Time for another Rachel chapter. Vortex Club party prep ahoy (which would be the same one Kate went to in game as reference – Friday, October 4th).

Chapter Sixteen: Empty Promises

Rachel's POV - Earlier that Same Day

With the Vortex Club party just over a week away, the members were busy making final preparations. In a shocking twist of events, I had been included in the group, all thanks to my newfound hold over Victoria Chase. The blonde was less than happy about all this but didn't have the guts to challenge me too much. She knew I meant business. And I was ready to exploit that.

Amongst the group now were Victoria and her clones, although they had taken a backseat; the self-proclaimed queen bee had some sense to keep her distance. Juliet and Dana were around too, as were Hayden and Nathan. Then, there was me. Most of the preparations had been made, with a few tweaks from me to the music and other things, much to Victoria's obvious disapproval. I could hear her tut and sigh, but she didn't actually verbalize her criticism.

"Say, Rachel, we've noticed you're hanging around with Max a lot." As the designated journalist of Blackwell, I had suspected some form of interrogation from Juliet sooner or later.

"What do you have planned for her, huh?" Dana prodded now we were on the topic, just as much of a snoop as Juliet.

"Who says I have anything planned," I replied innocently, not expecting them to buy it.

Hayden was the first to call bullshit. "Pfft, c'mon Rach. We all know you're a scheme factory."

"You don't just take an interest in anyone, especially not some shy hipster geek," Nathan pointed out, sounding a little disheartened.

"Aw, someone sounds jealous. Afraid I'll get stolen away by the aforementioned shy hipster geek?" I teased, suspecting that the boy in question had a thing for me. Most people did, not to sound like a total egotistical asshole. Just stating facts.

He frowned, rolling his eyes. "Tch, hardly."

Not believing that for a second, I turned back to Juliet. "Hey, I'm a sociable enough person. Max had a rough start, so I'm just being friendly."

"Friendly or 'friendly'?" she asked, adding emphasis and air quotes to the latter.

I simply shrugged, happy to keep them guessing. "Who can say."

Dana crossed her arms. "Oh, come off it, Rach. We know you only do one type of friendly."

"If you already know, why are you asking?" I replied, as cryptic as always. Mystery was my game, and I fully intended to maintain that vibe.

"Because, as a reporter, I like to check my sources," Juliet countered, not giving up on this so easily.

"Like shit you do. Besides, anyone with a single brain cell can tell what that slut's up to," Victoria finally snapped, Taylor and Courtney backing her up with a nod.

I had been awaiting her biting offensive to kick in at some point. She's lasted longer than expected, in all honesty. "Don't think I asked for your opinion, Chase."

"Shut the fuck up, lesbo," she all but growled.

"Oh, because you would know," I added as I took a step closer to her, voice low so only she could really hear, shutting her up immediately.

Shaking her head at Victoria's interruption, Dana brought us all back on track. "Moving on, is Max coming to the Vortex party? And if so, is she coming into the VIP section?"

"Like hell she is," the hostile blonde mumbled.

"I beg to differ. More the merrier, right?" Unfortunately for Victoria, she seemed to be in the minority with the elitist exclusion. "That's settled, then."

I passed a smile her way, watching her expression darken and body practically vibrating with rage. This was just too much fun. How had I survived this long without Max's rewind power? Maybe I'd have to… test her capabilities again soon.

Once we had finished our discussions, we parted ways and I dropped a text to Max to let her know I was on my way back. It took me a few minutes to get back to my room. When I did, I found Max sat on my bed waiting.

"Fancy seeing you here," I greeted, happy to see her there. Of course, I had expected it. Ever since starting my 'Max project', she'd been spending increasingly more time around me – which had been my aim.

She didn't reply straight away, shuffling uncomfortably. "Rach, can we… talk, please."

I smirked, wondering if she was about to bring up the hickey incident from the other day. "Oooh, someone looks serious."

When she remained quiet and solemn, my grin faltered. Whatever she had on her mind, she clearly thought it was serious. "Listen, about Victoria… I'm not comfortable with you taking advantage of her. I know she's nasty and mean, but… we won't get anywhere doing the same back. She's a person, too. Spiteful, yeah, but a person nonetheless. The other day, you went… too far, at least I think so. Shit, this whole thing was too far. We should never have taken that picture..."

