Before there is confusion, if there is a paragraph of italic text, it's the thoughts of a character.

Joyce had finally made it home, a bag of groceries in hand. She tried not to let herself dwell on thoughts of a certain other time she had gotten groceries. The memory of William's death still haunted the woman beyond the years. Even with David as her rock, it was impossible to forget the man who had originally stolen her heart all those years ago. The fact that she was able to keep moving forward, despite such a heavy loss, was a testament to who she was as a person. However, as a mother, she felt she was not as up to par. Although she felt far from failing her only daughter, she would be remiss to ignore how unflinchingly rebellious her only daughter has become. She wished she knew some way to make her daughter happy again. She couldn't imagine what would happen if she lost her.

God, what would she do if she lost Chloe too?

She knew that the last few years had been rough on her daughter. First, she loses her father. Then, her best friend to Seattle. To only add to the devastation, a new step-father, who, despite his best, (admittedly not great), parenting tactics had left Chloe feeling more alone than before.

Then, enter Rachel Amber.

Joyce couldn't decide whether Rachel was a good influence, or a bad influence, but either way, she had given a light to Chloe's world that Joyce had long thought had been out.

Then, exit Rachel Amber.

Joyce tried to release the stress in her system with a heavy sigh. She dropped the groceries on the kitchen counter. She wished something good would happen to Chloe. Something that could help set her straight. At this point, it would take a miracle…

Joyce cringed as she felt rather than heard the sound of a door slam. She turned from the refrigerator to spot two teenagers lumbering down the stairs. "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Max Caulfield! Long time, no see!"

"Hi, Joyce," the teenager said in a tired voice. Behind her, to the mother's surprise, flagged a boy. Although she did not know him well, she remembered that his name was Warren Graham. He had come to the diner a handful of times. Even leaving "scientific graffiti" on one of their tables.

Still her curitosity peaked, What is Max doing with a boy? Could they be-?

Well, despite herself, she couldn't imagine Max dating. But then again, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the girl for 5 years. Perhaps the shy, timid girl she knew had changed.

"What brings you two here on this lovely afternoon?"

She noticed that Warren scratched the back of his neck and shuffled his feet awkwardly as Max answered with some hesitation. "We were just… reuniting with Chloe."

Just as the words escaped Max's mouth, the three were bombarded by the blasting strain of Firewalk's "Breakdown" echoing through the walls of the house. "I see that it went well," Joyce couldn't help but sarcastically reply.

"You could say that," Max replied with a grimace.

"Aren't you going to tell her to turn that down?" Warren inquired, curious.

Suddenly, David burst through the garage door and thundered his way up the stairs. All the while the man muttered something along the lines of, "Told her to shut that garbage off."

"I don't think I need to," Joyce answered with a resigned sigh.

"Let me help with those," Warren said. He gently pushed passed Max and helped Joyce put the food stuffs away. Joyce thanked him with a small smile. She took off her apron and slung it on the counter.

"How was Seattle, Max?"

Max walked over to her friend and helped put the rest of the groceries away. "It was good, Joyce. Center of the arts and everything. I missed you and Chloe though."

"We missed you both, too. Even if Chloe up there isn't showing it. I don't mean to sound like your mother, honey, but you look dead tired."

"I am dead tired, Joyce. You could say it's been a hell of a long day," the blonde watched Max and Warren share a look and smile, as if they had their own private joke. It was cute to watch the two interact. She could tell they were close.

Once they were finished with their odd job, Max turned to face Joyce, "If it's not too much trouble, do you think you can take Warren and I back to Blackwell? Chloe kind of drove us here, and, well, let's just say we don't think she'll be in the mood to return us."

"Sure, I can do that sweetheart. Warren, would you grab the keys of the table in the hallway and start the car? I want to talk to our Max real quick."

After nodding, the boy in question went out to the get the keys and accomplish his mission. Max leaned against the counter-top and put her hands in her jacket pockets. "So, what brings you back to Arcadia Bay?"

