Chloe was working on some of her classwork early Friday morning when someone started banging on the front door. She frowned - she was alone in the house, as she had already dropped Max off at school for the day. Despite Max's complaints, Chloe insisted that she get every last day she could out of high school, even if that meant having a one-day school week.

The banging continued, and she cautiously approached the door before hearing a familiar voice shouting. "Price, I know you're in there, your shitty truck is in the driveway."

Chloe yanked the door open, staring at an unusually disheveled blonde - she looked as though she had just rolled out of bed. "Victoria? What are-"

Victoria planted a hand on the door, trying to push it open further. "I need to go to Arcadia, right now, and I can't go alone."

The gears in Chloe's head were turning at full speed, and yet she was speechless. "Wait, you're - what the hell's going on?"

Victoria groaned, pushing against the door to get inside. Chloe took a step back, letting her slip in and slam the door behind her. "It's Kate. I- her parents..."

Chloe frowned. "Her parents what?"

"They fucking kicked her out of the house last night, okay?" Chloe blinked a few times, jaw dropping as she watched Victoria's face flush in anger. "They were ripping into her about the trial and shit, and I..." Her anger was suddenly replaced with guilt and fear. "She mentioned me. Her and...and me."

Chloe exhaled heavily, blinking a few more times in shock. "Fuck, Vic."

"I know." She stared off into the distance for a second before shaking her head. "I need to go get her, she's staying at Blackwell right now."

"Did she ask you to get her?"

She saw Victoria's shoulders stiffen as she avoided eye contact, ducking her head. "Doesn't matter," she muttered, kicking her foot.

Chloe shook her head, crossing her arms. "The fuck it does."

There was a crazed look in Victoria's eyes as she looked up. "I don't care, okay? I don't care if she's coming back with me or not, I need to be there! If it was Max, would you wait for her permission?"

Chloe thought about it for a second, but it was a no-brainer. Fuck, she knows me too well. "I'd be halfway there already," she admitted, finding it hard to maintain eye contact.

"Please, Chloe." She wasn't sure if she had ever heard Victoria plead before, and it was a little unsettling.

Chloe sighed, glancing back at her school work. It can wait. "Let me text Max and let her know what's going on. She should be able to take the bus back, assuming she doesn't try to sneak out of class to come with us." Victoria looked slightly pained, but nodded.

Chloe: Hey babe, Vicky and I are gonna run down to AB. Kate's parents kicked her out.

She bounced her leg up and down as Victoria leaned against the wall, staring at the ground. Now that she could take a better look at her, Victoria shoes were mismatched, and she was wearing what Chloe assumed to be her pajamas. She really did just bolt out of the house.

Vic was right - Chloe would be doing the exact same thing if something happened to Max.

Max: wtf?
Max: Right now?
Chloe: Unless you're gonna skip class, you're on your own to get home

She glanced over at Victoria, who was still staring at her feet. "I'll let you know, I feel like shit not picking up my girlfriend from school, Vicky," Chloe commented, smirking a little despite the gravity of the situation.

Victoria's eyes were dark as she shook her head, sighing angrily. "Fuck off."

Max: I'll be fine.
Max: Go get her, okay? Lmk when you're on your way back

Chloe slid her phone back into her pocket, nodding towards the door. "Got her blessing. Am I driving your car or mine?"

"Don't you even fucking dare, Price."

Chloe was surprised they didn't see any cops the whole trip down, and it was probably a good thing - Victoria had the speedometer running significantly higher than the legal limit. She managed to cut off almost an entire hour of the four-hour trip as a result, which Chloe would have found more impressive if it wasn't under such terrible circumstances. The utter silence in the car made it feel twice as long, as Victoria was too high-strung to hold up a conversation.

They pulled into the vacant parking lot at Blackwell just before ten. The shelter had officially closed down two weeks ago, but a handful of folks were still running donations out of the cafeteria part-time. Victoria had barely shut off the engine before she had darted out of the car, Chloe struggling to keep up with her brisk walk. They quickly walked past the cafeteria, not seeing any small blondes through the windows as the headed towards the dorms.

As they rounded the corner to the dorms, Chloe almost plowed into Victoria as she came to a sudden stop, staring towards the dorm building. "What are you stopping for?" she asked, looking around in confusion.

Victoria didn't answer, only started walking again, closer to a jog. One of the doors of the building was propped open, and Chloe almost got hit with the door as Victoria bolted in, taking the stairs two at a time. Chloe was already out of breath as they hit the girls' floor, and felt her stomach clench as Victoria sped past the door, heading further up. Is Kate...

Victoria was out of the door that lead to the roof as Chloe hit the last flight. She was able to catch the door before it closed, looking out to the roof just in time to watch Kate's dejected expression quickly change to disbelief. She was sitting with her back to the ledge that surrounded the roof, a sketchbook in her hands. "Vic? Chloe?"

Victoria was almost sprinting towards her, but Chloe could see a load getting lifted from her shoulders as she crouched down next to Kate, wrapping her arms around her. The sketchbook got knocked to the ground as Kate reflexively hugged back. "Kate, oh my god. What are you doing up here?"

"Not what you think I'm doing up here, hopefully." Kate sighed heavily, glancing apologetically towards Chloe. It took her a minute to realize the implications of Kate being up on this particular roof. Shit, Victoria must have spotted her up here from the ground and panicked. She was suddenly glad Max hadn't come along - who knows how she would have responded to seeing that. "I just wanted a moment to breathe, you know? And the clouds are really pretty today." She nodded towards her sketchbook, which had cartoonish clouds with arms all over the page.

