And here's chapter 4! God, I've fallen in love with writing this story so much :)
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~But I've got better luck in my head
We're just ghosts inside my bed...~
By the time three thirty roles around, signaling the end of most students' last period, Chloe is wandering around campus. She found a few of her old friends that she used to hang with when she went to school at Blackwell. Rachel had back to back classes starting at twelve forty five, so she was probably just getting out and was on her way back to her room. Chloe decided to meet up with her and made her way to the school entrance. She leaned against the news board by the stairs. She kept here eyes open in case Max made an appearance. If she saw her, she didn't want her to think she was stalking her or something. Who stalks someone they've barely known a day?
God, so much has happened today.she thought with a heavy sigh. Her brain felt like it was in major overload.
With Rachel's encouragement to try and at least become friends with Max, Chloe had different scenarios playing out in her mind. She could either be her usual flirty self and try to totally charm the hell out of Max, or she could actually try to go about this the proper way by...treating her like a princess? Is that how it worked? Damn, she was bad at this. Wasn't there that whole saying of being yourself and the right people will like you?
Something like that?
Chloe heard a familiar laugh and stood up straight, looking around the side of the board to the entrance. Rachel was coming out, a smile on her face, and she was talking to Max. Chloe rolled her eyes and braced herself to bite the bullet. If she was going to be friends with Max, it'd be better to start sooner than later. She stepped around the board in time for Rachel to see her. The blonde smiled at her, which caught Max's attention. Max followed her eyes and visibly tensed up, much to Chloe's dismay. She was thrown off by the smile Max greeted her with.
"Chloe, we were just talking about you." Rachel said when the punk reached them. A glint in her eyes and a quick glance at Max told Chloe that might not of been a lie. Max was looking down again. Blushing.
"All good things, I hope." Chloe said.
Balance yourself, dude. Be a flirty gentlemen. Yeah, that's a thing.
"Of course." Rachel said. "Actually, I was just inviting Max out to the movies. Want to be our chauffeur?"
Chloe scoffed, but smiled. "I'm sure there was a genuine invitation in there somewhere. What movie?"
"We haven't decided yet." Max finally spoke up. Her eyes were on Chloe now, and were clearly hesitant. "We were, um, going to decide when we got there."
Chloe's imagination drifted. The three of them sitting in a dark theater, Rachel surely forcing them to sit next to each other. Chloe would pull a cliche and yawn, stretching to put her arm around Max's shoulder-
Woah there. You are not a fuckboy, Price.
Rachel snapped her fingers in front of Chloe's face. The taller girl blinked and looked at her, narrowing her eyes. Rachel simply smirked.
"Welcome back, Chloe." she said, successfully making Max laugh. "So are you in?"
"Yeah. I'm in." Chloe said casually.
"Awesome. We just gotta drop our stuff off at our rooms before we go." Rachel said. "Walk us there?"
Chloe nodded, not noticing the smile on Max's face shift from shy to...giddy almost. The three of them stepped down the stairs and headed in the direction of the dorms. Chloe rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. Rachel had moved so Max was in the middle of them and was giving Chloe a sideways grin, which the punk could see from the corner of her eye. Chloe tried not to react. She didn't want Max to see the wrong look on her face at the wrong time and grow uncomfortable. She settled for a slight nose twitch to show her irritation. Rachel would understand.
The heavy silence carried itself with them, though Max and Rachel made a few comments here and there. Mostly about some contest going on in one of their classes. Upon reaching the dorm, Chloe held the door open for them. She received a teasing grin from Rachel and the same shy but genuine smile from Max. The bluenette's heart skipped and she stood there for a second before following them in.
"Chloe, why not keep Max company?" Rachel suggested. "I need to check up on something before we go."
Chloe didn't hear the soft gasp escape Max, but she narrowed her eyes slightly at Rachel. She smiled, though. "Sure." She looked at Max. "If she wouldn't mind."
Max seemed at a loss for words. Was she she blushing? "N-no, not at all."
"Great!" Rachel beamed. "See you guys in fifteen, okay?"
Max and Chloe nodded and Chloe's eyes followed Rachel as she made her way to her room. She wasn't sure if that girl was trying to pull something or not. Sometimes she was so difficult to read.