"Well, honestly," the girl started. Her voice was littered with guilt and shame, "I came back for Mr. Jefferson's class. Before everything happened, he was a world class photographer and teacher. I just luckily ran into Chloe. I'm sorry I didn't come over sooner I-"

"Max," Joyce interrupted the girl's rant. She knew that Max could potentially rant if she got anxious. "It's okay. You wanted to start over. Make new friends."

Max blushed, the heat reached her ears. Joyce in answer raised her eyebrows and nodded her head towards the front yard. "How long has that been going on?"

Max rolled the sleeves up in her jacket, unintentionally imitating who Joyce was discussing. She let a small smile slip through her lips. "Uh, just recently. Are we that obvious?"

"No, just a hopeful guess. I'm glad he makes you happy. I hope some of that rubs off on Chloe. It has been tough on her. She could use more joy in her life."

Max put her hand on Joyce's shoulder blade and rubbed comfortingly. "I'm sure she will soon. I'm not going to leave Chloe again. I promise," she reassured quietly.

The two let a small silence pass until Joyce interrupted. "We should go out to the car before Warren starts to worry."

As the two left the house for the car, a certain blue haired figure stood at the window, a gun in her hand.

It took some doing, but Max had finally convinced David to leave her alone. Once he had left, she had texted Chloe and Warren that she was awake. While she waited, she sat criss-crossed applesauced and tried out her powers several times. She tried throwing a pillow down to the floor and rewinding it back to the bed to no avail. She even tried recovering a picture from her journal and going back, but all she could see was a still photograph. All she could hear was the sound of her breathing.

So, no powers. The realization left Max with feelings of relief and loss. Finally, a burden has been lifted off her shoulders. At the same time, if she fucked up, she had to live with it. The next few days were going to be the toughest. She had to help Kate, she had to put away Jefferson and Nathan, and she had a town to save. The very checklist itself sounded daunting.

At the very least, she thought, I have two people that can back me up. The knowledge that she did not have to do it all alone rose her spirits a monumentous degree.

Max, you better take a picture. To make sure you aren't as lost as you feel. With all the revelations and the visions lately, you need something to bring you back to Earth.

She took her trusty camera out of her bag. It felt strange holding this camera when she had grown accustomed to William's old camera. Still, she held the camera out to arms' length and posed. Her chin tucked mildly into her neck as she looked into the camera.

No smile, Max. These next few chapters of your life will be the most serious they've ever been.

With a seemingly loud snap! the camera flashed a (hopefully) wonderful selfie of one Max Caulfield. She took the poloroid that came out and shook it.

As she shook the image in her hand, she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Two out of three of her favorite people had shown up.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, hippie!" Chloe said with a smile. Chloe, just Chloe, stood at the doorway and winked before stepping inside her room and to her left to reveal her boyfriend and his new haircut.

The sight of him smiling shyly at her caused her throat to tighten and her cheeks to flush. She breifly remembered her vision, Warren in his haircut cracking jokes with Chloe as the tornado roared in the backround.

She forced a smile at the both of them. "Hey, guys. We need to talk."

Both Chloe and Warren caught the serious tone in Max's voice, yet, Chloe felt the need to make the situation lighter.

"You're not even going to compliment your boyfriend's hair?" Chloe smirked playfully at her friend.

"You didn't let me finish!" Max's cheeks regained their normal color. She asked Warren with her eyes to come sit next to her, he seemed to have gotten the message because he slid past Chloe. "Of course you look good, Warren," she grinned as Warren gave her a small shy smile in gratitude. Max's heart fluttered in adoration. She looked back to Chloe with a quizzical look on her face, "I wouldn't expect you would be the one to go fishing for compliments, Chlo."

She shrugged, "I do what I can to help the needy." The smirk somehow got even broader on the girl's face. She walked over to a chair and sat in it backwards. Her chest leaned against the back of said chair.

"Hey!" Warren protested as he sat next to Max, "I'm not needy."

"You keep telling yourself that, Monkey Man. That's right," she said to Max with a wink. "I know all about you and Warren's monkey business."

Max shoot her a playful look. "I can see you two had fun while I was out for the count." She felt a hand slowly sneak into hers. She fought the urge to break into a smile, but let him intertwine his fingers with hers.

"So," Chloe said. She kicked her feet up on the messy excuse she had for a desk and peered at the couple. "What do we need to talk about?"

