Chapter 7: Together Forever

"Okay, take me through this one more time." Detective Morris says, sitting across the table from Max in the science lab, taking notes from Max's story about how she knew about the Dark Room.

"We've been through this eight times already." Max says in exasperation, irritated that this was still going on and a bit anxious to get out of here to see Chloe. "How many more times do you want me to tell you the same thing?"

"Repetition helps shake loose small details that you've forgotten when you tell the story the first times. This is just procedure, so please bear with me." Morris explains with an apologetic smile. "Now, who was this person who approached you?"

Max lets out a long-suffering sigh, absentmindedly petting Blue as he laid on her lap, just out of the detective's view. "His name is Steve, he told me he was an amateur private investigator looking into the disappearance of Rachel Amber."

Morris made a note before nodding at Max. "And you've never seen or had any contact with him prior to meeting him?"

"No and since that day I haven't seen or heard from him again." Max answers simply for the ninth time. "But he told me about his investigation and how he had figured most of it out. The video of Kate that was uploaded onto the internet was what brought him into the investigation in the first place, he thought it was odd that someone who would never fit that kind of profile would act like that and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. After that, he found that several people in the area have experienced similar situations as Kate's and that lead him to Rachel's disappearance. After that he looked for common denominators in the victims and figured that it was a student or teacher here at Blackwell. He dug around and found out that Mr. Jefferson had been in cities that have had the same pattern. So, he followed Mr. Jefferson around and that's what lead him to the old Prescott barn."

Max had to concentrate on trying to sound genuine to the detective. The last thing she needed was to be detained for further questioning. That would have risked her being locked up when the tornado was going to hit. "Nathan met with Mr. Jefferson one night out there and after they left he was able to get into the Dark Room below and see everything that Mr. Jefferson and Nathan were doing. Once he had everything he erased the video of him being there so Mr. Jefferson and Nathan couldn't find out that he was onto them. That's when he approached me in front of Blackwell and told me all of this."

"That's what I'm having trouble understanding. Why did he approach you, of all people?" Morris asks, taking more notes.

"He told me all of this because after researching all the students at Blackwell he saw me as the person who could get close enough to them without drawing suspicions." Max explains with a shrug. "I can't deny that I didn't want to believe his accusations towards Mr. Jefferson, but something has always felt off about him. The way he talks about certain subjects, he spoke like someone who was teaching, but the undertones were a little darker than you'd expect. So I decided to play it by ear."

"Why did he tell you any of this information instead of going to the police with it?" Morris asks, continuing to make notes and observe Max closely.

A wicked smile spread over Max's lips. "If you had the displeasure of talking to him, you'd know he's an arrogant ass that's so full of himself that I'm legitimately surprised that concrete doesn't crack every time he takes a step. He wanted to figure it all out before the police got involved, just to prove that he could do it and be right. But once he got into the Dark Room he thought he would be targeted by them, so he told me everything and went into hiding."

"So you were informed of this, but didn't contact the police either?" Morris asks skeptically.

All Max could do was shrug at that. "A random stranger walks up and tells you something so far fetched that you didn't believe him at first. Would you have wasted the police's time when you didn't have any solid evidence?"

That got a small smile from Morris. "Touche. So what happened after that?"

"Not much." Max explains, heading from pure fiction back to the truth. "I didn't have anything until Nathan brought that gun into the girl's bathroom. I started to get freaked out by that and thought that Steve's story wasn't so far fetched anymore. So I sent that video and text to David Madeson. I figured that with his reputation for being paranoid that he would at least look into what I sent him."

Morris nods and writes that down. "That video was taken after the altercation between Nathan Prescott and Chloe Price, am I correct?"

That question almost broke the mask of feigned ignorance. "Calm down, Max. If they're coming to you then they would have asked Nathan about the bathroom situation. Of course, he'd bring up Chloe's involvement." Max thinks to herself, taking a moment to calm down. "I didn't think about recording it until after I hit the fire alarm and I didn't know that Chloe was the girl who was in the bathroom with Nathan until she almost hit me with her truck in the parking lot. By then I just wanted to get the hell out of there since Nathan came up and threatened me, tried to choke me, then beat up Warren."

"Warren Graham?" Morris asked, flipping through his notebook. "I talked with him earlier and he told me about that situation, too."

"Yeah, Warren got beaten pretty bad, but thanks to him and Chloe, they helped me escape and the rest you know." Max finishes, looking at the clock and wondering how much longer this was going to take.

Morris nodded as he jotted down some final notes and closed his notepad. "I think I have everything I need. Thank you for your time and cooperation, Miss Caulfield." Morris says, standing up, heading to the door and opening it for Max.

"It's not a problem, detective." Blue jumped down from Max's lap and together they walk out off the science room and down the hall towards the front entrance.

They stopped and waited by the principals office for Kate and Trudeau, who came out of the office after another half an hour. When Kate and Trudeau came out, Max saw the dismayed look on Kate's face and instantly brought her in for a comforting hug. After that, they all walk outside into the late afternoon glow of Blackwell's courtyard. The police barricades, the press, and nearly everyone else was gone, only a few students were still hanging out in the courtyard, talking about everything that happened today.

Trudeau pulls out a cigarette, lights it, and takes a drag before blowing out the smoke. He turns to the young women and smiles tiredly at them. "Ladies, thank you again for your cooperation. I think we have all we need, but we may need to get in contact again, so please stay in the area and keep yourselves available."

"We will, sorry I couldn't be more help." Kate says, still looking dazed after seeing the pictures that Nathan and Jefferson took of her while she was drugged in the Dark Room.

Trudeau chuckles warmly and placed a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Miss Marsh, you helped plenty by helping us fill in some of the blanks we had. Now all you have to do is rest. I know today was hard for you. Have you been in contact with your parents?"

"Yes, my family is flying out to come be with me after hearing about all of this. Thank you for your concern, detective." Kate says, still looking troubled.

"Not a problem. You two stay safe now, you hear?" Trudeau says before he and Morris head to their police cruiser and head back to town towards the police station.

Max looks at Kate with concern, still worried about how Kate was handling everything after learning of what Nathan and Jefferson did to her. "How are you doing?"

Kate puts on a friendly smile for Max, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. "I think I'll be okay. Thank you so much for being there for me today. You have no idea how much that means to me to have a friend like you, Max."

Max blushes slightly at the praise. "I didn't do much, just waited in the hall while you talked to them about what happened. You did everything by yourself, Kate. You're really strong, you know that?"

Kate shakes her head in denial. "No, you were there for me when no one else was, Max. Thank you. Seriously, thank you."

That made Max feel all warm inside. "You're welcome, Kate." Max says then looks over, seeing Victoria sitting alone by the fountain, looking down and depressed. "Victoria has to be hurting, learning her friend was doing all of that."

