(Hey, guys. I'm sorry that this chapter is late, I just needed to rest and take a little break because I was really sick. Thanks to all of you for your get well wishes. I do feel better, but I'm still a bit drowsy. So this chapter is gonna be hella late. Sorry. Anyway, read on and enjoy, and don't forget to leave reviews.)

My father walks back into the hospital room, running his hand through his short hair. "Your mother is really upset, and needs to cool down. We're going to go back to our hotel room soon. I'm sorry that this isn't going too well, baby girl." He kisses my forehead, sighing softly.

"It's okay, Dad. I knew that she wouldn't take it too well." I lean my head against his side, also sighing. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad that you aren't mad too."

"I'm not mad, Max. I'm proud of you girls. Now, we're gonna be here for a whole week, and I was thinking that when Chloe gets out of the hospital, we could all go to dinner. With Joyce and David too, if they aren't busy. It might help with easing the tension a little." He shrugs.

"Hopefully it will. I'm sorry that I screwed everything up." I look at Chloe, who also shrugs.

"You didn't screw anything up, sweetheart. I gotta go now. I'll see you girls later." He walks out of the room, waving to us.

I slide my hand through my hair, looking back at Chloe. "I'm sorry, Che. I really didn't want it to go this way."

"It's fine, babe. It's not your fault that your mom is homophobic. Why is she, anyway?"

I shrug. "I guess she was just raised that way. My dad is perfectly fine with it, though. I never really understood why she doesn't like it." I reach up and grab her hand, lacing my fingers through hers.

"Max, we can get through anything together. Nothing's gonna bring us down. You can make the word bow." She grins, the normal, confident Chloe returning.

"As long as you're by my side, Chloe. We can do anything." I smile. Something about Chloe just makes me feel like I actually can do anything. She's always so confident and sure of whatever she does. She makes me feel like I'm not just a nerdy girl who likes to take pictures.

"That's the spirit, baby." She kisses the back of my hand. "Go get em, killer."

"Who exactly am I supposed to be getting, Che?" I raise one eyebrow, lightly punching her arm.

"Them. The haters, I dunno." She shrugs, pretending to punch the air. "I know! Frank. You're totally gonna smack his ass down in court, babe."

"You're gonna have to smack Frank down in court too. You're the victim here." I poke her side. "We'll smack him down together."

"Hell yeah! I'll be all like, 'We were running from Frank then he caught us then Max, like, held the gun up and shot the ground in front of him then Frank grabbed the gun and fucking shot me. Then Max saved my damn life! It was sweet.'"

I raise an eyebrow. "Che, I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed to curse in a courtroom. You kinda have to be respectful."

"Fuck that. Cursing is awesome." She smiles. "Anyway, I can't wait to get out of this goddamn place. The evil hospital food has made a return. The only decent food in this place is the Jello, and that's still shitty. Fucking hospital food."

"I can't wait either. Being in hospitals is so fucking depressing. I hate it here." I sigh softly, looking around the room.

"Only four more days, babe. Then I'm out of here, and we don't have to deal with the depressing, evil hospitals."

"But then we have to deal with the awkward dinner with our parents. One of whom currently hates us."

"Maxy. It's gonna be fine. Even if everything turns out terribly, we're gonna be fine. I don't care if your mom hates us, I'll never break up with you. I love you too much to ever even think about breaking up with you."

I lean over and kiss her cheek, smiling softly. "I love you too. And I don't plan on breaking up with you."

She wraps her arm around my shoulder. "Good. Hey, have you talked to Jefferson about the contest yet?"

I shake my head. "Not yet. I'm still not sure if I want to go or not. I really hope he doesn't give, like, Victoria the trip if I say no. He should give it to someone that deserves it, like Kate or someone."

"Fucking Victoria. Has she been being an ass to you or leaving you alone? Cuz if she's being an asshole to my baby, I'm gonna flip my shit on her." I roll my eyes at her.

"You're not going to fight Victoria. I swear, you would fight the sun if you could." I laugh softly. "Don't fight the sun, you'll die. Don't fight Victoria, the Vortex assholes and her rich parents will fight you. With lawsuits."

"Fine. Just cuz I'm hella broke and I can't deal with a stupid lawsuit. And cuz you don't want me to. I won't because I'm broke and I love you." She kisses the corner of my lips. "It would be so fun to punch her in the stupid, snobby little face."

I shake my head, laughing softly. "Maybe. But, y'know... Sometimes I think that she's not a bitch just because she can be, but because she's insecure about something." I shrug.

Chloe scoffs. "Dude. What does the poor little rich kid have to be insecure about? Doesn't she have all of those super fancy thousand dollar cameras and lenses and shit? She had everything she could ever need. And more than that."

