Things definitely looked a little tense when I got to the school.
I was walking through the front, after Chloe dropped me off and drove off in her truck, and people were hanging outside, talking amongst themselves, probably gossiping about what was going on. As far as I could tell, the info about Rachel still hadn't leaked, and they only knew there was an investigation going on that involved a student and a teacher. Honestly, considering Nathan's reputation, it probably didn't come off as much of a surprise that he'd be in trouble with the police, but more that it was serious enough for him to get caught, for his family's influence to not be able to protect him.
I saw Alyssa sitting by herself on a bench, busy writing something on her phone. There were no footballs or other projectiles in sight ready to hurl themselves in her direction this time, though.
"Hey. What's going on?"
"That asshole Nathan finally got caught. Not sure for what, though. Photo teacher's not here today and everyone's convinced he got some girl pregnant or something. Sounds like bullshit though."
That was so disturbing...especially considering what he did to Rachel. Sounded like nobody had figured it out yet, though.
"Oh, I see, thanks" I told her
"You chose a weird day to ditch class. Max, was it?"
"Yeah, you're Alyssa, right?"
"Yup. Didn't think you'd remember" she said, genuinely surprised
I simply smiled at her. I guess I had never really talked to her in this timeline, either. She was a really nice girl, too. I used to be way too shy before my life became a sci-fi movie plot.
I passed Victoria and her posse on my way to the dorm. She seemed visibly upset, her resting bitch face more prominent than normal, presumably because of the rumours about Jefferson. No paintball games for Victoria this time, though.
I passed by Kate's room on the way, and she wasn't there, probably already on her near the café. I paused to erase the ugly message someone had written on her board, replacing it with a heart drawing.
It didn't feel right to snoop in Victoria's room, but she was still up to no good, spreading stupid rumors and messing with people's lifes, even in this reality. I still couldn't help but feel a bit bad for her after getting to know her last week, and seeing what Jefferson did to her, but she needed to be stopped.
I used her printer for the email that incriminated her and brought it straight to Dana's, avoiding the drama.
Juliet was in the hall, busy watching Kate's video. And her room door was open, so she had presumably let Dana out after a while yesterday, even without my intervention. But I bet she still thought that Dana did it.
"Listen, Juliet, Dana didn't send those texts. Victoria did" I said, passing her the page
"I know you're friends with that biatch but don't bother defending her. She did this" Juliet said, not bothering to look at it
"I'm serious. Victoria and your boyfriend were playing some weird prank on you, I swear. Just read this"
Finally curiosity got the best of her, and she took the paper from my hands and read it impatiently, getting angrier by the second.
"Oh my god, that skank! And I treated Dana like crap...I have to call her" she said, grabbing her phone and dialing her number
"Hi, Dana? I'm so so sorry about yesterday. I'm a total asshole." I heard her say as I went into their room.
I went in and retrieved the USB from Dana's desk before heading outside again.
"I owe you dinner." Juliet said, still on the phone "Still love you though!"
I closed the door and Juliet hung up before looking at me.
"Thank you so much, Max. You're like the Blackwell ninja. Now let's see what Zach has to say about that…" she said before starting to head towards the exit, clearly with a mission
"Glad you guys made up. Wait, Juliet? Listen, could you not watch or share Kate's video anymore? It's seriously messed up. Plus, Victoria's the one who posted it, you know" I said to her
Juliet made a face "I guess you're right, Max. Sorry. I won't watch it anymore"
At the front of the school, Brooke was busy flying her drone, so I approached her
"Hi, Brooke"
"Let me guess...You want to fly my drone" she said, with the same attitude as always. Though I knew it was probably because she was jealous of me.
"Oh, that's a B400, right?" I remembered "Great for aerial photography."
"Most impressive, Max. Warren said you were multi-faceted." she said, looking reluctantly impressed "Want to give it a whirl?"
