Chapter 02

When Max arrives at the parking lot where Warren is waiting, a few things caught her eyes before she even sets foot onto the lot.

The first is the sheer number of those 'Rachel Amber' missing posters. They really are everywhere, but here, they take on a new expression of desperation. The parking lot is small and whoever is putting these up could have easily gotten anyone's and everyone's attention by only putting up maybe four or five of them in every corner.

Instead, they put up a poster in every corner, on every windshield, and there must have been a time when the posters were up on even more places because the pavement is now littered with even more copies. It's as if whoever is putting these up had really given up hope and is simply spreading as many out as possible because it's all they know to do.

The badly rusted truck blocking two handicapped parking spaces is the next thing to grab her attention.

Aside from the sheer obnoxiousness of someone taking up two spaces and two handicapped ones at that, there is just something made extra worse by the fact that the truck looks so horrid in a parking lot full of clean cars. Max notices someone's head lying against the wheel, but the person's appearance isn't easily gleaned from where she is. She shudders wondering what kind of redneck invaded her school.

Walking towards Warren, the last thing she takes note of is the large camper parked just ahead of the rusted truck. It also takes two spaces, but is huddled towards a corner to keep out of the way. If anything, whoever owns that seems more polite than the owner of the truck.

But it got Max's notice because the windows were papered with cardboard which gives off a foreboding vibe. Perhaps unintentional, but there all the same.

"Hey Max, how are you?" Warren's arms twitches as if he intended to hug her but thought better of it at the last moment. "What do you think of my new car?"

Max looks it over as she hands Warren his flash drive. "It's cool. Old school style."

"That's why I got it. Now that I have my own car, we can go see some movies at the drive-in. There's some nice features playing that you might be interested in."

She listens but doesn't respond. Warren is obviously interested in her as more than a friend. Max likes him…but she just never liked him in that way. She has tried to never respond positively to his overt suggestions, but her friend is nothing if not persistent.

"You are a real nerd, Warren."

"That's why you love me!" He looks as if to say something else, but stops. "Hey, are you alright? You're looking a little off-beat. I can't describe it exactly but there's something about your face."

She giggles. "Thanks. It's nothing. Well, it's not 'nothing' but…it's just been a really fucked up day. I swear I'm going crazy."

"I can believe it." He nods knowingly, then hesitates a little. "Earlier, some of my friends told me they saw you walking with the Victoria Chase. I wouldn't have believed it if there was only one of them saying so, but three – count them, three – of my friends says they saw it. Is it real?"

"It's real." She nods. "Victoria can be surprisingly nice. We actually hung out in her room today."

He looks blown away. "Oh my God. Wait, is that the 'fucked up' part you're talking about?"

"Nah. Well, it's related."

She hesitates to tell him about what happened. Max feels that she can confide in Warren and he'll be discrete about it, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like the kind of thing she could talk about. That's just the Nathan with a gun part too. The part about visions is just so much worse. Furthermore, Victoria did ask her to be quiet about this even if Max thinks that is a bad idea.

As she thinks of how to respond, though, she notices Warren's eyes are focused on something behind her. Turning around, Max does a doubletake to see the blue hair girl behind her. The one from the bathroom.

Now without the paralyzing fear and the distraction of possibly getting shot, Max is able to look at her more closely. She has a blue beanie hat covering her dyed hair, a raggy brown jacket over equally raggy white t-shirt, and a basic pair of jeans. Her jacket is rolled up allowing the tattoos on her arm to peek out. Her attire includes a number of eye-catching accessories such as a spike bracelet.

From top to bottom, this girl just screams 'punk' and she fits the stereotype perfectly. Max feels her breath being taken away at the sight of her…but it was not due to the clothing. No, it's because she looked into the girl's face and recognition is slowly coming to her.

"Chloe?" Max whispers hesitantly.

'Chloe' opens her mouth and closes it again. Then she grins. "Right-o. I know who you are too…Max. My friend. Well, when you're not off somewhere for five years or so."

It is well deserved and even expected, but she nonetheless couldn't help flinching at Chloe's immediate aim for her jugular. She looks away and doesn't respond. It isn't until she hears a sigh that she looks up again to see her looking off in the horizon as if contemplating something.

Warren, meanwhile, had remained silent not sure how to respond to all of this. He is staring blankly at Chloe not sure how to take in this person. She looks back at him unimpressed.

"Look, can we…have a chat? Just you and me." Chloe says that pointedly at Warren. "It's been a long time since we've talked, so I think we should catch up. Come on, I'll drive us somewhere to eat."

