A/N: As you may notice right off the bat, I switched to third person POV. I realize it's probably a big no-no to do that, but I like this kind of POV better and I think it'll make the story better too. This is going to be a two part chapter. It's also going to be the most Pricefield chapter I've written so far. Part 2 coming within the next couple of days. Sorry about the wait… again.

Chapter 6: The Troll (1/2)

CHLOE:

Chloe could see nothing but fluffy orange clouds through the tiny square window. The further the clouds got from the rising sun, the whiter they became. Nighttime completely evaporated as she sat in a passenger plane, unable to stop her racing thoughts from nearly spiraling out of control.

There was no doubt about it. Max and Chloe loved each other, so much so that they were willing to admit their feelings in a moment of mutual impulsiveness. But it seemed it wasn't gonna be so easy. Beyond their initial confessions and flirtation towards each other, it never really went further than that. Chloe failed to find a reason why. All she could do was speculate.

The only conclusion she could come to was that the distance between them made it difficult to make any further moves, like being too far away from a chess piece to reach it.

But now Chloe was closing that distance.

The entire prospect was terrifying. What does one do when they're crushing on their far away best friend, and make the discovery that the feeling is shared?

All of this thought tired her to the point her eyelids couldn't stay open. It didn't help the fact that it was an early flight and that she had to wake up even earlier to make it to Portland on time, accounting for breakfast and other preparations. Joyce handled the breakfast and the driving, of course. One could argue that she was twice as spent as her daughter.

But Joyce had the house to herself now, and could sleep undisturbed.

Chloe shut her eyes and fell asleep to the subtle vibrations of the plane. Thankfully, she didn't have to share a row with anybody.

It had been her 15th birthday not even a week before and as expected, she received a multitude of gifts - including a very sweet card from Max, which contained a bit of money. Chloe didn't tell Max what she wanted, because she honestly didn't know.

It was also spring break. Initially, Chloe planned to visit over the summer but when the opportunity arose, she pounced on it.

This, she felt, was a well needed but probably ill-deserved getaway. Her grades had officially gone down the shitter - from straight A's to borderline failing. She had become disillusioned with what Blackwell had to offer and just stopped trying.

Joyce became very worried about her daughter's grades and scheduled appointments with the school guidance counselor. Chloe loathed every moment of it, from being treated like a child, to having to do tedious writing activities. When they tried to make her write about William, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. She refused to cooperate any further.

It caused her to have a crying fit in the counselor's office… some counselor, huh? Needless to say, she was left alone after that.

Well, left alone by all but one person.

David Madsen, the increasingly pervasive boyfriend of her Mom's, who didn't get along so well with Chloe.

As it turned out, David was unemployed, living off the disability check he got for his injuries and emotional trauma in the Army. Chloe actually respected his service - but the respect stopped there.

He was worming his way into her life more and more, trying to control every aspect of it as if Chloe were another one of his soldiers. Or at least she saw it this way.

David Madsen did try to make her stand at attention for back-talking him, though, which only warranted some stronger words from Chloe. So perhaps her way of perceiving things was not far from the truth.

Chloe's nap was brief. A flight announcement stirred her out of her sleep.

"Attention passengers: We are beginning our initial descent, please remain seated and be sure your seatbelts are properly buckled. Thank you for flying with Air America."

The seatbelt lights came on with a 'boop' sound, and she pulled hers taut, ears popping from the changes in altitude.

The landing was smooth.

Chloe's luggage was so damn heavy, stuffed full of every article of clothing she couldn't bear not to bring. Her wardrobe evolved alongside her changing music taste, going from cutesy shirts to thrash and death metal shirts. She'd also gone through the trouble of intentionally putting holes in almost every pair of jeans she owned, and how could she forget her beanie? The one that just so happened to be on her head right then.

She was definitely getting more involved with the metal scene, and she'd be damned if she ever cut her hair short.

She walked around, lost. All she had to do was find Max and her family. Didn't seem that easy when a fluid crowd moved around her, making it difficult to find anybody. Max hadn't responded to any of Chloe's texts yet.

The luggage didn't have any wheels, they'd broken off somehow. She struggled to carry it with her skinny arms, as her muscles became increasingly sore. An escalator to a lower level was a welcome relief as she boarded it, allowing the luggage to sit on the steps while she shook out her arms.

