It was Friday, October 4th. The day of the vortex club party. Once again, Max felt as if she blinked and the week disappeared. On the way to her physics class, she couldn't help but overhear a conversation happening between Juliet and Dana.
"Did you hear? The venue for the party has been changed." Juliet said.
"No I didn't. Why on such short notice?" Dana asked.
"Hey guys." Max said.
Juliet blinked in surprise. "Oh, hi Max."
Dana was a little more welcoming. "Max! How are you doing? Are you excited about tonight? I hear you're prepping with Victoria. Meowch!" She giggled.
Max giggled. "Yeah. I'm hella excited."
Dana raised an eyebrow. "Hella? Girl you hang around with Rachel and Chloe too much."
Max smirked. "Oh right, I'll just dump them right now then."
Dana laughed. "No! Don't do that!"
"What's this I hear about a changing venue?" Max asked Juliet.
"Oh, it's absurd. Apparently the club we were supposed to be at just mysteriously caught alight." Juliet replied.
Max stared.
Dana cried, "What the fuck?"
Juliet nodded. "Yep. Definitely arson, but nobody knows who did it."
"So where's the new venue?"
"I can answer that." Victoria said, suddenly appearing beside them, slightly out of breath. "Thank G-d I caught up with you, Max. It's at the Prescott estate."
"WHAT!?" Dana shrieked.
"It's fine!" Victoria cried, covering her ears. "Nathan offered, and his sister said it was fine."
"He threatened you with a gun only last week." Juliet pointed out.
"Yes. Thank you Juliet. I had almost forgotten about that." Victoria said sarcastically through gritted teeth. "He had a bad relapse. It. Happens." She snarled. "He apologised, and I've forgiven him. He's also promised not to make too big a presence at the party."
"Is he not still in hospital?" Dana asked.
"No, he was discharged on Wednesday. They've upped his meds, which makes me both relieved and a little scared, for his sake." Victoria sighed. "Anyway, I better go put all these posters up. Max, would you mind helping me?"
"Of course I don't mind." Max smiled. "I'll talk to you both later, okay?"
"Stay safe, Maxie." Dana smiled.
"Don't let her bite your head off." Juliet called, only half-joking.
"Man, Juliet really has it out for you, doesn't she?" Max mumbled once they were out of earshot.
"I tried to get her suspended for talking shit about the vortex club in her paper." Victoria sighed. "Didn't work, of course, but she still has a fucking boner for me or whatever. Not that I blame her, at least not wholly."
Max simply nodded, even though Victoria was in front of her, not looking at her. "So why Nathan's? Your parents' house must be big enough."
"That's a very nice way of saying I'm filthy rich." Victoria replied. "And are you kidding? My parents would kill me."
Max gulped. "And what about you and Nathan?"
"I… I don't know Max. You come from a timeline where he actually used a gun, and killed someone with it. And that he just fucking dies. That knowledge doesn't rest easy with me. Yes I've forgiven him, but I'm still scared. And I can tell he is too."
"What about the gun?"
Victoria stopped walking and put up a couple posters detailing the new venue for the party. "Disposed of. I made sure the police took it."
"Did they actually arrest him?"
"Of course not. All the police know him and his issues."
Max couldn't help but frown. "If it were anyone else, he'd be serving a good couple years in prison. But because it's Nathan Prescott…"
Victoria refused to comment, but gave a pointed look at Max, and she shut up. They continued walking around the main complex, putting up posters here and there. They waved to Courtney as she walked past them. Max checked the time. "I should go. Physics starts in 5 minutes and I wanna talk to Warren."
"No worries. You head off. Thanks for your help." Victoria smiled.
"Least I could do." Max replied with a smile, before turning and heading into the science labs. Ms. Grant was sitting at her desk, humming to herself. She looked busy, so Max didn't bother her. Instead she just waved at her and then walked over to Warren, who was talking to Brooke. Brooke side-eyed her, before getting up and walking back to her seat, waving to Warren as she did.
"Hey Warren." Max smiled.
"Hey Max." Warren mumbled. Max could tell he still felt awkward about the other week.
