Max slowly lifted one eyelid open as her hand began its search for the comforting warmth she held onto for most of the night. Her brain registered that Chloe was in fact not in bed with her as she simply grasped at the still warm sheets beside her. After a moment a sleepy sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes again, instead nuzzling her face into her pillow.
In an instant her stomach did a flip as she was suddenly lifted up from the bed, letting out a quiet yelp in surprise.
"Chloeee," Max groaned out as she felt the two strong hands holding her up, bringing her closer to the leather-clad chest belonging to her girlfriend. The brunette simply gave up as she was far too tired to complain, choosing to instead burrow her face into the bare skin that peeked out from the worn leather jacket.
With some effort, she could register the sounds of bare feet against the wooden floor, the momentary sway from time to time as Chloe carried her girlfriend throughout their house - her brain was still in the process of waking up.
"Sit up," Chloe's voice called out as Max noticed they had stopped. One eye flew open as she looked up at the punk up above holding a wide grin.
"Whyyy," Max groaned out again and closed her eyes instead, burrowing even further into Chloe's chest.
"I'm making you breakfast and I can't carry your ass the entire time." Chloe hoisted Max up a bit further, adjusting her grip. "C'mon."
"Fiiineee," Max finally called out and adjusted in her place, wrapping her arms around Chloe's neck for support.
Chloe slowly sat her girlfriend down on the kitchen island, holding her for a few moments so she could adjust to being put down after being carried. Max let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes, looking down at the punk who stood between her legs with the grin again.
"Morning," Chloe whispered and moved in for a chaste kiss, keeping her hands on Max's hips.
"Mm. Morning."
"What do you want for breakfast?" Chloe moved away from Max and swung the fridge wide open, presenting its contents with her hand as she stood beside it with a smile.
"Eggs and Bacon sound nice." Max yawned and stretched her arms out, feeling the ache in her muscles from last night.
"Eggs and Bacon it is," Chloe spoke and moved in towards the fridge, taking out a pack of bacon and an egg tray, slamming the fridge shut with her leg as she went to work.
Max sat quietly on the kitchen counter and let her head fall to her side, resting on her shoulder as she watched over her biker girlfriend making breakfast. For a badass, biker punk chick who single-handedly ran an outlaw club, she was a real sweetheart at home - that's what Max thought at least. Nobody knew the real, sappy and romantic Chloe Price that Max had fallen in love with years ago. The brunette let a smile work up on her face as she kept watching her girlfriend go through the motions - breaking eggs, whisking, frying the bacon, flipping it over periodically.
"You sleep well?" Chloe spoke to distract herself as she cut through the eggs and swapped pans over to flip over the sizzling bacon.
"Mhm," Max hummed out with the smile still present on her face as she kept her eyes on Chloe.
"Sorry about... about Rachel and that shit," Chloe apologised quietly.
"It's alright," Max mumbled and closed her eyes, placing her hands on her lap as she swung her legs to distract herself.
Within moments, Chloe was stood in front of Max again. "Hey - it won't happen again," she whispered and kissed her softly.
Max nodded, "I know," she whispered back and kept her eyes closed, leaning forward slightly as her forehead found Chloe's just below her.
"We're done with this shit in a month or two, just hold on for me - m'kay?" Chloe gave Max a flurry of soft kisses on her lips again as reinforcement of her promise.
Max simply nodded again. "I will."
On cue Chloe's ears picked up the familiar hum of a motorcycle engine, the sound distant - originating from down the street yet again. She bit her lip and knocked her forehead lightly against Max's a few times, trying to flush her nerves as she already knew who it was. Her eyes were focused on the deep-blue pair that belonged to Max - her brunette girlfriend already holding the sad, knowing look on her face.
"I'll get her out of here. Finish breakfast?" Chloe gestured over her shoulder to the sizzling bacon and eggs. Max nodded and looked away from the punk, not wanting to meet her gaze anymore as she slipped off the island and walked past.
