"What else do you remember about your freaky 'Final Destination' vision," Chloe asked, keeping her eyes on the road as the pair made their way to Blackwell Academy. "You know, so when it happens for real I can kick the shooter's ass."

Max rolled her eyes and smiled a bit as she turned away from the window, opening her mouth to answer but her mind was blank. Other than the confrontation between Chloe and the shooter, she couldn't remember anything else about the vision.

"Hello?" Chloe interrupted Max's thoughts. "Hey, this new jump isn't like, slowly destroying your brain or something right? You've been spacing out like crazy."

"No," Max replied, offended a bit. "At least I don't think so. I was just trying to remember the vision."

"Yeah, the vision from only, like ten minutes ago. And?"

"I can't remember anything about it, besides you getting shot."

"Maax…" Chloe trailed off, skepticism in her tone.

"I swear it's not because of the time jump," Max answered with sincerity, "If something is truly wrong with me, you'll be the first to know."

"Alright, alright," the blue-haired girl caved as they came to a stoplight. She turned to face Max, "but I got my eye you, Caulfield. So, about your vision..."

"Yeah, okay, the vision," Max answered, her eyes meeting Chloe's. "It was weird, almost like it was centered around you being shot, and everything else was out of focus."

"So you don't remember anything else?" Chloe questioned, "not even something simple like if it was at night or during the day?"

"I-I," Max stopped as she racked her brain, trying to recall even the slightest of details. "I can't remember," she finally said with a sigh.

"Alright, I guess I'll just have to keep my piece strapped on me at all times," Chloe announced with a shrug.

"Wait, you still have David's gun? Where?" The brunette inquired, sitting up hastily in her seat.

"In the glovebox," Chloe answered quickly, thrown off by Max's tone. "What's the big deal?"

"Hold on, I need to be sure," Max responded, popping open the glovebox. She carefully pried the revolver from its hiding spot. "Shit," she added as she inspected the gun.

"What?!" Chloe asked again, her eyes darting between Max and the road. "Will you tell me before I freak out?"

"This is what they used to shoot you," Max revealed, taking the bullets out of the gun. She turned to Chloe, seeing the look on her face, "this way, you can't be shot." Max finished as she put the bullets in her backpack.

Chloe nodded, returning her focus back to the road as they pulled up to Blackwell. "Shit, Bacon Patrol is out in full force today."

Sean Prescott must feel the walls closing in on him. Serves him right, that's what he gets for building a bunker that was used to destroy so many lives. I just hope these cops are here to collect the evidence, not destroy it. Who knows how many people Mr. Prescott has in his back pocket, Max pondered as she watched countless police officers rushing around the front of Blackwell, some heading inside while others were carrying boxes towards their cruisers in the parking lot. The brunette snapped out of her thoughts as Chloe stopped at the Blackwell front stairs.

"You aren't staying?" Max wondered, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Of course I am, hippie," Chloe replied with a smile, "but peep the parking lot." She instructed with a tilt of her head.

"Oh," Max said simply.

"Yeah, don't feel like getting busted today. Especially after the little party we had up by the lighthouse," Chloe joked. "I'll head back around and park farther down the block. Meet you in the dorm?"

Max nodded, hopping out and watching as Chloe drove off. Her attention was snatched away by the loud machinery on the football field across the street; players and coaches alike trying to fix the damage done by the storm.

Probably paid for by Mr. Prescott, trying to save face before his empire implodes… Max theorized before turning around and heading for the dorms.

"Wowser," she said aloud as she reached the dormitory courtyard, observing the damage. The grass was torn and uprooted, along with parts of the now broken sprinkler system. "Samuel has his work cut out for him."

Speaking of Samuel, I wonder what he thinks about the totem being desecrated, Max thought to herself as she worked her way through the wreckage to the maintenance room.