"I had another vision." Max's tone now completely serious.

She could hear the curiosity in Warren's voice as he spoke. "How that possible? Didn't you lose your powers?"

"I have. Before you guys got here, I tested on those pillows over there. I can't reverse time anymore."

Chloe looked disappointed. "Then how did you have a vision?"

"The vision wasn't from me. It was from someone else."

"But," Warren asked, "who could've sent you a vision?"

"It was less of a vision. More like I was sent somewhere. Somewhere by someone with powers."

"Somewhere like…?"

"Somewhere like Limbo."

"Limbo?"

Suddenly, Chloe got up from her chair and started to frantically pace around the room. While she paced she muttered, "No way."

"Warren?" Max muttered. "How much did you tell her?"

"I only just got through the second day," he replied in the same tone.

"Shit," Max whispered. This was not going to end well. "Chloe I-"

"Don't fucking sugarcoat it, Max!" her best friend's voice raising in octave. "What happened to Rachel?!"

"S-she's…" she stuttered. She hated seeing Chloe like this. She wished she could calm down. It flustered Max to see her like this.

"She's dead, Chloe," Warren answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

The news of Rachel's demise stopped Chloe cold for a few seconds. Max and Warren watched Chloe, trying to prepare for her apparent breakdown. "How?" was all she said. Her voice was in the verge of breaking. Pure unadulterated emotion etched across her face.

"She, uh, she was killed."

Chloe's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. "Who?" she demanded. Her voice now had a hard edge to it. She stood stock still, staring right at Warren. If she could see Warren's rising anxiety, she didn't show it.

"Nathan," Max answered, letting him off the hook.

Chloe looked back and forth at Max and Warren. She could see the truth written on their faces. Her hands clenched and unclenched. "Get out."

The couple let out matching expressions of surprise. "But Chloe," Max argued. "We-"

"Don't give me that shit!" Chloe walked aggressively over to the two. The murderous intent caused both to stand in fear. "You come back and dump all this shit on me! What gives you the right? Huh? Maybe I was happier off dead!"

"Chloe!" she said, trying to salvage the situation. However, Chloe pushed both Max and Warren from behind towards the door. "I'm so sor-"

"If you were sorry," Chloe said, almost throwing them out of her room, "You would've saved her."

The door slammed, breaking Max's heart.

The drive back to Blackwell Acadamy was uneventful. Max was trying to be polite by talking to Joyce. Mostly, she was just trying to keep Joyce talking so she wouldn't have to. Warren sat in the back. He stared out the window as if he were contemplating the immense depth of the universe. Hell, maybe he is. She looked at his profile in the mirror. She liked when he had that look of concentration on his face. She would like to imagine that's how she looks when she studies her photography.

She worried about Chloe. She kept hearing the words, "Get out", and "Maybe I was happier dead." No matter what Joyce said, or how often she plastered a smile on her face, those harsh words repeated like a broken record spinning around her head.

It was strange to her how when someone breaks your heart, you repeat the words they say, the actions they take, over and over in your mind. It's as if no matter how many times you replay the words, you know you can find the answer. Something different in the fabric of the dialogue.

Max now kinda missed her ability.

After a few minutes, they arrived at Blackwell Acadamy. After saying their goodbyes, the two trudged on towards the main campus. Max held her hands in her pockets and her eyes were staring at their shadows. She could tell Warren was trying to think of something comforting to say.

"Max," he said quietly. The two sat on the isolated steps of the school and looked out at the sky. "She's just… grieving."

"Do you think she's right?" Max blurted.

"Right about what?"

"About being better off dead!"

She was being hysterical. Some part of her knew this. Yet she couldn't stop herself.

"She's… projecting?" he sounded like he just remembered the word. "She's angry because Rachel's dead, but she's taking it out on you."

Max knew Chloe had a tendency to lash out at the people she wasn't actually angry at, but say she's better off dead?

"Maybe, but what she said back there…"

Warren must've been able to hear the sorrow in her voice. He slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in closer. "I'm not good at this stuff," he said, "I think she just feels overwelmed? I don't know. She doesn't know the whole story either. We should maybe give her time to deal with it?"

