When Maeve left the lab, she didn't know where to go. She decided to head to school, wondering if she could stay there for the night.

The doors to the school were bolted shut, but no matter. Maeve lifted her hands and froze the locks - only the locks didn't freeze. She missed and accidentally froze her shoes to the ground.

"Dammit," Maeve muttered. She had forgotten she was in desperate need of a capsule. She quickly melted the ice off her shoes and then froze the locks on the doors, making them brittle until they broke under her punch. Maeve chose an empty classroom to sleep in.

-

Maeve woke up in the morning to the sound of Principal Perry entering the school. She panicked slightly and jumped up, but she was worried for nothing - she was easily able to slip out of the school without Perry noticing.

As time passed, more students began to arrive for the school day. They gathered with Maeve outside, waiting for the school doors to open to students.

The school day passed as normal. Maeve didn't have any classes with the Davenports that day, so she was luckily able to avoid any confrontation. But still, she was worried about having a place to stay.

During lunch, Maeve sat alone in the main lobby of the school. She tried to think of places she could live - and the answer walked right up to her.

Literally. Chase Davenport walked into the lobby halfway through lunch. Maeve's head snapped up.

"Chase," she spoke.

Chase whipped around. "Maeve?" He said, confused. "How- what are you doing here?" He changed his stance, readying himself to fight. Maeve sighed.

"Chase, I need to talk to you."

"What is there to talk about?"

Maeve paused. How do you even ask someone this? "I need a place to stay."

Chase furrowed his brow. "And you think I'd let you stay at my house? After everything you've done?"

"I know, Chase. I know you have no reason to trust me, and that's my fault. I get it. But... I didn't know who else to ask," she explained. "Douglas is gone, I don't know where my dad is, and Marcus-" she stopped and swallowed, looking down. "I don't have anywhere to stay."

Chase stared at her, and Maeve could have sworn she saw his gaze soften - just slightly.

But if it did, he covered it up. "You pretended to be our friend," he frowned. "We- I trusted you. I even-" he paused, then sighed. "I thought you were my friend. But it was all a lie."

Maeve's heart sank. Of course, she was already aware of all that she had done to the Davenports, but hearing Chase lay it all out like this...

"I know," she said, her voice small.

"But..." Chase continued. "You did save my life."

Maeve looked back up at him, hoping.

Chase sighed. "Look, how do I know this isn't part of some big ploy to capture us again?"

"You can remove my bionic chip. Then there's nothing I can do to you."

Chase stared at her, contemplating, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I just don't know how I could trust you again."

"Chase, please," Maeve said, practically begging at this point. "I know I've been horrible to you. You didn't deserve that. I'm really, really sorry. But... I'm scared, Chase. I don't know where to go."

Chase studied her.

"Look, just for a few days. Until I can figure things out," she continued. "And then, I promise, you will never have to see me again."

Something flickered in Chase's eyes for a moment. He looked around before looking back at her. He sighed. "A week. That's all I can do."

"Really?" Maeve said, her heart catching in her throat. "Thank you, Chase, thank you!" She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Chase was taken aback for a second, but hugged her back hesitantly.

When they had pulled apart, Maeve tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Chase looked at the ground. "I don't know how I'm gonna convince Mr. Davenport, though," he said.

"We don't have to tell him if that's easier," Maeve suggested.

"Alright," Chase nodded after thinking for a moment. "Come over after school. I'll sneak you into the lab."

"Thanks, Chase."

-

After school, Maeve headed to the Davenport mansion. She and Chase hadn't really gone over details, so she just stood awkwardly near the side of the house. Soon enough, Chase approached her.

"My family's in the living room. We can head to the lab," he said.

Maeve and Chase walked around the house to a somewhat-hidden back door. Inside the door, they walked through a garage-looking room and to familiar sliding doors. They entered the back of the lab.

"Um, these are our capsules..." Chase awkwardly started to show her around.

"Yeah, I got it," Maeve dismissed him.

"I can bring you food and stuff. You can use my capsule, but just wait until I'm down here so I can make sure no one else sees you," he said.

"What about my chip?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't you want to remove it?"

"Oh, um," Chase looked around. "No, it's fine.

Maeve smiled to herself. He trusted her enough to let her keep her chip and sleep in his capsule. It was a start.

"I really appreciate you letting me do this, Chase," she said.

"Don't mention it. I-"

Suddenly, the doors to the lab began to open. Chase looked at Maeve, panicked. Maeve grabbed his hand and pulled him into a nearby closet, shutting the door right before Mr. Davenport, Adam, and Bree entered the lab.

"What are you do-" Chase whisper-screamed. Maeve clasped her hand over his mouth. The closet was tiny and dark. Maeve's chest was only inches apart from Chase's. He stared at her.

"We just need to wait until they leave," Maeve breathed, lowering her hand.

"That could take forever," he replied quietly.

"Then it'll be forever." Maeve pressed her ear to the closet door, listening for the moment that the muffled voices subsided and the doors opened and shut once again. Chase stepped next to her and pressed his fingers to his temple, turning his head slowly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Maeve asked.

"I'm doing a thermal scan of the lab. They're gone." Chase opened the closet door, and he and Maeve walked out.

Chase looked at the ground awkwardly before finding something to say.

