Chapter Text
Chloe couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't take the silence, the loneliness, the way Red brushed past her as though she was nothing and nobody. She loved this girl, loved her so much, and now it was as though Red couldn't tolerate her.
They were sheltering in an abandoned cottage for the night once again; Luis and Max had made it back to the group a few hours ago, with the purple-haired boy reporting that his ankle was feeling much better.
Seemingly, whatever quarrel had been going on between him and Luis had fixed itself by now. Chloe wished she could say the same for her and Red, but in reality, things were only getting worse and worse before her very eyes.
So that was why Chloe was approaching Red now. The girl was keeping watch alone, everyone else having gone to bed, and she was sitting on the windowsill, gazing out for any danger.
"Red?" She called out.
Red spun around, flinching at the voice.
"Oh. Hey."
Chloe dug her nail into the palm of her hand as she walked over, sitting on the windowsill next to her, "We need to talk."
Something flickered in the depths of Red's eyes at that, a combination of guilt and unease.
"I don't know, Chloe, I'm tired. Can't it wait until the morning?"
And then the thin thread that was holding Chloe's anger back just finally snapped.
"Oh, of course you're tired! Like I haven't heard that from you already, every time I get near! You're tired, or you're stressed, or you're trying to get to know the other VKs— you just keep spouting out excuses and expecting me to believe them! Do you really think that lowly of me? That I can't see that you're running from me with every chance you get?"
Red shrank back, pressing her back against the window as Chloe raised her voice. She knew how much the girl hated when people yelled and shouted, but she couldn't calm herself down, not now, not when Red was staring back at her with fake confusion, playing totally dumb.
"Chloe? What's this about?"
"Oh, cut that out!" Chloe snapped, "You know damn well what this is about, Red! You don't even look in my direction anymore! Every time we have to team up for something, you choose to be as far away from me as you possibly can!"
Red shook her head defensively, getting up and standing back at one of the couches. "That's not true, Chloe. I'm trying to get to know the rest of the group better, alright? I'm juggling a lot here! I have friends, a sister, HKs and VKs, all of them relying on me, and—"
"Well they shouldn't!" Chloe burst out, "Because you'll just let them down like you're doing to me!"
Red took in a tiny breath at that, swallowing. "Chloe, I—"
"It must be so easy for you, flipping back and forth." Chloe snapped, getting to her feet, "On again, off again. Hero, villain, sister, friend. I'm envious, Red, really."
Red paused, shocked, before laughing humorlessly and bitterly, shaking her head. "Easy? Oh, you think I have it easy?"
Chloe went to respond, but Red cut her off.
"I need to keep up the pretence that I'm an HK— do you understand how hard that is? I am tired, seriously! Everything is easy for you, you just got to come back after we changed the past and step back into your goody-goody glass shoes you left behind! I don't have that luxury! This life I'm in, this body I'm in— it's all a lie! I'm an imposter in my own life now because of what we did, I don't know who I am, I need to be who they expect me to be, and you're not supporting me through that! I have to smile in front of my sister who I don't even know, pretend to be the perfect princess they all think I am— have you got any idea how exhausting it is to have pretend in front of everyone?"
Chloe gave her a disbelieving look. How hard could it be? Red was clearly good at pretending— she had pretended to be Chloe's friend this whole time, hadn't she?
"You really don't know how much I'm juggling," Red hissed, "Adapting my whole personality to fit into the life I now have, a sister I don't even know, my trauma being worse than ever because I'm back here in the place I was abused for years, the Mom I finally learned to love has gotten captured because of me, and my first ever friend is behind all of that, because what I did turned him evil, and on top of all of that, I've been thrown into this stupid leadership role that I never wanted but had to adapt to, because maybe it's what HK Red would have done— that's my life now, lying to everyone I meet and know because I need to be who they think I am, and meanwhile I'm losing every part of who I've been all my life!" She threw her hands up in dismay and annoyance, "How could you live with all of that?"
"How could you live with the fact that you're treating your best friend so terribly?!" Chloe snapped.
Red watched her, slowly shaking her head. "Chloe, I don't understand."
"Neither do I!" Chloe cried, "I haven't done anything to hurt you! I've been patient, I've been kind, and yet you're acting like you can't stand me! How am I supposed to pretend that doesn't hurt?"
Red's patience was seeming to wear thin, and her knuckles were white, nails sharply digging into her palms so hard that Chloe was surprised she didn't see blood.