"You doing alright?" She asked, sitting down on her chair next to him.
"Better than you, apparently." Warren mumbled.
"Listen here, Mister Mumbles. I'm getting back on track. I feel a lot better now. There's no use in you moping about with your head in the gutter when all this is going on. Like it or not, we need you to be strong. You're the strongest man I know."
Warren smiled. "Really?"
Max nodded. "And I understand how crazy this all is, especially with us."
Warren looked down. "Do you think there was a time…" He turned his head away. "Where we could have been…"
Max pondered for a moment. She wanted to answer this in a way that hurt him the least while still telling him the truth. "Does it really matter? We're here now, and we have people that love us."
"Yeah, I know, but…"
"Look, I don't doubt there may be some reality where we were together. There was doubt I liked you before. But back then I need Warren Graham as a friend, and right now I need Warren Graham as a friend more than ever." She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "We'll get through this. Together."
Warren nodded. "Thanks Max. I, uh, told Kate about how I felt about you."
Max tilted her head. "What did she say?"
"She laughed and said she wasn't surprised." Warren chuckled. "She'd figured there had been something on my mind for a while. She also told me that you told her your story."
Max nodded. "Unfortunately, in front of good ears. Now Taylor and Victoria know too."
Warren's eyes widened. "What the hell? How did they respond?"
"Surprisingly apologetic." Max sighed. "Victoria is now the nicest person alive, apparently. She wants to do my makeover for the vortex club party tonight. By the way, are you going?"
Warren shook his head. "I'm spending the evening with Kate. Well, via facetime anyway."
"That's probably wise. Especially since the venue's been shifted to Prescott's house."
"What the fuck? Why?"
"The club it was originally gonna be at just burnt down. Nathan offered his house last minute to help."
"Just burnt down? Just like that?"
"Well, caught fire anyway. No-one knows who did it but it was definitely deliberate."
"That's so… weird." Warren blinked. He turned to face the front as Ms. Grant addressed the class.
For the rest of the class, Max ended up doing most of the talking. Whatever doubts Warren had were still plaguing his mind, and that made Max worry. At the end of the class, Warren hugged her.
"Please stay safe. I'll see you on Monday."
"Of course. I'll see you then."
"Oh wait, before I forget-" Warren said, quickly rummaging through his backpack. "Here. I downloaded a bunch of my favourite movies onto my flash drive. Thought you might need a chill weekend before you get into a pretty intense week."
Max took the flash drive and stared at it, completely silent. She turned it over a couple times in her hands, as if to make sure it was real.
"You okay?" Warren asked. "You look a little spooked."
Max snapped her gaze back to Warren. "I'm good. Yeah." She quickly pocketed the flash drive. "Thanks Warren. I'll go through it and see if there's any movies Rachel and Chloe will like."
Warren smiled. "Good. I'd better head to my next class. I'll see you later."
Max nodded. "See ya, Warren." She looked at the flash drive again. "Warren's flash drive…" She thought. Thoughts of the flash drive and its implications continued to circle around her head throughout the rest of the school day. By the time she got into Chloe's truck at 4 o'clock, she still had the flash drive in her hand.
"What's that you got there?" Chloe asked. "You seem awfully interested in it."
Max looked up. "Oh, it's just a flash drive."
"No shit, sherlock." Chloe smirked. "What's on it? Your porn stash?"
"Ew! No!" Max cried. "It's Warren's."
Chloe gasped. "WARREN'S PORN STASH?"
"Ugh. Shut up! It's his movie collection. He suggested all three have a chill weekend watching some movies before next week."
"That was nice of him." Rachel said. "But that doesn't explain why it's so much more interesting to you than we are."
"It's just that-" Max sighed. "On the Monday in the orig- ah, other… timeline, he asks for his flash drive back."
"And that's significant, somehow?" Chloe asked.
"Well, I just remember it pretty clearly. I get back to my dorm room, that is no more, to pick it up, only to discover Dana had borrowed it."
"Uh huh…" Chloe said, struggling to follow.
"Had to solve a rather nasty dispute between her and Juliet."
