The ambience had been a little different when everyone was doing hard drugs around an illegal bonfire in the dark.

"Alright, so maybe it's not a five star restaurant," Chloe admitted. "But it's my home away from hell. This was where I came whenever I wanted to get away from life… which was most of the time. We can get up to all sorts of trouble here and no one will care."

"Oh? And what sort of trouble did you have in mind?"

In response Chloe unslung a drawstring bag from her shoulder and opened it with a flourish, revealing a six pack of beer and a bag of weed. The corner of Victoria's lips curled upwards.

"I hope you didn't forget the cigarellos."

Chloe grinned. "What do you take me for?"

"A gorgeous woman, Chloe Price. I'll do the honors."

With practiced skill, Victoria rolled the bunts with such perfect size and shape that even Chloe seemed impressed. This was one of the few things that the pair shared exclusively within their little love polygon; Max would smoke with them from time to time but everyone could tell it wasn't her favorite thing, and Kate flat out refused to touch the stuff. That meant that Victoria and Chloe ended up going without weed more often than not, unless it was just the two of them.

Thirty minutes later the pair were both dancing on the hood of an abandoned car, whooping and hollering between drags. Loud music belted out from Chloe's truck. It really felt good to let their inner party animals out every once in a while. Chloe kicked one of the empty bottles they had finished and watched it sail over a wrecked boat, shattering somewhere out of sight. Victoria cheered.

"Alright, let's not kill my car battery," Chloe said at last. "It's too beautiful to die."

Chloe hopped down and went to switch off the radio. Victoria sat and dangled her legs off the side of the hood as she watched the blue-haired girl go. Chloe had only had a couple beers; today she had actually volunteered to be the designated driver rather than make Victoria rock paper scissors for it. For some reason Chloe was being more yielding than usual. Victoria would be lying if she said she didn't like it.

"So, why did you bring me here Price?" Victoria asked as Chloe returned. "It's been fun and all, but this clearly isn't just about getting drunk and high together. We could do that anywhere."

Chloe smiled as she took a seat next to Victoria. "I wanted to take you somewhere that meant something to me. I've only ever come here with people I trust. Welcome to the club."

Victoria felt a rush of warmth inside her, like hot chocolate on a snowy day.

"That's… really sweet of you," Victoria said. "I've never heard Max say anything about this. Is this where the two of you disappear to on your dates?"

Chloe hesitated at that. "No. We came here a couple times together, but Max… She has some pretty bad memories of this place. I don't even know all the details, but it was all because of some shit I dragged her into, once upon a time. My fault."

"Are you talking about…?"

"Yeah. The Jefferson thing."

Victoria didn't know what to say to that. Everyone knew that Chloe and Max had been involved in the incident that had exposed Mark Jefferson, but they never brought it up and Kate and Victoria never pressed for details. Victoria had asked Nathan about it the one time she visited him in prison, but he would barely say a word to her. That had hurt, if Victoria was being honest with herself.

It hurt now, to think that Chloe couldn't share everything with her.

"You know, coming back here is a little weird for me too," Chloe continued, oblivious to Victoria's angst. "This was where they tried to hide Rachel's body at first. Just dumped her in a shallow grave, like she was garbage. This was our hideout and they buried her here. God, it was so fucked up."

On some conscious level Victoria knew that she was supposed to be supportive of her girlfriend right about now, but Chloe's mention of Rachel Amber opened old wounds. Deep wounds. Victoria had hated Rachel, not just because Rachel always knew what to say to shut her down and embarrass her, but because of how inadequate and inferior she always made Victoria feel. Of course Victoria was aware that Chloe had been close with Rachel; most of their class knew Chloe as "Rachel's punk friend" if they knew her at all, but until now Victoria had never really given their relationship much thought.

Chloe lay on her back with her hands folded under her head as she stared up at the sky. There was something in her voice, in her eyes, that Victoria recognized from their most tender moments with each other and Max and Kate. She swallowed and asked the question that was tormenting her.

"You loved her, didn't you? With a capital L."

The blue-haired girl turned her face away at that, and Victoria felt her heart clench.

"We were more than friends," Chloe admitted. "At least, I thought we were. Turns out she kept a few secrets from me, but… I would never have made it without her. Before Max showed up again, before you and Kate came into our lives, it was Rachel who saved me first."

Victoria felt her hurt turn to bitterness as she pictured herself as nothing more than a consolation prize, an afterthought in Chloe's eyes. Rachel Amber was a hard act to follow. How could Victoria possibly match up to that? Max at least had Rachel's strength and devil-may-care attitude towards life. Kate had the grace and kindness.

Where did that leave Victoria? Mean, insecure Victoria. The monster.

Maybe she'd had too much to drink, but it was too late now; Victoria's thoughts were running away from her and towards a dark place. Any hope that she had been sharing something special with Chloe was gone, replaced by the certainty that Victoria was just a bargain basement stand-in for a dead girl she wasn't even allowed to hate anymore.

"I think I've had enough of this place." Victoria got up to leave.

Chloe sat up and stared, looking surprised and hurt. "What's wrong, Tori?"

"Nothing. Glad I could fill in for Rachel Amber for a day."

For a moment Chloe still seemed confused. Then confusion turned to anger. Chloe sprang up after Victoria and grabbed her shoulder. When Victoria shrugged the hand off, Chloe shoved her up against a broken refrigerator and held her firmly in place. Outraged, Victoria was about to push back when she saw the look in Chloe's eyes. That icy fury froze her in her tracks.

