Hope you guys like this one, it was ... interesting to write.

Usual disclaimer: I wish I owned Life is Strange, but I don't. Mmmm, sweet Pricefield goodness. On with the show!

Yes, Mom

"Hey Mom, I'm good. Yeah, I think we're all beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel here."

"Blackwell's fine, classes haven't started back up yet. There's still a ton of cleaning up left to do after the tornado, so we're all kind of just hanging round the dorms. Though at least we have cell coverage back. Yay no more having to queue for payphones."

"I... Yeah, I was totally going to call you about that. You saw the status, right?"

"Oh my god. Eww. No, we're not 'using protection'."

"No, I'm not gonna get pregnant."

"Mom, did you actually read what the status said?"

"Because I have a girlfriend, Mom. Typically you don't need condoms when both of you have vaginas."

"Mom, you're fourty three, if I'm fine with saying "vagina" you should be too."

"Yeah, that does mean I like girls."

"No, I don't think I'm gay. I haven't wanted to put a label on it. Though I guess if I had to I'd probably say I'm pansexual."

"That's where you're kinda just attracted to the person, and gender doesn't really come into it."

"Yes that does mean I like guys as well. Though obviously I'm not into any of them right now."

"No, Mom, I never had a thing for Warren. He's got a girlfriend now anyway."

"Wait, you thought he was gay? Then why did you think I liked him? That makes like no sense at all."

"Oh, yeah, guess we got sidetracked a little. It's Chloe."

"Yes, it's that Chloe. Yes, my best friend who I grew up with, Chloe."

"Mom, the high pitched squealing kinda hurts my ears."

"It's been about four months now, I think?"

"I... Yeah, I know I didn't tell you guys when you came to see me. We just had a lot of shit going on right then with Joyce's leg and everything, and all the damage the storm caused. I mean, you guys saw how bad it was."

"I know, and at any other time I would've told you. And no, I don't have a swear jar for me to put a dollar in."

"No, I'm not going to buy one."

"Yes, Mom, I'll watch my language."

"Joyce is doing fine, she started physio a couple of weeks ago. Though the doctors think she's gonna have a little trouble moving for the rest of her life, even with the metal pins in place. Honestly I think she's just thankful she got to keep her leg."

"..."

"My relationship with Chloe? It's nice... We both understand each other. And she's hella adorable, even though she doesn't think so."

"What? 'Hella'?"

"It's slang."

"I know I've never said it before. It's probably Chloe's influence rubbing off on me."

"Yeah. We've been through a lot of shi- stuff together."

"I - I can't tell you right now. A lot of it's personal, especially to Chloe. If she ever says it's OK to talk about it with you, I will."

"No, Mom, really. I'm fine. We've got each other, that's all we need right now."

"Yeah, I'd like you guys to see her now, especially as you didn't get to last time. She's changed so much since you last saw her."

"Well, she's kind of a punk now. She even has blue hair."

"I love it, it suits her. And no, I haven't felt the urge to dye mine. I'm awkward enough going to get a haircut, let alone dyeing my hair a different colour, though Chloe keeps trying to persuade me."

"The future? Honestly Mom, I have no idea. We're just taking things as they are right now. We're both still adjusting to going from friends to partners. Like sometimes it'll feel like the most natural thing in the world, and then 5 minutes later we'll run into something neither of us know how to process."

"Yeah, it's been kind of a steep learning curve. Though the one thing I do know is this: we both want to keep going for as long as we can."

"I... Thanks Mom, that means a lot. I'm glad you think I'm doing the right thing. Okay, I gotta go, I'm meeting Chloe in five. Tell Dad I love him, and that he better not put Chloe through any dad-hazing tests. I know what he's like."

"Okay, thanks Mom. I love you too."

So yeah, this chapter. I wanted to write something that had only one character in it, and also just dialogue and no description whatsoever. I also wanted to explore Max's mental state a little through a simple conversation. Hopefully it made sense (you're only getting one side of a conversation, after all) and flowed nicely. As ever, please tell me what you thought, or if you have any suggestions for things you'd like to see in future chapters.

Speaking of future chapters, this is going to be the last one for a few days. I have chapters 6 and 7 already written and an idea for chapter 5, but I haven't written it yet and have no idea how to structure the things I want to happen in it. so that's the reason you probably won't see anything until the middle of next week at the very earliest (depending on Real Life Stuff getting in the way). I'll see all you fine folk next time, peace out.