"Maybe," she replied hesitantly. "I just hope she doesn't do anything rash."

Max scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. Warren continued to look into the sky, as if he were thinking of something more to say. She sneaked a look at him. Now that she was with him, she could see how easy it is to fall in love with him. Even when everything was falling apart, he always put her first. He was always making her smile. He was always patient with her. She had pushed them aside, but she was glad it finally happened.

What shocked her, as she stared at his lips, was the desire he made her feel. It had taken her longer than most would think to find him more than just cute, but since the day she told him her feelings, he was always on her mind. Since they had their make out session, in the back of her mind was a pressing desire to kiss him harder. Her hands itched to run all over him. Frankly, it scared her. Yet it also excited her. It was the absolute worst timing too. She had far more pressing matters at hand than a newly developed sex drive.

She just realized that he was talking to her. "What?" she said. Her voice seemed loud, even to her.

"I was just asking you what your vision was about."

"Oh," she said. She blushed hard but thankfully he still wasn't looking at her. She cleared her throat before talking. "I was brought to Limbo, like I said before, and I saw Rachel."

"Rachel? As in Rachel Amber?"

"The very same. She used her powers to send me to her limbo. She wanted to talk to me."

"What about?"

Max accidentally let out a sigh of contentment before continuing. She felt relaxed. "She wanted to know what my next steps were. I almost forgot Kate."

"Fuck, Kate. Good thing Rachel reminded you, we can't let Kate do anything drastic."

"No, we can't."

"Which begs the question, how are we going to do it?"

"I'm not sure. One thing is for sure, we need to lock that rooftop door. And we need to," Max's argument was interrupted by a long and loud yawn.

Warren looked down at her and smiled. "Looks like Mad Max needs some sleep."

Warren was probably right. Max could barely keep her eyes open. "You're right. If I remember right, Kate is going to ask me for the October Country tomorrow morning. I'll talk to her then. For now, I really need to hit the hay."

"And hit the hay you shall. Hey, before you get up, I wanted to ask you something."

She was sure everything was fine, but she couldn't help but feel a cold anvil of dread drop in her stomach. She kept her voice even however, "What do you mean?"

"I just mean," he could tell he was awkward by the way he did his famous "back of the neck scratch". "We both anticipated that you going back in time would leave me as the Warren of October. Obviously that didn't happen and now, well…"

"And now," Max said, wiggling out of his hold. She returned to a sitting position on the stairs and turned her body to look at him in the eyes. She could almost get lost in them. "You know how I feel. I know how you feel."

"Yeah. I just wanted to know if… if you wanted…?"

"Are you seriously going to ask me out on a date?" she laughed, the nervous tension draining out of her.

"No!" he protested. "I was just wondering if, you, uh, wanted to be my girlfriend?"

Max stared at him in disbelief. She literally could not believe he would ask that. "Warren, of all the changes we have already made in this timeline compared to the others, aside from saving Chloe," she grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Being with you will be my favorite."

Warren looked at their hands and back at her. His face broke into a cheeky smile as he sighed in relief. "Thank God."

"What made you think I would possibly say no?"

"I don't know! Maybe you would think it would change time way to much? Maybe you realized how pitiful it would be for someone as cool as you to date a dork like me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Being a dork is the best thing about you. And I doubt we will all burst into flames if we enter a relationship."

"You never know," Warren said after a shrug. "Life is strange."

"True," said Max after a yawn.

"You really need sleep."

"You really need to stop keeping me up."

"And I will." He stood up and held out his hand to help Max up. She took it and lifted herself up on her feet to face him. "We'll help Kate."

"We have to," Max replied with determination. She spotted people over his left shoulder towards the parking lot. It was Brooke and Juliet. Brooke was carrying her drone with her. "Looks like you're about to have some comany."

Warren turned and spotted the two girls. They returned Max and Warren's gazes curiously. "I guess this is where we part. I'll see you tomorrow, I think?"

"You will," Max replied. Warren turned to walk away but Max's voice stopped him. "You forgot something."

Warren looked puzzled. "What?"

