Chapter 6

The next morning, Max was woken up by the chiming of his phone. Lazily and drowsy he searched for the device on the nightstand, finding it as another sound emerged from it.

With half-lidded eyes he gazed at the display and groaned as he realized that it was just 7 am. But as soon as he read the messages, a wide smile appeared on his face.

[Rachel]: rise n shine, sleepyhead! :)

[Rachel]: still miss u. can't wait for tonight

[Rachel]: wanna meet for a minute before Wells?

[Max]: morning! miss u 2

[Max]: definitely!

[Rachel]: :D

[Rachel]: still gonna annoy u with my txts all day long though!

[Max]: do that. my phone likes to be abused XD

Now filled with joy, because being remembered that Rachel was as good as his girlfriend, Max got up with smile on his face and a happy melody on his lips.

This high amount of joy even lasted until he had showered, dressed and slumped down on the chair at the dining table, a mug of coffee and a bowl with cereals in front of him.

Next of his family to join, was William with kindly spoken "Morning, Max!"

"Morning!" replied the young boy, unable to hide his splendid mood. But while his step-father seemed to notice it and gave him a frowned smirk, Vanessa seemed to ignore it as she joined the breakfast and even was a bit agitated.

"Morning, sweetheart! Have you seen Chloe? She isn't in her room and neither left a message nor responds her phone."

In merely a second, Maxine's mood took a nosedive as she began to worry about Chloe, according to the experiences she had made in her reality.

"Uh…n-no. Last time I saw her was yesterday in the infirmary."

"William," Vanessa then sighed unnerved, "it can't go on like this! Chloe's out of control! First her bad grades and skipped classes, then she appears drunk at school and yesterday, she beat up another student. That a teenager breaks some rules or stays away overnight is no problem – dammit, I wasn't even better at her age – but no matter what we say or do, she ignores it, and I'm so tired of this!"

"Van, darling, I know what you're talking about…and I fully agree!" added William, sighing and dropping his gaze in defeat. "I don't know what's happening to her. Six months ago she still was my happy girl, and now…"

But as Max thought the ranting would only be against Chloe, he was taught differently as his mother turned her attention towards him.

"And you, Maximilian…You're still grounded and it's unacceptable that you stay away from home without asking for our permission!"

Entirely taken aback that he was now the target of his mother's anger, Max just stammered "B-but I…uh, I was just visiting someone at the hospital!"

"Oh really?" asked Vanessa suspiciously, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And who did you pay a visit?"

Max froze for a moment as heat was crawling up his face, making him blush. Actually, he hadn't planned to tell his parents, who were both staring at him now, about the budding relationship with Rachel.

'C'mon Max, sooner or later they would've found out eventually,' said Max to herself with a groan.

"A…a-a girl." was everything Max could bring forth, fixing his gaze onto the table. But while Vanessa was still giving him a raised eyebrow, William's eyes widened as he plainly said "Oh!"

"Oh what?!" the brunette woman asked quizzically and received a slight nudge with the shoulder from her husband.

"He visited a girl!"

And while Max became even redder, his mother's eyes opened wide as she gasped a loud "OH!"

From one second to another, Vanessa's anger entirely dissipated. With overflowing giddiness she walked around the table and took her son in a tight embrace, speaking joyfully "Aww, my little Maximilian has a girlfriend!"

"Mo-om!" the young boy protested with rolling eyes as he tried to free himself from his mother's hold. But everything he achieved was that the mid-aged woman backed away a bit, held his shoulders and gazed at him intensively with her sparkling eyes.

"Why haven't you told me that you're seeing a girl?"

"B-because it's not even official, yet and…uh…i-it's kinda embarrassing!"

This answer brought the brunette boy a slight, playful push by his mother. "Oh come on, you don't have to be ashamed! We're happy for you. What's the lucky ones name, anyway?"

Feeling already very uncomfortable by all this shame, Max just wanted to get away or at least that the topic would change. Which eventually occurred as the front door got opened. Downside: the next topic would suck even more, evident as Vanessa's formerly good mood vanished and was replaced by an angry growled "Chloe Elizabeth Price!"

Chloe felt all comfy and warm as she woke up. She knew where she was and she knew that last night wasn't a dream, which became even clearer as she felt Steph's warm body on her own.

Both were still naked from their latest activities and slept in, arm-in-arm, and kept this position until this very morning. The blonde girl inhaled deeply and enjoyed her lover's sweet, slightly sweaty fragrance that was filling her nostrils.

