"What the fuck was that?" I asked once we were out of earshot.

"I have no idea, but we need to be careful before something goes very wrong." She looked down at her phone, then groaned. "Ugh, I have to give Warren his flash drive. He's in the parking lot, so I'll go and get it while you keep him busy with guy talk." She said before taking off.

"Sure, guy talk." I mumbled before walking off. It didn't take long before I reached the parking lot, easily seeing Warren leaning against his car.

"Hey Warren, how goes the science life?" I asked, leaning next to him on the hood.

"Nothing astronomical, just the basics." He said. We chatted for a couple minutes before Max finally showed up.

"Dude, sick new ride. Old school, I like it." She commented on the car.

"Hey Max." He greeted, going in for a hug. She held up the flash drive to stop him.

"Here's your flash drive. Thanks." She said.

"No problem. Did you watch all of them?" He asked.

"Most, didn't have time between school and school work."

"That's fair." He nodded.

"Uh oh. Fuckwad on your six, Max." I grumbled, balling up a fist.

"Max Caulfield, right? You're one of Jefferson's photo groupies?" Nathan growled as he stomped up to us.

"I'm one of his students." She corrected. Nathan shoved Warren out of the way to get in her face.

"What-the-fuck-ever. I know you like to take pictures, especially when you're hiding out in the bathrooms."

"I warned you, asshole. Do you really want this to go down again?" I asked, walking up to stand next to her.

"Get the fuck out of here faggot." He said, throwing a fist. I put my hand up and stopped it, throwing a punch at his jaw. He barely felt a brush hit him, and laughed.

"God, you're so fucking weak." He taunted. I kicked him in the gut then kicked him in the knee with no outcome. A truck drove up and stopped in front of us, the blue haired girl in the driver's seat.

"Max?" She called from inside the truck.

"Chloe?" Max called back, running up to the truck.

"No way, you again?" Nathan groaned from in front of me. Warren jumped at Nathan and knocked him to the ground while he was distracted.

"Warren!" Max yelled.

"Go! Both of you! I got this!" He said right before Nathan started beating him up. Chloe opened the door for Max and I.

"Get in, Max!" She shouted. Max climbed in and I dove in right before Nathan kicked the door closed.

"Get your punk asses out of there now! Don't even try to run! Nobody messes with me! Nobody!" He screamed.

"Feel free to do it whenever." Max mumbled to me. I smirked and snapped my fingers, watching anger turn to pain in an instant. I waved to the security guard as we drove by, laughing down the road.

"Man, Nathan Prescott is messed up! And dangerous.This day never ends." Max complained.

"'Oh, and thanks, Chloe.' After five years, you're still Max Caulfield." Chloe grumbled as she drove. I could see Max slump in her seat and avoid eye contact. "Don't give me the guilty face, at least pretend you're glad to see me."

"I am seriously glad to see you. Oh, and thanks, Chloe. It makes perfect sense I'd see you today." She groaned.

"Yes, it's been that kinda day. So, what did that freak want with you?" Chloe asked.

"Hopefully nothing after today. So, how do you know Nathan?" Max asked, I listened in while I stared out the window.

"He's just another Arcadia asshole. Your friend really took a beatdown for you." I winced slightly at that. Warren did get a good thrashing. "Speaking of, who's this?" I broke my eyes from the scenery and focused on Chloe, who stared back.

"I'm Nick, I'm a friend of Max's and Prescott is probably after both of us now."

"Short and to the point, I can dig that." She smiled.

"I definitely owe Warren for this." Max said.

"You're not the only one in debt. And you're already causing trouble."

"Thought it would be quiet here. Feels so weird to be back." She commented.

"So, I guess Seattle sucked hard?"

"I guess. It was cool, but... I felt kind of lonely, out of my league."

"I would think you'd fit right in with the art school hipsters."

"Right. You look like the cover of Hipster-Girl-dot-com."

"At least you're still a smartass."

"That's why I'm here."

"Please, girl. You came back for Blackwell Academy."

"Only for Mark Jefferson. He was a pretty famous photographer in the '90s. I've always loved his work."

"Those that can't do, teach. I'm glad you found a good reason to come back."

"Don't you think I'm happy to see you?"

"No. You were happy to wait five years without a call or even a text." The entire conversation was so awkward, I felt like I shouldn't be listening. It was clear that Max used to live here, and Chloe felt abandoned as she didn't contact her for five years. To be honest, dick move Max Caulfield.

"I'm sorry. I know things were tough on you when I left."

"How do you know? You weren't even here."

"I didn't order my parents to move specifically to fuck you over, Chloe."

"You've been at Blackwell for almost a month without letting me know. 'Nuff said."

"I just wanted to settle in first and not be such a shy, cliche geek. I totally would've contacted you." That was a sad attempt at persuasion.

"I bet you don't use these sad excuses on Mr. Jefferson. Don't use them on me, Max." Well shit, I could feel the friendship in the air. Max slumped back in her seat defeatedly, then rummaged around in her bag and pulled out her camera.

"Broken. Oh, man, are you cereal?"

"Wow, haven't heard that one in a while." Chloe commented.

"Not everything changes. Except my camera has officially taken a shit."

"My step-douche has a boatload of tools. Maybe you can fix it at my place."