"Let's go talk to her." Kate suggests, then goes over without waiting for Max's response. Max follows her and stands beside her as Kate talked to Victoria. "Hey, Victoria. Are you doing okay?"

"Do I look like I'm doing okay?" Victoria snaps at her before wincing in regret. "I'm sorry, Kate. It's just been a really bad day for me."

"I know what you mean." Kate says before sitting down next to Victoria. "I just had to look at the photos that Mr. Jefferson and Nathan took of me when I was drugged."

Victoria's eyes went wide with shock before she scooted a few inches away from Kate, feeling really uncomfortable now for snapping at her. "So...you were drugged at the Vortex Club party. Now I feel even shittier for posting that video."

"It was a shitty thing to do." Max points out, not with any malice, just stating a fact. "But you made up for that. And Kate has forgiven you for it, so don't worry so much about that."

"How can I not worry about that?" Victoria said, angrier than she meant to be. "Nathan was one of my best friends, Max. Sure, he had his moments of being weird, having meltdowns here and there because his family treated him like a freak. But this...I never saw this coming." Victoria says before looking at the ground thoughtfully. "No, that's a lie. To be honest, he's been freaking me out lately."

"I'm sorry, Victoria. I can't say I know what you're going through, but I know you'll be okay. You're a really strong person." Kate says comfortingly.

Victoria looked at Kate with a thoughtful expression that Max had rarely seen from her outside of her photography, like she was studying something in a different way for the first time. "I don't understand you, Kate. I've been a pretty awful bitch to you, you just found out you've gone through this whole horrible ordeal, and here you are comforting me about my friend, the same person who did all that to you. You should hate me and Nathan with every fiber of your being, it doesn't make sense to me."

Kate let out a small laugh at that. "I didn't really appreciate the way you've been treating me for a long while, but I don't hate you, Victoria. Nathan either, really. I feel sorry for him and I'm sad that his life choices turned him down the path he took." Kate looked away, out towards the setting sun. "You know, after everything that happened with the Vortex Club party, I didn't think I could get myself out of the rut I was in. I felt like I was alone, that everyone in this school hated me and thought I was some kind of slut. My mother and my aunt kept berating me about letting the family and our church down by acting on sinful urges. I was half tempted to just end it all because the pain was too great."

"Oh my God, I...I didn't think it was that bad." Victoria says, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief about Kate having suicidal thoughts. "I...I am truly sorry, Kate."

"It's okay, Victoria. Because when I was at my lowest..." Kate looks up to Max with nothing but fondness in her eyes. "Max came up to me and told me I wasn't alone. That there were people here for me and that they had my back. I want you to know the same, Victoria. You aren't alone, I'll be here for you." Kate's eyes were watering before she let out another small laugh before looking back to Victoria. "But I have to admit, when Max went up and chewed you out in front of Mr. Jefferson, it kind of made my day. Sorry if that seems mean of me."

"After what I've done to you and what I almost drove you to do, I could be hit by a car and laugh your ass off at me. And I would think I fully deserved it." Victoria says with a small smile before looking up to Max. "You know, Max? I will completely deny saying this if you tell anyone, but I've actually been jealous of you."

"Jealous of me? Why?" Max asks, seriously confused.

"You're one of the coolest people here at Blackwell, and it's not because of your looks or you wealth or you standing in the art community. It's because you don't care about what other people think of you, unlike me." Victoria says, feeling the need to get this off her chest. "I've always felt I've needed to overcompensate for no good reason. And that's why I'm always just a bitch to everyone. I'm insecure about a lot of things, especially my photography. With my parents owning a art gallery and everything, I was raised to believe that the art world is a brutal one so I thought I always needed to be tough to be successful. But you're genuinely kind, the both of you are. Max, your photos are really good and Kate, your drawings have always been awesome, but I saw your kindness as weakness so I wanted to show everyone who's the queen bitch on top. But I honestly think I don't have any talent at all."

"That's not true." Both Max and Kate say at the same time, making all three of them laugh for a moment before Max continued. "I think you do have talent, Victoria. You're photos have a Richard Avedon-esque feel to them, but you've made them your own."

"Yeah, Max is right, your photography is really good, even I can tell." Kate says reassuring Victoria and putting a hand on her shoulder.

Victoria smiled sadly as her eyes start to water, upon realizing this she laughs and wipes her eyes before she could cry. "I can't believe how much of a bitch I've been to the both of you. I really am sorry." Victoria looks to Max and smiles. "You said it was us that decides that we're not enemies, do you think it's possible to maybe be friends?"

"I'd like that." Max says, mostly surprised at herself about how honest she was about that.

Victoria nods before looking to Kate. "And you, too. I know I've done some horrible stuff, to you specifically, but do you think we could be friends?"

"I'd love that, Victoria." Kate says, practically beaming at her.

Max's cellphone chimes from a new text and she takes out her phone to look at the message from Chloe.

Chloe: Hey, think you could meet me at American Rust? I left my truck there, and I'm not exactly sober right now.

Max: Yeah, I'll head there right now. Don't you dare think about getting behind the wheel.

Chloe: Not like I haven't before, but I'll listen to you just this once cuz I'm buzzed. And the sooner you get here the better. Mom has been blowing up my phone about the cops wanting to talk to me.

Max: Because of Nathan?

Chloe: I'll explain when you get here, just hurry please.

Max: On my way now. See you soon.

Max looks up as a bus pulls up to the school before looking back to Victoria and Kate. "I'm sorry, guys, but I've got some stuff I need to do. Something really important has come up. Are you two going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I should be good. My parents are stopping by in the morning. Thank you again, Max. I'll talk to you later." Kate says with a warm smile.

"Don't worry about it, Max. You're not the type of person to blow someone off without a good reason. Be careful, okay?" Victoria says with a friendly smile, something Max thought she'd never see from the queen bitch of Blackwell.

"I'll talk to you guys later. I promise." Max says before running off to catch the bus before it left with Blue chasing after her.


The bus only took me so close to American Rust, so it took Max and Blue another 10 minutes of walking before they finally saw the junkyard. Chloe was leaning against her truck and talking to herself. That worried Max as she started to approach her, but stopped after remembering about what happened in this spot this morning.

Max stood still, just looking at Chloe, trying to think of what to say before Blue rubbed against her leg. Max looked down to the cat and smiled as he looked up at her and meowed before rubbing against her leg again and purring. It was like the cat was telling Max it was okay to go and talk to Chloe, though Max didn't know how she understood that from just a meow.

Max bends down to pet Blue before she takes a steadying breath and starts walking towards Chloe with Blue walking beside her. Chloe heard Max approach and walked around the truck to meet her. They stop a few feet from each other, their eyes avoiding each other. "I'm so sorry, Chloe. I know it was wrong to hold that information back about Rachel." Max says after a minute of awkward silence.