She really welcomed this relaxing and soothing moment of happiness by just laying still. Until Steph groaned softly and stretched her limbs as she slowly awakened.

"Morning!" whispered Chloe softly, combing through her best friend's brown hair.

"Morning!" returned Steph with a soft smile, gazing back at Chloe with half-lidded eyes. "Had a good sleep?"

"The most awesome for months!"

Chuckling softly, Steph sat up which caused their blanket to rise and glide down, revealing both of their naked beings. "See! Told you, sleeping in my bed is better than the sofa!"

"Waaay better…and much more satisfying!"

Grinning sheepishly, Steph wrapped her arms around Chloe again and kissed her passionately, which caused them both to slump down onto the mattress. Unfortunately, the momentum was so high and sudden that it let them roll off the bed and fall to the ground with a pair of shrieks and a loud thud.

"Ouch! My ass!" complained Chloe as they were lying on the carpeted floor, Chloe at the bottom and Steph on top. Immediately both laughed out loud, which slowly abated as both stared intensively at each other again. "So," Chloe then spoke eventually in a soft tone, brushing a stray strand of hair out of Steph's face, "should I call you girlfriend now?"

"Only, if you gimme the right answers to two important questions!" was the nerdy girl's answer, which of course made Chloe frown.

"Okaaay…shoot!"

"What about you and Eliot?"

Noticing, that these questions weren't a joke, but rather serious, Chloe's mood got dampened a bit. Yet, she knew that Steph took her love-life indeed very seriously, which was okay and important, considering Chloe's rather forced relationship with Eliot.

"Fuck Eliot!" the blonde nearly spit out, not wanting to think about her abusing boyfriend. "I'm gonna dump his sorry ass today!"

"That bad, huh?"

Realizing that this topic triggered some negative feelings in her friend, Steph hugged her some more and even let some soothing kisses follow.

Nonetheless, Chloe was starting to get annoyed by the Q 'n' A session and simply said "Next question?"

Knowing that the next question wouldn't improving Chloe's mood and therefor killing this formerly romantic atmosphere, Steph got up and put on her pajama pants.

"What is with you and Max?"

Deep inside, Chloe had felt that this question would've come, sooner or later. What about Max? Not the first time she had heard this question and last time she had beaten some certain girl unconscious for it. But Steph? She would never hurt or insult Steph Gingrich! Not in a billion years and especially not for a question, she didn't have an answer for.

Steph – smart as she was – felt Chloe's inner struggle, closed in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, adding a minute later.

"Tell me, when you have an answer! Until then, we'll stay friends...with benefits, of course! And now, let's get dressed! You need to go home and shower and I need to prepare for classes."

Like a whirlwind, Steph finished putting on her pajama, grabbed her toiletries, gave Chloe another peck on the lips and left for a shower. The blonde, however, needed some time to finally put her thoughts in order and get dressed. Having put her phone on mute yesterday – because she knew she'd get some annoying messages – she eventually took a peek at the display, noticing that she indeed received numerous texts.

The first bunch was from her dad and Vanessa. Already knowing their content, Chloe simply sighed, rolled with her eyes and deleted them all.

The next one was from Max, saying that he wanted to talk with her.

'Well, at least not all hope is lost!' Chloe thought, being glad that her step-brother was still talking with her. Maybe she should use this chance to finally make things clear between them and give Steph the answer, she wanted to hear.

The last message was from Eliot.

[Eliot]: Meet me behind the pool!

"Da fuck?!" she mumbled, already feeling the trouble that this message foreshadowed and remembering what she had told herself.

[Chloe]: at the fountain in ten

Not waiting for an answer, she put her cellphone away and was about to leave, as Steph came back, her body wrapped in a towel.

"You still here?!" she asked with a slight frown and stripped the towel without any shame in front of her friend.

"Well, I thought about gettin' down on you again," she said with a smirk, eyeballing the other girl's naked body again. "But figured it would take all day long and I so don't wanna get you in trouble for skipping classes."

"Gee, thanks Chlo. How generous!" With a wide grin, Steph closed in once more, embraced Chloe and planted another kiss on her cheek, before whispering into her ear. "And as a reward you can spend the next night here again, if you want to."

Right away, Chloe's cheeks reddened once more upon this very seducing offer, making Steph giggle as she then finally got dressed and both left the nerdy girl's room. They hadn't even put one step into the hall as Victoria's arrogant voice chimed from close-by.

