Disclaimer: Anything familiar to you, I don't own. This is a work of fanfiction for personal amusement, fulfillment and a bit of self-therapy. I make nothing from any of it.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Of the Mysteries
September 4th, 2011 11:45 AM
Rachel's mind was a little overactive as the two of them left Max's room, a day before school actually started. Her thoughts were traveling in various directions at the same time and it was hard to keep track of them, to examine and understand each one as it passed her. Perhaps foremost, no matter how much she tried to keep it buried, was a bit of concern about the health of the brunette beside her. Max had never particularly been what one would call large, but Chloe's concerns the year prior, that Max might be bad about eating during the heights of her emotional problems, seemed confirmed.
Whatever this issue-which Chloe had taken to calling a 'Monster in Shining Armor' complex-was, it had taken its toll rather notably over the summer without Rachel or Chloe there to keep it in check. Max was now probably lighter than Rachel remembered ever seeing her. It was most visible in her face. The sight of her the day before had left Chloe-judging by the look on her face-elated and concerned in equal parts. Given the talk the Caulfield parents had with the both of them during the brief period of time Max was out of earshot, they were not the only ones concerned. Rachel had no problem being a little assertive about bothering Max to not skip meals, but the issue was in not understanding the underlying problem that seemed to cause these episodes.
For the moment the blonde decided it was okay to be happy to have Max back. She knew that though she was ostensibly taking Max to the diner for breakfast or lunch, there was an ulterior motive at work. The two of them were going to pitch the girl both Chloe's game and the school's imminent production of Hamlet. Come to think of it, what is Mr. Keaton going to do for his fall production when he's students do every surviving Shakespeare? Just restart the cycle? It was something of a set up on that front but Rachel was entirely certain Max was capable of reading the signs and seeing it coming. She was a smart cookie, after all. Rachel was just about to turn and engage her in conversation, concerned about the relative silence when Max pulled to a stop.
The door to room 222, Max's room the year prior, opened abruptly. At first, she thought that the person who stepped out of the room into the hallway was some student's grandparent, a little old lady. It was understandable, Rachel thought. The main cause of this misconception wasn't the girl's old-fashioned hairstyle, one large bun in the back. It wasn't even the notably conservative dress style, it was mostly the way she walked, kind of hunched forward as if trying to seem small. The dirty blonde's relatively small statue didn't help, but the posture was uncannily familiar. Rachel had seen that behavior before, a couple of years ago in a classmate who had been bullied to the point of surrendering in the face of more of it, a classmate who had simply wanted left alone. A classmate who, a few months later, would stop showing up to classes. This new girl, who seemed to have distracted Max, walked like Chloe had tried to before she first gave up on Blackwell all together. Her height gave her a certain advantage Chloe Price simply had not had.
"Hey," the photographer beside her greeted. The girl paused, as if surprised she was being spoken to and stood a little straighter, turning to face them both. Rachel looked her up and down twice to take stock. She was definitely a new student: Blackwell was not so large that she wouldn't recognize a face. Especially one that, despite the girl's obvious trepidation, so earnestly lit up at being spoken to. The reaction was enough to make her heart hurt and she wasn't entirely sure why. Not true, Rachel told herself. I can make a couple guesses why, right now.
"Oh, hello," the voice from the girl opposite of them was quiet, slightly hesitant. Her hand rose as if by habit to grip a small crucifix hanging around her neck, overtop the dress shirt beneath her dark blue cardigan. That did nothing to hide the slight delight on the girl's face. Maybe she was getting lonely? Rachel asked herself before immediately admonishing her tendency to overanalyze. When some people tried to look friendly with strangers, Rachel could swear she felt how fake it was. This girl seemed genuinely relieved. I don't think I've seen her around Arcadia Bay.
"Hi," Max greeted again, her voice lowered slightly almost as if speaking to someone who was relatively scared. Does she see something I don't? Rachel couldn't help but wonder. "I'm Max."
"Kate," the girl answered quietly. If anything, judging by the attire and general demeanor Rachel might have expected a more formal version of the name, like Katherine. Admittedly that's kind of got a cool ring to it. It was only when she finally took notice of a slightly longer silence than was strictly comfortable that Rachel realized she had missed a step in the dance of social niceties.
"Oh, crap," Rachel started, trying not to look as embarrassed as she suddenly felt.
