Chapter TWELVE: The Dethroned Queen

Victoria Maribeth Chase sat quietly and patiently on a small wooden bench that looked older than her grandfather. The bench itself was located very close to the rescue centre in the outskirts of Arcadia Bay and it made Victoria feel uneasy. More than that!

Her life…was hell!

Ever since she had heard about Taylor and Courtney, she had hardly slept and spent the majority of her hours weeping to herself and cursing literally everything, mostly herself. Before the storm, Victoria would never cry in public or show any emotion that made her look weak. She used to believe that if she showed weakness, people wouldn't like or respect her but now she couldn't give a crap about that. About anything. Her hands were shacking but it wasn't cold. Her head was sweating and it wasn't particularly hot. She was just scared and shocked and didn't know what to do!

The struggling roar of the beat-up truck managed to scare of a full posse of squirrels. 'Wowsers Samuel would totally give me a lecture. I really hope he's okay…haven't heard anything' thought Max as she hopped out of the passenger seat of Chloe's truck. It was actually a nice day and Max hoped this was an indication that the day was going to go well. She had to admit, she was kinda scared. Her and Victoria hadn't talked in a while properly and it wasn't a very nice subject either. Max huffed as she looked around to locate Victoria however couldn't initially see her until she spotted a lone figure in the distance, sitting on a bench. Her nerves were going crazy right now but she knew she had to do this.

"You sure you don't want me to come Max, you know my awesome-sauce ability to make people smile would probably help" beamed Chloe as she too exited the truck and lit a cigarette. Max smiled and have her girlfriend a hug and a kiss, being careful to avoid the burning stick in Chloe's hand.

"While you have got the power to make me happy whenever I see you Chlo, I think Victoria might be a little different. I just hope I don't screw this up, she probably isn't in the best of places right now" Chloe's face bunched up playfully at the response. Although she didn't have the best opinion of Chase, Chloe knew it was important for Max for two reasons; to prove that Victoria wasn't a complete bitch and to deal with the death of those two girls. Chloe always wondered if Max still blamed herself for the storm and the deaths it brung and it did hurt her to think about it however she tried to put it to the back of her mind.

"Yeah I guess so. Just please don't her walk on you like she used to. I won't let her okay, nobody hurts my Max! Anyway I better go, mom wants a lift to a store outside of town. Call me when you're finished okay and I'll come get you" Max agreed and once again entered a hug with Chloe. Out of all the shit that was going on, Max knew that Chloe could make everything happy for her and all it took was her smile to send Max into happiness. Chloe finished her cigarette and got back into the truck and with a final comedic wave, she departed leaving a small area of smoke that made Max cough. She glanced over to where Victoria was sitting and finally began to make her way over to the former queen bitch.

The first thing Max noticed about Victoria Chase is the eyes. They weren't just red, they seemed slightly grey and maybe purple! She had obviously been crying allot before their meeting. Her hair was also allot darker than normal and her infamous dress sense had diminished as all she was wearing was a simple jean and coat style in huge contrast to her normal style of posh and expensive. Max put her hand on her other arm as she did when she was nervous and tried to come up with a suitable greeting however she didn't have to wait long before the croaky voice of Victoria Chase broke the silence,

"Hey Max, thanks for coming. I…didn't really expect you to" she uttered. Max slowly sat down by Victoria and was going to put her hand on Victoria's knee however decided against it as she was still hesitant on what the reaction would be.

"Of course I came Victoria, yeah I get it we haven't exactly been best friends in the past but I'm here for you and so is everyone from Blackwell" Max thought that reminding Victoria of her friends would help and it seemed to as the she lifted her head slightly and looked at the hipster for a brief moment before returning her gaze to the ground. The response slightly surprised Max.

"Even Kate Marsh?" she asked slowly, as if wanting to avoid the question entirely. Max knew at some point Kate would be mentioned as Victoria probably blamed herself for Kate's near suicide. Max shook at the memory as it seemed so long ago but still so painful.

"Of course, she does. She doesn't blame you Victoria. I won't lie it was a pretty shitty thing to but it wasn't your fault. You know whose fault it was" upon uttering this, Max noticed Victoria shook a little bit as they both knew who Max was talking about. Mark Jefferson. Victoria had previously flirted with Jefferson until it was revealed who he really was and was taken to a prison outside of Arcadia Bay. Max angrily thought about how Jefferson had narrowly escaped death. Suddenly Victoria stood up and her fists clenched,

"That fucking monster! I never thought he could do that shit. All those girls and…Nathan. I never should of even talked to him Max, I could have been one of those girls" she exclaimed with seething anger. Max remembered in the alternate timeline in which Victoria had been taken by Jefferson but was glad she stopped that from happening.

Max got up and put her hands on Victoria's shoulder intending to calm her down however she violently pulled away and walked forward a little away from Max. The next words really hurt Max.

"I'm…sorry Max. For fucking everything. If that's what you wanted to hear then there it is. You can go if you want." She spoke with hints of anger although Max knew it wasn't directed at her, probably at herself.

"That's not why I'm here Victoria, not at all. I want to help you not fight. I know how hurt you must be about everything. What Jefferson did was evil and I see that Nathan was…disturbed not evil. We can talk about that later but maybe we should talk about what's really bothering you. I'm sorry about…Taylor and Courtney. I know you blame…" suddenly Victoria grabbed Max. She couldn't tell if it was a hug or an angry motion but it was probably both. Her tone indicated the later,

"It was my fucking fault. I had a hangover and I told them to get me some shit to help and I never saw them again. They died in Blackwell because of me, precious little me! I was a bitch to them and everyone who was kind to me and why? Because I was overcompensating like always. I wanted to be special and I didn't care who I fucked over in the process. Kate Marsh, you and even Taylor and C…Courtney. Me that's who, Victoria fucking Chase. The one who tried to sleep with a fucking psychopath and did sleep with his lapdog. I'm fucking sorry Maxine, but I can say that to you and Kate but not to Taylor and Courtney not anymore. I called them servants but they were really…my…best friends…" suddenly Victoria broke down completely and collapsed to the floor. Max grasped her mouth with her hand and backed away. She had never seen Victoria like this, vulnerable. She was crying and borderline shouting. Even Max was starting to tear up and bent down to hold the crying girl. This time she accepted the embrace and two cried together for their shared losses and the bad times. Max couldn't believe this was happening and didn't expect it. Victoria Chase was breaking and Max didn't know if she could fix it but she would be fucked if she gave up now.

Max remained holding Victoria for some time and the two of them were oblivious. Oblivious to the figure who was watching from behind the tree line.

Wow this chapter was awesome to write. I know it seems like I have changed Victoria's character allot but I do think this is what would happen if she lost her best friends. Also in a few chapters time I will be exploring the relationship between Chloe and Max in more detail as I seemed to have glossed over it slightly but it will come! Thanks to everyone who has supported me it means the world to me as always !