Stumbling away from Beth and the futon, Max waved her arms wildly. "I'm sorry," Max cried, "I'm so sorry! I-I have to go!" Pushing away from the wall she stumbled to the door and out into the night before anyone could react.

"Well shit," Beth said as Max disappeared from the apartment.

"Wow, your friend is really weird, Steph," Drew rumbled. He had stopped helping Mikey at the strange commotion, but only for a moment.

"Hella weird," Beth said, looking at Steph.

"Should we go after her," Mikey asked, looking up from the game table. He'd been looking forward to this gaming session for a few weeks. The hesitation in his voice was too obvious.

"I told you she's been acting really weird," Steph said, only paying half attention to the others. "It started when I told her we were from Arcadia Bay."

"You better try calling her," Beth said as she went and looked out the door.

Pulling out her phone, Steph did just that. After several rings the call went to voice mail. Hanging up, she quickly composed a text.

"Steph: Max! Are you ok? Call me, please."

"What did you see," Mikey asked Beth. He was still arranging the game pieces on the map, hopeful for a gaming session. His face told everyone he doubted this would happen now.

"It was…weird, like a memory but sharp and crisp."

"A memory of what?"

Beth looked at Mikey, unwilling to share it with him. "Did anyone else hear her call me Chloe earlier," she said instead.

Looking up from her phone, Steph said, "I did."

"The only person I've heard call you that is your mom," Mikey said.

"I changed it to Beth when I entered Blackwell. How could she know it? Did you ever use that name with her, Steph?"

Looking up from her phone, Steph shook her head. "No. Just Beth." She put her phone away with a sigh. "Listen, I'm sorry guys but the game's not going to happen tonight. I want to go look for her, make sure she's ok."

"I'll go with you," Beth volunteered. Nodding, Steph grabbed a light jacket, wallet, and keys. "Drew? Mickey? There's plenty of food and drink in the kitchen. Help yourself. Call us if she shows up!"

Grabbing a jacket of her own, Chloe joined Steph in leaving the apartment. Both were silent until they got in the car, a late model Japanese brand that got good gas mileage. It wasn't the nicest looking car with a mismatched paint job, but it was theirs.

They drove slowly for several minutes in silence, peering at each person they passed. None were Max, of course. The number of people outside at night in this part of town was very low.

"You're right," Beth said after a time. "She looks exactly like the character model I made for our game."

"Freaky isn't it," Steph asked, her face looking out the side window.

"Hella freaky."

Neither woman said anything for a time. Steph tried calling Max again, leaving a voice mail and another text message.

After about thirty minutes, Steph parked at the side of the road. Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel she leaned her head against her propped up hand. "I think she likes you."

"What? Why the hell do you think that?"

A sly grin spread across Steph's mouth as she tilted it to look at her friend. "Because she kept looking at you all night. She couldn't keep her eyes off of you."

"Really? I didn't notice."

"That's because you were too busy showing Drew how to game. Then you were too busy crushing on Joi." Steph got a little pleasure at seeing a little red in Beth's cheeks with the last comment.

"Pssh," Beth said, "I crushed on Joi? Aren't you the one with the Joi body pillow?"

"Fair enough," Steph said, leaning toward Beth. "But Joi doesn't look at me the way Max was looking at you!"

"What do you mean by that?" Beth had turned to look outside so Steph couldn't study her face.

"Like…she lost something and finally found it."

"Whatever. Besides, you said she was lonely. She's probably starving for any kind of companionship right now."

"Companionship. Right. That's exactly what I thought when I saw that look. 'Max sees Beth as a potential companion.'"

A little warmth crept into Beth's ears at Steph's words. Truth was, Max seemed like a nice girl. She wished the girl had talked more. She seemed so different from her typical friends. It was only their first meeting though, and the girl had seem so scared when she ran away.

The conversation died and they sat in silence a while.

"I had another dream last night," Beth whispered into the dark cab.

Looking at her friend, Steph frowned. "One of those lucid dreams?"

Her gaze fixed outside the passenger window, Beth rested her chin on her hand propped against the window. "I was looking for something, or maybe someone. There was this really weird sense that something was gone. Like something was supposed to be present, but wasn't."

"Did you have that sense of urgency in the dream?"

"Whatever it was felt…important. Like there was an important question that would be answered if only what was missing was found."

"That's what? The fifth one?"

"In a week and a half."

Silence descended on the women as they sank into their own thoughts. Steph sent another text to Max, and tried calling again. She got the same results as before.

"For a while I thought she wouldn't come. I think she doesn't realize how much she broadcasts that she's lonely."