So that was it, what had been bothering her. Maybe I should have guessed before now. She did seem to have a pretty strong moral compass, always questioning her actions. It was probably a mistake on my part to tell her about the humiliating display of fealty with Victoria. For now, at least. While she was still bothered by morality.

Shaking my head, I pulled her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her. "Oh, Max, why didn't you tell me it was seriously bothering you?"

I felt her hug me back, hiding her face. "I… I tried, but… I was worried you'd hate me…"

Needing her to trust me, I ran my fingers through her hair. "Now, that's just silly. I understand your concern. And I guess I got a little carried away before. Victoria's done a lot of horrible things to me and Chloe, other people too. I just wanted her to understand how we all felt, you know."

"I think she does now," Max mumbled into my shoulder, her grip loosening slightly.

"More or less." I got myself out of her hold, firmly placing my hands on her shoulders. A quick reassurance should do the job here. "Look, I'm going to keep the photo as a deterrent, just in case she forgets, but I won't use it unless absolutely necessary. Good compromise?"

That seemed to make her happy, giving me a relieved grin. "I can work with that."

Of course, I had no intention to give up my hold on Victoria. I would just have to be more selective about what Max heard and saw. Eventually, she would get over herself. When that time came, I wouldn't have to censor myself. For the time being, I could work around her morals.

The Next Day - After Class

The last class of the day had been photography, mine and Max's shared subject. I caught her staring at me every now and then, or at Kate if not me. Sometimes, she passed a hesitant glance Victoria's way, who was still extremely angry about what I had done – including Max in that hostility by default. Unlike the brunette, I wasn't afraid, even without my blackmail material.

Aside from the occasional glare, class passed by without incident. It would be nice to fast forward through all this, get to the end of Mark Jefferson's grandiose performance. After what felt like forever - pretending to take notes, answering questions and well-times smiles - the bell signaled the end of class for the day.

Eager to leave, I packed up and sauntered over to Max, wrapping my arm around her's. "Ready to go?"

She turned to me, slightly caught off balance by my unexpected grab, camera and pencil case still sat on her desk. "Thought that'd be obvious."

Still clutched possessively onto her arm, I helped her stash everything away in her bag before practically dragging her out of the room. I could feel Victoria's eyes on us, death glare. Kate watched us leave too, expression conflicted.

Even once we returned to my room, I still clung onto her arm. "Shower time for me. Fancy coming along?"

Her eyes widened in mild alarm, cheeks turning a light shade of pink from the insinuation. "Uh… if it's what I think you're suggesting, I'm good."

"Oh, I'm sure we're thinking along the same lines here. Guess I'll just ask next time, hmm? Maybe one day you'll take me up on the offer, just out of curiosity." I gave her a wink, taking my supplies and heading to the shower room alone.

All the stalls were free when I got there, all the choices available. Taking the middle shower, I pulled the curtain aside and disrobed, stepping out of the way of the initially cold spray of water. Plumbing at Blackwell was about the same standard as everything else here, aka. shit. I took my shampoo and lathered up the long blonde strands, letting the now lukewarm water hit my skin, humming.

I was making decent progress with Max. Yes, she was still shy as hell, but ever so slowly I was dragging her out of her comfort zone. She had been fairly receptive to my advances so far, or at least not outright against them. In time, I was certain she wouldn't put up any resistance at all. It might take a while, but I'd get there. Keep dropping subtle – and not-so-subtle – hints, building up what she was comfortable doing with me, so on so forth.

Finishing up, I dried myself off, wrapping a towel around my body. Once I'd gathered together my clothes and supplies, I left the shower room. I could use this as yet another opportunity to tease Max. Before I could make it to my room, I heard someone call out my name. When I turned, I realized it was Kate. She looked at my towel, hesitating for a moment.

"Hey, Kate, whatcha need?" I asked, not embarrassed in the slightest.

"Oh, right, um…" She cleared her throat, focusing back on the task at hand. "I wanted to talk about Max real quick. I mean, if now's not a good time…"

"Now's fine, go ahead," I prompted, curious to hear what she had to say for herself. In all the time we'd been here, the two of us had barely talked. Maybe it was about time that changed.

"I don't mean to pry, but…" she shuffled uncomfortably, resolve faltering slightly, "it sounds like you're making Max do things she doesn't want to."

One of my eyebrows arched in mild amusement. "Oh, she told you that, huh?"

"I… I know, about her…" she sighed, holding up her right hand and waving her fingers to demonstrate.