With her right pointer finger and thumb, Max grabbed Warren's chin and pulled him in lightly for a quick, chaste kiss. "That."

"Oh, right," Warren's face lit up into a smile. "That."

"And before you go, be careful of Nathan, okay? Rachel somehow showed me your confrontation with him. I don't want to have to save you too."

"Will do, Maximus. I'll text you if I think of anything for Kate. Get some rest."

"I will," she smiled as he walked away. She watched him exchange banter with Brooke and Juliet. Her curiosity begged her to see what they were saying, but the rest of her body struggled to stay upright. Resigned, she made her way to the girl's dorm. She was somehow able to avoid talking to anyone on the way. Thankfully it seemed since Victoria and Nathan were bothering Chloe and Warren earlier, her and her cronies (at this point) were not outside the dorm.

Max missed the Victoria in the previous timeline. She was much more respectul and sympathetic. Max was not ready to face the old Victoria.

Fortunately for her, she'll be able to avoid her for the time being. She managed go avoid the other girls in the hallway. She did notice an empty Dana's room. Hopefully they were able to resolve the "Zachary incident" without her.

She tried Kate's room, but she wasn't there.

She finally reached the salvation of her room. Thankfully, it had not been trashed by Nathan. She watered Lisa before falling, clothes and all, into bed. Almost instantely she fell into a deep sleep.

She was too far gone to notice the snow starting to fall.

By some stroke of pure luck, Max had woken up at almost the exact same time to the second as she did the last time she saved Chloe. She felt as if she had gotten the best sleep of her life and she didn't want to get up. But, she knew she had things to take care of.

The first thing she tried to do is call Chloe. It went straight to voicemail twice, and rang once. She left a voicemail and just hoped she wouldn't do anything rash.

She checked her messages. Nothing new, except for a few messages from Warren with some Kate ideas. None of them seemed up to par, so she disagreed with him. They traded some banter before promising to meet up later.

God, she needed a shower. She felt sweaty and gross from sleeping in her day clothes. Her jeans stuck to her legs and her jacket made her feel hot. Plus, she remembered she had taken the shower the last time. Chronologically, a shower made sense.

She decided to grab the same clothes she had grabbed last time and surged her way to the showers. Before she could turn the corner, she warned Alyssa of the toilet paper that should fly for her head. Sure enough, the TP hit the spot where Alyssa was roughly standing.

She accepted the girl's gratitude. Then she heard her name being called across the hallway. Dana had called her over.

"Hey, Dana." Her voice was raw from sleep.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Are you dating Warren? Brooke and Juliet saw you two kissing yesterday. So, are you two a cute geek couple?"

She didn't expect everyone to know so soon. She didn't exactly answer verbally but her small smile told Dana everything. "That's awesome, Max. I'm happy for you. You know how awful rumors can get in this school."

"You mean the Zachary thing?"

"Yeah, she got pissed because of some texts. She locked me in my room for the longest before Stella and Alyssa convinced her to let me out. She's still pissed at me."

"Mm, I'll go find proof. Let me take a shower real quick, then I'll handle it."

Before she could protest, Max walked away and into the showers. She changed and turned on thr water for her shower. She was barely under the water for half a minute before she heard Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney strut in. As before, they talked about Kate. They made fun of her and mentioned Max before Victoria left a link to Kate's video on the bathroom mirror. The three drama queens soon left.

Some things never change, Max thought darkly. She finished bathing and changed into her clothes. Max had chosen carefully to wear the same clothes she wore the in the other timeline. She walked over to the bathroom mirror and erased the link.

Now that she knew Victoria had left, she went over to her empty room. She quickly accessed her computer and printed the e-mail exposing her. She brought the sheet to Dana, who thanked her. She invited Max to hang out after classes, but Max declined. She made up an excuse about meeting with Warren later.

After a few more minutes of chit chat, Max returned to her room and grabbed the October Country. Although she made sure to move the devilish soda beforehand.

Mentally prepared, Max knocked on Kate's ajar door. A soft "come in" welcomed her into the room. As she expected, Kate's room was as dark as the mood of the girl who inhabited it.

"Hey, Kate," she said slowly. "I brought back the October Country."