"Sorry, I was totally in space. I'm Rachel. Welcome to Blackwell." Unlike Max, Rachel extended a blue-nailed hand which Kate took only after pausing long enough to make Rachel rethink her actions. As they shook briefly, Rachel took stock of her again. Despite the way she seemed a little hesitant to look either of them directly in the eyes which made it difficult to make a measure of an appearance, the girl in front of them was very pretty. I'll probably never be a fan of hair up in buns and ponytails, but, 'each their own' and all that.
"It's okay," Kate assured her, growing more sure of herself with every word. It was something of an endearing transition. "I'm like that all the time. I'm just in here," she gestured to room 222, as if unsure if they'd seen her exiting.
"I had that room last year," Max told her. "It's usually pretty warm." Oh yeah, Rachel thought, and could that be because of one of the people you always had in there? She smiled at the musing. "I get cold pretty easy, so it was nice."
"I do too," Kate agreed, gesturing toward the cardigan. "And I left like, half of the blankets I wanted to take at home because of space in my bags." Max laughed. Rachel recalled Ryan Caulfield's playful whining as he carried a box of blankets up to his daughter's room last fall.
"I'm sure you're busy unpacking and all," Max started, drawing out her thought. Quietly, Rachel thought it was so that she could read and see if the idea she was starting to get to struck a bad chord with Rachel. It did not, particularly. "But if not, we're going into town to meet our girlfriend." Oh, Max. Rachel groaned internally. She tried not to let her face change and glanced once, concernedly toward the girl. It might have been unfair to assume so, but for a moment she wondered how Kate was going to react. The conservative dress and the crucifix weren't bad signs, certainly, but they were enough to make Rachel anxious as to what someone wearing them might think of three women dating each other. Is what we're doing even 'dating?' After the moment of panic passed, Rachel realized that fairly often the term 'girlfriend' was used very generically in situations between female friends. That made it hard to read into Kate's complete lack of response to the term. Besides, most people aren't thinking about polyamory?
It was fairly common knowledge by that point around campus that Max, Rachel and Chloe had something going on between them. Each of them had been forced to field questions about the concept on more than one occasion and it still happened, if rarely. If Kate had misunderstood Max just then, well, she would find out quickly enough. It's best to just assume the best about people, you know? Rachel relaxed. Kate was hesitating but it took only one look at her face to understand why: she was unfamiliar with them. Last September, Max had worn this look before their first few play practices or tabletop sessions, though she had fought hard to keep Chloe from noticing. It was simple fear about fitting in with new people. The dirty-blonde in front of her looked confused when Rachel suddenly grinned and leaned forward just slightly.
"Kate, come with us," she insisted. "We're literally just going into town for food. The Two Whales is basically the only good place for food in town unless you want chinese." Just beside her, Max made a 'hmm' sound. Rachel shot a playfully derisive look toward the photographer whose genuine amusement made Rachel feel a bit better about her mental state. "Come on. The mother of the girl we're going to go meet works there. She usually has them toss us some extra fries or something." The uneasiness only barely waned from the girl's face but she seemed to be considering it more openly. Besides, she thought, if Max likes her, I like her. I can also see how shitty it would be to be alone in a new town all of the sudden.
"Not that burgers for breakfast is a great idea," Max led in, "but then again it's what I get for sleeping until lunch time the day before school starts." This earned an understanding nod from the girl in the long, blue skirt. Rachel didn't take it as agreement to come with them but it was a good sign.
"I mean, do you even have any food in your room?" she asked Max, a sudden thought occurring to her.
"It wasn't on the top of the list of my things to bring with me. I was more interested in getting the fridge, some blankets and at least most of my clothes." Speaking of clothes, Rachel thought. She glanced Max over once. Though the jeans were hardly out of place for her, she had forgone her favored grey sweatshirt. Instead, looking as worn as the last and only time Rachel had ever seen it, was the dark red hoodie Chloe had given her. Then again, Max had managed to steal one ofRachel's shirts too before summer break. Rachel found the idea endearing, because, after all, wasn't that the kind of thing people were supposed to do? Max had otherwise done very little changing up of her style over the summer. Rachel could respect that: when you find your comfort zone, stick to it. What she could notrespect was that Max hadn't brought something in the way of food to go into that fridge.
