Chloe slowly opened her eyes, looking up at a familiar ceiling. She blinked a few times, looking around as she tried to remember how she had ended up in her old room. A little groan escaped her as she stretched, her muscles protesting. As if on cue, the door to her bedroom creaked open, and Max slipped in, a little smile on her face.

"Hey, you're up."

Chloe rubbed her eyes, realizing how empty the room was. Her waking brain hadn't remembered that they had torn it apart on their last visit. "Guess I am. What time is it?"

Max checked her phone. "A little before noon."

"Before..." Her brain whirred a little bit, trying to recall her last memory. It had been in the afternoon, almost evening when they made it to the cemetery. "Shit, I fell asleep."

Max bit her lip, looking a little nervous as she came closer to the bed. "It's not your fault, Chloe. You had a...you needed it." She had stopped herself mid sentence, looking a little worried.

Chloe shook her head, sitting up. She realized that she was still fully dressed, although her jacket was no where to be found. "Where's Victoria?"

"She stayed at Blackwell. Kate was going to help her pack up her stuff while she was here."

"Fuck." Chloe grabbed her head, which pounded a little. She almost felt like she was sick - her entire body was aching. "We were suppose to leave yesterday," she said flatly.

Max sat down next to her, a hand resting on her knee. "I know."

"I didn't want to stay here last night." Her voice rose in pitch, feeling a little trapped. I can never get out of this damn town when I want to.

"I know," Max said again, sounding a little disheartened. She looked like she hadn't slept well, with dark shadows under her eyes. Hopefully she didn't have a nightmare while I was out of it.

Chloe rubbed her face, still feeling tired. "I'm sorry for..." She trailed off, feeling her throat tighten at the memory of the scene she must have made at the cemetery.

"Chloe, you don't need to apologize." Max's hand moved from Chloe's knee to her back, and Chloe leaned into her, resting her head on the brunette's shoulder. "I don't think you ever really had a chance to...process everything."

"I didn't want to," she whispered, memories of the grief pushing up from where she tried to contain them. "I couldn't. I-I needed to be stronger…"

"Chloe." Max's voice was reprimanding, but her other arm slipped around her protectively, hands clasping and pulling Chloe tight against her. "You don't have to pretend to be okay. Not for me."

"I didn't want you to have to deal with me," Chloe said quietly. She really didn't. Max had so much to deal with already.

"Stop that. Chloe, I love you, and nothing is ever going to change that." Max shook her a little, still holding her tight. "If you feel like shit, I want to help, okay?"

Chloe nodded, taking a deep breath as she relaxed in Max's arms. "How did I get such a kind and caring girlfriend?"

Max snickered for a moment. "That's a bit of an overstatement." Max's shoulders drooped a little, as if she was trying to make herself smaller than she already was. "I'm sorry I made you go in there."

Chloe shook her head. "It's not your fault I had a nervous breakdown, Max." She sighed, rubbing her face. She felt significantly older this morning. "It's been a long time coming, too."

One of Max's hands gently caressed up and down her arm, her fingertips tracing little circles. "That's what I was telling David."

Chloe frowned a little, her head lifting up from Max's shoulder. "David?"

Max winced apologetically. "Yeah. He...uh, he drove by the cemetery and saw us, he was going to see if we wanted to come over for dinner before we drove back." She seemed nervous to say it, and Chloe couldn't blame her - a little part of her wondered if he had been following them through town.

"Of course he did." Bits and pieces of the previous day came back to her - she remembered being lifted up and moved at one point before blacking out. "Did he carry me out of there?"

Max nodded. "He was really worried about you. And a bit emotional, too."

"Damn." As much as she still had a slight vendetta against him, she knew David really just wanted her to be happy. "I really shouldn't be so mean to him."

Max leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek before retracting her arms. "Well, you're about to get a chance - he's been waiting for you to get up. I'll give you two a minute, okay?"

