"Jesus Christ, Chloe!"

With a groan, Chloe opened her eyes and immediately regretted it - a stray ray of light hit her and sent a headache pounding through her head.

"What the fuck happened here?"

Trying again, Chloe opened one eye slightly and spotted the blonde biker - Rachel - entering the cinder block shack that she currently sat in.

"F-fuck off-"

"Chloe, what the fuck did you do?" she exclaimed as she looked over their old hideout, noticing their old make-do table broken, their posters ripped apart and all their old items thrown about. Her eyes rested on the smashed whiskey bottle in one corner, the remains of an old smartphone nearby. "Fuck's sake, don't tell me you drank!"

"Fuck off I said-"

"Chloe! How much did you fucking drink?" Rachel continued as she approached, putting one hand on Chloe's shoulder.

Immediately, the punk biker threw her hand off. "Fuck off!"

"You got fucking drunk, didn't you?" Rachel pointed out and put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me Max saw you like this."

Chloe shot a random kick in the direction of Rachel, missing and instead hitting a stray cinder block - groaning in pain. "J-just fuck off," she mumbled and closed her eyes again, reclining herself against the wall.

"Max saw you like this," the blonde stated with a sigh. "You had a fight, didn't you?"

"Leave me the fuck alone."

"Chloe, wake the fuck up!" she exclaimed and knelt down beside her, grasping her shoulders and shaking her. "Stop fucking sulking!"

"FUCK OFF!"

Rachel fell back a few feet as the punk pushed her away violently, instantly going back into her previous position once the blonde was out of arm's reach. Rachel lifted herself up from the floor and looked down at Chloe, running her hands over her face and letting out a sigh. Her hand slipped into her pocket and she pulled out her phone, dialing a number.

Moments later the blonde took a few steps towards Chloe again, speaking into the phone, "Frank? Can you grab my truck and come over to American Rust? It's urgent - just do it, please?"

Chloe looked up, frustrated at her friend. "Rach, just leave me alone."

"Please, hurry up - I need some help here, thanks," she finished and hung up - pocketing her phone and looking back down at Chloe.

"Why are you helping me-"

"Chloe, look at yourself! When was the last time you got this drunk? I thought you agreed to cut this shit years ago," the blonde exclaimed as she pointed at the whiskey bottle. "You know this shit was bad for you, why did you drink?"

"To f-forget."

"Forget what?!"

Chloe shot up from her seat, advancing onto Rachel and jabbing her finger into her chest. "THOSE TWO FUCKING WHORES!"

Rachel went silent, watching the blue-haired biker.

"I t-tried to f-forget Lonnie a-and Sasha," she fell back into a whisper, taking a few steps backwards, "M-Max told me they wouldn't want me to linger over t-them so long."

Sighing, Rachel spoke, "She was right, you know? You've spent far too long mourning them." Taking a few steps forward, she placed her hands on her shoulders. "Seriously, they died four years ago - it's time to move on Chloe."

"You-"

"I know what you're gonna say - they were closer to you than me, fine, you got me there," she threw up her hands beside her. "But they were my sisters too, y'know? It hurt when they died, more than you think."

Chloe went silent momentarily. "T-they helped me cope with Max's a-absence."

Rachel nodded. "I know, they told me - you were in a spiral for a time, you're lucky she was a state away getting her degree."

"R-Rach, I f-fucked it up a-again," she whispered and fell back against the wall. "I fucked everything up again."

With a sigh, the blonde approached Chloe and put her hands on her shoulder again. "What happened? Tell me."

"I-," she choked back a sob, "I c-came home last night, I-I spent a few hours in a b-bar by the pier."

Rachel nodded and squeezed her shoulders. "Go on."

"I… f-fuck, it makes me sick just thinking a-about it." Chloe dropped her head down and ran her hands over her temples, doing her best to ignore the pounding headache. "I f-forced myself on h-her-"

"Jesus-"

"I h-hurt her," she continued with a sob, "I c-choked her, I nearly h-hit her." Chloe felt as Rachel moved closer and wrapped her into a hug - she sobbed in return. "I h-hurt my p-precious angel-"

"Chloe-"

"I c-can't forgive m-myself."

After a moment of silence, Rachel squeezed Chloe again. "It'll be okay-"

"No it won't-"

"Chloe, it'll be okay," she repeated, louder, "I'll send Miley down to check up on her, I… I think it's best if you bunked in my house for a few days, let this die down between you two."

