Third LiS fanfiction, and in such a short time! Title based off of a song by The Vamps.

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Why did she agree to come here? She hated big party scenes.

Especially Vortex Club parties.

With the loud bass trembling her chest and deafening the chatter of the many party goers, Max Caulfield couldn't feel anymore out of place. And since it was in the Chase household (seeing that the gym was under renovations after a prank done by a bunch of nerds that thought they were good at science and the pool was drained for cleaning), that added to the ever growing stack of 'shit-I-swore-I'd-never-do-but-did-anyway' pile. Maybe it was because her friends Juliet and Dana begged her to go, saying that she needed to get out more and not be so introverted.

She wouldn't have to be introverted if everyone else weren't such assholes.

Besides, Max barely even knew Victora Chase, let alone spoke to her. The most she could gather about Victoria was that they were in the same photography class back at school and she took good photos. That was literally it. She overheard Mr. Jefferson mention her work quite a few times outside of class, saying that 'she had sight but no structure'.

Whatever that meant.

Max sat awkwardly on the couch in the center of the living room, her hands tucked between her knees as she looked around at everyone else enjoying themselves. She had her camera hanging around her neck, but she decided against having her film full of hormonal controlled teens macking on each other and wasting a whole roll. She wasn't sure what made her think there'd be appropriate photo opportunities at a senior party. Especially when there were drugs and various alcohols on hand. Or, on tables.

I'm so sure that everyone is so bombed of their asses, they wouldn't notice a meteor crashing through the room. Max thought and laughed to herself.

Since being back in Arcadia Bay, Max wasn't so confident on making friends. She couldn't really find where she fit in with any of the crowds. Blackwell Academy claimed to have the best record of students in the entire school district, but those claims were coming from teachers who needed to keep their jobs. Maybe if they'd really take a long look around they'd notice how wrong they were about the school and its attendees.

Yet, Max begged her parents to let her go to Blackwell. It took days, weeks, and months until they finally caved. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that cliques will have already been formed when she gets there since most of the students would know each other from freshman year, but it was a risk worth taking when it came to one of her favorite photographer teaching there. And it wasn't like she didn't have any friends. It just would've been nice to develop better relationships with them from the very beginning.

"Max!" she heard over the music, and she turns to face the direction her name came from.

"Oh, hey, Warren." Max said when the boy reached her. It was obvious he'd had a bit to drink, his unsteady footsteps and goofy smile giving it away.

"Juliet and Dana pressure you into coming?" Warren's words slurred slightly, adding to the confirmation. He sat down beside Max.

"Yeah." Max said. "They didn't really give me much of a choice. I'm sure they would've dragged me here kicking and screaming if I told them no."

"It's not like one party ever hurt anyone." Warren said.

Tell that to Kate Marsh. Max thought sadly. But she couldn't blame her friend's drunken mind for not remembering.

Kate was such a sweet girl. She never got into trouble and kept to herself when she wasn't helping others. Max hated the entire fucking club for taking a video of her that night. Just went to show that not even the real model students were safe from their cruelness. And Max figured what better way to get revenge on them than to show up to a party that she wasn't wanted nor needed at? That, and to get her friends to shut up.

"You look all lonely," Warren said. "You okay?"

"Well, you know I'm not really for the party scene." Max said. "Though it is nice to get out every once in a while."

"I hear that." Warren said, and smiled at her. "Care to dance?"

"With these two left feet? Not even." Max said with a laugh. "Go and enjoy yourself, I'll find you later."

"If you say so." Warren said.

Warren stood up and returned to the blurry mix of the crowd, disappearing from Max's sight. She sucked in a breath and sighed. She stood up from the couch and made her way through the people, searching for an escape from the weed-infested atmosphere and heavy alcoholic breaths making her feel like she was suffocating. She brushed past couples that were grinding on each other, earned a few unfriendly shoves back, and accidentally stepped on a few toes.

It took her quite a bit to find the sliding doors leading to the backyard and she practically face planted as she stumbled out. She caught her footing and slid the door closed behind her, huffing in annoyance.

Of course. she thought.

The entire backyard, pool included, was crawling with just as many people as the inside was. Jocks, club members, and people she'd never seen before littered the yard, some sporting drinks, others lighting joints. Max grimaced and made a quiet noise of disgust.