Groaning dramatically, Chloe got up, heading downstairs. Her rebel instincts regarding David were being drowned out by the memories still trapped inside the house. It was almost painful to walk into the kitchen to see David leaning against the counter, arms crossed, a sorrowful look on his face. As soon as he saw Chloe, his face shifted into a sort of happiness - not completely happy, but at least not upset.

"Hey, kiddo," he said, in an obvious attempt to be friendly. Better than "girlie", I guess. He actually seemed somewhat embarrassed, probably due to the previous day's events. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine." Damn it Chloe, be nice! She had automatically switched into her tone of "fuck authority", and David noticed, shifting uncomfortably. "Sorry, I just had a…life is shit," she forced out, trying to make herself sound less angry. "Thanks for, you know."

David grunted, nodding. "I figured Max and that Chase girl would have had issues getting you out of there. Glad I decided to stop by."

"Yeah, were you just creeping on us, or what?" She had slipped again, and shook her head as David looked down at his feet, looking slightly ashamed. "Sorry, force of habit."

"I can't entirely blame you. I know I've given you every reason to think something like that." He bounced his leg a couple of times, still looking at his feet. "I saw you girls at Blackwell, with Kate Marsh, but I did not follow you, I promise."

"S'fine, David. It was a good thing you were there." They sat in silence for a minute, and Chloe wasn't sure what else to say. Up to this point, there had almost always been a one-personbuffer between them, or in the general vicinity. Standing next to each other, with no one accounting for what they were saying to one another, felt awkward.

David, uncrossed his arms, standing upright. "Chloe, I wanted to talk to you." Even after all of the positive interactions they had had in the last few months, those words sent a shiver down her spine. He took a few steps towards the table, gesturing towards it. "Can you...sit, please?"

Chloe warily moved around the table, sitting down so she was facing the kitchen. She was watching his every move, trying to decipher what he was about to throw at her. "What'cha got?"

David scratched the back of his neck, looking rather scared. It didn't help with Chloe's rising anxiety, that was for sure. "I wanted to find a better way to tell you, but I'm selling the house."

"You're..." Her brain came to complete stop as she tried to process this news. She sat there for a moment, staring back at him with her jaw dropped. She didn't know what she had expected, but it wasn't that. "What do you mean, you're selling the house?" Her voice was rising in volume and pitch, and she could feel the rebellious anger simmering just under the surface.

"Chloe," he said quietly, in a vain attempt to calm her down. "I haven't been living here. You haven't been living here. And, frankly...I want to move on."

"You can't just..." Chloe was back on her feet, pacing, spluttering. Various emotions hit her hard, but she chose to focus on the fury in the back of her head. "This is my fucking house too, David!"

He bowed his head, looking dejected. She wasn't going to be getting a rise out of him, it seemed. "I know that, and I wanted to make sure you could get anything you wanted out of it before I left." He watched her pace, looking unsettled at her reaction. "I'll rent a storage locker out - Seattle, or wherever you want, so you have somewhere to put things until you have a place of your own."

"Where are you going?" She wasn't sure if she cared.

"I...I haven't decided yet," he admitted, watching her carefully. "Somewhere. Maybe hit the road for a bit, see the country."

"I just can't..." She crossed her arms, feeling the anger starting to seep away. She refused to breakdown in front of David, though, so she held onto it as hard as she could. It used to be so easy to be mad at him. "How long have you been planning this?"

He sighed heavily, rubbing his face. Did he always have that much grey in his hair? She was surprised to find herself a little worried about him. "About a month. I didn't want to list the house until I had talked to you."

"Thanks, I guess." He gave her a half smile, and she felt herself returning it automatically. "What are you doing with the money?"

David chuckled, his smile growing wider. "Figured that was coming. Thought we'd split it. I know you didn't get-" His breath caught suddenly, and Chloe's pacing came to an abrupt. She knew what he was going to say, that Joyce hadn't had much left behind for Chloe. The house and its contents ended up being all Joyce had, most of which was automatically transferred to David. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath through his nose. "I miss her too, you know."