"What are you gonna do about school?"

"I don't know," Maeve sighed, resting her hand on the table. "I went yesterday and it was fine, but I'm worried Adam or Bree will see me."

"It might be best to lay low for a few days," said Chase. Maeve nodded.

"Uh, Maeve?" Chase gestured to her hand. Maeve looked down to see that the table her hand was on was now partly frozen, icy sheets covering a good portion of its surface.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," Maeve took a step back, lifting her hand to try to melt the frost. "I didn't mean to."

Chase laughed a little. "Don't worry about it. When's the last time you slept in a capsule?"

Maeve paused. "Just, like, 72 hours ago..."

His eyes widened. "Maeve, what?! Of course you're glitching," he smiled, but was still partly concerned. "Just take a nap in my capsule. I'll make sure no one else comes down."

Maeve stepped into his capsule. She had forgotten how nice it was to sleep in one. Chase's was roomier than hers had been, and more high-tech too. Maeve closed her eyes to rest.

-

Maeve spent the following day exploring the lab while Chase was at school. She had to duck out a few times when Donald entered, but mostly, it was fine.

When Chase got home, he greeted her.

"How was your day in the lab?" He asked.

"It was cool, kinda boring though," Maeve replied. "How was school?"

"Principal Perry is making Bree and I babysit her niece, Kerry." Chase rolled his eyes.

"Aww, what? Is Kerry nice at least?"

"Honestly, I think she might even be worse than Perry."

"Worse than Perry?" Maeve asked incredulously.

"I was shocked too."

Maeve laughed and sat on the table. Chase stood next to her, his arm almost brushing against hers.

"So, did Mr. Davenport catch you or anything?" He asked.

"No, no. He does spend an awful lot of time down here admiring his own inventions, however."

"Tell me about it. I swear, sometimes I think he cares more about his money than he does us."

"I'm sure that's not true," Maeve smiled at Chase. He looked back at her, smiling too.

Suddenly, he frowned and turned away a bit. "Uh, I've gotta go train with my siblings."

"Oh, okay," Maeve responded, hopping off the table. "Do you always train after school? What about your homework and everything?"

"I've already done my homework."

Maeve laughed. "Should have known."

Chase didn't laugh - he simply walked away. "See you."

"See you..." Maeve said, confused, turning away. She was upset. She thought he was finally starting to trust her, but could he ever really trust her again?

Suddenly, the doors to the lab opened. Maeve turned around, expecting to see Chase. Instead, it was Adam. Maeve jumped.

"Adam! Uh, wow, uh..." she stammered.

"Oh, hi, Maeve," he replied. "Wait- how did you get in here?"

Before Maeve could come up with an answer, the doors to the lab opened once again. It was Adam.

Wait, what?

Two Adams?

"Hey, Adam!" Adam said.

"Hey, Adam!" Adam said.

"What the fuck is happening?" Maeve said.

"Oh, we're Adam," informed Adam.

"Okay... why are there two Adams?" Maeve asked, shocked.

"Oh, there should be around..." one of the Adams counted on his fingers. "Five by now."

At that moment, two more Adams entered the lab.

"Hey, Adam!"

"Hey, Adam!"

"Oh, hey, Adam!"

"Hey, Adam!"

"Hey, Adam! Oh, have you met Adam?"

"We got it!" Maeve yelled, exasperated.

"Woahh," an Adam said, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

The Adams laughed as the lab doors opened again.

"Oh, God, please, no more Adams," Maeve groaned. To her relief, it was Chase. "Chase!" She exclaimed, running towards him and grabbing his arms. "I am so. Glad. You're here."

"You found the duplicates!" He smiled.

"They kinda just... walked in here."

"Well, we've gotta keep an eye on them."

"What is going on? Why are there so many Adams?"

"Adam cloned himself a few times, and there's one missing duplicate. I need to find a way to fix the cellular duplicator so we know how to get rid of them."

"You're telling me we have to watch these Adams? Great!"

"Um..." an Adam said. "We were told there would be beverages."

Chase rolled his eyes, picking up a few pieces that must belong to the shattered cell duplicator. He took his supplies to the table and began to study them.

"Do you need any help?" Maeve asked.

"Uh, no. Thank you, though," Chase replied, looking at her. Maeve nodded, looking Chase up and down before turning back to the Adams.

"Okay, who wants to hear a story?" She asked.

The Adams exploded in a chorus of "Me" as they all sat down around Maeve.

Maeve proceeded to tell the Adams the story of Cinderella while Chase worked. After around fifteen minutes, one of the Adams suddenly exploded into a cloud of dust. Maeve gasped and turned to see Chase holding a laser to where the Adam had been.

"Woah, did Adam just teleport?" an Adam asked. Maeve looked at Chase.

"I figured out how to get rid of the duplicates," Chase said. "When an electrical current flows through them, they vaporize. I just need to zap them with this laser."

He was cute when he talked all science-y.

Maeve nodded. "Just, random thought, is this how every day is in the Davenport mansion?"

Chase paused. "Yeah, pretty much." He zapped the other duplicate Adams. "I'm gonna go upstairs and see if anyone's found the missing duplicate!"

Maeve sat down as Chase left, resting her head in her hands.

What had she gotten herself into?