"Samuel?" She called out, opening the door slowly. Finding it empty, she walked to the back of the room, stopping at the door that led to a small lounge in the back. She knocked on the door, thinking Samuel might be on a break. After no response, Max turned back around with a huff, heading out of the room.

Back outside, what was left of the Blackwell totem caught her eye. She felt her legs move, almost by themselves, as she was drawn to the spot where the totem previously stood. Max stopped at the edge of the dense forest, bits and pieces of the totem strewn across the grass in front of her.

She bent down to get a better look, remembering the email she received from Principal Wells. I can see how they know it was vandalism. The edges of these pieces look like they were cut with something sharp, nothing a storm would leave behind. Cut to pieces and then burned? Why would anyone do this? She asked herself before picking up one of the pieces that weren't charred, placing it in the palm of her hand to inspect it further. She immediately recoiled back, shaking her hand wildly as the burning sensation grew, sending the piece of the totem flying into the forest. Max rubbed her palm, seeing a red blotch the totem left.

What the hell was that?!

"Stick 'em up, hippie!" Chloe grunted, grabbing Max by her sides, causing the brunette to shoot straight up with a yelp.

"Jesus, Chloe," Max breathed out, barely able to compose herself.

"Sorry, didn't mean to give you a heart attack," Chloe apologized, trying to read her best friend's expression. "Is everything okay?"

Max hesitated, looking back down at her hand. The red spot on her palm was gone, and she started to question if she actually was going crazy. She ultimately decided not to worry Chloe, so she quickly spoke up, "no, everything is fine."

Chloe eyeballed the brunette suspiciously, before continuing, "alright, because we need to plan to-"

"Wait," Max interrupted, staring off into the distance behind Chloe. "Do you see that?"

Chloe spun around and both girls caught sight of an individual making their way across Blackwell main courtyard. The person in question kept their head down, their hoodie concealing their identity. They weaved around the scurrying officers with ease, heading straight for the dormitory.

"Alright, well that's obviously the stalker," Chloe said, cracking her knuckles before starting towards the figure. "He can't shoot me if I don't have my gun, let's do this shit."

"No, what? No," Max argued, pulling her friend back to her. "What if it's just a student and you end assault someone in front of the whole police department?"

Chloe stretched her neck in annoyance before folding, "you're right, you're right. What should we do then? Head inside?" She asked as the figure descended the stairs that led from the main school courtyard to the dorms.

"No, I have an idea, follow me."

Max led them around the side of the dormitory building to the back, where she stationed herself against the wall, watching the way they came. "If we go inside, we won't be sure if this person was stalking us or not. This way, if they follow us…"

"We know for damn sure they are after us," Chloe finished before looking around. "And with all these trees and bushes for cover, we can get some answers without being noticed by people on the street. Clever shit, hippie."

"Shit, they're still coming," Max whispered, pulling away from the corner of the building to face Chloe. "How are we going to do this?"

"What!?" Chloe whispered back. "I thought you had something planned! You took away my gun!"

"Okay, let me think," Max breathed out, her mind racing. "Okay, uhhh… Let's just... jump out and hope we can take them by surprise… I guess?"

"Great speech, coach," Chloe deadpanned.

As Max readied herself at the corner of the building, Chloe started searching around her feet as an idea popped into her head.

Okay, two versus one, numbers are in our favor. Get ready, you can do this, Max, here they come. ONE. TWO. THRE-

Max was interrupted by a flash of blue hair flying by her, followed by the hardest thud she's ever heard in her life. She emerged from her position to see Chloe standing over the figure, still holding an enormous branch.

"What. The. Hell. Was that?!" Max shouted, joining Chloe next to the unconscious body. "Please tell me you didn't just kill someone..."

"Nah, I barely swung this thing," Chloe defended herself, tossing the branch behind her into the woods. She then took a small step forward, kicking the person's boot to see if she could get a response.

"Chloe!" Max scolded, crouching down to a knee.

"What? They do that all the time in the movies."

