Well... this is a new place for me to stumble into.

...

...

In spite of current popular opinion about him, James Amber did indeed love his daughter.

He was not a perfect Father. Oh, he had to present that face for the people of Arcadia Bay, but under the surface which the outside world got to see and judged accordingly, was a man who lived in constant doubt and fear of what would happen when his secrets got out; and last night thanks to the resourcefulness and sheer guile of his daughter and her… friend… his most potentially damaging one was now being aired out publicly in his family… for Rachel.

… And for this Chloe Price as well…

He had done some background digging into Chloe Price after the meeting with Ray Wells over Rachel and her skipping school. While he had lost his temper on the girl – for which he fully intended to apologize for - she was still a troubled girl, with justifiable reasons to look at the world in such a pessimistic fashion. She had lost her father, William, in a collision with a semi-truck. It wasn't long after that that everything went off the rails for the girl. Now here they were. She was expelled from Blackwell, apparently deep into recreation drug use and was now the center of fascination for Rachel.

Center of fascination… an understatement to be sure. A euphemism he was using so that he didn't have to think too much about what their actual out of left field friendship was.

Or the noises that came from Rachel's bedroom last night.

James exhaled as he mentally bleached his fleeting thought of the unspeakable. It wasn't some panic over his daughter being apparently gay, it was the fact she brought someone she was seeing (apparently) and did things in his house… in her childhood bedroom.

Sure, he might have done the exact same thing when he was her age… Okay, he did do those things… but this was different. This time he was the father of the girl in question. When he dealt with this Sera situation, he supposed he was going to have to sit Chloe Price down and have the same conversation he would have to have in her place. Girl or not, it was only right she got to endure the scrutiny of a disapproving father.

Hell, it might even be fun...

Closing the car door behind him with one hand, the other pushing his hair back, James stepped casually towards the somewhat run down Price home. It had the potential to be a fine house in itself, but it was clear to him whatever pride they had in their home was diminished at the loss of William Price. It was an understandable state of affairs.

The familiar hum from his smart phone caught his attention briefly. He grabbed it from his jack and tapped the message service.

Rose - James, Rachel is still at home. What are you doing?

You - I'm dealing with the Price situation right now. Talk soon.

Turning his phone off, James stepped up to the front door and stood there for a moment to recollect his momentum. To give himself a moment to figure out just how he was going to present himself to the Price household: concerned parent, or DA.

With that, James knocked on the door and dropped his hand back to his side.

It only took a moment before the door opened. Standing there in front of him was a middle aged woman whom he had met the day before in Ray Well's office. Joyce, if he remembered clearly. She dressed in her work clothing and looked exhausted; her eyes were puffy and red from spending last night crying. For what reason, James certainly already knew. He could appreciate the sentiment; it had been a rough evening.

Silently James watched as an understandable flash of annoyance cut through Joyce's miserable expression and streaked over her face as she stood in the doorway. Her arms crossed over her chest as she looked him over. She was angry, but too prideful to admit that to him right off the bat. James could see why she harboured this feeling for him. He did not foster good will from her for his apathy to her daughter's plight and his natural inclination to defend his daughter from any and all accusations levelled at her.

While that was the case less than 24 hours ago, recent events made it clear that Rachel was to blame for the school ditching, and that Chloe Price made it her business to protect Rachel from punishment. It was very… noble… stupid, no doubt to place your education so low in favour of another person… but it was very noble of the girl.

It was clear to James now that Ray was a serious opportunist. He walked into that meeting with the sole intention to weed out a troublemaker, even if it meant believing the utter bullshit Chloe Price fed him. Ray was, at his core, a good guy but he overinflated his position and worth; and while Ray was well within his rights to boot Chloe if even a quarter of his suspicions were rooted in fact, but surely he should have been able to see the girl needed help and display of some compassion.

As the two of them stared at one another in silence, James stepped forward. His had extending out to the woman. He decided there and then he would be the concerned father this time.