"Okay, so we're going back into town tomorrow after class to get you some food, " she insisted, before turning back to their new friend. "And you, are coming with us to try the best food Arcadia Bay has to offer." It was phrased as a statement, but she simply waited with a raised eyebrow until Kate nodded in agreement, her lips curling upward again.
"I've just got to grab my bag," the girl added. "One sec."
"Okay," Max said, and then promptly leaned herself up against the wall just outside of the room. Rachel watched her hands go for her phone with a sort of practiced ease. Muscle memory, and all that. Rachel watched her call up the user interface without even looking and then glance down in surprise as her hand met not with the sleek black screen on the front of her phone but a folded square of notebook paper. Max's face paled, which was something that Rachel had not believed possible until she saw it. (The differences in their coloring might have been more easily explained by the extra efforts she had made to get something of a tan over the summer instead of the states of their health, admittedly.) Rachel stepped toward Max as she seized the sheet of folded paper and began to pocket it.
Unexpected, memories rose to the surface of her mind of a hundred times she had seen the girl with it, maybe spinning the square of notebook paper between her fingers or putting it between two books on the small bookshelf she kept in her room or pulling it out whenever she thought no one was looking. Rachel had never pushed her curiosity on the importance of this piece of paper, but now she was inclined to. Reaching out, Rachel caught the girl's hand lightly before she could slip the paper in her pocket.
"And what are we hiding?" Intending to tease Max about what she was hiding from them, Rachel thought to maybe get a peek and solve one of Max's many mysteries but she was stopped in her tracks. The transformation on the photographer's drawn face only lasted a brief moment. Surprised turned to panic which changed in turn to calculation. She could see the gears turning in her girlfriend's head, trying to figure out how she was going to distract Rachel from her curiosity without letting on that this was actually something important, something that-for whatever reason-upset her. Rachel released her hand as soon as the looks processed through her mind. Yes, she wanted to know but there was no way in hell she was going to violate Max's trust to do so. Max would do the same toward her. Max seemed to relax but the attempt she made to put a 'playfully' upset look fell flat. "Sorry," Rachel told her, very seriously. "I won't do that again." That wiped the look off of the photographer's face quickly. They were saved anymore awkwardness by the door to room 222 opening again.
Kate now had a dark brown bag over one shoulder and had swapped out her shoes to something less formal, perhaps in anticipation of walking or public transit. Max, certainly, had no way of knowing that Rachel now had her own ride and so was probably expecting the same. Rachel let the two of them talk as she lead the way out of the dorms. Generally it was a typical fall day. Fall was the only time of the year when she considered Arcadia Bay particularly picturesque. Behind her, the two bonded over the realization that they were each there to study-speaking of pictures-photography.
Max was telling the other girl about an online catalogue of cameras called 'camera porn' when Rachel began to lead them off the track Max might have been expecting. Better give her the address to that one. I don't think googling it is going to turn up the kind of site she expects. She slowed them up long enough to stop and shift her jacket from the bag at her own side to actually settled across her shoulders. She wasn't cold per say, (she had developed something of a tolerance to the cold) but she did enjoy the jacket and it was finally cool enough to be able to comfortably wear it.
It took Max longer than expected to realize they were not making for the bus stop across the street from the school and instead toward the parking lot. They were practically at the stairs when the brunette stopped in the middle of answering something Kate had asked her about some photo she was describing. Rachel kept walking and didn't acknowledge the change except for the smile curling her lips which, thankfully, Max couldn't see from behind her. Things were quiet as she lead them to her car.
"Mom gave me the old sedan for my birthday," she explained finally. "She's got my… father's car. So this is mine, now." Max made a noise that sounded like a click of the tongue as Rachel pressed a button on her key fob. The doors unlocked. Kate, for her part, didn't hesitate and began moving to one of the back passenger doors. Max, Rachel found as she turned, was standing a step or two back looking skeptical as she rested one arm inside the pocket of the sweatshirt. "What?" Max's skeptical eyes turned first on the car and then her. Unsure if the girl was kidding or not, Rachel only narrowed her eyes. Kate stopped with the back door open and looked between them, visibly confused. "Oh come on, you've ridden with Chloe in her beat up truck how many times? "
"Sometimes I'm dubious about that, too," Max said, placing a finger on the point of her chin and looking up as if in thought. Without breaking her narrowed stare, Rachel pointed to the car.