Looking at her friend, Beth grinned. "That's something I always liked about you. You like to gather all those who are lost and help them be whole."

Steph pushed Beth's shoulder playfully. "Hey, it worked for you, didn't it?"

"And Mikey, and Kate, and many others. You've a good heart, Steph."

"Maybe, but good hearts don't always mean good results."

Looking out into the darkness, Steph muttered aloud. "Max Caulfield, where are you?"

"True. I'm still sorry things didn't work out between you and Rachel."

Nodding, but keeping her eyes focused outside the car, Steph said, "Two bright stars don't burn well when close together."

"True dat."

Starting the car, Steph began driving again. For two hours they drove around their neighborhood and that part of Portland. Every few minutes one of them called or texted Max from Steph's cell phone.

As they drove back, Beth laid her hand on Steph's arm. "She left her backpack, didn't she? I'm sure she'll come back for that."

Left unsaid was the fact Max hadn't returned for it yet. Drew or Mikey would have called if that happened. A bit dejected, Steph parked the car. "Tonight sucked," she announced as they got out of the car.

Beth nodded agreement.

They returned to the apartment, the D&D session cancelled. Instead they spent the night playing video games. Steph kept up her texting and calling of Max, to no avail.

"You've got to stop doing that," Beth said early in the morning. "You're going to freak her out. I mean talk about overly attached girlfriend behavior."

Sighing, Steph put down her phone and resolved to not call or text for a while. They crashed before the sun came up, sleeping until past noon. Coming out of her room, still in the same clothes as before, Steph put on the coffee then checked her phone. As expected, Max had not called or responded to texts.

Why was she so intent on helping this girl? Scratching her head through her beanie, she yawned and surveyed the contents of the fridge for breakfast potential. Checking the clock, she adjusted that to lunch potential.

"Any progress?"

Beth's question startled her and she bonked her head on the fridge. Giving Beth a playful glare, she closed the fridge. "On Max or lunch?"

"Either, although my stomach is saying lunch is the priority."

"Well, we still have left over pizza, and some stuff for tacos. Or I can whip up some eggs."

"I can whip up some eggs. You know that if breakfast is the order, I'm the one doing the cooking."

"Ah, does Beth not like browned eggs?"

"Gross!"

"Well then, eggs it is!"

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, Steph cleared off a portion of the counter and sat on it. Beth glared at her a bit, then began cleaning the dishes in preparation for cooking eggs.

Mikey and Drew appeared in the kitchen entrance, attracted by the loud noises Beth was making. "Coffee's in the pot, guys," Steph said, taking a sip of her own. Looking a little bleary eyed, they got their own cups.

"Anything we can do to help," Drew asked.

"Nah, kitchen's too small," Beth said. "I think we got this. Thanks for the offer."

Nodding, the brothers turned to go. "You can clean up the front room though," Steph called as they left. Within moments the sounds of cleaning came from the front room.

Beth nodded her head. "Cool." Steph could see a grin on her face as she said it.

"Can you get the bacon and eggs out, please?"

Sliding off the counter, Steph opened the fridge and got out the items. "Ugh, the fridge of holding is now empty. We'll have to do some shopping soon."

"Empty? I thought you said there was pizza and taco stuff in there?"

"Empty of the good stuff you make. Filled with the shitty stuff I make."

"Hey! Your tacos are good. Don't be that hard on yourself!"

Setting the items on the counter, Steph retrieved the pan Beth liked to use and put it on a burner. "Compared to your eggs and bacon? Mine is like Taco Bell food, while yours is fit for a foodie."

Finishing the dishes, Beth turned around, a big grin on her face. "With compliments like that, I still find it hard to believe Rachel bailed on you after three years."

A frown creased Steph's face at her friend's words. "Let's…not talk about that right now."

Beth placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry."

It still hurt a year later that Rachel had decided to pursue a different direction. Steph hoped she was having success in California. Slipping back on the counter, she said, "It's ok."

Opening the package, Beth began laying the bacon in the pan. She'd cook the eggs in it afterward, giving them a great flavor. "What are you going to do about Max?"

Sipping her coffee Steph made a face. "Keep trying to get ahold of her."

"You could always search her bag for an address."

"Oof. I don't like the thought of going through her stuff. She's a private person. I'm sure she'll see that as some kind of violation of herself."

"That's possible, but how else will you find her?"

"Google. She's an artist. She's got to have an account in Instagram, ArtistStation, DeviantArt, or something like that."

"I think you rolled a one with that. She's not going to have her address there." Beth turned on the burner and threw out the bacon packaging. She started breaking eggs into a bowl.

Steph mentally acknowledged what her friend said, but didn't comment on it. "I think you should go after her."