"Mrs. Price?" he spoke to her in an upbeat tone. "Yesterday we met under difficult circumstances, so please allow me to reintroduce myself; my name James Amber."

The woman remained locked in place for a good long moment as she observed the DA standing in front of her with his hand still outstretched. James had to admit to himself that he was impressed. She'd make a fine police interrogator.

"Well, you can call me Joyce," she stiffly returned. Her hand reached out and shook his for a moment before dropping her hand to her side. James said nothing as he noticed the woman wipe her hand on her skirt.

"Joyce…" he repeated once again as bright as he could produce. "Well then, I insist you call me James. I can see you're heading out, so I apologize for waylaying you. I was hoping to have a chat with your daughter, Chloe. But it is good to catch you here as well."

Looking at James wearily for a moment longer, Joyce stepped out of the doorway and gestured the man to step into the home. Offering Joyce a half smile, James stepped into the home and watched as Joyce stepped past him and planted herself in front of the staircase.

"Chloe Elizabeth Price! Get down here!" she hollered up stairs.

A string of profanity erupted from the bedroom, and Joyce rolled her eyes. Silently she gestured James to follow her, which he did down the hallway and into the small living room. As Joyce took a seat at the dining table, he did as well. The two of them remained locked in a state of silence, the only noise was the sound of boots stamping above them.

A door slammed and then the boots came down the staircase and through the hallway and sure enough standing there was none other than the object of his daughter's affection, Chloe Price. She looked as though she had something smart to say to her mother, but the moment it was obvious just who her mother was keeping company with she froze, her mouth slightly agape as she stood there.

Silently James took in girl. She was different than the day prior, more denim, a beanie and peculiarly, one of her bangs was streaked with blue. James exhaled and remained steadfastly silent as he looked at the walking stereotype. One night with his daughter and… this happened.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as soon as she found it in herself to speak, her arms crossing over her chest as her eyes narrowed at James like he had already done something offensive.

"Chloe manners…" Joyce immediately snapped at her daughter as she too stared at her daughter's transformation. "… and what did you do to your hair?"

The girl did not reply to her mother. The girl did not so much as offer a glance to her mother. After last night, it was clear Chloe was in the 'fuck James for lying' club of which it seemed everyone in his life was a member.

Whatever… he could work with that.

"Chloe, could you please join us?" James requested, gesturing to the seat next to Joyce.

It did not take long for the combined pressure coming from both Joyce and himself to collapse upon Chloe. Rolling her eyes, Chloe stepped forward and slumped down into the seat next to her mother. She still made it a point to remain lock eyed with James. He had to respect the sort of strength this had. Few people ever could look him straight in the eye; came with his position.

Lacing his fingers together as hands rested on the table top, James turned his focus to Joyce, who sat there completely at a loss of words for why it was he was here.

"First, Joyce, I wanted to apologize for any undue worry you might have had for your daughter," James spoke to the mother in a steadied tone. "I do not know the extent of what she told you, but she was at our home having dinner with us. She helped mitigate an unfortunate incident, and my wife and I are very grateful to have had Chloe here helping out Rachel out through this issue."

Stunned by what she had heard, Joyce turned her focus to Chloe who conspicuously become bashful at James' not exactly true version of events.

"Oh, Chloe, why didn't you say something?" Joyce breathed to her daughter. "You could have at least texted."

Unable, or unwilling to look her mother in the eye, Chloe could only shrug.

"I know…" she said as she decided to play along with James. "It wasn't in my place to talk about it..."

"Do not understate the importance you had on getting Rachel through last night," James faux chastised her for being modest. He turned to Joyce and added. "Your daughter did something very sweet in staying with Rachel as she did. Rose and I greatly appreciate her for being there."

Joyce looked to her daughter, and for the first time since this little meeting began, Chloe looked at her mother. The expression on her face was locked in a state of neutrality, like she did not want to be this much of a focus in the first place.

What was much more more important was Joyce's reaction. For the first time pride seemed to registered on the woman's face. It was exactly what James wanted right now.

