Chloe could see Steph sitting in the diner as she walked in - she'd recognize that white beanie anywhere. The girl had her back turned to the door, so Chloe was able to walk up and put a hand on her shoulder before she noticed, jumping slightly.

"Holy shit, you're here!" Steph leapt to her feet, pulling her into a hug. It caught Chloe off guard, and it took her a second before she awkwardly patted Steph's back. The brunette seemed reluctant to let go, but slipped back into her seat after Chloe pulled away. Her eyes seemed wider than normal, as if she was unsure what she was seeing was real.

Chloe forced herself to chuckle. "Jeez, Steph, you're acting like you're seeing a ghost."

"Sorry, it's just…" Steph was shaking her head slowly, still looking slightly concerned. "Sorry." Her fingers drummed on the table for a second, glancing around the diner. "So, you said you're staying with a friend up here?" Steph asked, watching her carefully.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, Max, Max Caulfield. We were best friends growing up, her parents moved up here five-ish years ago."

"That's cool." There was a pregnant pause, as if Steph was considering Chloe's words. The waitress stopped by to fill up Chloe's cup with coffee as the two sat in awkward silence. After she walked away, Steph cleared her throat. "I don't think I ever heard you talk about her before."

"There was...a lot of shit, after she left." Chloe shook her head - there was so much baked into those five years, and she didn't want to unload all of her personal thoughts on Steph. "Doesn't matter - what are you doing up here?"

"I'm at Cornish, studying performance production." She shrugged, as if it was the most natural response possible. "All that stage managing at Blackwell really got me interested in the production thing."

"Dude, that's awesome!" Steph smiled at her response, looking a little bashful suddenly. "What are classes like for that?"

"It's a bit of everything - I have a class in stage lighting this semester, it's pretty neat." She took a sip from her cup, looking thoughtful. "What are you up to?"

Chloe shrugged, swirling her own coffee. "Got my GED back in January, just taking some online college classes until Max decides what she wants to do." There was suddenly a knowing grin on Steph's face. "What's that look for?"

"Sounds to me like Max isn't just a childhood friend anymore," she commented suggestively, an eyebrow raised in interest.

Chloe was surprised to feel her cheeks burning. "Ah, yep, busted. We didn't talk to each other in five years, then we met back up during Hell Week, and-" She cut herself off abruptly, seeing Steph's face darken at the mention of that week.

There was a moment of silence before Steph spoke again. "How the hell did you guys make it out of there?" she asked quietly, having a hard time maintaining eye contact. "There's, what, a third of the town that survived?"

Chloe didn't know what to say. Her throat felt tight, and although there's no way Steph could have known the truth, there was an odd, accusatory tone to her voice. "Guess we just got lucky," she muttered, staring at the table again. There were little heart etchings in the table top, but she couldn't make out the initials - they had been worn away.

"Shit, Chloe, I'm sorry," Steph said, worry replacing the hard tone in her voice. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm still just...wrapping my head around all of this."

"It happened, it's over," Chloe sighed, leaning back in the booth. She suddenly felt exhausted. "It was a shitty week, but things are better now." Some things more than others.

Steph studied her for a few moments, trying to decide if she was telling the truth. Eventually, she nodded, staring down at her coffee. "How 'bout that Jefferson shit? Didn't see that coming."

"Fucking hell, Steph," Chloe muttered, unable to stop herself. She could feel eyes on her, and it made her uncomfortable. She buried her head in her hands, trying to keep her world darker. "A couple of our friends were, um..."

She heard Steph inhale sharply. "Damn it, Rachel..." Chloe was slightly startled at the name - she had been too busy thinking about the friends that had survived Jeffershit, and were dealing with the repercussions of it. It felt odd to have forgotten about Rachel. "Chloe, I'm really sorry."

"S'not your fault, Steph. You didn't know," Chloe responded, aware of how flat her voice was.

"Still makes me feel like shit," Steph commented. Chloe nodded with her statement, but was still trying to avoid eye contact. She thought she could hear Steph's foot bouncing against the seat. "So one thing I'm still confused about - what is this about Victoria Chase?"

At that, Chloe felt a small smile spread across her face. "You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

Steph gave her an incredulous look. "Try me."

"I guess…we're friends now? Her and Max are pretty friendly, but the two of us hang out at least once a week, enjoying…ah…finer things."

"By 'finer things', you mean weed, right?" Steph giggled, and Chloe finally looked up to see her expression. She could see that there was still a sorrow behind Steph's eyes, but it was well masked. "Well, of all the things you've told me today, Chloe, I think that's the craziest. Seriously? THE Victoria Chase?"