Chloe put her hands on her hips and dropped her head, looking at the floor momentarily as she thought about what she should say to Rachel. A few quiet seconds later she heard the engine roar loudly in her front yard, cut short after a moment as the punk figured that the blonde was pissed. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a sigh, making her way out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the front door.
As she approached the door she heard the knock - slow, steady but heavy. Rachel was passive-aggressive pissed.
"Hey," Chloe spoke as she swung the door open, meeting the fully clad biker blonde - helmet held under her arm as one hand was taking off her riding gloves.
"Mind if I come in?" Rachel asked and instantly gave herself an invite, stepping forward.
Just before she was able to step past Chloe, the woman shot her hand out to the side and firmly planted it against the wall - stopping Rachel in her tracks. "I do."
"Oh." Rachel stepped back with surprise - Chloe had never turned her away before.
"Why are you here?" Chloe asked the obvious question - the one she already knew the answer to.
"Don't be stupid." Rachel frowned and took her helmet from underneath her arm, holding it beside her instead.
"It's 8AM - can't this wait until I'm at Miley's?"
"No, it can't."
"Rach-," Chloe began but stopped when a finger jabbed into her semi-bare chest.
"Don't 'Rach' me. We're talking about this Price and we're talking about it right now," Rachel demanded and dropped her hand back down beside her, holding a scowl on her face as she kept eyes on her vice-president.
"Fine. Come in and give me a few minutes to get dressed." Chloe gave up and dropped her hand, allowing the blonde to walk past her and stand in the hallway. She made a point of slamming the door shut, causing Rachel to jump.
Chloe walked back down the hallway and shot a glance towards the kitchen, watching as Max was quietly working away at the pans. Momentarily she stopped as she swore she could hear the sniffle over the sizzling bacon, seeing one of the freckled hands drift up to rub her nose. Chloe dropped her head down and continued back down to the bedroom to get dressed.
Minutes later she reappeared down the hallway in her full gear - a usual grungy t-shirt, her leather jacket, faded jeans and her combats. Her hand lingered over her P226 as she holstered it, shooting another glance towards the kitchen - Max was sitting down quietly, picking away at her food but not eating it. Chloe's heart clenched in her chest for a second time, shortly being replaced by anger towards the blonde.
"Let's go." Chloe yanked Rachel's hand and dragged her out of her house, slamming the door shut behind them.
"Let fucking go-," Rachel seethed out as she fought Chloe's grip.
"Get on your fucking bike and let's ride." Chloe shot back and let go of her grip, swinging her legs over her motorcycle and wasting no time in getting it started.
Rachel watched for a few seconds as she saw the pissed off punk biker mount her bike and roar out of the driveway, stopping a hundred or so metres away from the house - waiting for the blonde. Rachel shot a glance at the house behind her and quickly put on her helmet, following Chloe.
Chloe pulled the breaks hard, throwing stones and dirt everywhere as her hog came to a halt moments later on the gravel. She didn't waste a second as she threw her helmet off, hanging it on the handlebars and stepping over her bike. She adjusted her jacket and ran her fingers through her hair to let it free, walking towards the cliffside of the visitor outlook she had stopped at. She heard the distant engine of another motorcycle, smirking to herself as she nearly managed to lose Rachel on the winding roads of the Oregon coastline.
A minute later the second motorcycle pulled in close to Chloe's, the occupant blonde stepping off herself as she took some time to get herself over to the punk waiting beside the roadside barrier.
"Talk," Chloe simply stated as she had her arms crossed, focusing on the waves of the Pacific Ocean ahead, crashing against the escarpments far below them.
Rachel put her hands on her hips as she shot a scornful glance at Chloe. "What the fuck are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that I'm tired, that I'm done with this life," Chloe shot back and turned around, meeting Rachel's gaze. "I'm leaving."
"Why?"
"I already told you."
"What? Just because your plaything is afraid you're gonna get a booboo?" Rachel mocked Chloe in a childish voice.
Chloe stepped forward in anger, fists already clenched. "Don't call her that-"
"I'll call her whatever the fuck I want, I don't have an obligation to be nice to her, to you or to anyone!" Rachel herself dropped her hands as she knew she had pissed off the punk. "I run the fucking club, not you!"