As the escalator descended, Chloe could make out a group of people holding signs, standing behind some sort of railing. One of the signs immediately caught her attention.

CHOLE

She did a double take and found the sign did in fact say CHOLE on it, beginning to laugh when she saw who was holding it: Max Caulfield, sporting a cheesy grin, parents by her side.

Refreshingly, Max was still a smartass.

Chloe skipped down the last few steps of the escalator, carrying her luggage above the ground; it felt slightly lighter than before.

In what felt like an instant, she stood before the shorter girl and her parents. Max was the same as she'd always been: small, shy, unassuming… and still cute as hell.

'Damn, I must look really different to her. She's probably all like, 'Whoa, who are you and what did you do with Chloe?''

Chloe tried to make as straight a face as possible, but still smiled. "Chole, huh?"

Max dropped the white cardboard sign and hugged her over the waist high railing, catching her by surprise.

Chloe chuckled - noticing how Max stood on her tiptoes, and fully embraced her best friend. "Damn, somebody's glad to see me."

Max chirped, hugging her tighter. "Seriously glad."

"Glad to see you too, Max. Glad to hug you, also." She glanced past Max's hair and saw her parents standing together, smiling at the tender moment in front of them. Lifting a hand from Max's back, she waved at them with another warm smile on her face. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield."

Ryan spoke first, quickly followed by Vanessa.

"Hey there, Chloe."

"Hiya, sweetheart."

Max let go of Chloe and the group continued to exchange warm greetings and hugs between themselves. Chloe was nearing a mushiness overload, but her current elation distracted her from it.

Ryan ended up carrying Chloe's luggage. To him, it took little effort.

Max and Chloe held hands on the way to the car.

The restaurant had a nautical vibe to it: seafood. Damn good seafood, at that. Its smell filled the crowded dining establishment.

They'd gone out for an afternoon "dinner" after Chloe was introduced to the Caulfield residence, leaving her luggage in Max's room. The sleeping situation was already figured out: a shared bed.

'Cause why the hell not?

"So, how's Joyce been doing?" Asked Ryan from the other end of the table, dabbing a napkin on his shirt where he'd stained it with dropped cocktail sauce.

"Mmm," Chloe hummed, swallowing the grilled salmon in her mouth. "Pretty good, she's been really busy with waitressing."

'She's also been really busy with Sergeant Shithead...'

He nodded. "Joyce is a true hard worker, wish I could say the same for myself." A titter and another forkful of food escaped and entered his mouth simultaneously.

Chloe wished she could say the same for herself.

They sat at that table arranged as one would expect: Vanessa sat beside Ryan and Max sat beside Chloe.

Vanessa poked Ryan in the side with her finger, smirking. "But you do work hard… at slacking off."

He smiled, slightly showing his teeth, shaking his head and continuing to eat.

The Caulfields weren't the most talkative bunch and in a strange way, Chloe liked that about them, because it meant whatever they did say was usually a well thought out remark.

Max was happily enjoying her own food, delicately taking her time to eat it.

"So… how's the lobster?" Chloe asked her in an attempt to conversate, while Ryan and Vanessa talked amongst themselves.

"Lobstery… very lobstery." She tore a chunk of lobster flesh from a claw and held it to Chloe between her fingers.

Slightly hesitating, Chloe took it using her mouth and with relief, found that Max had intended for her to.

She chewed it and swallowed. "Hmm, look where livin' like Larry got him."

Max giggled and resumed eating, affectionately eying Chloe once in a while, while the taller girl continued to eat.

Finishing her food some time later, Chloe set her fork on the plate. "So, what's there to do in Seattle together?"

Her smaller best friend took a sip of her soft drink. "Sooo many things. But as a start, we could maybe go to the Fremont neighborhood? Buncha quirky stuff over there."

"Quirky? Like what?"

"One word: Hipster."

"Heh, alright. But you gotta give me more to go on than that." Chloe took a sip of her own drink.

Max tapped her fingers on the table. "You… you know Vladimir Lenin, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there's a statue of him in… in… " She trailed off, staring ahead, white as a ghost.

'What the fuck?'

