Max caught up with the duo right outside the entrance to the dorms. Warren was sitting against a tree and shaking his head, while Chloe slowly paced back and forth on the grass.
Max went right to the punk and gently grabbed her shoulder. "Chloe.."
"Why'd you stop him, Max?" the girl spun right around, speaking with an even voice that did nothing to hide the bleeding anger underneath. "Why'd you stop Warren from beating Fuckscott up?"
"I rewound."
In an instant, Chloe's demeanor had changed. "Okay, tell me what happened then."
"I, um…" Max froze.
"Max?"
"I…didn't stop Warren the first time and he kicked Prescott's butt real bad…"
"Fuck yeah!" Chloe cheered under her breath. "But why rewind? Don't tell me you didn't want that bitch on the floor too."
"It wasn't that…" Max took a step back and tried to compose herself. "It was…it was you, Chloe."
The punk's eyes widened. "Oh crap, what'd I do?"
"You…" Max found herself unable to talk. Neither of them spoke. The world around them breathed, vibrant with noises and colors; the world both of them were in was devoid of both, stuck in suspenseful static.
Max finally found the strength to speak. "I…I can't tell you, Chlo," she whined pathetically. It was only by some miracle tears hadn't flown for her eyes yet.
Chloe was up in her personal space in a heartbeat, gripping her shoulders firmly, but gently. "Fuck- Max, Max, look at me," she spoke quietly and the grip on her heart lessened when the hipster's blues met her own. "Look, whatever the hell it was I- crap, the other I - did that upset you this bad, I'm sorry, 'kay? You know I lose my head sometimes," she shrugged, "especially with Prickscott involved."
Max smiled, and a shy smile appeared on Chloe's face in return. "Well, at least we got him to talk…kind of."
Chloe raised her eyebrow. "Oh?"
"It wasn't much, but…he mentioned "Prescott barn, just outside of town". Supposedly there's something there," Max grabbed Chloe's hand, "Something that's linked to both Kate and Rachel."
Unsurprisingly, the blue-haired girl was thrilled. "Holy crap, jackpot! Did he say what was there?"
"Um…no. I had to rewind after that."
Before Chloe could retort, a familiar voice spoke behind them.
"Soo…you okay, girls?"
Today was an Epic Win in Warren's book.
Help Max and her friend out? Check.
Butt heads (literally!) with Prescott and come out on top? Double check.
Get your handsomely beaten face speed-drawn by a very-grateful Daniel DaCosta after telling him what had happened while riding an adrenaline high? Triple fucking check!
Okay, his head still hurt a bit and Warren was pretty sure he would have a mark on his forehead for the foreseeable future, but who cared? Felt great to be a winner in a contest of brawn, not just brain, for once.
"Have a look," Daniel's soft accented voice broke him out of his thoughts. Warren did just that, and his jaw dropped.
"Holy crap, dude, this rocks!"
Warren Graham was a man - okay, he was still a boy, but after recent events he damn well deserved to be called a man – of science, but even he could appreciate good artist's work.
Daniel's steady hand had captured all of him as if the guy was a living camera: all the details of his young face, down to the tiny wrinkles and the exact shape of hematoma on his face, were succinct and precise.
Blackwell was full of incredible talents; it just didn't make sense why those talents had to be bullied the most.
"I think this is my finest work yet," Daniel spoke with quiet awe in his voice, "The inspiration's really hit me."
Warren flashed his signature toothy smile, "Well, pleased to be your model. Us nerds gotta stick together, right."
Daniel nodded back. "This will be the highlight of my gallery, I just know it. Dios Mio, Warren, thank you. For Nathan and for this."
"Hey man, don't worry about it. You do you." Warren got off the ground with a slight grunt. "Okay, I'm gonna go check on Max and Chloe now," he extended his fist and was off when Daniel somewhat awkwardly bumped it.
Max and Chloe were furiously whispering about something, and some part of Warren hoped it was about him. Clearing his throat to get rid of any residual anxiety, the boy tried to get their attention.
"Soo…you okay, girls?"
Nailed it. He totally got this.
