Chapter 6 - Revenge is a Dish Best Served...

Chloe groaned as she came to, she was never a huge fan of mornings, especially when she was still hung over from drinking with Rachel all night. 'Fuck. I drank way too much, barely even remember getting back here.' Chloe racked her brain but it was a bit fuzzy, a blur of vague images flashed through her head including a brief attempt at climbing the drain beside the garage to get up to her window, but that attempt had failed partly as she was too drunk, and partly as she was way heavier than she had been last time she'd had to avoid the front door, struggling to get any further up than the first support rung.

Deciding that it didn't really matter in the end how she'd gotten inside, she laid back against her pillows, her hand rubbing her swollen beer belly. Although she mused it was well beyond a beer belly at this point, feeling how firm and round it still was despite not having eaten yet. Speaking of food, her belly rumbled demanding something to fill it but the fuzzy headed hangover wasn't quite up for the idea of food just yet, the two feelings fighting it out as she let herself get used to being awake again.

The faint noises of occasional passing cars drifted in through the open window could be heard, along with what sounded like a lawn mower from one of the neighbour's yards, but thankfully the house itself was silent. Clearly she'd slept in enough to avoid having to deal with her mother or stepfather this morning. 'Good thing I did, no way I could deal with David today if he tried to start something.'

Finding the energy to finally crawl out of bed, mainly because her bladder decided it was time to make itself known, she kicked off her cover and plodded her way to the bathroom, not bothering to throw on a shirt since the house was empty. Flicking on the overhead light she took care of the necessities before tugging her boxers back up, the waistband folding over under the weight of her gut as she leaned over the sink to splash water on her face.

'Ooof, this has gotten seriously out of control' Chloe let out a whistle at the image in the mirror looking back at her. She knew she had gotten fat this year but she felt like she had crossed a whole new threshold now. Her whole body looked heavy.

While before most of her new weight had settled around her gut and love handles, making her shirts and jeans tighter around her middle than was comfortable a lot of the time, now her arms, thighs, ass, hips, and chest had all plumped up too giving her a solidly filled out look. 'At least the girls still look good, but damn I look fucking huge. I have a double chin for fucks sake.'

Frowning at her reflection she pondered just how much heavier she was now compared to her last weigh in. She knew it was just before their road trip to Portland when she had weighed around the 230lbs, which had taken her over the 100lbs gained mark at that point, but now she wasn't entirely sure beyond knowing it definitely wasn't just a couple of pounds this time. 'Not with the way I've been eating since we got back. Shit, I think I've eaten enough to feed a family some days.'

Seeing the rarely used and dusty mechanical scales propped up beside the sink cabinet Chloe sighed, grumbling to herself, 'Lets get this over with and find out. Not that it'll change anything I know I'm hella fat as fuck.'

Dragging it out to the middle of the floor, Chloe checked that the needle was pointing to zero before taking a step onto the platform. The needle shot round instantly to well into the 200lbs, beyond 230lbs, and higher before bouncing between two lines as she adjusted her position. Letting a moment pass for the needle to settle Chloe leaned forward, peering over her bulging belly to see the dial.

'Can't even say I'm surprised. Rach did warn me I was getting fatter seriously fast, and I chose to ignore her and stuff myself instead,' Chloe grumbled again, she knew she'd been obese for quite a while now, but she'd just put it to the back of her mind since she was enjoying life and her food. Not to mention being happier than she had for years since Max had come back to her, their relationship giving them both the peace they needed to repair the holes in the hearts the absence had formed over those previous five years.

'Good thing Max doesn't seem to mind me being this big, hell if anything she seems pretty comfortable with me being this size and with how much I eat.' Chloe thought as she considered the situation. At least since that belly rub in Portland it was clear that her weight wasn't an issue for them as a couple. She realised now that it had probably contributed to her relaxing even more about her appetite, and seeing that she was now over double her regular weight from last summer, at her now highest ever weight of 256lbs, it was impossible to ignore the impact of the last month. 'I don't think I can stand the thought of trying to diet after getting used to eating like this. Fuck trying to eat rabbit food like Rach does when she's trying to lose weight.'

Chloe continued her complaining about the sheer offensiveness of the thought of trying to follow one of the diet plans that Rachel kept failing at over the last year as she returned to the bedroom. Grabbing a pair of stretchy waisted joggers and the nearest clean t-shirt she quickly pulled them on, finding the joggers nowhere near as baggy as they once had been with how little stretch was left in the waistband, and a shirt that didn't cover the entirety of her belly.