"I c-can't-"

"You both need time, she needs to recover from what… what you did - it must've been traumatic for her," she spoke again and moved away from their embrace. Rachel looked over Chloe momentarily, inspecting her and noticing the puffy eyes, the bags underneath them. "You need to properly rest - get rid of this killer hangover you probably have, get some sleep, clear your head."

"R-Rach?"

Rachel nodded and kept watching Chloe.

"Will… will s-she forgive m-me?"

Silence followed Chloe's question, lingering for longer than either of them had wanted it to.

"I d-don't know. I don't know Chloe, you… you forced yourself on her, drunk and raging. You hurt her so-"

"She hates me."

"No! Listen, Chloe," she began and squeezed her shoulders to get her attention, "she loves you and you love her. What you did was despicable, I won't lie to you, but if I know Max Caulfield then she'll forgive you and you'll make it up to her - somehow."

Chloe nodded, going silent afterwards.

"You… you just gotta cut out this shit," she pointed at the broken whiskey bottle, "like - forever. Just go to a therapist, meetings, I don't fucking know - but you need to cut yourself from alcohol, you can't let yourself fall back into that.

"H-how?"

"How did Lonnie and Sasha get you to do it?" Rachel asked, holding a quizzical eyebrow.

"Uhm. T-they made me do exercises each morning, stayed around me the entire time, ensured I didn't touch t-that shit. They kept my mind busy, took me out to r-ride, we went to a bunch of concerts just to hang o-out-"

Rachel dropped her eyebrow and smiled. "Why did you stop?"

"I… t-they died," she answered and sniffled. "They died so I stopped, I didn't see a point anymore - I hadn't drank for months."

"Then you fell back into the habit again."

"Y-yeah. I fell back into it, but it was small - I swear! Only a couple of drinks, here or there," she confessed and dropped her expression into a frown. "F-fuck, I shouldn't have stopped-"

"You shouldn't have - did Max say anything about it?"

"N-no, she never saw me at my worst - she came back just as they had managed to get me going sober for three months," she continued, sighing in disappointment, "Afterwards… she didn't think it was an issue, she h-hated it, sure, but didn't stop me. I made sure to keep away if I knew I w-was going to get drunk - l-like raging drunk."

"Chloe, why did you go home last night then?"

"I-," she whispered and sobbed again, shaking her head. "I d-don't know. I w-wasn't thinking s-straight, I wanted to see h-her I g-guess. Fuck! I'm such a d-dumb bitch."

"Okay." Rachel ran her fingers over her lips momentarily. "Okay. Chloe, come with me - let's go, Frank will be here soon and he'll take us to my place."

"Why is Frank in Arcadia?"

"Uh - let's not get into that until we're at my place, okay? It's something big though, so we gotta sober you up first, get rid of your headache." With that, Rachel placed Chloe's arm across her shoulder and hoisted her off the wall. "Up you get - oof, you're heavy - let's go, you need to help me here or I'll collapse."

Chloe pulled herself up slightly, using Rachel as a support whilst the two of them struggled their way out of the cinder block shack.

"Thanks, Rach."

"I'll just add this to my growing Chloe Price debt tab."

They both laughed quietly, continuing to limp across the old junkyard.

"Rach, w-will you help me?"

"Have I ever not helped you when you asked?"

Chloe nodded. "I guess. I just… I'd feel better if somebody supported me along whilst I did this again."

"Max will support you," she said and continued to pull Chloe across with her arm over her shoulder, "You just… need to apologise. A lot."

"F-fuck."

"Yeah, it's bad - you've scared her, she's never seen you like that," Rachel nodded to herself as she spoke. "You'll have to literally beg on your knees if I had a guess, but you're not against going down on Max, are you?"

"Fuck you."

Rachel laughed. "Take some time apart after talking if you need it, keep in contact - just don't ever abandon her, you hear me?"

"I n-never told her about a-any of the things back t-then..."

"There's your first step to redemption sista," the blonde biker pointed out as they had begun to reach the end of the junkyard. "Tell her about it - everything, including the nights where Lonnie and Sasha had to lock you up inside your bedroom without a key whilst you screamed at them to let you out."

"Fuck, they told you about that?"