"My, uh, room is right over here." Max said, her thumb pointing in the direction Rachel left in.
"Lead the way." Chloe said.
Max nodded once and started up the hall, stopping at room 219. Chloe stood idly by as the brunette pulled out her keys. She opened the door and gestured for Chloe to follow her in. Chloe did so, shutting the door behind her. She took in Max's small room, enjoying how, despite the lack of space, it had a welcoming and homey atmosphere to it. Max took her messenger bag from her shoulder and set it by her bed. She wasn't meeting Chloe's eyes, not that Chloe was looking at her.
This is so fucking awkward. Chloe thought.
"You can sit down if you want." Max offered.
Chloe hummed quietly and sat down on the couch. She clasped her hands together and sighed. "So..." she started slowly. "You're in Rachel's photography class, right?"
"Mhmm." Max said. Her smile became more relaxed. "I love taking photos. Of me, the world, everything." She blushed, and Chloe thought it was cute. "It may sound sad, but I have a blast."
"It doesn't sound that sad." Chloe said. She grinned at her.
"I'm happiest when I've got a great image in my lens." Max said. "I'm not lonely, not afraid..." She looked down at her hands like she was embarrassed. Chloe's heart squeezed.
"Well, that's definitely inspiring. I don't feel so totally hopeless." Chloe chuckled. She heard Max giggle with her. The sound rang against her eardrums. "Do you have any pictures I can look at?"
Max looked up at her in evident surprise. She blinked a couple times. "You...you want to see my photos?"
"Of course." Chloe said. "You can't just brag about them and not expect me to ask if I can see a few."
"I wouldn't call it bragging..." The photographer's blush darkened. She reached for her bag and opened it, reaching in and taking out a few polaroids from a side pocket. She handed them to Chloe, biting her lip nervously. Chloe reached out and closed her hand around the photos. Her fingers brushed Max's and she felt a shudder go down her spine. She noticed the way Max twitched back briefly before letting the pictures go.
Did she feel that, too?
Chloe turned the pictures over and looked down at them. The first one was of a blue butterfly perched on a bucket. It looked like it was in the girl's bathroom. The punk wondered how she managed to snag a picture of that. There was something so mystical about the image, even though it was nothing but a butterfly. Chloe moved on to the next picture. It was one of a squirrel picking at a donut. Again, Chloe couldn't think of how she'd managed this. You don't just get a picture of animals right on the first try.
"How did you get these?" Chloe paused in her photo gazing to hold up the squirrel and the butterfly. She gave Max a confused but very impressed look.
Max shrugged, scratching at her hair. "I don't know, really. I guess the timing was on my side."
Chloe smiled and went back to the next picture. She knew there had to be some sort of secret, but she didn't mind if Max kept it to herself. In this Polaroid, there was a bunch of green, which Chloe realized were tree leaves. She made out full grown trees with something in the very middle. It was Rachel. She was sitting on the branch, her legs stretched out before her. She wasn't looking at the camera and instead had her head positioned upwards. Her eyes were closed and there was a slight smile playing at her lips. She looked really peaceful. Beautiful.
"Holy shit..." Chloe mumbled.
Max perked up and leaned over, anxious. "What, what is it?"
"Oh, n-nothing. It's just...these pictures are amazing." Chloe complimented. She gave Max a reassuring smile that only widened when she saw her relax. Max returned the smile.
"I'm glad you like them." Max said. She worried her lip between her teeth for a second before saying, "You're welcome to keep one if you want."
"Really?" Chloe was taken back. Was she really offering her one of the pictures?
"Yeah, I... I like sharing them. I gave my friend Kate a picture of a wild rabbit I saw around here a couple weeks ago because she has one. And Rachel had me take dual photos of her in the tree so we'd both have one, but I don't mind if you take it." Max laughed a little nervously when she realized she might've been rambling.
Chloe looked back at the pictures. While she loved the one of Rachel and the picture of the squirrel was cute, there was something about the butterfly picture that just drew her in. It was captivating and mysterious at the same time, and Chloe noticed she could see Max's reflection in the bucket. Chloe chuckled once and handed the other two back to Max. She held the butterfly polaroid between her fingers. "I think I'll take this one."
