sorry for abandoning this account... i got several urges to rewrite this whole story but whatevs im back

-

Maeve and her friends stood in the foyer of the school, ready to go home.

"Come on, Bree. We're going home now," Chase said. "Time to get your things out of your locker."

"Yeah," Adam grinned, "it's not like we're waiting for you to open your locker or anything."

Bree narrowed her eyes in confusion.

Adam frowned. "I mean... open it."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Will you leave me alone?! Can I go two minutes without you two hovering around me?"

"Bree, with an attitude like that, it's a wonder you don't get pranked more often!" Adam shook his head. Chase elbowed him and the two walked off.

"I'm so sick of them," Bree complained.

"I'm sorry, Breezy," Maeve pouted. "You'd think they'd have learned their lessons after the whole expired milk prank we pulled."

"Right? It's like their sole purpose in life is to annoy me."

"I'll talk to Chase. Maybe I can get him to lay off a bit," Maeve shrugged.

Bree's friend Caitlin approached, wearing a green and black uniform with a name tag.

"Hey, Bree!" She smiled. "You know how you've always said you wanted to work a part-time job with me?"

"I never said that," Bree shook her head.

"Just agree with me, Bree. It'll be over quicker," Caitlin demanded.

Bree and Maeve exchanged freaked glances.

Caitlin smiled. "Anyway, today's your lucky day because I just started my work study at Tech Town and they're hiring!"

"What's Tech Town?" Maeve questioned.

"It's only the most awesome store in the mall," Caitlin gasped. She turned to Bree. "They make you work weekends, but what do you have going on, anyway?"

Bree shrugged. "I don't know if I wanna work at an electronics store."

She turned to her locker, reaching to open it, but stuttered in confusion as her fingers became stuck to the handle. As she tried desperately to pull her hand away, Adam and Chase rounded the corner, laughing at her.

"Seriously?!" Bree exclaimed. "Glue?"

"That's quite the sticky situation you got there," Chase giggled.

"Chase," Maeve scolded, playfully hitting him on the chest.

"You know what, Caitlin?" Bree took a deep breath. "If it gets me away from my two brothers, I would take a job as a lifeguard at a sewage plant."

"So you're in?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah," Bree nodded.

"Great! See you at the store. Oh, and Tech Town's a classy place, so leave the sewer talk at school."

And with that, Caitlin walked off.

Bree turned to her brothers. "Hey, dipwads, how do I get my hand loose?"

"Hm, not sure," Adam mock frowned. "But if you figure it out, let me know." He raised his arm to reveal several random objects glued to his hand.

-

At home, Maeve played Mario Kart with Leo and Adam.

"Donald, sweetie, it's time to take me to the airport!" Tasha called.

"Yes!" Leo grinned. "No mom for two days!"

Tasha glared at Leo, who nervously stood up.

"I mean, would the lady like a hand with her bags?"

"I think what he's trying to say is, it's more fun when you're not here," Adam said.

"Adam," Maeve frowned. She turned to Tasha. "Well, I'm gonna miss you."

"Thank you, Maeve. I'm glad someone around here likes me," Tasha replied before looking at the boys. "I'm only letting you two stay home from Grandma's because you promised to complete your list of chores."

"Oh, I didn't ask to stay home from Grandma's. I find her delicate cabbage scent refreshing," Adam sighed.

Donald then struggled down the stairs, carrying a huge black suitcase. "Tasha, why do you need all of this luggage? You're only going to your mom's for two days."

"That isn't my suitcase," Tasha said.

"Oh, that's mine!" Smiled Adam.

Donald opened the suitcase, clothes spilling out onto the floor. A horrible stench released from the case, causing everyone to cover their noses.

"What died in there?" Leo cried.

Adam frowned. "A rat. But don't worry, I comforted him by wrapping him in my dirty laundry."

Leo rolled his eyes and turned to his mother. "Okay, how come Maeve doesn't have to do anything?"