"Chloe, t-they… they told me everything. I'll tell you about it one day."

"I'm holding you to that, I wanna know what the fuck they ever wanted to talk to you about." Chloe giggled afterwards.

Rachel kept a blank expression, staring ahead. "You'd be surprised."

"Ugh… I shouldn't have called them whores. I… I did a-alot of stupid shit yesterday, thrashing the place, shouting out into the night like an i-idiot."

"They loved you," the blonde said quietly, "More than you know - they considered you they sister more than anyone else. They respected you at your best, feared you at your worst. Hell, at one point they thought of you as their adopted daughter even."

"Now how the fuck do you know all that?" Chloe asked, her eyebrows raised at the sudden confession from her best friend. Her head had begun to feel light, almost dizzying - she ignored it.

"Like I said - they told me a lot of things."

"I blamed them for everything," she continued wistfully, sniffling and rubbing her nose with her hand as they limped onwards - her steps became more sloppy the further they went on. "I shouldn't have. They helped me so much, with Max, with J-Joyce-"

"Chloe-," Rachel started briefly but stopped, her eyes focusing on the approaching truck. "Frank is here, come on - stand up with me."

"I… I don't feel so good," Chloe mumbled as she felt the lightheadedness get worse, the pounding headache ripping through her, the world blurring around her.

"Chloe!"


"Rachel, you can't keep any of this away from her any longer-'"

"Frank, I can't tell her - not now-"

"Rach-"

"Drop this, that's all I have to say - I'll tell her eventually, okay?"

Upon hearing the raised voices in the other room, Chloe opened one eye and looked around. Lying on a couch and covered by a blanket, the punk recognised the living room of Rachel's house. How did she get here? Oh right - she was a drunken mess and passed out in the junkyard. With a groan, she lifted herself up and looked around again.

"Oh, shit! Chloe-," Rachel began as she entered the living room, staring at the awoken punk. "You're awake. Uh-"

"Water," she spoke, her voice raspy.

Rachel nodded and quickly disappeared, reappearing only moments later with a glass of water in her hands - some tablets in the other. "Take these, they'll help with the headache."

"Mhm," Chloe hummed and took both the items, shoving the tablets into her mouth and gulping down the entire glass of water in one. "F-fuck, my head is pounding."

"You did kinda drink an entire bottle of whiskey," Rachel smiled and sat down opposite Chloe in an armchair, "that has the potential to fuck you up, yes."

"Jesus," she mumbled and dropped her head into her palm. "What time is it? Feels like I slept an eternity."

Looking up at the clock situated on the wall behind Chloe, Rachel spoke, "Quarter past midnight."

"Wha-," Chloe looked up in slight panic, shooting a glance behind her. "Oh, fuck - I've slept the entire day?"

"Yes, you slept away the entire day."

"Uh, M-Max-"

"Don't worry, Miley has been… taking care of her, I saw to that," Rachel assured Chloe and extended her hand across to place it on Chloe's knee. "She's safe, don't worry."

"I… s-shit," the punk mumbled out and dropped her head back into her hands. "I fucked up so bad."

Rachel let out a sigh and nodded. "Yes, yes you did, but don't dwell on it okay? Seriously, just… don't think about it for now."

"How?" Chloe asked, her voice strained from just thinking about what she did. "Rachel, I f-fucking forced myself on her-"

"Chloe, shut the fuck up." Rachel spoke in the calmest manner possible. "Just don't think about it, you'll only get worse."

With a nod, Chloe dropped her head back down. "Y-you're right. Fuck. O-okay. Okay. I'm good, or as good as I can be given-"

"Chloe."

"Sorry," she mumbled out in return, looking back up. "So, uh - didn't you want to like… talk or something?"

"Yes, that's how I found you in American Rust," Rachel replied. "I went to your house, nobody answered and I didn't see you hog so I figured you and Max were out and about. I called you about a million times but it kept giving me the number unavailable crap, so I figured-"

"Something happened."

"Something happened," Rachel repeated. "I went to American Rust right away and found you."

"Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?" Chloe asked, her eyebrow raised as she focused on the blonde.

"Frank, come in!" Rachel exclaimed and looked up at the doorway.

Moments later, a gruff looking male in his early-30's entered - his dirty-blonde mane slicked back behind him, a rough goatee and a leather jacket similar to the ones being worn by the two women inside the living room. With a grunt, he took a few steps forward and stood nearby.