"In," Rachel demanded, playing into what she now understood to be the pixie-cut bearing photographer's playful teasing. She tried to put her earlier concerns about the girl in the back of her mind and just share a caring moment but, even in doing so she couldn't ignore the sunken look of her eyes. Max crossed her arms, not childishly but defiantly, challengingly. "Oh, you're gonna be a brat now?" Rachel asked. When she didn't earn a response from Max she glanced to the quiet girl pausing, looking bemused with one hand on the door. "Guess it's just us today. Don't worry Max, we'll tell Chloe you said hi."
With that, she opened the door to the driver's seat and sat down, taking her time buckling up. She could hear Max's audible 'no fun' sigh through Kate's open door as the new student settled into her own seat. After a moment the front passenger door opened and admitted first one leg and then the rest of her girlfriend. Rachel waited for the girl to settle into her seat and then reached across for her with the intent on some gesture of affection, maybe even a kiss. Then she remembered Kate was in the back and she pulled her hand back to the steering wheel. Max looked confused, pausing for a second halfway through buckling up and then she seemed to understand Rachel's anxiety. God, I hope this goes well.
"You know," Rachel started as the car came to life beneath her hands. She deepened her voice. "I find your lack of faith disturbing." There was a beat where Max looked at her with genuine concern in her eyes and then, in the most exaggerated groan of frustration ever, the photographer realized what she had done. Max didn't roll her eyes so much as her whole head and, facing toward the passenger window, buried it in her hands. Rachel cheered and put the car into reverse.
"Not a Star Wars fan?" Kate asked Max cautiously, as if this was a delicate subject. Oh, how right you are, Rachel thought at her, grinning toward the girl in the rear view mirror. She pulled out of the lot as Max turned as best as her seatbelt would allow her.
"Star Trek is clearly the superior sci-fi," Max said, as if it was a foregone conclusion, a commonly accepted fact. This time it was Rachel's turn to roll her eyes until they locked with Kate's very similarly colored eyes in the mirror and then the girl seemed to understand the nature of the discussion that was forming. That small, almost grateful smile curled her lips. "What?" Max asked. "Come on," Max's voice shifted this time, her face scrunching up slightly as if in mockery of the line. "'Search your feelings, you know it to be true.'"
"I don't know," Kate said, earnestly. "Doesn't Star Trek have that skeevy captain who basically tries to have sex with every woman he meets? Kind of inappropriate, don't you think?" Rachel stifled a groan of her own. Kate, knowing it or not, had gone straight for the throat. She could almost predict Max's response. Jar Jar, she thought. Max and Chloe had had this very conversation before when Max had first moved back to Arcadia Bay last year. Rachel had had the feeling that the two had talked about it before.
"Oh come on, everyone always trots out Kirk. Luke tries to bang his sister, man. Besides, Star Wars can never live down the stain of Jar Jar Binks on its soul." Kate had gone from cautiously happy with being reached out to by two complete strangers to openly amused at Max's antics. Even so, as Rachel turned off the road leading from the school, she felt like she better put an end to it, just in case.
"Chill, Max, this isn't your war with Chloe." Max sighed dramatically, wiping nonexistent sweat from her brow.
"I'm sorry, Kate," she replied, her voice laden with an exaggerated, long-suffering grief. "It's been a long and gruelling battle for Rachel's soul and I fear I may be losing." Rachel shook her head but focused on the road. Glancing in the mirror Kate's amusement has gone from slightly evident on her face to fully bloomed: she was stifling laughter at Max's absurdity. Max, looking back briefly, double took and then pumped a fist in victory. "Victory is sweet," she told Rachel, chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Kate asked.
"My goal for the day was to make someone smile. Laughter is a bonus," Max replied off the cuff and then turned back to face front. Rachel looked sideways at her and the urge to reach out to the gorgeous, caring girl beside her made her tighten her grip on the steering wheel. Max Caulfield was a shit stirrer when it served her and was willing to go to bat for complete strangers even if that meant doing so very literally, but in moments like these, Rachel couldn't understand how she could possibly see herself as any kind of monster. Max had a heart the size of Noah's Ark and nothing short of hurting her or someone she loved seemed to begrudge you room on that boat. Maybe she didn't do as badly this summer as we thought? Conversation lulled but the atmosphere in the car was comfortable and happy, an impressive feat considering one of the passengers had only met the other two a few minutes before. Rachel was impressed with how quickly Kate warmed up to people. Some people are just that good at it.