"Her parents own some art gallery. I've heard stuff about how cutthroat that gallery is... She's probably been so pressured by her parents to be good that it's getting to her."

She glances down. "Maybe. Jesus, now I sorta feel like a douche for threatening to punch her."

I shrug. "That was allowed. She was being a total asshole that day. And neither of us were in the mood to take that crap."

"Shit! You know what I just remembered? We were supposed to go to that chick Dana's party tomorrow. And now we have to hella bail."

"I'll have to tell her when I go back to Blackwell later. Shit. She's gonna be so sad..." Dana was so hyped for her party, and for us to come to it. And I have to admit, it sounded like a shit-ton of fun. I would love to dress up as a pirate with Chloe again.

"I was actually kinda excited for that. Imagine us as pirates again, taking Arcadia Bay by storm." A dreamy smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

"We're still taking Arcadia by storm. I mean, we've broken into Blackwell and had a showdown with a crazy drug dealer. We still have awesome adventures, they're just more dangerous than before."

Chloe laughs. "True. I'm surprised that we're not actually dead yet. Jesus, we do so much stupid stuff. Remember that time when we snuck out and walked around the woods all night because we watched that scary movie?"

"Yeah, why did we even do that? Did we think that we were gonna find the monster or something? Wowzers, we were stupid kids." I laugh as well. "That was pretty fun, though. We just explored the woods for hours."

"You were so scared that night. You made me hold your hand the entire time. It was kinda adorable." I blush a little bit. I was terrified, even though it was my idea in the first place. Chloe was confident and brave as always.

We talk about the dumb things we did as kids until I have to go. I kiss her cheek, standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Che. Love you."

She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. "C'mere. Kiss me." She presses her lips against mine, one of her hands tangling into my hair. I kiss her back, smiling against her soft lips.

Chloe presses closer to me, placing her other hand on my cheek. She gently bites my lower lip, which makes me whimper softly. Chloe laughs, pulling away and pressing her forehead against mine.

"Do I really turn you on that fast, babe?" She smirks, raising one eyebrow. I blush bright red, swatting at her arm.

"Shut up, Chloe." I smile a little bit. "I really have to go now, dork."

"See ya later, hottie."

I walk into the dorm building, hearing music blasting from one of the rooms. Most likely Dana's, as usual. I walk to her room, carrying absolutely amazing news for her. Note the sarcasm.

I knock on the side of the doorframe, watching her dance on top of the bed. "Hey, Dana. I have some bad news for you."

"Shit. Come in." Dana turns the music off, stepping down off of the bed. I walk in, leaning against the wall. "What's wrong, Max?"

"Um, you know how Chloe and I told you that we could come to your party tomorrow?" She nods. "Something happened a few days ago, and we kinda can't come now."

Dana groans. "Why? Shit, is this about that thing in the news?" This kinda catches me off guard. They published a story about it?

"What thing in the news?" I ask, sitting down on her couch. She comes and sits next to me.

"There was an article in the paper about some local drug dealer shooting a girl a few days ago. Juliet told me about it." I sigh, looking down. "It just seems like the kind of trouble Chloe would get you into."

"Yeah... Chloe kinda owes him money. We were hanging out at the junkyard and he showed up. And we kinda had a gun." I pause for her reaction. Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to be shocked. "Anyway, we were sneaking around and he was looking for us. And I had the gun. He found us and pulled out his switchblade and I panicked and almost shot his foot. Then he grabbed the gun from me and shot her in the stomach. And now she's in the hospital."

Dana places her hand on my arm. "I'm sorry, Max. Tell Chloe to get well soon for me."

"I will. Thanks for understanding and not being weirded out by us hanging out in the junkyard with a gun." I smile softly.

"I've heard weirder things in the news, Max." She shrugs. "And I'll keep this to myself. I know you probably don't want a whole ton of people to know. By the way, the paper didn't release any names."

"Thank Dog. I kinda don't want people to know that I was playing with a gun with my girlfriend. Especially Principal Wells or any of the teachers here. I would probably lose my scholarship."

Dana pats my arm. "I'm here for you, Max. Whenever you want to talk, I'm here."

I smile. Dana is hella supportive all the time. "Thank you, Dana. That actually means a lot to me. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Anytime, Max. I'll talk to you later." I stand up, walking out of her room and to mine. I sit down on my bed, sighing softly. This week has been seriously strange.

(HOLY SHIT EPISODE 4. I can't spoil anything (yet) but it was crazy. And I was crying as soon as I started the game up. I cry so easily :/. Anyways, sorry again for the late chaper. I'm back now! Don't forget to review and all that shit that makes my heart feel good.)