"Don't worry about it. After exploding at you like I did this morning, I see why you didn't tell me about Rachel. I don't think I would have taken that well no matter when you told me." Chloe says before smiling sadly at Max. "I'm sorry, too."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. That was my massive fuck up. And I promise you from now on I will be completely honest with you." Max vows, finally looking Chloe in the eyes.

"No, I was just being an emo bitch about the entire thing." Chloe says before smiling. "You've got a good friend looking out for you with your ghost bitch."

Max then noticed that Steve wasn't with Chloe and looks around. "Where is Steve anyway?"

"He isn't here?" Chloe says looking around despite not being able to see Steve. "Have I been talking to empty air the entire ride back here?"

Max felt relieved now, knowing that Chloe wasn't talking to herself, just trying to talk to Steve, but now she was starting to get worried about him since he wasn't here. Max looks down to Blue in concern. "Do you know where he is?" The cat stares blankly up at Max before sniffing the air and walking away, conveying that he'd find him. "When you find him, have him meet us at my dorm." Max calls after the spectral cat.

Chloe raises an eyebrow at Max, wonder what the hell she was doing. "What are you talking to? Another ghost?"

Max laughs, remembering Chloe couldn't see the cat. "No, it's Steve's cat, Blue. He's his familiar or spirit animal or something like that."

Chloe blinks at that. "Yeah, I have no idea what any of that is, but he's really got a cat? How can a ghost have a freakin' cat?"

Max shrugs at that. "I don't really know myself. It's all new to me too. That's just something else we'll have to have him explain."

"He was real tired after showing me those visions. Maybe he's taking a nap or something and that's why he's not here?" Chloe asks not sounding sure about that theory.

Max raises an eyebrow at that as her curiosity spiked about the visions. "What did he show you exactly?"

Chloe tells her about her conversation with Steve, the alternate timeline from Max's trip into the past, and Max's future when she chose to sacrifice Chloe for Arcadia Bay. "After that, he snapped his fingers and I woke up."

Max listened to all of that and a flash of anger went through her. "That bastard went through my memories? Without me knowing about it? WHAT AN ASS!" Max thinks to herself before thinking about it. "On the other hand though, it was because of that Chloe is here again with me...I'll channel my inner Kate and forgive him for this, but only this once...jerk."

Max sighs heavily before giving Chloe a half smile. "That guy can really piss you off."

Chloe chuckles at that. "Oh god, yeah he can. He was being an arrogant asshole so I punched him right in the nose. You should have seen his face when it actually hurt him, it was priceless."

"OH! I'm so jealous of you right now. I've been wanting to punch him in the face since day one." Max says with envy and a laugh.

They laugh together for a few moments before they both look at each other, knowing the next conversation isn't going to be pleasant. "I think we need to talk about Rachel."

"Yeah, I think we do, too." Max admits, sounding small and quiet. "You deserve to know everything."

Chloe pulls out her keys and tosses them to Max. "Let's go to my place and talk. Mom's at the Two Whales and step-douche is still working up at Blackwell, so we'll have some privacy." Chloe starts walking towards her truck with Max following behind. "I also need to tell you about what Nathan did to me...before you got here."

"Is this about the time he drugged you and took photos of you in his room when you were trying to get his money?" Max asks curiously.

Chloe stops and turns to Max, looking really surprised. "How do you know about that?"

"That's right, we didn't have a chance to really talk about it this week." Max says remembering that yesterday was mostly spent talking about what Max was doing here. "Uh...yeah, the last time I went through this week you told me while we were up at the lighthouse yesterday. I got so angry I wanted to kick the shit out of Nathan myself."

"That I'd pay good money to see. You know, if I had any." Chloe says sighing heavily. "Well then, I'm glad I don't have to talk about that. At least not yet. I'm so not looking forward to having that conversation with the police. But for now, get your ass in the truck and take me home so you can tell me everything. And I mean everything."

Max smiles and tears up a little, glad to have her friend back again. "Yeah, I'll tell you everything."


They pull up to Chloe's house and head in. Once inside Chloe starts heading up the stairs. Max hangs back for a moment looking at the door leading to the garage. "Go on up, I need to grab something real quick."

"Alright, don't keep me waiting." Chloe says sternly before walking into her room.

Max walks into the garage and walks to David's lockers on the far side of the room. She looks at the lock on the lockers, remembering the combo and entering it to get it open. Once inside she grabs the files David has on Rachel and walks back to the bottom of the stairs.

Max hesitated for a moment but remembers that David still has security cameras through the house before she rewinds time to just as Chloe goes into her room. She climbs the stairs and goes into Chloe's room just as she's lighting a cigarette while sitting on her bed. "Wow that was fast." Chloe remarks before pulling on the cigarette and blowing out the smoke.

"I needed to grab David's file on Rachel to help explain things, then I remembered that he has cameras around the house so I had to use my rewind to get rid of any evidence." Max explains holding up the file.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...That paranoid asshole has cameras around the house?" Chloe exclaims in anger before she rose to her feet. "I fucking knew it. That fucking asshole...this is going too far!"

Max winced, forgetting that Chloe didn't know about the cameras until she told her about them up at the lighthouse. Max quietly berates herself and thinks back trying to remember everything that she had forgotten to tell Chloe. After a couple moments she couldn't think of anything so she holds up her hands trying to placate Chloe. "Listen Chloe, I know David is hella paranoid, but trust me, if you bring them up to him he will take them down. Plus he's not as bad of a guy as you think he is."

"The fucker put cameras in our house to spy on us, Max. I was starting to think that maybe I should give him a chance after talking to Slimer, but now, fuck that." Chloe says, fuming with anger. "The fucker needs to be kicked out of here."

"Chloe...I know you don't want to hear this, but just give me a minute and I'll explain everything okay?" Max asks, trying to calm Chloe down before dropping a few other bombshells on her.

Chloe stares at Max hard for a moment before sighing and sitting back down on the bed. "I'll let it go just for now. So go ahead, Max. Explain away."

Max sighs with relief before looking back to Chloe nervously. "Before I start telling you all of this, I have to ask. Are you sure you want to know everything? You're going to get really pissed once you hear about it all. And I mean really pissed." Max cautions, imagining Chloe losing her mind about what she was about to reveal to her.

Chloe looks at the file for a moment as she thinks before nodding. "I need to know Max. Tell me everything."

And so Max did. She told Chloe about Rachel and Frank's relationship, how Rachel was caught with hardcore drugs in a pack by David and Principal Wells. Rachel's relationship with Jefferson and how Nate also had the hots for her. She then delves into explaining their investigation into Rachel's disappearance, collecting info from David, Nathan, and Frank. She then tells her about how they found the Dark Room and everything inside, including Rachel's portfolio, before they went to the junkyard and found Rachel's body.