"Juliet?" Rachel asked. "But they're like the best of buds."
"Yeah, and they were then as well, but Victoria was a nasty bitch and convinced Juliet that Zachary was cheating on her with Dana."
"Yeesh." Chloe said. "And Juliet will believe anyone will spite her."
"I had to convince Juliet it was false, and Victoria was actually his mistress."
"Of course she was." Rachel sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead."
"Anyway, after multiple tales of boyfriend trouble, I got the flash drive and met up with Warren in the parking lot. I gave it back to him, and Nathan Prescott shows up, fucking pissed. He suspects I saw him in the bathroom with a gun and accuses me of reporting him to Principal Wells."
"And did you?" Chloe asked.
Max nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, but I regret it now, considering I know the kind of principal Wells is. Anyway, Warren tries to get him off me, and Nathan starts beating the shit out of him. That's when you pull up in your nasty-ass truck and take me to your house."
"Oh." Chloe said.
"It was the first time we had seen or talked to each other in 5 years. I'll never forget it. Seeing the flash drive again just brought all that back."
"Shit. Don't blame you." Rachel replied. "Cause that was the beginning, right?"
Max nodded. "I appreciate Warren trying to help and it's certainly not his fault, but I just can't help but feel like…"
"It's all happening the same as before?" Rachel finished. "I don't blame you for feeling like this. But enough of that. Who's excited for tonight?"
"I'm excited to punch Victoria at her own house if she tries to touch me." Chloe said.
"Oh, leave her alone. It'll be fun. I am very excited." Max said. "Besides, I'm sure Victoria won't even touch you with a ten foot pole."
"Good. I think."
That evening, after they had all showered, Chloe drove them all out to Victoria's house, already in her punk outfit. She was wearing brand-new ripped jeans (as picked out by Rachel), a polished leather jacket fit with spiked studs, her trademark skull singlet and blue beanie, and large blood-red doc martens. Rachel was a 1920's-style red dress decorated in black sequins, and a headband with a feather on it, and very expensive heels that matched her dress. Max was wearing a short black dress, coloured with large blue butterflies. Max took a deep breath as she rang Victoria's doorbell. Excited whispers chatted inside of the house. A few seconds later, the door swung open.
"Max!" Victoria cried, pulling Max into a tight embrace. "You made it! Come on in you guys! You look fantastic! I love the butterflies! Where on earth did you get such a nice dress?"
"Thrift shop." Max admitted.
Victoria laughed. "Well, it's very you. Plus it looks great." She turned to face the other two. "Rachel! You look amazing!"
Rachel blinked. She was clearly not used to Victoria's hospitality. "Thank you."
"Courtney, come grab their coats." Victoria called. Courtney quickly came running and took Rachel and Max's jackets from them.
"Touch me or my clothes, and it's the last thing you'll do." Chloe snarled.
Courtney backed away nervously, hanging the other coats on a large coat rack.
"Be nice." Max muttered to Chloe.
Chloe huffed and said nothing.
"Anyway, can we get you guys something to drink?"
"Yeah. A hard whiskey. I want to black out as soon as possible so I don't have to keep staring at your stupid face." Chloe spat.
Victoria looked shocked. "Ah ha, you're funny Price." She walked over to the kitchen, where Taylor was stirring a virgin cocktail.
"Oh for fucks sake, Chloe." Max yelled, smacking Chloe hard. "I'm gonna have to rewind this."
"Don't you da-" Chloe tried to say, but Max had already lifted her hand and rewound the past few seconds.
"Chloe Price. Shut. Your. Mouth." Max snarled a warning low enough so only Chloe and Rachel could hear.
"What? Oh fine. Not a peep. Promise." Chloe said, miming a zip motion across her lips.
"Good."
"Anyway, can we get you guys something to drink?"
"Do you have gin and tonic?" Rachel asked.
Victoria sighed. "Sadly, my parents don't like it when I pre-drink, or go to a party at all. All we have is dad's shitty beer or my mom's expensive wine. You can help yourself to some of that if you want, or something non-alcoholic. I myself am gonna save the alcohol for the good stuff at the party."