"The one, the only," Chloe confirmed, grinning. "I'm surprised sometimes that she puts up with me, especially after I socked her first time we saw her up here."

"She probably deserved it," Steph said, a little venom in her voice. "She was always a bitch in school."

Chloe felt herself oddly defensive - of Victoria, of all people. "She's not that bad, just never really put her guard down back then. I'm sure we'll hang out some time, you'll see." Steph's expression was doubtful, and Chloe sighed. Maybe another day. "Hey, you still DMing?"

Steph's nose crinkled a little, and she looked slightly ashamed. "I wish. Mikey and I tried to do online sessions for a while, but it just wasn't the same. Haven't found anyone in college who's interested."

"Well, you got yourself one elf barbarian if you're needing one," Chloe supplied. "And I'm pretty sure Max would be in, too."

Steph looked thoughtful, a smile spreading across her face. "I'd have to do some work, or at least get a module…" She sounded like she was trying not to get her hopes up, but Chloe could see a little gleam forming in her eye at the thought of a fresh campaign. "I'll let you know."

Chloe drummed her fingers against the wheel in the school parking lot, waiting for Max. Even after nearly two months of this, she always found herself slightly nervous that Max wouldn't show. She saw the security guard, Marcus, give her a friendly wave, which she returned. The two of them had chatted a bit after Chloe's first disheveled appearance, and she found he was more of a Skip Matthews guard than a David Madsen guard. "Just trying to keep the peace," he had said, and they had had no problems since.

After the bell rang, she watched the doors intently until Max had appeared, heading towards the parking lot as always. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, glancing down at her phone finally to respond to a text from David - their communications were few and far in between, but he was still trying to check in on her every now and then. He was somewhere on the east coast this week, best she could tell.

"Sup?" Chloe called as the door cracked open, Max's messenger bag being the first thing tossed into the truck, landing on the floorboard with a thud. Max threw herself up onto the seat, yanking the door shut once she was inside. She slid over to the driver's side like she normally would, but Chloe could instantly feel how tense Max was, burrowing into her. "Whoa, Max, what's up?"

"Did you know it started today?" Max's voice was almost a whisper, and it took Chloe a moment to place the emotion - she sounded terrified.

"Did I know what-" Chloe didn't need to finish her sentence before she remembered - Jeffershit's trial. Today would have been the opening arguments, and although it wasn't being televised, it was being heavily reported. Not every day you have a world-renowned photographer on trial for kidnapping and murder. "Fuck, I forgot. You okay?"

She could feel Max quivering, a hand wrapping itself around Chloe's forearm. "What if-"

"I'mma stop you right there, Maximus," Chloe said, giving her an assuring squeeze. "He's gonna go to jail, alright? There's no way he won't be convicted. They caught him with Vicky in the dark room, right?" Max nodded, but didn't speak. "And you can bet that Sean Prescott will throw him under the fucking bus for Nathan, too. He won't be getting out of this."

Max was still for a moment, breathing slowly. "Victoria's going down to Portland next week," she muttered into Chloe's shoulder. "I wish I…"

Chloe frowned. Max had commented multiple times that she wished she could do something more against Jeffershit than, you know, reversing time and making sure he got caught in the first place. "Max, I know you want to help, but you can't go in there with a…a timeline that never existed. It wouldn't hold up, and you can't prove you were down there." She stroke Max's hair slowly, feeling some of the tension lessen as the brunette leaned into her. "You know I'm not one for letting you skip school, but maybe you should take off next week. You're gonna be distracted anyways."

Max pulled away, looking up with her with a slightly pleading expression. "Can...can we go down with Victoria, so we're there for her and Kate?"

Chloe leaned into the steering wheel, staring at her girlfriend. She'd been expecting this question, but that didn't mean it didn't make her panic a little."Max, you sure about that?" She felt her own heart speed up at the thought of Max going into the same room as him again. "You do realize if we're in that courtroom, the odds of me murdering Jeffershit skyrockets, right?"

Max's eyes suddenly grew determined, and her voice was confident when she spoke. "They're going to go through hell again, Chloe. I can't just sit around and do nothing."

Chloe looked into those blue eyes, a slight defiance shining in them. This was the Max she knew, so eager to sacrifice her own self-happiness for others. Going to Portland would make for a rough week for the both of them. Chloe sighed, rubbing her forehead. "How 'bout this, you ask both of them, and if they want you there, we go, okay?" Max nodded, a slight satisfied look on her face. Chloe studied her for a few more moments in case there would another outburst before putting the truck in reverse.