It was decided. We were going to head back home, and reap what we'd sewn.

The futher we were getting from Arcadia Bay, the more I realized this had been the wrong approach. At least, technically. But, I knew that stepping a little further into the dangerous world with Chloe, would only make her trust me more. And maybe she won't be as angry if we have to reunite... So even if I did happen to have to go to Seattle again... at least, she knew I had tried.

We had been lounging in our room for a couple hours. Luckily, we had free movies here, so we ended up watching Blade Runner. Nothing else was as interesting, not that just anything could beat Blade Runner for us. I looked to the clock on my phone, noticing that it was also low on power. I sighed, as I couldn't help but grow more worried for Rachel. She sure was taking her time. I look toward Chloe, who was messing with something. She noticed me looking toward her and sort of cupped her hands together.

"Rachel's been gone a while..." She says, as though our minds are in sync. I nod slightly before going to my pack and grabbing my phone charger. This was a bad time to have a phone on low battery. After hooking it up to it's fuel cord I look to Chloe who was getting up and putting on her shoes, "I'm gonna go have a look."

"Do you even know where she went?" I asked with uncertainty. It only added to my paranoia as Chloe glanced to me before humming to herself.

"Maybe she went to get some smokes." Chloe explains before stepping to the door and looking to me, "Uh, you think you'll be okay?"

"Heck no." I state, as I was already slipping on my shoes. I look up to Chloe, noticing her grimace as she sighs.

"Max, I don't wanna be Debs McDowner, but you should probably hang tight in here." She says sternly, raising her brows at me.

"No way. I'm not letting you go out by yourself." I say stepping toward her before she puts her hands on my shoulders.

"Really Max, I'd feel loads better if you were in our bed, recovering. I don't want you to have another blow out. Please, I'm serious." She says, staring into my eyes with determination. I frown stubbornly. We were both staring at eachother for who knew how long, as Chloe seemed a bit caught off guard with my persistance. Her posture seemed to change from it's impenetrable stance to one more meek and defeated, "Damn it Max, one of these days you're going to give in to me."

"Sorry but, not today Debbie." I smile to her slightly as she looked away from me. She opened the door allowing me to go through. It was already dark, and the sky and atmosphere were filled with cold colors. I didn't have a very good feeling about this, but I followed Chloe. She was growing taller at a rate that made me envious.

"There's a little store down a few blocks. Rache probably went there. She mentioned she needed more cigs. So that's my theory." Chloe said softly toward me as I looked around. It was pretty quiet, besides the average car that went by every now and then. It ended up being further than I had realized. But something wasn't right. Why would it take her so long to return back to the motel? It wasn't THAT far.

I hear something. Like a hoove against concrete and I follow the noise. Looking to the right, and then down a shadowed road that lead toward a neighborhood. Nothing seemed out of place. The shadows of the over hanging trees and street lights were nearly symmetrical. But then I see it. The faintest lightness in color. It was a peach purse. Rachel's.

I stray from Chloe as she eventually stops to look toward me, "Max?" She asks, watching me as I pick up the bag. I look toward her, showing it, ".. oh shit, that's Rachel's!" She blurts out before she glances around. I look to, "Fuck, fuck, this looks bad..." Chloe murmurs toward me.

There's a silence between us, as we scan the perimeter. I look to Chloe, who seems in thought before she sharply looks to me.

"Max, you got your phone on you?"

"No, it was dying so I left it in the room..." I say hesitantly before she sighs.

"Fuck... mine was dying to." She grunts in irritation.

"Let's go to the store. Maybe someone saw her leave with someone." I say, trying to think of anything that could help us find her.

"It seems more likely some douche tried to snatch her here." Chloe says, pointing to the spot her purse had been. I guess that did make more sense. Chloe looks down the road, before taking my hand and leading me down the shadows of the street, "I bet the asshole probably lives around here."

"Chloe, this is really scary. I don't think we should be trying to find them..." I say unsurely. Chloe looks to me.

"We can't just leave Rachel." Damn it, Chloe. If chasing down Jefferson didn't work for the better, doing this definitely won't. We don't even have a gun this time, "You don't have to follow. In fact, it's probably better you go back to the motel." Chloe states before turning and walking.