Rachel smirked. "Sounds like a plan. Is it red or white?"
"White." Victoria replied. "My mom doesn't want to stain the carpet."
Chloe and Max smirked at each other.
"I'll have a glass of that, please." Rachel said.
"Just some orange juice would be nice." Max said.
"Oooh, a hard drinker over here." Victoria replied. Taylor and Courtney giggled.
Chloe gritted her teeth, so Max put her hand on her arm. Chloe instantly relaxed.
Max laughed. "Yep. That's me." Normally a joke like that from Victoria would have cut deep, but now that Victoria was on her side, it was more comforting. Like friendly banter as opposed to spiteful hatred.
"Come have a seat. Taylor, since you're already in the kitchen, would you mind getting our guests their drinks?"
Taylor nodded and walked to the fridge.
"Victoria, your place is huge." Max said, her mouth forming an O.
"Wait until you see Nathan's house." Victoria winked.
Max grimaced, not wanting to tell Victoria that she already had seen it. Instead, she looked around, admiring various pieces of artwork that covered the white living room walls. Mostly expensive paintings and photographs from distinguished artists. To say the least, Max was impressed. "Woah, is that a Richard Avedon piece?" She cried, running over to a large photograph that hung over the large sofa in the living room.
Victoria nodded. "Birthday present from my parents." She smiled. "Trust you to spot that so quickly. You have a good eye."
Max blushed. "Thanks, Victoria. That means a lot."
Victoria sat down on the sofa, then everyone else followed suit. Taylor walked over, carrying drinks for everyone. Chloe huffed, regretting not asking for one.
"Thanks Taylor." Max said.
"You're welcome. I must say you three are looking fabulous tonight. Everyone's gonna look so hot by the time we head over."
Victoria nodded. "Courtney is our resident makeup artist. She's guaranteed to make everyone look fantastic."
"Oh, um…" Rachel said nervously. "I was under the impression I'd be doing the makeup."
Courtney eyed her curiously.
Victoria blinked. "I mean, that makes sense. You always know how to look stunning. I can't believe that slipped my mind. If you want to do yourself and Chloe and Max, I'm sure Courtney would be happy to just stick with us."
Courtney nodded hurriedly. "Mm hmm. Of course."
"Well, that settles it." Rachel smiled, sipping her wine. "This is very good wine, by the way."
"Thank you!" Victoria smiled. "Mom got it while she was in France. She collects only the finest of white wines."
Chloe scowled, and Max placed her hand back on Chloe's arm, instantly feeling the tension rise. Max winked at her.
"Well." Rachel smiled. "Thank your mother for me." She drank the last of the wine and set her glass on the large glass coffee table. "Are we ready?"
"We just sat down." Max whined, her orange juice only half-finished.
"Oh hurry up then, Max. We need all the time we have to get this perfect." Rachel said, taking a makeup kit out of her purse.
"You're on to it, Rach." Victoria smiled, and Max felt like it was actually genuine. Max was hoping Victoria was seeing the same pattern as she was beginning to see - that Victoria and Rachel were not too dissimilar.
Max quickly downed the rest of her drink and placed it on the table. "Let's do this thing."
Victoria snorted, and Taylor and Courtney giggled.
"What's so funny?" Max asked.
Chloe gnawed on her knuckles.
Rachel covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing. "You gotta little uh… pulp. On your chin."
Max's eyes widened, and she hastily wiped her face with her hand, before running over to the sink and rinsing her hands. She walked back over to the couch casually. "You never saw that."
"No rewind?" Chloe smirked.
"Hush, you." Max replied.
"Anyway, enough laughing at Max's expense. I imagine you have a dedicated makeup room?"
"That's an awfully bold assumption, Rachel. Clearly assumed from preconceptions based on my parents' wealth." Victoria narrowed her eyes at Rachel. She sighed. "It's in my bedroom next to the walk-in closet."
Chloe laughed. "Victoria you crack me up."
Victoria smiled. "Thanks, Price."
Chloe looked at her oddly.