"Bulldog," he spoke and looked down at Chloe.

"Frankie."

"Don't call me that."

"Then don't call me Bulldog."

With an awkward pause, they both let out chuckles - Chloe stood up and pulled the male biker into an embrace, patting his back. "Hey, how you doing?"

"Ah, shit - could be a lot better," he replied with a shrug as they pulled away, "but I'm managing, livin' on the edge you know?"

"Mhm," Chloe hummed in reply as she sat down, ignoring the pestering pain in her head from the subsiding headache. "So, what's this big thing you two want to tell me? You getting back together or something?"

Rachel rolled her eyes as she spoke, "No Price, we're not getting back together-"

"But there's a chance-"

"Shut the fuck up," Frank groaned and looked away momentarily.

Chloe chuckled quietly, speaking, "Alright, alright - sorry. Seriously though, what's up?"

Rachel was already sitting down beside Chloe, TV remote in hand as she turned it on and began to flick through channels. "It should be on the news somewhere, every major station has been droning on about it the entire day…"

As she widened her eyes, Chloe found herself holding a breath. "Uh - why would it be on the news?"

Frank made his way over to the couch and sat down beside Rachel, leaning back as he absently stared at the TV. "Because it's the beginning of the end."

"...-following a string of raids on the Portland based motorcycle clubs, the FBI and DEA have released a joint statement explaining their intended goal, along with a list of potential suspects and known members of the infamous outlaw club 'Wicked Few'-..."

Chloe adjusted herself in her seat upon hearing the reporter, her eyes focusing on the screen.

"...-amongst the members is a highly-dangerous Frank Bowers, 33, a known sergeant at arms of the club in question. Federal authorities have posted a reward and plea asking for information that could lead to the arrest-..."

"Holy shit," the punk muttered as she ran a hand through her hair. "Holy shit - holy fucking shit."

"...-as the DEA and FBI continue to piece together information acquired in the raids, the following few days are expected to be a busy period for many law enforcement departments across the north-west region - with a heavy focus on the Oregon state-..."

Rachel dropped her head and turned the TV down, shooting an immediate glance at Chloe beside her. "Now you know."

"Rach," Chloe began, "this… Jesus, are we-"

"More than likely," Frank answered Chloe's question before it even came. "You've had direct contact with my club for years, I don't doubt that we kept documents that would lead them to you."

Going silent once again, Chloe kept her eyes focused on Frank. "Fuck, this is bad."

"Yeah, it is," Rachel spoke with a mumble - temporarily dropping her gaze to the floor.

"How long until-"

"We have time, they still need to go through everything - Frank said that they used to code their documents, they have to crack through that first," Rachel assured Chloe as placed a hand on her shoulder. "We need to stay calm, not freak or take drastic decisions."

Frank looked up and ran a hand over his goatee. "You have probably a week, maybe two if you're lucky. They're going to send people into town to start investigations, you'll be first on their list. There's one particular asshole you're gonna want to avoid - Matt Avery, he's an FBI agent and a tough cunt when it comes to it."

"How do you know him?" Chloe asked, her eyes set on Frank.

"Months before this all happened he began snooping around - at first he arrived alone, asked a few things so we threw him out. Next week he arrived with an entire team, placed up against the wall and frisked us down - he took Ron and Wyatt because they were both carrying at the time." Frank sighed and continued speaking, "He became a thorn in our side the entire time, trying to turncoat patches to rat and provide info for him-"

"Did anyone-"

"No, nobody betrayed the colours."

Chloe kept her gaze on Frank, switching it momentarily towards Rachel and then back towards the TV. "F-fuck," she breathed out and sunk herself further into the couch. "This is so bad-"

"Listen," Rachel began and dropped her hand down beside herself, "We have a plan, okay? Its… a work-in-progress, but it's something." Frank shot a scowl at Rachel and then shook his head, looking away - obviously agitated at something.

"What is it?" Chloe asked as she ignored Frank.

"I can't tell you right now, but don't worry - I will," she continued with a weak smile. "It'll save everyone, we'll keep everyone safe."

"I trust you Rach," Chloe mumbled, "even with everything you did, I still trust you."

