Max woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. It was her default ringtone, meaning it wasn't a number she recognised. She picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?" She said groggily.

"Max! Hey!" Came a rushed and excited voice. "Oh sorry, did I wake you?"

Max checked the time. 11am. "N-no, of course not."

"I appreciate the politeness, but I can tell you're barely awake. But this is pretty important."

Max slapped her face lazily. "I'm sorry, but who is this?"

"Oh right! It's Brooke." Brooke Scott finally said. "Warren gave me your number."

"And why did he do that?"

"Because I have to show you something. Something baffling."

"Okay…" Max was on the verge of hanging up. After everything that happened last night, she wanted nothing more than to just do nothing and forget about the world. Suddenly, weed didn't sound like a bad idea to her. She got out of bed, careful not to disturb her two sleeping beauties, and walked into the living room.

"Do you have data? I'm gonna text you the video now."

"What video?" Max asked. Brooke was being oddly cryptic.

"I took it last night at the party, right before some fuckers tried to shoot down my drone. It's so bizarre! Warren couldn't explain it, and he told me to come to you."

"Why? I'm no scientist."

"I know, that's what I thought too. Ah- no offense. But Warren said that you needed to see it."

If Max wasn't worried before, she was absolutely terrified now. "Okay. I've got it. Watching it now." Max played the video slowly. Seemed like regular shots of the party crowd at the outside bar. The drone panned over to Nathan and Victoria. The drone couldn't pick up what they were saying, but Victoria was laughing. Max couldn't help but notice she was keeping her drink close to her. Taylor and Courtney were nowhere to be found. "What am I looking at, Brooke?"

"Keep watching. It's after the shot of Logan."

Sure enough, the drone panned to Logan talking to a girl Max didn't recognise who looked very uncomfortable with his presence. He looked up at the drone and laughed, aiming to throw his beer bottle at it. The drone rose high into the air to avoid the projectile and that's when Max saw it.

"Was that-" Max cried.

"Lightning? Yeah. Ball lightning at that too." Brooke replied, clearly very excited. "I'm so glad the drone got it."

"But it was a clear night! You sure that wasn't somebody's flashlight or something?"

"That high up in the air? And at that far distance?" Brooke chuckled. "Nuh uh. Definitely ball lightning."

Max was stunned. "There's no way. There's no way this is happening."

"So, Dr. Max, do you have an explanation?"

"No of course not!" Max cried. "How could I? Lightning when there's no cloud in the sky!? That's crazy!"

"What!?" Brooke shrieked. "What was the point of me calling you then!? Ugh! And Warren was so sure as well. Sorry for wasting your time."

"No no, thank you. It was good that you showed me that. Thank you. And thank Warren too."

"No worries, Max. I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah. Of course." Max said. Brooke hung up. "This is bad." Max said aloud. "This is really bad." She started pacing around the kitchen, muttering to herself. "Shit shit shit. Shit!"

"What's wrong, Max?" Chloe walked in sleepily. Where Max had mustered the effort to put on pyjamas, Chloe was simply wearing loose underwear. She was completely topless.

"Jesus Christ, Chloe. Put a shirt on."

"Can't be fucked." Chloe yawned. "Anyway, you seem stressed. What's going on?"

"Brooke just sent me this." Max said, handing her phone to Chloe.

"Mmm?" Chloe mumbled. "What the fuck?" She looked up at Max, a lot more awake. "What the fuck was that?"

"Ball lightning."

"At the party? How the fuck did we miss that? That was before we left." Chloe asked.

"We were all inside, and there was no thunder."

"No thunder? How?"

Max shook her head and shrugged.

"Shit. Do you think this is one of those apocalyptic events you were talking about?"

"I don't know!" Max cried. "Warren seems to think so, he was the one that told Brooke to show me this."

"Shit." Chloe mumbled. "Credit to Warren, he's a smart dude. He could well be right."