"Take it back," she growled, taking another step forward.
"That's all she really is - just a fuckin' whore for you to have fu-"
Rachel yelped in surprise as the fist made contact with her face, the sickening crunch echoing out over the silence of the outlook they stopped at. Her hands shot up to her nose almost instantly, the blood following up almost immediately as the metallic taste was already invading Rachel's senses.
"You... You bitch!" Rachel mumbled out with a half-nervous chuckle, biting down her jaw and grinding her teeth for second as a distraction, trying to process the fact that Chloe - her vice-president for nearly 9 years - had hit her, nevermind broken her nose.
"Don't ever call her that," Chloe shot out as she jabbed her finger into Rachel's slightly exposed sternum, ignoring her own residual pain in her knuckles. "Never call her that again or I'll do worse than break your fucking nose."
The blonde took the hint as she stepped back, still holding onto her bleeding nose. The blaring pain kept searing through her brain with each beating pulse of her heart, piling up as Rachel had struggled to keep focus on what she had wanted to talk to Chloe about. Her eyes began to follow the punk as she stepped away, walking back towards the roadside barrier and sitting on it - her own gaze focused on the ocean again.
It took a few minutes for either woman to calm down enough to say anything. Surprisingly, it was the punk who initiated conversation again.
"Why can't I leave, Rach?" Chloe called out in a half-broken, half-tired voice. She didn't want to do this shit anymore - the past few months had been a rollercoaster that she didn't sign up for. "Why can't I just pack my bags, hang up my colours and leave?"
"There's bylaws in place, Chlo," Rachel spoke back and ignored the blood covering her lips - she had worse. "You have responsibilities - I'd need to find a replacement, smooth over the transfer - it's a lot of work."
"I... I know." Chloe dropped her head into her hands and let out a sigh. "This shit with Prescott - Rach, I can't do it."
"Chloe, you have to." Rachel approached Chloe slowly, still wary that the woman could blow up yet again at any second. "I need you for this, please - I can't deal with Sean alone."
"Rach, you didn't even take this to the table." Chloe threw her head back and looked over at Rachel standing a few feet away. "Why didn't you do it? You broke the very same bylaws that you're trying to get me to follow. Bylaws that we swore to uphold - remember?"
"Chloe, we need the money - now more than ever." Rachel narrowed her eyes in anger as her free hand clenched into a fist. "You know for a fact that if I took this to the table then it'd be a split vote in favour of no."
"The club has reserves! You haven't even talked to Brooklyn, haven't even had her run the books!" Chloe looked up at Rachel as one hand ran through her blue hair. "Valkyries aren't broke, Rach - the club only needs to stop for a few months, lay low."
"We're broke."
The atmosphere changed in seconds as Chloe read Rachel's face. She wasn't lying.
"How? How the fuck... Rach, we had $50,000 in the treasury! Where the fuck did it go?"
Rachel went quiet and turned around, trying to wipe away some of the blood that still kept pouring out from her nostrils.
"Rachel." Chloe stood up and clenched her fists again. "What the fuck did you do with the money?"
"I... s-shit, don't be mad. Don't be mad - okay?" Rachel turned around in her place, kicking up gravel around her at the speed which she did so.
"Speak - now."
"I invested it," Rachel stated and dropped her head down, looking at the droplets of blood that gathered on the stones below her.
"You invested it? Invested in what? " Chloe scowled her hardest yet as she bored her eyes into Rachel, her fingers digging into the palms of her hands at how hard she held her fists.
Rachel looked away. "Uhm. U-Underground casinos mostly. Stuff in Portland, a bit in Seattle."
"Rachel! That's not investment - that's gambling! Were you out of your fucking mind?" Chloe exclaimed and took a step forward, grasping onto the blonde's shoulder and pulling her back around. Rachel yelped in surprise as she took a step back, stumbling over some gravel.
"I know! Okay!" Rachel dropped her head down again as she admitted defeat "I fucked up. Real bad."
"You lost it all."
"...yeah."