"I think you've done enough damage," Max responded. She slowly reached for the person's hood, unsure of what to expect. The hood fell, revealing the person's identity. "Gage?!"

"Gage?" Chloe repeated, stunned. "Wait, you know this guy?"

"Kinda, we went to school together in Seattle," Max revealed as she studied Gage, much to Chloe's annoyance. "But he looked different back then," she added, noting his once long black hair was now cut short on the sides and pulled into a small ponytail on top. And the black welt growing under his right eye was also a new addition. She stood up, taking a sigh of relief after seeing he was still breathing. "Well, at least you didn't kill him."

"Yeah, great," Chloe remarked sarcastically. "So what are we gonna do with your 'Seattle Stalker?'"

"Maybe I can fix this," Max hoped, stretching her wrist and biting her bottom lip a bit, out of nervousness. "I'd feel much better if we didn't assault one of my former classmates, hopefully my rewind is back."

"You sure that's a good idea? It seems like your powers limited lately, and you've been pushing yourself," Chloe quizzed, her expressing changing from one of annoyance to concern.

"I have to try," Max insisted, raising her hand up and focusing her mind, but Time remained unchanged. "Damn it, no juice!"

"Now what?"

"Well, we can't just leave him here," Max answered, trying to think of a solution.

"I mean, nothing's stopping us from doing that," Chloe retorted, arms crossed and glaring down at Gage.

"Chloe…"

"Well, think about it," Chloe implored, "what if this dude is the person stalking you? Even if he isn't the one leaving notes and driving around in the Mustang, you gotta admit it's a little weird that he just now showed up, out of nowhere. I mean, how much do you actually know about him? Because I haven't heard you mention him once since you got back to Arcadia Bay."

Max thought for a moment, Gage was always pretty quiet in school, plus they only hung out a couple of times. But I would have known if he was some weirdo stalker, right? And whoever is stalking me knows about my powers, and there is no way Gage does. Either way, we have to get his side of the story.

"Gage, Gage!" Max tried shaking him a bit, but it wasn't effective. "Alright, that didn't work. I guess we should get him to my room, then we can figure out what to do after that."

Chloe looked at him then back to Max, "like your dorm room? On the second floor…"

"Well… yeah?" Max replied, losing a bit of confidence in her plan.

"How are we going to do that?" Chloe questioned skeptically.

"With our muscles," Max said with a smile, while Chloe stayed unamused. "C'mon it's the least we can do after literally knocking him unconscious!"

"Argh," Chloe groaned, getting into position above Gage's head. "Let's get this over with then."

[...]

"I can't. Believe. You talked. Me into this," Chloe slowly grunted as they struggled to carry Gage up the stairs of the dormitory.

"Come on… Almost there…" Max instructed, just thankful that the first floor was clear, which allowed them to get this far undiscovered. "Finally- whooaa!" She exclaimed as the three of them collapsed in a heap at the top of the stairs.

"God damn that hurts," Chloe cursed as she rose to her feet, rubbing her shoulder tentatively.

"Almost home," Max reassured her, peeking through the small window in the door that led to the girl's dorms. "Looks clear, but let me check it out first just to be sure."

"Yeah sure, leave me with the stalker," Chloe shot back.

"Oh don't be like that, we're almost done," Max said, trying to remain positive.

Max crept into the hall, stepping lightly in the hopes that no one would hear. She stopped outside of Dana's room, silently thanking her for the loud music she was currently blasting. Max turned back to Chloe, who was peeking through the door window, giving her the all clear. Chloe burst through the door with a bang, dragging Gage all by herself.

"Whoa, that was so loud!" Max whispered nervously, her eyes shooting back and forth between all the dorm doors.

"You want to do this part?" Chloe asked through gritted teeth, struggling to keep upright. "Besides, no one's gonna hear anything with that loud ass music blaring."

Max stayed quiet, not wanting to exert her already sore muscles any more. She led the way towards her room, stopping when she heard the bathroom door open.