'Whatever, not like much else fits anyway. I'll change before I go out.' she reasoned as she tugged on the shirt some more. After all she was just going to cook breakfast and relax with a joint before she did anything strenuous for the day, besides both Max and Rachel had classes until mid-afternoon so there was no need to rush about this morning.

Entering the kitchen, she was greeted by a note left in the middle of the counter, neatly folded with her name written in the familiar handwriting of her mother. Chloe smiled, knowing it would probably be a combination of motherly affection and guilt tripping at her laziness since being expelled, but she knew her mother was trying her best to be there for her. She felt a brief pang of regret at how hard a time she had given her mother in those earlier years, but what was done was done, no sense torturing herself with the past when it couldn't be changed now, especially since things had become a lot more chill between them in the last year.

'Sorry to leave so suddenly but it's a bit of an emergency. We'll be away for a few days (maybe a week) to visit David's parents as his father isn't well again and it doesn't look good.

You can reach us at the numbers below in case our cell phones are out of service in the mountains, I'll call when we arrive so you know we are safe.

I know you can take care of yourself, but please keep in touch, and if you need me call any time doesn't matter what it is.

Love, Mom x

PS – There's money for food if you need any groceries and you girls can order pizza since I assume Max and Rachel will be staying over as normal, but please try not to eat us out of a home…

PPS – Make sure you do your laundry too. I'm not doing it all when I get back.'

She gave a brief smirk at her mother's comments about her eating habits before the seriousness of the rest of the note caught up to her. She wasn't David's biggest fan but at least he'd get the chance to say goodbye, she knew all too well what it felt like to not have that chance and she wouldn't wish that on even her worst enemy.

That was far too heavy topic to be dealing with at that moment, Chloe thought as she shook her head, regretting it briefly when the fuzziness in her head reasserted itself. First thing was to see what food there was in the fridge then maybe she could think clearer.

As she busied herself with preparing breakfast, grabbing an open pack of bacon and the last 3 eggs in the fridge and putting them in the frying pan, Chloe mulled over the lingering thought about Rachel that kept coming back to her. It had started shortly after her and Max had gotten together but in Portland there had been a few occasions where Rachel seemed to be occupied with something, or scheming but she couldn't pin it down.

Outside the club there had been that overt teasing, and again at the buffet place, and a handful of other instances of Rachel bringing up her weight, but that really wasn't anything new, at least not since she had started really packing it on. What was bugging her that she couldn't work out was what was causing her to withdraw more often, or why she was covering it up, like at the hotel room the night before they had come home.

As she plated up her meal and climbed the stairs, Chloe ran through the events of the last couple of months. The withdrawing wasn't a new thing either, but usually it meant there was something else going on underneath that Rachel wasn't ready to talk about, but Chloe wasn't aware of anything that had happened recently to cause it. The only thing she could think of that was different, besides Rachel needing more space, was that she had been suspiciously eager to share her smoking supplies. Not that she wasn't generous in paying for their weed and a ton of their junk food on occasion, but she hadn't even pretended to complain about doing so since Portland. 'Come to think of it she hasn't really been smoking that much herself recently either, or at least she hasn't rolled any joints from the stuff she's picked up for me now I think about it.'

But even that didn't make as much sense to her she thought, sitting at her desk, alternating between taking a bite of food and rolling her joint into shape. 'Why would Rachel do that? I mean what does she get out of it besides seeing me turning into a blimp? Or is it she's trying to stop herself from indulging too much by enabling me instead?' She wondered for a moment if that was Rachel's plan, since she couldn't lose much weight so would she try to make her and Max fatter too so she seemed slimmer in comparison. After all Rachel was more than capable of playing games like that if the mood took her, but she still couldn't work it out. Maybe it would be easier to get her head round what was happening if they were hanging out, plus she could always turn the tables a bit on Rachel, tempt her into indulging just the same.

Finishing her meal, she rested back in her chair, one hand idly patting her belly as she lit the joint between her lips. Taking a deep drag and enjoying the burn of the smoke as it went down, a plan formulating in her mind. 'No need to confront her, just gotta use her self-assured nature against her so she doesn't suspect it and maybe she'll show her hand, or maybe I could at least give her a taste of her own medicine.'

With her idea taking shape, Chloe fired off a couple of quick texts, offering to pick her girlfriend and friend up after classes and have a pizza/movie night. She had several hours to herself before she needed to be anywhere now though and with the weed taking effect, and her belly filled she felt the familiar warmth spread from her core. She knew exactly what she needed to take care of that, it was just a shame Max wasn't here to give her a hand she thought as she returned to the bed, her hand sliding past her ever tightening waist band.