Hesitating, Max glances at Warren as if hoping he can give her an answer but he's confused himself and doesn't even take note of her glances. Chloe becomes more insistent by grabbing Max's hand and tugging gently. It does the trick, however, and she slowly follows her.

"A-alright, I'll come." Max consents. "We'll talk later, alright, Warren?"

He nods at her, though it's hard to say if he really understood. Regardless, she leaves him to his self as Chloe now leads her along. To Max's great surprise, she is led to the rusted truck.

"Go on in. It's unlocked."

She does as told and sits patiently looking over the various oddities within the truck. Chloe gets in the driver seat and starts the car up. By this point, it is clear that Chloe is none other than 'the redneck that has invaded her school' and Max now feels guilty for thinking it. Obviously, this truck is probably all her friend could afford.

Even then, though, being poor doesn't mean you have to take up two handicap spaces when parking, does it?

They drive off in silence. Max finds herself unable to resist a glance at her now and then, but each glance leaves her feeling more unsure and, somehow, more guilty. As if the current Chloe is her fault.

Not that she looks that awful, but her face is gaunt and her eyes displays exhaustion marks. Her wrists are skeletal and she moves with an over-exaggerated sort of twitchiness. It's like looking at a drug addict. If the smell coming off her is right too, then drugs are definitely a part of the equation.

The silence between them became a sort of burden for Max and she wanted Chloe to break it. To just talk to her and indulge the both of them in the sort of happiness that only nostalgia – happy childhood nostalgia – can provide. She doesn't say a word or even looks at her, though, and Max knows that any 'catching up' between them will always be colored by the fact that she left for Seattle and never spoke to her again.

Her own reminder of that makes the silence that much more burdensome. Seeing that Chloe isn't going to say anything, Max takes the initiative to start the conversation.

"So, hey, how have things been?"

For the first time since they've been in the truck, Chloe looks at her. Max looks back into those indecipherable blue eyes of her friend hoping to see something other than blankness. Chloe turns back to the road.

"They've been alright. I'm still poor as shit and half this town wants a piece of me, but I live to see another day." Chloe chuckles. "But you know all of that already."

She didn't understand what Chloe meant at first, but realizes that she must mean the bathroom incident. Yes, trying to blackmail Nathan Prescott only to almost get shot for it. Chloe is, no doubt, in dire straits.

"What the hell were you doing in there anyway, Max? Hiding in the back of the girls' bathroom is a pastime of yours?"

There is a pause. "It's…complicated."

"Try me."

Chloe is insistent, but Max isn't sure how she can even explain it. If it weren't for those damn visions, Max would have been standing at the sink when Nathan or maybe Victoria pops in and she would have been caught right in the drama that envelops them all. So she settles for the most believable thing she could think of, which is basically a mess of details.

"I heard Nathan."

"Go on." Chloe prods.

"I heard Nathan. He had opened the door and was muttering to himself. I ran to hide thinking he was crazy. That's when everything happened."

"He was so out of it that he didn't even see you or see you running when he came in?" Chloe asks doubtfully.

"He didn't open the door the whole way." Max amends. "He only half opened it and I heard his muttering before I saw him."

A moment of silence passes. "Why didn't you just tell him to get out?"

"He was a boy and he was muttering to himself, Chloe. I didn't want to risk facing whoever it was."

"I see." Chloe scowls. "I guess I got lucky then. If he wasn't such an idiot, you wouldn't have been hidden and come out to save my dumb ass."

Max didn't respond to that. She wasn't sure how to respond to saving her friend from blackmail gone wrong. Thankfully, she didn't have to. Chloe continues talking.

"After I made a break for it, I sat stewing in my truck trying to figure out what happened. How the hell it came to me being held up, that preppy bitch Victoria getting caught in this, and then you coming out of nowhere to save my ass."

Max momentarily pauses noticing the familiar reference to Victoria. She also recalled the blonde talking about Chloe in a similar way. How do they know each other? Knowing Victoria as she does, she probably bullied Chloe. On the other hand, knowing Chloe as she does – did – there's no way Chloe would have let her.

Chloe continues, "I thought I would have to just figure it all out myself later, but I knew I saw you…and I wanted to talk to you. I didn't know where you were or how to get to you, though. I was planning on coming back to Blackwell later, but when I looked up, who should I see but the person I wanted to talk to? So here we are."

There is a pause. "Chloe, why were you and Nathan…?"

