Hey guys, welcome back. So, the Vortex Club party at Nathan's house has come around. How will it end? Read on to find out.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Party Time

Sunday 29th September – Journey to the Prescott House - 9:53 pm

Today was the day of the Vortex Club party at Nathan Prescott's house. To blend in better, Maxine had been tagged in. Both she and Max agreed that she was better suited to this type of environment. It was just common sense given that Maxine had been part of the Vortex Club in her own timeline. She, Chloe and Rachel had driven over to the Prescott's house, Maxine balanced on Rachel's lap since there weren't enough seats. The blonde had a tight hold on her, brushing her hand against the inside of the other girl's thigh every now and then.

Geez, Rachel's a bit touchy feely today, Max noted. While she wasn't in control of her body, she could still feel it. Not like it was unpleasant, but it did make her feel embarrassed. If she had been in control, she'd be blushing right now.

Maxine allowed herself a grin, enjoying the attention. I'm not complaining.

If Max could roll her eyes, she would. Of course you're not.

I just think we should get our enjoyment from wherever possible, Maxine replied, once again feeling Rachel's touch. Each time was getting firmer, more daring.

"Wish I could go in too. Victoria would love that," Rachel muttered to herself, clearly bummed out that she couldn't storm the party as they drew up to the house. It looked more like a mansion, showing of the Prescott's wealth and influence.

"It's way too dangerous, Rach. You know that," Chloe reminded her for the fifth time tonight.

Rachel waved away her response, tired of hearing it. "Yeah, yeah. Save it."

Chloe's grip on the steering wheel tightened from worry, knuckles turning white. "I don't like this. Why would Nathan of all people want to invite Max to this?"

Leaning back into Rachel, Maxine caught her eye. "Relax, Chloe. I won't let anything happen to Max. Promise."

The bluenette leveled her with an unwavering stare. "You'd better not, otherwise… I'm never going to forgive you."

Feeling Rachel begin to run her fingers through her still short hair, fingernails lightly brushing her scalp, Maxine closed her eyes for a second or two and sighed before replying. "If I get her out safely, you're going to have to start trusting me."

"We'll see."

Not wanting to end the conversation there, Maxine continued. "Listen, I don't want this hostility between us. I'm not Max, I'm not trying to be Max. I'm me, an actual person. A fucked-up person, but a person nonetheless. While I'm not Max, I can still remember being your friend, what that was like. Max and I, we share the same thirteen years of memory. Sure, the last five are drastically different, but thirteen is a hell of a lot. You occupy a good portion of that. I can remember all the pirate games and wine tasting sessions. The dress up fails with Bongo and William's stupid dad jokes. Joyce's home cooking and our epic sleepovers. You may have experienced them with another Max and I experienced them with my own Chloe, but… it's not completely different."

Exhaling deeply, Chloe turned to her with a slightly gentler look. "It's hard to remember that you and Max aren't so different sometimes, deep down."

Seriously wanting this little feud they had going to come to an end, Maxine tried her best to build a bridge. "I don't blame you or anything. Not like I've done myself any favors in that department. For Rachel's sake, for Max's sake, for our own sakes, let's just try. We don't have to be hella best friends or anything, not that I'm completely dismissing the option. Miracles can happen."

"I'd like to see a miracle or two myself, might be fun," Rachel added hopefully.

After a few seconds, Chloe tilted her head to one side looking resigned. "Get Max out safely first, then I'll think about it."

Satisfied with the answer for now, Maxine smiled at her. "You got it, Blue Bird."

"Blue Bird, really?"

Maxine shrugged at the question. "What, you prefer something like 'Hellraiser'? Wait, don't answer that. Blue Bird's sticking until I think of something else. Maybe."

Rachel grinned, leaning back in the passenger's seat. "I can think of a few."

Chloe visibly rolled her eyes. "Whatever, just get out of my truck. We'll hang out here until you're done. Don't be gone too long. If you're not back or haven't phoned in half an hour, I'm coming in there to crash the party. None of that texting bullshit, anyone could pretend."

"Got it." With a smile, Maxine stepped out of the truck and sauntered up to Nathan Prescott's house. She was looking forward to a chance to mingle with the school's socialites again. It had been so long since she had been in this kind of environment.

Stay focused, okay? We're looking for evidence, Max reminded her, being a party pooper.