Chloe's alway been too courageous...

But I'm still not letting you off that easy. Even if this is potentially life threatening. Oh please, if I need you rewind powers, work...

I followed after Chloe. There's nothing good about doing this. But I can't let her get into trouble by herself. Chloe kneels down and picks up something as I peer over her shoulder. It was a bracelet.

"This is Rachel's." She claims, before looking to the lawn it had been beside. She moves toward the house that stood infront of us, as I grab her arm.

"Chloe, we have to be smart about this..." I say as she comes to a stop. She looks to me, as though reluctant to listen. Her brows are furrowed and her jaw forward slightly, but she takes a breath to calm herself.

We approach the house. It's quiet and eerie, faintly lit up by the moon. But there's a thump and some steps. We spare eachother a glance as we kneel beneath a window. Chloe is closer to it, as she lifts her body up from her crouched position.

"Whoa... Max...!" She says a little louder than I would have hoped. I grab her arm as she gets down to my level, "I see her Max..." She says, having a look of surprise and anxiety, "She's knocked out... Max, what the hell is going on?"

"I... I don't know..." I murmur. Oh jeez, please don't freak out Max. We have to stay calm, otherwise, Chloe will double flip! I look to her, as she was still looking for some sort of solution to find it's way out of my mouth, "Come on..." I try to lead her around the house as we hear more foot steps.

"What are we going to do?" I heard a woman say. I look to the side. Alright Max, you're this far. Don't look any more lost than you have already. We have to make it seem like we got a plan so Chloe doesn't do anything that will get us caught.

"We should just bop the bitch! Aaagh! My fucking eyes...! She's gonna pay!" A man seemed to be in agony. I hold my breath, feeling my self stiffen. I looked around the corner, seeing someone displaced from their enviroment. Nathan paced back and forth, speaking to himself. The door opened to the girl's bathroom, and there she was- clearly with a goal in mind.

A crash. I hear it. I look back. Chloe stood infront of the window, as it was broken.

"Rachel!" She shouts. I stumble to my feet, rather shocked with the sudden change of pace. Still trying to comprehend what just happened, Chloe leans in through the window. She curses under her breath as she thoughtlessly grazed her hand against some glass that kept to it's pane.

"What the fuck?" I heard a voice as I quickly get to Chloe.

"Chloe!" I stressed, grabbing her shoulders and trying to pull her back. She resists me.

"Wake up Rachel!" She shouts as I notice Rachel stirr slightly from her unconscious state. The door swings open, revealing a man and a woman. The man's eyes are red and inflamed but he still manages to go infront of the woman and reach for something. I tense as though I already knew.

"Oh shit-" Chloe is speechless as a gun is pointed toward us. I watch carefully, finding myself on verge of a panic attack but also ready to try anything. This wasn't the first time I had seen a gun, and probably wouldn't be the last. But I couldn't let this be the last moment for either of us. Or Rachel.

"These your friends, huh?" The man laughed while wiping his nose, seeming on edge and clearly unstable. He gestures the weapon toward Rachel, who looked to him. She seemed rather bruised but was quicker to come to her senses than I had been.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rachel muttered, as the gun was pointed toward her.

"This is great actually, Bet. Three of em, cute ones too." The man spouted out as the woman looked to us carefully.

"Alright, we don't have to scare these kids. We just need to calm down. It ain't a big deal, just some miscommunication and broken glass. Why don't you two come inside and we'll call your parents and get this straightened out?" The woman offers to us, shooting the man a look. He lowers the gun as Rachel shakes her head.

"They're fucking weirdos! Don't trust them!" Rachel warns us as the man twitches and cocks his gun. He points it toward Rachel before looking to us.

"Get in here!" He demands as me and Chloe freeze, "Or your little girl friend's gonna get it." He says. He was clearly on something. This was looking bad.

"Max... get out of here..." Chloe whispers through the corner of her mouth. I glance to her.

"Hey, don't be mumblin' between you two!" The man demands as the woman approaches us.

"Come on girls, this doesn't have to be difficult." The woman states, looking a bit grimey up close. She opens the window and offers a hand to Chloe. Chloe is hesitant before slowly taking her hand, "Thatta girl..."