Max was sitting at Chloe's desk, facing her. "We went to find Nathan because all the evidence pointed to him. But he was already dead, he was killed by Jefferson, and Jefferson used that opportunity to trick us to go back to the junkyard. There...he killed you and kidnapped me. But David saved me from Jefferson."

That made Chloe's eyes widen in surprise. "I can't believe he did that. I didn't think he'd care about you at all after you helped get him thrown out of here." Chloe says in a flat monotone.

Max knew that Chloe was trying her hardest to keep her anger in check until she heard the entire story, but Max had to continue even though she knew Chloe was only going to add fuel to the powder keg known as Chloe's anger. "Chloe...I don't really want to say this right now. But I think you're wrong about David, at least a little bit. He is a good guy, and he does care about you. After I told him what Jefferson did to you in the junkyard, he flipped out and killed Jefferson all because he hurt you."

That actually made Chloe go wide eyed with surprise. "I...I had no idea."

Max nods in confirmation before continuing. "After that I had to use my power a whole lot to bring you back. And the rest you know."

Chloe butted out her cigarette that was mostly ash since she was listening to what all Max had to say. "I can't believe this." Chloe says holding her head in her arms. "That fucking bitch lied right to my face about everything." Chloe gets up and starts pacing around the room, the anger Max expected showing its face. "Having sex with that pig Frank and then that psycho Jefferson."

Max remains silent as Chloe goes off yelling as loud as she could while slating everything on Rachel. "I'm sorry, Chloe."

Chloe wheels around and glares at Max, looking absolutely livid, but she took a moment and calmed down a bit. "It's not your fault, Max." Chloe says genuinely before she goes to her stash of weed and starts rolling a joint. "I don't want to sound too emo, but I think I need a few minutes alone. I need to process this."

"That's not a problem. It's been a long day, could I use your shower?" Max asks, wanting to do anything to help Chloe get through this.

"Yeah, you know where all the towels are." Chloe says as she finishes rolling the joint. As Max reaches the door, Chloe looks over to her. "Max...thank you. I mean that. I really needed to know about all of this."

Max smiles warmly at Chloe. "Any time, you know I've always got your back, right?"

Chloe smiles weakly at Max. "I know. Now get out of here. I need to blaze." That got a laugh out of Max before she left her room.

Chloe turns on some music before laying on her back and smoking. Thinking of everything that Max told her. Despite all the lying Rachel had done, Chloe still couldn't help viewing her as a friend, which only caused more turmoil inside of herself about this entire thing. After several hits, the edges of the anger she was feeling was dulled but not gone, not by a long shot. "How could you have lied to me about everything? I honestly thought we were friends, Rachel."

Chloe's phone chimes with a new text. She pulls out her phone and sees that it's from Rachel's mother.

Rose Amber: Chloe, I know you've heard about what happened to Rachel. We're holding her funeral the day after tomorrow. I know it will be tough, but I'd like to have you there to say one last goodbye to Rachel. You were her closest friend. Please let me know when you decide. I will understand if you don't want to go.

Chloe read that message and tears form in her eyes. It really hit home at that moment that Rachel really was gone and never coming back. That one of her best friends was now lying in either some morgue or some funeral home, never to show the world her warmth or light ever again. Chloe throws her phone on the bed and curls up into a ball as the hurt of losing her friend washes over her, making her cry uncontrollably.

Several minutes later Max comes walking back into the room, freshly showered. Upon seeing Chloe crying, Max rushes to the bed and gets in with her and holds her while she cries along with Chloe, feeling terrible about what she was feeling. Chloe holds onto Max with a death grip, not daring to lose another friend ever again.

After an hour of crying started, Chloe had finally calmed down and was just glad to have Max here with her. "Are you okay?" Max asks in concern.

"No. But I think I'm done with the water works for now. Thank you for being here with me." Chloe says, truly thankful to have Max with her right now.

"I'll always be with you, Chloe. Forever." Max says soothingly and reassuring.

Chloe clears her throat before sitting up. "Sorry you had to see me like that." She says sounding back to normal.

"Don't worry about it." Max says stroking Chloe's back comfortingly.

Chloe lets go of Max and wipes the tears from her face. She picks up her phone and hands it to Max to show her the text. "I got a text from Rachel's mom." Chloe explains as Max takes the phone and reads it. "I don't know if I want to go."

"Chloe...I think you have to go." Max says after reading the text a couple times. "I think you need to say your goodbyes to Rachel."

Chloe shakes her head, really not wanting to go. "I just don't want to go and have people seeing me crying. It's not my style."

"What if I went with you?" Max offers.

Chloe looks to Max and smiles. "You'd do that for me? You never even met Rachel."

"I didn't." Max admits before thinking back to all the stuff they did to find Rachel. "But after going through that investigation I feel like I know her, if only a little."

"That makes one of us." Chloe says looking away, still feeling a little angry at Rachel for all the lying she did.

Max looks at Chloe sadly. "You might not have known everything, but you know you were her friend and that she was yours. I really think you need to go."

Chloe looks back to Max before nodding and taking back her phone. "You're right, of course." Chloe says before pulling up the text again.

Chloe: Thank you for letting me know. I'll be there. If there's anything I can do, let me know.

Rose: Thank you, Chloe. That means the world to James and I. We'll see you there.

"There." Chloe says throwing the phone back on the bed. "No backing out now."

"Is there anything I can do for you right now?"

Chloe smirks at that. "Just chill with me for a while. I still haven't finished getting my blaze on. Then we'll go talk to the police so they can stop pestering my Mom." Chloe says picking her joint back up.

"Yeah, that's smart, Chloe. Get fucked up then go talk to the police." Max says with a teasing snort.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Chloe says with a slick smirk. "And I'll be damned if I talk to any authority figure without a little buzz."


The police questioning didn't take long since Chloe didn't remember much of being drugged. But she told them everything that she knew and now, several hours later, Chloe comes back into her room with her hands behind her back and a mischievous look on her face. "That impish look always scares me." Max says with a laugh.

Chloe holds her hand up showing David's spare keys to Blackwell. "Care for a midnight swim? The Blackwell pool is ours." Chloe offers jangling the keys, trying to be tantalizing.

"If we go we're going to get in trouble by security. We've done this before." Max says with a knowing smile.

"Who cares? We need to go and blow off some steam. It's been a while since I went swimming and this has been a cray week so far without an end in sight, I think we deserve it. Splish splash?"

Max laughs at Chloe's carefree argument. "You're right. We hella deserve it. Splish splash, but you have to do something for me first."