It was early evening when the door to the Price-Madsen household slammed open, bouncing off the wall and rattling the nearby photo frames, a loud cacophony of giggling and excitable chatter followed as the trio barrelled through the entryway. Although Chloe had gone to pick Max and Rachel up a couple of hours earlier, she'd been unable to withstand the pouting and puppy dog eyes they had turned on her and found herself acting as their chauffeur driving them between locations so they could get the shots they needed for their photography project.

With their brief trip around town finished it was time to relax while they looked over their work. The suggestion of ordering pizza right away was unanimously agreed on since all three of them were feeling hungry after all that wandering around. Grabbing the phone Chloe called in their usual order, making sure to order extras while the others were distracted as they sorted through their photos at the kitchen table, the two for one vouchers she'd grabbed earlier coming in handy.

'Step one, order pizza, step two… snacks' Chloe smirked to herself as she headed toward the fridge. All the driving and wandering around had made her thirsty, plus she knew Rachel wouldn't be able to resist a cool refreshing soda either, perfect sugar bomb for all the carbs to come.

"Hey Chloe, take a look at this one," Rachel called out as she held up one of Max's polaroids toward the punk. "It's awesome, Max got such a great shot of that doe beside the trail."

Chloe carefully placed down her armful of snacks and drinks on the table before turning her focus the polaroid, taking it from Rachel. She was right, it was an amazing shot, the sun was causing deep shadows from the trees as the orange glow from the golden hour washed over the forest, the young doe looking calmly over the surrounding area.

"Correction, this is hella awesome Max," Chloe added, her heart swelling as she saw Max's eyes light up, her grin widening as she spotted Rachel and Max digging into the bags of crisps without thinking about it. "You gonna use it for your project?"

"I was just lucky she stood still long enough for me to take it," Max demurred, as much as she was getting better at taking compliments she couldn't help her immediate response even though she blushed at the praise from them both. Adding as she shook her head, "Doesn't quite fit the theme unfortunately, I just had to take the chance while she was there."

"Can I keep it then?" Chloe asked already planning to add it to her growing collection of Max Caulfield originals on the wall beside her bed.

A loud buzz of the doorbell cut through the joyful rabble as the three sat chatting enthusiastically about the plans for the next few months before exam season kicked in for Max and Rachel, which so far amounted to vague suggestions of locations for another road trip when it warmed up some more.

"I'll get it," Chloe announced as she stood up passing off the freshly rolled joint to Rachel before clearing the crumbs from where they had fallen during her earlier snacking and tugging her shirt back down around her gut. Calling over her shoulder as she went, "Clear some space would you!"

"Fuck, I've been looking forward to this all day," Rachel exclaimed as the smell of the freshly melted cheese wafted through the house. She'd been trying to be good for the past week but after a busy day and a light lunch her appetite was stirring again.

"Me too," Max agreed, as she neatly stacked the photographs and placed them back into her satchel for safekeeping, making room for the boxes Chloe had returned with. While Max wasn't on a diet, she had forgotten to eat lunch owing to her focus on her project so she was definitely hungry too.

"And make that three," Chloe added as she placed the boxes down carefully and began to open them up. "Dig in."

"Uh, did they send us someone else's order by mistake?" Rachel asked quizzically seeing the number of boxes filling up the dining table.

"Nah, I was just hungry as fuck and figured we needed to treat ourselves, besides we can always leave some for leftovers for tomorrow," Chloe responded as casually as she could, although Rachel briefly narrowed her eyes trying to read her, but ultimately was distracted by the food in front of her grabbing a massive slice overloaded with toppings.

From there the night progressed merrily, a mix of excited chatting, playing games, and dancing to music played as loud as they could without annoying the neighbours since Chloe's stepfather wasn't there to tell them off. Chloe's old Nintendo hadn't been used as much in years, but they took turns playing with the majority of the trash talking being done by Rachel and Chloe as they tried to run each other off the track, allowing Max to swoop by for the victory despite her more careful driving style of not cutting corners.

Max was the first to succumb to the need for sleep as she excused herself to change into her pyjamas while Chloe rolled one last joint for the night. Carefully packing the joint as Rachel began sorting the empty pizza boxes, condensing the leftovers to fit in the fridge. It seemed that while they had made a decent dent to what was ordered, Rachel commenting that they still had enough for a snack or part of lunch each the next day.

Seeing an opportunity, Chloe smirked. As much as she'd had just as much practice at rolling as Rachel, her joints were never quite as neat and tidy, but they packed a punch just the same and knew this would do the trick just fine. Those leftovers were about to become a well after midnight snack for them both.