Note: The first name listed will be that character's POV. For example "Max Caulfield & Rachel Amber", will be from Max's POV.
Max Caulfield & Rachel Amber
Portland: Pine State Biscuits
March 21th, 2013 12:47 PM
The rusted washed out cream colored pickup truck pulls to an available parking spot on the curb of a small side street of Portland. Chloe and the three girls hop out of the rickety old truck, as the unspoken silence continues to brew among the girls, especially the reckless punk, who hasn't said much other than being a chauffeur from the train station.
The girls approach the building on the intersection that has its exterior walls, alternate between a brown and light tan color pattern. "Is this the place?" Kate asks, turning around the corner, then screeching her white tennis shoes to a sudden halt on the concrete, as her jaw drops opened. There is a line of people that spills out of the front door, stopping right in front of the church girl. "This place is packed!"
Max sneaks up to the hair bun girl from behind, guiding her body with her arm. They both take a curious peek inside, confirming their suspicion. "Damn… that's a lot of people." A table sparkles in their vision, with its four vacant chairs around it. "There's an opened table right there!"
They both scramble for the table, deterring any poor patrons that were approaching that very same table. The blonde girl quickly seats down in one of the chairs to officially claim it, letting in a blushing grin of guilt to her undeserving victory.
Max doesn't join Kate but instead leans against the chair right beside hers. "What do you want? I'll order for you."
Kate looks past the cashiers seeing three black billboards, littered with white chalk-like texts of all the menu items. "Mmm… Let's see." Her wide eyes toss back and forth between the overwhelming amount of selections. She tips her nose up, peering at the various occupied tables with their half-eaten foods, hoping to get her belly to be inspired with some cravings, even though Kate wouldn't know the name of the item anyways. She returns back to the menu, "This one sounds funny… but maybe the 'Chatfield Biscuit' sounds good? And a small fountain drink." She opens her bag, pulling out a single bill, and handing it to Max, "Here's a ten."
Max takes the money, "Alright. Sit tight, Kate." She pats playfully on her hair bun, causing a radiant smile to squeeze from Kate. That smile… that's the Kate I love to see. A flush of heat sails up the brunette, as she crouches down slightly, to be at a closer eye level to Kate. "Your smile… always bring hope in me and everyone around you."
Kate squeezes her eyes closed for a moment, rounding her cheeks from her even greater smile than before. "Because you have given hope to me as well…"
The brunette returns with her own smile, leaning in close for a single arm hug, as the back of the chair impedes a full embrace. This is Max's first time having a one-on-one talk with Kate since the huge time leap back. She whispers softly, "I'm so happy, you're here with me. All of us… we're here."
"Mm-hmm…" Kate squeaks softly in agreement, before gently releasing each other. She runs her fingers along Max's back, "I'm ecstatic about it. But... if you can... please go talk to Rachel."
Max looks over her shoulder to make sure the other two girls aren't eavesdropping on this. "Thank you so much for going straight to Rachel last night." She brushes the back of her head nervously, "You're not a time traveler but you took more actions than I have."
"Don't worry about it. We're a team on this." Kate lets out a wild smile again, but it subsides to a pressed lips. "I didn't think about the current date… but I'm glad to be there after Rachel dealt with Jefferson."
Max hisses softly, wincing at the thought that she put Rachel through all of that. "Shit… I know." She looks back again, at the entrance of the restaurant, with a new goal in mind, "I'll talk to Rachel."
Kate nods softly, giving a gentle pat of encouragement, "Yeah…"
Max gives one last smile before standing back up on her legs, heading back out of the door. She wedges in between the people in line, making her way back to where the other two girls are waiting, who are leaning against the wall with crossed arms. "Hey, Chloe…" She greets her bestie, but then shifting her attention to the blonde girl beside her. Despite having an intimate moment on that footbridge at the train station earlier, everything has reverted back to a rather unpleasant state. Mainly, due to the unfriendly and unwelcoming aura from the bluenette. "Could you please give me a moment with Rachel?"
The punk's stern blue eyes glow incredulously, as she lazily presses her tongue against the back of her teeth. Max cringes slightly, instantly regretting her request. "You want a moment with Rachel?" Chloe's lips open, slipping out a scoff with a burst of heat. "Seriously, you ditch your best friend for over four years, and you want to have a fucking one on one talk with…" She lets out another disapproval puff of air, pointing at Rachel like she is too worthless to even bother with eye contact, "...her?!"
"Alright…" Max presses into twisted lips, "Chloe, let's go talk, then."
"No!" Chloe pinches her eyebrows sharply together, with a repulsive face. "I don't need your damn pity." Her voice is raised and rage spilling into it, as some of the surrounding people are giving quick and uneasy glances at them. "You guys are still wringing me by the neck with all of this." She gives a short pause, glaring back, "Hello! I'm fucking lost with this stupid shit. Cut me some slack."
"Rachel…" Max points weakly at the silent blonde, "...has been very helpful with all of this. I know you called Rachel your angel, but this Rachel from a different timeline is absolutely the same thing." Although Max has toughened up from her experiences with the hell week, she still has trouble dealing with the explosive nature of her best friend.
"Angel?" Chloe squeezes a sarcastic laughter out of her throat, darting her eyes between her two best friends. "I don't know what the hell is going on between you two…" A sly smile emerges on her face, "But… you wanna know what disgusting acts this Rachel was doing with me earlier today?" Max stiffens her posture boldly, but remaining silent and steady with her expression. Rachel, however, hunches over, with a slight shuddering to her head. Recalling the shameful moment she had with the punk in her room. The bluenette looks over to the blonde, sensing the uneasiness emanating from her. Then, Chloe's eyes sail back to Max, remaining subdued with her threat.
"I can hear you guys yelling from inside," Kate marches out, cycling a scolding look between the girls.
Max steps back, peeking inside the restaurant, "Kate, someone just took our table."
Kate shows no expression of any disappointment in the failure of her duty. She looks back between Chloe and Rachel, stepping close to them, in a rather confrontational way. "I'm sorry about losing our table… but could you please stop fighting?" Her eyebrows dip down, lips quivering softly with her short breaths. Chloe quickly recognizes this look from before, conceding with her own softening expression, not wanting to cause Kate to cry again like back at the train station.
Max snakes her arm around the sweet angel, curbing that boiling sorrow from reaching her throat. "Kate… it's cool." She glares at her best friend, "Chloe… Now can we go talk?" She pokes her head towards the dining area of the restaurant, "We can look for a new table. Kate, could you stay here with Rachel?" She hands the angel, her money back.
Kate takes the money, nodding silently and waddling her way up to Rachel. Max grabs Chloe by the arm, dragging her out of the line and into the restaurant, that is booming with hungry patrons. The roasting smell that fills the air with a sweet spell that can incite the watering in anyone's mouth.
The two girls stand tall in the center, scanning the tables to keep track who seems like they're about to finish. They both cross their arms, craning their heads for the next table to swoop in for themselves.
"So uh…" Chloe rolls her eyes nervously, clearing her throat and the tension in the air, "How's Vanessa and Ryan doing?"
Max stops her search, finally focusing on this private moment with her best friend, whose eyes are staring off absently to one side of the room. The brunette drowns in the deep fathom of the ocean in Chloe's gorgeous eyes, leaving her almost breathless in how cool and beautiful she looks. She is wearing something that mirrors closely what she wore in that week, but a different color. A dark brown jacket with a deep navy blue cropped top, that hangs low to reveal the top part of her black bra that sends a fluttering into the brunette's tightening chest. The warm flush plumes up her throat, blooming her skin. Her clothing style is exactly what I remembered… and that glimpse of her bra... Ugh… why am I paying more attention to these things now? Max, get a grip, you horndog.
"Uh… earth to Maxine?" She dips down examining the shorter girl's dreamy eyes.