"What the eff is the trash of Arcadia Bay doing here?"

But while Chloe just rolled with her eyes in annoyance, Steph intertwined her arm with that of her friend's, answering with snarky "Oh, despite you, she had an awesome, sex-filled night!"

"Blech, you slutty cunt-lickers are just disgusting!" the blonde returned with a scrunched-up nose and sauntered past them in a fast pace.

"Guess it's time for you to get banged yourself to finally get that stick humped outta your ass, Icky-Vicky!" Chloe then additionally called after her, which caused Steph to chuckle once again.

"Eww! That was very graphic, y'know?! Though, I must admit that she has a sweet ass. Sadly…it doesn't outweigh her ugly character."

"Yeah, her uber-bitchiness turns her into an ugly hag…and hopefully didn't get you on her shit-list!"

"Don't worry," said Steph eventually, "Firstly, she's just all bark and no bite. Secondly, as the Stage Manager I've got some leverage on her, 'cause I could kick her out of the play in no time, if she gets too bitchy on my butt!"

Taking a glimpse on her phone, Steph sighed loudly as she realized how late it already was. "Listen, Chloe, I need to go. Mr. Keaton awaits me in the drama lab. See you tonight?"

"Definitely!" was the blonde's answer and after receiving another peck on her cheek by Steph Gingrich, she witnessed how the nerdy girl left the dorms.

The weather was warm and the sunrays were highlighting the first yellow-painted leafs of the fall. Most students of Blackwell wanted to use the opportunity to enjoy these last warm days by spending as much time outside as possible before the coldness of the winter would have Arcadia Bay in its merciless grasp.

Right after Steph had separated from her in the dorms, Chloe had used the time before meeting with Eliot to smoke a cigarette and then sauntered slowly towards the fountain. That she would be 10 minutes late didn't bother her in the slightest.

Eliot was already waiting for her, arms crossed and his demeanor sourer than a lemon.

"Is it that hard to be punctual for once!" hissed the brunette boy, taking a angry step towards Chloe, who, however, wasn't intimidated by this and simply crossed her arms as well.

"Actually…yes!" she retorted, "Now spill. Whatcha want?"

His head already turning red, yet forced to keep down his anger, Eliot started to whisper-yell his rant. "Your behavior is embarrassing and out of line! Appearing drunk in school? Acting like a thug? People are talking about your fucked up shit and this starts to shed a bad light on me and my family!"

"Oh boo-hoo! Want me to squeeze a tear outta my eye?!" Meeting such insubordinate behavior again, Eliot's hands were clenching into fists, which Chloe realized on the spot. She had him were she wanted it. Now it was time to draw the final line. "Y'know what, Eliot? If I'm such an inconvenience to you, how about we end this between us right now?"

The young boy was now on the verge to blow up, but he was literally forced to suppress his grudge towards his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.

"You take that back, RIGHT NOW!" he yelled, making the surrounding students look at him with bewilderment, while Chloe just gave him a smirk.

"Nope, I'm hereby dumping your ugly ass, motherfucker! So, fuck y-…"

SLAP!

As the flat hand collided with her left cheek hardly, Chloe stumbled, tripped and fell into the fountain. The surrounding audience gasped in unison upon witnessing this act of violence. And while some students were helping Chloe out of the water, Eliot realized what he had just done and ran away. Some of Chloe's skater friends tried to stop him, but since he was very sportive they didn't stand a chance.

"Chloe, you alright?!" said Dana Ward, a beautiful brunette cheerleader, as she helped the entirely drenched blonde to stand upright.

"Yeah," she replied, rubbing her red cheek and following with her gaze her abusive ex-boyfriend.

"You should report this to Wells!"

"I consider it," answered Chloe, "Already have an appointment this afternoon. Thanks for your help!"

The blonde was about to just leave as she was, but got stopped by Dana right away.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," said Chloe with a shrug, not seeing a sense in the cheerleader's question. The beautiful girl, however, just gave her a warm, caring smile.

"You'll catch a cold if you walk. C'mon, I'll give you a ride!"

"Chloe Elizabeth Price!"

Vanessa's agitated voice rang in Chloe's ears like a thunderstorm. She had barely set one foot in the house as she was greeted with her shouted name. And immediately she knew that inevitable trouble was awaiting her.