"What's that?" Chloe ask with a big smile, glad Max is willing to participate in some semi-illegal hijinks.

"You need to put David's gun back before he changes the lock on the gun locker." Max says before giving Chloe a knowing smirk.

"How'd you...right, forgot for a moment." Chloe walks over to her coat and pulls out the gun in question. "Alright, future girl. I guess I don't need it since Nathan and that sleazy Jefferson are getting locked away for a long while." Max and Chloe walk out of her room with their arms around each other. "Did you actually start say 'hella' though? I think I'm a good bad influence on you."


Chloe slides the key into the door's lock and unlocks it while Max was acting as the look out. She remembered the last time they broke into the pool and was keeping an eye open for the security guards. Luckily, so far, none could be seen. Chloe opens the door and taps Max on the shoulder before strolling in like she owned the place with Max following close behind her.

"I can't wait to get into that heated water!" Chloe says with contagious excitement.

Max couldn't help but laugh. "We still have to play it cool, okay? I still go to school here."

Chloe turns back to Max, looking like she didn't have a care in the world right now. "You've been here before. You'll know when something is coming." Chloe points out before gesturing towards the locker rooms. "Boy or girls?" She asks with a cute smile.

"Girls, of course."

"Girls? Ohh la-la." Chloe says before opening the door to the girl's locker room. "Let me see if the pool is heated." Chloe says before running off towards the pool.

After everything that's happened, it was good to see Chloe acting cheerful, even if it was just a small facade to hide her pain. She knew that the sadness wasn't going away any time soon, but she was glad Chloe could take a moment to just enjoy herself. Max follows after her and sees Chloe sitting by the darkened pool, dipping her hand in the water and splashing around.

Chloe looks up at Max approaches to pool. "Max, try to find the light for the pool. I want to see the sharks!" Chloe says kicking her feet with excitement.

"Otters don't like sharks. They bite." Max says with a laugh.

"So do I. Hit that light!" Chloe says playfully.

Max laughs and heads into the lifeguard's room behind her, switching on the lights for the pool. Chloe gets up and undresses down to her underwear before diving into the pool. Max comes out and undresses as well before doing a cannon ball yelling. "Bungalow!"

Once Max surfaces Chloe smirks at Max playfully. "Why look, an otter in my water." Before mimicking the Jaws theme.

Max rolls her eyes at that. "You're so obvious. And I still get freaked out by that movie even now, so stop." Max says before splashing Chloe with water, making Chloe cry out. "I still can't even watch any of those shark shows."

Max and Chloe splash at each other for a few minutes before they float on the water on their backs, just relaxing and enjoying the moment. "I wish Rachel was here. She would totally love being in here at night." Chloe says longingly. "Wish you guys had met each other."

"I do, too." Max agrees with a sad smile.

Chloe sighs before standing upright again. "You're real powerful Max, would it be possible to go back and save her?"

Max stands upright as well and looks to the water, in deep thought. "I don't think I could, but if you ask Steve he might be able to."

Chloe turns to Max, looking at her questioningly. "What is the deal with Steve anyway?"

That makes Max chuckle and shake her head. "I don't know much about him. All I know is that he doesn't exist in this timeline because he went back in time and killed his dad."

"Whoa!" Chloe says with wide eyes of shock. "Is he like...dangerous?"

"Maybe, but not to us. At least I hope not." Max says trying to sound reassuring. "The only other thing I know is that Juliet Watson is his sister."

"The reporter for the school newspaper?" Chloe asks looking puzzled at that one. "Huh? What are the odds of him turning up here and running into his sister?"

"You should have seen him when he found out. First time he actually looked ghostly since I met him." Max says with a laugh, remembering the terrified look on the jerk's face.

"Interesting, but that's not what I meant about his deal. I mean why is he helping you out...helping us out?" Chloe clarifies as she and Max swam towards the edge of the pool.

Max looked perplexed for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought. "I know this is going to sound stupid, but after he offered to help save you and Arcadia, I really didn't ask what he got out of this."

Chloe gives Max a blank look and when she spoke it was in a dry monotone. "Wow, what a way to boost my confidence in him." Chloe sighs and looks at Max thoughtfully. " So, all we know is he's a dick...granted a friendly one, but still a dick. That, and that he's seem some serious shit."

"What do you mean?" Max asks, confused by that.

"When I was talking to him, he made me mad and I said something that was...less than tactful." Chloe says with a slight wince. "He really didn't tell you anything?"

"Well, he doesn't like to talk about his past and I'm the first person he's talked to in god knows how long." Max shrugs, not really knowing.

"Well, he told me that he walked away from some destroyed city more than once. And the way he talked about it...it scared me." Chloe says shivering at the image of Steve's face inches from hers. "I honestly thought he was going to punch me."

That made Max balk. She had seen Steve mad, but angry enough to resort to violence. "It's weird, he's friendly one moment and the next he's a unbearable asshole. I wonder what happened to him to make him that way?"

"You're going to have to ask him." Chloe says with a nervous laugh. "No way in hell do I want him back in my head where he could possibly hurt me. At least out here he can't do anything to us."

Max laughed at that. "Chloe, I seriously doubt he would actually hurt us. If he wanted that all he'd have to do is leave and let us try and figure this out on our own."

"I dunno, Max. That look he gave me...he was close to snapping." Chloe says then shakes her head. "Maybe we should try and do this without him anyway?"

Max thought about that for a moment. "Not yet, if he gives us any other reason to not trust him, then we'll do this on our own. But right now, he's more of an asset than anything we have."

Chloe looked at Max thoughtfully for a moment before smiling. "Your power has changed you, Max. You're not so chickenshit anymore. I still can't believe how you manipulated David like you did. It was awesome!" Chloe says, clearly impressed.

"Thanks, girlfriend." Max says coyly.

"You know what I mean." Chloe says as they put their arms on the edge of the pool to talk without bobbing up and down. "You're becoming like this force of nature."

"More like luck of nature." Max thinks back on all the things she was fortunate enough to do with her powers. "Who knows, maybe I'm just stumbling back and forth in time, trying to make things right. These things get very complicated the more you think about them."

"You didn't stumble when you came back to save me, Max." Chloe says with a small grateful smile.

Max smiles back. "No, that was a deliberate step, but none of this would have happened if you weren't there to kickstart my power."

"So it's time to start moving forward in time. And we're obviously connected since without me you never would have discovered your power, right?"

"Absolutely." Max says with a warm smile. "You make me feel like I know what I'm doing."

"And you make me feel like I have a reason for still being in Arcadia Bay. God knows why you hang out with me." Chloe says with a sad smile. "You're like the smartest, most talented person I've ever known. I'm sure you have Blackwell bros all over you."