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows, concerned by Max's sudden change in demeanor. "Yo… Max? You alright?"

Her breathing went shallow, eyes wide with fear. "I-I need to get out of here."

"Dude, what the hell is going on?"

Max got up from her seat and addressed her parents with a shaky voice, "I'm going to the bathroom, b-be right back…"

Ryan and Vanessa noticed the anxiety in their daughter but before they could ask her anything, she walked away, running her hands through her hair - in the complete opposite direction of the bathroom, out through the front door of the restaurant.

They both began to get up, but Chloe stopped them, holding a hand out and standing up. "Hey, I'll go talk to her. Just… stay."

She rushed out the door and found Max sitting on the steps leading to the entrance, arms crossed against her stomach with a bowed head. Chloe's heart sank at Max's appearance, sitting beside her while the smaller girl took deep breaths. The cool wind made the situation feel that much more unsettling.

"Max… talk to me."

She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just… I saw somebody."

"Who?"

"It's not important."

"Not important? Then why the hell are…" Chloe stopped herself and reworded what she was saying. "I mean… why does seeing somebody make you freak like this?"

"A girl's bullying me, okay?" She mumbled, reopening her eyes.

Chloe's mouth fell open and closed a few times, before she was able to say, "You- you haven't told me about this... why?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Max, you said you're being bullied. I can't sit by and let that happen to you. Tell me who she is and what she looks like. Now."

Her voice cracked as tears came closer to escaping, "Please, just drop it. I'm begging you."

Chloe snorted, standing up. "Fuck it. I'll find her myself, whether you tell me what she looks like or not."

Max shot up to her feet, raising her voice and balling her fists. "Chloe, stop!"

Her tone softened, grabbing both of Chloe's wrists. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this. I just thought I could handle it alone." She sighed. "Look how that turned out."

"Then please let me help you. Show me who it is."

She let go of Chloe's wrists, pressing her lips together and walking to the entrance; Chloe followed, preparing herself for a confrontation with… she didn't even know who yet.

Chloe opened the door for Max, asking, "What's this fucker's name?"

"Emma."

The door closed behind them and Max pointed towards a girl sitting at a table, with who was assumably her grey-haired father. "That's her right there, the redheaded girl."

Chloe cracked her neck, steeliness in her voice, "Be right back."

She approached, going through a plan in her head.

'She's with her dad. Maybe I can get her in trouble if I bring up the fact she's a bully… if her dad doesn't already know.'

Using the fakest, most polite voice she could, Chloe asked, "Excuse me, Sir, are you Emma's father?"

He looked up. "Yes, I am."

"Are you aware your daughter has been bullying my best friend?" Chloe shot a fiery glance at Emma.

She crossed her arms, all but growling out, "Who are you and what are are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Max Caulfield. You go to her school, right?"

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Dad, can you tell this chick to go away?"

He held up his hand. "Wait, Emma. Is this true?"

"No! I don't know what she's talking about!"

Chloe interjected, "Yes, it's true, and I'd like her to stop f…" She swallowed and held back the barrage of curse words. "To stop."

He narrowed his eyes at Emma. "Now I know what those calls from your school are about. You're in serious trouble, young lady."

Not knowing what calls he was referring to, Chloe kept her mouth shut, grinning ever so slightly.

Emma mouthed towards Chloe, "You are so dead."

Chloe sneered. "Say that louder."

The other girl slammed her fists on the table. "You are so dead!"

The restaurant went quiet.

Her dad widened his eyes in shock at her behavior. "Emma, wait 'til your mother hears about this." He turned to Chloe. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

'Fuck yeah, I did it.'

She walked with a smug grin towards Max, who was biting her nails some distance away.

"So… how'd it go?"

"She's in trouble with her dad." Chloe glanced back towards Emma's table, seeing her dad was scolding her.

Fear crossed Max's face. "C-Chloe… she's just gonna take it out on me."

"Not if I have anything to do with it. Does anybody else know you're being bullied?"

She shook her head. "Nobody except you and my friend, Kristen."

"Can I meet her?"

"Uh… yeah, I guess."

"Good."