Max gasps to break her breath from captivity, "Sorry… Chloe." She blinks rapidly, concentrating on the time she lost in that brief blushing moment, "Umm… those are nice… I mean!..." She squeaks in embarrassment, squinting her eyes closed to scramble her thoughts into proper words. "... I mean they're doing fine. Yeah!"
Chloe snorts out a laugh, "That's good. But yeah yeah… It is just my bra sticking out." She tugs her strap up, uncovering more of her bra that sends more tingling sensation down the observing brunette's abdomen. Chloe doesn't take notice of this, as she lets out chuckle through her tightly pressed lips, "Just a style I have… things have changed a bit." She taps her short hair with a forced polite voice, "My hair is rocking blue now." She clears her throat, gazing at her blank-faced best friend, giving her a playful shove to the shoulder to break the stony expression, "But… then again you are all leaving me in the fucking dark with some weird shit." She puts both her hands on her hips, rocking them a little bit, "Like damn, it's been over four years. At least toss me a bone."
Max's eyes drift down to the punk's abdomen section, gazing deeply and getting lost in the dark blue fabric. A moist spot seeps in her shirt, growing with darkness, sending a warm tense in her face that is different from her earlier flush. With a blink of her eyes, the darkness disappears as if it was a temporary vision defect. Was my mind playing a trick on me? Trying to remind me of what happened in the past? That Chloe got shot in the stomach… "Chloe…" She mutters faintly, feeling some tingling of sweat, gushing out of the pores on the back of her neck.
"Max… what in the world are you staring at?" Chloe darts between the brunette's eyes and the targeted areas she was staring at before. "You look like you were salivating at something, but now you look absolutely frightened."
"Chloe…" She says her name weakly again, feeling a slight lightheadedness that trickles a shudder down her neck.
"Hey, come here…" Chloe reaches out to her, one hand grabbing her shoulder, and the other hand supporting Max's waist. "...are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." The dodgy hipster takes a deep breath to expand into her lungs, to straighten her posture back up. "I love your style… and your blue hair is fucking awesome." She forces out her enthusiasm, remembering she has to rebuild everything with her relationship with Chloe, as everything has been reset. In hope, that her bonding will be smoother this time. She won't have her time powers to correct any social mistakes she is going to make, but instead rely on her improved confidence and knowledge. However, this is a brand new untraveled path in her life, taking six months prior, with another time master Rachel and the sweet angelic Kate.
"Well, I'm glad someone likes my blue hair. Rachel also loves my hair… erm loved it. Before she suddenly went cuckoo or whatever..." Her voice drifts off along with her eyes.
"Chloe, before I tell you everything… I'm so sorry about ditching you." She boldly holds her friend's hands, interlocking their fingers, squeezing tightly and staring deep into her eyes, "I was a coward, and that is all to it. I got scared, and didn't even think about the hard times you were going through."
Chloe widens her eyes, quivering her lips slightly. Her bitter attitude is partially stunned, "Umm… yeah. You are..."
"I know…" Max shakes their locked fingers in agreement, "Because what I did to you, deep down inside I never really felt proud of anything about myself anymore. I've lost trust in myself. If I can't even keep you as my friend, then who do I even deserve in this world?" She lets out a soft anguish cry, thinking how much this person, right in front of her, means to her. During their exhausting week-long adventure, she didn't have much time to really dive deep with her thoughts with Chloe, despite having her doomed time travel powers. "I know it is late but I want to make things right." She stretches their hands down, leaning her body close, whispering to her, "I didn't realize it at the time when you told me that you loved me, back in that day outside the health clinic, before I left for Seattle. But now I know… that I also loved you back then… I've always had." Her voice is sincere, while her mind is a mixture of confidence and slight regret of possibly expressing her emotions too soon.
Chloe blinks slowly, her eyebrows arch weakly. Reminding of that day where her mind collapsed, seeking for anyone to save her but only to find no one. And, to finally know now, that her feelings were reciprocated by her best friend. "Max…" She looks over the shorter girl's head, deflecting the warmth that is beaming at her, "Hey, those people are leaving, let's grab it." She releases their grip and hurries across the restaurant to a small family of four that are leaving.
Max dips down her head, relishing her hand with the fading heat left by Chloe's touch, "...Right…" She sways around sluggishly, following her.
"Hey, are you guys leaving?" Chloe taps her nails in a repeated cascading rhythm on the metallic textured table, interrupting the family.
"Yeah, we are. Just let us clear this…" The father of the family picks up the remaining trash on the table as his family already evacuating from the table. "...and it is all yours!"
"Thanks!" Chloe sits down, leaning back in a relaxed position, lifting up a single knee, pressing it against the edge of the table.
Max joins her in the seat right across from her, but before her butt grazes the seat, she freezes to the facial expression that Chloe is giving her.
"Sit next to me…" Chloe shifts her eyes to her left, at the empty adjacent seat beside her. "I don't want that weirdo next to me."
Max straightens her body back up, looking above Chloe and across the room, to Kate and Rachel who has made good progress in the line already. Kate pouts her lips in a playful and teasing manner, while Rachel absently stares at the back of the blue haired girl. Rachel looks so sad. Something happened between her and Chloe today. Just before I got here. I have to calm Chloe down. The hipster forces out a grin, pretending to ignore the blonde's stony look, as she shifts her body around the table to sit in the chair beside Chloe.
"Thanks, Max." Her eyes drift over making contact through the strands of her blue bangs. She resumes the conversation, "But when you were in Seattle, a little text or call would have been nice."
"I know. I fucked up…" Max maintains her bold eye contact, not even flinching to her mistakes as she is determined to rekindle her friendship amiably, again. And then some more. "I'm so happy that you're here…" She reaches to grab Chloe's shoulder, "To know that you were hurting yourself… and I didn't even know about it. I am supposed to be your best friend…" She shakes her head, sinking downwards slightly, as the overwhelming guilt is crushing her will, "...it kills me on the inside."
Chloe holds up her hand, "Max… okay… sorry to stop this mushy moment. But what secrets do you know about me?" She shifts her body slightly, leaning her elbow on the back of the seat, "Seriously, it seems like the everyone and their mother and the alternate dimension know about all my fucked up thoughts and actions."
"Chloe… I'm sorry there isn't a better way to tell you this. I know you feel violated."
Chloe lets out a scoff, blowing up her hair again, as she gets into a more relaxed position, despite her uneasiness. "Hella fucking violated…"
"Just serious bad shit happened in the future… And it started with Rachel…" Max wets her lips, hesitating on how she is going to word her next words, "...your new best friend that took over my spot. And, she had every right to be deserving of that title, because of what I did to you… And, I know you loved her."
"Yeah sh-…" Chloe interrupts herself from a delayed reaction from that last sentence. She mutters quietly, trying to play it cool, "Fuck, you know that too?"
Chloe isn't as hot-headed right now. I guess maybe she didn't have the six months to build up that void of losing Rachel and being left alone by everyone in the world. Max straightens her body, "Don't be embarrassed. She's an angel to you and protected you. And she's beautiful…" Max smiles, easing the tension in the air, "You have every reason to love her." Her words are selfless, respecting and acknowledging Chloe's feelings during their fallout. She wants Rachel to be recognized as a savior to Chloe, when she couldn't be there for her.
Chloe blinks slowly, stunned again from Max's words. She rolls her eyes, letting out a snort of disgust, "Uh… yeah… until she started to bang a teacher."
Shit… "You know that?"
Chloe pinches her brows together, wrinkling her nose, "Yeah… she's fucked up. She has been acting all strange, especially this morning. So, I kind of dug into her purse and found this letter." Her eyes shoot side to side, a little ashamed she had to do that with her own friend.