Max shudders and groans in disgust at that. "Ew! I don't want any Blackwell bros over me." Max says before giving Chloe a sad look. "There was someone in my life, before all this happened, but they're gone now."

"What happened to him?" Chloe asks curiously, wanting to learn more about Max.

"Her, actually. And nothing really happened. She was here one moment and gone the next." Max says with a heavy sigh, talking about Chloe to Chloe, which to Max was really weird.

Chloe bumps Max with her arm. "No worries. Once you get over yourself and get your power fully under your control, you're going to make the world bow."

"As long as you're there with me." Max says before the thought of the tornado coming brought fear back into her heart.

Chloe noticed and gives Max a reassuring smile. "Don't look so glum, you and Casper are here to save me, remember? I trust you, both of you. I'm never leaving you again."

Max smiles back at Chloe, feeling like together they could do anything. "Okay, now I'm getting cold in here."

Chloe splashes Max real quick and laughs. "That's because we're yapping instead of attacking each other, otter-versus-shark style. But I think I've had my pool experience for the year, let's jet."

"Yeah, let's call it a draw. We gotta get out of here before security shows up." Max says as they climb over the edge of the pool. They get dressed while Max keeps looking over to the side entrance to the pool. The chemicals clinging to her made her feel disgusting. "I feel like we just went swimming in Chlorine Bay."

"You look cute with your hair soaked in chemicals." Chloe comments offhandedly.

"Thanks, you would know." Max says before looking over her shoulder again. "Okay, let's hide before they show up." Max says as she and Chloe go back into the locker room, waiting for security to search the place.

After 20 minutes though, no one showed up. Max walks out, looking around but didn't see anybody. "Huh, weird." Max says before going to find Chloe, hiding in the space between the wall and the lockers. "No ones coming, let's just get out of here."

"Alright, but I thought you said security would search this place when we broke in." Chloe says, confused as they walk out to the pool area again.

"I thought they would. They did last time." Max says, wondering where they were as they circled the pool and went out the side entrance. They walk outside, being sneaky as they make their way to the parking lot. It proved fruitless as no security guards were anywhere in sight. "This is very weird, Chloe. Last time we almost go busted three different times."

"Hey, I'm not looking this gift horse in the mouth." Chloe says before thinking about it. "Where'd that saying come from anyway?"

"Don't know, but let's get out of here before we get caught." Max says before they run to Chloe's truck. Still there was no guards could be seen, so they manage to get in the truck and roll out without anyone aware of what was going on, including Max, which frankly terrified her.


Max and Chloe lie on Chloe's bed sleeping peacefully in the morning hours. Chloe, through the night, had moved closer to Max and held her close. Max slowly opens her eyes, feeling the warmth of Chloe laying right up against her. Max smiles happily, glad to have this moment with Chloe again. She reaches down beside Chloe's bed to grab her camera. "Always remember this moment." Max thinks before lifting the camera to take a picture of them both.

"I'm glad I don't have to move to photobomb you." Chloe says warmly looking at Max.

"You're more than welcome to be a photo hog in any of my pictures." She says before they both put on a smile and Max takes the picture. Max puts the picture and the camera back down onto the floor before rolling back over to face Chloe. "It feels like a completely different world from yesterday."

"It is." Chloe comments with a smile before rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Wish we could just hang out all morning like we used to." Max says whimsically before looking around the room. "I think we should get up, we have to get back to Blackwell soon."

"Oh, does the schoolgirl have a test today?" Chloe says playfully before grabbing the remote to her stereo and turning on some music while they lay there together.

"No, actually all the classes have been canceled for the week because of all this stuff going on. But we haven't heard from Steve in a while. If he's anywhere it'd be at Blackwell." Max says stretching and waking up a little more. "I need to see how he's doing. I'm still a little worried, if we didn't go back to Blackwell, he'd have thought to come here to find us."

"Screw him, if he can just wander off whenever he likes he can wait for us. If it's important he would know you'd be with me." Chloe says with a smirk.

Max thinks about it and shrugs. "Screw him." Max agrees with a chuckle.

Chloe bumps Max with her arm. "Now you're talking like a rebel." She says proudly. Max smiles and they just lay there listening to the music, enjoying each other's company. "I'm so wiped from last night. But it was awesome." Chloe says with a tired groan as she stretches.

"Yeah, I think we both needed that." Max says before turning towards Chloe. "Do you remember when we were kids playing in your backyard?"

"All the time, unless you're thinking of a specific time."

"We were talking about what we'd do when we grow up." Max clarifies.

"Oh yeah, I remember." Chloe says with a bright smile. "You said you wanted to travel around the world taking photos while I came along as your bodyguard and we'd get into crazy adventures. Like Tomb Raider."

Max smiles at that, glad Chloe remembered. "When I'm done with this year at Blackwell, would you maybe want to give it a try?"

Chloe's eyes light up with that. "That'd be hella cool. But who would bank roll that trip? I'm not exactly rolling in money."

"No, but I'm sure we could think of something." Max says confidently. "Maybe Steve could come and be our tour guide. He said he's been all over the world."

"Really? You have a chance to be alone with me and you'd want Casper haunting us?" Chloe asks with a laugh. "Thought it would be hella cool to have a ghost tour guide, though. Even if I can't see him."

Max laughs at that before getting up to get dressed. She looks at the closet thinking about the last time but now that Chloe knows that Rachel is dead, she wasn't sure how Chloe would feel about wearing Rachel's clothes. She walks over to her clothes from last night, but they reeked of chlorine.

"Those clothes have got to smell, see if you can find a suitable outfit in my fashion hole." Chloe says still laying in bed. Max's heart was beating a mile a minute as she went to the closet and opens it. "Hey, there you go! Rachel left a bunch of her clothes with me." Chloe says before looking away with a sad look in her eye. After a moment she looks back to Max and smiles. "She's your size."

"Should I? Would you be comfortable with that?" Max asks cautiously, not wanting to upset Chloe again.

Chloe rolls her eyes at the question. "They're clothes, Max. You'll get more use out of them than me."

"I dunno, they aren't really my style." Max says looking back to the clothes.

Chloe gets out of bed and walks to the closet. "Max, you might have awesome powers, but you don't have style." She says teasingly. "Besides, I saw how you looked in the future, I'm sure you could rawk those clothes if you give them a chance. You can always rewind back to your chlorine brand t-shirt and generic jeans."

"You suck!" Max says slapping Chloe on the arm playfully. "I like my shirt and jeans! But it would be cool to change it up every now and then I guess."

"How could you go from punk back to this little awkward hipster so quick?" Chloe asks teasingly. "Stop second-guessing yourself, Max! Put this on and let that inner punk-rock girl back out. You can definitely afford to take chances. Whenever and wherever you want to try...for example, I dare you to kiss me."

