So I've been playing the shit out of Life is Strange, and I absolutely love the way Max and Chloe's relationship is written. Even if it ultimately doesn't end with them in a relationship, it's still one of the best love stories (love in the sense that they deeply care about one another) I've ever seen in a video game. I've always wanted to write a fic that explores this kind of relationship, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Hopefully you guys will like it.
Disclaimers 'n shit: I obviously don't own Life is Strange. The wonderful people at DONTNOD do. I'm just thankful the game exists so I can obsess over it.
It's … A Different Kind of Love
Max Caulfield was fairly certain she had fallen for Chloe Price. That was the thought crossing her mind as the early morning light trickled into Chloe's room, gently falling upon the face of the still sleeping, blue-haired object of Max's attention. She smiled lazily, the fog of sleep still clouding her brain, making any thoughts sluggish. They were lying on Chloe's bed, Max resting on her left side, facing towards Chloe, who was laid with her head on her arm, a small line of drool trailing from her mouth onto the afore-mentioned limb.
Max sighed softly, a warm, fuzzy feeling suffusing her core as she continued to stare at her best friend, who had begun to lightly snore. I'm pretty sure this is what love feels like she thought. But I'm not into girls. Or at least I didn't think I was. I mean, I've never been attracted to a girl, but then again I've never really been attracted to a boy either. Skater boys are cute and all, but I don't think I'd wanna date one. An image of Warren flashed unbidden through her mind. Yeah, Warren's nice, and I said I'd "Go Ape" with him … But I don't think I like like him.
Max rolled onto her back, confusion now roiling in her gut. This is hella fucking confusing! She screamed internally. Why now, of all times?! A tornado is gonna wipe out the entire town in two days if my visions are right. Rachel Amber is still missing and I've got Nathan "Kick-Me-In-My-Stupid-Rich-Face Prescott on my ass for getting him suspended. Now is not the time for my so-called love life to turn into a soap opera! Though it is kinda cool I maybe actually have a love life now.
At that moment, Chloe snorted in her sleep and murmured something. Max thought it might have been "Blackwell Ninjas". Max giggled, remembering the stealthy antics of the previous night. If Warren had been with us he totally would've said it was some Solid Snake shit or something. Wait, would that make him Otacon? Heh, poor guy probably would've passed out if he'd seen Chloe and I in our underwear in the pool together …
She looked over at Chloe, noticing one of her blue coloured bangs had fallen over her face. She reached out and gently lifted the offending strand of hair away, tucking it behind Chloe's ear. The blue-haired punk girl's hand came up and curled around Max's fingers, holding the brunette's hand against her cheek. She blearily opened one eye, making an effort to focus on Max's soft blue eyes. " 'Sup Mad Max." She mumbled, voice cracking slightly from the several hours of non-use. "You feelin' me up in my sleep? Didn't know you were into me that way, Caulfield."
Max pulled her arm away from Chloe's grasp, blushing furiously. "Shut up, Chloe. God you're such a dork." She turned and rolled out of the bed, stretching lazily once she was standing. "Woo, yeah! Show me that ass, Super Max." Hollerred Chloe, whose head was in direct eye-line with Max's butt. She rolled her eyes and flipped Chloe the bird. "What?" Chloe protested, trying (and failing) to act innocent. "You're wearing short shorts and it was, like, right there dude! Can't blame a girl for looking."
Max hitched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, you were totally drooling over me in your sleep. Literally." She nodded at Chloe's arm, a small section of it still slick with Chloe's saliva. Chloe looked down, noticing the wet patch for the first time. "Oh, dude, gross." She said, wiping the evidence away with a corner of her shirt.
Max laughed. "Serves you right, Drool Runnings." Chloe buried her face in her hands, "Holy shit that was so bad it's making my soul hurt. Just kill me now to save me from your terrible puns."
Max held her arms out defensively "Hey, you messed with a Pungeon Master. You reap what you sow." Chloe groaned and collapsed back onto the bed. "I swear to god you are the biggest nerd alive."
