It was like a dream - one second it was only Max standing on the sidewalk, watching Chloe pull into her normal parking space at the school. By the time Chloe started getting out of the car, Landon was there, gripping the back of Max's jacket collar as if trying to pull her off her feet. Max's eyes were wide, panicked as she tried to shake free.
"Get your fucking hands off her!" Chloe had barely finished closing the car door before he shoved Max towards her, and she just barely caught Max as she stumbled off the curb. Her movements felt too slow, far from the adrenaline rush she would have expected, but she was still able to get her arms around Max and pull her close, feeling her shaking.
Chloe's head snapped back up to glare at the smug face staring back at them. She had already forgotten Max was there, enraged by the expression of the boy in front of her. "Listen here, you little shit-"
"Chloe, no!" Max was trying to drag her backwards, arms tight around her waist, but she stood no chance. She wasn't strong enough to pull Chloe away from a fight, especially not from one where Max herself was involved.
She didn't know what happened, but suddenly Landon was in her face, and something cold was pressing against her stomach. She didn't need to look down to know what it was - she had, after all, been here before. "Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, would they?" he asked cruelly, and she heard the definite sound of a gunshot ring out.
Chloe jerked upright in bed, gasping as her hands reflexively covered her stomach to hold the wound. It took her a moment to realize it was a dream, that she was safe and sound in Max's room, that there was no bully with a gun coming after her. Her knees rose up so she rested her forehead on them, taking a few deep breaths. Holy shit, that felt so real…
She heard Max shifting, rolling over to face her. "Chloe? You 'kay?" Max muttered sleepily, looking up at her through a tangled mess of hair.
Chloe rested a hand on her own chest, feeling her heart thundering. She could just barely make out Max's eyes squinting, as if she was trying to focus harder on her. "Hey babe, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." She could hear how shaky her own voice was.
Max was stubbornly pushing herself onto her elbow, aware something was up. "You sure? I'm 'wake."
Chloe chuckled quietly at the blatant lie. Max's meds were obviously still in effect. "You're really not. I'm going to get a drink, I'll be right back." She leaned over to give Max a kiss on the forehead. The brunette hummed contentedly before slipping back down onto the bed. Chloe watched her for a long, peaceful moment before pushing herself to her feet and slipping out of the room.
She had been aiming for the bathroom, to splash some water on her face, when she heard a clattering coming from downstairs. With a little shrug, she made her way down the steps, already knowing who might be waiting around the corner.
Ryan was digging around in the fridge, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from snickering. "Fancy running into you here," Chloe joked, leaning up against the counter. Ryan jumped just as expected, knocking his head into the top of the fridge with a quiet yelp.
"Chloe! Goddamn it," he muttered, rubbing his head with a little scowl. "Jeez, we need to put a bell on you or something."
"Eh, that ruins all the fun." Chloe clasped her hands in front of her, swaying a little. "What'cha digging for this time? I happen to know your wife finished the ice cream yesterday."
He shook his head, chuckling quietly before his eyes drifted back to the now closed fridge. After a moments hesitation, he opened the door again and pulled a beer out of the fridge, offering it to her. "Don't tell Vanessa?"
Chloe was far too smart to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Tell her what?" she asked, snagging the bottle from him. He snorted before grabbing his own bottle, starting to dig through the drawers for a bottle opener.
"What's got you up tonight?" he asked as she sat down at the table, spinning her own sealed bottle as she waited.
She shrugged, focusing on the spinning bottle rather than the details of her nightmare. "Bad dream. You?"
"Just got a lot on my mind." His voice had a strange sound to it as he finally found the opener, making his way to the table and popping open his own bottle before sliding the opener towards her. His expression was suddenly grave, and Chloe suddenly felt like she was about to undergo a lie detector test. "Did Max really just trip at school?"
C'mon, don't make the beer taste like shit. She weighed her options quickly before sitting back in her chair. "I think I'm obligated to say 'yes'," she admitted quietly, crossing her arms and staring at the beer.
Ryan sighed, running a hand over his face. "Did you already beat the kid's ass, or do I need to do it?" he asked, sounding tired.
She scoffed, shaking her head as she eyed up the bottle opener, still sitting between them. "She wouldn't let me."
Ryan was smirking, twisting his own bottle around in his hands. "Of course she wouldn't. Wouldn't lift a finger to save her own hide." He took a swig from his beer, an almost thoughtful look on his face. "You know what sucks about being a parent, Chloe?"
She finally reached out to grab the opener, sufficiently tempted by the bottle in front of her. "I can think of a lot of things," she muttered as she opened her drink.
He chuckled, nodding his head slightly. "Believe me, it's not all bad," he responded, the amusement on his face gradually turning more somber, until he cleared his throat. "At some point, you have to let them fight their own battles."
She took a large gulp of her beer as she pondered his words. "Like...letting them get smacked around by a bully?"
"I already called the school, Chloe. They know what happened, and that boy was suspended for a week." Chloe blinked at him a few times, and he shrugged, a wry smile spreading across his face. "This might come as a surprise to you, but I was a kid once, too."
"No shit?" Chloe blurted out before she could stop herself.