"Chloe, what if I didn't change shit?" Max felt her nose run as tears started to stream down her face. "What if the tornado is just some predetermined event that happens regardless?"

"Shut up. Don't say things like that. Look at what you managed to change since you got sent back! For the better and for the worse. Every action has consequences. You know that better than anyone."

"The butterfly effect." Max sniffed.

"Exactly!" Chloe said, putting her hands on Max's shoulders. "And yes a lot of weird shit has happened, but we've had a lot of good as well. Without you, the loves of my life would not be sleeping in the same bed as me. Hell, I watched you save Victoria Chase's life, at the time she didn't give a rats ass about you. And now? She's a decent human being!"

"Really? That's not how you felt last night."

"You know that was just a dumb front. I was actually really impressed with Victoria."

Max giggled. "True." She looked at the bedroom door and sighed. "After last night, do we wanna tell Rachel about this?"

Chloe shook her head. "Not for now. Max, listen…" Chloe stepped forward and pulled Max in for a tight hug. "You have changed so much. And most of it is good. You've also changed as a person, again in a good way. I used to miss the days when we were dumb kids, running around Arcadia Bay in our pirate gear. But we've grown since then. Now, we're dumb adults running around Arcadia Bay." She giggled. "The more things change, the more they stay the same, you feel?"

Max sniffed. "Yeah. Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"You have no idea how weird this feels with your boobs out."

"Shut up. You love it." Chloe said, but broke the hug anyway. "Hey, you got Warren's flash drive still?"

"Yeah."

Chloe smirked. "Weekend movie marathon?"

Max grinned. "Hell yeah."

Whilst three teenage women sat on their couch laughing, crying, and occasionally screaming at their TV, a photography teacher was having a heated conversation through his cellphone.

"What do you mean she just 'left'?" Jefferson snarled.

"I mean she just fucking left! She and those two fucking dyke bitches. Price and Caulfield." A voice replied.

"I torched that bar for nothing!" Jefferson growled, keeping his voice low. "Having the party at the estate was the perfect opportunity. You have failed."

"You can't blame me! Security was way too tight. Eyes fucking everywhere. And you know how-"

"Don't say names out loud, idiot! Walls have ears. You of all people should know that." Jefferson interrupted. He sighed. "Fine. Fine. Okay. Did you see what happened?"

"Yeah. I was watching them. They were panicking, running through the crowd until they found Rachel at the bar. Then suddenly Price just snatched the drink out of Rachel's hand right as Rachel was about to drink it."

"They were panicking? Interesting." Jefferson said, scratching his goatee.

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps we've been going about this the wrong way." Jefferson mumbled, then smirked. "I think we need to take a new approach to this. The next vortex club party is on Thursday, and luckily for me, I'm going to be there."

"What's your plan?"

"Let's just say I'm looking forward to seeing the entries for Everyday Heroes Contest."

"Cryptic, as usual. I wish you'd give me a straight answer."

"You don't know enough about my line of work or the stakes here!" Jefferson growled. "When I need you, I'll get you. For now, just keep an eye on Rachel Amber and her two compatriots."

"You sure you don't wanna try someone else? You said yourself that-"

"No! She's perfect. And, we have leverage. Thanks to a certain someone."

"Hmph. How's the place looking?"

Jefferson grinned. "Coming along rather well actually. I've just put a few touches here and there. I even got the sheets set up. I'm sure our esteemed host won't mind us using her place."

"Who even gives a shit?"

"Exactly. You're on to it. Anyway, I'd better go. You know the rules. Don't call me, I call you."

"Yes boss. You know I'm still waiting for my end of the deal."

"I know!" Jefferson chuckled. "Don't worry. Once I'm done, they'll be all yours."

"Good." The person said and then hung up.

"Alright. Where was I? Ah, yes." Jefferson pocketed his phone and grabbed his camera, walking over to his wonderful new setup. "Thank you for letting me use your place by the way. You've been most co-operative."

"Mmm! Hmmm!" The woman cried, struggling against the duct tape which bounded her limbs and covered her mouth.