"What?" Beth knocked the egg too hard against the rim. It went all over her hand, the side of the bowl, and counter. Shooting a look at Steph while she washed her hand, she thought about what she said.

"And why should I go after her? What does that even mean?" Drying her hand she began cleaning egg off the counter. Now only eleven eggs would be cooked. Hopefully that's enough for all of them. Drew was a big eater.

"Did I tell you she's also from Arcadia Bay?"

"No you didn't, and what does that have to do with my questions?"

"You went to public school before Blackwell, do you remember a Max Caulfield? I mean the town is really small, it only has one of each type of public school."

"No I don't remember her, which doesn't mean anything. She could have moved before kindergarten."

"I don't think so. The way she reacted when learning we're from Arcadia Bay? There's something there, some memory that's deep."

The bacon was sizzling nicely and Beth checked one. They needed a few more minutes before turning. She put the rest of her ingredients into the eggs and began whisking them. "So what? You still haven't answered my questions!"

"Hey, are we eating lunch here or going out?" Drew had poked his head into the kitchen. Grabbing an open bag of chips, Steph tossed it to him. "Gotta wait, dude. Good things come to those who wait. Or some shit like that."

Smiling, he grabbed the chips, gave a two finger salute and left. Steph watched him go, thinking about Beth's questions.

"One, you made a character model in our video game that looks exactly like her. Where did that come from anyway? Two, she didn't freak out until she saw you. Three, she knows your name. How does she know that? Four, she was giving you googly eyes all night."

Beth had stopped whisking. "She was in a dream."

"What was that?"

Glancing at the cooking bacon, Beth spent a few moments turning them before facing her friend. "I didn't tell you about my first dream."

"You mean the one you had a week or two ago?"

"No. The one I had months ago." Beth studied the floor a moment. It needed cleaned. Her toe rubbed a scuff of dirt away. "It was our first night here. I had this dream where I was a little kid again, at school. I had my pirate dolls with me-"

"Pirate dolls? You had pirate dolls as a kid?"

"Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Whoa! Ok, sorry, sorry. Yes, I want to hear this." The way Beth was looking at her was unusual. A certain seriousness in the set of her eyes, her stance.

"Yes, I had pirate dolls. I made my own clothes for them. No other girls liked pirates when I was little. It wasn't until the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie that girls really started liking pirates. Only in my dream I found another girl in my school who also liked pirates. She had dolls of her own."

She paused to check on the bacon. It was crisp, in just the right way. Turning down the heat she began moving them to some folded paper towels to help remove the grease.

"The girl in my dream is what I based my character model on."

"You based your character model on a five year old girl?"

Shaking her head, Beth said, "No. I saw her again the following night-"

"Wait…how many dreams have you had since we moved here that you didn't tell me about?"

Picking up the bowl, Beth whisked the contents a few more times, then poured them into the pan. A sizzling hiss of steam erupted above the pan. Setting down the bowl and whisk, she grabbed a spatula and began working the eggs.

Turning on the water, Steph grabbed the bowl and wire whip to wash. They always tried to partner in this way when cooking.

"Only those two. I had them the first two nights then…nothing until last week."

"What happened in your other dream, the second night?"

Beth was silent for so long that Steph completed washing the items, turned off the water, and was considering re-asking the question. "I was saying goodbye to her."

She went silent after that, focusing on putting the finishing touch on the eggs. Leaning backward against the counter next to her, Steph asked, "Like at the end of the day or-wait, are you crying? Why are you crying?"

Dropping the spatula, Beth left the room in a hurry. Surprised, Steph stood there a moment. The smell of food jogged her and she grabbed the spatula. Thankfully the eggs were mostly done. Grabbing a large plate, she piled the eggs on it and turned off the stove.

"Drew! Mikey! Food's in the kitchen," she called as she left the kitchen going toward Beth's room.

At Beth's closed door, she knocked. There was commotion inside, but no invitation to enter. Bracing herself, Steph said, "Hey miss, I'm coming in."

Cautiously she opened the door. Beth didn't like showing her true feelings in front of people. As nice as Drew and Mikey were, they weren't close enough for Beth to be herself, without being angry.

Inside she found Beth had upturned her dirty laundry basket and thrown the clothes around the room. Now she sat on the bed, facing the wall away from the door. Moving aside some dirty clothes, Steph climbed on the bed behind her.

Putting her hand on Beth's shoulder, she said, "it's ok to talk about it, Beth. It's ok to have those feelings."

"But it was a fucking dream," Beth sniffed. "Why should a fucking dream make me feel like shit?"

"Tell me about the dream, please?"