With slow, hesitant steps she walked into the living room, where three pairs of eyes were ogling her pity being. And of course it was Max, who spoke to her with concern as he saw her wet clothes and bruised cheek.

"What happened to you?!"

But the blonde girl wasn't even able to reply anything as her step-mother spoke up again.

"Have you been in a fight again?!"

It sounded more like an accusation then a question or even concern, which was eventually another sting in Chloe's heart and literally forced her to turn around on the spot and head into her room without another word.

Max, who was actually pretty agitated by his mother's accusing behavior again, simply said "I'm gonna talk to her." and made his way to Chloe's room as well.

Not knowing what was about to await him, the young boy took a deep breath before knocking at the door. "Chloe?" he asked cautiously, his hand already on the handle. But then the door got ripped open and Max surprisingly pulled into the room, where he stumbled and landed on his step-sister's bed.

Chloe, now wearing her old, rundown bathrobe, closed in on Max and gazed at him from above, her reddened cheek now more obvious than before.

"Wh-what happened?" he asked, trying to get up, but was pushed back onto the mattress by the blonde.

"I broke up with Eliot and made this fucker finally showing his true face in public," Chloe answered plainly, now starting to climb atop her step-brother who frowned at her in a mixture of bewilderment and anxiety.

"Ch-Chlo…wh-what…?!" he stammered and as his sight wandered a bit down he could look into the bathrobe's cleavage, making him realize that Chloe was naked under it, which caused his body to go on full alert.

"Mmh, like whatcha see?" chimed Chloe's seductive voice as she was now lying on top of Max. "I feel you're enjoying this. So...how about we're doing it? Right here, right now!"

Maximilian's body literally screamed to say "Yes!" and the young boy probably would've accepted this more than tempting offer, if it hadn't been for this female counterpart in his head.

'Okay Max, I know this would be a dream coming true, but…Chloe acts so strange and if I'm doing this, I'd fuck over Rachel and…she's way too nice to do this to her! So, fight those hormones and stop this!'

"Chloe, stop!" whispered Max as the blonde had already leaned in for a kiss, making her freeze in her movement.

"Why?" she whiffed back, bringing her pursed lips closer, but got eventually pushed away before making contact.

"Because we have an agreement…"

"Fuck that agreement!"

"…and I'm dating Rachel!"

This was the moment Chloe eventually stopped her doings and gazed at her step-brother with a sour expression.

"You gotta be shitting me?"

"No," replied Max, shoved Chloe aside and got up with a sigh. "Chloe, I'm serious. Rachel's my girlfriend now, like it or not."

With a loud scoff, the blonde got up as well and started to rummage through her closet for fresh clothes, saying "I warned ya!"

Not wanting to either listen to Chloe's judgmental rants about Rachel anymore or talking about her strange behavior from before, Max simply changed the topic to something that came pretty short in the first place. "So, you dumped Eliot, huh?"

"Yup!" chimed it from inside the closet, followed by a mumbled "Where the fuck's this stupid bra?!"

Clearing his throat loudly, Max made Chloe to turn towards him. From the index-finger of his right hand was dangling the black, searched-for garment. With a timid "Thanks!" she snapped it quickly.

"And he hit you again?"

"Yeah," was the only sighed answer, which made Max a bit furious, because he was only fed with those small snippets instead the whole truth.

"Chlo, you stay away overnight, come back home entirely drenched and with a red cheek. Mom and Will are furious and already thinking about a serious punishment. I wanna help you, but for that I need to know more!"

Glaring at her younger step-brother for some seconds, Chloe eventually slumped back down on her bed and signed him to sit down right beside her, before she began to tell him everything that had happened.

The bell rung and signed the end of classes for that day. Most students would now head outside and enjoy the remainder of the day or doing their extracurricular activities.

Like the other students, Max packed his stuff quickly, however, not because to get some more spare time, but to make in time to principal Wells' office to meet with Rachel.

Eventually, he was one of the first to exit the classroom, then ran downstairs and as soon as the young boy had reached the lobby, he already saw his girlfriend together with her mother. Not wasting another second, Max rushed towards Rachel, whose wound was now only covered by a small Band-Aid. Also, she had already spotted him as well and was now awaiting him with a wry smirk.

Immediately, both embraced each other tightly and enjoyed being together again, entirely shutting out their surroundings and not caring that a lot of students were glimpsing at them.

"I missed you!" whispered Rachel, tightening her hold while Max inhaled her rosemary-flavored perfume and then exhaled "I missed you, too!"