Max's bed felt heavenly, like lying on top of a cloud. But for Chloe, that isn't really what made it so great: It was the fact that her crush lie in bed with her, facing her. Their eyes locked together as they talked the night away; The moon shined through the bedroom windows, allowing for just enough light to clearly make out the features on Max's face.

Her eyes, Chloe felt most enamored with.

"...and that's why they're not making another Hawt Dawg Man game."

"That sucks," Max mutedly said.

The pair'd had a great time over the rest of that evening. But in the back of Chloe's mind, she thought about Max's apparent bully, infuriated that anybody would even dare fuck with her.

She couldn't help but think, 'Whoever doesn't like Max… there's something wrong with 'em.'

Chloe, with her most gentle voice, asked, "Max, do your parents know about the shit with Emma?"

Max moved a strand of hair from her own face. "They have no clue."

"That… that's not good, dude."

"I'd just prefer they didn't know."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Not know that you're miserable at school? Come on, you can't just keep this bottled up. It's gonna keep building up inside of you until you can't take it anymore."

"I should go tell them, shouldn't I?"

"Uh, yeah… as soon as possible."

Max slightly changed the subject, sweetening her voice, "I didn't say it earlier, but thank you for sticking up for me, Chloe."

Chloe smiled. "It's the least I can do."

'Not gonna say this, Max, but if you let me, I would've kicked her ass right then and there.'

Max asked, "So, how's Blackwell going?"

'Damn… I was hoping she wouldn't ask me that.'

"Do you want the most honest answer I can give you?"

"Mhm."

Chloe scratched her chin, voice riddled with bitterness, "It's going shit. My grades are fucked and I'm officially the school troublemaker."

"What happened? I thought you were excited about going there."

"Yeah, I was. But shit changes, I guess."

Max shifted around on the bed, ending up slightly closer to Chloe. "You know, I wasn't gonna say anything, but you've changed a bit. I mean, what does your shirt say?"

"Cannibal Corpse."

"And that's a band?"

Chloe smirked. "Yeah, death metal."

Max lifted her head from the pillow, hair hanging and still making contact with it. "Name a song for me?"

"Uh... Hammer Smashed Face."

She furrowed her brows with widened eyes. "Whoa…"

Chloe sighed. "Look, if you're gonna lecture me, don't. My Mom and her douchebag boyfriend already do that."

"Wha… wait, Joyce found a boyfriend?"

"Oh shit, I haven't told you, have I?"

"Uh-uh."

Chloe rubbed her forehead, sighing. "Sorry. He's some ex-Army drill sergeant asshole, and my Mom is in love with him."

"Yikes."

"Right? H-hey, I know I brought it up, but I kinda want to stop talking about negative stuff. I don't want this shit hanging over us."

"Sounds like a great idea." One corner of her mouth turned up. "I don't think any amount of negativity is gonna ruin my week with you, though."

"Max, I've never been happier. We're gonna have a bomb-ass week together."

Her head fell back upon the pillow, dreamily sighing. "I love you, Chloe."

"Love you, too."

They both scooted closer to each other. Their breaths synchronized, ratcheting the tension within Chloe to eleven. Her heart pounded and she couldn't take it anymore. She slowly leaned in, closing her eyes, lips nearly connecting.

"I-I'm sorry…" Max pulled back, biting her lip.

Chloe tried again, quickly planting a kiss on her cheek, which Max seemed more open to. "Goodnight, Max."

"Goodnight."

They snuggled beneath the blanket. Chloe fell asleep first.

MAX:

Dim light reflected off the puddles that dotted the sidewalk, as Max walked along it, holding hands with Chloe; their arms swung together.

The sky was overcast; it had just rained, but this didn't stop them from going on a morning walk in the neighborhood before Max's parents had woken up. It was pleasantly breezy, and the smell of fresh rain filled the air. Chattering birds echoed their calls.

All the houses were fairly close together, being smaller in size, but stylish in the sense they were popular with younger families. Located in West Seattle, it happened to be one of the more laid-back areas of the city, and its residents were proud of that.

From where Max and Chloe were in the tree lined neighborhood, it was a fifteen minute walk to what was popularly dubbed "The Junction," a walkable community center full of family friendly restaurants and boutiques - not to mention hipster frequented bars.

