"So… Los Angeles, huh?" Rachel was sitting on her bed, her back facing the door as she was packing her clothes into a duffel bag. She turned her head to the source of the voice, spotting a blue-haired girl leaning against the door frame with a visible frown on her face.
"There you are!" Rachel smiled back at her, an attempt to avoid riling up Chloe and an attempt to cheer her up. Chloe was never the best at keeping her cool, she chose to be angry instead of dealing with different emotions as it was easier for her that way. After all, why should she care so much and be vulnerable when she can flip people off? Most of the people were accommodating with her outbursts though, with the exception of a few such as David and Victoria. "Yeah, Chloe. About that…" Rachel gave a heavy sigh, "I wish you could come, I really do. But…"
"But what, Rachel?" Chloe willed the anger out of her voice. "You've been a little distant recently, then you tell me that some teacher from Blackwell is bringing you on a trip to L.A on the first day of meeting each other?" Chloe scoffed as the anger crept into her voice. "And I thought you lie well." She folded her arms as she stared at Rachel, waiting for a response from her best friend.
"Chloe, Idell and I aren't together. Like I said earlier, I'm as shocked as you are. This whole thing was unplanned and she literally told me about it minutes ago." Rachel replied with a calm, cautious, and unhurried voice. "I've been distant recently because I've been dealing with other things, alright?"
"That still doesn't answer why can't I come. Fuck, Rachel, we've been wanting to get out of Arcadia Bay for years now!" Chloe's voice was cracked and raw as she clenched her fists. "I mean, I can find ways to pay for my own expense if that's necessary just to go with you. Why can't I go?"
"We still have time, Chloe." Rachel stood up and cupped Chloe's cheek with her hand. "I'll only be gone for 3 days, tops. I'll see if I can talk to her about another trip where we can be together, okay?"
"I don't know, Rach… It's hella fishy if you ask me." Chloe's facial expression softened, eyes twinkled with concern as she pulled Rachel into a hug, "Just be safe, alright?" She chuckled to herself to ease her nerves before she continued to speak. "You better show me your pictures when you get back." She released her hug before continuing speaking, "So, uh, how are you gonna convince her to take us to L.A after this trip of yours?"
"I got my ways, Chloe." Rachel replied with a wink, "And yes, it is hella fishy to be honest. But it's not like my photography teacher is a murderer or a villain or something." She shrugged as she looked at her nails. Rachel gave her best sad puppy look that she learned from Chloe before speaking, "Mind helping me pack?"
Chloe let out a groan. "Sure." She walked over to Rachel's bedside as she folded Rachel's clothes while Rachel was placing her essentials into her duffel bag. Chloe noticed a few of them and she couldn't help but to let out a chuckle.
"What?" Rachel curiously turned her head to meet Chloe's gaze.
Chloe was giving her signature shit-eating grin at this point. "Rach, do you really need three portable chargers, two chargers, and two USB cables? Don't even get me started on the two mini-fans that you have in there."
Rachel clenched her heart in an exaggerated manner as she gave her best-offended look, "Chloe, you know how fast my phone battery depletes when I'm watching a video on full bright. Plus L.A is gonna be hella hot, I'll need those fans with me."
"So…" Chloe was still holding her grin, "you'd rather be cool than hot?" Rachel replied by lightly shoving Chloe, rolling her eyes in the process that didn't go unnoticed.
Rachel felt a buzz in the left pocket of her shorts. Taking out her phone, she read and replied to Idell's message.
Idell:
Hey, Rachel! I'm waiting for you in the parking lot.
We'll be catching a flight from Portland's airport to L.A. :)
Rachel:
I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm just about done packing my clothes and stuff.
"Hey, Chlo." Rachel kept her phone in her pocket, giving a smile as she turned her head to look at Chloe. "She's waiting at the carpark, you coming?"
"Is that supposed to be a question?" Chloe giggled at that absurd question. "Of course I am." She returned a smile back to Rachel. "C'mon sista, ya don't wanna let her wait." Chloe nudged Rachel's arm with her elbow.
"Yeah, you're right." Rachel paused for a few seconds, deep in thought. "I'll keep in touch with you every day, alright?" She slung the duffel bag's strap over her shoulder, although she immediately regretted doing that. "Oof! That's… hella… heavy!"