Max's heart skipped a beat at that. "Really?"

"I double dare you, kiss me now." Chloe says, egging Max on. Without missing a beat, Max leans up, holding Chloe by her shoulders, and kisses her on the lips, a warm feeling spreading through Max's body upon contact. Chloe takes a couple steps back, shocked Max actually did it. "Damn, you're hardcore, Max!"

The reaction confused Max for a moment, using this moment to look at Rachel's clothes and think. "If Steve showed Chloe my future self and my apartment, then she had to have seen all those paintings. Unless...No I didn't turn the kiss one back around. Was Chloe somehow unable to see it? Or...Did Steve actually block that picture from Chloe?"

Max thought about that for a minute before turning back to Chloe, suddenly very nervous. "Chloe...about that kiss..."

"You better not rewind and take that back. You know I'm hotter than those Seattle and Portland art-holes, right?" Chloe interrupts with a warm smile.

Max smiles at that, but didn't feel any less nervous about talking about it. "When Steve was showing you my future...did you happen to see those paintings?"

"Yeah, they were awesome." Chloe says with a smirk. "Why do you ask?"

"So you saw...all of them?" Max asks shyly.

Chloe raises an eyebrow at that. "You're cute when you're nervous. What's all this about, Max?"

Max blushes heavily and takes a breath to steady herself. "That kiss, I know you dared me to do it, but I was wondering...did you really want me to kiss you?"

Chloe tilts her head to the side and smiles at Max before walking back up to her. "Does this answer your question?" Chloe asks before leaning down and kissing Max on the lips.

Max's body relaxes and she returns the kiss, wrapping her arms around Chloe, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. They both close their eyes as they kiss passionately. It was quite evident that both of them were enjoying it as they moaned in pleasure.

Chloe was the one to end the kiss, but remained in Max's arms, her forehead against Max's. "As much as I'd like this to continue, I'd think my mom would be upset if she heard us fooling around up here."

Max enjoyed just having Chloe this close to her after all these years. "Yeah, I don't want an angry Joyce coming up to end it." Max says biting her lower lip nervously. "Rain check?"

"Rain check." Chloe says before pulling away from Max and crawling back into bed. Max turns back to the closet with a huge smile as she grabs Rachel's clothes and puts them on. Max turns back to Chloe and struts up to the bed like a runway model. "Lookin' sick, Max!" Chloe says with a wolf whistle. "A couple tats, some piercings and we'll make a thrasher out of you yet."

"Ready for the mosh pit, shaka brah." Max says like a dork.

Chloe squints one eyes and shakes her head. "Maybe not. Now go on down and say hi to Joyce. Free breakfast!" Chloe says before rolling over and grabbing her stash. "I have to, er, wake 'n bake first.

Max rolls her eyes. "I promise not to tell."

"Let's not rewind and find out, 'kay?" Chloe says before sitting up. "And Max, keep that kiss a secret for now, okay? I want to get past this week before we put a label to this." Chloe says gesturing between herself and Max.

Max nods in understanding. "Yeah, that's fine. We've got all the time in the world." Max says before walking out of Chloe's room, heading downstairs.


Still riding cloud nine from the moment she just had with Chloe, Max walks downstairs, smelling what Joyce was cooking for breakfast. Joyce was humming a tune to herself as she cooked and didn't notice Max walk into the kitchen and flashes her a smile before speaking happily. "Good morning, Joyce."

Joyce turns to Max and looks as if she just saw a ghost for a moment. "Rachel!" Joyce exclaims before realizing it was Max and she shakes her head, feeling silly for being surprised. "I mean, Max. Whew, you startled me." Joyce says with a smile before looking Max over in her new look. "You fit those clothes well. Thank God you're not a hellraiser like her or Chloe."

Max laughs at that. "I raise my own kind of hell every once in a while."

"Don't we all?" Joyce agrees with a smile before frowning and looking at the stairs, thinking about her daughter. "How's Chloe holding up with everything?"

Max looks at the stairs as well with a sad sigh as she thought about all of Chloe's tossing and turning the previous night and when Chloe kept waking up muttering about Rachel. "She's putting on a brave face, but she's hurting over all of it."

"It was a terrible thing that happened to Rachel. She was a good friend for Chloe to have after you left. Oh, those clothes remind me so much of her. Such a sweet girl." Joyce says sadly. "I'd been hoping that Rachel would have shown up or even send a message to Chloe any day now, but what happened to her...just dreadful." Joyce takes a breath before smiling again to Max, trying to brighten the mood a bit before Chloe came down. "I'm thinking of making my eggs and bacon for Chloe today. Maybe that'll cheer her up, if only a little bit. Mind helping me?"

"Sure, what do you need?" Max says with a sad smile.

"The eggs are in the bag by the door and the bacon is in the fridge. Could you grab them for me?" Joyce says while preparing the stove.

"Sure thing." Max says before going to where Joyce said to get the ingredients and help Joyce with the cooking.

"After all these years and everything that's happened, it's great to see you and Chloe together again. She hasn't had a good friend since you or Rachel." Joyce looks over to Max with a sad smile. "Rachel was a smart girl and always landed on her feet. But maybe I didn't know her as well as I thought. Maybe Chloe didn't either."

"I don't think anyone really knew her." Max says honestly as she mixes up the eggs in a bowl. "Everything I hear about Rachel is different when other people talk about her."

"People are always going to talk, Max. And everyone is going to have their own opinion. Unfortunately, that's life for you." Joyce says while frying the bacon. "I just hope that Chloe will be alright after everything she's been through over these last few years. I had begun to actually get worried."

"Chloe's strong, this might be a really hard patch for her, but I'm sure she'll pull through. And I'll be with her through it all." Max states as a matter of fact.

Joyce smiles fondly at Max. "You have no idea how glad that makes me to hear that. I remember the last time I saw you and Chloe in your pirate outfits, and I knew she would never find a better friend. And when you took the rap for that joint, you proved it to me and her."

"Thanks, but it seems like forever ago that Chloe and me were pirates." Max says before passing the bowl of beat eggs to Joyce.

Joyce takes it and pours it into the pan to cook. "Alright, a breakfast fit for us queens...and a king. Go sit at the table. Shouldn't be too much longer."

Max nods and goes to the table to wait. She looks around and sighs in contentment, feeling like everything was going to be okay for the first time since she came back. Until, that is, she looked at the paper laying on the table with the headline "Former Teacher Commits Suicide". Curious, Max picks up the paper and starts reading.