"Well, that's my Chloe… apparently…" Joyce spoke, still a little startled. She turned back to James and added. "May I get you a cup of coffee, Mr. Amber?"

James brought a smile to his face once again.

"I believe I said my name was James; and yes, thank you very much. Black, one sugar," he spoke with a casual lightness that earned an easing laugh from Joyce. "Your daughter and mine have become quite fast friends; as such I think it's only right to invite you over to our home one night for dinner with both families... I imagine it might be something they would want, right Chloe?"

The inference was obvious to all parties but Joyce, who had retreated from the kitchen to pour the two of them a cup of coffee. It gave James a moment watch in silence as Chloe shifted uncomfortably in front of him. She finally seemed to get that whatever going on between Rachel and she was far more obvious than they thought it was. That the man sitting across from was the father of the girl she was… interested in.

Yes… It looked like she was going to get dad interrogation one of these days. Female or not, he would not be deprived of his right as a father.

"Well I possibly couldn't come empty handed…" Joyce's voice spoke up, cutting through the tension she did not notice. "You have your wife tell me what I should bring and I'll bring it."

As Joyce approached the table both of her hands clutching coffee mugs, James offered the stunned Chloe a smirk before he wiped it from his face and accepted the coffee mug Joyce had extended out to him.

"Thank you…" he said as he sipped the drink before setting it down on the table. "For now, just bring your daughter and that smile of yours. This is our gift to you for your part in helping our daughter."

As Joyce sat down, James once against folded his fingers together and directed his complete attention to Joyce.

"My daughter suffered a stress induced panic attack last night, Joyce," James spoke his half-truth to Joyce. "It has been quite some time since one happened, but it happened last night; between the fire and Principal Wells' meeting… I'm afraid she's not in a healthy place emotionally anymore. This is a cylindrical cycle… but it has never been quite this bad before."

Joyce winced at James' observation. He had broken through any barrier of mistrust she held for him and connected to her parent to parent; and judging on her own relationship with Chloe in the wake of her husband's demise, this seemed to have hit closer to home than he anticipated.

"Oh dear…" she murmured softly, to which James nodded. Shifting in his seat, he turned back to Chloe.

"After the Wells meeting, Rachel told me that you took the fall for her… all to keep her place in the play," he asked the teenager. "May I ask why?"

James tilted his head to one side as he sipped his coffee and watched in renewed silence as Chloe struggled to find the right answer she could use without admitting she was head over heels for Rachel in front of both her mother and Rachel's father.

Bowing her head, Chloe rubbed her neck.

It… didn't seem… right… that she had to lose something she loved… because of a day away from school," Chloe confirmed the truth to James. "I had to do something to… protect her from Wells."

James arched his brow. He was probably more confused than before. What she was saying was going well beyond teenage short-sightedness. This was edging into martial sacrifice territory. How was that even possible in a child?

"You would protect her happiness, even at the expense your education?" he inquired, carefully keeping his inability to process this out of his tones and words.

Staring at James for a moment, Chloe shrugged.

"I wasn't using it anyway."

Judging from the expression of displeasure that tore out of the good nature Joyce was emitting, it seemed that wasn't exactly the answer she wanted to hear. It was an amusingly deceptive answer.

"Well, I'm certain Rachel said… thank you last night…" James spoke slowly, deliberately, watching as Chloe squirmed in her seat as she tried not to just break down right there. "But I want to express it as well. Wells… overreaches at times, and in your case, he overreached. He clasped at whatever excuse he could find, and got rid of a – in his opinion – problem."

James reached and briefly clasped his hand onto Chloe's forearm. His never left hers. Perhaps it was a bit much, but people like Chloe… they rarely got this sort of attention people outside their immediate circle.

"But you're not a problem Chloe Price; and I feel I should pay your kindness back," James stated firmly, feeling the girl tremble from the reinforcement. "Come hell or high water I'm going to get you back into Blackwell Academy."

