Chapter 3: Just a young heart confusing my mind

Chloe badly wanted to smoke right now. More preferably, a good weed.

But… kids. There are too many kids.

Hey! Look at Ms. I-don't-give-a-fuck-nor-damn giving a fuck and a damn for children!

Hm. She does know her limits... Or she knows how parents can rage when they see someone smoking in a children's playground.

Hell, they're already giving me the stink eye and I'm just chilling here.

She's very much aware that she stands out from all these tiny, innocent children… their parents probably thinking she's a drug dealer.

Pst, hey, kid, want drugs? Yes, I promise, they're sweet.

The punk just snickered at her own thought.

Chloe stood at the very far side of the children's park, leaning against a tree, her arms crossed. She can smoke here, it is a very secluded place. That is until some kids literally ran over there and played in that spot.

She let out a sigh.

Internally groaning at the giggles —mostly annoying screeches— of the little demons running around, she trudged forward near the kids' playground —with the slide and swings and everything— and sat on the stupidly big-eyed giraffe bench. At least the kids in this spot are tamed. Chloe looked around while thinking why the hell is she still doing here?

She looked at her far right to see a… brunet and… a brunette…? Fuck, what's English even.

From her perspective, she saw that guy —Waldo, was it?— with a laptop on his lap, typing while he smiled, nodding at the brunette beside him who's holding some papers and saying something while pointing at the screen. Did she mention they were really, really close to each other? Their shoulders were practically merged.

She doesn't even know why she's sharing this small detail, it's not that it irked her.

Chloe's lips were pursed for whatever reason but were gone a moment after, her brows rising up simultaneously when a small child with a thick dark mop on his head ran towards the busy couple. He leaned on the man's leg by the side, looking at the screen curiously.

His nose scrunched when he can't understand what's on the screen, he then grabbed the guy's jacket and pulled it towards him. Covering his mouth with his chubby hand, he whispered something to him and gave him a small flower, obviously picked from the flower bushes scattered all over the area.

The older guy just gave him a smile and ruffled his hair before he darted off to another direction. The brunet then turned his face towards the girl to his right, tucking the flower behind her ear.

Max just laughed, shaking her head, and pushed his shoulder playfully before turning back her attention to the laptop screen.

Aaaaaand her pursed lip is back.

She guessed she knew this would happen —I mean, what other meaning can Third Wheel mean? She looked at the dark haired child running towards the blonde girl a few feet from her left before running again somewhere else. Okay, Fifth Wheel then.— she just expected that Max would at least try to not let it happen?

She expected that the reason she invited her was to catch up more?

Whatever.

Just a few more minutes before she needs to leave for work anyway.

Really.

Why is she still here?

"Hello." Chloe looked to her left when she heard a soft voice greeted her. The blonde teen from earlier smiled brightly at her. "You look lonely, so I figured I'd come and say hi."

"Uh… hey… um…" Chloe's brows were knitted, trying to remember if her name was mentioned.

Seeing the punk girl's predicament, she said, "Lynn," She doesn't know how, but she smiled even more brightly, her blue eyes twinkling. "Lynn Marsh."

Right. "I'm Chloe," She can only give her a slight upturn in the corner her lips.

"I know," At that, Chloe's forehead wrinkled. "Max mentions you all the time to my sister, and well, we're pretty close."

Mentions about me, huh? Wait… how, exactly?

"Sister? How old are you anyway?" Chloe decided that making small talks is the perfect route to pass the time.

"Yeah, her name's Kate, and I just turned thirteen last month." She began sitting beside the older girl.

Not thinking much on what she's going to say, she blurted out, "You're not like most thirteen-year-olds I encountered, aren't you suppose to be whining to your parents wanting the latest iPhone or begging them to let you go to a party of some sort? Not babysitting… Max's child?" Damn, did that sounded weird. Hell, it left a weird taste in my mouth.

Instead of being offended by Chloe's bluntness, she just giggled. "I guess you can say I'm raised differently... I suppose?" She shrugged. "And Kate's usually the one who takes care of Blake when Max is busy but she's occupied at the moment, so… here I am!"

Ah, so his name is Blake.