Letter? Is it the same one that I found in the trash can in their hideout in the junkyard? Max taps on her friend's shoulder, despite Chloe is already giving her full attention, "Was the letter in blue ink and handwritten on a graph paper?"
"Yes…" The bluenette rolls her eyes, starting to feel tired of being surprised. She mutters quietly, "...so you fucking know it, too?"
Shit… Chloe must be fucking furious about finding out about Rachel's relationship with Jefferson… erm… except she isn't. But maybe because this Rachel defused it a bit earlier… along with Kate. Max nods her head, remaining calm despite how painful and traumatic to recall the events from that dreaded timeline, "Yeah, I saw it in the 'American Rust'. In your personal hideout." She pulls her hand away, gripping tightly on her own jeans, "This was six months later… when Rachel was already long dead."
The anger gets stripped from Chloe's face, diluting it with sorrow, "...Fuck… stop saying that. I don't want to deal with any more deaths." She blinks rapidly, trying to soften the welling of her eyes, "...I don't want to hear it."
"Believe me, I know." Even though she is standing in front of her, the memories of losing her in the past still haunt her deeply. Almost like it could become real again. That this timeline may discover its own threat, leading to a new tragedy or much more. Max continues, "Rachel died in a few weeks, then you died six months later." Max's voice cracks under the straining pressure, "You died… with the thoughts of both of your best friends leaving you behind." Her eyebrows quiver and her throat are attempting hard to squeeze out her own words. "And your rough relationship with David and Joyce. Everything…" Her voice becomes very faint, "Just the thought you had no one when you left this world..."
Chloe breaks eye contact, tipping her face up to try and keep the tears rooted in her eyes. For a while, she thought Rachel will be the new light to shine out the shadows in her head. But with Rachel slowly slipping away, Chloe can sense the sting of reality from Max's words, "Okay…" Her voice is soft, "You have time powers. But you didn't save me." There is no resentment despite the wording, as she is showing some sympathy, "... can you show me these powers?"
Max blinks her eyes, finally shedding a single stream of tears, "No, I can't Chloe." She wipes the falling trail with the back of her hand, "When you first died, it was when I first discovered my powers. So I saved you with my powers at that time. Then, we had this week long adventure, where we were trying to search for Rachel. It was amazing to spend that time with you." Her eyes drift over to the peaceful angel waiting in line, "Kate was bullied and actually took her own life. But I saved her."
Chloe looks over at Kate, covering her mouth, "God…" She turns back to face her best friend, with narrowing eyes, "Who bullied her?"
Max sniffs her nose, "She got drugged the same way Rachel did. Except she didn't get overdosed and she survived." She catches a glimpse of Kate, who is looking back at her, making it unbearable to maintain eye contact. She sobs softly, "... before she got kidnapped, she did some things beyond her control because she was drugged. And the students were videotaping her and posted it on the internet."
Chloe reaches the sleeves of her jacket, tugging it with force. She bites the inside of her bottom lip, "That is fucked up. I will beat the shit out of the person that did that to her."
Max squeaks softly, "It's okay… I will protect her, too."
"Fucking right…"
Max continues, "So going back to our week together, we found Rachel's body in the junkyard. And… also found out the teacher Mark Jefferson was the one that was behind Rachel's disappearance and murder." She bangs her hands against her thighs with growing frustration, "Then this fucking tornado came, and it was going to destroy the town. So it was either undo my time travel powers, leaving you to die or let the tornado destroy the entire town." She lets out a distressing cry, burying her face in her hands.
Chloe quickly grabs her sobbing friend, giving a comforting hug. She didn't have to hear any more as she can fill in the rest. "Max… it's okay."
Max pries her own hands from her face, then wrapping it around her friend. Chloe's gentle and comforting voice provides the much-needed solace. "Seeing you alive makes me so happy." She buries her face into Chloe's shoulder, not at all caring of the public display she is giving, "So this Rachel… from a different timeline did all this for me. She rewound everything to six months back, before Rachel's disappearance. Her powers are much stronger than mines."
Chloe blinks rapidly, looking at the buried head on her shoulder, "Max… so tell me something." She gently releases her, separating from each other, "I saw you kissing Rachel on the footbridge." Max winces at her words. Chloe continues with a soft tone, barely louder than a whisper, "Are you in love with her? Or in whatever alternative timeline?"
"I'm…" Max fully releases her grasp, being very careful with her words. "It's fucking complicated. Rachel… both Rachels actually have time travel powers. But maybe one of them possibly have more powers… including the ability to jump timelines…" She twirls her finger, pointing around the room, "Hence, the splash she can make with everything. Including this brand new timeline." She wets her lips, giving a brief stare at her best friend, dreading a bit of what she has to say next, "So uh… originally, both me and Rachel were best friends since we were kids. But something happened, and she went back in time to erase me from her side."
Chloe presses her lips with an incredulous stare, "No... fuck that. We were best friends. Only us." She jerks her head, turning around, "Don't let this fucking disgusting imposter-..." Her tongue halts at the sight of Rachel offering an empty fountain drink cup towards her. The colors in Max's face also drains, as well. Rachel's stare is stiff, as she heard the cruel words spewed from the punk. Chloe's voice is soft, "Rachel…" She takes the fountain cup from her hand, then quickly removes eye contact from her.
The blonde time master slams another fountain cup in front of Max. All the muscles in the two sitting girls are frozen for a short moment. Rachel speaks in a false calm voice, "We ordered you guys a bunch of 'Chatfields'. I hope that is okay."
"Yeah, I'm down for anything," Max replies weakly.
Rachel puts her own empty fountain cup in one of the empty spots on the table, "I'm going to use the restroom…" She spins around before getting any response of acknowledgment, heading straight for the restroom.
"Rach…" Kate looks at the bitter blonde that storms past her. "Hey, hold on to this." She sets her fountain drink and the numbered card holder at the center of the table, "I'll check in with her."
Rachel Amber & Max Caulfield
Portland: Pine State Biscuits
March 21th, 2013 12:59 PM
Rachel shoves the restroom door opened in frustration, as the cold damp air taints her boiling skin. She heads straight to the sink, rolling up the sleeves of her jacket so it doesn't get wet from scattered puddles of water on the counter. She turns on the faucet, pumping some soap into her hands and letting it bathe into the warm water for a soothing sensation.
I need some time to myself so people don't see my own meltdown. Fuck… feels like my brain going to split into halves.
Kate enters the restroom, halting in place, with the door swinging back, right behind her, "Rachel…"
The time master doesn't need to look up in the mirror to confirm who it is, "I'm okay. Just washing my hands."
Kate scratches the sleeves of her jacket nervously, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Rachel turns off the faucet, reaching over the dispenser to pull out some paper towels to dry her hands. "I'm just having an existential crisis… Chloe just keeps calling me an imposter." She chucks the wad of used towels into the nearby bin, "She just keeps wanting her Rachel back, and I feel guilty as fuck."
"Well, that is expected from her… and she has to put that thought on hold for now." Kate presses her lips tightly, marching close to her. She balls her fist, with a playful tough expression, "Rachel, remember all the things I've said last night? About not putting yourself down?"
Rachel's voice is stern, finally reflecting with a question of her own. And she wants the truth, "Kate… be honest with me. I promise you, I won't get mad."
The church girl steadies her expression, gulping her throat, "Okay…"
Rachel tucks her hands into her pockets, "Are you frightened by me?"
Kate straightens her posture but her defense wavering internally by the abrupt question, "I'm…" She releases her fists, rubbing the back of her hair bun along with soft chuckle, "I was…" She drops both her arms, hunching her shoulder and pouting her lips, "Yeah… I am."
Rachel nods to her words, "Okay…" She shrugs her shoulders in disappointment, even though she expected the response. She forces a positive response through her throat, "That's perfectly fine."