Chloe was waiting, sat at probably their favored booth when the three of them entered the diner. Rachel was a little saddened that she hadn't managed to convince Steph to join them for lunch, after all, but she was excited that, discounting helping the Caulfields move Max into her dorm room, the three of them were finally together again. Chloe's face lit up a bit as she walked in and, if she was overly confused by Kate's presence when the other two stepped in behind Rachel, she did not show it overmuch.
To her credit, Chloe said composed and sitting until they had reached the table. When Rachel glanced back, Kate was looking around the room with a familiar expression on her face. It was one of nostalgia. She was looking almost longingly at the diner. Odd, was all Rachel managed to think before she turned back to find Chloe right in her face, seizing her in a hug. Rachel returned it tighter than she meant to, but Chloe didn't complain. She never complained about a tight hug, they just seemed to make her feel comforted or reassured. Rachel hadn't asked which. Almost as soon as Rachel finally let her go, Max stepped up dutifully, and sighed, opening her arms. Chloe grabbed the girl in one tight, hefting hug, lifting her completely (if barely) from her feet. Rachel looked back to Kate.
"We've missed her, if you can't tell," she deadpanned. Kate shook her head. Rachel sat herself down where Chloe had just been, facing the door and watched Max eventually return the hug, all joking aside.
"Wouldn't have guessed it." The dirty-blonde was just easing herself into the seat opposite of her when Chloe finally let Max drop to her feet. The two exchanged some greeting Rachel couldn't hear, their faces close, their voices low and then split apart. When Max settled down beside Rachel, Chloe dropped into the booth by Kate and, quite suddenly, greeted her. Chloe suddenly sounded the picture of composure and 'keeping it cool' despite having nearly crushed two sets of ribs in her excitement.
"Yo," Chloe greeted, not quite wiping the goofy smile that made Rachel want to tease her from her face. Rachel took the second to see the mercifully finished tattoo. It was still fresh enough that when Chloe wore a shirt that exposed it, mostly, Rachel's eyes were drawn to the fairly beautifully done artwork. Chloe offered the hand attached to that very arm in greeting and Kate's eyes momentarily locked onto the ink. There was some surprise but she didn't particularly hesitate to shake Chloe's hand. I think I should feel a little silly for worrying about this girl. She's chill.
"Hi, I'm Kate," she introduced herself, voice a little lower than expected. "It's really nice to meet you." The two shook.
"Chloe," the blunette said by way of introduction. "Chloe Price." Today Chloe was dressed in her punk-ass best. A pale tank top bearing a skull on the center of it hung off her. It was a little large on her which was probably why she wore the long-sleeved button up over top of it, hanging unbuttoned and loose. Large, dark combat boots and pants that were more tear than jean from the knees down and thick eyeliner completed the look. She had forgone her beanie, but that was not all that rare for Chloe nowadays. It seemed to be absent as often as present. Kate looked her up and down once and then her eyes squinted slightly, as if trying to understand something. Chloe, for her part, seemed entirely unaware of this look.
"Did you just move to the dorms or something?" Chloe asked, not quite turning herself away from Rachel and Max but still looking at Kate. It was an entirely aware decision, an attempt to be inclusive while engaging the new person. They both have big hearts. Not sure if that's why they like me, why I like them or both.
"Yeah," Kate said, perking up. Whatever she was trying to figure out before had been promptly forgotten. "I used to live here, when I was a kid. Moved away when I was like ten? Spent a lot of time here. I really wanted to go to Blackwell for photography and my parents said as long as I kept up my grades and didn't get into trouble at school, they'd send me when I got older." She made a wide gesture with her hands as if to say, 'here I am.' "It's just always been really good for art, so that's what I'm here for."
"Art?" Chloe asked, hopefully.
"She's a photographer," Max all but purred. Chloe's face fell.
"But I really like to draw, too," Kate hurried to explain. This made the artist across from Max perk up all over again. Rachel wanted to laugh at the earnest excitement. Her girls were too damned cute for words sometimes. Rachel reached out and, beneath the table, took hold of Max's hand. Briefly, Kate dug into the bag half on her lap and half between her and the wall and exposed the edge of what looked like a sketchbook.