She didn't finish it, but she knows Chloe got the idea of what she's asking. A sigh comes from her friend as she continues looking ahead.

"I needed the money, okay? I wasn't kidding when I said I'm poor as shit. That fucking a-hole Nathan tried to drug and rape me, but I woke up halfway through. I could have reported him, but I thought I could get him to pay me to be quiet instead."

Chloe had said that so casually, though the story left Max shaken and breathless. Has life become so bad that she could describe a drugging and attempted rape as if it wasn't anything special? Is life such that she could decide to turn a failed rape into blackmail material that easily?

An intense sense of sadness overcame her. She wanted to lean over and hug Chloe, though she doesn't dare do it. A fear of not knowing how the other girl would react is part of the reason she didn't, but it is also a deep guilt that makes her believe comfort from her of all people is meaningless.

A passing tree suddenly makes her pay more attention to her surroundings. Her head shoots up and she examines the road to realize they're on a deserted road with no house in sight.

"Chloe, where are we? I thought you said we were going to get something to eat."

"Chill, Max. I just wanted to show you something first."

"What? Where is it?"

"I'll show you." Chloe dodges the question. "Don't worry. You'll like it. Trust me."

She wasn't assured by Chloe's words, but finds she didn't really need to be. Despite the loss in time between the two them, she still trusted the other girl enough to not need to worry.

Eventually, they reach a junkyard and Chloe pulls in parking the truck.

When the ignition is turned off, Max whispers in surprise, "You wanted to show me a landfill?"

"It's not a landfill. It's a junkyard! I call it 'American Rust' and it's my home."

"Your home? Uh, what…about…?"

Rolling her eyes, she clunks lightly on Max's head. "I don't mean for real, Max. I still live with my mom and her punk ass boyfriend. Here, though…here is where I have real freedom and where I spent some of the happiest times of my life. Better yet, it's mine. No one else wants it except me." She unbuckles. "Now come on, let me show you around."

Chloe protests it, but 'American Rust' really does seem like a landfill, though the word 'junkyard' would fit equally well. Rusted, dumped vehicles fill most of the lot while the rest contain thrown out machinery, garbage bags, used hypodermic needles, and various other trash most people would not want.

At the back end of this disgusting lot lie a small building with graffiti on it and Chloe leads Max through the open doorway. Inside, the first thing Max notice is that it looks more 'homey' than she would have imagined. There is a small desk, a single chair, a mini sofa with a table in front, and the place is decorated by various posters, bits of make-up, and various other signs of life.

It is not entirely innocent, though. Littered throughout the little home are empty bottles of beer, broken bottles of beer with the glass still lying there, pizza boxes, ashtrays with half smoked cigarettes in there, bits of graffiti, and a general atmosphere of apathy.

The building, lair, home or whatever else Chloe wishes to call it is rife with the dank smell of weed and there are bottles of prescription pills in various spots though Max has doubts whether they actually belong to her friend or not.

Max stands before this display of sheer teenage disaffection and cringes. She is more and more assured that the person she now refers to as Chloe is not actually the Chloe of her childhood but an entirely different person. She realizes that 'catching up' is perhaps not what she has to do at all but 'learning about' as she is positive she knows nothing about this person she has been calling friend.

Nearly on auto, Max takes out her camera and snaps a shot without even bothering to frame it.

Chloe blinks and glances at the room as if in wonder at what there is that's worth photographing. Truth is that Max couldn't tell her. She doesn't know why she photograph half the things she does.

Falling onto the mini sofa, Chloe pats the spot beside her while looking at Max. Hesitantly, she walks over and sits gently beside her.

"So Max, what have you been up to? How come you haven't gotten in touch with your old friend since coming to Blackwell?"

"Not much, really." Max starts with the easier question. "I've been trying to get better at photography and I'm studying under a famous photographer named Mark Jefferson now. I'm not really sure if I'm getting any better, though."

"And as for why you haven't spoke to me?" Chloe asks again giving Max an unblinking stare.

"I'm sorry." She averts her eyes. "I wanted to get settled in first. I was already so unsure about classes, how I might fit in, and a lot more. I didn't know if I could handle any more stress."

"Yeah, right. You wanted to get settled in first." Chloe snorts turning away. "I'm sure it takes a month to settle in and you were definitely going to pay a visit afterwards."

Max flinches from the sarcasm and doesn't respond. Chloe pulls a pack of cigarettes and lights one smoothly. She blows out smoke into the air and stares at the ceiling not saying anything. Max wanted to speak but didn't really know what to say.