"Everything is so crazy…" Kate runs both her index fingers down along her necklace, tracing them down to meet at the cross. "I mean, please consider my background… All of this, I would never ever expect to be possible. And, to have several first-hand experiences with it." She brings her hands down to her sides, twiddling her fingers in the musty air.
The other blonde turns her body around, leaning back against the restroom wall, "Do you see me as some sort of demon that can somehow conjure these powers?"
Kate raises her voice, correcting the question, "More like an angel, if anything. With all the philosophies and facts in this world… we cannot wrap our mind around everything that is out there." She shrugs her shoulder nonchalantly, "It isn't something comprehensible to normal people. I doubt there are any reasonable studies about time travel or multiverse." She forces a nervous chuckle through her clenched teeth, "Then again… what is reasonable?"
Rachel observes the nervous conservative girl, that is trying hard not to offend and being objective. She sighs, "The only thing I… " Her shoulders droop down, her mind becoming polluted with these ill thoughts, "I don't know how to say this without making you think I'm angry. Because I totally understand…" Her eyes are still avoiding the curious stare from Kate, "That you guys are just playing along and pretending to be my friend because you're terrified of me..."
"No…" Kate holds out her clenched fists in front. Despite showing display of composure, she is struggling internally to deliver her honest yet showing some tact in her words. "Like I said before, I am terrified of you. But even I'm a little anxious when meeting new people…" She pauses for a moment, nodding her head, "...and for this person to have all these powerful abilities." She takes a bold step forward, grabbing both of Rachel's hands, "I have to learn to ease up on this fear and remember that you are also an ordinary person that have feelings. That needs to be loved and cared for."
Rachel smiles at the sweet and honest statement given to her, "Thanks, Kate. Stay true to your heart with anything. If I make you angry, please be angry at me." She shakes her head slowly, maintaining her gaze, "Don't give me any special treatments, okay?"
"You're such an amazing person. I don't think I can get angry with you with anything." Kate smiles, "But I understand."
"Well, you haven't known me long enough, for me to fuck up." The smile from Kate gradually spread to Rachel's face as well, "But being around you, always make me smile."
"Aww… thanks." Kate coos with the compliment, "I'm glad I can get you to feel that way about me." She releases her grip, to spread her arms wide, "Can I get a hug?"
"Oh, so you're asking for a hug, now?" Rachel follows, also spreading her arms to wrap Kate, squeezing her tightly.
"Yep! I am…" Kate closes her eyes with her smile, humming in the warmth.
Rachel squeezes her eyes closed, letting the scent of the church girl seeps into her nose, calming the sting that was digging deeply into her mind. Feeling Kate's chest heaving gently into hers, she slides her fingers across the blue cardigan, digging her fingers tighter. Kate doesn't reject to this, as she can sense the needed comfort that the exhausted time master needs. Rachel whispers into her ear, "I feel like pieces of me, gets snapped back together whenever you hug me."
"When I'm feeling down, a hug always cheer me up. My youngest sister Lynn, ran after me before I was leaving to Blackwell Academy last night." She laughs, gently releasing their hold slightly but their faces are still inches from each other. "... she gave a goodbye hug and kiss. It's super adorable." Rachel's eyes drift down to Kate's lips, gazing deeply into it with warm cheeks and furrowed eyebrows. Her throat remains still from the absence of breath, other than the throb from the pounding of her heart. Kate's eyebrows arch in response to the dreamy girl, "Mmm?"
Rachel blinks rapidly, as the air around her begins flowing normally again, "I just thought that was very cute... Your little sister seems wonderful."
"Yeah, she is..." Kate gently releases her grip, finally separating each other, "So…" She looks at the door, and then returning back to the hazel eyes with a sunny smile, "...are you ready to go?"
Rachel nods, taking a deep breath to muster up her remaining strength and courage, "Yeah, let's go."
Both Kate and Rachel heads out the restroom, returning back to the restaurant. Chloe immediately takes notice of the two approaching girls, hushing Max, as both groups observe each other with eager eyes. Curious about what each other were talking about in their absence.
Rachel picks up her fountain cup from the table with the brooding aura, as cool as she can, making her way to the drink machines and filling her empty cup with ice, first. She gazes at the choices, with her ear wiggling to the sounds of murmuring from Max.
Her eyebrows furrow, as she presses the cup into the lever of the machine with splashing red-pinkish juice, swooshing a stream into the cup. A flush of heat rises to her face, yet a sinking feeling that churns into her stomach. They're talking about me… She pulls the cup and cap it, returning back to the table with the three girls.
"Rachel… what drink did you get?" Max tips her chin up, pressing her lips into a smile for the blonde that is sitting across from her, right beside Kate.
"Oh, I got that strawberry lemonade." She shakes the cup, rattling the ice cubes inside it.
Max continues, "I got Pepsi. What did you get, Kate?"
"Unsweetened iced black tea. With a slice of lemon." Kate looks up to the girl right across from her, who is facing away with almost zero interest in the conversation, "Chloe?"
"Huh?" Chloe cranes her head lazily, as she has her knee up, resting against the table, and upon her seat. "Umm… just Dr. Pepper." She mumbles under her breath, drifting her head back to her comfort spot of staring blankly at the wall.
"Nice…" Kate's voice tapers away along with her smile. As all the conversational topics have finally been depleted from the four girls, rushing in a flood of silence. She slurps her tea loudly through the straw, that drags all the girls' attention. "Sorry!" She squeaks.
"Yum, that was good." Kate licks the smidge of apple butter remaining on her lips, then following with a wipe with a napkin. "Good choice on this place, Max."
Max shrugs, wiping her greasy fingers on the small remaining clean section of her napkin, "I was just looking at the most popular places around Portland. Thanks for eating with me." She grins at the two blonde girls, "I know you guys had breakfast already."
Kate glows with her smile, "No, it's fine, Max."
"Yeah…" Rachel rests her chin on her knuckles, mumbling through it, "...it's cool."
Max pats her knees, squeezing them, "So, what now? Back to Arcadia Bay?" Saying the name of the town instills joy back into the void in her body, reminding that it is her real current home in her mind. Not Seattle.
Rachel shifts her weight back on her seat, "Let's head back. Maybe we should hit up… whatever this Frank guy?" She crosses her arms, recalling the conversation she heard earlier today about the drugs, "Nathan bought some drugs from him, maybe we can get some more information about it."
The brunette's eyebrows furrow, reminding everything last week is undone, with the huge trip to the past. Jefferson and Nathan are both still out there, drugging girls for their own amusement. Only thing is Kate isn't drugged, possibly few other girls, and Rachel isn't dead. "Rachel, you may not know this. But have you heard anything from Frank?" She clarifies slightly, "Like… is everything cool between you and Frank?"
"Of course. She's cool with Frank." Chloe boldly answers the question for her, finally turning around to face everyone. Her eyes dart between the two girls, "Unless you guys mean something else…" She steadies her gaze into the brunette, almost as if she can read Max's thoughts from her eyes, "What is it? Say it..." Just the wording with everything invokes a strong suspicion into her.
"Umm…" Max rubs the front part of her hoodie.
Rachel blinks slowly, nodding her head, "Go on, Max."
"Uhh…" The young photographer turns back to her best friend, her eyes almost already asking for forgiveness, "Chloe, I don't really know how far back or forward in time this is." She deliberately lingers from saying the inevitable.
"Spill it, sister…" Chloe whips her legs around the chair, so she is fully facing Max. Her voice is stern and unforgiving, "Quit beating around the bushes."
Max's eyes widen from the glare. Her heart is pounding hard against her chest, as she wets her lips, "Rachel is… maybe was…" She stiffens her posture, retreating a few safer inches back, "...in a relationship with Frank."
