Victoria had a smile on her face as she sat on her porch steps, watching Chloe drive up. Kate was out for the day, with Victoria's mother of all people - the two of them were apparently fast friends. Victoria had taken the opportunity to invite Chloe over. Even though Chloe had the suspicion Victoria just didn't want to be alone, there was no complaints on Chloe's end. As cool as Kate was, she missed her and Victoria's solo talks.

"I barely recognize you without the truck," Victoria quipped loudly as Chloe stepped out of the car, cramming her beanie onto her head as the door closed. "It's like you're a brand new person."

"Hey, fuck you too, Vicky," Chloe called loudly, walking towards the steps. She couldn't help but grin back up at Victoria, though. "How's the house?"

Victoria shrugged, smile still on her face. "A little quiet now, but good. Mom and Kate should be back in a few hours, so I only have to deal with you until then."

"I'm only here for Alice, and you know it," Chloe joked as Victoria stood up, leading her into the house. Chloe closed the door behind them, glancing around to see if anything drastic had changed in the house. "Are those new paintings over there?" she asked, pointing into the living room.

Victoria gave her a quizzical look, while also looking as though she was trying not to laugh. "Like you have any idea."

Chloe laughed, shaking her head. After the last few months, Victoria knew her better than that. "Nope, no clue. They all look the same to me." She followed a groaning Victoria as they continued towards the kitchen. "So, uh, have Kate's parents called or anything?" Chloe asked cautiously. It was one of the many questions she wasn't foolish enough to ask in front of Kate.

Victoria sighed, rubbing her forehead. "No. Abby called her a few days ago, but she did it from a friend's house. Apparently her parents are pretending she doesn't exist."

"That's fucked up," Chloe offered, watching Victoria grab a glass from one of the cupboards to fill it with water. Chloe slid into one of the chairs next to the counter, watching her.

Victoria was laughing, although there was no trace of humor. "Yeah, it is fucked up." She slid the glass of water over to Chloe before reaching for a cup of her own. Chloe had the impression that Victoria was slightly uncomfortable, and just trying to busy herself.

"And how are your parents, with, you know, having a guest?" Chloe had never gotten the chance to ask whether or not they had even known about Victoria's housing plan - another question she knew better than to ask in front of their respective girlfriends.

Victoria gave her an incredulous look, the faintest smirk on her face. "Dude, they met Kate and were, like, instantly giving her a copy of their credit card."

Chloe's eyebrows shot up, surprised. And maybe a little jealous of how much someone could charge on a card like that. "Seriously?"

Victoria snorted, her face breaking out into a smile again. "No, you dipshit. But they really like her, and after I explained it all, they were fine with it." She shrugged, sitting down next to Chloe. "They think it's just as fucked up as we do."

"Well, that's a relief," Chloe said, taking a sip of water. There was a beat of silence before Chloe started talking again. "And, they know about you two, right?"

Victoria snorted, shaking her head as she stared down at her glass. "Now that was an interesting conversation to have with my parents." She picked up the glass for a moment, swirling the water. "They don't care about that, for what it's worth, not like the Marshes did."

"That's a relief," Chloe supplied, tipping her glass in a little toast. She took a sip, processing. "So, they seriously didn't care about their daughter's girlfriend moving in?"

"I mean, they weren't overjoyed by it or anything," she responded, rolling her eyes. "I think they didn't want to be assholes about it, and it's not like I've ever done something they didn't like before." There was a bitter tone in Victoria's voice towards the end. She cast an almost daring glance at Chloe, as if expecting her to disagree and defend her.

Chloe, instead, just shrugged. She wasn't like Kate or Max, always trying to see the bright side of things. "We were shitty people, once upon a time."

The blonde smirked, looking back down at her glass. "You're telling me."

"Just did," Chloe replied, grinning. She started shrugging off her jacket, planning on tossing it on the back of her chair. Might as well stay a while.

Victoria was still smirking at her when her eyes fixated on the swath of black on Chloe's arm, eyebrows suddenly furrowing. "What the hell did you do now?"

Chloe shrugged, running a hand down the newer ink. "Wanted a fresh start," she said quietly. She kept seeing it in mirrors, and understood how Victoria was struggling to keep her eyes off it - it was extremely bold. The more Chloe saw it, though, the more she was glad she had done it. It really did feel like she had closed a chapter on something.

Victoria had pursed her lips, seemingly chewing on the inside of her cheek. After a few moments, she shrugged as well, running a hand through her nearly shoulder-length hair. "It's your arm, I guess."

"Glad to hear you approve," Chloe joked, although she heard her voice fall flat. She wondered what Victoria was really thinking about it, but also wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it. Victoria, unlike some of her other friends, wouldn't hold back from giving her real opinion.

"I suppose Max did? Approve it?" Victoria asked, looking back down at her glass. Her eyes keep darting up though, looking at the ink.

Chloe nodded, glancing back down at it. "Well, yeah. Not that I needed approval, but-"

"Face it, Price - you're whipped." Victoria seemed smug about her statement, kicking her feet against the back of the counter.

Chloe only shrugged, leaning against the counter towards Victoria. "You say that like it's a bad thing. And like you aren't in the exact same boat."