"Yeah." Chloe leaned against the chair in front of her, noticing a familiar set of blue eyes peering between the stair bannisters. Of course she's listening. She felt a lump in her throat as the severity of the situation took hold. "I'll...I'll take a quick look through the attic. See if there's anything up there." She was already starting to move towards the stairs, needing to get away.

"Of course." David seemed eager to agree, to make sure Chloe didn't suddenly back out. "Let me know if you need any help," he called to her retreating back.

Max had gotten to her feet by the time Chloe had made it to the bottom of the stairs. She didn't say anything, placing a comforting arm around Chloe's waist as they ascended, heading silently into the closet to access the attic.

Once they had pulled down the stairs and had climbed up into the attic, Chloe couldn't keep her emotions in check anymore. She didn't bother standing up after pulling herself through the trapdoor, instead curling up with her chin resting on her knees. "Max, he's selling the house."

Max was by her side, arms tightly wrapped around her again. "I know, he told me this morning."

She felt wave after wave of emotion - anger, sorrow, frustration, grief. "It's...he's selling our house!" She gripped onto Max's arms, desperate to hold on to something, anything. Max didn't try to calm her down with words - it would have been a lost cause anyways.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise, she knew that - she hadn't had any plans to come back and stay in Arcadia Bay, anyways. But this was still her home, a place that she could always return to for almost twenty years. There were so many memories in these walls, and she couldn't bear knowing that she would be a stranger in it if she ever came back.

They sat there for a few minutes, until Chloe was sniffling and had loosened her grip. She leaned into Max's shoulder, steadying herself with a comfort she could only get from her best friend. "I know you want me to 'open up' and shit, but man, this sucks."

She could feel Max's sharp exhale as she tried not to laugh. "But do you feel better now?"

"Yes, Maximus, I feel better," she sighed. She actually did feel less upset - maybe Max was on to something with dealing with shit as it comes up instead of bottling it. "Guessing you preferred that to the nuclear bomb method."

"Definitely." There was a joking tone in Max's voice, but she sounded slightly relieved..

"You're no fun," Chloe quipped, raising her head off of Max's shoulder to give her cheek a peck. "C'mon, let's see what shit is still up here."

They moved around the attic, careful to avoid smashing their heads into the low lying beams - something their younger selves never had to worry about. It was mostly old furniture that Chloe didn't think she'd ever need, although Max had to drag her away from the old cola freezer ("But it still works!"). They were pushing around old boxes, mostly old clothing, when she heard Max calling her name.

Max was giggling a little, pushing a large suitcase towards her. She could see her father's name on a sticker, affixed to the top of the suitcase. With a little grin on her face, Max pulled the top up, revealing an array of brightly colored shirts.

"Your dad must have had his own legit hippie phase back in the day," Max commented, looking back into the suitcase. "I forgot this was up here."

Chloe chuckled, reaching a hand in to push some of the shirts aside. The whole thing smelt musty, and she wondered how long it had been sitting up here, untouched. Not for long - you're coming with me. "How did you know it was up here?"

"Remember our treasure hunt, right before-" Her voice cut off, and she seemed to have frozen in place, staring at Chloe's face with a slightly panicked look on her face.

Chloe remembered that day well, how she had put aside the knowledge that it was one of the last days she would have Max, before her best friend ran off to Seattle. It was the last day she helped her father cook breakfast...

Max was still watching her, and Chloe realized she had been holding her own breath. She exhaled, looking down at the suitcase. "Yeah, the amulet thing was in here, right?" It wasn't hard to keep her voice even. That day had most likely been the worst day of her life, but it didn't have the control it used to have on her. Not anymore.

"Chloe," Max said quietly, taking a step around the suitcase. Her expression was still concerned, her eyes cautious.

"I'm fine, Max. Really." Chloe took a deep breath, feeling more at ease with the memories than she had in a long time.

