feel good, inc.
The sky outside read an in-between of night and morning as Chloe sat with her knees to her chest on her family's roof. There was a certain silence that only came with that particular time, on that roof, with a cigarette burning between her index and middle fingers. She rolled it slightly between them, fixated on the smoke that slowly burned. There was a certain chill that caused tiny bumps to raise on the skin of her uncovered arms, though it didn't cause her to reach inside to grab a sweater. She easily could have. On her bed lay scattered were several different articles of clothing, all of which only required half of her body inside of the window to pick something to cover herself with. Instead, she remained outside, a black half-shirt that only covered just above her belly button and read a band's name just barely legible and a dark red skirt were all she had to keep her body warm. With warmth on her mind, she brought the cigarette to her lips, inhaled deeply, and then flicked the cigarette off of the roof. As she stood slowly, she exhaled, and watched as the smoke dissipated into the air. She stood still, glanced at the ground, and with a sick curiosity, thought about the last time someone she knew was on a roof. Perhaps it wasn't the last time, she didn't know anyone well enough to tell if anyone had the same hobbies as herself, the same safe spaces. The redhead closed her eyes but before she could even consider taking a step forward, she felt a vibration in her pocket.
"Don't forget. Party tonight. Victoria."
Chloe sighed after she read the text, jammed the phone back into her skirt's pocket and wondered for a moment why jeans made for women had to be so small. It was then that she turned around and reentered her room through the window. Her room was by far, one of the biggest messes that she could have ever hoped to create. That much she was sure of, she thought, with a smile as she shut the window. Already dressed and ready for the day, Chloe was able to spend the rest of the day in a lazy haze. She laid in bed listening to music for the rest of the morning, eventually threw some clothes into her closet in an effort to clean just a little bit, and then surfed the internet for a little while longer. By the time Max found her way to her place, she was what she considered to be ready. "What have you done all day?"
"Just chilled," Chloe's voice had a tendency to sound more like a purr, "Something you wouldn't know if it bit you on the ass." Chloe reapplied her make-up in a cracked mirror that she had since her father gave it to her birthday as a child. The strangest gifts were what she had been able to hold onto. Even when they were dirty, trashed, or otherwise broken, she simply couldn't fathom the loss of them. She supposed that was a weakness, her inability to let go of the possessions that were from him. Still, she said nothing on the subject as her friend blabbered on about something or another. Her powers. The deaths. Everything that had happened, Chloe's near deaths.
"Are you sure that you're going to be able to get along with her for long enough? Maybe I should do this." Max seemed nervous. Which, to be fair, she almost always did. Chloe watched her, a bored expression etched into her features. She sighed as she twisted her red-blonde locks in her hair, a polar opposite of the blue that she had only months prior. She thought it was homage to Rachel, but perhaps she desperately needed the change. "Chloe."
"Yeah. Yeah, whatever. I'll get the princess and we'll figure out a way to occupy our time." Her voice, this time, was less flirtatious and more of a growl. Hostile. She didn't want anything to do with any of this mess, but she supposed it was the only way she would find out about Rachel. About what had happened to Max and to everyone else. How her life had turned upside down so quickly. How she had almost died. She swallowed hard at the thought and then looked around. The outside of the establishment that they had found themselves outside of looked normal enough.
Now, as she entered, all she had to do was find her.