Is it too much to ask to find a quiet place for two seconds? she thought. Or have all those high school party movies been lying to me?

Max turned around and decided to try her luck with the upstairs floor of the house. She reentered the party, repeating the same process to get through until she made it to the stairs. She slinked past another boy and... boy? making out against the railing and climbed the stairs to the second floor. She glanced up both hallways and thought, Fuck it, what more do I have to lose?

She tries her luck with the first door on the right, only to immediately back out and shut the door as a shade of red dusts her cheeks. Some people have no shame.

The next door was open, revealing a pristine and crystal bathroom. She skipped over that knowing soon someone would need to occupy it. The third door down is slightly cracked, and she peeked in to see if anyone was inside. Satisfied that it was empty she eased it open and stepped through. She closed the door behind her gently despite knowing that no one would hear it. She inhaled deeply, letting the flowery scent of the room replace the gag-worthy smells from the party. The uncomfortable weight in her chest lightened a bit and she relaxed.

She walked further into the room and looked around, almost laughing at all the mirrors hanging from the walls. She turned her attention to a nearby dresser and lifted up a small picture frame, narrowing her eyes to look at the picture. She focused on the dirty-blondeish short haired girl in it and smirked. Max set the picture down and noticed the others scattered about the room. Victoria is so into herself. I wonder if she ever feels like she trapped in a fun house with all these mirrors.

Max strolled across the rest of the room towards an outer balcony. She eased the doors open and stepped onto it. I didn't really surprise the photographer that Victoria had a balcony right outside her room. The Chase family were fucking rich, second place to the Prescotts. And the Prescotts owned almost everything in Arcadia Bay.

The brunette leaned against the railing of the balcony and smiled at the sunset before her. The yellow, pink and blue hues mixing and fading into the navy and blackness of the oncoming night. Stars were already starting to dust the sky and it made Max's heart swell a bit. Damn, Victoria has one hell of a view. I bet this would make a nice shot. With that thought, she straightened up and held her camera to her eye. She steadied her hands and snapped the picture. There was a small whirring sound and the polaroid emerged from the slot. Max smiled to herself and pulled it out, shaking it a bit before, putting it in her bag.

SLAM!

Max nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the bedroom door busting open. The hairs on her neck stood on end and she heard angry mumbling under the music pulsing its way into the room., somehow syncing with the angry footsteps coming her way.

"Fuckin' Prescotts... Fuckin' Chases..." a girl's voice said. "Can't stand those fuckers..." The footsteps suddenly halted and Max tensed more than she thought possible. There was a beat of silence and- "Who the hell are you?"

Max bit her lip and turned around slowly, her arms stiff at her sides. She dragged her eyes up from the floor to the doorway and-

Wowser.

A girl, Max could tell she was not much older than her, stood in the open entranceway. She was just a couple inches taller, with electric blue hair sticking out from under a purplish-blue beanie. She was dressed in a leather jacket, a tank top with a skull on the front that read 'Misfit Skull' under it, and black jeans.

In other words, she was fucking beautiful.

"Uh, hello? Anyone home?" the girl said and waved her hand. "I don't think 'wowser' is a name either."

Did I really say that out loud?! Max thought and her cheeks grew hotter. Nice going, Max. You're already making a great first impression.

"Uh-hum." Make words, dumbass! "N-No, it's not. My name is Max. Max Caulfield." Smooth. Real smooth.

"Max." the bluenette echoed with a single nod. She crossed the balcony while reaching into her pocket. "What's that short for? Maxwell, Maximus, Maximilian?" She smirked a bit. "Maxipad?"

Max blushed darker. "It's short for Maxine, but... I only go by Max. Never Maxine."

"Hmm, I understand that." the girl said.

The bluenette retracted her hand from her pocket, clutching a pack of cigarettes and a lighter between her fingers. She flipped opened the pack and withdrew a cigarette, giving the box a look before eyeing Max. "You smoke, kid?"

"No." Max said, making a face.

The girl laughed and lit the cigarette, putting the pack away before taking a brief drag. She huffed out the smoke. "Good, don't."