"Chloe, you need to call the patches together," Rachel spoke as she looked at her friend. "Call an emergency church before the end of the week, preferably tomorrow-"

"We were supposed to go to Miley's tomorrow anyway," the punk replied with a sigh. "I gave them a few days off to go over everything in their heads, have them spend time with whoever."

Rachel smiled. "Smart, I wouldn't have done that."

Chloe nodded and then looked up at Rachel, speaking, "I suppose I should make a few calls then. Uhm, is Miley…?"

With a glance at the clock behind them, Rachel nodded. "She'll be here soon, she called before you woke up and told us she's on the way."

"Okay. Alright. Cool." Chloe reclined in the couch and looked at the TV absently. "I didn't expect this. This is a wake up call, like… f-fuck. I don't even know, I guess we never figured this would happen, did we?"

"No, we didn't." Rachel sighed and dropped her shoulders.

Again, Chloe closed her eyes and reclined even further into the leather couch. "I'm… I'm just gonna sit here and think, you mind?"

Rachel stood up and dragged Frank up with her, looking down at her friend. "Take all the time you need, we'll be outside."

With that they both left through the sliding glass door, Chloe watching them quietly as they sparked up their own cigarettes and talked outside in privacy.


"Chloe, wake up."

"Hm, whuzzat?" Chloe stirred immediately, her head wildly looking around. Moments later her vision focused on the blonde standing over her - Rachel. "O-oh, it's you. Whats up?"

"Miley's here," she continued with a smile, gesturing with a nod towards the armchair beside the couch.

In an instant Chloe found herself sitting up, eyes focused on the raven-haired woman sitting in the armchair with a tired smile. "Miles! Shit, whats up?"

"I'm alright," Miley spoke quietly and shrugged her shoulders. "Just had a long day, that's all."

Whilst Rachel sat herself down beside Chloe, the punk ran a hand over her eyes and groaned. "Fuck, I'm sore from all the sitting and lying down-"

"Figures, you just slept another hour after we went for a smoke," Rachel giggled as she spoke.

"Another hour?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, stunned with her ability to sleep away the entire day and even nap afterwards. "Jesus, what the fuck has gotten to me-"

"Stress," Miley spoke as she looked at Chloe, "You've been dealing with a lot of stress - everything to do with the club, this shit with Frank and the FBI, then M-Max - you've been bottling it up."

At the mention of her girlfriend, Chloe went silent. With a sigh, she dropped her head in her hands - taking in a deep breath before she spoke, "O-okay, lay it on me Miles - I'm ready."

Miley sighed herself, reclining back in the armchair and running her hand through her hair. "Chloe, you're an asshole, and I fucking hope you know that."

Rachel raised an eyebrow quickly. "Miles-"

"No Rachel, it's the truth. Chloe is a fucking asshole," she repeated, scowling at the blue-haired biker. "You've scared her, fucking terrified her."

"Miley-"

"Do you realise how long I had to plead to her to open the door? Do you realise how broken, how scared she sounded the entire time?" Miley continued, ignoring Rachel. "When she finally did open that door… god, I fucking… ugh."

Chloe nodded as she understood.

"I'm not sugarcoating anything for you here - she was a fucking mess, so was your house." Miley inclined forward and dropped her head into her hands herself. "I sat with her in your bedroom for a solid five hours, talking about everything and trying to salvage what I could."

"T-thanks."

"Don't," Miley looked up with her scowl again, dropping it into a soft look of concern after a few seconds. "I saw the marks you left on her fucking n-neck… Chloe, I swear… f-fuck - why? Why did you have to drink?"

"I-," Chloe choked back a sob, "I tried to forget, I a-asked her to let me go for the n-night, she did. I know, I f-fucked up."

"That's become a running theme in your relationship from what she told me," the raven-haired biker pointed out. "Max is absolutely heartbroken right now, that much is sure. Listen, Chloe, if you want a chance at all - come clean with her. Tell her everything - including your alcohol problems, your short fling with drugs, your damn love for her and the fact that you want to marry her and leave this damn life behind once and for all."

"Miles, n-now is not-"

"Chloe, listen! This isn't fucking negotiable at this point, the only way she'll understand why you did what you did would be if she knew you were an alcoholic when she was gone, that you did hard drugs for a time before we put a damn stop to that. I'm telling you right now - heart-to-heart, friend-to-friend, sister-to-damn-sister. Tell. Her. Everything." Miley finally breathed out afterwards, dropping back down into the armchair. "You have only one chance, I made sure of that - she's willing to hear you out even after everything."