"Chloe, I don't know where this is all coming from, but you're making this into something way bigger than it really is!"
"Seriously? You're going to blame me for you being a heartless villain?" Chloe spat out, the words laid with venom, regret stinging in the back or her mind, but the words continued to roll off her tongue, "You know, for as long as I've known you, you've talked to me about your insecurities, about how you hate yourself, about how you feel like you don't deserve this life and that you'll never be anything but a villain, and I've always corrected you. I've always told you that it wasn't true. But ever since I was little, my mom always taught me a saying: when someone shows you who they are, believe them. Maybe, all this time, I was wrong about you, and I should have listened to you."
Red winced at that, as though she had been struck, her eyes widening. "I— I haven't done anything wrong!" She defended desperately, but her expression betrayed that statement, her eyes brimming with guilt. She shook it away, hardening her expression, mouthing something to herself that looked a little like I have to do this, and giving her head a tiny shake. "It's not my fault you're following me around like a pathetic puppy desperate for my attention, okay? I know you're a spoiled brat who's used to getting whatever you want, but this is way too far!"
The words hung in the air, and Chloe felt them pierce her chest like a dagger. Was that what Red really thought about her?
She searched Red's face for any hint of regret or remorse, any flicker of hesitance, any hope that the girl was about to shake her head and apologise for taking things too far. But there was nothing. Her expression was stone cold.
And through her tears, Chloe managed to let out a bitter laugh. "Oh my— so all this time, I've cared about you, and I thought you felt that way about me too. But really, in your mind, all I've ever been is the goody-goody perfect princess you thought I was when we first met. You've never cared, not once. I can't believe I thought this was real. You never stopped thinking that I'm a boring teacher's pet, an annoying goody-goody tagging along."
Red looked her up and down, arms crossed. "Yeah, well...if the shoe fits."
And then, just like glass shoes Chloe had thrown at the fireplace to save this damn girl's life, Chloe's entire world shattered into smithereens. Her tears finally spilling over, she shoved past Red and out of the cottage, slamming
the door behind her.
She stormed into the chilly night air, her heart pounding as her tears overflowed. How had all of that happened? And so soon, so sudden, so quickly...
That wasn't the Red she knew. Where was the Red she knew?
No, she corrected herself, That was the Red I thought I knew. But it turns out I didn't really know her at all. And us...what I thought we had...it never meant anything to her.
As that sunk in, Chloe's tears intensified, and she crumbled, sinking down onto a log, her head in her hands. She loved this girl more than anything, she had given her everything! From friendship bracelets to the most vulnerable parts of herself, Chloe had shared everything with Red, and fallen in love with her in the process. And meanwhile, to Red, Chloe had never been anything more than an inconvenience, a goody-goody.
Had Red really never felt anything? When Chloe held her after she'd wake up from nightmares, or helped her through her panic attacks, or assured her that every part of her was beautiful, even the scars that smothered her arms, had that all meant nothing to Red? Had Red really just been using Chloe all along, with not a single ounce of love or gratitude?
Chloe couldn't let herself believe that it was the truth. But clearly, it was.
She thought Red was somebody she could be herself around. Where she could shed the expectations that came with being a Charming, where she didn't need to be perfect. But had that never been true? If she had tried harder, could she have prevented this? Had she not been good enough? Or would Red have just moved on no matter what, heartless and cruel?
"Hey. You alright?"
Looking up, she saw Max approach, a genuinely worried look on his face.
She shook her head weakly, and he sat down on the log next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What happened? I heard shouting— Pink is inside with Red right now. Is everything okay?"
"No. Red, she's..." She choked out, saying her friend's—well, could she call the girl that anymore?—felt like a stab to the chest.
She brought a sleeve up to wipe her tears, "I thought I knew her. I defended her with every single breath, and now she's...I don't know what happened. She's been avoiding me for ages now, and I finally called her out on it, and she basically just told me she never cared about me at all. I adored her, I cared about her, and I thought she cared about me too. But this whole time she was just so heartless..."
She never would have expected that she'd be pouring her heart out to Max of all people, but he was here, and he seemed to care, looking at her with a sympathetic expression.
"I'm sorry," He said, "That's awful. I mean, I know how heartless and manipulative she is, but still, even I wouldn't have thought she'd take it that far..."