This couldn't be happening. Chloe glances to me. As though expecting me to have been further away. But I refused to move, by choice and by state of mind. This is...

"Come on, you too." The woman says reaching out to grab me. Before her hand could reach, it paused and withdrew. Chloe had drawn back her free arm and hit her in the face with a clenched fist, "Aw- fuck!" The woman shouted as she let go of Chloe. I grabbed her arm as there was a loud bang.

Bang.

Everything came to a stand still as I was nothing but tense. And it was just there. We were just there. But I could see remnants of something I wish I hadn't. A light sparked from the gun the man held. The nose of his gun pointing toward Rachel. He was so out of it, could he even comprehend what he had done?

No, Rachel...!

Fuck you! Whoever put us here! Whoever made it so Rachel would be stuck in this situation, damn you to fucking hell!

I clenched on to it. To Chloe, and this point in time. No matter what, I won't let this happen. I refuse to. You know I'm stubborn as hell Fate. Things haven't changed, even if we did go back this far. Everything was like an echo, my existence seeming to only go on in this second as I held on to it tightly.

Go back, go back! It would hiccup over and over, as I felt my own body relive that same hitched breath. Chloe tensed with the noise of the bang. And the bang kept reminding me of what was to come. What wanted to come. My eyes were planted on Rachel as she winced and a blur of colors erupted between her and the gun.

No... no !

Something is happening. Not just the same migraine, though that was present to. Not just the same second as I noticed the difference. Beside me, something wasn't quite right. Everything was echoing, everything was the same second. But as I held onto Chloe, she was becoming less of a blur and more real. Chloe? What's going on? With each moment, I knew that it was only a reality to me. But to everyone else, it was surely just nothing. It was the same thing, the same second. The same breath over and over.

Chloe. I thought. I wanted to see her. I wanted to look, and eventually I was finding myself more able. Eventually there was a rush, and a new breath entered my lungs. But I felt something trinkle down from my nostrils, and knew what to expect. I look up though, toward Chloe. It shatters. The blue that seemed to trace her into my reality. And I see her, she moves. She's no longer another entity of the still second that remained around us.

She gasps. She's breathing. She's real. And she's here.

With me.

"Rachel-!" Chloe shouts. She looks confused, as I marvel at her from a far. No, I'm not that far. I'm beside her, but she still seemed so unreal to me, "Wh-what the fuck?" Chloe says, looking around only to sharply turn to me, "MAX-! Max... Max? What the fuck?" She's clearly at a loss, "What's happening? Whyyy... you're bleeding-!" She comments.

"...Chloe..." I mutter, feeling that any movement only made things worse in the brain pain department for me. Chloe stares at me. Her eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape. Her head moves around to scan the scene. The man holding the gun to Rachel's head. The woman clenching her face in pain.

"Max, you're doing this?" Chloe says in disbelief, "Wait... I know this." She pauses before putting a hand to her head, "What? Max did you tell me this before?" Oh no, whatever is going on- I don't want this to effect her to-

I let out a grunt and a cry. Chloe looks to me, but I try to concentrate on Rachel. I couldn't let her die. Not again. And definitely not this early.

"I'll-tell you later..." I manage as Chloe was speaking to me, but only few of her words reach me. It's fine Chloe. It's not like you'll remember any of this.

And it moves. Everything moves. We're going back. We're going back. We're actually, going back. It was a jagged start, but eventually everything was becoming fluid. Until, there's a loud noise. It's sharp, and powerful. And-

"Damn it Rachel!"

I hear the same line. W-we went back? The man, that day- Rachel's here- I let out a painful cry as I fall to my knees. It feels like someone's pushing needles through my head. It's unbearable. Everything's a blurr, everything's a fuzz. Nothing makes sense.

"What're you looking at?!" I hear her. Chloe. She's glaring at the man. Rachel's step dad. I feel... so weak. I lean against Chloe, not having realized her arms were around me for support.

"Max- you're a fucking time machine..." She mutters as a faint sound, one only we can hear. I look to her. Her hair was long. She... remembered? I can't believe it. But, I'm out of it. I can hardly think. It's... probably better that way...