Chloe is right and wrong. Max actually thought a lot about her when since discovering she had been accepted to Blackwell and, during the initial arrival, her thoughts only increased. She really did thought often about and wanted to visit her childhood friend.

However, after a week and she got accustomed, the thoughts slowly faded. Part of it was fear, but perhaps another part was sheer inertia. She made plenty of nice sounding excuses to herself, but it basically boiled down to her not willing to take the risk and spend the effort.

The result is now what happened. A forced reunion by sheer chance that is ruined because of awkwardness and accusations.

A sigh grabs her attention. "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to say that." Chloe looks at her apologetically. "I thought about you a lot while you were gone, you know. Sometimes, I'd imagine you'd just show up out of the blue one day and then things would go back to the way they used to be before…well, you know."

An obvious reference to the death of her father, William. An event that drastically changed everything for her, though Max likely doesn't even know the true extent of it seeing as she moved just shortly afterwards. It is only now that she's beginning to catch a glimpse of just how great that change is.

"Then one day…" Chloe continues. "you actually do show up out of the blue. Like some superhero or something, you even save my life in the process, and what do I do? I act like a bitch." She runs a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry again, alright? It's just…it's just that it's hard for me. Things are happening a bit too quick."

Max swallows. "I know, Chloe. I'm sorry too…for everything."

On an impulse, she leans in and wraps her arms around her. Chloe stiffen in surprise, but slowly loosens up and returns the hug even firmer than Max did. Chloe's face nestles into the crook of Max's neck and she inhales making the latter giggle at the feeling. Hearing the giggle, Chloe smiles and tightens the hug.

After what feels like a long while, they let go. Chloe leans back taking her cigarette back up. "Welcome home, Max. I'm glad you're here with me."

"I'm happy to be here, Chloe." Max smiles tentatively and takes another gander around the space. Her eyes land on a box of posters. "Hey, those…are the Rachel Amber posters that are everywhere. You have a whole box full. Were you the one putting them up?"

Chloe nods. "Mm-hmm. Rachel is…a friend of mine. After you left, I hooked up with her and we became good friends. She taught me a lot of things, you know. More importantly, she was there when no one else was. She is smart. Real fucking smart. She has big plans too. Plans I'm going to be a part of."

"But…" The young woman sighs. "A few months ago, though, she suddenly up and disappears without a word or a phone call. Her school don't know where she is. Her parents don't know where she is. I've been putting up these posters to try to get information on her whereabouts, but I'll be damned if even a single clue comes up."

The anger and disappointment is obvious in Chloe's voice. Max bites her bottom lip in thought. Whoever this Rachel Amber was, she certainly is important to Chloe.

"What was she like?"

Chloe's cigarette hangs a bit lower. "She's a blonde. Pretty hazel eyes. She's about your height, but more filled out. Like I said, she's also real smart. She has like a perfect 4.0 GPA and involved in every fucking thing in that school, including the damn Vortex Club. She has a mile long line of friends and everyone else who isn't friends with her knows who she is."

"She sometimes come off as distant and not caring, but…" Here, a small smile comes onto Chloe's face and she flicks away her cigarette not caring where it lands." When you're down- like, really down, she'll notice and she'll perk you up without you even realizing what she's trying to do. She's damn good at it too. She can read people like a book and know exactly how to talk to them. She can get anyone to believe she's the best thing ever. To the tightasses at Blackwell, she is the hard studying, ambitious golden student. To me and her friends, though, she is the hard partying, most loving girl you can know."

"She is just…hella incredible."

It was a very heartfelt description. Chloe's words were infused with a sort of melancholy that couldn't have come simply from losing a friend, but perhaps something more. She innately feels the connection Chloe had with this girl without needing to ask anymore and, in a way, she feels some of the ache her friend must feel with the girl's loss.

"I want to find her, Max. I just want to see her again. I don't want to lose her like I've lost everyone else. You, my dad. I can't lose her too."

There is an intense sadness radiating from Chloe's eyes. She wanted to somehow take that away, so she reached out and took a hold of Chloe's hand. Chloe did not stiffen this time but immediately returns the gesture. Her fingers maneuvers lightly within Max's grasp as if she is trying to learn the contours of her hand.

The two then falls into a trance-like silence where they only comfort each other with their own presence.

It isn't until Max looks out the window some time later that she notices the sun setting. Had they simply been in there that long or had it been late to begin with? She is unable to recall which.

"Chloe, it's getting a bit late. Do you mind taking me back to Blackwell?" Max asks getting up and dusting herself.