Max grinned "You complain, Chloe Price, but I know you secretly love it." When Chloe chose to remain silent, she wandered over to the stereo. "Hey, you mind if I play something?"
Chloe sat up. "Sure. Just keep the hipster bullshit to a minimum." Max rolled her eyes again and began rifling through Chloe's CD collection. After a minute or so of searching she let out a small gasp and whispered "No fucking way!" She grabbed the CD, loaded it into the disc tray and pressed play. After a few seconds of whirring, the sounds of 90's synthesisers filled the room.
Everyboooooody
Rock your boooooody
Everyboooooody
Rock your body right
Backstreet's back, alright!
Chloe watched in utter, slack-jawed disbelief as Max pranced around the room, miming her way through the song. "Geez, I never took you for a 90's boy-band nostalgist. I might have to dock you cool points." She smirked. "I think you're on like minus five now."
Max snorted "As if I was ever cool. Besides, it's you who owns the CD."
Chloe giggled. "You've got a point there, Maxstreet Boys."
Max scoffed "And I thought my puns were bad."
"It's a hidden talent." Chloe shrugged. "Very hidden. I guess you bring out the nerd in me."
"And you bring out the breaking-into-school-gyms-in-the-middle-of-the-night rebel in me." The two shared a quick smile. "I should probably get dressed. I gotta get back to Blackwell soon."
"Booo, you suck. Can't you just skip Blackhell and hang out with me all morning? Like when we were kids?"
"I wish I could, but I really have to get back. I need to feed Kate's rabbit, and I should probably show my face in class at some point."
Chloe pouted. "At least stay for breakfast. I'm sure my mom's making us something awesome." As if on cue, the smell of bacon pancakes drifted up from downstairs. Max's stomach rumbled. "That sounds great, but I still need to get dressed first. I can't exactly wander around like this, can I?" She gestured at her still be-shorted state. "Hey, I'm not complaining." Chloe wiggled her eyebrows at a once-more blushing Max, a mockingly lecherous grin plastered across her face.
"Dork." Max said, turning towards her clothes from the night before, which had been carelessly tossed onto the sole chair in Chloe's room. She bent down and gave the clothes a sniff. "Ew, still reeks like a chlorine factory."
Chloe waved a hand at her wardrobe. "See if you can find a suitable outfit in my fashion hole." Max opened the door, to find a black and red chequered shirt and a fairly grungy pair of jeans. "Hey, there you go! Rachel left a bunch of clothes here … she's your size."
"But not quite my style." Max replied. "Max, you don't have a style yet." Chloe said, pushing herself up off the bed. "At least give it a try. You can always rewind back to your chlorine brand T-shirt and generic jeans." She playfully poked Max in the arm. Max pouted, "You suck. I like my shirt and jeans … But it would be cool to try on Rachel's clothes, just to see if they fit."
Chloe grasped her by the shoulders. "Stop second guessing yourself, Max! Put this on and let your inner punk-rock girl come out! You can afford to take chances! Whenever and whatever you want to try ..." A coy smile appeared on her face. "For example, I dare you to kiss me."
"What?" Max took half a step backwards, taken aback by Chloe's dare. "I double dare you. Kiss me now." Chloe demanded, though Max thought she could detect a hint of nervousness behind the flirty bravado.
She froze time.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. What do I do? What would Chloe say if I refuse? Would she be offended or would she just laugh it off? Wait, why is she even daring me to do this – does she like me? I mean she flirts with me, like, all the time, but I thought that was just her? What happens if I do kiss her? Would she freak out? Would I freak out? Wait, no – she wouldn't have said anything if she didn't want to … That means she wants to. She wants me to kiss her.
With that final line of thought, Max unfroze time. Chloe stood expectedly, lips slightly parted and a curious gleam in her eye. Max swallowed, licked her lips, and placed her hands on Chloe's shoulders. She leaned in.