Joyce's eyes bulged out at James' promise, her hand unconsciously snapping up to cover her mouth. She looked as though she was about to faint. Chloe glanced away from James and instead directed her attention to her mother, who looked moments away from weeping. She grabbed her mother's shoulder. Joyce immediately pulled her hand away from her mouth to cover Chloe's hand.

Chloe looked back to James. It was clear she was not entirely thrilled at the prospects of returning back to Blackwell.

"You would…" Joyce breathed. "…you world do that for us? For her?"

Finishing his coffee, James solemnly nodded for Joyce.

"Yes I would Joyce," he returned. "Chloe deserves a proper education, I don't think that anyone in this room, nor Rose and Rachel would want to have Chloe fall behind… and for the first time in a very long time, I feel like my Rachel has a friend… a genuine friend."

Allow a small smile to cross onto his mouth, James turned back to Chloe.

"Chloe, you deserve… all the opportunities in the world open to you, and my wife and I would like to help you see to that," James directed his words to the stunned teen. "I suspect the suspension will stand, but I'll convince Wells reverse his decision. On Monday, I will pick you up bright and early and we'll deal this problem out together, okay?"

Joyce pushed back her seat, dabbing her tear stained eyes briefly before forcing herself to emit a weak sounding chuckle. James followed her cue and held out his hand to her with a smile. Joyce bypassed it completely and pulled the District Attorney into a crushing hug, making James wince and freeze as he found himself looking at the slightly smirking Chloe.

Not entirely certain he was liking being in bed with the Price family, he ignored the worry and silently exhaling, James slowly wrapped his arms around the woman as well, giving her a professional pat on the back.

"Thank you for this opportunity, James," Joyce muttered into his chest. "I don't know what to say… Chloe would thank you as well, but she's too inclined to like being expelled."

It was James' turn to chuckle. He pulled himself out of Joyce's vice grip and rearranged his jacket.

"An understandable feeling for someone her age," James said as he emitted as he looked Chloe's way. "But education is important and this is the least I can do for her."

Exhaling, James stepped back from Joyce.

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you any longer then I already have," he finished. He paused and glanced again to Chloe and added. "Chloe, could you walk me to my car? There are a few things we should discuss, if that is fine with you?"

The second part was addressed to Joyce, but she was still numbed by what he had offered to do for her. Slowly the mother nodded and smiled. James returned it with one of his own and made his way to the hallway, pausing to allow Chloe to push by him and trudge towards the door.

"And Joyce?" James said as the door slammed behind him. "That was a damn fine cup of coffee."

…

…

Leaned up against the side of the house, Chloe Price stood there in a state of stupefaction from the pile of shit that Rachel's dad could summon in a few moments. As much as she did not like him, she had to give him some credit for it. If she thought she was the master of the bullshit, James Amber was next fucking level.

The door opened and out stepped Mr. Amber, he glanced at her, and with a smirk that chilled her from just much Rachel was in it, he gestured her to follow. He even moved like her, like there was a slink in his step, as though he was taking some sort of personal victory lap.

"You're an… awesome actor, Mr. Amber…" she said, finally finding her voice as she trailed off after Rachel's father. "I see where Rachel got it from."

James emitted an appreciative chuckle.

"You are talking to a man who has had to spend fifteen years being minimum three steps ahead of a human snake," he said casually as they both crossed the street to his car. "There are some things you cannot unlearn. And for obvious reasons, I'm going to assume you will want to give me a little leeway about this, being Rachel's father and all…"

Chloe closed her eyes and exhaled. Yes, she supposed she did have reasons to want to stay on James' good side. She still thought this was some sort of bullshit. It wasn't like her and Rachel was together… sort of… if last night actually happened, then perhaps they were. She would need to get a definitive answer sooner rather than later.

Fuck, James was right; he did have reason to think he would have a little leeway to work with Chloe. Did the whole bullshit 'interrogative dad' act apply to girls interested in their daughters? She supposed she would have to ask Steph that question, if she was still speaking to after what happened to Mikey.