"Ahaha!" Jefferson laughed. "That's enough of that." He grabbed a syringe and filled it up with a clear liquid. He walked over to the woman lying on the sheet and pricked her neck. "Don't worry, we'll make a portfolio out of you yet. A test trial, if you will. Now go to sleep, my subject."

The woman cursed Jefferson inwardly as she slowly felt her eyes droop. Within seconds, she was unconscious.

"Rose, do you think I'm a bad father?" James Amber asked, lowering his newspaper. He pushed his glasses down so they were resting on the top of his nose and looked up at his wife, who is in the kitchen cooking dinner.

"James, I love you. You have been a perfect husband to me and-"

"That wasn't what I asked."

"Please don't interrupt." She sighed. "Sorry. I know how stressed you are with all this." She turned off the stove and walked over to her husband, who got off his armchair and hugged her. "Did you call Rachel?"

"No answer."

"Same here. I hope she's not mad at me."

"She's mad at me. That's for sure. Am I a bad father?" James asked again.

"No James, you aren't. You did what you had to do to protect her."

"I'm starting to think it wasn't her I was protecting."

Rose looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Something her friend, Chloe, said to me once. I dismissed it then, but now it's coming back, eating away at me like a tumour. What if I was only aiming to protect myself? My reputation? Chloe knows all about a ruined reputation, it only makes sense."

"James, you saved Rachel's life. With Sera around, Rachel was in danger."

"Yes, but I shouldn't have hid her from Rachel. Or at the very least not for that long."

"Unfortunately, you're right."

"Your honesty is why I married you, honey." James smiled.

Rose laughed. She walked back over to the stove and continued cooking.

James sighed. "I just hope I can tell her that soon. Tell her that I'm sorry."

"And you will. When was the last time you saw Sera? Maybe we could arrange dinner for all of us. The whole Amber family. Once Merrick is caught of course."

James nodded, scratching his 5 o'clock shadow. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll visit Sera next weekend."

"Good idea. I'll call Rachel again later tonight. Can you set the table please? Dinner's almost ready."

"Sure thing, honey."

Joyce sighed as she walked in the front door of her house. She took off her jacket and hung it up. David was whistling to himself in the kitchen.

"That's a nice tune." Joyce smiled.

David sighed. "I'm trying to distract myself, but I don't think it's working."

"Distract yourself from what?"

David shook his head. "We promised to talk more to each other about stuff at work, didn't we?"

"More importantly, anything that's on our minds." Joyce pointed out. "Let me take over."

David looked at his wife, then silently relented, letting her stir the sausages. "It's just that… work's getting pretty tough lately. Between the Prescott kid going ape on his friend and Wells…"

"What about Principal Wells?" Joyce asked, immediately concerned.

"Ah, it's classified, I'm afraid. I can't say. I've already said too much." David said hurriedly.

Joyce looked sternly at him.

"No, seriously. He said himself to keep it confidential. It would be the equivalent of you giving me the bank account details and social security numbers of your employees."

Joyce shrugged. "You're not the only one who's stressed." She sighed, turning off the stove. "I don't even feel like cooking."

David nodded. "Maybe it's time we had a quiet night in. Do you wanna sit down and watch a movie after I've finished dinner?"

Joyce smiled. "That would be lovely." She sighed and looked at the photos on the fridge. "It seems a lot of our nights are quiet now."

"I miss Chloe, too." David sighed. "Goddamnit. I always feel like I missed too many opportunities with her."

Joyce laughed. "She's not dead, David. Despite her best efforts."

"That's morbid." David chuckled.

"Now you know where she gets it from. At the very least, she's happy, and that's all I've ever wanted for her. Happy and safe."

"Yeah. So maybe it's time we set the worrying aside." David smiled, walking over to the fridge. He opened it and pulled out a bottle of wine. "Our night."

"Oh honey, thank you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Joyce."

"I'm worried about Max." Vanessa Caulfield sighed, briefly putting down her book.