"Shit!"

"Get out there!" Chloe whispered, bumping into the brunette and forcing her out into the open.

Max noticed Victoria stepping out of the bathroom, and using her momentum, spun her around and switched places with her, so Victoria was now facing away from the hallway.

"Sorry about that," Max played it off cooly.

She opened her mouth to continue her distraction mission but was thrown off by Victoria's state. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot; her nose looked raw and red from irritation.

"Victoria, is everything okay?" Max inquired, taking a step forward and placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Not really," Victoria responded meekly, using a vulnerable tone that Max previously didn't even think she was capable of. "I visited Nathan today... He told me some of the fucked up shit he did. All those girls they... Max, that's not the Nathan I knew. I mean, I knew he was acting so fucking strange but I never thought that he could… Fuck, I should have said something, how could I be so fucking foolish?"

"He isn't well, Victoria," Max responded softly. "His mental state was so broken down and susceptible to influence, and Mr. Jefferson saw that weakness in him and exploited it perfectly. I'm not saying he isn't guilty, but I hope he gets help. For everyone's sake. But one thing I know for sure, Victoria, is that you can't blame yourself."

"I'm so sorry, Max," Victoria choked out, wrapping the brunette in a hug. Max used the embrace to signal Chloe to quickly cross the hallway, making sure the hug lasted long enough for Chloe to get by. "I was such a bitch to you, and everyone else here."

"Thanks, Victoria," Max acknowledged, patting the blonde girl on the back softly, "but I can think of someone who deserves an apology more than I do."

"I know," Victoria met Max's gaze. "I already talked to Kate, I visited her after talking to Nathan actually. I can't thank you enough for saving someone so sweet. If my actions caused her to take that leap, I would have never forgiven myself. She helped me realize today that the whole 'Queen Bitch' persona isn't what I want. It's not who I want to be."

"So I take it she forgave you?" Max questioned, earning a nod from Victoria. "Yeah, that's Kate alright," she murmured to herself.

"Well, I guess I better go," Victoria said, awkwardly looking down at her watch. "But we should hang out sometime Max."

"Sure thing, Victoria. Just don't expect me to be joining the Vortex Club anytime soon," Max joked, smirking a bit.

"You never know, Max. After today, I think some major changes are in order, and you'd be a perfect fit for a new and improved Vortex Club," Victoria promised as she started to back away towards her room, a small smile finally appearing on the blonde's face.

Wowser! An actual Victoria Chase breakthrough?! I can't believe it! New timeline, new miracles, I guess. If it wasn't for the potential assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping charge waiting to happen, today might actually have been a pretty good day, Max thought to herself. As she recapped that entire conversation in her head, it finally hit her and she realized how long she'd left Chloe with Gage.

"Max, you okay?" Victoria asked, still close enough to see the brunette's eyes almost bulge out of her head.

"YeahgoodtalkVictoriabye!" Max spat out quickly, rushing past the blonde to her room and hoping Chloe didn't do anything drastic.

Max flung the door open, seeing Chloe with a roll of duct tape and Gage, still out cold, sitting on her computer chair. "Chloe, what the hell?" She blurted out from the doorway of her dorm, before continuing, "why are you duct taping his ankles to a chair?!"

"Because I already did his hands," Chloe answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, God," Max quaked, "this is it. This is how we end up in jail."

"Relax, you drama queen," Chloe reassured her, "I am in total control of the situation."

"What the hell is this?" Victoria questioned, peeking into the room from behind Max.

"Victoria," Max squeaked, twirling around to face the blonde. "This is not what it looks like."

"Oh... Good," Victoria said slowly, "because it looks like you've kidnapped someone."

"Okay, it might be just a little bit of what it looks like," Max replied, scratching the back of her neck nervously as she stepped aside. "Might as well come in now."

"Whoawhoawhoa, what do you think you're doing?" Chloe snapped, heading across the room and getting in Victoria's face.