"Because I'm not a slob and I did my chores already?" Maeve cocked her head.

Leo glared.

Tasha nodded. "It's your turn to do the chores, Leo. Starting with all this laundry."

Donald laughed. "Hate to be you guys this weekend."

"And here's your list," Tasha handed him a sheet of paper.

"My list?!" Donald exclaimed. "I'll have you know, I have a list of things I'd like you to do around here."

Tasha stared.

Donald widened his eyes. "Like go shopping, go to the spa, you know, go to the airport!"

He grabbed Tasha's suitcase and ran out the door, Tasha following him out.

Leo stared at his chore list in disbelief. "Look at this. I've got, like, twenty things on here."

"I have an idea," Adam gasped.

"Let me guess," Leo said. "You want to teach a monkey how to do our laundry."

"Come on, Leo, that would never work," Maeve shook her head. "Where would you get a monkey on such short notice?"

Adam nodded.

"Right," Leo said. "I just wish there was a way to get all this housework done and still have time for fun."

"Well maybe there is!" Adam grinned mischievously. "I have a plan. Maeve, are you in?"

Maeve took a step back. "No. No way. You guys are not roping me into something that's gonna end up destroying the house."

"Why not? Don't you wanna spend some quality time with us?" He said.

Maeve rolled her eyes and smiled. "Look, I feel bad enough staying here after... everything that happened. I like Tasha. I don't want her to be mad at me."

Leo shrugged. "Alright, but suit yourself."

She rolled her eyes and decided to head down to the mall to pay Bree a visit.

"How is it?" Maeve asked, once she had arrived at Tech Town.

"They're making me do all the shitty cleanup chores."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Breezy," Maeve frowned. "That super sucks."

Bree shook her head. "It's fine. Trust me, having to clean a workplace toilet is still better than being around my stupid brothers. I still don't understand how you're dating one of them."

Maeve giggled.

"Hello, ladies!" A voice called. It was Chase, walking into Tech Town.

"Ew," Maeve laughed, walking over to him. "That made me want to never talk to you again."

Chase laughed.

"I'm glad you're here, though. There is something I've been wanting to talk to you about," Maeve said.

Before Chase could respond, Bree walked up, frowning. "Chase, what are you doing here?"

"I just came to see what this Tech Town was all about," he said, looking around. "Nice setup. You guys have all the latest models. Except for this one. This one's last year's."

Suddenly, a tall, lanky Tech Town employee rushed over. "Uh, I couldn't help but overhear. I can assure you we only have the most current models on display."

"Scott, this is my brother," Bree explained, "and I can assure you that he's leaving. Bye bye!"

She tried to push Chase out of the way, but he maneuvered around her.

"Nope! This model's old. I mean, I know the shell hasn't changed, but look at that screen quality," Chase said, handing the iPad to Scott. "There's no way that's glare resistant."

Scott scoffed. "You're right. This is the old model. No one's ever noticed that... Caitlin."

He turned to a dejected Caitlin, who walked away.

"Well, Chase," Bree smiled, "thanks for coming on down. Now, why don't you go lecture people about the evils of sodium at the pretzel hut?"

Chase laughed. "Where do you think I just came from?"

"Wait," said Scott, stopping Chase. "It's probably a long shot, but I'm looking for one more hire. Especially someone with your tech-spertise."

"Well, I'm glad I've exceeded your tech-spectations," Chase high-fived Scott.

"What the tech is going on?!" Bree exclaimed.

"So, what do you say? Any interest in working here?" Scott asked Chase.

"No," Bree cried. "No, no, no, no. He has no interest in working here. Chase, tell him you have no interest."

Chase smiled at Scott. "0111 00101."

Scott snickered. "He just said yes to my offer in binary code."

"Chase," Maeve chided.

"Oh," Bree frowned. "I wonder what's binary for 'I hate my life'?"

"011 0001-" Chase and Scott began.

"I get it!" Bree shouted.