"No, thanks. But listen, there's Planet of the Apes playing at the drive-in, and I know for a fact Warren's dying to go. You should invite him"
"You're full of surprises...But why would you tell me that?" she said, a look of suspicion on her face
"I just think you guys are perfect for each other." I said, but she didn't seem convinced, so I added "Plus, I've already got someone. Warren's a catch though"
"Okay, then. I guess I can give it a try" she said before reluctantly adding "Thanks"
Once at the lot, Warren was there, waiting in front of his new car
"What up, Max? How are you?" he said excitedly, attempting a hug
"Here's your flash. Thanks" I said avoiding it as gracefully as I could, which probably wasn't very good, because he instantly looked uncomfortable, scratching at the back of his head
"Check out my new wheels..." he gestured towards his car, once he'd recovered a little
"Cool. Very old school"
I was starting to get a bit tired of reliving the same days over and over, but Warren was a really nice guy. Plus, for Chloe, it was absolutely worth it.
"1978 to be exact...Now we can go to the drive-in" he said, his voice hopeful
"About that...I was talking to Brooke and she said she was dying to watch a sci-fi classic again"
"Oh...you mean we go as like...a group?" his disappointment was plain and obvious, and I felt sorry for him. But I remembered he invited Brooke to the party in the other timeline, so that meant he was at least considering her. So there was still hope for them.
"Maybe?" I said, vaguely but ended up adding, changing the subject "Hey, so do you know a lot about time travel?"
He still looked upset, probably seeing where I had been going, but he answered "Oh, I know that shit. I can like, make a list of other movies and books if you want"
"That would be awesome, thanks. I knew Dr. Graham would deliver" I said, nudging him with my elbow, in an attempt to lighten the mood
"No need to make an appointment for you, Max" he said with a mellow smile
"You rock, Warren. Okay, I gotta go meet Kate now. See you around" I said, waving at him before heading to the coffee house.
Kate was sitting alone when I got there. She had chosen the booth at the back of the coffee house, and a cup of tea was in front of her, next to a plate of cookies, left untouched.
"Katie! Sorry for the wait. Did you get here a long time ago?" I said to her, checking the time on my phone
"No, I was here early...Thanks for meeting with me. Want a cookie? They're chip choc" her voice seemed weak, like she was trying to appear okay but was just, exhausted.
I sat next to her on the booth, grabbing a cookie
"Mmmh...They're really good. Have one too!"
She seemed surprised I was in such a good mood, and took a cookie and nibbled on it tentatively.
"I'm so glad we're finally hanging out." I told her
"Oh...I guess." she said, and she still seemed sad
"Guess what? I busted that biatch Victoria today. She's gonna be in a lot of trouble from Juliet"
That elicited a small chuckle from her, and I was glad.
"What did you do?"
"I just snooped around her room and found evidence of her evil deeds. She played a horrible prank on Juliet with her boyfriend'
"Oh...I guess I'm not surprised. But you're really cool, Max" she said, giving a little smile
"You too, Kate. I heard your playing the other time, and it was amazing. You're super talented"
"It's been a while since I last played"
Kate was starting to get tearful. After the embarrassment Nathan and Victoria and the whole school put her through...She'd even attempted to take her own life in the other timeline. I'm so glad David actually locked the rooftop door this time.
"Listen, Kate. I know about the video, and it's horrible. Nathan's being interrogated for the things he did. You weren't the only victim to his sick games"
"What?" surprise was written plainly on her face
"I know some people who were also hurt by him. And, people don't really know about it yet, but Nathan, he killed the uh, missing girl"
Kate instantly brought a hand to her neck, in a nervous gesture, and started to twirl her cross necklace around, probably unconsciously, as she processed what I told her.
"He...He killed somebody?" I felt her horror grow as she thought of what could have happened to her
"He's seriously messed up. Like, really. He'll go to prison for it, too" I said
"But...How do you know about all this, Max?"