Smiling at her counterpart's antisocial behavior, Maxine checked her name off against the guest list and entered inside. Chill out, Max. We can socialize a little, blend into the crowd.

Try not to enjoy yourself too much. This is still part of the mission, the young time traveler insisted, trying to keep her on course.

Mission this, death and destruction that, it's all I hear from you, Maxine sighed, looking around the house. It was large, as expected, pretty busy too. Anybody who was anybody was here tonight. The main room had been turned into a dance floor, a DJ booth set up at the back and a bar to the side. The bass line thrummed, her entire body vibrating.

There are reasons, good ones. This isn't a game. Maybe Maxine could take this seriously for once.

Tired of Max being so grim all the time, Maxine sighed. Isn't it? I'm not so sure about that. We just have to make sure we're on the winners' side.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maxine spotted Victoria Chase. It seemed that the blonde noticed her at the same time, approaching her. "Surprised to actually see you here, Caulfield. Least of all in something semi-fashionable. I was half-expecting you to remain a loner."

With Rachel's direction and Maxine's input, the outfit had turned out pretty well. "After getting a personal invitation for the Vortex Club's Queen herself, how could I not?"

"Cute."

Very much in her element, Maxine smirked. "I like to think so. Glad you do, too."

Victoria seemed surprised by the comment, not knowing how to react for a good second or two. "Have you already been at the booze? Anyway, Nathan will probably be on the lookout for you. I assume you came here to meet him, otherwise you would've steered clear. Just… be careful, okay?"

"Are you actually concerned for my safety?" Maxine asked with a slight hint of teasing.

"Maybe a little," Victoria conceded, "but don't let it get to your head. I swear, you're like Jekyll and Hyde sometimes. One day you're shy as hell and the next… this."

If only she really knew how close she had gotten with that guess. "Something like that. And I'll take that as a compliment."

She shrugged, pretending not to care. "Take it how you want."

Wanting to tease her just a little more, Maxine gave her another grin. "Ooh, don't tempt me."

Giving her a long, hard stare, Victoria just shook her head. "I seriously can't work you out. Don't drink too much, sounds like you don't need it."

I'm starting to think you have a thing for Victoria, Max mentioned as Victoria walked away from them.

Gotta admit she's hot as hell. Once you get past the mean bitch side, she's… stopping mid-sentence, Maxine returned to the task at hand, enough about that.

She's what? Max prompted, intrigued to know what she was going to say before she stopped herself.

Not wanting to get into too many details about her personal life, Maxine changed the subject. Hey, you were the one who said we should focus on the mission. Remember? Just have to wait for an opening to sneak around.

"Caulfield." The aggressive voice startled Maxine, making her spin around to see Nathan approaching with intense purpose. It was too late to run away, without using the rewind anyway.

Immediately beginning to panic, Max nearly forced herself back in control to run. Shit, we should go.

Sensing the blind fear, Maxine tried to keep her calm. Running away now wouldn't help them. They had to stand their ground and get to the bottom of this. Hold on, Max. Let's just see what's happening here before we jump to conclusions.

But… Her plea came much too late, Nathan already bearing down on them.

Without any context, he grabbed onto her arm and dragged her over to the sidelines where it was easier to talk. When they had found a spot without an audience, he blurted out, "I know it was you."

Having an idea of what he might mean, but not wanting to give away more information than necessary, Maxine replied with an equally vague response. "I don't know what you mean."

He didn't seem to buy the naive act. "Don't play stupid with me. You saved Rachel that night. At the party."

Sighing, Maxine refused to let herself get intimidated. "Just what are you getting at?"

Inhaling deeply, his expression turned mildly fearful and desperate. "Look, I… can help. Jefferson has gone crazy, crazier. He's behind all this and… I'm scared. He's going to fucking kill me, I know it. I don't want that. I want to break free but I can't do that on my own."

Still not totally trusting him, Maxine crossed her arms. "So, what do you want from me?"

Surprised that she was entertaining him, Nathan quickly continued with what he was saying. "We can take him down together. I've seen you snooping around, sticking your nose in things that'll get you killed. He wants to take you out too. You've been getting in the way. I know where he keeps everything."

"The Dark Room," Maxine stated, sensing the fear coming from her counterpart's presence.

Guess we really have to go back there, huh? Max whispered shakily.