"Welcome to the team, Chase," Scott said, whisking Chase away. "You are Tech Town's newest employee."

"No, no, no, no, no," Bree said, utterly distressed. "This can't be happening!"

"Bree, you're okay," Maeve tried to calm her. "Hey, at least this means you won't have to do all the gross chores, right?"

It didn't. The day came and went, and Bree was still stuck with the cleanup chores. Though Maeve liked Chase, she had to admit it was really annoying for Bree.

"I'm sick of this," Bree complained. "Chase is the newbie. Why am I still doing all of the grunt work?"

"I have to stay on his good side," Caitlin shrugged. "He's clearly management material. It's always the creepy little guys who make it in tech."

They looked over at Chase, who was happily talking to a customer.

Not that this was the time, but Chase looked fine as hell in that uniform.

"Creepy girls seem to be doing pretty well, too," Bree said to Caitlin. Maeve giggled.

"I'm gonna ride his coattails to the top," Caitlin sneered. "And then gather enough dirt on him to get him canned!"

Caitlin walked off.

Maeve turned to Bree. "Hey, didn't she used to like him?"

"Somehow, yes," Bree said.

"I don't know how I feel about that," Maeve shook her head, laughing nervously.

"Eh, don't worry. He wasn't into her at all. Plus, as much as he annoys me right now, I've never seen him as happy as you make him."

Maeve smiled at Bree.

"Hey, didn't you say there was something you wanted to talk to him about?" Bree asked.

Maeve shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but he's busy. I don't wanna bother him while he's working."

They watched Chase as he finished up his conversation with a customer.

"Thank you for coming down to Tech Town, where we always tech care of you!"

"You know you don't have to say that after every sale," Bree grinned mockingly once the customer had left.

Chase furrowed his brow. "You do if you wanna be employee of the month. Which, by the way, I already am, and it's only my... second day."

"Aw, congrats, Chase," Maeve smiled.

"Maeve!" Bree scolded. Maeve dropped her smile and looked down.

Chase laughed and pointed to his name tag. "And would you look at that? A name tag with my name on it."

Maeve looked to Bree's name tag, who still had the name of the previous employee.

"Oh, yeah?" Bree scoffed. "Joke's on you. I got her name tag, you got her pants!"

Chase rolled his eyes.

"Look," Bree pleaded, "you have to quit."

"Why?" Chase countered. "I like it here. If you've got a problem with it, then maybe you should quit."

"I was here first!"

Scott walked up, clapping two boxes together. "Hey! No bickering between employees. I-" He looked at Maeve. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I-"

"Oh, wait!" Scott laughed. "I don't care. No distracting my employees. Either buy something or scram!"

Maeve scoffed and left. She spent the rest of day shopping at the mall. It had been a while since she had some time to herself, so it felt really nice to just relax for a bit. Plus, she wanted to wait until Chase and Bree got off shift, anyways.

As she browsed through the clothing on the racks, she heard the announcement that the mall was to close soon. She decided to start heading back to Tech Town.

Maeve exited the store she was in, moving through the people to get to the escalators. The mall was abnormally crowded today, and the amount of people made her feel a little overwhelmed. Normally, she'd be walking behind Marcus, who would glare at anyone who got too close to them.

And all of a sudden, she was back in that lair.

The minutes passed, and people kept milling from store to store. Yet Maeve was still stuck in that dingy room.

Even when she could see the mall around her, all she could feel was the fear. The looming dark feeling that she knew all too well.

Her legs kept moving, almost mindlessly, towards Tech Town, but she barely registered it. Maeve could feel her hands starting to tremble. She tried to shake her arms out, but it didn't help.

No, no, no. Not right here. Not now.

Maeve ducked to the side, trying to calm down. She tried to distract herself, breathing in and out evenly.

But nothing worked.

Her breath only quickened. She swallowed between shallow breaths, fumbling around in her bag for her phone, but she couldn't find it. She could barely register what she was doing. She could barely even think. After a few moments, she gave up, and kept moving through the mall.