"I thought this wasn't who you were anymore! I thought I saw the real you on Halloween, that you meant it when you said you wanted to fix things!" Chloe raged. "I brought you here because I trusted you! Christ, I knew you didn't get along with Rachel, Rachel mentioned you often enough, but I never once held that against you! I assumed that, like any decent person, you would've gotten over your petty school bullshit when you found out that Rachel was fucking murdered!"

Victoria was speechless. "I… I…"

"Yeah, I hella loved Rachel. Still do. Yeah, we might've fucked a few times. Is that what's got your panties in a twist? You don't want to touch anything she's already had? Are you really that terrible of a person? Was I wrong about you, Chase? Tell me the truth, you owe me that much!"

At last Victoria realized how shitty she was being, and how all of this must look to Chloe. Tears sprang to her eyes as she began nodding miserably.

"I am a terrible person, Chloe," Victoria sobbed. "I was g-g-glad when Rachel disappeared. I knew it was so wrong but in my heart I was glad. I used to tear down those posters you spent all that time putting up. I would take them back to my room and write… terrible things on them. I convinced myself that I hated Rachel, just like I tried to hate Max, all because I was jealous of them. Chloe, I almost killed Kate. I just stood there and filmed it while Max went up to that roof to save her. God. I'm no better than Nathan. I-I-I'm such a piece of shit."

Chloe released her grip and took a step back, looking a little stunned as Victoria began to break down.

"I know I'm not as good as Rachel, not as good as Max or Kate. I know I'm lucky that you would even look twice at me after everything I've done." Victoria shut her eyes but the tears kept coming. "It just tears me up inside to know that you've been surrounded by such amazing people, and then there's me, who no one would c-care about if my family didn't have m-money. You have every right to hate me, Chloe. You should hate me. I hate myself!"

All at once Chloe was hugging her tight, stroking the back of her head, heedless of Victoria's tears and snot as they soaked into Chloe's shirt. Victoria let all thought and feeling leave her body as her sobs turned to sniffles and eventually subsided. When Chloe at last drew away, she looked at Victoria with that warm smile that always made her heart flutter.

"I'm sorry, Tori," Chloe said. "I thought you were still mad at Rachel for stupid shit. I should've known that you were just mad at yourself, also for stupid shit. I hella jumped to conclusions and didn't see how much you were hurting. But babe, it's not a contest. Not with Rachel, not with Max or Kate. I love you all. I love you, Victoria Chase."

Chloe kissed her then, as if to illustrate the point. Victoria melted into the embrace, tentatively at first, but then hungrily. When they broke apart there was a burning need in Victoria's eyes, something intense and yet passive at the same time. Chloe had seen that look before, but never on Victoria.

"Punish me," Victoria whispered. "Just this once. I need this. Please."

Seeing how sincere and desperate Victoria was, Chloe scooped her up without a word, bridal style, and carried her over to the waiting truck. A moment later the driver's side door slammed shut. There was, blessedly, no one else in the junkyard to hear the creaking of the old vehicle or Victoria's muffled cries from within.

They really could get up to all sorts of trouble here.


It was a couple hours later when Chloe and Victoria pulled up to the gates of the Arcadia Bay cemetery. Both of them were still flushed and a little out of breath. Victoria shifted uncomfortably in her seat; her rump was still a little sore. Chloe, who had a golden opportunity to tease or gloat, instead looked at the younger girl with concern, as if she was afraid she might have gone too far.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Victoria shook her head. "Thanks, but no. This is between her and me. It's our unfinished business."

"Alright. I'll be right here when you're done."

The gravestone was unremarkable in appearance, and yet to Victoria it loomed larger than life. Even in death Rachel Amber had a way of making her lost for words. The sun was beginning to creep towards the horizon, and the long shadows and total silence weren't making this any easier. At last Victoria cleared her throat and spoke.

"Hello Rachel. I'm sorry I missed the funeral, but I don't think anyone wanted me there anyway." Victoria let the words spill out. "I'm sure you didn't take it personally. I think that's what I was always jealous of the most, how you never let anything get to you. My life would be so much easier if I could just… not care. Instead everything eats at me, and I act like such a bitch to hide it, and that only causes me more grief in the end."

Victoria hugged her shoulders and lowered her head as a chill wind blew through the cemetery.

"I don't know what you would've thought of me and Chloe and the others. I have no right to ask your approval, but I just wanted you to know that I'm going to be good to Chloe. I'm still learning how, but if there's anything good left in me, it belongs to her and the others. This isn't for you. It's because Chloe is amazing and deserves it. That's all."

As Victoria looked up she spotted a doe staring at her from behind a nearby tree. Their eyes met for a moment. Then the animal turned and trotted off into the woods. Victoria inhaled and realized that her heart suddenly felt ten times lighter.

Rejoining Chloe in the truck, it was like their little fight had never happened. Chloe asked no questions, started the engine immediately, and they drove off with smiles on their faces. In no time at all they were joking and laughing with each other all over again.

"So what do you think Max and Kate are up to right now?" Chloe teased.

"Psh, do you even have to ask?" Victoria playfully slapped Chloe's shoulder. "Don't be naïve. Kate totally has a wild side that she's too shy to show around us. It's so obvious. I bet Max knows all about it by now."

"Oh yeah? Watch out, Chase. I might just take you up on that!"