"I figured. The butterfly matches your hair." Max said, which made Chloe laugh.
"So you like my hair?" Chloe teased. She tugged at a stray lock.
"Yeah, it's a nice color on you." Max's eyes widened slightly and she blushed again, looking towards the door.
God, this girl will be the death of me. Chloe thought. "Thank you."
Max smiled and nodded slightly in time for a knock to sound on her door. "That must be Rachel." she said, getting up to answer the door. Chloe got up, too, and took out her wallet to put the photo in.
"You girls ready to go?" Rachel asked when Max opened the door.
"All set." Max answered, and looked to Chloe.
"Let's hit it." Chloe said.
The three of them left for Chloe's truck.
...
"Okay, I'm gonna tell you guys right now that I don't like horror movies." Max said when she saw Rachel's eyes go for the poster of The Conjuring 2.
"What, do they scare you?" Rachel asked.
"Hell yeah. I saw The Grudge when I was five." Max trembled and shook her head. "Fucked me up."
"Damn, I haven't seen that movie in years." Chloe laughed. "I think I first saw it when I was ten. Rachel was spending the night at my house."
"Oh, yeah! I remember that! Then you shut off all the lights in the house and chased me around the house making that noise!" Rachel was feigning anger, and the grin on her face gave it away.
Chloe laughed even harder and looked to Max. He blue eyes were sparkling with amusement. "Something tells me you'd hate that, huh?"
"Hate what?" Max asked.
"Being chased around by a hot girl doing the death rattle." Rachel piped up. Max's face flushed deeply and Chloe rolled her eyes.
"No, Rachel. I wasn't going for that." Chloe said. "I mean reenacting horror movie scenes. Rachel and I used to do it all the time when we were younger."
Max played with a strand of her hair shyly. She looked down at her sneakers. "I wouldn't be entirely opposed to the idea. As long as I'm not alone."
"Are you easily scared?" There was sincere concern in Chloe's voice that made Max's heart flutter. Max shrugged.
"It all depends, really." she said.
Rachel clapped a hand on both of their shoulders, bringing them to a stop. "What do you say we do it, then?"
"Are you serious?" Max said meekly, but Chloe's face lit up with excitement.
"Hella yes! We can have a sleepover at my place!" she said. "My mom and step-ass both have the night shift tonight, we'll have the place to ourselves!"
"What do you say, Max?" Rachel asked the small brunette.
"We don't have to if you don't like it." Chloe added quickly. She didn't want Max to be too uncomfortable.
Max was silent for a good few seconds, pondering the outcome of this in her head. On the one hand, she'd get more time with Chloe. On the other, she might end up scared out of her mind. She weighted this and sighed heavily, smiling. She looked between the two girls, who were already grinning from ear to ear.
"Okay."
Rachel and Chloe did a little victory dance around her, and the three of them laughed. Rachel took off for the counter, her mind set to buy three tickets for The Conjuring 2. Chloe and Max followed behind slowly. From the corner of her eye, she could see Max's previous expression of eagerness shift to one of slight nervousness. Chloe frowned a bit and nudged Max gently, getting her attention. When she looked at her, she gave her a bright smile.
"Rachel loves taking the creature role first. So I'll be the one protecting you if you get too scared." she said. She threw in a wink for extra affect, laughing mentally at the way Max flustered so easily.
Rachel came back a minute later, waving the tickets in her hand. "Let's get this afternoon started!" She pointed at Chloe. "Since I bought the tickets, you're getting the snacks."
"Alright." Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "Just tell me what you want."
As they made their way to the concession counter, Chloe couldn't help but feel a little excited in anticipation for what the night was going to bring.
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Splitting this chapter into two parts, so the next set of lyrics will be featured in the next one AND a bonus set. So consider this part 1 :) I wanted to give Rachel and Chloe a backstory that differed from the canon one of Max and Chloe. I feel like the pirate theme is theirs and theirs only, even if that's not the case in this fanfiction. So I settled for something that seemed a bit more fitting to me, which is reenacting horror movies.
Thank you guys so much for supporting this story! CaptainVampireQueen awaaay!