Max and Chloe turned around. The sheer admiration in Max's eyes was…crap, he had to keep it together. Warren Graham'd beat the biggest bully in school for fuck's sake!
"Listen…that was intense," Max started. "Warren, thank you so much."
Warren's stomach and legs felt weird and weak. Fuck, he didn't got it at all.
Despite himself, the boy managed a relatively steady "For what?".
That's where Chloe butted in: "For beating the shit out of Nathan Prescott? Dude, you rule."
Damn it, why was he so bad at accepting praise? No, wait, he was fine at accepting praise – from Ms. Grant, for example – but it was Max praising him, and Chloe was just adding fuel to the fire. The same fire that burned in his cheeks now, which he tried (and failed) to cover up with his signature head scratch.
"I dunno, I kinda went crazy in there…like Nathan." That was true – the adrenaline was gone now and Warren didn't feel nearly as good as he did just a few minutes ago.
"You're not anything like him," Max touched him in reassurance, except it all it did was ignite a fire in the back of his neck that he tried to extinguish with his hand.
"Good to know," Warren muttered simply. God, he was grateful that his mouth, for once, was in complete agreement in his brain. "So, where're you going? I better stick with you guys," the boy asked hopefully, "juust in case you need me to get my Hulk on again. Or should I call cops on Nathan?"
The girls looked at each other and Warren just about got the message.
"No police," Max said firmly, "not yet. But…maybe you can-"
Her partner was as blunt as ever. "Warren, me and Max need to do this on our own. No offense."
Warren shrugged and started moving away, even as his heart dropped, "It's cool. Whatever I can do to help."
"Wait!" Max stopped the boy, as both he and Chloe looked at the girl in surprise. "You can still help us, Warren! Do you," she hesitated, "know anything about a Prescott owned barn outside Arcadia Bay?"
A Prescott owned barn outside the city? How would he know anything about that? Still, Warren Graham wasn't one to back up from a challenge. "Well, no? But, I mean, if it's Prescott's stuff, especially property, there should be info about it online, right?"
Chloe frowned. "Dude, it's Prescotts. Shady shit is practically their motto. Wouldn't be surprised if there was fuck-all about it online."
"Well, can't hurt to try and look it up, right?" Warren offered a half-smile.
Chloe wasn't intent on returning it. "Warren, dude, thanks for effort but I don't think-"
"Chloe," Max said, and it was a bit funny to see the owner of the name stop in her tracks, "I would've agreed with you before, but now I think we could really use more people we can trust on his." She turned to Warren and offered him a warm smile, "and I trust you, Warren."
Annd his cheeks burned ever so slightly again. "Well, what can I say? I'd trust me too. I'm a trustworthy guy." Thankfully, his brain was still on the same wavelength as his tongue.
Chloe rolled her eyes, "Sheesh, okay. Let's move to Max's room. Dunno 'bout you, but I don't want Pisscott waving his piece in our faces for the second time today." She strode past both of them.
Warren chuckled to himself. The day wasn't over yet.
The trio's plan to sneak back into Max's dorm room failed quite spectacularly, when Chloe's favorite stepfather had decided to investigate a disturbance within the girls' dormitory. Pretty sad turn of events, Warren could admit, even more so when his favorite photographer had a sudden headache and explained that they wouldn't be able to sneak past Mr. Madsen no matter what.
A bit of a pessimistic outlook, but Warren Graham only shrugged. There was still his dorm room, right?
Back to the boys' dorm it was, then. Tiptoeing around Prescott's room, the boy opened his door for Max and Chloe. His home for the foreseeable future.
"Welcome to my humble…" Warren started and choked up.
His home, which he hadn't cleaned up in the slightest. Shit.
"…abode."
"Damn, dude" Chloe whistled, looking around his homestead disaster. "Your room's kind of a mess."
Well, she wasn't wrong. He was a man of science, and they were known to be less…than organized in day-to-day life. Clothes (most of them, thankfully, relatively clean) littered the floor just as surely as both closed and half-opened textbooks, notebooks and formulae sheets littered his worktable, just as sure as movie posters and lame memes littered every available inch of his walls.