When she finally reached Tech Town, Maeve was breathing rapidly and her legs had begun to feel weak. Her eyes were watering and she struggled to keep a coherent thought.

She finally saw Chase, who was straightening up an iPad display. She rushed over to him.

"Hey, Chase," she started, avoiding his eyes. "Do you have a minute?"

"Can it wait? I want to get the shelves cleaned up so that I can maintain my employee of the month status," he smiled, barely even looking at her.

"I mean..." she blinked, raising a shaky hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Did I mention I'm already employee of the month?" Chase looked up to grin at her, but his face dropped when he saw her. "Woah, Maeve, what's going on?"

Maeve shook her head. "I don't-"

"Hey," Chase looked around awkwardly before guiding her to the back of the store, where he sat down next to her.

Maeve felt her lower lip quivering. She could barely think, could only feel the dark feeling.

"Maeve, you're okay," Chase said. He looked really concerned - more than she had ever seen him before.

Chase raised his hand to her face, cupping her cheek. "You're safe. It's okay."

Maeve leaned into him, needing to feel something other than fear. He hugged her, stroking her hair.

They sat like that for a few minutes until Maeve finally calmed down. When her breathing had returned to normal, she pulled away and wiped her tears.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"You don't have to apologize," Chase shook his head. "What's wrong?"

Maeve paused, taking a deep breath.

Where could she even begin?

"I just..." she said after a while. "What if my dad comes back?"

Chase hesitated. Maeve could almost see the multitude of thoughts flashing through his eyes, though he tried to mask them. "What do you mean?"

"It's not even a 'what if'. We know he's still out there. Douglas too. They're coming back."

Chase thought for a moment. "Okay. Then we'll deal with it."

Maeve stared at him.

"Look, we've fought them before. And we've won. Now we know they're coming back - we can train more. We won't let them win."

"...I'm just scared. I don't even know what they're capable of. What if they do something really bad? What if my dad tries to take me back?" she asked.

"Hey," Chase said, wrapping her hand in his. "I will never let that happen. I promise you, Maeve."

She blinked.

Chase continued. "Look, you're not alone anymore. It's not just you against him. You have me. You have us."

Maeve let out a breath. "Thanks, Chase."

He hugged her. She could tell he still wasn't used to all of the physical touch, but she appreciated that he did it for her.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice this earlier," Chase said once they had pulled away. "How long have you been worrying about this?"

Maeve shrugged. "I don't know. Since I started living with you guys, I guess."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She paused. "I don't wanna be a burden. You guys are already letting me live with you. I don't want to add anything else on top of that."

"Maeve, you're not a burden," Chase frowned. "I want you to be happy. We all do."

Maeve kissed him, then paused. "Well... how are you doing?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I really like working here, but Bree's mad at me."

"I'm sorry, Chase."

"I don't get it. This is the one place I can be where people appreciate how smart I am," he said.

"Okay," Maeve nodded slowly. "But I guess... this was also the place for Bree to have a break from you guys pestering her."

Chase laughed a little. "Yeah. I guess some part of me knows that."

"Is there no way you guys can work together peacefully?"

Chase shrugged. "I just wish she could realize what this job means to me."

"Look," Maeve continued, "I know how much you wanna feel appreciated. But I also think you know how much your family means to you. Is this job really worth losing your friendship with Bree?"

"What, so you think I should quit?"

"No," she shook her head. "I mean, it's up to you, but I honestly think you guys can both work here. But you both have to see from each other's perspectives."

"Yeah," Chase sighed. "You're right. Maybe... I was being a little obnoxious. Thanks, Maeve."

Maeve smiled. "And also, I know you feel bad about it sometimes, but I like how smart you are. That's part of why I like you so much."

Chase paused before blushing and breaking into a smile.

"Okay, now go fix things with Bree," she said. "And don't make me pick sides... because I'll probably side with Bree."

"Wow, okay," Chase scoffed playfully, standing up.