Victoria pulled away, gripping both of Kate's upper arms. She had her back turned to Chloe, but it almost sounded like she was fighting back tears. "Kate, let's talk about this closer to the ground, okay?"

Kate was smiling, a little sparkle in her eye. For someone who just got kicked out of her house, she seems pretty good. "Vic, I'm fine. Really. I used to come up here all the time - it was always interesting to watch campus and think. Not a lot of people knew the door was unlocked, so it was peaceful."

Victoria took a seat next to her, and now Chloe could see how red her eyes were. "Kate, I am so fucking sorry. This is all my fault."

"Don't be silly. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them." For someone Chloe always thought of as sweet, there was a surprising bite to Kate's words. "Don't blame yourself for their actions, okay?" Victoria was nodding in response, but Chloe could tell she didn't really believe that. Just like, regardless of what she told Max, she still felt responsible for the storm...

Kate looked up at Chloe, still standing awkwardly near them. "What are you two doing back here so soon?"

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, pointing towards Victoria, who was avoiding eye contact again. "This one kidnapped me because of..." Chloe trailed off, watching the smile on Kate's face begin fading. "Sorry."

Kate shrugged, but that happy spark was gone from her eyes. She looked over at Victoria, staring pointedly at her knees. "You didn't need to come back down for me, Vic," she said quietly, resting a hand on the closest knee.

Victoria looked absolutely miserable, still avoiding eye contact. Her face dipped lower, as if she was trying to hide it - her hair still wasn't long enough to hang in front of it, though. "I'm sorry, I-I should have asked."

There was a content look on Kate's face as she watched Victoria. "I probably would have told you to stay in Seattle…but I'm glad you're here," she admitted, smiling as she spoke.

Chloe whistled impulsively. "Thank god we didn't make the trip for nothing."

Victoria shot her a warning glare, but Kate actually giggled. "Thank you, both of you. It's nice to not be alone right now."

"How bad was it?" Chloe asked, scratching the back of her neck.

Kate gazed off into the distance for a second, frowning. "Well, it wasn't good, by any means. I knew they were upset about the trial and everything, I just...I didn't expect them to throw my friends in to the argument."

Chloe dropped down next to Victoria, extending her legs to their full length. "Let me guess, we're all steering you straight to Hell, right?

She could see a crooked smile appeared on Kate's face in response. "Something like that. I told them off, that you're good people. And then I brought up me, and Victoria..." She trailed off, and Chloe had to bite her tongue to keep from snickering at how red both of their faces became. "I didn't realize what I was saying to them, until I had already said it."

Chloe nodded, crossing her legs. She looked up towards the sky, and had to agree with Kate's assessment - it looked pretty up there. "Hella sucks, man. Are you just gonna live here now?" Chloe asked, keeping her eyes on the clouds rolling by in an attempt not to look at Victoria.

"I don't know yet. I mean, no one's using my room anyways, and most of my stuff was still here. I hadn't moved it all back, I spent so much time helping with the shelter," Kate explained. "I don't think they would kick me out until they decided what they're going to do with the school." The faintest of uncertainty entered her voice, and Chloe looked over to see her looking deflated.

"You don't have to stay down here," Victoria blurted out, as if she was afraid of the words. Her head was still bowed as Kate's head turned in her direction, slightly confused. "I-I thought, if you wanted to, you could, you know, come back with us. With-with me."

Chloe almost felt secondhand embarrassment for Victoria - she seemed mortified as she struggled to piece a sentence together. To be fair, she'd have probably done the same thing if her and Max hadn't been thrown together the way they had. Chloe watched Kate's expression changed from confusion, to surprise, and then back to that content look.

"I don't know, Vic," Kate started, and for just a second Chloe thought she was going to decline. What Victoria was missing by staring at her knees, though, was the mischievous look crossing Kate's face. "I thought we'd go on at least three dates before you asked me to move in."

Chloe burst out laughing, only encouraged by the shade of red Victoria's face had become. "Oh, shut it, Price," Victoria commented, shoving her rather aggressively - Chloe had to throw a hand out to keep herself from tipping over. "So, is that...a yes?"

Kate bit her lip for a second, hesitant. "Is it okay, with your parents?" she asked quietly.

Chloe nudged Victoria in the ribs, grinning. "Sounds like a yes to me," she whispered.

"I will fucking leave you on this rooftop," Victoria threatened before turning back to Kate, a smile starting to form on her face. "They're cool with it. They're not home much anyways, and the house is big enough that it's not like you'd be intruding." Chloe had the suspicion that Vicky's parents actually didn't know a thing about this, but she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.

Kate's uncertain expression had morphed into a smile as well while Victoria spoke, and it felt like a freaking Hallmark moment. "I'll have to pack up my things, but...yes, I'd like that."

Chloe wasn't sure who moved first, but the two blondes suddenly had their arms around each other, hugging it out. She suddenly felt very third wheel, and cleared her throat in response. "So, Vicky, if you want, the two of you can sit in the backseat and I'll drive-"

"Kate, do you have a key for the roof access door?"

Kate was giggling again, but swatted at Victoria. "That's not nice, and you know Max would be very upset if we didn't bring her back."

Victoria shrugged. "I'll take my chances."

"You know Vicky, I like your girlfriend, she's nice to me." Chloe's comment caused them both to blush, as expected. She couldn't help but grin to herself as she led the way off the roof.