Immediately, Chloe stood up. "I'm going-"

"No you're not," Miley spoke and gestured Chloe to sit back down. "She's leaving for Seattle in the morning, I'm going to escort her to her parents house."

Chloe looked at Miley momentarily then sat back down. "Fuck."

"Yes - fuck." Miley repeated. "I know you haven't had the best times with her parents-"

"That's putting it lightly."

"-but she misses them and everything that happened made her desperate to see them again, so I told her to visit," she continued and crossed her arms, absently looking at the floor. "So that's your one chance Chloe - you have to tell her everything, start to finish, confess your damn love and propose to her."

"Why p-propose?"

"Fuck, you're so thickheaded sometimes - you know that?" Miley dropped her face into her hands before looking back up again. "Despite what you did she still goddamn loves you. You've been together 11 fucking years, get that through your fucking skull - this is the first time you've ever been violent with her, ever. You scared her, terrified her, and yes - you did hurt her - but she still loves you. She told me that whilst she cried on my shoulder for the entirety of those 5 hours, but she doesn't know how to deal with this herself - seriously, this is all new to her because you've been hiding it."

Chloe kept silent whilst she looked down at the floor.

Miley stood up and placed her hands on her hips, looking down at the punk. "Chloe, this is your last chance. I know that the circumstances are less than ideal with everything going on, but if you confess to everything… she'll forgive you. Max will forgive you, I'm sure of it, but you're walking on thin ice. No more fuck ups otherwise it's all gone for good."

Rachel looked between Chloe and Miley, noticing how both of them were now noticeably more stressed - the conversation taking a toll. "Uhm."

Chloe stood up from the couch and took out her packet of cigarettes, drifting one up to her lips and wasting no time in making her getaway into Rachel's backyard. With her eyes focused up on the moon and the stars, she lit the cigarette and took a deep drag - coughing violently when she failed to exhale it in time. With her mind heavily focused on everything that Miley said, she continued to smoke through her cigarette until it ran out - prompting her to light another one to try and ease her stress.

"Chloe," Rachel called out quietly as she approached. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," she replied sarcastically, eyes still travelling from star to star.

"Miley went hard on you back there-"

"I deserved it," Chloe admitted and took another drag. "I put Max through literal hell, I kept her away from the club shit, didn't tell her my issues. I only wanted to keep her happy, but even I couldn't do that without fucking it up eventually. I deserved everything Miley said to me."

"So, are you going to do it?" Rachel asked as she took out her own cigarette. "Light?"

Chloe held out her lighter and flicked it, waiting for Rachel's cigarette to catch the flame. "Do I have a choice? Rach, I'd throw myself into a damn fire to be with her - she's… she's the only person who loves me at this point, the only person I have left."

Rachel nodded and brought her cigarette to her lips, speaking, "Do you want me with you, incase anything happens?"

"I-," Chloe began in a whisper, eventually shaking her head. "No. I'll be okay. I have to do this on my own. Thanks anyway," she mumbled out in appreciation and took a drag from her cigarette.

"I'm sorry that I piled all this shit with Frank, his club and the FBI onto you today," Rachel apologised as she puffed on her own cigarette. "The timing is less than ideal, but it's important."

"Yeah," was Chloe's answer, followed by another nervous drag of her cig.

"Did you vote over Prescott?" Rachel asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away, curiosity piquing in her voice.

"Mhm," the punk hummed out in return. "We're going to give him back the money some time, but with all this FBI shit on our ass… I doubt we'll have time before we're all behind bars."

"Hey, keep your head up." Rachel smiled and brought up a hand to Chloe's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "My plan will work, just trust me - Prescott, the FBI, the DEA… they'll all be gone, don't worry."

"Just what is your plan?"

"I'll tell you soon," Rachel deflected the question, absently playing with her cigarette in between her fingers. "It'll work, I'll tell you that much."

"Fuck, you're always so fucking cryptic," Chloe huffed out in frustration. "Cryptic is what fucking got you removed from the club, I just hope you know what you're doing."

"I am, seriously - don't worry." Rachel assured her friend.

Miley herself began to approach after a few minutes, quietly standing beside Chloe and Rachel as she looked between the two of them - watching them smoke quietly. "Uh, mind if I get one?"