Chloe couldn't believe she was hearing this. Years of successful deals, years of risking her ass, years of extortion, drug dealing, weapon smuggling, booze running - all of it gone to shit in less than a week because Rachel decided to try her luck in an underground casino against skewed odds.
"I'm taking this to the table," Chloe breathed out and turned back around, watching the ocean ahead of her.
"No! Please - don't," Rachel begged, stepping forward and grasping Chloe's hand.
"Rachel, you fucked up big. I am not covering for you this time," she said and shook off Rachel's hand, putting her hands in her pockets instead to avoid touching the blonde.
Rachel kicked the gravel up angrily at her own stupidity. All the years of building up her reputation, her respect - building up her club with her best friend. All of it gone to shit because she wanted to gamble away the clubs funds. She wasn't going to win a vote against Chloe if this was brought to the table.
"I... I may aswell step down now," Rachel croaked out and winced in pain as she knocked her nose with her hand accidentally.
"Oh, so you accuse me of bailing out - but suddenly stepping down to not face the consequences is fine?" Chloe turned around and frowned at the blonde, watching as she shrunk in her place.
Rachel nodded moments later. "Y-you're right."
"I'm damn right," Chloe called out and sat herself back down on the roadside barrier, dropping her face into her hands. "I'm done with this life. What you pulled... you ruined everything we built, Rach."
Rachel went silent and let out a sigh after a moment. She swung her legs over the barrier and sat down next to Chloe, her own eyes focusing on the waves far below, crashing slowly against the jagged rocks of the coastline. She closed her eyes and tried to take in a breath of the salty air - instantly she laughed in regret as pain shot all over her face, originating from her broken nose.
"You hit good," the blonde biker admitted through her pained laughter.
"I told you for years I did. Guess you had to find out sometime, huh?" Chloe flashed a weak smile as she looked beside her at the blonde.
"So, this is it." Rachel looked at Chloe and then back down at the rocks. "This is where you sign off and the club ends?"
"Not yet," Chloe confessed with her weak smile and put one hand on Rachel's thigh. "I have three months to fix the shit you pulled."
"That's generous, even for Max." Rachel stifled a giggle as she hadn't wanted to experience more pain than she was already in.
"Yeah, well - she's been dealing with my dumb ass for years," Chloe mumbled and slapped Rachel's thigh lightly. "She knows how much the club still means to me - guess she wanted to give me some time to say my goodbyes."
"Three months is a lot of time for goodbyes."
"I… I guess I just wanted time." Chloe looked back over at the ocean and moved her hands back onto her lap. "It's hard thinking about this - I grew up with everyone in the club, we all shared all those moments together. You're my second family and I really, really don't want to abandon that."
"But you will," Rachel pointed out with a smug smile.
Chloe nodded, "I will," she repeated the words with her own smile, "If Max wants me to do it, then I will. I'm serious this time."
"Baby, please just... no, I'm fine. Yes. Yes. Yes, it isn't me, I promise. Just ask her to come over, okay? It looks like a bloodbath in here and it's only going to get worse. Come with her, okay? You know how she is around us without somebody she knows. Alright. Love you."
Chloe threw her phone onto the bar counter after a moment and dropped her head back.
"Well?" Rachel asked as she held an icepack over a bloodied tissue under her nose, raising an eyebrow.
"Max is coming with Kate, don't worry - you're not going to die from blood loss." Chloe smiled and sat herself on the stool beside Rachel, looking over the the injury she had given to the blonde. "You owe her, like, a lot."
"Yeah, I do," Rachel agreed and ran her free hand over the bridge of her nose, wincing in pain. "I should probably start repaying that debt now, huh?"
"You should." Chloe nodded and tapped her finger on the counter. "Not visiting our house at 2AM in the morning would be a start."
"Not visiting your house at all would be a start."
"Even better."
"Looks nasty," Miley called out as she entered the bar from the back room, instantly shooting a glance at the two women sitting nearby, focusing on Rachel in particular.
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Thanks," she replied sarcastically.
"Now what'd you do to earn that, huh?" Miley raised an eyebrow as she took her place behind the counter, standing in front of the two women who sat on their stools.