"Thanks, Max," she replied. Max set the book down and turned to face the girl. She didn't know how, but she had to get through to her. She didn't know exactly what she was going to say, but she would think of something.

"Can I ask you something, Max?" she asked, breaking Max of her thoughts.

"Anything, Kate. I'm here for you." Strange, she could recall Kate saying the exact same thing to her not long ago.

"Have you watched that horrible video?"

"No, I haven't. And I don't want to. I know that whatever happened in it wasn't like you."

"It wasn't me! What that person in that video does, that's something I would never do! I certainly would remember if I did kiss all those people."

"I know, Kate." Max tried putting a hand on the hysterical girl's shoulder. "I believe you."

Kate quite literally deflated. She sighed in relief. "I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that." She smiled. It was a small smile, but it was more than Max remembered seeing all that week.

"What do you remember?" Max gently prodded.

"I remember… I remember I didn't have anything to drink. I was definitely not drunkI had one sip of wine. One sip of wine does not get me drunk. I've had sips of wine at church and I wouldn't do those things."

"Who gave you the wine?"

"Nathan Prescott."

"Do you think he could have drugged you?"

"I… don't know. I know Nathan isn't the most friendly person ever, but, I can't imagine him drugging me…"

"Kate, I promise you, I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

"That's just what I wanted to ask. Should I go to the police?"

Max wanted to groan in frustration. This was the exact same question she was asked before, and no matter which way she sliced it, Kate was not happy with the results. She had to find a middle way.

"Kate, I think we should go to the police. But first, I'm going to find evidence."

"So what you're saying is that I should act, but I shouldn't?" her voice was on the edge of despair.

"Yes and no. Kate, we're going to make things right," she hugged Kate from behind. Kate flinched but she slowly let herself get swallowed up by Max's arms. After a few seconds, Max muttered, "I'm worried about you, Kate."

It took a few seconds before Kate's shaking voice replied, "I am too."

"Hey," Max said. She gently turned Kate so she could look Max in the eyes. "Stay strong, okay? I can see you haven't been yourself lately, and we're going to get passed this. Everything is going to get better."

"I wish I could believe that. All everyone does is laugh at me."

"Not everyone. I don't, Warren doesn't, Stella, doesn't, Alyssa doesn't. Your dad and your sisters don't. We all believe in you and want to see you happy."

"Happiness… it just seems impossible."

"Right now it does, but trust me, Kate. We'll get through this. Together."

"Okay, Max. I believe you. Can you please leave? I have to get ready."

"Of course," Max walked over to the door. Before she could close it, she turned to look at Kate for one last comment. "Oh, and by the way, please don't do anything… rash. I don't like to see one of my best friends like this. I'll see you in Jefferson's, okay?"

After a nod, Max left the room. She just hoped she would be okay.

The rest of the day passed without much issue. Just as she did previously, she "helped" Warren with his science assignment (even if he knew to use lots of potassium). She talked to other people of course. She made more small talk with Dana, caught a death stare from Brooke and answered numerous people that, yes, she was dating Warren.

Somehow, she found her way to photography class. After convincing Victoria to get out of her seat, she settled down for another Jefferson lecture. Ordinarily, she would be absolutely filled with disgust hearing his voice, but she was too distracted watching Kate. She was still way too quiet and that worried Max. After class, Kate went off saying something about a "project". Ignoring Mr. Jefferson wanting to talk to her, she approached Alyssa. "Hey Alyssa. I'm worried about Kate."

"Me too, Max. She seems much more quiet than usual."

"I think we need to try something, I want her to know we are there for her."

"The only one that can make her feel better is herself. But, we can do an intervention type thing. All of her friends showing up."

"To let her know we care about her?"

"Exactly," Alyssa smiled.

"Let's do it. I'll get Dana, Daniel, and Warren. You get Brooke, Juliet, Evan, and Stella. I'll get Kate to come over "for tea", and we'll all be there."

"Sounds like a plan, Max. I'll send a group chat now."

Max nodded and started a group chat of her own.

To: Dana Daniel Warren

Hey guys, Kate hasn't been herself, and we're really worried that she might try something she'll regret. Video or not, can you please come to my dorm if you aren't busy in about 10 mintues? I know it's sudden, but Alyssa and I are really worried.