He laughed, tilting his beer towards her. "No shit," he replied, taking another swig. He was still chuckling to himself after he swallowed. "Wasn't much of a tough guy, either."
Chloe was trying to picture a younger version of Ryan, but it was hard to look past how imposing he was now. "Dude, you had to tower over the other kids."
He scratched at his beard, still smiling. "I was a beanpole in high school. Vanessa probably has pictures somewhere." His voice sounded a little sour at that idea - Chloe had to bite her tongue to keep from snickering. The smile on his face was gradually fading, going back to a grim expression as he fixed his gaze back to her. "There's always kids like me, and Max, who just grin and bear it. It's bullshit, I know."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," she muttered darkly. "At least she's only two weeks from getting the fuck out of that school."
He sighed heavily. "She'd have been better off getting her GED, like you and your friends did," he admitted, looking dejected. "We shouldn't have signed her up, should have let her make that choice on her own."
"Well, too late for that now," she mumbled, and for a few minutes, they took awkward sips of their beverages in silence. She didn't really have anything to say in response, at least nothing that would make her less angry.
Ryan cleared his throat after finishing off his beer, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "So, how's the summer planning going, before you rush off to New York?"
He was obviously trying to barrel past the previous conversation, and it was appreciated. Chloe shrugged, starting to pick at the label on her bottle. "Don't know. Probably need to find a place to stay before we get there. Sure that'll take up some of our time."
He scratched at his beard, brows knitting together as he watched her going at the label. "I can't remember, does Max's scholarship cover housing?"
She shook her head, finally succeeding in getting a large chunk of the label pulled away from the glass. "No, just tuition." Still pretty damn awesome, though.
Ryan leaned back in his chair, hand going to his beard again. "Kinda stinks. Would be nice not having to worry about where you're going to live."
"I have to live somewhere too, you know," Chloe commented, smirking at him. "And I'm not going to Parsons, so I can't exactly live in the dorms."
He exhaled sharply through his nose, a half-smile appearing on his face. "Yeah, and I doubt she'd have stayed on campus if you weren't able to stay there."
It was undeniably true, but that didn't stop Chloe from snorting. "Are you calling your daughter 'clingy', Mr. C?" she asked, eyebrow rising as she fought back a smirk.
He laughed, maybe a little too loud for the current time - his eyes darted over to the stairs for a moment, as if afraid someone might suddenly come down. "You said it, not me." Eventually he turned back to watch her, an odd, reminiscent expression on his face. "You know, you can just call me Ryan. You don't have to be so formal anymore."
Chloe shrugged, feeling a relaxed smile make its way onto her face. "Force of habit, I guess. You're always just...Mr. C in my head."
Ryan nodded, crossing his arms loosely in front of his chest. It almost looked as if he was biting his lip. "Just...just don't call me 'Dad'. Not yet. I'm not...I'm not ready for that."
Chloe's mouth gaped for a second, staring back at his rapidly crumpling attempt at a neutral expression. She could clearly see the corners of his mouth twitching, even with his bushy beard in the way. "What is it with you and your wife trying to get us hitched?"
He nonchalantly tilted his bottle as if trying to get every last drop, keeping his eyes affixed to the ceiling once he was done. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he responded, although he sounded like he knew exactly what she was talking about.
She groaned, burying her face into her hands. Her cheeks felt excessively warm, and she did not like it. "First you guys, then Aaron - who's gonna pester me about this next, David?"
He chuckled, starting to slide his bottle on the table mindlessly. "How's Aaron been? Haven't seen him in a long while."
"He's good, still doing construction. Living that bachelor life now." She paused for a moment to take a final swig of her own beer, making an appreciative noise as she set it down. "It was nice of him to fly out and see me. It's, ah...I wasn't expecting it." She really hadn't - his eagernness to come visit her still made her feel weird, but in a good way.
"I bet," Ryan responded, pausing his bottle sliding to focus on her instead. "Gonna make time to go see him before school?"
Chloe shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "Hopefully? Depends on his schedule. There's some cool parks out there that'd be neat to go see, if he has to work."
Ryan nodded, resuming his bottle sliding. "I'm sure he'd appreciate that."
Chloe glanced at the clock, sighing as she made her way to her feet. "Well, uh, I should get back to bed. Thanks for the, er, talk," she added, tilting her head towards the bottle.
Ryan reached out over the table to grab her bottle, giving it a little lift as he smirked. "I don't want to say let's make a habit of it, but…" He shrugged, getting to his feet as well and grabbing both bottles and heading towards the sink to rinse them out. "And just...don't-"
"Don't tell Mrs. C, got it," Chloe responded quickly, winking at him. Ryan chortled as she left the room, heading back up the stairs quietly. She slipped back into their room, relieved to see Max still asleep, but now curled around Chloe's pillow. As she climbed into bed, carefully pulling her pillow out of Max's grasp, she couldn't help but smile to herself before closing her eyes.
Author's Note: WOOOO LIFE IS STRANGE 3! That being said - yes, I am going to continue writing this story. At some point, once LiS3 comes out, it'll probably negate some of my attempts to stay within canon for this story. Just the way it will be. I'm not going to try to change anything I already have planned, though - the original vision will still come out. :)