"Do you have a cigarette to spare?" James gruffly requested, his hand outstretched to her as though he already knew the fucking answer.

Chloe rolled her eyes and withdrew her pack of smokes and placed one in the palm of James' hand. As he placed it between his lips, he tilted his head. Realizing he did not have a lighter, she reached once again into her pocket to grab hers and in silence she lit the man up. Somewhere in the back of her head she wondered if this was an act of dominance… forcing her to submit to his demands without complaining.

"Thank you," James said as he took a drag. "Rose doesn't like them, so that means I don't like them by default…"

Slowly exhaling smoke out of his nose. James fell silent as he quietly examined the teenager.

"Last night was a mess," he admitted to her. "Cards on the table, I had the notion – only for a short time – that I should make Sera disappear. Have the local dealers run her out of town and be done with her. A stupid thought… something some dipshit crime writer would only think of."

Chloe was about to laugh at the thought of James doing something as drastic as that, but stopped herself as she noticed that there was no trace of dark humour in his words. She wasn't the most socially apt person, but even she could notice this was a serious consideration made by a man who put Rachel's safety above everything else.

"For what it's worth to you, I want apologize for my behaviour... calling you a broken girl at dinner..." James pressed on. "I was scared and on the defensive… and I took it out on you for doing the right thing, by standing by a friend-"

"Ugh, Forget me you dumbass!" she snapped at him, cutting him off and completely forgoing any niceties she should have for Rachel's father. "You still fucking humiliated her by keeping all this Sera stuff from her! Rachel deserved so much better from you!"

Mr. Amber seemed genuinely surprised by the insult, or was it bemusement? She was a little too baked to tell right now. Whatever it was, at least he did not appear outraged. If anything he seemed to feel almost bad about it; but with the acting ability the man possessed, she wasn't about to make a judgement call just yet.

"I did humiliate her… and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life…" he said lowly, tapping the tip of his cigarette. "But what I did… it is nothing compared what could unfold now if it is left unchecked."

There was a note of honesty Chloe could hear in the way he spoke. It was something she remembered the most about her Father. The sincerity of concern for the child he loved, and in spite of all the lies and shit… there was still something fundamentally loving in which James regarded his child. He needed lessons in not being a total fucking asshole, but he wasn't a Sean Prescott tiered motherfucker.

"I am not about to fuck up what I have with her for you," she spoke to the father, her head bowed as she shook it. "It's too new… fragile, I nearly fucked it up a few days ago. That's not happening again."

James leaned against the side of his car, inhaling his cigarette as he looked over Chloe as though he was examining her resole behind her statement.

"I understand, Chloe. She is your friend. A significant other if you'd have your way…" he murmured idly, watching her reaction carefully.

So, it was now out in the open. James and Chloe both knew exactly where each other stood. Both of them were fighting for the affections of the same girl, but coming from different sides. She had honestly expected James not to be okay with this. He carried himself as a man who could not have a lot of controversies in his life, and she imagined having a daughter who had a girlfriend would not exactly be great for his image.

Finding her spine, Chloe stepped forward and joined James, pressing her back against his car as well. She reached into her jacket and grabbed a cigarette for herself and silently the father and his daughter's prospective girlfriend smoked in quiet. It was… nice. James didn't try to dominate the conversation or force small talk like Step-Douche did. It was… kind of like standing there with an older male Rachel. Like he was there, but he was thinking about things several steps ahead.

"I… do not disapprove of you as much as I thought I would have when we first met, Chloe," he said, breaking the silence with the same ease as the transition from night to day. "You're far smarter than I thought to be honest with you. You understand the world better than she does. I… think you would be good for each other."

Chloe rolled her eyes as she took a drag.

"Wow man," she muttered, rubbing her neck. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

A smirk spread over James' face. He seemed to see some humour in it.