Seems so, Maxine replied. I think we both knew it would happen sooner or later. Things will go smoother this time. We're prepared.

Nathan seemed a bit shocked that she knew about that. "Partly, yeah. How do you know about that?"

"I have my sources." There was no point in bringing up the rewind power to him. A) he wouldn't believe her, B) she had been given no reason to trust him and C) it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Accepting that she wasn't going to reveal more information, Nathan dropped the issue. "Maybe that bastard should've been more worried."

Deciding to give him a chance, Maxine exhaled deeply. "If I do help you, a big if, you need to promise me that you'll get serious help."

He nodded after a second, his voice vulnerable. "Okay."

Now was the time to get serious. No more dicking around. Max had been so worried about the Dark Room that she had postponed nailing Jefferson earlier. They were running out of time. "Right, we need to get proof. The more fucked up, the better."

"That won't be a problem…" his face scrunched up in disgust, "the real problem is my dad."

"Because he might protect Jefferson," Maxine stated, receiving a solemn nod from Nathan, his expression hopeless. "Then we need to find a way to get him on side."

"Dad will probably abandon him if he thinks he'll get in trouble too. He…" he looked around to make sure nobody else was around, "knows what goes on down there."

It would be impossible for Sean Prescott not to know what was going on down in the Dark Room. Both Maxine and Max had suspected as much. "So, we need to make sure he sees the gravity of the situation. We need to link him to the Dark Room and fast. I think I remember seeing a receipt for the bunker with your dad's name on it… that's a start at least."

"Seriously, how do you even know about it?" Nathan asked, both in awe and confused. "You sound like you've been there before but that's impossible. Jefferson has that place under twenty-four-hour supervision. You would've been caught."

"It doesn't matter now. What does matter is taking that bastard down." That was their number one priority now, getting rid of Jefferson.

Instead of pressing, he once again accepted the lack of detail. "You're right."

"I think I can get David Madsen to help us on this. He's probably the least corrupt person in Arcadia. Paranoid, but scrupulous." They needed all the help they could get right now.

"You might be right. My dad owns the pigs here." That was a well-known fact in Arcadia.

"Yeah, I heard. It's better to make sure we go to the highest power possible, just in case." Better safe than sorry.

"Yeah, there's no guarantee my dad will play along – he's cocky and thinks he's untouchable – but he's not stupid. If he thinks he's under genuine threat, he'll throw Jefferson under the bus," Nathan theorized, sounding fairly confident in that.

If there was one thing Maxine was good at, it was getting people to do what she wanted. "I have ways to make him agree to my plan."

"They'd better be good plans."

In response, Maxine smiled. "Oh, they are. I do need you to help me find incriminating evidence to get him on side and to bust Jefferson too."

"Don't worry about that. There's plenty of evidence lying around," he reassured. "That's what happens when people think they're invincible. I've already been snooping around, trying to find an out."

"We need to go to the Dark Room too. Both of us." There was no point putting either Chloe or Rachel at more risk. Nathan would know where all the best evidence was, so he seemed like a decent partner in this.

"Jefferson is a creature of habit. I know when he usually goes to check up on the bunker. The only problem is the cameras," Nathan mentioned worriedly.

Cameras weren't a problem, not with the rewind power. "Leave that to me. I can make sure we aren't seen. Just make sure to hand everything over to me after we've collected it when we go."

Nathan seemed confused but didn't question her further. "If you say so. When do you want to go?"

The quicker they could get this wrapped up, the better. "As soon as possible."

Thinking it over for a few seconds, Nathan finally set a time and location. "Meet me at the Two Whales Diner tomorrow, two in the afternoon before your photography class. He'll be teaching then, so we should have a window. Might look a bit suspicious if you aren't there, but that's our best hope."

There was still a chance that this could be a trap, a distinct possibility. "Can't we go now?"

That question made Nathan sigh with disappointment. "I wish, but he'll be there all night. Ever since the Rachel fuck up, he's been guarding the bunker closely. Only time he leaves is when he really has to. Don't know about you, but I'd rather pick a time when I know for sure that he's not gonna be there."

Considering the offer for a moment, Maxine decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He seemed genuinely desperate to escape and she doubted her was a good actor enough actor to pretend. "Fair enough. In the meantime, grab whatever dirt you can on your dad. We'll need as much as possible."