"Wonderful. Glad to see we're all getting along." Max smirked, getting up off the couch. "Let's do this thing."
An hour later, Victoria led them back downstairs and out the front door.
"Christ." Max shivered, her legs trembling. "It's so fucking cold now."
"No kidding." Victoria said through gritted teeth. Like Courtney and Taylor, she was wearing a short tartan skirt and matching blazer. They had deliberately coordinated colours to resemble the trio from the Heathers. Rachel had been very excited when their outfits had been revealed.
"No idea what you're talking about." Chloe smirked. "I'm fine."
"Max is it okay if we use her as fuel for a bonfire?" Victoria asked.
Max shrugged. "You'll have to get past Rachel, first."
Rachel smirked, holding up her hand like a cat with its claws extended, mocking a hiss.
"Rachel, do everyone a favour and never do that again." Chloe said, opening the door of her truck.
"We'll see you in a bit!" Max cried as the two trios split off in separate directions.
"Au revoir." Victoria smiled.
"Yeesh. That was an adventure. I really need a fucking drink." Chloe said, starting the truck and speeding off down the road.
"So much for a sober driver." Rachel said.
"I can sober up pretty quick if I need to. I don't plan to get blackout like you tend to do, missy."
"Call me missy again and you'll be the one blacking out." Rachel replied.
"I'd like to see you try, Amber."
"Can you two shut the fuck up for a second?" Max said. "I'm trying to find directions."
"It's just a big highway dude. All I have to do is look for a giant fucking mansion." Chloe replied, flicking on her headlights. "See? Just up there." She pointed to a large mansion lit up with various bright colours.
Max scowled. "Take a right."
"Yes ma'am." Chloe said, slowing down as she approached the turnoff. "God they even get their own sign, as if it's a fucking landmark. Such bullshit." She murmured.
5 minutes and a steep hill later, Chloe parked the car in a nearby field and they all walked towards the estate. Two large guards in black suits and sunglasses blocked the entrance. One had a beard and the other had numerous face tattoos and piercings.
"Name?" A gruff voice asked as the girls approached.
"Uh… Max Caulfield." Max spoke. "With Rachel Amber and Chloe Price."
The tattooed bodyguard nodded. "Head on in."
"Jesus." Rachel whispered. "Prescott really got the big guns out."
"Victoria's idea, probably. Doesn't want any unwanted guests, if you get my drift." Max replied solemnly.
"I think I know that guy." Chloe said, more to herself than Max and Rachel. She pointed at the tattooed guard. "Pretty sure I talked my way past him at the Firewalk concert. Chill dude."
"If this party is even half as good as that night was…" Rachel smiled.
"Does that mean we can torch this place too?"
"Don't remind me about that." Rachel quickly said.
"Sorry. Joking."
"Okay. I wanna see who else is here." Max looked around. It was cold outside, but it was a clear night. "Hmm… doesn't seem like the party's inside."
"Nathan has a huge section. They're probably all around the back." Rachel said.
"Perceptive as always, Rachel." Victoria said. "You got past the guards okay, thank G-d. A few people have been texting me about whatever bullshit."
Chloe shrugged. "So we just gonna stand here, or…?"
"Nope! I wanna fucking party!" Victoria grinned. "Come on, Max!" She walked quickly through the front door and into the estate, Taylor and Courtney at her heels.
"Christ." Max mumbled. "Let's get moving."
As they all walked in, the music got immediately louder. They followed Victoria through a massive atrium and down a corridor, before approaching the living room, where several people were mingling about, protecting themselves from the cold. Chloe spied Hayden sitting on the couch with several girls, very stoned. She waved at him and he slowly waved back.
"Just out here." Victoria smiled, leading them through a large sliding door.
"An outdoor bar?" Max asked. "That's a bit overboard, surely."
"Not for Nathan Prescott." Victoria replied. "I'm gonna get myself a fucking drink. I'll leave you guys to it. Ta-ta." She smiled, and walked off.
"Good fucking lord." Chloe muttered. "This music stinks." She sauntered over to the bar. "Come on, I'm not going near this prick by myself."
