003 - [Video] Happy Birthday, Chloe Price.

[helladoomed]

[It's a little after noon when Chloe turns her communicator on. She's sitting on an old white plastic deck chair, and from the look of the buildings behind her, probably on a roof somewhere in Nonah. She's in a worn old white tanktop with a skull on the front, her jeans-covered legs propped up on something, her coat hanging off the back of her chair. She's spent the morning avoiding people, not answering her texts, just...brooding. There's a cigarette between her lips, and she takes a drag off it before she catches it with her other hand, her attention mostly on the phone.]

You ever think about time 'n shit? Like, how it hella doesn't make any sense here? Like, okay, back home, before I wound up here, it was 2013 right? In October.

[She leans back in her chair, resting the phone on her leg, tilted up so all the screen really catches is her face and neck and the clouds.]

Suddenly I'm here, it's three years and a couple months later. Just, wham, welcome to the future except it's a weird fucked up cold war version of the future. And I get like, it's way worse for other people, right? Pulled from other centuries or other fuckin' planets with their own weird-ass calendars but.

Three years.

[She's not even really sure what she's going on about, honestly. She'd been puzzling this over in her head all morning and hadn't gotten anywhere, so maybe she thought rambling out loud would help. It wasn't really working.]

So here we are, right? March 11th, 2016. Shit had gone different, I'd be twenty-two today.

[She hesitates, her gaze distant, up on the clouds as she took another puff off her cigarette.]

Instead, I guess I'm twenty. Sort of. Minus a couple months. Still my birthday though. [And then she smirks, pointing the two fingers holding her cigarette at the sky.] Fuck you, universe. Chloe Price made it to twenty after all.

[She scooped up the phone again, and for a second is framed in the picture again, the camera half-covered by her thumb as she reaches for the disconnect. Her voice is quieter again.]

Didn't see that comin'.

[Click.]

Comments

[fayzedandconfused]

You didn't. Mention it.

[helladoomed]

[She just shrugs again.]

Oops? What's it matter?

[Was that why Breeze was uncomfortable?]

...Do you care, kid?

[fayzedandconfused]

No, I don't care.

[ She's clearly uncomfortable, though. ]

[helladoomed]

...Then what's the matter?

[Chloe's a tiny bit defensive.]

[fayzedandconfused]

Nothing's the matter! I was just asking.

[helladoomed]

[Chloe studies her for a moment before her expression shifts to one of maybe frustration and then she shrugs and turns to exit the room.]

Whatever.

[fayzedandconfused]

[ Breeze follows her out, not sure if she should leave or try to somehow salvage this. ]

[helladoomed]

[Chloe was just annoyed because she knew she couldn't snap at Breeze, but she wanted to. It was obvious (at least to her) that the pictures of her and Max had freaked the girl out. But why? Was it a gay thing, or just a kid thing, or what? If she snapped about the wrong thing...]

[She just sighed to herself as she stopped in the kitchen, resting a hand on the back of the chair Breeze had been sitting in and reaching up to fuss with her beanie for a moment. Okay. Don't be an ass, Chloe.]

Look, whatever. If you have a problem with it or something, I don't...really care. Just. Fuck I don't know.

[fayzedandconfused]

I said I didn't.

[ Chloe might not feel like she can snap at Breeze, but Breeze feels like she can snap at anyone. Especially over something like this. ]

[helladoomed]

Yeah well.

[Another few seconds of just sort of looking at her, and then Chloe sighs.]

Whatever. You want more cake?

[fayzedandconfused]

... Sure.

[ She takes a seat at the table and rests her chin in one hand. ]

[helladoomed]

[Chloe cuts her another piece of cake, a bit less...nicely than last time? And then flops down into the chair opposite her, cutting a piece for herself too. She doesn't quite look annoyed, but it's there in her eyes.]

[fayzedandconfused]

[ Breeze doesn't say anything right away, just picks up her fork and takes a bite of the cake. She's eating less enthusiastically this time and not looking up from the table, even when she finally speaks. ]

My friend Dekka was gay. My best friend, I guess.

[helladoomed]

[Chloe wasn't really expecting Brianna to talk. The two were pretty similar, and she would've been angry enough at being accused of something to clam up and brood about it. Probably. Unless she just started rambling.]

[More in common with the kid than she wanted to admit. She looks up though.]

Okay.

[fayzedandconfused]

Yeah, she wanted me to be her girlfriend, but...

[ She trails off with a sigh. There are a lot of "but"s that she doesn't feel like explaining. A lot of them are nobody's business, but mostly she just hates talking about feelings. She's only bringing this up so Chloe knows she's not trying to be a jerk about all of this. It's just weird for her. ]

[helladoomed]

But you weren't into her.

[It's the most obvious way to finish that sentence, in Chloe's head.]

[fayzedandconfused]

[ She shrugs. Wow, this is an excellent time to stuff more cake in her mouth. ]

I'unno. It's complicated.

[helladoomed]

Yeah. Shit like this is always complicated.

It's just gonna get worse as you get older.

[She is clearly amused by that.]

[fayzedandconfused]

Yeah, very funny.

[helladoomed]

Kid, trust me. If you're answer is 'I dunno' for if you were into her, you're life is gonna get complicated.

[She grins.]

It's not a bad complicated though. Just frustrating and heartbreaking sometimes.

[fayzedandconfused]

Whoa, hey, I never said that.

[ Okay, yes she did. But that doesn't mean anything. ]

I just—whatever. I have boyfriends. I had a boyfriend at home! I made out with Max when we went on vacation. [ So! That's that!!! ]

[helladoomed]

[Chloe's smile is small but amused.]

Hey, if you say so. I'm just sayin', I've had boyfriends too. Yet look where am.

[A beat. Wait a sec.]

You were making out with mini-max? Do I need to give you the talk now, kid?

[fayzedandconfused]

[ Oh god now she looks pretty mortified. ]

Um. No. I think I'm good.

[helladoomed]

Oh thank fuck I wouldn't even know where to start. [A beat.] I guess you could do worse than Max, though...

[She leaned back in her chair and then pointed a fork at her.]

Okay, but seriously, you're thirteen. No sex. Nothin' that involves taking clothes off. Makeouts and hand holding.

[fayzedandconfused]

Gross, I'm thirteen, I'm not going to— [ No, okay, be cool, Breeze. ] I already lived with a guy for six months and nothing crazy happened. [ Mostly because Jack probably would have destroyed something by accident but still. ]