"D'aww, look at those two!" suddenly chimed Vanessa's voice at the witness of this young love as she, William and Chloe arrived. Sadly, it also made Max feel embarrassed, which caused him to break the hug with a sighed "Ugh, Mo-om!" while Rachel snickered upon seeing his reddened cheeks.

Chloe, however, had just crossed her arms and gave the other girl a mistrusting frown.

"Mrs. Amber, I presume?" asked William Rachel's mother, already reaching his hand for a handshake.

"Not quite," she answered taking his hand. "Name's Sera Gearhart. But you can call me Sera!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sera!" Vanessa threw in, shaking the other woman's hand as well. "And I'm sorry for all those inconveniences!"

"They're kids, what should I say?" was her from a shrug of her shoulders accompanied, nonchalant answer.

"Kids shouldn't solve conflicts by hitting each other, Miss Gearhart!" suddenly sounded the deep voice of Blackwell's Principal, Raymond Wells, earning everyone's attention. "Let us bring this unpleasant inconvenience behind us as quick as possible!" he eventually added and greeted everyone with a handshake as Rachel, Sera, Vanessa and Ryan enter his office. But when it was Chloe's turn, Steph appeared from the crowd of students, took Chloe in a tight hug and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, saying "Good luck!"

"Miss Price…?" urged the principal the young blonde, signing her once more to enter, which she eventually did.

Max and Steph remained outside in the hallway, damned to wait until the meeting was over.

The tension in the office had already reached its heights even before Principal Wells had closed the door and walked over to his big, fancy desk.

"Miss Amber, Miss Price…please, take a seat!" he said, pointing at the two chairs in front of his giant desk while sitting down as well. After the girls had sat down and their parents had taken place behind them, the principal took one deep inhale before starting the meeting.

"I think we all know why we're here. Yesterday, Miss Price viciously attacked and injured one of our most exemplary students, Miss Amber. I don't need to say that this represents a clear violation of our zero-tolerance-politic regarding violence and is punished with immediate expulsion from any educational activities up to a permanent ban from our school grounds.

Mrs. Caulfield, Mr. Price, there's no reason to whitewash the fact that this would be the second major infraction of your daughter in a row, beside her constant disregard for our rules, and would leave me no other choice than to expel her from the Academy permanently. But…since there are always two sides of a medallion, I want to hear out both parties before making a judgment."

He paused for a moment, letting his last spoken words sink in, which didn't really help the already tightened up atmosphere in the room.

"Miss Price! Why don't you-…?"

"Mr. Wells!" Rachel suddenly threw in, interrupting the Principal, who immediately frowned at her. "I-I think it would…um, spare us some time, if I start."

"If you insist, Miss Amber. Please, tell us your side of the event."

"It was my fault!" she spoke, bowing her head in shame. "I provoked and cornered her. Yes, she smacked me in the face, but neither did she want to beat me unconscious nor was she searching for a confrontation." Rachel then shifted her sight to Chloe, who was already gazing at her with an arched eyebrow. "Chloe, I…I shouldn't have called you an attention-whore and hereby apologize for my rude and hurtful words."

The entire room stayed quiet. While Chloe and her parents, plus the Principal simply stared at Rachel and let her words sink in, Sera laid one hand on her daughters shoulder to give her support.

"Miss Price, is that true? Did Miss Amber provoke the situation?" boomed Wells' deep voice as fixed his glare on the delinquent girl again, who stayed quiet for some time.

But instead of answering the Principal's glare, Chloe held her scanning glance on the other girl, not knowing if she planned to lure her into a trap. Eventually, this was her chance to put most of the blame upon Rachel and therefore save her behind as well as reveal that she's not that perfect princess, everyone was seeing in her. But eventually, it was the truth and so she spoke "Yeah, she provoked it. I just wanted to be alone and she kept going on my crack!"

Everyone could see the disappointment that was rushing over the Principal's demeanor for a fraction of a second before he successfully suppressed it.

"Well, if that's the case, it would shed the entire incident in an entirely different light. However…" he said sternly, leaning forward while giving Chloe a deep glare, "…this does neither justify nor excuse your doings, Miss Price! You still committed a violent act and appeared in school clearly under the influence of drugs. Both are severe infractions and can't be punished mildly. Taking in consideration your efforts for our swim team and your good grades, I'll hereby suspend you from all educational activities for this entire semester with a chance for reinstatement in spring and additional two-monthly probation."