"Honey, you're always worried about Max." Ryan Caulfield chuckled, handing his wife a cup of tea and sitting down on the couch next to her.

"She's not answering any of my texts!"

"Well, she's in her last year of high school, and she's living with Chloe and her friend. She's probably just incredibly busy."

"Too busy for her parents?"

"Now, now, Vanessa." Ryan cooed. "Let's cut out that talk. Give her some time, some space! When was the last time she replied to you?"

"Three days ago." Vanessa murmured.

"See? That's not too bad. How many messages have you sent her since then? She's probably overwhelmed."

"That's not- ugh." Vanessa sighed. "That's not it, really. Her report card came in today, and that's why I'm worried."

"Why? Did you read it?" Ryan looked concerned.

"Of course I did! I wanted to talk to Max about it, but she's not responding."

"Was it bad?"

"No, her grades were pretty good actually. But it was just comments from a couple teachers. Most of them are positive, but her photography teacher, Mark Jefferson, said something really weird."

"Weird? What do you mean?"

"The Max he describes is nothing like the Max we raised, at all." Vanessa looked at her husband. "He says she's antisocial, and regularly lashes out at a couple of her classmates."

"That is weird." Ryan said, scratching his beard. "Max gets along with everybody. In fact, I thought she hated confrontation. Is this teacher on drugs or something?"

"Stop it, Ryan." Vanessa replied. "He also says he's fairly sure Max hates him, and that's what confuses me the most. He's an esteemed photographer! Why would Max hate him?"

"Maybe she just doesn't like his work." Ryan shrugged. "Or his personality. Apparently a few critics have regarded him as aloof, and one even went as far as to call him pretentious. I imagine that cut him deep."

"This is Max's teacher, not a snooty fashion designer. There's no reason for Max to appear so standoffish to him."

"Maybe he doesn't like Max."

"No, that's not what I got from the report. In fact, I'd say he loved Max. He says she's one of his favourite students. Always answering questions in class, very intelligent, a brilliant and insightful artist, but he says he can't help but feel like Max doesn't trust him or his teachings, says she has a tendency to be nosey."

"Well, we know all about her nosiness." Ryan laughed. "But yes, I see your concern. Maybe wait until tomorrow and we'll give her a ring. It is pretty late already. Speaking of…" Ryan looked at his watch. "I better head to bed. Early start tomorrow."

"Sunday Bloody Sunday." Vanessa smiled. "Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, darling."

"No fucking way am I watching Cannibal Holocaust." Rachel insisted. "Fuck that."

"Why? You scared, Amber?" Chloe smirked.

"You know, they killed real animals when they filmed that, right?"

Chloe stared at her. "No? What the fuck? Ah shit, hold on- Joyce is calling me." She grabbed her phone.

"Mom's calling me too-" Max said, also reaching for her phone.

Rachel blinked, reaching for her phone as it buzzed. She silently picked it up and declined it. "Can this wait?" She asked. "It's really weird our parents all decided to call us at the same time, and we're having a nice night together."

Chloe and Max looked at each other.

"I'll call you later. Love you." They both said, before hanging up.

"You're right." Chloe said.

"Mom apparently wanted to go over my report card, since she read that today."

"Oh dear God you poor thing." Chloe winced.

Max sighed. "Can we take a break, though? Some of Warren's 'cult classics' are giving me a headache."

"What? Pulp Fiction too much for you?" Chloe said smugly.

"I swear to God if I have to see one more gratuitous boob shot-" Max fumed. "Some of the shit he has is genuinely disgusting."

"Looks like Alien is next." Rachel smiled. "That's a good one."

"Oh God." Max pulled a face. "Yeah. I'll need a moment before we get into that."

Surprisingly, Chloe didn't try to quip on that. Instead, she was sympathetic. "Of course. It's pretty graphic after all. I'm gonna make some tea. Do we have any popcorn?"

"No, don't think so." Rachel sighed. "Pretty sure you ate it all."