Well, that got Chloe's attention. She looked up at him, bewildered. "What do you mean?"
He puffed out a long sigh before finally fixing her with an emotion-filled look. "I know, Chloe. I know about the Pocketwatch."
Chloe thought her world had already shattered into a million pieces tonight, but it cracked down the middle again at his words, and she froze.
"What...?" She managed to whisper, in shock.
How did he know? They had kept it a secret, they had been careful, they had covered their tracks—
"I met an old friend of my father's one day when I went out for a walk alone. Her name is Chessy, she's the daughter of the Cheshire Cat. I wanted to just ignore her, but she told me to listen to her first, and she explained everything about ehy my Dad became...well, my Dad. That in his invention, he saw two girls travel through time. And it was you two. And then Chessy brought me to his workshop and showed me everything in his Oraculum— the life I have now was almost identical to Red's, and vise versa. I thought she cared about me, but she's been lying to my face all along."
He seemed genuinely choked up, and Chloe reached out to squeeze his hand.
Even after everything that happened between them, Chloe felt the need to defend Red. The princess hadn't exactly wanted to lie to Max all along, but neither of them had been left with any choice in the matter. Lying about their time travel antics was hard but necessary— though when Chloe opened her mouth to tell Max all of that, nowords came out.
Max shook his head, continuing. "That's not all Chessy told me. She told me the truth about the Pocketwatch, what Red never told you. Red stole the watch from my Dad, it belonged to him, and she was completely careless and reckless with it like the troublemaker she is. There were protocols she had to follow, and she didn't follow any of them. She broke so many rules by using it, Chloe. She's not the hero you think she is— yes, she saved your Mom, but she's caused serious damage to the universe. The timeline is collapsing because of her and her mistakes. The world is in danger because of her actions."
Chloe tried to take in a breath and failed miserably. Protocols? The universe was in danger because of what they hsd done? Her heart pounded rapidly against her chest and a wave of heat crashed over her, then one that was sickeningly icy cold, then hot all over again, her whole body tensing with shock. How many more heartbreaking revelations would she have to deal with tonight? How many lies had Red told?
"She never told me any of that..." She whispered hoarsely.
"I know," Max nodded, "She's nothing more than a dirty liar. And more than that, a true villain. She knew what she was getting into when she stole it from my Dad, but she didn't care. She knew the consequences, and she still did what she did. And now all our lives— and the universe itself, Chloe— are at stake because of what she's done. The timeline could crumble entirely if we don't get the watch back soon and undo the mistakes she made."
Chloe dragged in a gulp of the cold night air. "We have to get it back?" She echoed quietly.
Max nodded. "As soon as we possibly can. You know where it is, right?"
"Yeah," Chloe answered, "Red and I hid it together. It's in the Wonderland Royal Vault..."
"Perfect," Max exhaled, "We need to get our hands on it."
Chloe found her gaze drifting back to the cottage. She should be hating Red, she should be revelling in the thought of betraying her, but—
"I think we should tell Red first," She whispered uncertainly, her voice cracking, "Maybe she didn't really know the extent of what she was doing. Maybe we need her to fix this. She might need to be involved."
Max laughed humourlessly. "Chloe, are you kidding? Red's had plenty of second chances. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she didn't care."
"I know, but..." Chloe hesitated, "I don't know if this is something we should be hiding from her. Whatever she's done...is betraying her really the right move?"
"Chloe, look at me."
She tore her gaze from the cottage to look Max in the eye.
"I know that even after what's happened tonight, it's not easy for you to throw away what you thought you had with her," He started, "I know you still care about her, and you don't want to hurt her. I get it. But we can't let her in on this, Chloe. She's caused enough damage with the watch, we don't need her to screw up our rescue mission too. And besides...you don't want to betray her, but look at what she's done to you. If the shoe was on the other foot, if I was talking to her right now and you were in the cottage, she wouldn't hesitate to double-cross you like the heartless villain she really is."
Chloe let his words sink in, taking a deep breath.
When Red got to Auradon, she had been so hesitant, so afraid, so alone, nothing without Chloe by her side to hold her and help her. And what had she gotten in return? A betrayal that shattered her heart of glass into a million pieces.
If Red thought she didn't need Chloe, then that was fine. She'd see exactly how wrong she was.
"First thing in the morning," Chloe replied coldly, surprising even herself at how frosty her tone was, "We'll go get it first thing in the morning.”