"Ow! What the fuck, hipster?" Warren heard the punk's voice behind him as he desperately collected clothes and trash off the floor and tried really hard not to mix up where each of them had to go.
"Don't act like your room's any better," Max's voice perked up next. "And don't worry about it, Warren. At least your room actually has clean clothes. And has no two-days-old pizza leftovers lying right next to the entrance."
"First off: screw you Max, like, literally," the girls' banter continued as Warren fixed the mess on his table, "the pizza wasn't that close to the door."
"It so was!"
"Psh, yeah, whatever. And second: I wasn't judging; more...admiring."
"Well, hope I didn't disappoint," Warren turned around to the sight of Chloe idly eyeing his movie posters and Max, bless her and her soul, picking up the books he'd missed off the floor.
"Not in the slightest. This is a real cozy nerd cave you got her. Wait-a-sec," Chloe zeroed in on something. "Blade Runner?" Her orbs met his own. "You a fan?"
Warren saw the the glint in her eyes and knew exactly what it was. He grinned, "Guilty as charged. Cyberpunk's awesome."
"Hah! Word, brother!" Chloe offered a fistbump and he happily accepted it.
The familiar snap of a familiar Polaroid shook them out of their combined nerd ecstasy.
"Now that this moment…won't…be lost in time," Max chirped with a sly smile, shaking the brand-new photo, "we really need that information on the Prescott barn. Nerds."
"Says the photography nerd," Chloe shot back.
Warren made for his laptop but froze a moment later, turning back to Max. "Hold on, did you just-"
"We watched Blade Runner countless times when we were kids," Chloe's voice reached him, "but I'm still hella more nerd about it than Max, and I ain't afraid to admit it."
"Holy crap." Warren breathed out. Max Caulfield really was the best thing ever.
"Guys," said girl made her way over, "the barn. Please."
Okay, crap, time to get his head in the game. "I'm on it."
As it turned out, he didn't have to be. A minute's Google search came up with just the location originally owned by none other than Henry Aaron Prescott, and a five minute query on Google Maps around Arcadia Bay area had them spot what really looked like a barn, about a mile north of town's limits.
"Think that's it, Max?" Chloe asked, staring intently at the screen.
"I hope so. I mean, we didn't find anything else, so I'd hope so."
Warren got up off the chair, loudly popping his joints. "So, we're going? I am going, right?"
Chloe huffed in response, "Dude, you had me sold when I saw the movie poster. Anyone who likes Blade Runner is a guy, or a chick, is dope in my book."
"So if Nathan Prescott were to like the movie, you'd be BFFs with him?" Max teased from the sidelines.
"Ew, Caulfield! Really, just- Ew! Ew ew ew!"
Neither Max nor Warren could hold back their laughter as Chloe Price scrounched her face in disgust and bolted from the room.
"So, Chloe's got her own wheels?"
"She does, Warren. She got my butt out of the parking lot on Monday, remember?"
Warren scratched his head. "Oh, yeah, right. But to be fair, the first thing on my mind back then was Prescott's fists on my face. Heh."
"Sorry, Warren, I didn't mean it like that."
"I know you didn't," he turned to her and grinned. "Don't worry about it, Max."
"YO, NERDS! QUIT BEING LOVEY-DOVEY AND GET OVER HERE!" Chloe's booming shout drew more than a few confused glances in Blackwell's front yard. The girl herself was sitting in the car of her beat-up truck, smoking a cigarette without a care in the world. Before she could draw even more attention to them, Max and Warren were already fast on their way to the truck.
"Wow," Warren said, getting close. He could freely admit he didn't have the best wheels on campus – his family was well-off, not rich, and the boy himself didn't really want an expensive car for the fear of crashing it. Chloe's car, though, looked like it was put together in a junkyard only to serve as a rusty piece of decór. "Nice, uh..ride."
Chloe eyed him and took a drag. "It's a piece of shit, dude, I know. Don't sweat it. You can say it out loud, I won't care. Anyone in this hickhole of a town can call it out, I won't care, 'cause it's true. What I do care about," she threw the cigarette out of the window, "is that I found this bitch discarded at a junkyard. And I fixed it with my hands. And I am hella-fucking-proud of it."