Chloe looks back with her wide eyes, "I had a sick feeling but apparently I had too much faith in this world. And right behind my fucking back." She glares at Rachel, "Playing with my heart, you dirty slut." She gets up, kicking her own chair back with sudden force, leaving it wobbling but not collapsing backward. "Changing the past, huh? When it is already this fucked up? On whose fucking judgment? Seriously, fuck all of this!" She points her finger at the Rachel, hissing through her clenched teeth, "And you… whoever the fuck you are… get the fuck out of her body, right now!"
The sound of the room suddenly drowns into a grave silence, that you can almost hear the heart pounding furiously inside Chloe's chest.
Rachel glares back with flaring nostrils. I had enough of this ungrateful shit. You're alive, you dumb bitch. "You know what? Fuck you, Chloe. You whiney and entitled bitch. So, you have problems? Guess what asshole… join the fucking club." Rachel also pushes back her chair, propelling up on her feet and leaning forward, feeling the seething rage of air from Chloe. "If it weren't for me, you would be bleeding your guts to death in a fucking restroom." She chuckles puffing up some dangling strands of hair over her face, "... with your dying breath to know that everyone in the world can't wait to drop your pathetic ungrateful punk ass."
Kate mutters softly, "Rachel…" Despite trying to stop her, the church girl's body winces against the frightening tension in the room.
"Really?..." Chloe reflects back with her own fake chuckle. "So… you claim to have all these fucking powers in the world…" She says in a mocking voice, "...you think you can just fucking control us? You're a bitch and you will always be a bitch, in whatever fucking timelines." She leans in even closer, "Do you really think Max and Kate actually give a fucking shit about you? Do you know what we were talking about behind your back?"
"Chloe, stop it…" Max slaps the back of Chloe's thigh with force but the punk is unphased, maintaining her furious blue glare.
Kate squeaks weakly, "Don't listen to her, Rachel. Remember what I said earlier."
Chloe tilts her head, wetting her lips and maintaining her unrelenting glower, "These girls are scared of you. But I'm fucking not… Go ahead… use your power and let me die… Do it, bitch..."
Rachel tilts her head up, returning back with her own glowering, "You're just a dumb street punk with a dead father." She shakes her head sardonically, "Maybe you're not worth the bullet in your stomach. This Rachel should have let you jump off that cliff on your 17th birthday."
Chloe's eyes shoot wide open, her head wavers, as her glare weakens. To recall that darkest moment in her mind when she was readied to take her own life but to be saved by this new angel in her life. But now, to hear that perfect and delicate moment to be tarnished by this imposter. She clenches teeth, "Fuck you!" She whirls her hand for a slap, but it angles downward, as her blue colored nails dig diagonally into Rachel's neck.
Rachel hisses in pain, looking down but unable to see clearly the damage the blue haired punk has done. She can feel the shreds of skin displaced from the scratch, leaving a white trail of tiny flakes across her neck. The scratch isn't deep enough to spill any blood but the sharp stinging pain is there. "Chloe… go fucking die..." She walks around the table, but Max stands up boldly blocking her advance. Rachel growls at her younger best friend counterpart, with a low voice, "Get out of my way!"
"Hey!" The manager of the restaurant paces quickly towards them, "You two…" He points at Chloe and Rachel. "Get out!"
"Beat off, dickface." Chloe snarls, not removing her gaze from the halted blonde.
"I said…" The manager gets up to Chloe's face, "...get out of here or I call the cops." He yells at her, pointing out the door.
Chloe gives a quick glance at him, then rolls her eyes, "Whatever you blue ball… fuck this joint." She scoffs, taking off to the door, as the stunned patrons make room for her.
"Chloe!" Max chases right after her. Rachel and Kate follow quietly, leaving the table.
"No…" The manager shouts at them, freezing Kate in her path. "...pick up your trash and then leave."
Rachel pulls Kate's hand, dragging her to resume walking. With her other hand, she sticks her middle finger up at the manager without looking at him, "Nah… it's your job, fucker. Pick up that shit." Her blood courses through her body, pumping the rage throughout it, ready to knock down that manager if he shouts again in her ears. However, he doesn't say anything, other than a soft scoff.
All the girls leave the restaurant with the customers continuing to give a murmuring stare. Rachel clenches her fists tightly, digging her nails into her soft flesh, getting ready to fight Chloe, the minute she turns around the corner.
"What the fuck?!" Chloe yells on top of her lungs, "Someone broke into my truck." The remaining girls speed to the driver's side of the truck, seeing the rear side window is shattered, spilling glass onto the asphalt.
"What?!" Max swings around Chloe's body, sticking her head into the smashed window. "No! My dress…" She groans in frustration, "And my luggage…" She looks around the street with urgency, seeing if it still nearby somehow. "Fuck! I left it in plain sight. I didn't think about it. I'm so fucking stupid!" She buries her face in her hands sobbing softly, "Mom, bought me that dress… and I really loved it."
Kate holds her hands against her chest, "What do we do? Can we call the cops?"
Chloe shakes her head, replying with bitter frustration, "Fuck, the cops ain't gonna do shit."
"Fuck…" Max digs her fingers into her scalp, weaving her fingers through her smooth hair, "This is awful!"
"Maybe the manager of the restaurant has cameras out here." The church girl looks around the tanned colored brick-like pattern of the restaurant, seeing if she can spot a camera, "Maybe he can help us?"
"Shit…" Chloe digs her fingers into her pockets, curling her toes to a tiptop in her black boots, "I don't know if I want to see that jerkoff, again."
"Hey, Max..." Rachel finally walks up, gently whipping to spin Max for eye contact, "I'll use my power to rewind, okay?" She looks at Kate but avoiding any chance of confrontation from the punk, "Don't worry, I'll rewind you guys, as well."
The brunette blinks slowly, "Rachel…" Her voice trails off.
"Rachel, are you sure? You're hurting yourself in your own timeline every time you use your powers here." Kate dips her head down, grabbing her own wrist, "The wound you got from slitting your own wrist is opening more and more."
Max's eyes widen, "What?! Shit… you mentioned it was taxing on your body. I didn't think..." She grabs Rachel by both her arms, squeezing the fabric of the plaid jacket, "Wait! Don't do it… I'll just buy some new clothes. I have some money."
"It's fine, Max." Rachel wraps her arm around her, playfully stuffing her head into the hoodie. "It just a little tiny pain… and I rather see you happy." The blonde's smile pinches her cheeks upwards.
Max also wraps her arms around the girl, "N-N-No… I'll be fine. I'm happy… see?" She pushes her own but pitiful attempt of a weak smile back, "Happy…" Nodding her head, "I just want you to be okay."
Rachel shakes her head with a soft laughter, "It's not that bad. Trust me." She hones her face closer, kissing her on the cheek, feeling the heat rise sharply in the brunette as well. Max's lips quiver, gazing deep into the gorgeous girl's hazel eyes, feeling each other's warm breaths. Rachel whispers softly to her, "And I care about you. No matter what timeline." She leans up, giving another quick peck on the forehead, feeling Max's huffing breaths against her scratched neck. "I'm going to do it now…" She gently releases her grip.
"Okay…" Max nods softly, blinking rapidly as her eyes are starting to well up again from the affectionate moment.
Rachel holds out her right hand, as all the other girls watch her. A red sparkling flame erupts from her hand, expanding large to shroud the girls. The blonde looks over at Chloe who is staring back with blue doe eyes, with her mouth gaping opened with heavy breaths. Her furious expression has withered away entirely.
Rachel shifts her attention back to the red aura emitting from her hand, as everything whirls backward like rapid cascading patterns of colors. It quickly dies down to a disorienting abrupt halt, as the girls find themselves swaying their bodies back inside the restaurant.
The table is empty, just with the numbered card holder and four fountain drink cups that are filled up, when the girls were all sitting awkwardly in silence.