It has been a very odd week in Arcadia Bay. Acting on a series of tips from David Madeson (Head of Security at Blackwell Academy), police officers descended Tuesday on a bizarre underground chamber, reportedly used by Mark Jefferson, former teacher of "Language of Photography" and Nathan Prescott, student at Blackwell Academy and son of Arcadia Bay's benefactor Sean Prescott, to drug, kidnap, and photograph young women against their will. Although there were no other signs of physical or sexual assault on the victims, the disturbing revelations have sent shock waves through the tranquil city of Arcadia Bay.

Police officers discovered Mark Jefferson dead in his cell in the middle of the night. The police have not reported the official cause of death sources as of yet, but a source inside the facility says that the former teacher took his own life. Continued on Next Page.

Max's eyes narrow as she read the article. "Good, burn in hell forever, asshole." Max thinks moving the paper away as Joyce comes over with a plate of food, placing it in front of Max. "Thank you so much, Joyce." Max says before picking up her silverware. "I'm never leaving this table."

"Good. You can clean." Joyce says with a joking smile as Max digs into the food. Joyce walks over to the bookcase, humming a little tune once more, and pulls out a photo album before walking back over to the table and sitting down, opening the album for Max and her to watch. "Seeing you again...ahh, made me remember so much." Joyce says as she flips through the album. "I know these photos don't measure up to your work, Max."

Max chuckles at that after wolfing down everything on her plate. "My favorite photographers probably take pictures similar to yours." Max admits as she looks to the recent pictures of Joyce, Chloe, and David. The pictures make Max think about David and she smiles, thinking about David saving her life. "You really make David happy, Joyce."

"He wants us all to be happy, Max. He just wasn't great at showing it." Joyce says with a longing sigh while turning the page showing pictures of Chloe and Rachel. "But after this whole thing, helping the police bust that teacher and student, he's been much happier lately."

"I bet." Max says before looking at the pictures of Chloe and Rachel. "Oh, I don't think I can rock this outfit like Rachel could."

"You have your own cool style." Joyce says reassuringly to Max before turning the page again, this one had pictures of Chloe, Max, and William from five years ago, except for the one that Max burned when she traveled back to let William die.

That memory still hurt Max when she thought of it, even to this day. It was one of the most painful experiences she had to let happen, because the alternative course was far worse. She still felt guilty about it and still felt responsible for Chloe losing her father. It was just another one of those times that Max wished she never received her powers in the first place. Messing with time had a nasty habit of messing with you right back.

At that point, Chloe comes walking down the stairs and into the dinning room. "Mornin'. She says glumly before sitting down next to Max at the table.

"Morning, Chloe." Joyce says getting up and grabbing a plate of food for Chloe. "How are you doing today, hon?"

"I've been better." Chloe admits honestly, looking down to avoid her mother's gaze of sorrow.

"I made your favorite for breakfast." Joyce says bringing Chloe a plate of eggs and bacon.

Chloe rubs her hands together and licks her lips in anticipation. "This looks so good, thanks mom."

"You are very welcome." Joyce says smiling brightly, surprised she heard Chloe actually say thank you and mean it, it had be a long while since that's happened.

Max noticed that too and looks at Chloe thoughtfully as Joyce goes back to the kitchen to grab herself some food. Max couldn't help but stare, so far this trip had turned out better than she hoped for. "You're staring, Max." Chloe says quietly with a small smile, knowing she interrupted Max's line of thought.

"Sorry." Max says hurriedly, returning her gaze to the photos with a slight blush of embarrassment.

"Don't be." Chloe says in between bites, misinterpreting Max's embarrassment. "Mom has been very good to me, and I haven't shown her any gratitude for it, so I decided to give it a try. Same thing with my step-" Chloe was interrupted as the front door opens and David walks in.

"Nice breakfast." David says tiredly as he comes into the dinning room in his Blackwell uniform.

Joyce comes out to the dinning room as well, not expecting to see David this morning. "David, you're back already?" Joyce asks confused about his presence here.

"I have to take a nap after writing up vandalism reports last night." David says with an exhausted gruff tone, but thankfully, to Max at least, he didn't sound as gruff as the last time he entered the house before.

Joyce crosses her arms and looks at David worriedly. "What happened?"

"Some little shitass punks tore up the lawn in front of the dorms last night. This is what happens at these P.C. bullshit colleges. Entitled students destroying the campus!" David says, flaring up his righteous anger.

That caught Max off guard though. "Okay, that's new. Well, that might explain why we didn't get caught last night at the pool...but what the hell happened in front of the dorm?" Max looks over at Chloe just as Chloe looked at her, just as confused about this new event as Max was.

"Do you know for sure it was Blackwell students?" Joyce asks curiously.

David shrugs his shoulders. "Who else would do it? But I'm going to bust them like I did that shithead teacher and that punk Prescott." David looks over to Max and Chloe and puts on a small smile. "Morning." He greets, his voice less gruff before he sat down while Joyce goes and gets him a plate of food as well. "How are you doing, Chloe? I know today must be hard for you."

"I'm fine." Chloe lies unconvincingly her attitude flaring up without her meaning to. Chloe coughs uncomfortably moving pieces of food around her plate to distract her while she said. "Sorry, it's been a rough few days. I didn't mean to snap at you."

David was caught off guard, Joyce was caught off guard, hell, even Max was caught off guard by what Chloe just did. "To be honest, I was half expecting to hear a smartass comeback." David says with a bit of a laugh.

"Give it time, I'm sure it'll turn up again." Chloe says jokingly.

"Wowser...Chloe is actually getting along with David for once. That's...just weird." Max thinks in delighted surprise.

"I wanted to apologize to you too, Max." David says, focusing his attention on Max. "When I snapped at you Monday, I wasn't having the best of days. And seeing that joint in Chloe's room just set me off. So I'm sorry. I know that wasn't a very good first impression of me, but I hope I can change your mind with some time."

That made Max blink and stay quiet for a few moments before her shock allowed her to speak again. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, too. Don't worry about it." David nods in thanks as Joyce gives David his food and he begins eating as well. As they sat there, Max couldn't help but feel glad that the household wasn't at each other's throats like the last time, it gave her a lot of hope. But then she remembered the new event at Blackwell and couldn't help but be curious about it.

Chloe finishes her food and puts the silverware on the plate. Chloe and Max get up and take their plates to the sink to rinse them off before Chloe calls back to them. "Alright, I think me and Max need to get out of here. I gotta take her back to Blackwell."

"Stay out of trouble you two." David says in between bites.

Chloe pulls her keys out of her pocket as they go to the front door. "No promises!"

Chloe and Max walk outside and once they were free from prying ears, Max turns to Chloe. "We need to check out the dorms."

"Like you're reading my mind. I was thinking the same thing." Chloe says with a smirk before frowning. "I need something to occupy myself today."

Max nods in understanding as she and Chloe get into Chloe's truck and head to Blackwell.