That was when Max felt Chloe's hand on the back of her head, and the next thing she knew their lips crashed together. The suddenness of it took her off guard, she let out a surprised squeak against Chloe's lips. After a second, impulse took hold and she closed her eyes as she relaxed into the kiss. She felt Chloe smirk and open her mouth, deepening the kiss. Max's right hand wandered up into Chloe's hair, entwining itself in the strands. Her left travelled downwards and took hold of the blue-haired girl's hip. Chloe was far less reserved. Both of her hands trailed down Max's back until they were cupping her ass. She squeezed. Max squeaked again, causing Chloe to break the kiss in order to giggle.
"You're adorable when you do that. I could listen to it all the tiMMMPH-" She was cut off as Max launched herself at the taller girl, tackling her onto the bed. Max ended up on top, all four limbs trapping Chloe as their lips met once again, each of them struggling for dominance. It was only when Chloe's hands began to trail under the hem of Max's shirt that she pulled back, leaving both of them out of breath and panting.
"W-wait. Chloe, stop. What are we doing?"
Chloe frowned in confusion. "I don't know what you thought we were doing, but I'm pretty sure we were making out."
Max sighed. "Exactly. We were making out, Chloe! Doesn't that weird you out? At all? Because when we fell back into each other's lives a couple of days ago I didn't think we'd have our tongues down each other's throats, regardless of how we might feel about one another."
Chloe's gaze snapped onto Max's. "Ok yeah, I didn't think that either – but wait, feelings? I was joking all those times I said about you being into me … or at least I thought I was." She added in a quiet voice.
"So … you … do have feelings for me?" She tentatively asked the brunette.
"Yes! No … uh … I don't know. It's hella confusing for me right now. I've never been attracted to another girl before." The words came tumbling out of her mouth before she realised it, and once she did she clamped her mouth shut, her face blushing an even deeper shade of red. Chloe smiled softly "Hey, calm down, Super Max. I've been through exactly what you're thinking and feeling right now, with Rachel … Though I don't think she was ever into me in a romantic way or anything."
Max sighed and put her head in her hands. "I think I am – wait no, stop." She added, as Chloe beamed at her. "OK fine, I definitely have some form of feelings for you that for sure go beyond us being just friends. But what does that make me? I've never been attracted to girls or anything."
Chloe frowned. "Does it have to make you anything? Can't you just like someone without putting labels on it and shit?"
"I – I never thought about it that way." Max paused, thinking. "I'm pretty sure you like- have the same feelings for me, too."
Chloe nodded. "Yeah. That obvious, huh?" She said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Max grinned. "You really are a giant dork sometimes." She took Chloe's hands in her own, stroking the back of the affectionately.
"So what happens now?" Max asked.
"Well, now we go downstairs and my Mom feeds us delicious pancakes."
Max smacked Chloe playfully in the arm. "You know what I mean. I meant with us. Are we girlfriend and girlfriend now?"
Chloe paused, gazing thoughfully out of the window. "Can't we just be us? No complicated labels or whatever … just you and me? Whatever that is? I mean, I love you, Max. I really do. But it's like, not just a friendly love or a romantic love. Does that even make sense? Fuck, I don't know."
Max nodded. "It's … a different kind of love. We have what we have. And yeah, I'd like us to be just us." She leaned in, resting her forehead against Chloe's. "Plus if that means more makeouts, sign me up!"
Chloe giggled. "Where the hell did your innocence go? I really must be rubbing off on you, Max Factor."
"Call me that again and I'm never kissing you again, Price."
"Oh man, so harsh. Better get 'em in while I can, then." Chloe pressed her lips to Max's once more, in a long, lingering kiss that neither girl wanted to end. "C'mon, let's go destroy the fuck out of those pancakes." Chloe said.
"That sounds great." Max replied, a radiant smile on her face. She pecked the punk girl on the cheek and slid off the bed, quickly throwing on Rachel's clothes as Chloe picked seemingly random clothes from her dresser. Then, after sharing another kiss, they exited Chloe's room and walked down the stairs, hands clasped firmly together.
END.
So that's it. Please please please let me know what you thought. It's the first time I've attempted to write something that deals with relationships in a vaguely serious manner, so any and all feedback would be much appreciated. For now, I'll be replaying through Episodes 1-4 and trying to piece together where the plot's going to end up. Peace out.