"Woah… what the fuck?!" Chloe shakes her head still feeling dizzied. "Where are…" She interrupts her own question, observing the rest of the restaurant seems to be back normal again, with people eating their food and not drawing attention to the girls. "We went back? Where is our food?" She pinches her nose, feeling a scent of her pumping blood coming. Her pupils are constricted, and body is shuddering slightly from the reveal of the powers.
Rachel turns around trying to see the truck through the window but the sunlight blocking mesh curtains block it, "Maybe this is early enough?" She stands up, pushing her chair back, "Kate… Max… stay here. Let me confront the person. I don't want you guys getting hurt."
The two girls look back with rapid blinking, as they are still shocked from their disorienting state. Max grabs Rachel by the wrist, "Are you sure? The person probably had a weapon to break the window."
The blonde gently draws back, squeezing her slim hips around the table, "Don't worry. I can handle myself." She squeezes her right hand in the air, reminding about her time powers, as Rachel heads to the front door.
Her hands are still trembling, Chloe shifts her eyes back and forth, collecting her thoughts for her decision, "You two stay here. I'm going with her." Rachel halts in place, letting the punk catch up to her. Chloe taps the blonde's waist, joining her, "Let's go…" She says with a bold expression but also with an absence of the rage that she had before the rewind. Rachel nods and they both hurry out the door, dodging the people in line, and dashing around the corner.
There is a guy wearing a blue cap with white t-shirt and skinny jeans, with a very suspicious behavior. He is peering through the window of Chloe's truck, blowing a warm mist to collect onto the cool glass.
"Yo buddy, what's up?" Chloe paces quickly right up to him. He jerks sharply to the voice, his body stumbling back a step. "Feeling the sudden horny urge to wear that pink dress?" Without any hesitation, the blue haired punk shoves him back with an intense force that he hits the ground with a muffled clang sound. She closes the distance up to his body.
He crawls back up, standing back on his unsteady legs, "What the hell is that for? I'm not doing anything." He looks around cautiously, but the line of people are around the corner and out of sight. "Back the fuck up, bitch."
"What did you say?" Chloe casually walks up close to his face, filled with anger. The rage and determination in her body have completely curbed the shock factor of the time travel trip for her.
"Move back, babe." His voice is calm and sweet-talking, but Chloe puffs her cheeks in disapproval.
Rachel jumps in between them, shoving the guy back again. The guy drifts back casually with a smile as he scans the beautiful girl's face and body in delight. Rachel looks on with a deathly stare, with energy coursing through her body. She throws a punch with her right arm, her small knuckles barely nipping against his jawbone.
"Woah… careful babe. You might hur-..." His tongue freezes as his own teeth crush sharply against it to a second punch from Rachel that lands squarely on his jaws, sending a smell of gushing blood into his dazed sense. His legs buckle weakly, almost toppling backward. He cannot even say anything with his numb tongue, as he retreats away with trembling legs. On the back of his jeans is a hammer that is dangling off a toolbelt, that was likely used to smash the window. He gives one weak attempt at a stare as he is lapping his tongue, still unsure if it is bleeding.
Rachel continues to glare back in silence at him as the guy slowly retreats away. Her fist is still clenched, with her knuckles still glowing from the punch. Pathetic. I really wish he would fight back so I have an excuse to pound someone's skull in.
Chloe walks up right beside the blonde sending the guy off with her traditional middle finger. Then she cranes to the side at her blonde friend, "Thieves just talk big but they're just damn cowards. Maybe that guy's skinny jean is constricting his balls, too." She pats the girl's shoulder with enthusiasm, "That was pretty bad ass!"
The brooding wind sweeps away the heat from Rachel, sending her down to a hunched position. Her long dirty blonde hair drapes down close to the ground. Her heart chokes for a single thunderous beat, as the echo courses through her shuddering body to her eardrums. Her blue star tattoo on her left wrist becomes a gush that leaks out a horrifying amount of blood that drips down to her fingers but freezes like dangling red crystalline structures. Shit… not this again.
Her cold breath hangs like a stalactite beneath her frozen stare. The scene flickers into the dark dreary scene of Chloe's backyard, with a small puddle of blood beneath her. Also, right beside her shoes is Rachel's cell phone from her own timeline with an active screen and call. It says 'Maxine Caulfield' on it, with the call duration incrementing by the second.
A sharp but shallow inhale pulls into her throat, as she blinks slowly at the phone, mesmerized by the shifting number to indicate that this is real. She steadily brings her fingers to caress the blue jay earring on her right ear, acknowledging her fear. She, then slides her index and middle fingers down to her neck, to find the huge gash that she scratched herself in her real timeline. Shit… Am I back? Rachel crouches down, lifting the phone up to her ears. Her voice is soft and weak, "Maxine?" There is an eerie cold dreary presence on the other side to indicate the call is active, but there is no response.
She pulls the phone away for a second, lighting it up to reaffirm the call is still active. She presses it to her ear again, "Maxine… please come back to me. I'm sorry…" A cold sinking feeling drags her insides down, as she gazes absently ahead in the sea of darkness. The familiar desolate feeling is back, seeping into her soul. Still, there is no response from her former best friend.
Rachel sits down more comfortably in a kneeling position with her lifeless gaze. Her voice is weak with her straining throat, "Help me please…" Her eyes adjust, seeing the menacing silhouette of Chloe's house, the backyard fence, and the gentle swaying leaves of the trees in the distant.
"Rachel!" A distorted voice can be heard from the phone, but not certain if it is even Chloe's or Max's.
A rumbling wave in her ears slowly rises with intensity as a bright light blinds her, constricting both her pupils and her throat.
"Rachel…" Chloe's calm voice can be heard among the white light. The blinding bright vision clears up, finding she is kneeling on the concrete road. Chloe is beside her and holding her, "Are you okay?"
Rachel calmly resumes her conscious breathing, tapping her right ear, to find that the earring is no longer there. The blue jay earring is back on the left ear in this timeline. Her voice is shaky and weak, "Chloe?"
"Hey…" The gentle punk's eyes scan with curiosity, up and down her body and face, "You were out of it…"
"Was I?" Rachel takes another scan in her surrounding, again seeping in back this reality, "I'm on the ground…" She shifts her legs, finding she is in an identical position to the vision she just had. She must have been reenacting all the physical movements like in her vision.
"You look like you were holding a cell phone… and was talking on it." Chloe's expression is sympathetic, not at all wanting to ridicule her. "Saying…" She glances over to the side, seeing that the other two girls are still in the restaurant. "For Maxine… to come back to you. That you're sorry… And that you needed some help…" Her eyebrows furrow, finally showing some seriousness in her face, "Rachel? Are you okay?"
The blonde's eyes are spinning, as she shifts to the side to also look out for the two girls. "Chloe… don't tell Max or Kate any of this…" I can't let them worry anymore about me.
The blue haired punk tips her head back up with a display of pride, "I'm going to tell them." Her eyes glow with certainty yet also remaining sympathetic. Rachel looks down, with no willpower or energy to even protest against the punk, as many shadows form in her mind. Chloe observes this, wetting her lips, "Did Max respond to you on the phone?" Her voice is stern but caring. Rachel slowly raises her eyes to make contact, shaking her head in response. Chloe's eyebrows raise slightly to the blonde's expression.
"Chloe! Rachel! Are you guys okay?" Kate's voice draws both the girls' attention, turning in unison to her.
"Yeah, we're good," Chloe replies back, then giving another gentle stare at Rachel.
Rachel looks back calmly, muttering softly, "Yup." She stands back up on her feet, brushing any gravel or tiny rocks that are clinging on her jeans.
"Our food came out… so we got it to-go." Kate walks up to them holding two fountain drinks in both hands, hugging a bag with two food boxes in it, against her chest.