"Rewind?" Getting a nod in response, I allowed myself a curious smile. "Huh, figures she'd tell you if she was gonna tell anyone."

"I just…" Kate swallowed her apprehension, eyes flickering with determination. "I know it's not my place to interfere, but I can't stand by and watch her suffer."

This was yet another interesting twist of fate. Smiling, I leaned against the wall. "Don't worry, Kate. I've already had a word with Max about it. The power got to my head, you know. I knew how much Victoria bullied everyone, you included. As dubious as my methods were, I just wanted to help."

She nodded appreciatively. "Good, because Max doesn't need any more trouble or things to worry about."

"You really look out for her, huh?"

Honestly, I was a little jealous of Kate. She and Max had a closeness I would never achieve, no matter how hard I tried. It just wasn't the kind that mixed well with my personality but would make my job so much easier. In fact, Kate and I couldn't be much further apart if we tried – different ends of the spectrum. She was quiet, kind and supportive while I was wild, impulsive and flirty. Polar opposites.

Nodding, Kate went on to explain her behavior. "I don't have many close friends, and Max has been there for me, so I want to repay the favor where possible. I know she… found it hard talking to you about it, so I just wanted to check."

"I completely understand. Must say, I'm pleasantly surprised by this. I always had you down as the shy type." It was interesting to see another side of her, a much more assertive one than I was used to seeing.

"I am," she agreed, "but when it comes to other people, especially someone who's helped me so much already, I guess I find my roar."

Offering her a charming smile, I gave her a wink. "Well, I'm looking forward to hearing it more, honestly. See you around, Marsh."

With that, I left her standing in the hallway, curious to see how involved in all this she would end up getting. Entering the room, I dropped my clothes on the couch along with my shower supplies. Max had curled up on my bed, eyes closed. She had spent a fair amount of time examining David's files last night, unable to sleep. Smiling to myself, I got changed and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her snore faintly. Right now, she was dead to the world.

She could stay like that for a few hours, but I had plans for her tonight.

Evening

I'd gone out for a while, checking in on everyone to pass the time – mostly Justin and Trevor. They also asked some questions about Max. Just like with the Vortex Club members, I kept my intentions hidden. Although, anyone who knew me well enough to take a guess and be partly right; they wouldn't know about the whole rewind element.

Figuring it was time for the brunette to wake up, I slid in behind her and lightly blew on her neck. She stirred, hunching up in the blanket. Smirking at her futile attempt, I clamped my arms and legs around her, pressing my lips to her neck and nibbling.

Groaning, her bleary eyes opened. "Rach…"

Finding her half-sleepy expression pretty cute, I smiled to myself. "At your service. C'mon, sleepyhead, we have work to do."

"What're we d-?" Her question was lost to a yawn, rubbing the tears and sleep from her eyes.

"It's a surprise, so hurry up," I instructed, rolling off the bed and pulling her to her feet. She stumbled, slumping against my chest. "Ooh, you move quick, Caulfield."

Pulling back, she averted her gaze. "S-sorry…"

"Don't apologize," I mentioned with a smirk, unable to help myself stealing a brief kiss from her. "In fact, that kind of behavior is… encouraged." Watching her face redden, I tangled my fingers in her hair then took her wrist and tugged. "Time's a wastin'."

Still dazed, Max let me pull her along out of the room and into the hallway, downstairs to the outside. It was dark now, way past curfew. She didn't say a word, although she did seem worried about sneaking around this late. Eventually, we made it to our destination: Blackwell's swimming pool entrance.

She frowned as I pulled some keys from my pocket with a faint jangle, opening the door. "I 'borrowed' David's spare keys before Chloe left. Not sure if he realizes or not... Either way, we can get anywhere in Blackwell, aside from the Principal's office. Tried and failed. Must be some serious shit hidden in there. Anywhere else is fair game, though."

As we stepped inside, Max bit her lip. "Should we be doing this? What if we get caught?"

I let out a deep sigh as I locked the door back up and made my way to the locker rooms. "Firstly, we will if you keep whining so loudly. Second, we have your rewind to rely on in a pinch. Finally, I've done this like a billion times with Chloe, no sweat, and we've never been caught. Had a few close calls, mind you." Grinning, I slung my arm over Max's shoulder and guided her into the girls' locker room. "With you around, that won't be a problem, right?"

So, pool time with Rachel should be fun… Stay tuned to find out just how much. And BTS is nearly out, guys. Exciting! Hope ya'll ready for the LIS feels train again.