"Mr. Wells…" William tried to intervene once more, but was shut down by Mr. Wells' upset voice right away.

"Mr. Price, yesterday you asked me to wait with my sentence and hear out the other side. I did what you asked and now, since I'm the Principal of this school, I can choose how to take administrative actions against my students as long as it's under the board's regulations."

Taking a deep breath to calm down, he then eventually continues.

"Considering the amount of infractions your daughter has already summed up over the last year, I'd say that I'm more than fair to her. Not everybody gets another chance and two months of probation is common after a suspension. Now as for you, Miss Amber…" he kept going and focused on Rachel, who still had her head bowed and awaited her punishment. "…I must say I'm more than disappointed in you! As a very good student, the lead actress and the daughter of a District Attorney, you're supposed to be an example for the Excellency of our school. Not only that you're verbally attacked a fellow student, you also searched the confrontation and provoked a situation, which eventually escalated in physical violence. As I said before, it doesn't excuse Miss Price's actions, yet it clearly caused them."

Now the tension rose once more, since everyone awaited the Principal's sentence upon Rachel. Chloe actually waited that the other girl would just receive a bad you-you and that's it, but was, however, entirely surprised from the result.

"Miss Amber, this being your first infraction, I refrain from suspending you, but need to reevaluate your status as one of our leading students. Therefore, you won't be the school's representative student anymore as well as removed as the main cast of our school's play in spring, next year."

"No!" gasped Rachel quietly, tears forming at the brim of her eyes as reality hit her hard.

"Mr. Wells, isn't this too harsh? Rachel loves acting and did a great job as a representative of this school, besides that she's already suffering from her wound, taking this away from her, too seems unduly and counterproductive for me! Who will replace her?" complained Sera, now laying a second hand on her daughter's shoulders, but the principal stayed adamant.

"Crime and punishment, Miss Gearhart! Maybe this will be a lesson for your daughter to think about her future actions. You should consider, however, that she'll still be a part of the play as an understudy and that no credit points will be lost for her. Also, I'm more than convinced that Victoria Chase will also do an excellent job." he said and rose from his chair to underline that the conversation was coming to an end, if it wasn't for Chloe's scoffed "Victoria Chase…yeah…sure."

"I beg your pardon, Miss Price?"

Feeling the principal's stern glare upon her once more, Chloe exhaled deeply once more and everyone thought that she wouldn't reply anything. But they had thought wrong.

"Oh, nothing." she mocked, "You're right! Make a person, who called me and a friend disgusting cunt-lickers the school's representative. Good choice!"

"Chloe, is this true?" now Vanessa asked, taking her step-daughter's side and Sera joined in as well.

"Yeah, is that true?"

"If this is in fact true, then why haven't you nor your friend filed in a report of this, Miss Price?"

"'cause I don't give a damn what this bitch says to me and I'm not a snitch, who calls on others to the Man, no matter who it is."

"And as long as no report reaches me, all those accusations will stay allegations. Nothing more, nothing less. I think you, Mrs. Caulfield, should be familiar with this procedure."

"Bullshit!" Chloe mumbled as an answer, but was ignored by anyone else. Evident, as Mr. Wells simply continued.

"Of course you're all free to file in a complaint against my sentences, but I think I've been more than fair and if there's nothing else to discuss, then we're done and I wish you all a good day!"

With a bunch of mumbled goodbyes, the two girls and their parents were leaving the office, Chloe being the last.

"Miss Price!" chimed the principal's deep voice out of a sudden, making the 16-year-old stop and turn towards him once more with a quizzical frown. "Can I have a private word with you?"

Sharing one last glimpse with her father, Chloe simply rolled with her eyes in annoyance and closed the door with some force before slumping down in one of the chairs again.

"'sup, Mr. Wells?"

"As I mentioned before, I can only investigate incidents that have been reported. Earlier that day, a report reached me, saying that Mr. Hampden hit you in front of several witnesses here on campus. But as I said, it was only one report and knowing that you would be here in my office this afternoon, I wanted to start an investigation by letting you make a statement. So…is it true that Mr. Hampden used physical violence on you?"

Since it happened earlier that day, Chloe had thought about reporting this to Wells and she also knows that Dana had filed in the report. She even had discussed this matter with Max, who also had told her to tell Wells and even their parents.

But so far, Chloe was against it, already foreshadowing that it might raise some uncomfortable questions about her abusive relationship with Eliot. Let alone, that Eliot's father was a high-honored Major in the US-Army, who would use his reputation to bail his son out of this trouble.