"What do you- oh." Max said. Nathan was standing near the bar, now having a very loud conversation with Victoria.
"Victoriaaa!" Nathan cried. "Glad you could make it! You look fucking good tonight, as per usual." He smirked.
"Ugh." Max thought. She quietly moved towards the bar and stood next to Chloe.
"Rachel-? Ah whateverthefuck! The hell are they doing here?" Nathan asked loudly. He was already half-drunk.
"They're on the list, Nathan." Victoria said sweetly. "Also, I've asked them to leave you alone. They need not disturb our night, after all." Victoria moved closer to Nathan, making him grin.
"No you did not tell us that, Victoria." Max thought accusingly. She was grateful, though, because she hoped that meant Nathan would avoid her and her girlfriends.
"The fuck kinda price is that?" Chloe snarled. "It's just shitty whiskey."
The bartender, who looked like the cover of hipster magazine, held up his hands. "I just work here, dude."
"Whatever. I'll take two shots." Chloe grimaced as she swiped her card. The bartender poured her shots and she immediately downed both of them. "30 fucking dollars. Jesus Christ. This party blows."
"Was it worth it?" Rachel smirked.
"We'll revisit that when the vodka hits." Chloe replied.
"Tell ya what doesn't suck," Rachel said. "The dance floor! Let's go!" She grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her inside. "You coming, Max?"
"I'm not really in a dancing mood." Max said, rubbing her arm. "There's a lot of people in there."
"Alright, if you say so." Rachel giggled. "Come on, Chloe!"
"Alright, I'm coming!" Chloe replied, running to catch up with her.
Max sighed. She desperately wanted to get away from Nathan but she wasn't sure where to go. She wandered back into the large living room where people were sitting having idle conversation. She walked through to the large atrium which housed the dance floor, where Rachel and Chloe seemed to be having a couple's contest against Zachary and Juliet and Dana and Trevor. Justin was sitting in the corner looking sorry for himself. She casually explored various rooms of the estate that she felt was socially acceptable. She walked back over to the main living room. She looked over to the fireplace in the centre of the main living room, which was lit up with a fake neon-blue fire. Max wondered why on earth such a design was necessary. Stella, Brooke, and Alyssa were talking, each holding their respective drinks. Max walked over to them.
"Hey guys." Max smiled.
"Hey Max, what's going on?" Stella asked.
"Nothing much. Rachel and Chloe are out on the dance floor, but I didn't feel like dancing, so I thought I'd talk to you guys."
"Fair enough." Alyssa shrugged.
"Do not blame you." Brooke said. "Ugh, I'm so annoyed. I wanted to take some cool photos of the party for the school magazine, but some drunk jackasses kept throwing shit at my drone."
"Oh god, it's not broken is it?" Max asked.
"Max do you judge my piloting skills that much?" Brooke replied. "Naw I got it outta there in the nick of time. I left it in Alyssa's car. Sad times."
"Safe and sound." Alyssa said, holding up her keys.
"Well that's good. Did you guys all come together?"
"Yeah, the whole party troupe." Stella giggled. "Alyssa's the only one who can drive anyway."
"Oh, now you say I can drive." Alyssa scoffed.
"Alyssa I was joking!" Stella cried. "God!" She shook her head. "Anyway, how are you doing? You've been kind of… weird this week."
"Oh, uh, nothing." Max said. "Just a little stressed, that's all. Why do you ask?"
"Well it's just that…" Stella trailed off.
"Warren's been acting weird ever since you spent that weekend with him." Brooke said, her arms folded.
"And Kate, too!" Alyssa said.
"Also, I saw Victoria hug you today. Like you guys were best pals. Not to mention you arrived at this party together." Stella added sadly. "There's something… weird going on with you."
Max shuddered. "Why did you have to say it like that? " Max thought. "Everything's fine. I promise."
"Okay… if you say so…" Alyssa said.
Max suddenly felt a tug on her shoulder. "Hey!" She turned around. "Oh, hey Chloe."
"Max, I can't find Rachel. Anywhere." Chloe said, a panicked expression on her face.
Max felt her face drop. "What? I-I thought she was with you!" She cried.