"Besides, he's an angel. They say two-year-olds are hard to deal with, always crying and whining, don't get me wrong, he does that, but it's not that frequent as oppose to everyone keeps on saying." She snorted then smiled. "Or maybe he's just like that because almost everyone gives him attention. I mean, how could you not? He's a charmer, for sure."

Chloe could only process the information for a while before the said child came to them, holding another flower. Tottering towards Lynn, he presented the flower to her, the blonde girl smiling lovingly at him before taking it and glanced at Chloe with a grin that says 'See?'. She only gave her a small smile at that and looked at the child.

He was wearing a denim overall with a simple olive green shirt tucked underneath, in this direction, she can clearly see his dark hair is really thick and unruly. His cheeks are red from the heat, Chloe also noticed some freckles scattered every inch of his face especially at his nose bridge. Familiar blue eyes faced her when she stared at him long enough.

His orbs widened in confusion then shock, for reasons Chloe didn't know. The toddler then looked around and pouted when he didn't find whatever he was looking for. He patted at the single pocket on his chest and let out a lollipop, smiling and seemingly satisfied. He then went to Chloe and held out the candy, grinning brightly at her. The punk's brows went up in shock.

Aren't kids supposed to be selfish with their sweets?

When she didn't accept the candy immediately, he pouted and said 'get' so adorably at her. Chloe can't help but smile genuinely at that and grabbed the lollipop. "Thank you."

Chloe was taken aback when he tried to get on her lap and immediately panicked when she felt like he's gonna fall. With unnecessary extreme caution, she helped him up. His eyes shone with curiosity when he stood on her lap, the punk supporting him by his sides. Blue orbs stared at each other before the smaller ones lit up when he took notice of the older girl's hair.

A stubby hand mushed at Chloe's cheek while the other reached out to her unnatural-colored hair, grabbing a handful. Chloe winced at that, "Alright, kid, that hurts."

The child —Blake— must have understood her and let go immediately, his one hand still resting on her cheek. His mouth crimped at the sides and hummed, then surprisingly hugged her head. Chloe's eyes widened before realizing how awkward their position was. She heard Lynn laughed at the situation while she tried to pry him off.

"Okay, okay, I'm okay now, see?" Chloe tried to smile brightly at him, but for whatever reason, he laughed. All throughout, his one hand remained put on her cheek. This close, Chloe can see some resemblance to Max; his eyes the most prominent, the color has the exact same shade, and the shape copied every curve off of the brunette's. His mouth too, although that's where it ends. Aside from the obvious freckles, of course.

Huh… kid's a looker.

Chloe brushed off the voice teasing at the back of her head that she just indirectly called Max attractive. Why she thought of that in the first place was also flicked aside.

Blake smiled at Chloe showing his baby teeth before settling down on her lap.

Now what?

Admittedly, Chloe never held a child before, more so handled one. She thinks they're annoying little fucks who seeks too much attention. And disgusting. They're disgusting.

But Lynn's right, Blake seems like a decent kid.

… Or at least for now, as far as Chloe's concerned.

Her thoughts didn't dwell much long because Max and Warner were apparently finished and already walking towards them.

"Hey, you guys wanna grab lunch?" Wilbur offered while Max smiled endearingly at her son whose arms were outstretched towards her, and almost immediately carried him in her arms.

"Ooh, can we—" Lynn's voice faded out of Chloe's mind and rather focused on Max and the toddler she's carrying.

Max smiled at him, like really smiled. It didn't felt hollowed or as try-hard. It felt… happy. Like it should be. Blake softly placed his hands on both of her cheeks —it seems he likes doing that— and Max's eyes fluttered shut, almost as if she's reminiscing his touch. It stayed closed for a few good seconds before opening them again, the same shade of blue mixing harmoniously.

Chloe can't describe the interaction, it's just simply… love

Or, you know, as simple as love can get, I guess.

Life, in general, hasn't been simple on Chloe, per se. Especially love. Especially love.

Shaking her head subtly as if it'll shake away the thoughts permanently, she looked at Lynn wide-eyed when she was asked a question she didn't hear in the first place. "Um… uh, yeah, sure."

Whatever the question was, her response was sufficient enough as Lynn smiled brightly and practically jumped up and down as she latched onto Walter's arm and dragged him to a direction Chloe doesn't know.