"Blackwell?" Chloe says the word disdainfully. She stretches her lanky body. "Don't be silly – I still haven't gotten you the food I promised. Come to my house and have dinner."

"I don't think I can, Chloe. Blackwell enforces a curfew and I'll get in trouble if I'm late."

"Stay at my place. It'll be just like old times." Chloe exclaims grabbing ahold of Max's hands. "You and me! Pirates together again! C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I don't know." Max says averting her eyes not really comfortable with the idea of getting into trouble at Blackwell. Her grades weren't good as it is and being a troublemaker could make her lose her scholarship.

"…please?"

That word makes Max looks up and Chloe's eyes are pleading with her. Hypnotized by the color of Chloe's eyes, Max could only nod unconsciously. Chloe responds by letting out a joyful whoop and runs out of the building towards her truck. She calls for Max to follow along.

Max gets in the car and hardly a second after she closes the door, Chloe takes off almost hitting an empty barrel in the process. Max clutches onto her seat hoping Chloe is better at driving than she is at parking.

Soon, they are passing houses and other cars. Max begins to recognize familiar areas and know they're close to reaching the Price household. Her thoughts flit to that of Joyce and wonders how Chloe's poor mother is doing. She had been like another mother to Max as a child and she longs to meet the woman again and eat her waffles.

Her phone vibrating snaps her out of her thoughts. She takes out her phone to see a text message from Victoria.

Victoria: Hey Max, u there? You're not back in your room so I wanted to check to see if you're alright

Max is surprised by Victoria's concern again. Just yesterday…no, not even yesterday. Just this afternoon, their entire relationship could be summarized by glares and avoidance. Then an insane bathroom incident happens and, as if with a click of a button, they're sitting beside each other in their rooms, walking together, and, now, texting each other out of concern.

A smile forms on Max's face.

Max: Srry, I'm with Chloe now. I might not be back until tomorrow.

Victoria: Chloe Price? The blue haired girl in the bathroom with us, rite?

Max: Yeah.

Victoria: Huh, I didn't expect u to have friends like that, Maxine. Alright, have fun, I guess. We definitely need to talk more tomorrow, tho.

Max: Gotcha. I'll see you tomorrow.

She lowers the phone and glances at Chloe out of the side of her eye. The other is looking straight ahead. There's that sense again – the sense that Victoria and Chloe are much more familiar than she would have thought. If her impression is right, then it's the bad kind of familiar.

As she moves to put the phone back into her bag, it vibrates again. Max looks at the new pop up to see a text message from Kate this time.

Kate: Hey Max are you okay?

She frowns at the question. She could very much ask the same of the other girl.

Kate had, as of late, been acting very depressed and introverted. Not that the young, pretty girl had ever really been outgoing, but optimism had been a noticeable part of her personality. Much like Max too, she had been a victim of bullying, though to greater extent.

Lately, however, some just feels off.

Max: I'm good. Why?

Kate: You left in a hurry today ignoring even Mr Jefferson calling for you. Then I havent seen you all day and now youre still not here after curfew. Whats wrong?

Max's eyes widen and a flood of memories come to her making her stomach tighten. She had left like that expecting to get shot and wake up in class again only to finally stop that horrible cycle. She hadn't expected to, though, so when she left, she was more of a zombie than a human.

Afterwards, she spent much of the day hiding out in Victoria's room then with Chloe. She must have been in a bad way if even Kate, dealing with her own issues, noticed and is concerned enough to ask.

Max: Nothing really, Kate. It's just been an insane day.

Kate: Want to talk about it? Tea with me tomorrow? I was hoping to talk to you too. Ive been really bothered lately.

Max: I know. Yeah, lets have tea tomorrow.

Kate: Alright. Ill talk to you then. xoxo

Max smiles softly at the last text. It was typical Kate and it makes her heart warm. Kate always seems so much happier in text. Perhaps because Max can't look into her eyes and know that not everything is alright.

Fighting off bullies is something Max can't even do for herself, so she feels inadequately equipped to give Kate the help she really needs. However, if nothing else, she can be a friend to her and, as always, Max will be happy to visit her for tea tomorrow. She hopes Kate still has some of those wonderful lemon zest tea.

"Hey, Mad Max, we're here."

She looks up and sees that they're approaching the Price household. It is a little dark and the lights are out in some of the houses along the road. At Chloe's house, there's an SUV already there.

Chloe pulls in parking at an awkward angle before turning off the ignition and leaning back sighing. She glares hatefully at the SUV.