"Goddamnit. It's too late to go out and buy some either."

"Shit, what time is it?" Max checked her phone. "It's like 11pm. Why the hell did our parents all try to call us at 11 o'clock at night?"

"Cause they knew we weren't gonna be asleep?" Chloe replied. Flicking the switch on the kettle.

"Tou-fucking-ché." Max grinned.

"Maybe it's a sign." Rachel suggested. She tilted her head, deep in thought.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"I don't know, the people we first look to for guidance are all trying to contact us before we get into the messiest week of our lives?"

Max gulped. "Do you think we should have answered them then?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "No. We did the right thing. I'm not saying we should go through this on our own, but it can wait, you know?"

"Tomorrow. I'm making that a promise."

"Aye aye, cap'n." Chloe said.

"I…" Rachel trailed off. She stood up and walked over to the window. "Yeah. Sure."

Max stood up and walked over to Rachel, reaching her arms all the way around her waist and resting her head against the back of Rachel's neck. "I know it's hard."

"No, you don't. You weren't there." Rachel said, her voice slowly breaking.

Chloe, sensing the tension, walked over. She smirked. She wrapped her arms around both Rachel and Max's thin bodies. "I love having long arms."

Max laughed. "Stop tickling!" She cried.

"What? Tickle, you say?" Chloe said. "Well if you insist!" Chloe proceeded to start tickling Max and Rachel. Max kept laughing, but Rachel was growing more angry. She pushed hard off the windowsill, knocking Chloe and Max backwards.

"Would you quit it?" She yelled, turning around and flashing an angry glare. Chloe was stunned. Max looked like she was going to cry.

"Sorry, Rach." Chloe mumbled.

Rachel turned back around and sighed. "Sorry." She placed her hands on the windowsill and looked out the window. Max stepped forward to comfort her, but Chloe stopped her.

"Go finish the tea. I'll handle this."

Max nodded.

"The stars are very beautiful tonight." Chloe said, standing next to Rachel at the window.

"Are you kidding? This whole town is light-polluted. It's practically pitch-black." Rachel growled.

"I know. There's a few nice ones. Like there! That looks like Orion's belt. Almost."

Rachel giggled.

Chloe sighed. "But I wasn't just talking about the stars in the sky." She looked down and smiled at Rachel. "What's the point of looking up at the sky at some crazy hour at night, when I have the most beautiful star shining in front of me 24/7?"

"Chloe I-" Rachel was stunned. "When the hell did you get so romantic?"

"As long as you're my partner in time." Chloe's voice rang in Max's head. A bygone timeline. Max found it odd how good Chloe was with words. "I think you mean cheesy." She said, bringing mugs of tea over.

"You are the queen of cheese, Caulfield." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Now you've ruined the moment."

Max smiled. "I'm sorry, Chloe." She set the mugs down on the table and joined her lovers at the window. "It really is beautiful."

"Oh God, not you too. Listen, I'm the resident astrology here." Rachel said.

"I know." Max nodded. "I'm talking about the town. For a dumb shithole Arcadia Bay does look pretty at night."

"Yeah, pretty shitty." Chloe laughed. "No, I get what you mean. I remember looking down on it, from the old mill, years ago. I didn't understand how much I actually appreciated living here. Yes I still wanna get out but God…"

"Hold on…" Max quickly grabbed her camera. "Can you open the window?"

Rachel nodded and lifted the window as far as it could go. Outside, a helicopter flew overhead. Max leaned out, carefully holding the camera out the window as she took a picture.

"Nice!" Max said excitedly, briefly flapping the polaroid.

"Damn, Max." Chloe said, briefly looking at the photo. "I didn't know that camera was so powerful. My phone wouldn't be able to get shit from this."

"Ah, the moon is but a guiding mistress, helping those who seek the truth and the beautiful." Rachel said, putting on a funny narrator voice.

"Alright Shakespeare." Max said. "Until there's two of them…" Max thought, doing her best to hide her shudder.