Within seconds, Warren replied.

From: Warren

You know I'll be there babe.

From: Warren

Sorry about that Max! I just thought I'd try it

To Warren:

Don't worry about it Warren. I kinda liked it :) Just be there as soon as you can okay?

From Dana:

Sure Max, I'll be there

From Daniel:

I will be there.

Well, the hard was over. She just remembered that she had not taken that portrait for Daniel. She'll have to remedy that soon.

She had to get Kate to come to tea. Hopefully she will agree.

As she walked to the dorms, she tried Chloe again. It rang only twice before going to voicemail. At the tone, Max said: "Hey, Chloe. It's Max. Please call me or something. I know I should have told you about Rachel first, but I didn't want this to happen. I can't let you go. I need to know you're okay. Please. I just-" she was alerted by the woman saying the message just ran out of time. Putting her phone in her pocket, she walked down the hall to Kate's room. She knocked quietly on her door.

"Come in."

"Hey, Kate. How are you holding up?"

"A little better. Victoria ignored me because she was worried about Nathan not showing."

A part of Max wanted to question this, but she didn't press. Too many important things to do. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, just a children's book. If you want, you can help me by taking some nice pictures for it." Kate even gave her a small smile which raised Max's spirits. "I would like that."

"Good, I'm glad. I need a new project to keep me busy. Did you find anything on Nathan by the way?"

"That's actually what I came over to talk about. But do you want to discuss it over tea in my dorm?"

"Sure, I was just finished with this drawing."

Max peeked over at the drawing. It was a simple drawing of a group of friends holding hands. But Kate had drawn the picture so elegantly that the horizon looked almost real. "Wowser. Katethis is really good."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Max felt her phone vibrate. Most likely a couple of texts from the group. "You ready to have some of that tea?"

"I suppose," she replied with a small smile. She stood up and followed Max across the hall. Max slowly opened her door to reveal a gaggle of teenagers.

"What is all this?" Kate asked walking in the room.

"You haven't been yourself recently," Evan was the first to supply.

"So Max and Alyssa thought that we should come here and show you that we support you," Juliet helped.

"You don't have to be alone, Kate," Stella cut in. "We're all here to support you."

Kate had burst into tears. "I'm sorry guys. Theae are happy tears. I can't believe so many of you are here."

Max put a hand on Kate's shoulder and squeezed gently. Warren was the second one to react. "Well believe it, Kate." He reached out for a hug and Kate gladly accepted. They embraced briefly before Warren broke it. He manuevered around her to stand beside Max. Suddenly, the other friends began hugging Kate one by one. A true hugging party.

"I can't believe you brought all these people here, Warren muttered.

"Me either. Kate's such an angel though, everyone just wants to see her smile. I hope this helps her."

The two watched as Kate tearfully embraced the rest of them. Max was the final one to embrace Kate. She whispered into her ear, "When everyone leaves Kate, I need to talk to you."

Kate mumbled an okay before the two seperated. Most of the others didn't stay long. Whether it was plans or homework, Kate found herself alone inthe room with Max and Warren.

"Alright, Kate. Everyone has left. I have quite a few things to tell you." They had sat on Max's bed and had started to hold hands. Kate sat on Max's couch. She stared at their hands and then it finally clicked.

"Are you two together?" she said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

They looked at each other with matching smiles. "Yeah," spoke Warren. "Kinda surprising that you didn't hear about it from the whole school."

"No, I was, uh, distracted. When did this happen?"

Now they looked at each other with huge grins. Warren even chuckled. "Yesterday," replied Max.

"But anyway, I'm glad you're focused now. We really need to talk about-"

Max was interrupted by the blaring sound of her phone going off. "Aren't you going to get that?" Kate asked.

Warren elbowed Max who shot to the phone and looked at the caller ID. "It's Chloe!" she proclaimed.

"Put it on speaker," Warren submitted.

Max obliged and suddenly Chloe'a voice filled the room. "Max! I'm so sorry. I'm at the junkyard. Nathan is also here and he-"

Then the line died.