"Looks like my step-douche is home." She takes out her phone and looks at it. "My mom is probably there too. Alright, lets get in, Max. I don't know about the asshole, but my mom would probably love to see you."

The two of them gets out of the car and Chloe leads the way to the house. Max wonders nervously who Chloe's stepfather is and why would she be unsure about whether he'll like her. What possible reason could he have for disliking her?

Chloe kicks the door open slamming it against the wall making Max flinch.

"Honey, I'm home!" She sings with a tinge of sarcasm. "What's for dinner?"

"Chloe, please don't slam the door!"

"I told you about doing that shit!"

The first voice Max recognizes as Joyce. The second voice is masculine and much louder making her stop in fright. It is a rough voice – the kind that believes it could assert its authority through sheer volume and force. However, there is also something very familiar about it that Max couldn't help but notice.

A man walks from out the corner of the living room wearing a plaid shirt stained with oil, dirt, dust, and various other materials. Max's eyes widen a bit recognizing him as Blackwell's head security guard: David Madsen. Her mind rattles realizing this is the man that Chloe is referring to.

He's also known to be a very dedicated one. What cosmic irony allowed this man to become the stepfather of a model rebel like Chloe? Or maybe it was having David for a stepfather that turned Chloe rebellious. She could hardly decide the real reason leading to this awkward relationship.

"Who is she? You know I don't like having strangers in my house, Chloe."

"She-" Chloe emphasize. "-is no stranger. Her name is Max and, in fact, we've known her longer than you. So don't pull that bullshit here."

"Max?" Joyce asks stepping out from the kitchen. "As in Max Caulfield? Oh my goodness!"

The woman quickly walks over and grabs Max into a hug instantly putting a stop to the brewing argument between Chloe and David. Max is happy to return the gesture and be enveloped in the warm aura Joyce gives off as a matter of course.

"I often thought of this day." Joyce says smiling as a she pulls back. Her eyes burn with unshed tears making Max's own eyes water. "The day when you'd return like a long lost daughter. Welcome home, Max."

"I'm glad to be here, Joyce."

Her voice cracked and she blushes realizing how it makes her look, but Joyce merely laughs lightly.

"Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yep, she is." Chloe answers for her. "She's staying the night too."

"Perfect. I was just going to make potato salad, deviled eggs, and biscuits, but since you're here, I'll add in some of my world famous pancakes."

"Yes! Please!" Max laughs.

"I knew you'd like it! Now you go have a seat while I get it ready. The both of you sit too, Chloe and David."

Joyce's voice was much harder with them than it was with her. David flinches and obligingly sits at the table. Chloe follows suit sitting beside Max. They fall into silence, but it is the kind of silence that is filled with unspoken words, questions, and observations.

The tension between Chloe and her stepfather is harsh. Out of the glances of her eyes, Max can see how stiff Chloe's shoulders are and how she looks everywhere but in David's direction.

Her stepfather, however, has no such problems. David openly examines both Chloe and Max as the latter discovers after she accidentally meets his eyes while trying to glance at him. Afterwards, Max feels as though David is trying to tear her to pieces with his eyes alone.

This fits with what she knows of him as Blackwell's security guard, but it's also surprising to see he brings the same attitude home. How such a man landed a woman like Joyce is beyond Max's comprehension.

A half an hour later, Joyce walks over placing several dishes on the table. Joyce and David got the salad, eggs, and biscuits while Chloe and Max got eggs, biscuits, and, of course, pancakes with fresh honey.

Being the least antagonistic of the entire family, Joyce is also the one to lead them through the family prayers. Max also gets the distinct sense that Joyce may be the only one to be entirely sincere about it and the same sense tells her the woman knew that too.

At last, they dig in. Well, that is Max is the only one who really ate. As soon as Joyce said 'Amen', Max greedily cut out several layers of pancakes – the portion that had the most honey, of course – and hungrily shoves it into her mouth. It is her first meal since breakfast and the delay made it more heavenly than usual.

Afterwards, however, she glances around and notices everyone else seems to be engaged in some type of silent battle. Chloe is taking small bites of a biscuit and chewing very slowly while glaring up at David now and then. David returns the gesture and Joyce looks sternly between the two as if acting as a silent mediator.

Max cringes at this display. She wonders if there was something special about tonight or if every dinner is the same in which case she wonders how they could possibly live like this. It effectively kills the mood and makes table conversation practically impossible.

Joyce makes an effort, however, God bless her. She didn't want Max to associate her household with tension and bad moods, so she tries her best to lighten things. She clears her throat and smiles at the young girl.