"I need very specific, tiny tools."

"Nerd alert! My stepdad has a fully-stocked garage. And he actually is a tiny tool. Welcome home, Max." I smiled at the welcome. Maybe they could make up after all. We were silent for the next few minutes before we got to the Price residence. I felt awkward as we walked up to the door, as if I shouldn't be there.

"Come on in, don't be shy." Chloe said, unlocking it and heading inside.

"The house still looks... nice." Max complimented.

"Home, shit home." She answered back. We headed up the stairs to her room, I felt like I needed to be as quiet as possible while she opened the door as loudly as she could.

"My room looks a bit different than the last time you saw it." She said absentmindedly, sitting on her bed and pulling out a cigarette. Max sat on the bed next to her while I unwinded in her desk chair.

"It's cool. At least we can chill out." Max said, trying to be optimistic.

"This isn't exactly my 'chill-out zone'; my step-Fuhrer makes sure of that. Put on some music while I 'medicate'." She requested. Max got up and looked around, finding the cd player and turning it on.

"It's in the metal box under the bed." I said, pointing to it.

"How'd you know that?" Chloe asked, sitting up.

"I kinda just got a sense for that kinda stuff." I answered.

"So tell me, what does Max Caulfield do for fun now that she's a grown-up?" Chloe asked quickly, changing the subject.

"Party all night." She answered after a second.

"Not Little Miss Wallflower. I bet you've never even been to a party." Chloe challenged. I smiled at the banter.

"Oh, right. I went to your birthday blowout." I rolled my eyes discreetly at that lame excuse.

"Max, you were twelve years old. That's... sad. You should stick to taking photos." Chloe suggested, seeming a bit downtrodden. Suddenly everything warped and Chloe started to move backwards for a few seconds.

"I take photos. Of me, the world... everything. It may sound sad, but I have a blast." She actually rewound just to make Chloe feel better.

"It doesn't sound that sad." She responded.

"I'm happiest when I've got a great image in my lens. I'm not lonely, not afraid."

"Now that's more inspiring. I don't feel so totally hopeless." Chloe trailed off, and I gave Max a look that said 'are you happy now?'. She gave a shrug and a cringe in response. She decided to move on and searched the metal box under the bed. She picked up a disc, but then stuck her hand back in with a pause. Chloe noticed and snatched something out of Max's hand.

"Hey, give me that!" She yelped as she swiped the object, a picture.

"Sorry. I wasn't trying to be nosy. Obviously, she was a good friend." It must have been about that Rachel Amber girl who went missing.

"That's putting it mildly." Chloe mumbled. Hello, that piqued my interest.

"That's Rachel Amber. Her 'Missing Person' posters are all over Blackwell." Max observed.

"Yeah, I put them up. She was my angel." The plot thickens, what happened between them?

"After my dad died and you moved, I felt abandoned. Rachel saved my life." Was she going to commit suicide? If so I feel bad for ever judging her.

"Man, I had no idea." Max said, dumbfounded.

"Well, you never made much effort to find out. I was fourteen, we were best friends." Chloe replied hotly.

"So, Rachel took my place. I'm glad she was there for you." Max said shyly.

"Rachel had my back. We were gonna kick the world's ass. You would laugh at how different we were. She wanted to be a star." Chloe said dreamily.

"She looks like a model." Max commented.

"That was her plan. Our plan. Get the hell out of Bigfootville, and into Los Angeles." That's a long way to go, Oregon to California.

"So, what happened? Did your folks, your mom, try to stop you?" Max asked.

"My mom was too busy hooked up with Sergeant Shithead." Chloe growled.

"I feel the love. Now, when did Rachel actually disappear?" Max asked, now we were getting into a mystery, woo hoo.

"Six months ago. She just left Arcadia. Without a word. Without... me."

"How do you know she disappeared? Maybe she wanted to start a totally new life."

"Unlike you, she would've told me, okay? Something happened to her." And right back to anger for Max moving.

"I believe you. I'm just trying to get all deductive."

"Do you have any suspects for who took Rachel?" I asked out of the blue.

"Not really, but we already had a plan to leave. She wouldn't have just abandoned it out of nowhere."

"We need to start making a list of people who might have a grudge against Rachel, anyone who had something against her." I said. "Did she say anything before she disappeared?"

"Before she left, she said she met somebody who changed her life. Then, poof."

"And you haven't heard anything from her since?" Max asked, inserting herself.

"Like everybody in my life. My dad, you and Rachel. Gone. Can you put on some music now?" Well that ended that conversation. Chloe laid back down and puffed smoke while Max put in the cd. "Anyway, you can find tools to fix your camera in the garage."

"Chloe, are you okay?" Max asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Sure, I'm awesome. I just want to blaze and be alone for a moment." I kind of tuned out while I was thinking of ways to get information on Rachel when a loud throat being cleared broke my concentration. "Completely alone." She affirmed.

"Oh, sorry." I apologized, getting up and following Max out of the room. I laid down on the steps and closed my eyes, waiting for Max to get the tools. I heard a crash, then everything warped. I laughed as loudly as possible at that as Max came back up the stairs with a box of tools.

"Not a word, jackass." She grumbled. I was still giggling when we came back into Chloe's room.