Max shows up right behind her, also holding the exact same setup. She does a double take, "Rach, are you crying…" Her muttering fades into the air, freezing on the spot, looking between the girls. She presses her cheeks softly with her smile, "Oh…" Her initial thoughts thinking the two girls has made up in the short absence. She finally turns to the rear window which was the whole point of the rewind, noting it is intact. "Yay! My stuff are still there. Thank you so much! Was it too much of a problem? The time powers? And the thief?"
Rachel forces a smile, shaking her head, "No problem, Mousey Max." She blinks rapidly noting the cheery look of her younger best friend. Someone that she will never share a day with once she returns back to her timeline. She resists the growing urge to grab the brunette for a hug, as her eyebrows lower slightly, "Not one bit." What was that vision? Is it a vision of the future? Did I call Maxine in my final moments, only to not get any response from her?
Max scans around, noting that the two girls are looking fine and no signs of any threat. Trusting in the blonde's words, "Alright, then." She bares her teeth, squeezing the bag to her stiff chest, lifting it higher, "Let's eat!"
Chloe pulls down the tailgate of her truck, "Hop on in!" She kicks up her boots, climbing up to the truck bed. "Let's chow down…"
Kate and Max take their cautious time, setting down the food and drinks to free up their hands to climb up the truck. On top of the truck bed, they prepare to distribute the food around.
Chloe stomps loud and proud with her boots, almost knocking the fountain cups over. She hunches slightly with her right arm stretched out, "Rach…" She offers a hand to pull the lonesome blonde up.
Rachel looks at the hand reached out towards her. Her eyes drift up to the piercing yet inviting azure eyes of Chloe, who looks down with pressed lips that form a soft smile. Rachel takes an unsteady step forward, grabbing Chloe's hand, as well as the side of the truck for extra support, lifting her slim body up to the truck bed. "Thanks…" She mutters quietly.
Chloe maintains the grip, tightening their fingers and lifting it close to their chest, becoming almost like a handshake. She releases their warm touching grip, and gently slides her index finger across Rachel's neck, noting that the scratch is no longer there because of the rewind. Her eyes glow one last time, before turning away to settle down on the truck bed. "Alright… we get to eat, again."
Rachel's eyes become entranced, admiring Chloe, as Max and Kate, both take notice of this, as well. A small smile emerges from the blonde. Chloe is honoring my wish to not tell Kate and Max, at the moment. Could it be she is starting to trust me? Okay… this time… we won't fight each other, Chloe.
Max Caulfield & Rachel Amber
26 Freeway West
March 21th, 2013 2:02 PM
The truck ride back is smooth sailing, as the girls settle dig into the car seat cushion with their food coma. In the middle section, is Max and Rachel squeezing in under the tight fit with the generously sized seat belt. Surprisingly, the blue punk driver isn't blasting her rock albums or having the obnoxious radio on, because she also needs some quiet time to absorb everything that is going on.
Max looks to her left, at Chloe who looks rather serene with the beautiful radiating sky casting series of expanding white-golden shafts around her body, as she is driving. She grins slightly with her dreamy eyes. I'm here, Chloe. I will give up anything to be by your side. Anything in life, we will go through it together, from now on. No more being alone or tossed away… I'll be here, because I love you so much.
She turns to her right, looking past the napping Rachel right beside her, to Kate who also conveniently leans forward, returning with her glowing smile. Max sighs with a faint laugh. Kate, your smile warms my heart in unbelievable ways. Just how much you stood by my side when I went through my darkest days. She tilts her head back, looking at the pink dress that hangs proudly, then back at Kate, who is still baring her teeth and adorable cheeks. You really find out who are the people that truly cares when you are pushed to your limits. So, I'll be here for you, Kate. No more bullying or ever feeling alone like you did on that rooftop. I love you.
Max dips her head, looking close to her shoulder of the beautiful sleeping girl who is struggling to keep her head straight. Her consciousness quivering back and forth, almost landing comfortably onto Max's shoulder.
Rachel sharply inhales, jerking her body, lapping her tongue against the inside of her lips, "Shit… did I snore?"
"Nope." Max smiles, gently pressing her shoulder against Rachel's body. "Go back to sleep. You can sleep on my shoulder if you want. My hoodie is pretty poofy and comfy."
The slight grogginess in Rachel makes it very easy to take her up on that offer, as she rolls her head onto the soft shoulder, "Thanks…" She hums in content.
"No problem."
Rachel opens her eyes partially, blindly digging in her pocket to pull out her phone. She unlocks with her fingerprint, then handing it to the hipster, "Max, I trust you with this. Maybe you can catch me up with some of these conversations?"
Max looks at the phone given to her, "You trust me with your phone?"
"Mm-hmm…" The stirring blonde nods against the shoulder, "I trust you…" Rachel reaches over, patting the thighs of the young photographer. "Besides, maybe you can wrap my head around some of these."
"Y-yeah…" The brunette takes the unlocked phone and digs into the text messages. In her peripheral vision, she can see Chloe giving a quick glance at the phone but Max plays it off like she doesn't see her. Chloe… is still heartbroken about the whole Jefferson and Frank thing. Even though she seems cordial after the rewind, I can tell it is eating her apart. Max scrolls through the text messages, seeing a few new ones. Despite being granted permission and already being a very nosy person, Max still feels uncomfortable to be digging through this.
Let's see what we got here. Audrey… Chloe Price… Erm...no, I won't peek at their private messages together… Nathan Prescott… Victoria Chase… Evan Harris…
Max glances at the preview, seeing the latest reply from Evan with no reply back.
Evan Harris: Rach, come on… Let's grab dinner instead of hanging out with those stupid Vortex Club losers. Then we can have those cool photo shoots out in the evening like we used to. Sounds good? (3/19 2:12 PM)
Rachel just ignored him. Maybe so many things have been happening. Along with her life is changing. I did remember Evan saying Rachel was like a sister to him.
She scrolls down more. Megan Weaver. Mom. Wait… Megan Weaver? That name is familiar.
Megan Weaver: Thanks again, gorgeous! We should hang out sometimes. :) Maybe grab dinner? (3/19 1:03 PM)
Max squints her eyes, "Rachel, do you know…" She sighs, "...maybe you don't."
Rachel replies nonchalantly, "I probably don't…"
"Megan Weaver?"
The blonde flinches at the recognition of the name, "Oh… yeah, I do. Me and Kate met her this morning. Very cute girl." She pulls her head off Max's shoulder, slowly steadying herself, "What's up?"
"Megan… " Max squeezes her eyes closed, groaning in frustration. "I vaguely remember… fuck!..." She looks at the bluenette for support but realizing that she wouldn't know anything in this timeline. "... I saw her the name 'Megan' on one of the red binders." Her voice lowers in hesitation to say the next line, "Right before me and Chloe, discovered Rachel's body."
Chloe's neck twitches at the words of the fate of her best friend, clenching the steering wheel tightly, digging her blue nails into it. "Where is this teacher?"
Max looks at Chloe blankly, but Rachel takes over with her own question, "Max, what are the red binders?"
The hipster takes a long deep breath, calming the racing nerves down. The Dark Room is flooding back like a tidal wave. If seeing the death of Chloe isn't sadly the most memorable and traumatic moment in her past week, then it is going to be tied and bounded by duct tape, pleading for mercy to your long time idol, as he takes pictures in pure pleasure. With the only things, you can do is kick and squirm to entice in his arousal some more. Max puffs out a heated breath out of her nose, "Those red binders contained pictures from the photo sessions that Jefferson took of the girls that he drugged and kidnapped. On the outside of the binders had their first name." She clenches her teeth, furrowing her eyebrows, "I remembered seeing Megan. But my attention was focused on yours, Rachel. And Kate…" Max nods her head. Suddenly, the helpless photos of Rachel and Kate twist sharply into the small folds in her brain. She groans with clenching teeth, as Rachel quickly comes to her aid, wrapping her arm around Max's neck for comfort.