"I-you-I am not-"

Chloe snickered to herself, watching Victoria turning red. "Dude, you got it bad. I'm surprised you haven't already picked out a ring or- ow, that hurt!"

Victoria pulled her fist back, leaving Chloe rubbing her shoulder. "I'm not that crazy," she remarked, crossing her arms. Chloe automatically cast her a doubtful look, receiving a glare in return. "Yes, bringing her up here was probably rushed, but I'm not some crazy, obsessive girlfriend."

"If I agree with you, will you please not hit me again?" Chloe complained, still rubbing her arm. Victoria shook her head, a little smile on her face, and Chloe sighed. "How's Kate, by the way? Besides the shitty parents, I mean."

There was a little satisfied look on Victoria's face as she looked up, gazing off into the distance. "Happier, I think. My parents like her. I think she's, you know, grateful for that." Her gaze moved to Chloe's face, an odd mix of emotions crossing her face. "I just...I worry."

Chloe frowned at the sudden mood change. "What about?"

Her eyes dropped, and she started picking at the skin around one of her nails."She never really...said anything, after the trial." Chloe closed her eyes for a second - of course it would come back to Jefferson. It always did. "I took down all the pictures of Nathan - I didn't know, you know?"

"Yeah," Chloe said quietly, well aware of how little Victoria had known about Kate's dark room experience before the trip to Portland. She wondered how Victoria reacted when she was by herself that first night, before Kate had came into town. Chloe never thought to ask before, and it seemed almost rude to ask now.

Victoria flexed her hands a few times, although Chloe could have sworn she saw them shaking. Her voice was just as unsteady as she continued speaking. "She's not sleeping well either, and I know it's because of me."

"Whoa, hey. It's not because of you." Victoria looked up at her, skeptical even through the obvious hurt. Chloe tried to maintain a convincing expression before sighing. "Okay, yeah, it's because of you. But because she's worried about you."

There may never have been a sadder sight than Victoria completely deflating in front of her eyes. "She shouldn't be," she said quietly, almost inaudible.

"Vic, c'mon." Chloe reached out and pushed her shoulder gently. "You know, damn well, that Kate is a fucking saint and would do anything to help you."

Victoria wouldn't meet her eye, still deflated. "Yes, and -"

Chloe pushed the same shoulder again. "I'm not done. You'd drop everything to help her, why can't she worry about you, too?"

Victoria looked up for a few moments, eyes dull, before sighing heavily. "I hate when you're right."

Chloe inhaled sharply, holding back a chuckle. "Believe me, Max and I already had this argument, about worrying over each other. Way too many times." And thankfully not recently. "You both have the right to worry."

Victoria exhaled heavily again, leaning against the counter. Her hair was long enough now that it concealed her expression slightly. "Kate's been, uh, trying to talk me into therapy," Victoria said slowly, looking a little red in the face.

Chloe worked on a neutral expression - no need to let her know that Kate had texted her about this already. "Yeah, I told you that too, a while ago," she pointed out, just barely able to see Victoria roll her eyes in response. "Why don't you?"

Victoria gave a little shrug, going back to working at the skin around her nails."Every time I think about it, I just..." She shook her head, gazing off into the distance again. "It feels like, he wins, you know?"

Chloe crossed her arms, staring at the blonde. "That's bullshit, and you know it," she said bluntly, feeling slightly bad about how Victoria flinched in response.

"I know," she sighed, gripping her hands together. "I hate it. I hate that he's still...here." She pointed to her head, chewing her lip. "I thought, with the trial, it'd be over, that it wouldn't still..." She trailed off again as her voice started wavering.

Chloe was shaking her head, arms still crossed stubbornly. "Vic, you went through fucking hell and back. Give yourself some credit."

"So did Kate. And Max." Her voice was starting to rise in frustration, hands gripping into fists against the counter. "And neither of them are-"

"You better not compare yourself to them," Chloe responded, cutting her off. She felt a slight flush on her face, surprisingly angry that Victoria thought so little of herself. "You're not them, and they're not you."

"But-"

"No buts. You're fucking Victoria Chase, don't forget that."

There was a moment of silence, Victoria staring down tensely at the counter as she scratched her cheek. Her posture started relaxing as a wistful look crossed her face. "You know what makes me feel shitty?"

"Huh?"

Victoria was chewing her lip slowly. "Before the...the storm, I can't say I remember you as anything more than Rachel's shadow."

Chloe snorted, feeling her lips spread out into a grin. Of course that was how Victoria had remembered her. "Ouch." She wasn't entirely kidding in her response - there was a bittersweet feeling to it.

"Shut it, I'm trying to be serious here." But there was a little flicker of a smile on her face as well. "Just feels like I'm a million miles away from who I was at Blackwell, like i had everything wrong."

Chloe nodded - she was well aware of the feeling. "By my estimate, you're about 250 miles away," she quipped.

"You are such an ass,' Victoria laughed, her body finally relaxing. "Thank you, Chloe."

"Sure thing." There was so much sincerity in Victoria's voice that it made Chloe's throat tight. It took her a second before she felt confident that her own voice wouldn't break. "Stop bringing the mood down, I told you I was only here to see Alice."

Victoria laughed again, sliding off the chair. "Fine, let's go get her."