Max raised an eyebrow. She never could understand why people that did certain things would turn around and tell someone else not to do it. She guessed it was their way of saying 'this messed me up, I don't wanna see you messed up like me.' But what if she had said yes? What would the girl of done then?

"Some party, right?"

"Huh?" Max said.

"Jeez, are you sure you're not high?" the girl asked teasingly. "Drunk, even?"

"I'm completely clean." Max said a bit more defensively than she'd meant.

"Woah, chillax Max." The girl grinned at her own joke. "No need to be getting hella defensive, I was only kidding. But what I said was 'some party, right?'"

Max sighed. "You could say that again."

"I kinda just did." the girl said. Her grin widened. "If I had to guess, I'd say you were forced to come here."

"Really? What gave that away?" Max said.

The girl flicked the ash off the end of the cigarette. "You're not drunk, you're not high, and your on someone's random balcony looking like an emo hippie. That doesn't exactly speak festive."

"Yeah, well, my friends dragged me here." Max said.

"Don't seem to me like their real friends if you're up here by yourself." the girl said with a slight eyebrow raise.

Max pouted her lips slightly. This girl had a fair point. Not even half an hour into the party, Max had lost sight of Dana and Juliet. She knew (hoped) that they didn't necessarily do it on purpose but it didn't help the fact that they'd left her.

"Well, what about you?" Max said, hoping to deter the topic away from her. "You didn't sound like you were having a good time, either."

"You caught on to that, huh?" the bluenette said. She took a long smoke before breathing it out through her nose.

"It was kind of hard not to." Max admitted.

The girl shrugged once. "I hate these kind of parties."

"Then why are you here?" Max questioned. Her nosey detective half was rearing its head.

"I have unfinished business with this town's 'beloved idol families'." the girl said with a harsh scowl. "I knew the party was gonna be here, so I decided to crash it and deal with business."

"How did you know that? I've never seem you around school." Max said.

"Yep, and you're not gonna." the girl said, flicking the cherry off the cigarette. "I got expelled from Blackwell months ago."

That explains why I haven't seen her. Max said.

"Anyway," the girl sighed dramatically as she dropped the remainder of the cigarette onto the floor and stepped it out. "I think I've had my social time for the year. Nice talking to you, Max." She gave a smile, a nod, and headed for the door.

Max's brain fried completely.

She's getting away! Say something! Anything! Max thought.

"Wait!" she called just as the girl circled the corner. She ran to the door as the bluenette stepped back, looking in at her.

"Yes?" she said with a small smile.

"I-uh...I don't... I don't know your name." Max said, fiddling with her fingers and looking down.

The girl's smile broadened and she chuckled. She shook her head and said as she started to leave again, "Price. Chloe Price."

Chloe... "Chloe..." She said it slowly as if she were tasting it. She liked it.

Max rounded the corner into the hallway in time to see Chloe descending down the stairs and her legs moved on their own accord to catch up with her until she felt two hands grab her by her shoulders. She yelped in surprise and whirled around, falling back. A hand caught her wrist and pulled her back up.

"There you are!" Juliet's voice came to Max before she opened her eyes.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Dana said, stepping out from behind Juliet.

Obviously not hard enough. Max thought. "Here I am."

"What were you doing in Victoria's room?" Dana said.

"And who was that girl that came out?" Juliet said.

"N-nobody, I don't know her." Max said. "I was looking for a quiet place and ended up in there. She came in a couple minutes later."

Juliet and Dana looked at each other, but seemed to buy it. Juliet released Max's wrist and said, "Well, we're blowing this place."

"So soon?" Max asked.

"Yeah, it's not as awesome as when it's at the school for some reason." Dana said.

"But if you want to stay longer-" Juliet began.

"No, let's go." Max quickly interjected. She didn't want to be there any longer than necessary. "I'm getting tired."

Juliet nodded and the three girls headed downstairs, shoving their way through the crowd to get to the front door. Max couldn't help but look around for Chloe, hoping to catch one more glance of her before she most likely never saw her again. To her dismay, it appeared that Chloe had long gone.

They reached Dana's car and hopped in, Max looking behind then add she drove away at the house disappearing in the distance.

...

And there we go! I hope you enjoyed enough to want to follow!

Thanks for reading!