Chloe glances over at the current state of her friend, biting the inside of her bottom lip. She glares with ferocity back at the road, "Fuck! Can we kill this guy already? I can jack a gun from Sgt. Pepper. He probably wouldn't even notice."
Rachel tilts her head at the furious bluenette, "No, Chloe… we're going to go to jail if we do something that stupid." She turns her attention to the struggling girl, dipping to kiss her temple. "Max, so you're saying Megan could be a victim?"
The kiss from Rachel soothes Max slightly, as she shrugs in confusion, "I don't know. I also remember in the other timeline I went to last week…" She stiffens her back, so she can look at the church girl at the other end of the seat, "Kate… I told you the timeline when Chloe became crippled to a wheelchair… There was a card that Chloe got from Megan Weaver. She was Chloe's very good friend in that timeline. But then she stopped writing to Chloe." She blinks slowly, "Now, I think about it… maybe she got drugged and kidnapped in that timeline, too. And after that encounter, she was never the same."
Kate stiffens her posture to get a better view of everyone, "Yeah… even though I was mostly knocked out when Jefferson was taking picture of me… I still can remember that ice cold prick to the side of my neck." The thought sends a cold shiver up her spine, "I felt so gross. It was awful."
Oh my god, Kate. Believe me… I cannot get the Dark Room out of my mind.
Rachel leans back crossing her arms, "Nathan… mentioned about getting some new drugs from Frank last night. He says it is for next week's party but it could be more to it." The brunette looks on with inquiring eyes, dreading what will be said next. "Megan asked me to go to a theatrical play tonight, but I said 'no' to her. Nathan also turned her down."
"She's going alone? And Nathan knows about it?" Max tucks her lower lip in, biting on it, "She is going to get drugged tonight. And both Nathan and Jefferson are waiting for her." She scans at the three girls around her, "We have to go to David and the police."
Chloe's eyebrows pinch together, "Step shit? What the f-..." She scoffs, "That loser of a security guard cannot possibly be of any use in any whatever fucking timelines."
The brunette squeezes the bluenette's shoulder, knowing how much hatred she has towards her stepfather, "Chloe, I know you hate him. But he saved my life. Mark Jefferson kidnapped me and was going to kill me with an overdose… the very same way he killed Rachel."
A gust of ice seemingly creeps into the closed cabin of the truck, raising the goosebumps at the back of Chloe's neck, "Oh my god… okay… I'm just driving. I'm just driving. My best friends are not kidnapped. I'm still driving..." She sings with an anguished tone, shaking her head and glaring at the road in front, "Fuck all of this…"
Rachel jumps in, attempting to steer from the idea of the other time master, "No, we have to be careful. It isn't simple like this."
Max nods in disagreement, "As simple as calling the cops."
Rachel raises her voice, contesting the idea, "Even if we know the location of this Dark Room… Don't you think he has plans to cover his tracks? He probably has cameras and fully armed. Time travel powers doesn't do shit if we both have a bullet in our brain. Or is it okay for David to risk his life and take the bullet?" She looks all around her, sensing the frightening and disapproval stares from the other girls. She retorts against the overwhelming silence in the truck, "And what evidences do we have? That we have two time travelers and a good samaritan that tagged along for the ride back? And a law-hating punk that drives a raggedy bro truck?"
Max raises her hands, calming the blonde down, "Look… I went through that shit. I can't let anyone else suffer. We have to save her."
Rachel gently grabs both her hands, gripping it tightly but relaxing her expression, "We don't know anything. Trust me, one change can fuck everything up." Her eyes drift around the truck, looking at the other girls. "I take that back… all the stuff we are doing, starting now… is fucking things up. We have no more roadmap anymore." Her eyebrows pinch together uneasily, "We can be deceiving ourselves and steering into huge troubles."
She has a point but still… "Okay…" Max arches her eyebrows, "What do you suggest? We have to at least try."
Rachel nods her head, "Let's… talk to this Frank person. Gather some proof." She sighs, pressing her lips with slight reluctance in her expression. "And let me talk to Nathan."
"Both Frank and Nathan trust only you," Max replies, almost pinning the full responsibility to her. Chloe cranes her head, observing in silence of her two best friends and their interactions with each other.
The blonde groans, knowing it will come to it, "Fuck… okay. I'll talk to them both."
Why does Rachel want to talk to Nathan? "And what's the point of talking to Nathan." Max questions trying to remain tactful in her tone.
Rachel pauses for a moment, showing some concerns in her deep thoughts, "I want to try and see if I can talk him out of it. So he isn't dragged down to hell with Mark."
This isn't good… not good at all. Max's eyes widen at the thought, feeling a sense of uneasiness in disagreement with this other powerful time master, "Okay… that is one change that will definitely fuck things up. Mark will not let Nathan go. It is going to set many other things off." She sighs, trying to calm herself from her increasing frustration that she could be powerless against Rachel's choice, "Even though we have a heads up on Jefferson, he is a clever son of a bitch that evaded all of this shit." I can't risk this. This can ruin this timeline real fast.
Kate gently tugs on Rachel's plaid jacket, turning her around, "Max is right. Rachel, I respect that you care about everyone so much. It is very sweet of you." Her voice transitions to show her concerns as well, "But this is something that is way too risky. He is mentally unstable and an accomplice of Jefferson. And we were not the only victims, Nathan and Jefferson did the very same thing to a bunch of other girls. And Megan is going to be next. It is cruel, but Nathan just may have to be the acceptable loss. He is already knee deep guilty with Jefferson."
Rachel leans back into the seat, feeling overwhelmed by the two girls, "I know. I understand you guys hate him because of what he did."
Max shakes her head, "No, it's not th-"
Rachel interrupts her, "Max… I hate Nathan in my timeline, too. I hated all the Prescotts. But… " She rubs the back of her neck, "I just have to give it a shot to help him."
Max looks on with narrowing eyes, rubbing her arms absently, "I don't get it… Why are you so willing to help him?"
"Max…" Rachel chokes on her words, struggling to find any convincing reasons, "...just give me a chance." She clears her throat with her expression becoming more stern, "I have my powers, too." Blinking slowly to the other time master, almost like giving a firm threat.
The brunette gapes her mouth but nodding softly. She has all the powers. But, I have to respect it. And hope for the best that this timeline won't turn out to be the worst timeline I ever been in. Max concedes by stiffening her posture and moving away her stare to return back the humming of the road. A cold silence takes over the conversation.
Chloe erupts, interrupting the stillness, "Well fuck…"
Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. Woo, finally got this chapter down. This is kind of first time the girls are interacting with each other. I put a bit of focus on Chloe, as she is still relatively new character, and both Max and Rachel has to slowly build up a relationship towards her. Also, to catch her up with the time travel powers, and so on.
So, I jumped back and forth between Rachel and Max "POV" to get a different angle on the scenes and their personal thoughts. I hope this wasn't too confusing.
It is tough to shape how Chloe character is, in this current timeline. So I went with the route that she is disgusted by this "Alt Rachel" person, and almost wanting to reject her existence. But perhaps, she is slowly bonding with her as she realizes that Alt Rachel has her own issues to deal with and that she is also truly close to Max.
For a fun fact, the final scene in the car... I made a poll in the chat, "Rachel or Max". Of course, 3 people voted with Max and 1 voted with Rachel. So I wrote the final scene in the perspective of Max. It turned out to be pretty good call, to explore Max's inner emotion and thoughts with all of this, including Jefferson and Nathan.
The 'Chatfield' is an actual menu item in that restaurant. I thought it was funny to have the girls order it, cause it sounds like a "ship" for Max.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for keeping up with my story!