"Said things I shouldn't have," Rachel admitted solemnly and shot an apologetic look towards Chloe.
Miley looked over at Chloe and saw the blank expression resting on her face, putting two and two together. "Right."
"Well shiiiit - what the hell happened to you girl?" Julie exclaimed as she swung the bar door open, entering with her swagger, hands in her jacket. She wore her auburn hair in a short pony-tail, her sides clipped to reveal her numerous ear piercings clearly - her own leather jacket covered her simple white tee with jeans to boot.
Hannah had followed closely behind with a face of concern - she had been a contrast to her girlfriend, instead sporting a pixie-cut in her natural dark-ginger colour and wearing a pink Bratmobile shirt and some camo pants.
"That looks pretty bad," Hannah added as she caught up with Julie and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Yeah, thanks guys - you're not the first ones to point out the obvious," Rachel replied and tilted her head back a bit.
Chloe extended her fist towards Julie and Hannah as they mirrored her, the three women exchanging fist bumps as a greeting.
"Where's Brooklyn?" Chloe asked as she looked behind the two women who just entered, failing to notice the straggler who always hung out with them.
"She fell back near the slip road off the I-5. Called us later and said she'll catch us at church because she had to refuel and was peckish," Julie mused and sat herself beside Chloe, dragging Hannah next to her as the standing girl simply pressed her body into the pony-tailed biker.
"Ellen, Daisy?" Chloe continued the headcount as she spun on her seat and faced the bar.
"Dunno. They should've been here by now," Hannah added in as her eyes scanned over the interior of the bar.
On cue the door to the bar flung open, revealing two more women in their late 20's - Ellen and Daisy. The short, raven-haired one - Daisy - wore her sleeveless leather jacket over an Iron Maiden shirt that was a tad short, revealing her pierced navel, and completed her outfit with a pair of black cargo pants. Ellen came in her usual get up of a plaid shirt covered by her jacket and some torn jeans, her face being covered with various piercings - ranging from her lip to her eyebrows and crescendoing into a full blown piercing gallery on her right ear. The biggest attractor that killed her look was her purple tinted hair, one side shaved completely - an idea slipped to her by none other than Chloe.
"Speak of the devil." Rachel groaned as she held up her head again, struggling to maintain her gaze on the two women who entered.
"Sorry we're late," Daisy called out as she exchanged fist bumps with the rest of the women.
"Yeah, Sheriff Asshole pulled us over." Ellen scoffed and fist bumped Chloe, following it up with their secret handshake - bursting into chuckles afterwards.
"What'd he want?" Chloe asked as she turned around on her stool again and reclined her back against the counter.
Daisy smirked, "Just some bullshit about keeping an eye on us - y'know, the usual scare tactics," she replied and sat herself on the table opposite the bar.
"How'd you get that?" Ellen pointed towards Rachel's broken nose with an eyebrow raised.
"Pissed off a certain blue-haired biker." Rachel grinned and revealed her bloodied teeth to the group.
"Daaamn - probably deserved it." Ellen laughed and fist bumped Chloe again as the blue-haired biker joined her in laughter.
"Yeah, laugh it up whilst I'm still out of it - your ass is on the line once I'm fixed up." Rachel pointed a finger at Ellen as the woman's face dropped into shock. "I'm kidding, jeez."
"You never know with you, Rach." Chloe pointed out and shot a glance at the blonde, slowly locking her eyes on the door to the bar instead.
"We waiting for somebody else?" Julie asked after moving away from a kiss with Hannah, looking over her shoulder towards Chloe and Rachel.
"Brooklyn. Kate and Max too." Chloe bit her lip momentarily and turned back towards the counter, smiling at Miley.
Hannah scratched her head in thought. "Max? Kate? Why are they... oh. I'm dumb," she dropped her head down awkwardly. Julie took the opportunity to move in for a kiss, leaving one on her cheek.
"So - how's things between you and Max?" Miley asked as she looked down at Chloe.
With a shrug, she opened her mouth to speak, "Better, I guess," she said.