"I know you are, Chloe," Max spoke up. "And I am proud of you too, you know? It… can't have been easy putting all this junk into working shape."
Chloe sighed. "Yeah. Just wish you were there to help me out." Warren didn't miss how the girl winced at that. "So we know where we're going?" the punk stretched her hands as both Max and, reluctantly, Warren, got inside the truck.
Max grabbed her phone. "Yup, got the map right here. I'll tell you when and where to turn."
"Cool," Warren felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as the Chloe used a screwdriver for an ignition key, "let's rumble then."
The truck started up with a loud clap, and they were off. The boy subconsciously expected it to fall apart somewhere in the vicinity of "Two Whales", but the thing held steadfast, getting them out of the city limits quite comfortably.
The trip was done in comfortable silence, but curiosity gnawed at Warren's mind. Why this place? And why were the girls so invested in it?
"Sooo…," he started and instantly cringed internally at the flawless delivery, "since I'm tagging along, anyone mind telling me why that barn's so important."
"Oh, you know…" Chloe drawled, focused on the road, "just checking the joint out."
"Yeah, just…you know. Looking for a place to have fun," Max supported her awkwardly.
Warren got the slightest idea that they were bullshitting him. After Max'd told him she trusted him.
"Okay," he shrugged, hoping they wouldn't hear the hurt in his voice. Evidently he didn't do it well, because Max looked it him with worry in her eyes, then switched to Chloe, some unspoken conversation between them. In the end, Chloe relented and with a "Go for it" continued driving.
"Warren," Max spoke with serious voice, "Something really shady's going on at Blackwell…and we think – we know – that Nathan Prescott is connected to it…to why Kate almost killed herself and to why Rachel Amber disappeared. The barn's connected to it all somehow."
Warren sat up straight at the revelation. He felt like he'd been doused with cold water out of nowhere.
"Huh," was all he could muster. Max nodded wordlessly.
"Cards are out on the table now, Graham," Chloe spoke evenly from behind the wheel, "I won't lie, this is some serious shit we're in. If you want out, I'll park and you can get out, no hard feelings…but you're gonna hitchhike, or just hike, your ass back to Blackwell on your own. Sorry."
"No," Warren replied with surprising conviction, "Kate's my friend too, y'know? I want to help you guys help her. And Rachel…she was...I mean, when I first got to Blackwell, I was just a dumb fifteen year-old in a school full of seniors and-and I was so out of my freaking element back then I wanted to cry…and she just," he threw his hands in the air, "came up to me outta nowhere, introduced herself and showed me around…helped me out when nobody gave a shit."
Max tentatively put a hand on Warren's knee. It helped calm his nerves. In the background, he could hear Chloe breathing heavily.
Warren shook his head. "And now that she's up and disappeared…Blackwell just isn't the same. Everybody knows it and feels it. Fuck…if you guys got a lead on where Rachel might've gone, I'm in all the way."
Heavy silence reigned in the car.
Chloe broke it. "Fuck, she really was nice to everyone, wasn't she," she spoke in a slightly shaky voice. "Rachel was the one to help me fix this hunk o' junk too. Maybe-," she sniffed, "when we find her, she, you, Max, and I – maybe we'll turn this truck into a real chariot together, yeah?"
"We'll find her, I promise," Max said soothingly.
"Yeah, we…we will," Warren agreed lamely. "Just please don't force me to work on this car together with you guys later."
Chloe grabbed onto the joke like a lifeline and laughed hard. "Oh, no promises, dude! Bet you can't handle this much estrogen in one place regardless!"
"Chloe, you're, like, half made of testosterone yourself," Max jumped in, eager to offer her friend a distraction as well.
"Oh, shut up, hippie!" Chloe swung her arm blindly in Max's direction, still laughing.
Max's phone beeped.
"Well, if I were to shut up, I wouldn't be able to tell you to take a left…here," the girl pointed to a dirt road.
A road that led right to a large, decrepit barn house.
"Well, shit," Chloe breathed out as she halted her truck to a stop in front of the doors. "We're here."