"Could I see before we leave?" Chloe asked, excitedly. "I mean," she said, apparently trying to regain composure, "If that's okay." This time Rachel did laugh, and Chloe's subsequent facade of offense be damned. To Rachel's right, Max looked oddly satisfied as the other two talked. Rachel decided not to read too far into it and glanced up at the sound of clicking heels across the room. Joyce had noticed them, judging by the glance she shared with Rachel, but was busy filling coffee and retrieving a slice of pie for someone at the counter.
Chloe seemed to follow her eyes and grow quiet. After a moment Joyce pulled herself from the counter and walked over to them. Joyce, Rachel saw, looked about the same as ever, if looking pointedly at the rest of the table and not her daughter. Joyce is complicated, Rachel told herself. It had long since become evident that Joyce knew or suspected the nature of the relationship Rachel, Chloe and Max shared. Whether she thought it was bad or simply was under the misconception that it was entirely lustful, Rachel didn't know. What she was sure of that, as much as she didn't hate Joyce, the same could be said for her. Joyce didn't hate her or Max, in fact she often looked on them with rather open care in her eyes. It would have made sense with Max, since Joyce must have watched her grow up from the small child Rachel had seen in the photos in Chloe's photo album to the near woman she was today. As for Rachel? It simply spoke to Joyce's heart.
But it wasn't that simple. She's got some shit to answer for. As far as Rachel was concerned, the idea that Joyce had gone this far without even being able to really consider that her daughter was telling the truth about the absolute shitbag that was David Madsen was a sign that the blonde woman had fucked up in a very big way. Trusting your fiance over your 'troubled' teenage daughter was understandable (though, not quite reasonable, in Rachel's mind) to a point. There was, however, a point where you moved from being reasonable to fucking up. Marrying him without resolving whatever was going on between them was that point. Just under a year ago, Chloe had confessed, shakily, that David had almost hit her just outside of the cafeteria doors. Rachel knew Chloe had been holding that truth in for a while, but Joyce should have been able to recognize the other warning signs that this guy was a scumbag. On top of it all, I can't shake the idea that Chloe's right and he is following us around. The blonde crossed her arms once over her chest and glanced at them all, then her eyes landed on Kate and her face split into a wide smile.
"Katie Marsh? " the woman said, her eyes widening slightly.
"Hi, Mrs. Price." Chloe's face was the very picture of 'rug pulled out from under me'.
"It's Mrs. Madsen now," Joyce clarified. She stopped beside Chloe and rested one hand on the girl's shoulder. Chloe looked tense and locked eyes with Rachel, as if that would provide her comfort. Rachel wasn't one to deny comfort when she could, so she simply held the girl's gaze and mouthed 'it's okay'. "I'm so, so glad you finally met Chloe. I was so sad when I had to stop babysitting you and you'd never met her." Rachel watched Chloe raise an eyebrow at her mother. Rachel tried not to feel too surprised. Babysitting for someone in town was exactly the kind of thing she could have seen a younger Joyce doing. Despite her utter failure as far as seeing through her husband, Joyce was a nurturing spirit. To top it off, she was rather beloved by the majority of town. Hell, if someone ever threatened her, Rachel was fairly sure every fisherman over the age of 25 would rise up with pitchforks and torches to chase them out of town.
"I just met Max and Rachel here at school and Chloe and I were talking about our drawing," Kate clarified, as if to offer promise that she was, indeed, getting to know Chloe as her old babysitter seemed to want. "Rachel and Max are the first people to really talk to me since I got here yesterday. Kind of made my day," the girl admitted. It was a really vulnerable thing to say so casually. Rachel wasn't sure she could do that. It was probably right there and then that Kate finally endeared herself to Rachel so completely. There were some people who, like Max, it took a couple weeks for her to be sure she could trust and open up to. Then there were people like this blonde in front of her with the large bun and the almost quiet, small way she held herself. Open books who Rachel couldn't help but read and realize should be respected.
"Alright, what can I get you?" Joyce asked the table at large.
"A cheeseburger, loaded for bear," Max answered immediately. Rachel couldn't shake the imagery of a cheeseburger as a bomber advancing on the target. Joyce wrote something on the pad in front of her without hesitation. "Oh and a coke." Once Joyce glanced at her, Rachel hurried to answer.
"Max converted me last year," Rachel told the waiting woman by way of explanation. "Belgian waffles," she said, as if confessing. "Some OJ? I mean, it's not quite breakfast time but-" Joyce waved a dismissive hand as if she heard this a hundred times a day and who knew, maybe she did. Their waffles were kind of fucking godly.