Chloe just blinked profusely at the situation and especially at herself.

"You've been zoning out lately."

"Fuck, I know, right?" She meant for the comment to stay in her head but it seemed it didn't want to.

Max laughed softly, walking a few pace behind Lynn and Warnold while Blake nuzzled comfortably at her chest, his eyes twinkling at Chloe.

Chloe raised her eyebrow at him, slightly smirking. You flirting with me, kid?

As if they're using telepathy, the child giggled and dug his face deeper into Max's chest. "I see that you two have been acquainted." The brunette smiled.

"I'm not quite sure he knows my name yet," Chloe commented, Blake just smiled at her.

Max faced Blake, "You've been talking to someone you don't know? Didn't I tell you to not talk to strangers? Hm?" The brunette scolded him with a playful voice.

Blake must have sensed her playfulness and just giggled at her, stretching his hand to place it on her cheek. Max smiled lovingly at that. "Her name is Chlo-e." Max accentuated her name, cooing at the giggling child.

Chloe's still not used to this sight though.

Questions, should I ask questions? Am I in the right position to ask questions?

"I wouldn't have thought you'd be starting a family this early." Or we could do it Chloe-style aka being a blunt dickwad.

Chloe sensed a tensed discomfort in her laugh, "Neither did I."

Shit, sensitive topic... Should I proceed?

"What? D'you accidentally got knocked up in a party while you were in Blackhell?" Option corrupted, server is fucking stupid. What the hell, Chloe?! "Never pegged you as the party type though." Ever thought of shutting up?

Discomfort is obviously shown on her face, but she still let out a shaky laugh, her eyes darting everywhere. That's when it dawned —like really dawned— on Chloe on how much she fucked up… bad.

Who the hell asks that to someone they haven't talked to in years? Apparently me.

She opened and closed her mouth trying to say the right thing for once, but it seems like it took too long and Max noticed. The freckled girl let out a laugh as if that conversation never happened, "I'm still not the 'party-type' really, never was. I was just convinced by a friend to go to at least one party once in my life."

Silence came after, and god was it awkward. Blake must have noticed it too and whined, becoming fidgety in the brunette's arms. Max grunted before putting him down, "You're getting heavier day by day, hun."

Once let down, he ran to the brunet, clinging tightly to his arm. "So… how'd you met Wilby?" That's a safe topic… right?

The brunette looked at her, confused, before laughing, her hand covering her mouth. "You mean Warren?"

"What'd I said?"

Max just laughed again, and, yeah, maybe Chloe smiled a little bit when she felt like it's genuine. "He's the first one who came to me when I first went to Blackwell." She smiled then shrugged. "I guess nerds can sense other nerds."

I'd say.

Chloe's phone suddenly chimed, and she pulled it out of her pocket to see a text.

Dez: should i expect that you'd be here in 3 mins? 12:27 PM

Dez: or should i ready myself for another disappointment? 12:27 PM

Chloe: u talk as if i skp work all d tme 12:27 PM

Chloe: ill b there 12:28 PM

Dez: you do it often enough12:28 PM

Chloe: u whiny btch i only did it twice — 12:28 PM

Chloe: ill b late tho. c u in prolly 20 mins 12:29 PM

Dez: *smiley emoji* 12:31 PM

Chloe grunted at that. "Hey, Max? I need to go, gotta earn money to live."

The brunette smiled at her. "Sure, Chloe. Do you want me to go with you to your car?"

The taller girl dismissed the idea with her hand. "Nah, I'll be fine. Just tell everyone I need to leave. I'll see you around, Maximillian."

oOo

"And what? You both fucked into the sunset?"

"I don't need that mental image, thank you very much." Chloe grimaced.

It had been a hectic day at the parlor and now, both girls are finally chilling out, with a few minutes to spare.

The dark woman donning a grey-dyed hair snickered. "You know what I mean."

"I mean, nothing's been resolved yet, there are things that still need to talk about," Chloe said seriously then playfully smirked at Dez. "Besides, the longer the wait, the better the makeup sex is."