"You're not lying to me, right?" Max's voice was small, almost as if she was expecting Chloe to be trying to pull the wool over her eyes once again.

Chloe shook her head, smiling as she stepped forward to plant a kiss on Max's nose. "I'm okay. Promise."

They spent another hour digging through boxes before determining there wasn't much worth holding on to. There were a couple of items they snagged - an old Super 8 camera that Max had started drooling over, and Chloe had found the photo album from her parents' wedding. She wasn't sure how it had ended up here, rather than with the rest of the photos downstairs, but she held it close for a moment before gently tucking it into William's old suitcase.

David was still downstairs when they left the attic. He had the TV on, but Chloe was under the distinct impression that it was merely for show, and he wasn't actually paying attention to the shopping channel. When they came around the stairs, he quickly stood up, turning it off. "Anything?"

Chloe raised the suitcase In acknowledgment before moving to the bookcase, grabbing more albums to stick into the old luggage. "Figured I'd steal all the family photos. Max said she'd kill me if I didn't take them."

"I did not say that," Max quickly said, her arms crossing while still trying to baby the retro video camera.

David looked between them for a moment before smiling. "I'm sure the two of you will put them to good use. More than I could do with them, anyways." His comment was followed by an awkward silence - there weren't many pictures of David in the albums.

A phone buzzed, and Max dug hers out of her pocket. She made a little frustrated sound as she glanced at the screen. "It's Victoria, she wants to know if we're coming."

David quickly grabbed his keys off the coffee table. "She's over at Blackwell, right? I was heading that way anyways, I can drive you two over."

Chloe nodded, carrying the suitcase with her as she headed out to the garage. She heard Max thanking David behind her as she popped open the trunk, gently setting the suitcase down before opening one of the backseat doors and climbing in. Her jacket was laying in the backseat, and she pulled it on as David opened the garage door.

The drive was silent - David didn't even turn on the radio. It was the most awkward he had been in a while, and Chloe wondered if there was something else to be discussed before she made her escape. Max sat quietly in the front seat, still looking at the Super 8 with all of her nerd excitement. Chloe had a suspicion that she was so wrapped up in the camera that she wasn't even aware of the tension in the car.

Victoria was waiting for them in the parking lot with Kate when they pulled in. The two were sitting on the curb, chatting and laughing as they waved towards them. Chloe noticed Victoria's expression whenever she glanced over at Kate, and she felt a little grin on her face as she imagined interrogating Vicky over those little looks. In time, though - she wouldn't do it in front of Max, where she'd for sure get in trouble.

David helped Chloe move the suitcase into Victoria's trunk, although she really didn't need his assistance. He glanced over at the other girls, who were saying their farewells, and cleared his throat.

"One last drill, Sergeant?" Chloe asked dryly, a teasing smile on her face.

David smiled back at her, a sadness in her eyes that she couldn't quite place. "I'm glad you two have each other," he said quietly, glancing over at Max. "You seem...happy."

Chloe glanced over at Max as well, watching her hugging Kate tight. "Happy..." she said out loud, analyzing that word. For the first time in a long time, it was the truth. "Yeah, guess I am."

David scratched the back of his neck, looking excessively awkward. "Well, if you need anything, just, you know..." He trailed off, looking at Chloe with an almost wounded look. She didn't need him, never had, but the fact that he was trying meant something.

Chloe moved towards him to give him a hug. She hoped he could feel everything she wanted to say in it, that she was sorry for her past behavior, that she wanted him to find his own happiness, whatever that would be. As much as they had disagreed in the past, it didn't have to be that way in the future. Shit, Max is a bad good influence on me.

"Take care, David," she whispered, closing her eyes as she fought off a sudden wave of emotion. She didn't give him a chance to respond, quickly returning to her girlfriend and her friends, plastering on a fake smile. David didn't approach them again, but she saw him slowly walking towards the school, his shoulders shaking.