"Bacon and two eggs over easy," Chloe said to her mother. Her voice drawled as if she was uncomfortable saying it to her, but Joyce did not react. Rachel suddenly felt bad for suggesting the location to Chloe. There were almost certainly better places they could have met. "Ice water?" Joyce took that down and turned her eyes, finally, on Kate.
"I haven't been here since I was really little," the dirty-blonde admitted, her hazel eyes hooded by a furrowed brow. "Not sure what to order." Joyce pulled one of the faded menus from the apron she was wearing and waved it, as if tempting.
"Or," Joyce said, still holding it aloft. "You used to love my omelettes. The guy in the back doesn't do as good a job as me, but he's still pretty good." Kate briefly tapped a finger to her lips in contemplation and then, laughing, ordered an omelette.
"Could we get a couple extra orders of toast?" Chloe asked her mother, quite suddenly. Joyce nodded briefly, marking down that addition to their order before popping off to deal with the rest of the at least vaguely orderly crowd. If there was any conversation the woman wanted to have with her daughter it wasn't being had over their order, that was for sure. Rachel did not say anything about it. She eventually strutted off to place the order and deal with the fair amount of people in the diner who were finishing their lunches and preparing for whatever else the day had to offer them. Early birds, and all that noise. Across the pale, tiled room one man stroked his beard with one hand while theorizing to Joyce that the fish on his plate must have been one of his catches. It wasn't funny, but she laughed anyway. Rachel wished that the jukebox was playing something.
"So," Chloe said, clapping her hands once to draw the table's attention. "Max, you joining us for the fall play?" Rachel turned eagerly back to the table and passed her eyes over the girls opposite of her and to her left to focus on Max. The photographer's face fell immediately. It was something of a startling change and Rachel's first response was to squeeze Max's hand where she held it on the seat between the two. When Max met her or Chloe's eyes, she looked regretful but there were certainly some other fairly strong negative feelings at work.
"I don't think so this time," Max started, only trailing off when her eyes landed on Chloe, who was doing her best at giving the photographer the quintessential puppy-dog eyes. Rachel watched the regret intensify in Max's face, watched the way those deep blue orbs shifted from Chloe to the table, to the wall and finally out the window. Quietly, she wondered how to communicate to Chloe that it might be best to drop this. She'll see, though, right? Something is going on and Chloe can see right through that. Rachel decided a moment later she might be wrong.
"Oh," Chloe said, her tone dropping, voice turning sultry and teasing. "Do you really want to pass up a chance to spend a little time with Rachel and I?" Max turned back to the table and Rachel looked away from her to Chloe, trying to shoot her a 'stop, stop, danger!' look with her eyes. The punk was too busy trying to detect any sign that Max was getting embarrassed to even look at her. Chloe worked a hand through her own hair as she continued, a gesture Rachel wasn't sure how to read into. Beside Chloe, Kate was visibly confused, brow furrowing and lips pursing.
"We'll get to spend lots of time together," Max replied, quietly. That quiet was disconcerting to Rachel. If it worried her, surely Chloe would find it offputting too? "I promise. Just… not there." Instead of going quiet, Chloe feigned hurt as she leaned back in her seat.
"Are you over us already?" Chloe asked Max, putting a hand to her heart as if it was breaking. "Moving on to someone else? Someone new? " Rachel watched Chloe's glance shoot suggestively sideways, toward the girl who often spoke while clutching at the crucifix around her neck and who was now watching the scene unfold with widening eyes. Her heartbeat picked up in her chest and concern both for Max and about Kate's realization as to the nature of their relationship made Rachel momentarily incredibly anxious. She reached out beneath the table and kicked the blunette in her shin. Chloe yelped, making Rachel feel more guilty. It had not been meant to be that hard. Chloe's upset glare made her stomach churn and it was only after following the tilt of Rachel's head that the artist seemed to realize what was happening.
On one side of the table, Max was looking down at the faux-wood lining of the table and pointedly nowhere else. On the other side, Chloe was turning away from Max to Kate who was similarly not matching anyone's looks, her face bright red, her eyes wide and her general posture oddly rigid given her earlier tendency toward trying to look small. The cat was firmly out of the bag on the first point, though, so Rachel released Max's hand and leaned over toward her. Wrapping the photographer in her arms, she tried to either calm her down or find out what was bothering her. Ideally she could do both.