"I thought she was with you!" Chloe said. "I went for a smoke and she-she-she said she'd find you and- Oh God, Max."
"Shit shit shit! Okay. Okay." Max felt her heart start racing.
"Are you guys okay?" Brooke asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Not now!" Max cried. "Oh God this can't be happening! I thought I fixed everything!"
"Max it's not your fault, we just have to find her." Chloe said, placing her hands on Max's shoulders.
"She could just be in the bathroom." Alyssa suggested, finishing her drink.
"She's not answering her phone." Chloe said, briefly looking up at Alyssa.
Stella bit her lip. "Okay. Who have you talked to? Did anyone else see her?"
Chloe shook her head. "Nothing. I talked to Dana, Juliet, Justin, even Logan of all people- none of them have seen her!"
"Victoria! Oh thank God." Max cried as Victoria walked past them. "We can't find Rachel anywhere!"
"What?!" Victoria cried. "God you don't think-"
"She might be if we don't find her soon!" Chloe said, panic gradually rising in her voice.
Victoria scowled. "This is bad. I can't find Nathan either. He said he had to go take his meds but he hasn't come back yet."
Max's eyes widened. "How long ago was this?" She asked slowly.
"About 10 minutes ago."
"That would have been when I went for my smoke." Chloe said.
"Okay. I can work with that." Max said. She looked at Chloe. "You ready?"
"For what?" Stella asked.
Chloe ignored her and nodded.
"Okay. Here goes." Max breathed out deeply, then held out her right hand.
"Ow, fuck!" Chloe cried, clutching onto Max's shoulder as Max rewound time.
"Almost there- ah!" Max cried as she let time resume.
"Woah, where did you guys come from?" Stella asked.
"Just appeared outta nowhere." Alyssa said, her hand over her heart, her drink now full.
"Hey guys." Max said, out of breath. "Gotta dash." She and Chloe ran over to the main atrium.
"Ooookaaaay?" Stella said. "Do you know what that was about?" Max could hear her ask.
"Haven't a clue." Alyssa shook her head.
"It's Max. Who knows what's going on with her?" Brooke said.
"Rachel?" Chloe cried once they got to the dance floor.
"I think I saw her go back to the bar." Trevor said, briefly stopping his goofy dad-dance. "Looking for you, I think."
"Thank God. Trevor you're a lifesaver." Max cried. Trevor shrugged. They ran over to the bar to see Rachel sitting at the bar with a drink in her hand.
"Rachel don't!" Chloe cried, running over and grabbing the drink from her hand.
"Jesus, Chloe, what the fuck?!" Rachel shouted. "So what you can have two shots of whiskey but I can't even drink one fucking vodka infusion?"
Chloe gave the drink a sniff. "The fucker wasn't even trying to be subtle." She passed the drink back to Rachel. "Smell that."
"It just smells like alcohol. It's vodka, Chloe."
"Nope. Some fucker's laced it."
"How do you know that?" Rachel snarled.
"Believe me, we know." Max said.
"Oh Christ, Max." Rachel exclaimed, seeing the blood drip down from Max's nose. "You actually-? Oh my God." Rachel covered her face with her hands. "I'm so fucking stupid."
"It's fine. Stop beating yourself up." Chloe said. "The important thing is you're safe now. Let's just get the fuck out of here."
"Agreed." Rachel said. "This was a terrible fucking idea."
"Come on." Max said, leading the other two back inside. They pushed through the crowds that were gathering on the dance floor in the atrium. Max looked up.
Nathan Prescott was staring down from a balcony upstairs, a deep scowl on his face. He turned around, walking into a room Max recognised as his bedroom and shut the door.
"Chase, we're fucking leaving!" Chloe screamed at the top of her lungs as they all walked out the door. "Fuck you, Prescott!" She snarled, and sauntered over to the truck.
On the way home, none of them said a word to each other. Rachel was distraught and Chloe was angry.
But all Max could think about was Nathan Prescott's angry scowl staring down at her, and one terrifying thought plagued her mind: "Is history really gonna repeat itself?"