"Better?" Daisy asked as she reclined back on the table and used her elbows for support.
"Alright - pretty fucking rad." Chloe chuckled and received a rousing cheer from around the bar.
"Good. You two never could stay mad at each other for long." Julie playfully hit Chloe on the thigh with her fist, following it up with a wink.
"It got pretty rocky the past few months though." Chloe lowered her voice and focused on the liquor shelf behind Miley. "We got pretty close to breaking up. It uh... sucked."
Silence befell the group of women as the only sound audible was the radio playing some grungy punk song. Nobody had wanted to mention anything as they slowly came to the realisation that the Chloe had acted like an asshole for the past few months because of relationship issues. After an awkward moment, Rachel groaned again and dropped her head back down in pain.
"Chloe - next time you want to use me as a punching bag, give me a warning - yeah?" Rachel spoke through the searing pain and heard the round of laughter around the group.
"Sure," Chloe stated and looked at the door to the bar - her ears picking up the familiar sound of a car engine, the symbolic screech of tires that only Max could achieve. That had also meant she was annoyed.
A minute later the door opened and the brunette woman stepped inside, followed by a blonde-haired woman of similar age - two hands clasping a bag in front of her.
Chloe wasted no time in jumping up from her seat, wandering over towards the two newcomers with a grin. Kate replied with her own, beaming - god given - smile that nearly blinded the punk biker. Max simply kept a straight face as she met Chloe's eyesight. As her mouth flashed a wistful smile, she slowed her step and understood, slipping her arm around Max's waist and turning towards Kate.
"You'll deal with Rachel, right Katie?" Chloe asked in a hushed tone, seeing the blonde freeze up for a second.
Daisy dropped her head back so she could look over at Kate, "Don't worry - we don't bite," she said and followed her words up with a wink.
"Not on the first date anyway," Miley added in as another round of laughter echoed around the bar.
"Gee - that gives me hope." Kate giggled and nodded at Chloe, walking past her and Max quietly.
"We'll be back in 30 - don't start church without me." Chloe waved back towards the bar and led Max outside.
Max clasped her hand with Chloe's as they walked down the street silence, attracting a few looks as usual - mostly people eyed the punk's jacket and her patches, staying clear of their path as they knew she was trouble. Occasionally the brunette gave the punk a squeeze with her hand, immediately receiving one back as they hadn't wanted to speak that much - not until they found somewhere to sit and clear their heads.
After a few more minutes of walking, Max decided they were a sufficient enough distance away from Miley's Tavern - she led Chloe over towards a bench on the sidewalk and sat them both down, their fingers intertwined.
"What's up?" Chloe asked as she turned in her seat to face her girlfriend, placing her free arm over the back of the bench.
"I'm frustrated. Annoyed. Pissed off." Max huffed out in a whisper, making the point of squeeze Chloe's hand with each word. "Rachel took you from me again."
"I know." Chloe shuffled closer and brought up her hand from behind the bench, running it over Max's freckled cheek as she smiled. "I'm sorry - I tried to get her to leave."
Max closed her eyes and smiled back, "I heard," she mumbled out and focused on Chloe's touch. "Did you at least sort things out?"
"Mhm."
"Did you also give her a broken nose?"
"...yeah." Chloe admitted and heard Max giggle softly.
"Good - she deserved it," Max spoke again and moved her head to the side, kissing Chloe's hand a few times.
"That she did." Chloe gritted her teeth at the reasoning behind her outburst on Rachel and her confession. She did deserve it.
"Breakfast was lonely." Max opened her eyes and met Chloe's saddened expression with her own.
"I'll make it up to you - Two Whales after church?" Chloe raised an eyebrow hopefully, giving Max a weak smile to cheer the brunette up.
Max nodded and smiled back. "It's a date - I have a craving for Joyce's pancakes," she admitted and shuffled over closer to Chloe. The biker took the hint and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, pulling her close as Max rested her head on the leather-clad shoulder.
"It's... It's going to get pretty rough for the next three months," Chloe spoke quietly and heard the disappointed sigh escape Max's lips.