"Max just invited me in," Victoria answered, turning to the brunette.

"She was just being nice," Chloe argued. "Take a hint, Chase."

"Chloe, it's alright," Max jumped in, getting in between the two. "She basically knows the gist of what's going on now anyway…"

"Look, Chloe," Victoria turned back to the blue-haired girl, "I know we've had an… eventful past, but I'm just trying to-"

"Cut the crap, Victoria, I heard the lies you fed to Max in the hallway," Chloe interrupted with an incredulous look on her face as she turned to face her best friend. "You aren't buying all this right?"

"Chloe," Max said gently, "after everything that's happened, Victoria said she's trying to be a better person. And honestly, I believe her."

"Thanks, Max," Victoria murmured.

Seeing Chloe roll her eyes, Max continued, "I'm not saying you two have to be best friends, but you could give her a chance... Kate did..."

Chloe was surprised to hear that last bit of information, and for a moment she considered the idea, until the blonde interrupted.

"Uhh, Max," Victoria spoke out, "I think your prisoner is waking up."

Gage slowly came to, trying to shake the fogginess out from his skull. He finally opened his eyes, noticing the trio of ladies staring at him expectantly. "Um, hi?"

"I'll be the bad cop," Chloe whispered to Max as they approached Gage.

"Wait, what?"

"Hi? Hi?" Chloe was the first one to speak, "you stalk Max all the way from Seattle and that's all you gotta say, punk?!"

"Stalk?" Gage responded, confused. "What are you talking about? Max?" He added, looking to the brunette for help.

"Stop deflecting!" Chloe ordered, fully engrossed in her 'role.' "Well, well, well, what do we got here? Any contraband in here?" She taunted as she dug into Gage's backpack, pulling out his wallet. "What kinda car you drive, Slick?"

"I don't driv-"

"Liar!" Chloe boomed. "I have your license right here! Now, you keep lying to me and I'll be forced to go and get the stick again!"

"Alright, alright," Max finally intervened, stepping past Chloe and starting to undo the tape on Gage's wrists. "You're relieved of your duty, Officer Friendly."

"You're no fun," Chloe mumbled, dropping Gage's wallet and retreating to Max's bed.

"So what are you doing here?" Max inquired as she picked at the tape on Gage's legs.

"Besides getting assaulted and kidnapped?" He asked with a smile. "I just transferred here."

"What, no way!" Max exclaimed, as she worked on the last piece of tape on Gage.

"Yeah, no lie, you're looking at Blackwell's newest 'Bigfoot.'" Gage confirmed, finally free from his restraints.

"Congrats, Gage," Max said with sincerity, as both of them rose to their feet.

"Yippie," Chloe grumbled, to Victoria's amusement.

"Thanks, Max," Gage answered as he made his way over to Max's mirror, inspecting the damage done to his face. "Now, mind telling me what happened earlier?"

"Oh, it's really not that big of a deal," she tried to deflect away from the topic, but Gage wasn't so easily persuaded.

"You mean I got laid out over no big deal?"

"We thought you were stalking us, dude," Chloe chimed in.

"What, why?"

"Well you're dressed in all black, for one," Max pointed out.

"And you had your hood up and you were bent over all creeper-like," Chloe added.

"And-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Gage conceded, waving off the girls. "For the record though, I saw you getting dropped at the front of the school, I was on the football field. I tried yelling for ya, but I don't think you could hear me over the machines. I guess I didn't realize how stalkerish I looked."

"Yeah you were basically asking for me to knock ya ass out," Chloe retorted, with a smirk.

"Not exactly what I was getting at, but sure," Gage replied, not willing to argue. He glanced down at his watch, "I actually need to make a call right about now, I'm not under citizen's arrest anymore right?"

"Make the call here, on speaker. Then we'll really know if you have nothing to hide," Chloe suggested, earning a shocked look from Gage as he packed up his things.