"Leave that to me," Nathan stated assuredly. "There's plenty to choose from. See you then." With that, he skulked off to the shadows.

Guess we have a date with the Dark Room, Maxine added sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood a little.

She could sense the wavering and terror radiating from Max. I… I really don't think I can go back there…

Maxine couldn't really blame her after what she had been through. She, however, did not have the same personal experience so could just about stomach the creepy bunker. We don't have a choice, Max. Look, you can shut off for a while and I'll go there. That way, you won't even be aware. Then, I'll wake you up when I need you to lend me some rewind power.

A wave of relief came from Max. That could work.

It will work, Maxine reassured, needing her counterpart to be strong and with her on this. We'll take that bastard down. Together. You're not going to like this, but I think we should tell Chloe and Rachel.

The relief gave way to unease and doubt. Do we have to? Chloe will kick up a huge fuss and tell me not to go.

Maxine had been expecting some kind of resistance to this suggestion, but she wasn't about to back down now. You need to trust them. This is huge, Max. They deserve to know and you're supposed to be a team. You'll have to tell them eventually and Chloe will get more pissed if you just do it without letting her know.

You're right. I know you are, but it's not easy.

Adamant that Max would be the one to tell them and not just push the responsibility onto her, Maxine remained steady. Nothing ever is. You can't keep running away from your problems. It never ends well and you know it. Just like I know it. No more running.

Fine, I'll tell them when I get my body back, Max promised reluctantly. "Let's get going now before Chloe comes on the warpath.

Meanwhile, in Chloe's truck - Rachel's POV

Chloe tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, glancing out of the window for the tenth time. "Shit, I hope she's okay."

Understanding her worry, but also getting a little bit tired of hearing the same comment over and over again, I reassured her. "Maxine will make sure to take good care of her. You might not trust her yet, but she won't do anything to put Max in danger out of spite."

"She'd better not."

"I think you need a distraction, something to take your mind off things. I have just the thing in mind." Shuffling over, I positioned myself on her lap so I was straddling her, my legs either side of hers and our faces inches away from one another.

"This brings back memories." Chloe smirked as she looked up at me.

"It sure does," I whispered as I leaned in a kissed her.

This wasn't the first vehicle make out session we'd had and I sure hoped it wouldn't be the last. Chloe held me steady to stop me sitting on the horn by accident… or on purpose, hands sliding into the pockets of my jeans as she kissed me back. Once we got into a rhythm, I deepened the kiss. Sure, it was a bit cramped but that was half the fun. It was so tempting to go beyond this quick make out session, the risk of Maxine and Max coming back only making it more appealing. For now, I decided to keep it tame.

Suddenly, there was a sharp tapping on the driver's side window. I pulled back to see Maxine standing there, grinning from ear to ear. Chloe wound down the window and she leaned inside. "Maybe I should've stayed inside a bit longer."

Staying where I was, I matched her grin. "How long have you been standing there?"

She shrugged, keeping a straight face. "Not long, like thirty seconds or so. Thought I might enjoy the view for a bit."

Chloe rolled her eyes, letting me off. "You're such a fucking perv. And I guess you got what you came for?"

"I'd say so, yeah." Maxine came around to the other side of the truck and took her place back on my lap. "I'll let you in on a secret, Max might've secretly been enjoying watching you guys at it too."

Once she was settled, I rested my hands in her lap. "I can see why. Two hot girls making out, instant turn on. Enough pornos start off with just that. I've got a decent database to back that up."

"Are you two trying to embarrass Max to death?" Chloe asked as her hands returned to their resting position on the steering wheel.

A mischievous grin tugged at my lips. "Only a little."

"I can confirm she's having a mini freak-out right now, totally denying it," Maxine revealed, clearly enjoying the whole affair. "It's kind of cute how hard she's trying, actually."

"Let's just get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps." Turning the key in the ignition, Chloe kickstarted her truck.

"Makes it the perfect make out spot, I guess," Maxine teased with a grin.

The bluenette rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha, so not funny. Besides, this was Rachel's idea, not mine."

"Hey, there are worse places," I defended as we drove back to Blackwell.

Our trio are getting ready to move in on Jefferson after all this time. Will their plans run smoothly or will there be a bump in the road? Find out next chapter.