"Me and Chloe, she's a friend, we found her uh, her remains yesterday"
My voice trembled slightly when I recalled what happened yesterday. And also what could have happened.
"Oh God...That's, that's horrible" Her face welled up with tears, and it occurred to me what a sweet, sensitive and caring person she was. She didn't deserve any of the pain and humiliation that Nathan and Victoria put her through.
None of them did.
Chloe : u done hippie
Chloe : last stop on the chloe train
Max: Yeah, we're done. I have a ticket ^-^)
Chloe : NO EMOJI!
Chloe: 20min be there or no deal
Max: Yes ma'am :'(
I was standing in front of the deserted school, and it was beginning to get dark, as I waited for Chloe to come pick me up. Kate and I had talked for a couple of hours, moving onto lighter subjects, before I walked her to the dorm. Already I could see her mood improving now that she knew the truth about Nathan and his crimes, and I was so, so glad to see it.
Chloe's battered, adorable truck showed up, brakes screeching.
"Hop in, girl" she said, looking over the window
I smiled and opened the passenger door, and she started up the car again and headed to her house.
"Thanks for picking me up, Chlo"
"At your service, master" she said, giving me a two finger salute, which made me laugh
"So how crushed by rejection was that guy?" she said after a while
"Oh, Warren? A little, I guess. I'm trying to wingwoman Brooke and him, and it's going okay so far"
"No one's good enough for you, Max" she said with a chuckle "Except for me, of course"
If only you knew how true that was, Chloe...
"So how's the battle wound going?" she asked when we were at a stoplight
"A lot better. All thanks to your A+ medical attention"
"Cool. You think I should become a doctor?"
"What are you talking about, Dr. Price? I thought you already had a degree in medicine…" I said innocently
"Hah. Must've slipped my mind. You should be my nurse and wear a hot outfit. I can definitely picture that" Chloe raised an eyebrow
Geez, Chloe really needed to stop it with the teasing in this dimension, because one of this days, I really might start flirting back. Or not, I don't know.
Chloe reached over to lift my bangs away from my forehead to look at the cut, her sudden closeness startling me a little.
"You're gonna end up with a cool scar, Maxo." she said, before turning away on her seat, and starting the car again
"Oh, please, it was just a scratch"
"Look at her being all hardcore and warrior-like" she scoffed, but there was a certain pride in her voice
Joyce woke us up early the next day, and we got ready in silence.
It was Rachel's funeral today.
I borrowed some black clothes from Chloe, and she wore her usual outfit. When we went down the stairs, Joyce was waiting for us, and we all left without a word.
It looked like all of Arcadia was gathered at the cemetery, grieving for Rachel's death. Her parents were next to her casket, crying. On it a silver cross gleamed in the sunlight, in stark contrast with the black wood. The image was haunting yet eerily beautiful, I briefly fantasised about pulling out my camera and snapping a shot, but I knew it would be wildly inappropriate.
"Where the fuck were all these people when she went missing?" Chloe said under her breath, seemingly noticing the same thing I had.
She had put posters all over Blackwell and all over town all by herself, and nobody had taken her seriously, believing Rachel had simply run away, probably because of her party girl reputation. It was almost rude to see them all congregating here crying for a girl they didn't really give a shit about.
I guess no matter how popular and well loved Rachel was when she was alive, her only true friend, the only one who had never abandoned her was Chloe.
The memorial started, and people went to the podium, one by one, to sing Rachel's praises. She was such a sweet girl, she was so pretty, she was so nice...Different versions of the same thing were said over and over again. And I could see Chloe getting angrier by the second, the hand that was holding Rachel's funeral program turned into a fist, crumpling it.
I placed my hand over hers, and looked into her eyes, trying to wordlessly let her know that I understood, that I cared. She released the grip on the pamphlet and gave me a small nod, her expression softening only a little.