"So Max, tell us about yourself. You're attending Blackwell, I assume?"

Nodding in confirmation, Max gets out in-between bites of pancakes, "Yes, Joyce. I'm trying to study photography and Blackwell has one of the best instructors in the country, Mark Jefferson."

"Wonderful, dear." Joyce smile. "And how did you meet back up with Chloe here?"

Max glances over just in time to see her friend tensing up even further. Chloe looks at her too obviously trying to give her a message, though Max can already guess what it is. Obviously, telling the real truth about them meeting when she was blackmailing someone and almost getting shot for it is out of the question.

Feeling eyes on her, Max looks over at David to see the man eyeing her and Chloe suspiciously. He could hardly have guessed what kind of message is being passed between the two, but whatever he's imagining likely puts both in a bad light. Max can only take comfort in that it's no matter what he's imagining, it's probably not anywhere as bad as the truth.

"We…" Max hesitates. "met in the parking lot at Blackwell. Chloe was putting up posters of her friend and saw me. We chatted a bit and I decided to come with her to catch up."

Joyce's smile saddens a bit. "Well, to think one of Chloe's habits actually resulted in a bit of good for once. Sorry for being nosy, Max. I was just interested in knowing how we came to get you back."

"Actually, I'm interested too."

Their attention turns to David who gives Max an examining look. Max returns a guarded stare unable to decipher waiting to see what he would say. Both Joyce's and Chloe's face seems to tighten as if in anticipation of something about to go wrong and, as a result, Max becomes even more wary.

"I think I know you. You're that new girl who came on a photography scholarship, right? Chosen by Jefferson himself. I've also seen you with Kate Marsh a few times." She nods surprised at David's intimate knowledge on the details of her arrival and his mention of Kate. "What I'm curious about is how you got to be friends with Chloe? What's your relationship with her?"

Chloe puts her head into her hands. "Oh God, do you have to do that fucking interrogator shit here?"

"Chloe!" Joyce hissed. "Watch your language at the dinner table!"

"What? It's a simple question." David defends himself. "I just want to get to know Chloe's friends."

"It's okay." Max says hoping to stave off any arguments. "Uh, Chloe and I were friends as kids. We…sort of lost contact for a bit." Chloe snorts at the word 'a bit'. "When I came back, it was a surprise to see her again and so different from what I remember. So I guess you could say we're just old friends who reunited."

David nods slowly. "I can see where you're coming from. Joyce's reaction to seeing you was surprising to me. I wish you had better selection in friends-" Max blinks wondering who David was referring to. "-but so far, I like you better than Chloe's last friend. Hopefully, you'll be a good influence on her."

"Oh, here we go again!" Chloe shouts in exasperation. "Listen to you two. 'Chloe's habits did something good for once', 'a good influence on Chloe'. I can't do anything right, can I?"

Tension tightens Joyce's face. "Chloe, we did not mean it that way."

"How did you fucking mean it then?"

"Don't talk to your mother that way!" David puts his utensils down giving Chloe a hard stare. "We're just saying that Max might be the first good thing you've brought home in years. Before, if it wasn't drugs, that fucking Rachel, or some other bullshit, it-"

Max shrinks into her seat as Chloe jumps up in anger. Despite the efforts to try to avoid it, an argument is going to break out, and she gets the inkling that this isn't the first or the last.

"Did you bring up Rachel again? What? Being a straight A, model student isn't good enough for you?" Chloe gestures violently with her finger. "What the hell does someone have to do to get your approval? Rachel is as good of a person as someone could possibly get!"

David stands up too. "Rachel Amber is a two-faced, manipulative druggie who uses everyone she comes near. She doesn't care about anyone, except herself. She spends half the time with that dealer scumbag, Frank Bowers, and the only reason-"

He didn't get to finish. Chloe snatches her plate and hurls it towards David who dodges at the last second. He trips over his chair falling as the plate smashes against the wall behind him spilling food content onto the floor. Chloe's unthinking action also sends several table wares on the table onto the floor.

The shock of it has Max reeling and she ducks out of her chair to cover herself against the kitchen counter. Over the sound of the smashing plates, Max hears Joyce yells for both of them to calm down. Both ignore her.

"Fuck you, asshole! Don't you ever talk about Rachel like that again! I'll kill you!" Chloe shouts her voice cracking.