Chloe pulled her and Rachel in towards her, and they all wrapped their arms around each other, staring out the window in silence. They stood for several minutes. Chloe, still looking out the window, spoke.

"You said something to me, Rachel. A long time ago, when we first met. About the stars. Do you remember that?"

"No, I don't think so." Rachel sniffed. "I try not to think about those times."

"I do. I've never forgotten." Chloe sighed. "It was in your bedroom, after I set up that torch."

"Oh yeah. I remember now. That was sweet." Rachel smiled.

"You looked at me and said, 'Who cares if the stars are dead? As long as we can still see them, that means they're real. To us.' That was beautiful."

"I say a lot of things."

"Yeah, a lot of beautiful things, Rachel." Chloe looked at her.

"Oh crap! The tea!" Max cried suddenly. She hustled over back to the couch and sat down, drinking her tea. "It's still warm. Thank God."

Chloe rolled her eyes and sat down. "Max, you worry too much. We could have just blasted it in the microwave once we were done."

"I'm sorry." Max said instinctively.

"And there you go, apologising again." Chloe admonished. "It's fine. There's no need to apologise. It's good that you interrupted. I wanna get into the scary shit!"

Rachel briefly rubbed her elbow, before slowing sitting back down, picking up her tea and sipping it in silence.

Max saw Rachel's decrease in mood, but her body language also suggested to Max that she need not address it. Chloe was too excited about continuing their marathon to notice. Chloe started up the next movie. Rachel smiled like nothing was wrong. "Star actress indeed…"

7 hours later, the girls had finished Warren's entire movie collection, and Max was up to her 5th cup of coffee. Her body begged her to sleep.

"Wow. I can't believe we fucking did it." Max giggled sleepily.

"Was it worth it?" Chloe asked.

"Probably not." Rachel yawned and stretched.

"Oh come on, surely you enjoyed it." Chloe goaded

"I did. And don't call me Shirley." Rachel smirked, very proud of herself.

"That was the best movie on there by FAR." Max said.

"Oh come on, what about Akira? The fucker even had Blade Runner for crying out loud!"

"Ah yes, the one where we all fell asleep." Max said. "But yes, Akira was very good. Not a single Ghibli film on there. Warren is all darkness and no light."

"Ghibli film marathon next weekend then!" Chloe smirked.

"What's Ghibli?" Rachel asked.

Chloe stared. "You know, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, Spirited Away, all that anime shit?"

"Oh, Ponyo!" Rachel laughed. "Of course. I didn't know that was the name of the genre."

"Oh no, that's the creator. Studio Ghibli films." Max explained. "Yes. Ghibli films next weekend." She yawned. "Alright, let's get to bed. I'm practically feeling asleep already."

"Good idea." Rachel yawned, causing Chloe to yawn also. "But I can't move. Someone has to carry me."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "What is it with you two and wanting to be carried everywhere?"

"What can I say? I love being held in the big strong arms of a woman. I'm a simple dyke." Rachel smiled innocently.

"Oh, how can I deny that face?" Chloe smiled. "Up up, bubba!" She lifted up Rachel and cradled her into the bedroom. Max laughed and rolled her eyes as she followed.

"Goodnight, you dorks." Max said, flipping the light switch.

"Goodnight, Max. Goodnight Rachel." Chloe said.

"Goodnight, my loves." Rachel said, but Chloe was already asleep. "Wow. Out like a fucking light."

"That's gonna be in a second." Max said, crawling up to Rachel and kissing her.

"Max…" Rachel said. "Thank you. For tonight. I really enjoyed that. Sorry for being a major bitch. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Max's mind briefly flashed back to the notes she found in Frank's RV. She shook the memories off. "No, not at all. All is forgiven." Max kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you too." Rachel smiled. She lay down on her pillow and immediately fell asleep.

Max looked up and saw the first semblance of sunrise beneath the curtains. She smirked. "Hello world. I'm ready for your punk ass on Monday. Max to the future."