Dez was older than Chloe by a good few years but because of the punk's monstrous growth spurt that Dez secretly thought is endless, the other girl is smaller by at least two inches. Her silver hair reaching to her blessed bottom and, in contrast to Chloe, she's more of a piercing kind of gal rather than tattoos. Her nose piercing is quite eye-catching resting on her fairly dark skin.

Dez just looked at her, not even at the very least surprised. "You horny slut."

Chloe did an exaggerated shrug before the bell from the door chimed indicating that someone just entered the parlor.

"Speaking of," Dez smirked at the punk. Chloe moved her head to the side, the other girl's own was preventing her to see. Once she did, her lips formed a smile.

"Rach," Chloe kinda sighed out. She won't admit it though.

The taller girl became giddier when the blonde finally reached her and kiss her fully on the lips. They would've gone longer if Dez hadn't cleared her throat.

"Alright, you can leave now, Chloe. I'll just let the boss know." Dez rolled her eyes before secretly smirking at her then left the room.

Chloe let out a scoff at that then faced her girlfriend. "You're early." She said although she's still wearing that stupid smile she had when she first saw her came in.

Rachel laughed at her, thinking that she's such a dork. "I told you I will, didn't I?"

"Alright, my princess charming, whisk me away."

Giggles can be heard in the night as the bell from the door chimed again, the outline of two girls with different heights came rushing out the door and into the taller girl's car.

oOo

The new clocked blinked, showing that it's 11:47 PM.

Colors ranging in the color wheel from the small screen of the laptop soaked the two girls lying in bed. Although the screen showed some random tv show, already on mute, neither girls cared as both of them only focused on each other. Lying on their sides, the blonde faced the taller girl — her thumb stroking the blonde's hand softly.

Chloe cherished moments like these, where they just stop and feel everything, take in everything. They were always moving, always wanting to run away. They barely had the time to just… appreciate what's around them. Too busy enjoying the thrill.

Which isn't always a bad thing. Not really.

It's just, it's a different pace.

And it feels… good.

"Fishes." Chloe scrunched her face when Rachel suddenly blurted that out. "One swimming above, one under." Rachel placed her arm beneath her head. "Compassionate." Chloe stared at her. "Sensitive… kind… hopeless romantic… understanding."

The punk smirked at Rachel when she caught on and scoffed when she said 'kind' and 'hopeless romantic'. Yeah, doubt it.

"But…" The blonde croaked out. "Selfless… too selfless. And needy."

"Hey!" Chloe exclaimed. "Am not."

Rachel chuckled at her. "What's on your mind, Chlo?"

"Facebook asks me that enough."

She didn't laugh, not even a smile.

"Oh— um," Chloe shuffled awkwardly. She never thought about it much when she's with other people, she's too tied-up in the moment… or chose to. Chloe never liked being stuck in her own thoughts, she knew how she can get.

God, it's the only thing she ever did when her dad died and Max left.

Before Rachel came.

So, yes, maybe she hadn't really thought of it the whole day, just purposely stuck at the back of her mind. But it's still there nonetheless.

"Are we…" Chloe stared at Rachel's hazel eyes. So… how would you know which is the right question to ask? Chloe felt stumped.

"That was Gary Fulton." Rachel began. "He's the owner of this big-shot modeling agency and he's interested in doing a photoshoot with me." She looked intensely at the violet-haired girl. "Chloe, you know I wouldn't bail on you, right? I had to do it to get some brownie points, to get us a big home we always wanted. For us. I– I know that when we left Arcadia it didn't go as planned, we didn't exactly live the life we always wanted. I remember, in the first few weeks, when all the money was spent up, we barely eat anything in a month. I was so desperate, Chloe, this isn't the life that I wanted for us, for you. I had… to do something. I–"

Chloe heard enough and hugged her girlfriend tightly. She heard the blonde sniffed a bit before nuzzling deeper into her neck. "You don't have to work so hard, Rachel," She barely needed to whisper, stroking her hair lightly. "Yeah, it isn't exactly as planned — to live the big life or whatever. But isn't the main goal is to leave that hellhole? And, Rachel?" Chloe cupped her cheek. "We so hella did." The blonde let out a small laugh. "Yeah, our first apartment was shitty, got ourselves broke for a while. But, we're here, alive and in a… let's say, adequate apartment. Maybe it's not the penthouse we dreamed of," She doesn't know if it was possible, but she came closer to the blonde. "Except, you're home enough for me."

