Hey guys, welcome back. Sorry this took so long, having no laptop really sucked. It is safely back in my hands now, so all balance is restored. I imagine this chapter happening while Max is still at Blackwell. In this fic, Chloe didn't get kicked out, although she still is a rebel at heart, and Rachel moved to LA to pursue her modelling career more seriously to give some context.


Chapter Four: Runway

Price House

For the first time in about a month or so, Rachel was coming to visit. Ever since moving to LA to follow her modelling dream, she hadn't been able to return to Arcadia Bay. She had been working hard to make a name for herself. While it had been going slowly, she was gradually getting somewhere. The more experience she had, the better. Chloe was excited to see her again. As helpful as texting and video chats were, nothing was ever as good as the face to face, real deal.

Rachel was supposed to be here within the hour, but with her you never knew. She wasn't the most punctual of people, not that Chloe could really talk. At least she had Max to keep her company and make the time pass by quickly. Max and Rachel had talked a little before, enough to feel comfortable around one another. That acclimatization time had applied more to Max than the sociable blonde. Just when she was about to go stir-crazy waiting, Chloe heard a confident knock at the front door. Eager to see if it was Rachel, she raced downstairs, nearly tripping over her boots left at the bottom in the process. Cursing under her breath and straightening herself out, she opened the door.

As expected, Rachel stood there, smiling when their eyes met, "Did you miss me?" Without another word, Chloe pulled her into a fierce hug. Faltering for a second, the blonde then proceeded to return the hug. "Wow, I guess you did."

"Maybe a little," Chloe admitted as she let her go. "Come on, let's get you upstairs."

The two women proceeded to head up the stairs, entering Chloe's bedroom. Max sat up as they came inside, offering a warm smile. "Hey, Rachel."

"Max, fancy seeing you here," Rachel greeted, winking at her. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything." The hipster blushed at the insinuation, just as she had hoped.

Chloe stepped in to save her. "Quit picking on Max, Rach. It's literally been two seconds."

"Aw, but it's fun." When Chloe narrowed her eyes in warning, Rachel shrugged. "Fine, fine, I'll tone it down a bit. I'm just happy to see you guys. Which reminds me… I got you presents because I'm such a good friend."

"Hand over the pirate booty," Chloe demanded impatiently.

"Alright, patience is a virtue," Rachel chuckled, setting her bag on the bed and rummaged around. "Since you're always making fun of me for believing in, how did you put it? Voodoo bullshit, I got you this while I was in LA." She handed over a black vest shirt for Chloe to look at. Near the neck line was a small motif depicting a crystal ball and hands floating just above it. The accompanying text underneath read 'My crystal ball tells me you're an asshole'.

"That's too perfect. Did they make this shirt specially for Chloe?" Max asked amusedly as she looked at the shirt.

"Don't think you've escaped my amazing gift giving skills, Caulfield. First…" Rachel pulled out a pair of lens less glasses, grinning from ear to ear. "No real hipster is complete without a set of these." That grin only widened, turning mischievous as she fished out a good quality journal, alongside some random arts and craft type items. "I heard you like scrapbooking, so thought I'd give you a hand. Now you have awesome paper to write about all those 'special late night encounters' you have with Chloe. I expect it to be full in like a week."

"A week?! Jeez…" Max looked away, embarrassed at the insinuation.

That was exactly the reaction Rachel had been hoping for. "You are just too fun to tease. I'm jealous of you, Chloe."

"You should be," Chloe mentioned with a grin, happy to jump in on the playful teasing.

Rachel's hazel eyes lit up with delight now that she had backup. "Oooh, sounds like I'm missing out."

"Dog, please stop talking now…" Max pleaded, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Sure, but I can't promise other topics will be any less embarrassing." An idea popped into Rachel's head then, one she couldn't wait to propose. "Hey, I have an idea. How about we do a little runway fashion show? Chloe can show off her knew shirt and I can bust a couple moves. Of course, you'd have to take some pictures, Max."

Chloe shook her head, crossing her arms. "I don't think so. Modelling ain't my gig."

Knowing exactly which buttons to press to get Chloe riled up, Rachel allowed herself a broad grin. "Not up to the challenge? I see, I guess this is yet another thing I'm better at than you."

"Hey, I never said I couldn't do it, just that I didn't want to," Chloe protested, her ego and pride taking over. "I would totally kick your ass."

"Prove it," Rachel coaxed.

Not one to back down from a challenge, and eager to prove herself, Chloe assumed a battle stance. "You're on. Bring it."

The three of them cleared a space, leaving a gap in the middle so they could strut their stuff. Quickly, Chloe changed into her new shirt, ready to put her bold words into action. Max stood at the end of the makeshift runway, camera in hand. Despite her initially hesitation and complaints, by the end of it Chloe was getting really into the whole runway thing. The way the bluenette could get so carried away was kind of cute, not that Max would ever admit it to her face. That was a sure-fire way to get hit. As expected, when Rachel took the stage she did so with poise and grace. She was very serious about her dream to model and that passion showed now. This little show was probably the highlight of Max's photographic career so far.

Once the short show was over, Rachel turned to Max with a dazzling smile. "So, who rocked the runway best, in your opinion?"

"Me, duh," Chloe announced confidently as she began sifting through the photos. Max had taken some pretty sweet shots, not that she had ever doubted that.

Rachel shook her head at the overconfidence. "I beg to differ."

Pondering her choices, Max finally decided on a winner. "For the sake of peace, I'll have to pick Chloe."

"Ha, suck it, Rach," Chloe shouted gleefully, very ready to gloat about her victory.

This wasn't a surprising outcome for several reasons. "I sense a bit of bias here. Mind you, if you had picked me, Chloe would never have let you hear the end of it. So, I don't blame you, Max. Now, let's get you up here too."

"What? Oh, no I don't think so," Max protested, backing away only to hit into Chloe, who seemed to like the suggestion.

"That's an awesome idea. Come on, Max, do it for me." The bluenette deployed her secret weapon, the infamous Price puppy dog eyes.

"I hate it when you do the puppy dog eyes…"

"I know." Chloe grinned, fully aware of the power she wielded.

Unable to resist, Max sighed deeply, "Fine, but don't laugh."

Awkwardly, she attempted to mimic the moves she had seen Rachel and Chloe pull off so easily. She felt stupid doing it, but if it made them happy she didn't mind so much. To their credit, Rachel and Chloe didn't laugh. In fact, they only encouraged her, which was nice. She had half expected them to make fun of her, but they must have noticed her genuine insecurity and decided against it. When she got into it, it was pretty fun. More than she had imagined.

"Damn, that was hot," Chloe mentioned when Max joined them back over on the bed.

Rachel chuckled and nodded. "I concur."

Max rubbed the back of her neck, feeling vulnerable right now. "Thanks, I guess."

"Now that you're warmed up, let's go cause some real trouble," the aspiring model announced with a broad grin.

"Hella yes!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly, immediately jumping on the bandwagon.

The way they said this, so pumped up, had Max worried. If experience was anything to go by, she was in for a ride.


There you have it. Another idea to cross of the list. Have an awesome day and see you next time.