Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story or own any rites to the game Life Is Strange. This is my own multi shot take on what could have happened in Chapter 3 at the end instead. Enjoy!


Max's Pov

Being with Chloe again after so long is totally trippy. I missed her so much, and I feel like a mega bitch for not calling, texting, or something to keep in touch. However hanging with her has made it feel like no time has past at all, despite the differences from when she was 14 to now when she is 19. Although despite how giddy I am to be hanging out with her again and seeming to have my best friend back, it also feels like I'm more of a substitute than anything. Chloe seems to have fun when we hang out and I swear when she smiles it's like I'm looking at the Chloe I used to know, then she turns around and mentions Rachel Amber. I get it honestly, she took my place and became the person Chloe needed when I all but seemed to bail on her when she needed me the most, but it's like she is all Chloe ever talks about anymore.

I can understand in a way, I felt nauseous when I realized I almost lost Chloe that day in the bathrooms, when Chloe wanted to test out my powers and ended up shooting herself, when Frank threatened Chloe in the junk yard, and once again on the railroad tracks. So I can understand her want to find Rachel. However, she only seems to remember me when she's in danger or something and it makes me feel like shit. I know she said that she would never leave me when we were in the pool, but I still feel like as soon as we find Rachel and they work things out she is going to pack up and leave me alone, like I did with her back then, even though that wasn't my choice.

She makes me feel so confused and frustrated, and seriously inadequate at times. I mean I feel confused because everything seemed to be fine and then she admits to thinking there is no one that's good enough for me aside from her, and I find it insanely sweet. And she dared me to kiss her, that was the shock of a lifetime, though I think I shocked her more when I actually went through with the dare. It doesn't help that I feel really conflicted because Chloe is my best friend, yet the way I'm feeling leads me to think I may want more than that, but It'll never happen. Chloe only seems to see Rachel in her future, which hurts big time.

We ended up going through Franks RV after I managed to snag the keys from him in order to prove to Chloe that he and Rachel were a thing, the girl was in massive denial. Chloe can't seem to handle the truth, once I showed her Franks account book full of photos and love noted from Rachel to him she flipped out. Claiming that Rachel betrayed her and basically took a shit on her life like everyone else. I can say that it felt like she stabbed me when she said that, despite having left unwillingly five years ago, I came back, and I've been doing my damnedest to be there for her and help find Rachel and she is going to act like a petulant child. It pisses me off, then she had the audacity to blame poor William, as if he chose to leave her permanently that day, it was just a freak accident. She can't even be grateful that she's live despite it all, I just...I don't know what to do. I feel so helpless, Chloe wouldn't even look or talk to me at all when she dropped me off back at Blackwell.

So here I sit on my bed in the dorm as I write this stuff in my journal, I feel tired all of a sudden. It's like everything that's gone on this week has finally caught up to me and I just feel so damn tired of it all. First Chloe, then Kate, now I got Nathan suspended, and truth be told I'm a little skeptical if he really was to blame at all, maybe I should have rewound time and blamed Mr. Jefferson. After all he may seem like a good guy, but he is a bit shady, even David Madsen's security files state that. That's another thing, I don't think David is really a bad guy, sure he's a little paranoid, but even he is smart enough to realize some weird ass shit is going down at Blackwell and in his own way he's trying to figure out how it's all connected and who's behind it. I think in his own way he's trying to find Rachel, and not just cause she was a student, but because she was important to Chloe. He's just not very good at showing he cares.

Oh well, maybe staring at the photo Joyce gave me might make me feel better, remember better days, yeah?

I sighed as I put down my pencil and closed my journal. At least I finally got that off my chest, I put the pencil back in my pencil case and the journal back in my book bag next to the camera Chloe gave me (William's old one). I then grabbed the photo Joyce gave me and scooted back against the wall and crossed my legs as I stared at it. I released a small sad sigh, back then everything was so easy, there was no Frank, or Blackwell Academy, no Mark Jefferson, no Rachel Amber, and no David Madsen. I wish I could go back and stop what happened to William, but at the same time I can't help but wonder who it would hurt in return for changing that aspect of the past. For all I know I might end up as a Vortex Club groupie, Warren could be a total dick, and Chloe might end up the one that's hurt instead. Then again, maybe if I could then Chloe wouldn't feel like she was handed the shittest lot in life to date. I just don't know.

I shook my head and scooted back to the edge of my bed as I put the photo back in my bag and got up and sat on my couch, grabbing my guitar. I started strumming something random and it came out as kind of sad and angry at the same time, kind of like my current mood. After a short while I put the guitar down and decided I needed to go for a walk or at least find someone I could talk to, so I put my guitar down and left my room. I trudged down the hallway when I spotted that the door to Dana's room was open. I went over and leaned against the doorway and grabbed my left arm kind of uncertainty, Dana was sitting on her bed and looked up. I looked up kinda nervously and Dana motioned for me to come sit on the bed beside her.

"Hey, what's up Max. You look troubled, something wrong?" Dana asked softly.

"A little. I kinda need someone to talk to who won't spread it around. I'm just, I'm really confused and frustrated right now and I kinda need a friend to listen and give me some advice." I admitted as I went and sat down beside her.