Then there's only silence. Blue eyes staring at the hazel ones. It was such a beautiful silence, it was a silence that was filled with love.

That is until Rachel's laugh filled the room.

"See? You're such a sap. God, you're a dork." She continued to mockingly laugh at the punk while Chloe began to frown, letting go of her.

When she started to grumble, Rachel noticed and stopped immediately… Or at least tried.

"Shut up." Rachel only laughed more when she saw her pouting. It's when Chloe let out a sigh and made an attempt to get up that Rachel went and grabbed her arm, her laughing stopped but a smile was still plastered on her beautiful face.

Chloe refused to look at her though, a scowl on her face. It instantly went away when Rachel kissed the crease between her brows. "I love it, though." She pecked her lips. "I love you, most especially."

"You better," The taller girl retorted, but when she saw her girlfriend's expectant look and wearing a smirk, she said, "I guess, I love you too." She sighed, exaggerated.

Rachel let out silent laugh this time and went back to cuddling with her girlfriend. "You said that Max is here? In LA?"

"Yeah, surprisingly."

"And?"

Chloe let out a sigh, "It's… weird, I guess. I didn't know what to even do. What do you say to your childhood best friend who went radio silent for eight years and suddenly bumping into you like some cliché movie scene?" She exasperated. "And get this, she lives with Victoria fucking Chase."

Rachel's brows perked up, "Victoria's here in LA? And with Max?"

"That's not even half of it," Chloe unanimously continued. "Apparently, they're pretty close, and for all I know, they're fucking because Victoria kept on unintentionally insinuating something."

Rachel whistled, "Damn, Victoria, get it."

"No, not get it. It's fucking strange. I mean, Max and Victoria? In one pod?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Rachel smirked, she had her fair share of stories about the infamous first mate, "I mean, look at us." She stifled a laugh.

Chloe's lips upturned, "Yeah, but it's just… it's Max for fuck's sake."

"Oh no, St. Max is screwing a mean girl, blasphemous." Both girls chuckled at that.

But then, Chloe remembered one of the things that made it even stranger. "And…" Chloe's voice suddenly went quiet. Rachel sensed it and became serious.

"It turns out… when we… left Arcadia Bay, she was there. Rachel, she was there, studying at Blackwell." Rachel noticed that the punk's eyes went glossy. "She… she looked for me. But—"

At this, Rachel frowned, feeling the jealousy bubbling once more every time a certain brunette is mentioned, but most especially… insecurity. "Do you... regret leaving with me, Chloe?"

"No! With you? Never." Chloe made sure she made that point across. "But— wouldn't it be great? You could've finally met Max, and she could've met you. Fuck, if we waited sooner enough, maybe she'll be with us and not…" She stopped immediately, remembering the other thing that made it even stranger. Rachel can barely hear it, but she softly uttered out, "Not a young mother."

Now, this came as a surprise for Rachel. From all the stories she heard, the brunette was a shy and geeky introvert, or as Chloe has said. Chloe mentioned that they once tried to drink Joyce's bottle of wine and Max was very reluctant to do so, but once she did, she didn't even enjoyed it. And, yeah, pretty much damaged the carpet along the way.

That point aside, Chloe's stories always depict Max as the 'goody-two-shoes' who is way too comfortable in her shell and her as the one driving her out of that shell.

"That's… hard." Rachel really didn't know what to say. Chloe doesn't either. So they didn't.

Rachel began to smirk, "Why don't we meet up then?"


A/N: Yes, I'm alive. In my defense, I purposely waited for Episode 3 of LiS: BtS, maybe then I can write Rachel's character better... Meh, It still felt iffy, to be honest. With that said, I already felt like rewriting the first few chapters and the prologue, but that would be another project once I (hopefully) finish this.

Have I guys told you that I make this up along the way? I mean, I have the general gist plot down inside my head, but I still don't know how to reach that specific moment. We'll see, I suppose.

Anyways! Happy holidays, everyone! Please accept my short, humble peace offering. Hopefully, the next one would be longer.