"I know I'm on the top of everyone's shit list right now, but I'm still her father, and I'm allowed to be leery when my only daughter brings home someone she likes," he reminded her firmly, glancing her way for a moment. "Especially when she's... let's be honest... troubled. Fractured... but standing tall in spite of everything, which I admire..."

James rubbed the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply.

"What I'm trying to say, is that I feel you're mature enough to get a more definite response then what I gave you the other night," James pressed on, his tone straining. "I want to swear off any attempts at contacting Sera; and before you call me a 'motherfucking asshole', I want a chance to explain myself."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at the motherfucking asshole. She'd hold off on calling him a motherfucking asshole for the time being.

Motherfucking asshole...

"Chloe, Sera… Sera is a poison to everything she touches…" he started again, an edge in his tone that testified how much he resented the woman he once loved. "In hindsight, her heroin addiction was only the last straw…"

The man rubbed his forehead as Chloe took in the clear anger the father felt for the woman who gave him Rachel.

"Rose and I have done everything within our power to set Rachel up for success," James spoke finally as he dropped the last of his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. "Rachel has inherited a trait from her that I cannot deal with on my own. She's… whimsical…"

"She…" Chloe started to defend her, rubbing her neck. "She likes to live in the moment."

"She's whimsical and I suspect that you are very aware of how much danger that can be," James snapped firmly back. "You know it loses its charm when you step back and objectively ponder the amount of shit she has probably put you through. She will try to convince you to set up a meeting with her… that is if she hasn't done so already."

Chloe remained silent. Everything James had said more or less struck her directly, but she was never going to admit it how much he may have been right. She was on the verge of calling Frank about Sera when Mom called her down.

"I told you I'm never going to lie to her for you," she mutinously muttered.

James nodded.

"I want the opposite. I want you to be her truth, her moral compass, her guardian angel, whatever it takes," James replied immediately. "My daughter is not speaking to me now, and I want you to convince her it's in everyone's best interest I get to."

"Why in the fuck-"

"Because I'm going to give her everything what she wants… like I always do," James cut her off gruffly. "I'm going to give her the meeting she desires, I'll even let you two run off for the summer. But before anything happens, it has to be done with all four of us - Rose, Rachel, you and I -agreeing to it; and you and I need to be working in closer proximity with you. The only way we can keep her safe is if we work directly together."

The teen and the parent stared at each other as James' words lingered between the two of them. She really could not believe just how much the man seemed to have known, and that now after a sleepless evening, he was now ready to agree to Rachel's demands with conditions. By far the most curious was just how…adult, she was being treated by him. There was no patronizing, or quiet submission like last night. He had a genuine interest in working with her.

In the deepest depths of her heart, she wanted to take the deal. It just made so much more sense than snooping around, fucking with Frank and his boss/pal Damon… and what was this about him being fucking cool with them escaping Arcadia Bay for a time?

"She'll hate me for this," she murmured to herself. She felt a little sick by all of this. All of this deception James Amber played in.

"No," he said as he shook his head. "She'll hate me when she realizes I used my authority and your possession of illegal substances over you to get this meeting."

Without bothering to ask permission, James reached into the pocket Chloe had stashed her pack of cigarettes in, and pulled out the small dime bag of weed she bought from Frank the other day. She stood there, face frozen in fear as she became acutely aware that she was standing with the Arcadia Bay District Attorney.

James Amber stood there, the baggie still outstretched in front of the two of them. He looked at her with almost bored expression, like for him kids with pot was not something new. Chloe supposed that was true, but she was not about to admit that she was a fuckin' cliché.

"You can relax… I'm not going to bust you over a dime bag…" James said as he handed the baggie back to Chloe, who snatched it and immediately pocketed in case her mom was watching. "Now you have something else to throw against me for her to hate me. So are we in this together?"

Chloe watched in silence as Rachel's father pushed himself off the side of car and took a step in front of her. Silently he extended his hand out to her. Looking at it for a moment longer and silently hating herself for it, Chloe extended her own out and took his hand.

"For Rachel… I'll work with you…" she murmured, dropping his hand after a single shake. "But if this goes sideways, I'm going to find Sera myself and we'll deal with this our way."