I close my eyes. It felt good. Everything was blocked out. The pain. The light. The confusion and stress. It was nice. Eventually, I had to open them though. Right?

I look forward. Great, class isn't over yet. Yadda yadda, Jefferson. You're a murderer, being subtley cryptic about the Dark Room. Your eyes are like bugs, everytime I see them I feel like they're crawling over me. Were you always fantasizing about me in class? No wonder you liked to single me out.

I stood up and walk toward the door. Jefferson quiets down, rather caught off guard. He's talking to me, but I don't really give a shit. I walk out of the class, seeing little to no one as the bell didn't ring yet. People were still in class.

I look up and down the hall ways. Great, David's being the world's most patient hall monitor. It's fine. I can just, freeze time and all. David's still and I walk by. No biggie. I let it play out again. Oh time, I couldn't think of a better power to control.

I look toward the entrance to the school, and see it skid in. Chloe's truck, giving little to no fucks about the lines of a parking space. Way to let 'em know you don't give a damn, Chlo. I walk through the doors and head that way. Chloe gets out of the truck, muttering some things under her breath before slamming the large door behind her.

"Hey Chloe." Chloe jumps slightly then looks toward me. She's taken aback, as I smile at her. She blinks dumbly, more than I'd ever expect possible for her.

"Uh- yo, Max? What's up? Shouldn't you like, be in class?" She stammers as I shrug.

"I'm realizing that the Blackwell Photography class is more overrated than Victoria's cashmere sweater."

"Victoria's a twat." Chloe states quickly as she glances up to the school before looking to me, "Oh, by the way. Nice to see you after 5 years. Couldn't bother to give me a text? A call? Maybe any sign you gave a fuck?"

"I feel like an ass Chloe..."

"You should." She says, staring at me firmly. I stare back and open my mouth but the bell rings, "Anyway, I got some things I need to take care of. Catch you later Maxi-Pad." Chloe tries to brush me off, but I put a hand to her arm. She stops and looks to me, "This can wait Max."

I lean toward her, and she freezes as I get rather close.

I smirk as her brows furrow.

"Don't make me wait too long."

Another dream.

I slowly open my eyes.

That hospital smell again.

"Maxine... you're awake..." My mother said as I look to her. She's relieved as she takes my hand gently, "What were you thinking, Max?" She says as her relief melts away.

"What do you mean...?" I manage through my sore being.

"I know what you and Chloe were doing Maxine. You can't hide it from me. Chloe already fessed up to it... well she said you were going camping but- you have to do better than that Max."She says sternly as Dad stepped into my line of sight.

".. We're not blaming you Max..." Dad says, looking to Mom who shared the gaze, "... things were just, moving too fast. We understand."

"But never, should you have thought it was right to try and run away..." My mom scoffs as I look to the side.

There's a silence, as my head felt numb. I felt too calm, too out of it. It was probably better that way though. If my senses were back, I knew I'd be crying. They wanted to take me from Chloe, despite everything I've gone through. I was lost in this huge maze that wiggled the goal in my face constantly before pulling it roughly away.

"... you're not going to Seattle." I slowly looked over my shoulder toward my parents. They both looked disappointed, but my dad managed a slight smile. He knew what I wanted to hear.

"Really...?" I felt my groggy mind trying to reach for happiness as it was doing a fairly good job.

"... the doctor thinks that the stress of leaving has been too hard on you... and it would be better if you didn't travel." Dad said, sniffling slightly as he looks to the side, "We talked to Joyce, and she agreed you could stay with her." What? Really? Wait... where were they going?

"What about you?" I ask softly.

"We're already transferred to Seattle. We have to go, or we'll lose our jobs, Sweetie... We'll be trying to arrange something after our contract period..." Dad glances to Mom who's already in tears. He rubs her shoulder before looking to me, "We'll be able to see you during the holidays..."

I look between them. So, your parents are going to run off to Seattle without you. Fuck Seattle, I could care less about it. But... my parents... They were really just going to leave without me? Why are you moping Max? This is what you wanted! You can stay in Arcadia Bay with Chloe now...

I still cried.