"She's kidding," Max assured him before he stepped out of the room, leaving the three girls alone.

"I wasn't kidding," Chloe said with a shrug. "Something about him still seems off to me."

"I thought he was alright," Victoria said, finally speaking up after being an observer for the whole conversation.

"Of course you would," Chloe shot back with a roll of her eyes. "I'm telling you, he's hiding something."

"Max, what is Gage's last name?" Victoria asked, taking a seat at Max's computer.

"It's Miller, I think, why?" She quizzed, as Chloe followed her to where Victoria sat, eyes on the computer screen.

"Miller…" Victoria repeated as she typed. "Hmm, weird."

"See! Told you, something was up with him," Chloe boasted. "Hit us with it. Criminal record?"

"Chloe, you have a criminal record," Max said, perplexed.

"Or maybe he keeps bodies in his basement, or-"

"How could we possibly know that from a social media page?" Max questioned, still confused.

"You two done?" Victoria interrupted, a bit annoyed.

"No," Chloe spat back, trying to think of another thing to list off just to spite Victoria. She thought for a second before sighing, "damn it, I got nothin'."

"Well, what I was saying was that the only thing weird is that he hasn't updated or used any social media in forever."

"That's it?" Chloe asked, disappointment dripping from her tone.

"At least on his social media," Victoria answered, before turning back to the keyboard and punching something else in. "Wait, here's something from the web. Apparently, he was a highly rated football prospect for his freshman and sophomore year."

"Wait, they have prospects for high school football?" Max questioned, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Dude, I was watchin' this show the other day about little ass kids playing tackle football, it was hella crazy! The coaches were yelling at 'em and talking about scholarships and shit." Chloe looked at the two blank stares she was getting. "So what I'm saying if people are scouting peewee leagues and shit I guess it isn't too crazy that they do it for high school too."

"Anyways," Victoria said after shooting Chloe a strange look, "it seems like he kinda disappeared off the sports radar. I can't find stats or anything after his sophomore year. I wonder what happened."

Chloe shot Max a suspecting look, but the brunette just rolled her eyes, "if you want to know what happened, why not just ask him?"

"Nah," Chloe denied quickly, "we need to outsmart him. Mess with his mind, get inside his head, ya know? Trick him into admitting it."

"Admitting what, exactly?" Max questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Whatever he's hiding!"

Max rubbed the side of her temple before speaking, "you know how crazy that sounds, right?"

The brunette looked to Victoria for backup, but the blonde simply shrugged, "maybe he is hiding something."

"Don't tell me you're on the 'crazy train' too…" Max pleaded.

"I just wanna see how all this ends up," Victoria reasoned as she stood up from Max's desk.

"Whoa, even the Ice Queen is on my side," Chloe said with a tiny bit of surprise in her voice.

"Hey, be nice," Max chided, repeating herself from earlier, now at peace with her newly appointed role of 'Price vs Chase' referee for the foreseeable future.

"That was me being nice," Chloe argued back.

Victoria rolled her eyes, "Chloe Price, forever the charmer."

Chloe opened her mouth to continue their little spat, but her own stomach growled, cutting her off. "Damn, being the brains of this operation is making me hella hungry."

"Two Whales?" Max suggested quickly, realizing she hadn't eaten since before being locked down in the bunker.

"Great idea, Max," Chloe spoke with a hand on her chin as she went into thinking mode. "We distract Gage with delicious diner food, then BAM!" She shouted, causing Max and Victoria to jump back. "We catch him in his web of lies, it's perfect let's go!"

The blue-haired girl rushed out of the room before anyone could say another word.

"That's whose side you picked, really?" Max asked Victoria as they headed for the door. "I mean, I'm glad you two stopped arguing for a second to even be on one side for once, but… Really?"

"What can I say," Victoria responded with a smirk, turning back to Max. "I love a good conspiracy."

So, Gage just transferred, Samuel is M.I.A., and Victoria is good(?) Anyways, hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!