Beth sniffed some more, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her hoodie. "There's not much to it. There was this sense of doom or destruction and I stood on a hill. It was like…chaos around us. She stood with me. We were talking, but…"

She turned around, tucking her legs under her as she did. "She looked so…sad like she was losing something…or someone."

Falling silent again, she looked at her hands. "She…? Do you mean Max," Steph prompted.

Beth nodded. "I knew immediately it was the same person from the earlier dream, but older. Late teens maybe? She told me something I don't remember, and then I said…I distinctly remember this, Wherever I end up after this…in whatever reality…all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours."

"Wow," Steph whispered into the silence that descended after Beth said that. Beth nodded, wiping her nose and eyes. "Is that where it ended?"

"No," Beth whispered. "We spoke some more and the sense of doom got stronger. It's like we had to act right now or something dreadful would happen! And then…then I told her, I'll always love you… Now get out of here please! Do it before I freak. And Max Caulfield? Don't you forget about me."

Steph's eyebrows raised and she leaned back. "Max Caulfield? Like the same exact name of our photographer? And you told her you loved her?"

Again, Beth nodded. "In the dreams she called me Chloe…"

The thoughts in Steph's head were whirling out of control. She could only just stare at her friend for long minutes. Shaking her head to clear it, she asked, "How did that make you feel?"

"Like someone just died. And angry. Like I'm mad at the world and I don't understand why!"

Reaching out Steph took Beth's hand, squeezing it. "I'm sorry. That dream sounds intense and really sucky." Beth gave a weak smile and nodded.

"At the time I thought it was a fluke, an over active imagination or something. I was so deep into character models and research at the time I thought my imagination was just on over drive."

"And that's where you got the inspiration for our main character model?"

"Aside from how she looked, I pushed those dreams out of my mind. Gradually I forgot them. We had so much going on, we just moved here, we were getting setup at our jobs and such that I never brought it up."

"And when you saw her last night?"

Shifting a bit on the bed, Beth dropped Steph's hand. "Well that was a surprise. I was weirded out when you told me she looked exactly like the model. She called me Chloe. The weirdest part though? That was just before she bailed."

Beth took a deep breath. "Right before she freaked out, our fingers touched and…that first dream replayed. The one where I found another girl that liked pirates. Only this time I knew. There was no mistaking that the girl in my dream, the girl in that vision, and our photographer Max Caulfield are the same person."

"Is that why you came with me to look for her?"

"Yes."

"How are you feeling right now?"

"Confused. Angry. Sad. Confused again. I don't understand why I feel this way, Steph. And it's kind of scary."

Patting Beth's knee, Steph smiled and said, "well I can't say I understand this, because I don't. But I can say we'll get through it somehow. Steph and Beth together, right?"

The weak smile reappeared on Beth's face. "The dreams restarted the same day you and Max first exchanged messages."

Steph's smile faltered a little. She hadn't known that. "I…think all this means you are the one to look for her, not me."

Beth's eyes widened. "No…I-I can't Steph! Please, I can't explain it but the thought of seeing her again right now just fills me with something I don't understand."

Tears glistened in Beth's eyes and Steph's mouth pressed into a line. She didn't like whatever was upsetting her friend, and didn't like the fact neither of them understood what was happening.

"Alright. I'll give her a couple of days to contact me. If she doesn't then I'll look in her bag and try to hunt her down." Sliding off the bed, she patted Beth. "Now, we better get back to the kitchen before Drew and Mikey eat all the food. You don't want my tacos today."

"More like, you don't want your tacos today," Beth shot back as she rose from the bed.

In the kitchen they found there was enough food for each of them, although they each only got one strip of bacon. Beth gave the guys hell for eating all the bacon.

The rest of the day was given over the video games and movies. Drew and Mikey had to leave the following morning so, after a pizza run, and another movie, they went to bed at a reasonable time.

The following morning they bade Drew and Mikey farewell and returned to normal life. Steph complained about having to build another WordPress plugin site. She did a lot of consulting gigs, which allowed her to work from the apartment most of the time. Beth had a coding job in town.

Despite their complaints, the day past quickly. Steph continued calling and messaging Max, just less. There was no response. Dinner was take out. The fridge was still spartan, and neither had time to shop that day.

"Were you able to get ahold of Max," Chloe asked over her burger. They had splurged and got burgers from one of the specialty places.

Steph shoved several fries into her mouth. "No," she said around the bite. "I'll get her bag after dinner and we'll look through it together."

Beth squirmed at Steph's words. Sharing those dreams had stirred feelings inside her she didn't understand. Why do I feel these things about someone I've never met?