When the time came, Chloe went up to the podium, and I felt a collective intake of breath amongst the crowd. She definitely had a reputation in town, and was known for being a bit wild and rebellious. The fact that she had chosen to dress up in her full punk gear instead of the traditional mourning attire everyone was wearing probably didn't help, either. But when I saw her up there, looking so sad and vulnerable, I was overcome with an immense need to protect her, to shield her from all the bad things that happened around her.
"Rachel would've hated this stupid thing" she started, which got an immediate reaction from the crowd. What a bunch of posers. The only one who really had a right to speak here was her.
"She was, well, she was fucking amazing. But y'all already said that, didn't you? I guess everyone does love you when you're dead." she paused, and that last sentence left all the mourners collectively open-mouthed, including me. Only Chloe would have the guts to say something like that in front of all this people, as true as it was.
"She wasn't just a hot girl, she was...she had the most pure and beautiful soul I've ever seen…" she trailed off
"And a fucking bastard, a little shit who has no idea what life is even about, came in, and he took her from me. And he deserves to die for what he did" her voice was raising to a shout by the end of her sentence, and the crowd was going insane with complaints and whispered remarks amongst themselves. So Shakespeare was right, hell really is empty.
"Shit" she said, moving away from the mic. She had held up so well during the service, and even during her amazing speech, but now she had finally cracked, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Chloe stormed away from the service, after having successfully wreaked havoc amongst the crowd and I rushed to follow her.
She was sitting on the grass amongst the tombstones at the back of the cemetery, in a true punk fashion, her back propped against an old gnarly tree, smoking a cigarette with shaky hands, her face covered in tears that she kept frustratingly trying to wipe away with the back of her hand.
"If you came to tell me off about my speech, you can fuck off, Max" she said, without looking at me.
I sat down next to her on the grass
"Tell you off? I wouldn't dream of it. Your speech was amazing, Chloe"
Chloe literally did a double take
"You what now?" that made me chuckle a bit
"I do, I think it was necessary, even. I mean, you saw it, too. All these people who didn't move a finger to find her were dripping alligator tears all over her. It was gross"
Chloe just looked at me, and I grabbed the cigarette from her hand before she could react, and took a puff, coughing a little, which only made her surprised look grow.
"What you did was just a big fuck you to all the people who were being fake. It was so fucking cool. I bet Rachel loved it" I told her
That managed to make Chloe smile a little bit
"She did, huh?"
"She hella did" I said, before passing the cigarette back to her
Of course it wasn't everybody. There were people like Dana, and Keaton, and Hayden who really did care about Rachel and missed her a lot. But it was clear that some others, like Victoria who was making a fool of herself with fake theatrical crying, when we all know she hated Rachel, needed to be told off.
I was wrong about Chloe. Even when she was going through a horrible time, she went up there and was so strong, so brave, surprising everybody. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at all, especially after last week, she had proved time and time again how truly incredible she was. I just wished more people got to see it more often.
After Chloe dropped me off at my dorm, I checked my messages, before going to sleep.
Chloe : hey nerd thanks for today
Chloe : wanna meet tomorrow?
Max : Always. Where are we off to?
Chloe : imma tak ride. youll see
Max : Deal :D
Kate: Thank you so much for today Max ! I'm so lucky to have you as a friend. You're amazing :')
Max: No, YOU are amazing :D !
Warren : So Brooke invited me to the drive-in today? We'll see how that goes.
Warren: I also searched the interwebs for time travel business
Max: You're the best! Talk tomorrow?
A/N: Thanks for reading, peeps! Took me a while since life was being a bit crazy.
Lots of side characters made an appearance in this chapter, but the highlight was probably Rachel's funeral, I think.I know I said things would be more cheerful but I have to get a few things out of the way first (sorry)
Also, I'll stop talking about the music titles (seriously, check them out) and just link the spotify playlist lol
Thanks to everyone who has left comments and is enjoying the story so far!
Next chapter will (hopefully) be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!