She already had experienced it when she had tried to defend herself the first time it happened. They had called her a liar and she even had received a letter from the family's attorney, saying that he would commence legal actions against her and her family, if she would spread her lies throughout the public.

With this secret-kept letter, months of torment had followed as Eliot had now a free hand to let out his psychotic rage on his girlfriend, and only because Steph had given her hope and confidence, Chloe eventually had managed to break this vicious circle. Still, for her this chapter was simply finished and all she wanted to do right now, was to look forward and leave the leave the past behind.

"Not really," Chloe eventually answered. "Yes, we had a fight, but…I kinda stumbled and fell into the fountain. That's it."

Not believing one word, Principal Wells sighed, yet glared at Chloe understandably. "Miss Price, though it sometimes seems like this, I'm not out to get you. My concern is regarding every student at this school and you're no exception! I want to help you, but in return you need to help me to understand the case."

"It was nothin', okay?!" yelled Chloe back and got up furiously as she felt cornered once more. "I tripped, fell, hit my cheek and got wet. That's it! Now, get off my crack, 'cause the rest is none of your freakin' business! Got it?"

"Alright," Wells eventually spoke, wrapping up the conversation. "I can't force you to make a statement. Yet, be advised that, because we're dealing with an act of violence, I have to initiate an investigation, nonetheless! Now, have a good day, Miss Price!"

Waiting.

Waiting was something Maxine had never been good at, her diagnosed ADH-Disorder not helping with that problem.

Since his family and his girlfriend had disappeared into the Principal's office, Max had walked up and down the lobby restlessly. Only Steph, who entangled him in the one or other conversation, had been able to stop the nervous boy for a few minutes.

"So, did she tell you about us?" asked Steph, who was leaning against the wall, out of a sudden, making her friend stop once again.

"Uh…yeah," he answered, taking place beside her. "She…um…she told me that she spent the night with you."

"You okay with that?"

"Steph," Max replied, giving the brunette a quizzical glimpse, "we're friends and I know for a fact that you're gay. Having Chloe dating you instead of Eliot feels like a salvation to me. Less to worry, more to enjoy! You two seem like a cute couple, so…yeah, I'm okay with that!"

Out of joy, Steph embraced Max in a tight hug and planted a friendly peck on his cheek, saying "Thanks!"

A few seconds later, the door to the Principal's office swung open, which let both friends break the hug.

The first persons, who emerged through the door, were Sera and Rachel, whereas the latter looked entirely devastated and her cheeks decorated with wet lines.

Immediately and without another word, Max took Rachel into a tight, comforting embraced. Quietly, the blonde sniffed into the boy's shoulder, burying her face deep into it while Max drew soothing lines over her back with his fingers.

"What happened?" he said, but received the answer from his mother instead of Rachel.

"She saved Chloe from getting expelled, Maximilian!"

"And we're very grateful for that!" added William and as the blond girl turned her gaze towards the two grown-ups, they were both giving her an honest smile.

"But I…I just told the truth."

"But also could've easily lied to save yourself," mentioned Sera supportively, flinging one arm around her daughter's shoulder. "What you did was selfless and brave, and I'm very proud of you!"

'Wowser!' thought Maxine as she watched how Rachel blushed in modest embarrassment. 'This Rachel is so different from what Chloe had told me. Over-confident, party-girl, drugs, sometimes bitchy, yet friendly to everyone…a real actress and mistress of disguise…that's how my Chloe described her, but…she's actually none of that. Not really. She seems to be fragile and honest…or is this just an act and she's playing with me? No Max, don't think like that! We're totally into each other and she'd never lie to me!'

Lucky for her, Chloe's appearance distracted her from those warily thoughts as she witnessed how the lanky girl walked past everyone with angry steps, only to embrace Steph's neck and pulled her in for an intensive kiss.

While William and Vanessa shared some bewildered glimpses, Sera just quirked an eyebrow and Rachel looked at the scene flustered with wide open eyes. Max, however, couldn't suppress a wry smirk upon realizing that his step-sister had finally found someone to love.

Before one word could be spoken – not that Vanessa and William had known what to say anyway – Chloe broke the kiss, took Steph's hand and walked with her away.

"Well," Max eventually spoke to his bewildered parents, scratching the back of his neck with a sheepish smile, "I think I should share some news with you."