Dana nodded. "Alright, well I'm here to listen whenever you want to talk. You were there for me when I needed someone, let me do the same for you. Isn't that when friends do?" She said with an encouraging smile.

I let out a small breath of relief, looked at Dana and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I guess it is, thanks Dana. I really appreciate this."

"No problem, we can start whenever you're ready." She said.

"Okay, so I probably should start by saying that at least a small portion of this will seem like total bullshit until I prove it to you, then after that the rest of it will make sense. I promise." I looked at Dana and she nodded letting me know she was following along and wasn't going to interrupt me.

"So on Monday after Mr. Jefferson's class I headed to the female restrooms in order to clear my head, I was sort of stressing about that Everyday Hero competition that I still have to enter my photo for. So I went and washed my face, then I tore up the picture I was going to sub,it since I didn't think it was good enough, after that this really pretty Blue Butterfly came in and landed on a bucket in the back corner so I followed it to take a picture. Next thing I knew Nathan Prescott came in muttering nonsense and having a total meltdown."

"Go on." Dana encouraged, with a quick glance it showed the was listening attentively and trying to be open minded to what I was saying, at least the wasn't dismissing me, and even if she did I could always just rewind and act like this never happened.

"Well not to long after that a punk rock girl with blue hair came storming in and demanding that Nathan pay her money to keep quiet about the fact that she knew he was giving drugs to kids at some of his parties. Apparently he didn't take being told what to do so well since he pulled out a gun and threatened her, she tried to push him away and he ended up shooting her. It was about that time that everything went weird, I stepped out from the back with my right hand reached out as if I hoped I could stop it, then it was like everything was thrown in reverse and the next second I'm back in Mr. Jefferson's class again." I took a few breathers and continued my story.

"I was totally freaked, I didn't think it was real at first until everything he started talking about was the exact same as last time. I sort of tweaked and ended up breaking my camera, so I tried to see if I could do it again, you know rewind time. Turns out I could and I rewound so I didn't knock my camera off the desk, I even ended up using it to answer Mr. Jefferson's question correctly in class so I could get back to the restroom quicker, I couldn't just let that girl die if I had the ability to change it. So I beat it back to the restroom as fast as I could, and repeated everything I did last time, and like last time Nathan came in and freaked then the girl came in and started trying to get him to pay her to keep quiet. I found a mallet under the mop bucket next to the regular bucket I took the butterfly photo on earlier, then rewound time a small portion so he didn't kill her and used the mallet to break the glass of the fire alarm and set it off. It gave the girl enough time to get away and then Nathan followed quickly after not wanting to be caught. Either with a gun, because he was in the girls restroom, of because he was in the girls restroom with a gun I have no idea."

Dana took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "So wait, you want me to believe that Nathan had a gun on Monday and killed someone, and not only that but you can rewind time and did so to save said victim?" She looked really sceptical, but there was a small flicker in her eye that made me believe that she might actually believe me a little, I just had to find the right thing to get her to fully believe me.

"I swear it's the truth, tell me something you haven't told anyone else, something that you know if you were told would make you believe me without a doubt. I'll then go back and tell you what you said." I swore, hoping she would give me this chance. I could do with more people in my corner aside from...Chloe.

Dana pursed her lips and looked to Juliet's side of the room anxiously. After a moment she began to speak again. "Alright, I'm bisexual and while I like Trevor and he's a nice guy, I don't really see it lasting since I actually kind of like a girl, but I know she won't like me back. There is no way she is anything but straight."

I just raised an eyebrow and put two and two together. "It's Juliet isn't it." I said in a quiet voice so she knew I wouldn't broadcast it.

"Yes."

"I won't tell anyone, well anyone but you here in a bit anyways." I said with a small smile and you know what, Dana smiled back.


Dana took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "So wait, you want me to believe that Nathan had a gun on Monday and killed someone, and not only that but you can rewind time and did so to save said victim?"

"Yes, and I know how to convince you that I'm telling the truth." I said with a little more confidence than I felt at that moment.

"How?" Dana inquired.

"You told me that you think Trevor is a nice guy, but you don't see it lasting. You're bisexual, and really like Juliet, but you don't think she likes you back because you're pretty sure that she is straight." Dana's eyes widened and she hopped off the bed and looked around outside to make sure no one was around before she closed the door and turned around and looked at me.

"How can you know that, I never told anyone that, I would remember if I told you." She said while leaning against the door.

"You told me that kind of in a different version of this timeline, that way you would believe me without a doubt." I said in a manner that was a little calmer than she looked at the moment.

Dana went over and sat on the couch and just stared at me while she took a few calming breaths. "Alright, okay. So you can rewind time, so if this had gone badly you would have just rewound so it never happened?" She inquired after a fashion.

"Essentially yes, but it didn't go badly." I stated.

Dana frowned at that. "Then you wouldn't have had anyone to talk to though about what's wrong. I mean it's obvious your powers are cool, but they aren't a toy either. I like it better now that you can talk to me about it. It's better this way, you can vent without worry of being thought that your nuts, and I can help figure out what's going on at Blackwell." She said.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"I remember you told me that it was too complicated to explain and that you didn't want to get me involved yet, so I'm going to bet that it's safe to assume that it has something to do with your powers, am I right?" She waited for my response.

"No, you're right, but only partially." I sighed. This was going to take a while.