They didn't plan to be there for long. Earlier that morning, Max had texted Kristen in hopes of meeting up with her, since she also lived in the area; they agreed on a hip coffee shop.

Max's messenger bag was slung across her body, containing the Polaroid camera Chloe had gifted her. She planned to take a bunch of pictures of her and Chloe - but none of just herself, she wasn't particularly fond of those.

Chloe ran her free hand through her hair, speaking in an upbeat tone, "I like it here. Seriously, I do."

Max responded with a similar tone, "Me too, but I'll always love Arcadia Bay."

Chloe halted, keeping hold of Max's hand, who also stopped. She looked towards the ground and said, "To be honest, I don't really care that much about Arcadia. Sure, we grew up there, but there's nothing special about it anymore." Her eyes met Max's. "I think you're what made it special to me, and when you moved away… it lost that specialness."

'Aw, she's so sweet.'

Max fluttered her eyelashes, while bird calls filled the brief gap in their conversation. She smiled. "You can be a total mushball sometimes."

"Watch out, this mushball has spines, like a sea urchin."

"You're such a dork."

"Says the queen of dorks." She gave Max a playful nudge, grinning.

More walking and talking followed until they reached The Junction, discovering it was fairly busy. The two crossed many streets, looking both ways for cars, sharing the sidewalk with bicyclists. They eventually found the coffee shop.

The door opened with a jingle, as Chloe once again held it for Max. They were greeted by a barista who worked behind the counter, his voice mixing with the overall atmosphere of the shop: coffee mugs clinking against plates, idle chatter, coffee beans in grinders, an indie soundtrack. Oddly relaxing.

Sitting alone at one table was a brown haired girl in a hoodie, reading a book with a coffee mug beside it.

Max said to Chloe, "Hey, that's Kristen right there." She held up her hand in greeting, eliciting a reciprocated wave and smile from Kristen.

She sat down across from her and Chloe did as well. Kristen extended her hand, smiling. "Hi, you must be Chloe. Nice to meet you."

She shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, too… Kristen, right?"

"You got it. Max has told me a lot about you."

"Really?"

She dog-eared the page she was on and closed her book. "Yeah, sounds like you guys are really close."

"That's an understatement. We pretty much grew up together."

'I guess it's time they knew how bad I'm being bullied. No idea why I hid this from anybody.' Max really didn't want any more negativity to infiltrate Chloe's visit, but she couldn't bear to hide anything anymore.

Max took in a deep breath, having trouble speaking, "So…uh, Kristen… you…you know how Emma doesn't really… verbally bully me anymore?"

"Yeah." She narrowed her eyes. "Wait, verbally?" She shook her head, keeping her eyes on her. "Don't tell me she hurt you, please don't."

Max frowned, avoiding eye contact with either of them. She got up and solemnly said, "Guys, follow me to the bathroom."

Kristen and Chloe briefly exchanged nervous glances and followed her, just like she asked them to.

The door creaked open. Seeing that nobody else was in the well-cleansed bathroom brought the tiniest ounce of relief to Max; she could speak to Chloe and Kristen more privately now.

Max looked at herself in the mirror, hands on the edges of the sink, vision starting to blur from moisture. The door opened again and in stepped her two friends.

Chloe's voice shook, "Max, you're scaring me."

Kristen added, "Me too."

"Just… look." Max turned to them and pulled up her shirt, not caring if they saw her bra. Blue and purple bruises painted her rib cage.

Kristen gasped, going wide-eyed; Chloe stared, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Max, oh my god…" Kristen said in a harsh whisper.

Max pulled her shirt back down, tears running down her face. Chloe was quick to wipe them for her, using her thumbs. She held Max's head and stared into her eyes with an intensity she'd never seen before. Her voice was raw with anger, "That bitch did that to you?"

Max's face contorted, breaths catching in her throat. "She… she cornered me and just started hitting me. I-I was so scared, I thought she was gonna…" She buried her face in the taller girl's shoulder, full on bawling her eyes out, feeling Chloe's hand hold the back of her head. The sobs made her chest ache even more than it did already.

Kristen's usual bubbly attitude disappeared without a trace; her voice was fierce now, "I'm seriously about to murder Emma."

"Count me the fuck in."

A/N: On a side note - anybody interested in betareading? I think I need it XD