"You?" Chloe asked, surprised. "I thought you quit years ago."

"I thought you quit drinking years ago too," she shot back in defence quickly, moments later softening her expression and speaking, "Sorry."

Chloe chuckled and held out her packet, waiting for Miley to take one before she put it in her jacket again. "It's fine, I deserve it."

"I didn't mean… just… ugh, sorry. I shouldn't have called you an asshole or thickheaded or anything," Miley confessed and waited for Chloe to light her cigarette, wasting no time in taking her own drag - letting out a sigh. "With everything that Rachel told me before I left, what Max told me whilst I tried to calm her down… it's taken a toll on me, kinda broke my patience with you, sorry."

"No, you should've called me an asshole - I had it coming," the punk mumbled out, adjusting her jacket in the cold wind. "Everything you said was true, thanks."

"For what?"

"For finally kicking my ass over Max," she continued, "I've been treating her like shit, yesterday I tried to have a nice day with her but… everything that came up between us when we visiting Lonnie and Sasha, I dunno - I guess it fucked me up again. Max told me to finally forget them, so I did what I remembered would make me forget - get fucking drunk. F-fuck, I'm a wreck-"

Rachel lightly shoved Chloe with her shoulder. "You're not a wreck - you're just stressed, like Miley said. With everything happening, it's understandable you'd do something that stupid. You have history with alcohol, one that Max doesn't know which is why she let you go so easily."

"Were you going to ask her yesterday?" Miley asked after a minute of silence, curiously watching as the smoke from her cigarette drifted up into the night sky.

"Yeah. I was going to ask her that morning, I had the words and everything but…" Chloe hesitated, shrugging her shoulders. "I stopped myself, just made up some sappy comment about our relationship and that was that. I'm a coward."

"Not a coward," Rachel again shoved her lightly, "You're just scared of hurting her or fucking things up - something that you seem to have an apt for."

"True," Miley nodded in agreement.

"Chloe, trust yourself - okay? You won't fuck this up unless you back out halfway through, you won't hurt her if you tell her the truth - she needs to know to understand it all." Rachel smiled and stomped out her cigarette.

With a nod, the punk spoke, "Okay. So, besides your obvious secret-as-fuck plan Rach, how are we going to deal with the shitstorm heading our way? I need your help here, my brain is fried from all this."

"Let's get the patches together first, then we can discuss it - an entire room of minds is better than one, stressed out and completely fried one, right?" Rachel giggled and yet again shoved Chloe, happy with the fact that she changed the topic of conversation.

With a chuckle, the blue-haired biker nodded. "You're right. Miley, you think you could call everyone in the morning - get them to your bar ASAP?"

"Consider it done boss."

"Rachel, I want you and Frank present-"

"We're not patched members-"

"Fuck the bylaws, I'm suspending them all until we deal with everything - you're both important to what's happening, therefore you're both going to sit in church." Chloe shook her head and finished her cigarette, dropping it onto the grass below before stomping it out. "Any complaints about that Miles?"

"None," the raven-haired woman replied with a shrug.

Chloe turned around and began to make her way back inside the house with determination, flanked by the two women. "First we have to deal with Prescott, get rid of him before he becomes too much trouble," she continued as she stepped into the living room. "Then we focus on planning - we won't have much time if Frank was right. Speaking of Frank, where is he?"

"He's checking up on something, wanted to do it at nighttime so people wouldn't recognise him. He'll be back by the morning hopefully," Rachel said with a slight frown.

Miley looked up at the clock, checking the time. "It's late, I should be getting back."

"Miles… t-take care of Max, please? I'll get up to Seattle the moment we have a breather, do everything you told me to do."

"Don't worry, I won't let her out of my sight until she's with her parents," Miley replied with a smile.

Chloe nodded and sat herself back down on the couch, surprisingly tired again - her eyes focusing on Miley as she made her way around her and left the room, promptly leaving the house. She listened as the engine of her own bike roared out, becoming distant within seconds until it was no longer there.

"I'm going to get some sleep considering you want me up early," Rachel spoke and began to make her own way out of the living room - stopping at the door frame. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to bring them up again but-," she muttered and then dropped her head. "Lonnie and Sasha were right about you, it's just a shame that I was stupid enough to not see it."

With that she left, leaving Chloe with more questions than answers.