"Why?" Max simply asked.
"Rachel - Let's just say she fucked up. Like - mega big - super duper mega big." Chloe nodded to herself as she spoke.
"Chloe Price big?"
She laughed, "Worse," she said in reply and gave Max a kiss on the temple. "I'm going to have to babysit the club for a while."
"Chloe, you promised." Max moved her head up as she looked at Chloe with a frown.
"I know. I'm going to keep my promise, okay?" Chloe put her forehead against Max's slowly and looked at her deep-blue eyes. "It's just that Rachel put the club on its last legs. I... I don't want it to go Max, even if I leave."
Max let out a quiet sigh as she understood. Chloe poured her life into the Valkyries - the brunette knew that - and it'd take extraordinary effort to get her to live a life outside of it. But for now, she had to let the punk biker have her way, leave a lasting legacy - something she could be proud of so she wouldn't have regrets.
"It means a lot to me," Chloe confessed and felt the pair of lips against her cheek seconds later, followed by another sigh. "Three months is all I need."
"I'm willing to live through it," Max whispered and nuzzled her face into Chloe's cheek, "I just want you in the end, okay?"
"Yessir." Chloe saluted, prompting Max to giggle quietly and give her another kiss.
With another sigh, Max closed her eyes again and began listening to the sounds of Arcadia around them - the distant waves against the shoreline, the seagulls and birds high above, the creaking of the vast forests that surrounded the town. Calming - soothing - sounds of the town she had grown up in. The town that her and Chloe would leave soon and travel wherever they wanted, just like Chloe had always promised Max in their teens. A dream come true.
Chloe looked back in the direction they had come from, getting lost in her own thoughts and thinking whether it was smart to keep things away from Max anymore - she was afraid that she'd fuck up again.
"Come on, let's get back - Brooklyn is probably there already and Kate's more than likely finished fixing up Rachel."
Chloe walked into the bar with Max under her arm, her eyes quickly scanning over the interior as she saw it hadn't changed much in their absence. The same group of women stood near the bar, talking amongst themselves and laughing occasionally - all of them accommodating the blonde girl that had arrived with Max only an hour ago.
There was a newcomer present in their midst - a short, platinum haired woman with similar attire to her sisters. She kept smiling over in the direction of Kate, running her hand over her black jeans to wipe something off them - she had a casual leather jacket with the three-piece sprawled out across the back and a Metallica t-shirt under it. That was Brooklyn - club treasurer and probably the least-likeliest woman to be a biker.
"Brook!" Chloe exclaimed and ran forward to fist bump the woman.
"Hey Chloe!" Brooklyn replied with a smile, extending her hand to accept the fist bump. In true Brooklyn fashion, she missed the first time and prompted a few laughs from around her. "S-sorry."
"Chloe, finally," Rachel spoke out in hopes of saving Brooklyn some shame, smiling towards her vice-president who now stood nearby - the blonde's nose had a plaster applied across the bridge, the swelling having substantially disappeared since the initial accident as the blood was cleared up completely.
"Wow - did you do that Kate?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing at Rachel's nose. Kate giggled and then nodded.
Rachel stood up and moved in for a quick kiss on Kate's cheek, causing her to blush almost immediately. "Kate's a miracle maker, I hardly feel anything anymore."
"That's just the painkillers talking." Miley pointed out to another round of laughter from the women gathered around.
"Well, if it is then thank you Katie for drugging me up," Rachel slurred her words for effect as the posse broke out in laughter again. She couldn't stop herself from stealing another kiss from the woman, causing her cheeks to burn bright red at this point.
"Alright, I think you've harassed Kate enough girls," Max spoke and then extended her hand towards Kate, pulling her out of the gaggle. "I've got to get this woman back to her actual job - patching up people who deserve it."
"Woow - low blow Caulfield," Daisy called out and then broke out in laughter, joined by the posse yet again.
Chloe moved in to steal a kiss from Max, holding her lips against the brunettes for a few seconds.
"I'll pick you up after?" Chloe whispered and heard Max nod, following it up with her own kiss.
"Deal."