Max, her arms still covering her head, peeks out fearfully to see what's happening. Chloe is crying and trembling uncontrollably. David has scrambled back up after his dodge and is glaring at her barely containing his anger. Chloe rushes past and they all hear her footsteps running upstairs and the sound of a door opening and slamming.

In the ensuing silence of the room, Max hears Joyce cries. Feeling wetness against her arms, she touches her cheeks to realize that she is also crying. David is breathing so heavily that each inhale and exhale sounds overwhelming in the room.

"Joyce, I'm…sorry." He finally says.

Then he begins cleaning up. He picks up the various fallen objects, Chloe's plate of food, and begins the process of returning the room to something resembling normalcy. Joyce remains seated at the table with her face in her hands.

Max slowly gets up off the ground. She sniffles and tries to hold back anymore tears wiping away at her face repeatedly. After putting some plates in the sink, David turns around and stops as if remembering her presence.

"Max, uh, do you want me to drive you home?" He stutters unsure of himself. "Just let me clean up a bit and we'll go to my car."

"No t-thanks, David. I-" Max stops having to wipe away at more tears and to steady her voice. "Blackwell is on c-curfew now so I can't go back. I'll just…go s-see Chloe."

David nods absently. Being Blackwell's security, he likely knows that already but his head is probably muddled and unable to think straight.

Max walks away from the scene and heads upstairs. She isn't at all sure if she is ready or able to help Chloe deal with her emotions. Even at her best, she wouldn't be that great at it and she is in a terrible state right now. Nonetheless, she knew Chloe is no doubt feeling very bad right now and she wanted to do whatever she can.

She stops in front of Chloe's room wiping away the remaining tears and takes a deep breath. Even through the door, she can hear Chloe sobbing. Another deep breath and Max goes in. Her friend is sitting in her chair with legs on the windows sill looking far more relaxed than she must really feel. She is smoking a cigarette trying to control her sobbing.

Still nervous about whether she's doing the right thing, her fears are assuaged when the other girl turns and tries to smile invitingly putting her cigarette into an ashtray. With her tear-streaked face, it didn't really work but Max gets the idea.

She also gets the idea to go over and wrap her arms around Chloe burying the latter's face into her shoulders.

"M-Max? Wha…?"

"I just thought that you might like a shoulder to cry on."

A pause. "Yeah, I do like that. Thanks, Max."

Chloe's shoulder tremble as small gasps of sobbing comes through now and then. Max feels her shoulder quickly become moist with tears, but ignores it figuring that allowing her to let it all out will ultimately be beneficial.

Feeling Chloe's body become heavier, Max gets the idea to lead them towards Chloe's bed. There, the two fall down lying next to each other. They shifted a bit and Chloe's head now rest against Max's chest with her sobbing having died down a lot though she sniffles repeatedly.

Max had thought they would lie like that in silence for the remainder of the night, but Chloe leans away from her and breaks the quiet.

"God, I feel like such a fucking asshole right now." Chloe says through her sniffling. "I shouldn't have thrown my plate like that, but I couldn't help it. When he started saying that shit, I couldn't take it."

"Rachel is not like that, Max. Don't believe that asshole." Max remains silent. "Yeah, she does some drugs, but who doesn't? It doesn't stop her from getting good grades."

"She is definitely not two faced. She is a good person, Max, and she cares about others. She cares about me. She told me she was going to LA and she wanted me to come with her. We were going to have fun together and get away from this hellhole before she disappeared."

Max swallows a lump in her throat understanding a bit more the source of Chloe's intense anger. David had hit some very sore spots and possibly insecurities she had in her relationship with Rachel. Her explosion is her defense mechanism trying to protect the little bit of security she has left in Arcadia Bay.

Reaching out, she clutches onto Chloe's shoulders. The other girl looks at Max. Against the moonlight, Max can still make out the tear streaks on her face and her reddened eyes. Briefly, she wonders how she looks to Chloe too.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Chloe. Rachel sounds like a wonderful person and you're lucky to have found her."

Max isn't entirely sure if what she is saying is the right thing, but it is what came to her heart. Chloe gives her a shaky smile and wipes away the last remnants of her previous sobs.

"Thanks, Max. She is a wonderful person." Chloe leans forward into Max again. "I just want to find her again. I want to find her and run far away from this place with her."

Max nods against Chloe. Their touching bodies seem to allow Chloe to share her own feelings directly with her. That moment, Max envied Rachel. Whoever she is, she must be a genuinely special person to have Chloe search for her relentlessly and defend her against accusations.

If only she had someone like that in the world. Someone who could make her feel like the world is alright just by thinking about them.