Chloe chuckles at Rachel's struggle, unable to not comment on Rachel's situation. "Now ya know how I feel whenever you climb on me." She continued laughing for a while more before composing herself to offer Rachel a helping hand. "C'mere, lemme help ya with that." Rachel gladly accepted Chloe's generous offer with a grin. "... What the hell did you put in your bag, Rach? Rocks?"
"Did you just reference Spongebob?" Rachel was giggling. "C'mon, Price. You used to carry me all the time. It shouldn't be that heavy."
Both Chloe and Rachel reached the front doors of the dormitory building when they bumped into Victoria, taking all of them by surprise.
"Hey, Rachel!" Victoria gave her best smile, that obviously wasn't genuine at all. "... And hey to you too, Kari! Are th-"
"It's Chloe. Kuh-low-ee." Chloe was obviously annoyed at Victoria's numerous attempts at intentionally mispronouncing her name, she knew that Victoria had been doing it on purpose but it worked on her every single time.
"Anyway as I was saying before Kari Price here rudely interrupted me," Victoria gave a smug look at Chloe, "where are you guys going? To the beach?"
"Why the fuck do you care, Victoria?" Chloe defensively replied, about to lash out at Victoria, but Rachel stepped in before she could. As usual.
Rachel crossed her arms, returning a smile to Victoria as she tilted her head ever so slightly to one side. "Los Angeles, with Idell. I'm her protégé" Rachel gave a smug look at Victoria, eyeing Victoria as if challenging her.
This is it, her facade crumbles away. Rachel thought to herself. As if on cue, Victoria's demeanor changed dramatically. Victoria expressed anger and jealousy, and she hadn't even uttered a single word yet. "Idell? Ms MacFaux? Why the fuck are you the one given that opportunity? Your photography probably isn't even good at all!" She crossed her arms while shaking with anger, scoffing before continuing. "In fact, I should be the one given that opportunity. Hell, you've only known her for like what, a few hours?"
"How long do you know her for?" Rachel replied with a smirk visible on her face.
"Eat a dick, Rachel. Not like you haven't done so with F-" Victoria was immediately interrupted with Rachel shoving Victoria hard, but not hard enough that Victoria would stumble and fall. This rarely happened as Rachel only got physical when she was very angry. "What the hell, Rach?!" Victoria lifted up her arms to show her outrage and surprise.
"C'mon Rach…" Chloe said with concern in her voice. "You got a plane to catch and Idell's waiting. She's not worth your time getting angry over, although I wouldn't mind if ya hit her hard if you weren't meeting up with your teacher in a matter of minutes." She placed extra emphasis on her last few words.
"Fine, Chloe." Rachel stared daggers at Victoria, challenging the self-proclaimed Queen Bee of Blackwell to continue. "Let's go."
"What was that about, Rach?" Chloe questioned her best friend, having her own suspicions now.
"Don't know, don't care. You know how handful and annoying that bitch can be sometimes." Rachel said in a low and annoyed tone. "Anyway," They were both making their way to the carpark now, walking down the stairs. Idell is in the car. Or at least one of the cars here... As if on cue, Rachel received a text message. She unlocked her phone to check it.
Idell:
The door's unlocked.
Idell:
It's the red Tesla by the way. :)
Well… that was convenient. Rachel thought to herself, chuckling at the coincidence. "She says that it's the red Tesla car."
"A Tesla? Wow, she really is from San Francisco huh?" Chloe decided to make a fun lighthearted jab at Rachel's teacher.
They both soon approached the car, and Rachel opened the back door to help Chloe place Rachel's bag on the seat.
"The flight is gonna be an hour and a half or so by the way. It shouldn't take longer than that." A voice spoke from the car. That… sounds familiar. Chloe thought to herself, but she quickly dismissed it.
Chloe nudged Rachel to get her to respond as Rachel was trying to get her earpiece from her bag. "Oh, uh, alright. Thanks for the heads up, Idell!" At this point, Rachel was now frantically searching for it. She always carried it with her, but it was missing now. She probably left it in her dorm room.
"Need help with something?" The familiar voice, that Chloe deduced that it was Idell's, turned around smiling as she said that. A slight panic in Idell's eyes when they locked on to Chloe's.
That familiar voice.
That strong jawline.
The way Idell's lips ever so slightly parted that reveals a few her teeth.
That wasn't just anyone's smile.
She knew that smile from somewhere.
"... Max?"