Eating noises occupied the remainder of dinner. Upon finishing, they cleaned up, including the remaining mess in the kitchen. Steph disappeared near the end, going to her room to get Max's bag.

Drying her hands, Beth went into the living room. Steph was waiting for her, pack on the table. She said nothing as she took a seat. "Here we go," Steph said as she unzipped the front of the bag.

Within moments they found what they needed. An address holder was on the front flap. Inside was a card containing Max's name, and an address. A quick Google search showed them the location.

"Do we go tonight," Beth asked after studying the driving route.

After several moments of study, Steph said, "No. I'll go there tomorrow. As much as I think you should be with me, seeing you is what caused her to run."

Decision made, Steph added the address to Max's contact, then returned it to the bag. She zipped the pocket closed, then placed it by the front door.

The remainder of the night was spent working on their project. Neither woman's heart was in it though, resulting in slow, painful progress.

Beth couldn't stop thinking about her dreams. What could they mean? Why were the recent ones vague? The first two had been so specific and clear she could recall the details with ease months later. The ones of the last week were the opposite.

After debugging the same line of code for ten minutes straight, without actually seeing the code, Steph shut her laptop with a groan. It was only 9 PM, but she felt spent. Bidding Beth goodnight, she prepared for bed, then shut herself in her room.

Friday morning dawned, rousing the two girls. Steph had another project to complete for the agency she worked for, and Beth was headed to the office. "My plan is to finish my project then head to the address. I'll sit there until I know Max is home, then talk to her."

Beth nodded, a twisting in her stomach. Since sharing her first dreams the other night, something was pushing her to take action. Yesterday she had been able to redirect that insistent energy into work. Knowing Steph would likely see Max today was intensifying that push.

"You probably won't know what time you'll be home then," Beth asked as she slipped her laptop into her backpack.

"No. I'll call you before I come home though."

Nodding, Beth hefted the bag, slipping it over her shoulders. "I'll do some shopping after work then."

Opening the door, she paused, then looked at Steph. "Good luck." Steph thanked her, and Beth left.

The agency project was optimizing an underperforming web site. Another one in WordPress. It didn't take too long to spot the problems, the client had installed a plugin that abused the database. Grumbling to herself about the poor quality of WordPress plugins, she set to work fixing the problem.

Several hours later, after replacing the plugin and reconfiguring the caching, she was done. Looking at the clock she saw it was almost lunch time. Submitting her billable details to the Agency, she closed her laptop and decided to go to Max's apartment. Maybe she would be lucky and it would be her day off?

Grabbing her wallet, a jacket, and keys, she locked the apartment and got in the car. Setting up the navigation, she put her phone in the holder and started the car. Leaving the complex, she decided to get lunch on the way.

Roughly an hour later, she parked on the side of the road. She was in an older neighborhood. The houses and yards were still well tended, but it looked quiet. Probably only middle-aged couples and seniors living here now. The address in Max's bag told Steph that she lived in some kind of detached apartment. Finishing her sandwich, she wiped her hands and got out of the car.

The whole number part of the address belonged to a well-tended house set back from the street. A detached garage was in back, at the end of the long driveway. She spotted stairs on the side of the garage, with a mailbox attached to the fence next to the stairs. The garage was small, maybe one and half cars, if that. Max's apartment must be tiny.

Climbing the stairs, she knocked on the door at the top. As she guessed, no answer. Returning to her car, she decided to wait there until Max returned.

The afternoon crawled along. She busied herself with music, podcasts, and games on her phone, but those eventually became boring. Towards mid-afternoon she got a text from Beth.

"Beth: so…I kind of saw Max at lunch today and she's coming over for dinner tomorrow. At 6."

"Steph: Wut? Why'd you go see her?"

"Beth:…I can't explain…I just had to. And OMG is she so cute when she's flustered!"

"Steph: oooh, is Beth in love?"

"Beth: IDK…maybe? I've only seen her twice."

"Steph: but she's the girl of your dreams!"

"Beth: so not liking that now!"

"Steph: lol - 6 tomorrow then. I'm still parked outside her apt waiting for her."

"Beth: yes 6."

Chuckling to herself as she imagined Beth and Max together, Steph put some music on and reclined the seat. Would they make a cute couple?

The sky darkened toward nightfall. It was well into evening, approaching night, when she saw someone walking toward her on the other side of the street. With her phone she took a quick picture, then zoomed in. It was Max.

The girl passed her, with barely a glance at the car. Steph waited several minutes before getting out and climbing the stairs once again. At the top she paused, looking at the backpack in her hand and contemplating what to say. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, lifted her hand, and knocked.