James emitted a small laugh. It wasn't obviously fake; in fact he seemed genuinely amused by this.

"Your loyalty to her is admirable. Rachel would be a fool not to see the extent of how you feel about her…" James said, clasping his hand Chloe's shoulder. "So take my advice on one thing: Make it clear to her. I'll be in contact, Chloe… and you can get off my car now, thank you very much."

Gesturing to his vehicle Chloe was still resting against, James remained silent and still as Chloe pushed herself off as he had. She watched as James climbed into the vehicle and closed the door behind him with a loud thud. As the engine ignited, James rolled down the window.

"Blue hair… cool move; she's going to eat that up…" he observed gaily. "And just so you know if you hurt my little girl, that's basically game over for you."

With that final strike against her, as well as a final wave in her direction; James pulled his car off the curb and drove off, leaving Chloe speechless. She stood there silently watching the Amber car drive off down the road as an alphabetical list of terms she wanted to use against James Amber ran through her head.

Realizing she was far too late for any of that, she sighed and took a drag of her cigarette. As she did her free hand reached into her jeans and pulled out her phone. It was time to get Rachel involved. As much as she wanted to see her face again, she wasn't exactly looking forward to the conversation where she told Rachel her Dad cornered her.

Then again, maybe she did… James had set up a situation where the only one who was at fault was him…

You - Rachel, you there? Chloe typed into her phone.

It only took eight seconds to get the response. Chloe counted each one of them.

Rachel – Just thinking of you.

Her chest tightened up at the simple statement. There was no fucking way digital letters should have been able to do that to another human being. Chloe took one last drag of her cigarette before dropping it, her eyes never leaving the screen.

You - We got to meet something came up

Rachel - Sounds ominous.

You - Depends on how you react to it. It involves your mom

You- Birth Mom

You - Fuck this is so weird

Rachel - Hella fucking weird. I'll meet you at the junkyard asafp.

Chloe was about to pocket her phone and walk back to the garage when the phone buzzed again.

Rachel - Chloe.

Rachel - I'm so happy we're in this together.

Rachel - As much as I want to meet her, you mean more to me than anyone else.

Rachel - And if you were to ask me to get something to eat, take in a movie or even watching paint dry as a date I would love to be there with you.

Chloe stared silently at the screen, her mouth slightly agape. This was really happening. Shit… she had to be her coolest now. She had to have the most perfect, most suave response she could give to Rachel. It had to be cool and flirtatious, but not creep level.

You - Paint drying sounds good.

Chloe mentally screamed.

Fuck.

Rachel - That's my Chloe. Fuck yes to that. You bring the booze, I'll bring the paint.

Rachel - And just so you know.

Rachel - My birth mom isn't the only thing I want to discuss with you.

Rachel - So come quickly.

Rachel - Totally don't take that as innuendo.

Rachel - But that could totally be my job one day.

Rachel - See you soon XX

Lost in her thoughts, Chloe pocketed her phone finding that she was completely unable to get rid of the stupid silly grin that overwhelmed her senses. It wasn't the innuendo that put her in this state of giddiness (although that was fucking cool), or even the promise that they would sit down and discuss what they had together was. It was two simple words that left her breathless.

My Chloe.

That… that had a hella nice ring to it…

…

…

First venture into the Life is Strange verse. I've been meaning to take the plunge for a while now, but between my other work and waiting for BtS was completed I held off on it. Usually ship Pricefield, but I couldn't deny the fun I could have with the upcoming Maximum Victory. First couple chapters will be dedicated to Rachel and Chloe working things out.

After Deck 9 shit the bed with the ending and the characterization of James Amber, I guess this sort of came out of it. As someone who's usually writing Mass Effect, I know a thing or two about developers shitting the bed at the last moment. So I get it. James is going to be redeem-ably scummy and not pants on his head fucking idiot.

Ratings will eventually by upgraded to M.

Thanks for reading.