"Max?" Rachel whispered, lips only a few inches from her ear. Max seemed to relax into the hug. "I don't know what's happening but you don't have to do the play with us, okay? Chloe missed that you were upset about something. It's alright." Max nodded and that was enough for Rachel to mostly release her but there was no scooting back apart and pretending that the affectionate, intimate gesture had not taken place. She did not try, instead keeping one arm close to Max who responded by leaning against her side. Kate let out a small 'oh'.
"I'm sorry about Chloe," Max said, suddenly sounding close to her old self. "When she wants something, she'll fight dirty to get it."
"Yeah, well," Chloe said, "Don't forget it." Then, turning between each of the other three seated at the table, she added, "Sorry. I didn't read the room too well today."
"Chloe," Max interjected. "Don't worry about it." The comfort offered was genuine but the damage already done. Max's mood had tanked all at once and Chloe's was going downhill to boot. "I'd like to say Chloe's on better behavior usually," she started, turning to face Kate. "But I don't make a habit of lying about my girlfriends."
"So," Kate drawled, raising her gaze again, this time specifically to Max. Makes sense, she's the first one to talk to her. "When you say girlfriends, you mean-?"
"Yeah," Max replied once it was clear Kate wasn't going to finish the thought. The fact that Chloe had only just caught on to the potential tension in that moment would have worried Rachel under different circumstances. As it was, she had to file it away with a list of other issues that needed addressing. At the end of the last year, Max had been opposed to taking part in the Spring play, but that had been, ostensibly, because she was feeling overwhelmed with school. Whatever was going on now seemed to be tied to the myriad of emotional problems, the depths and sources of which Rachel and Chloe could only barely comprehend.
Kate did not say anything more but Chloe's dawning comprehension of what Rachel had been worrying about for close to half an hour took a while to pass from her face. Silence descended on the table. It was a silence that for Rachel, Chloe and Max, should have been filled by discussion, by getting to the root of some matters. Sometimes, particularly moments like this, she had the urge to again try to confront Max about what went on in her head. Rachel just didn't like the idea of making things worse and every time she or Chloe broached the subject that was precisely what happened. A single bad day could be driven to a very ugly period of sadness, self-loathing or worse with very little in the way of effort. It made doing the things Rachel had come to embrace as necessary (confrontation, communication and cooperation) very difficult.
"Steph said you were going to DM a game?" Max finally asked, sounding somewhat desperate for a change of subject. Or, for that matter, a subject of discussion at all. Chloe perked up a little bit and to be fair, so did Rachel. Kate, for her part, immediately relaxed, though she watched the lot of them with a sharper gaze. In that aware state, the girl's eyes reminded Rachel of those she saw in the mirror. "I'm in. Totally down for that."
"Friday nights still okay?" Chloe asked, leaning a bit forward in her seat and seeming to have forgotten all the awkwardness of the last couple of minutes. "Steph's hosting, as usual." When Max replied with a short nod, Rachel feared the awkward silence would return. It was staved off, surprisingly, by Kate herself.
"I had a friend a few years ago who really liked playing D&D. He tried to get me to play with him, but my parents wouldn't let me. They say it lets in the devil." Rachel grimaced. This was the kind of restrictive ideology she couldn't really stand by, but it wasn't her place to question it, even if she was of the opinion that everyone would have a bit more fun in life if they rebelled against that kind of bullshit. Starting to sound like Chloe, again. Chloe rubbing off on her in that aspect had to be one of the things Rachel was most thankful for in life. "One of the things I was looking forward to when I came back to Arcadia Bay was to get to see him again, honestly." Max nodded amiably beside Rachel, who knew she was damn well able to sympathize with that. "But his father lost his job last year and they had to move away, to Portland." The familiar tale drew Rachel's narrowed eyes to meet with Chloe's over the table. After a moment even Max clued into the coincidence that seemed just a mite too coincidental.
"You were friends with Mikey North?" Chloe finally asked. The name was enough to make Kate's face light up, again. Most of the red had drained from it, though her cheeks continued to tinge red. In this way, they learned that, at the least, they all shared a friend in common. Rachel was inclined as the day went on to watch the way Max tried her best to relate to the new girl. Whatever it was that made the photographer reach out to Kate, it seemed that they were destined to be friends. Frankly, Rachel thought, Max could use a few more of those.