Disclaimer: The Life is Strange franchise and its affiliated characters belong to Square Enix. All original characters and their identities are used with the express permission of their real-life counterparts.

I will let this chapter speak for itself. Again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed so far, and I will be bringing you the last chapter very soon! On with the story; hope you enjoy it! :)

Chapter 8: A Greater Destiny

On Friday morning, Max awoke feeling well-rested. She had been able to help one of her best friends in need, and she now knew what she wanted to go regarding Chloe.

It didn't make it any easier though.

Chloe was always one whose emotions were difficult to read. Unlike Max, who wore her emotions on her sleeve, Chloe always focused her feelings inward. Those feelings would be expressed differently, but they were never discussed outright. She was worried that Chloe would run away if Max confessed to her, even if Chloe felt the same way.

Max wasn't even sure Chloe did feel the same way. She wagered a guess that Chloe had kissed her hair that day, but Chloe had such a good poker face that it was impossible to tell for sure. What if Chloe hadn't done that and Max's confession made things awkward between them? Max wanted their relationship to grow, not get demolished, especially after they had reestablished it again so recently.

As a result, Max's mind was clearly distracted that day. She was only barely able to answer the teacher's questions when directly asked, and the lectures completely flew over her head. She became more nervous throughout the day as her encounter with Chloe drew closer and closer. Hopefully she could borrow the notes from Kate or Alyssa later.

Oh, Alyssa…

Max smiled. That was one thing about today that was absolutely wonderful. Before she had left her room that morning, she found a post-it note from Alyssa stuck to her door. It read:

"Dear Max,

Thank you so much for the kind notes that you and Kate wrote for me. They definitely give me hope and help me realize that there is more to life than the shape of our bodies. I did some research last night, and found that there are plenty of plus-sized models such as Liris Crosse and Sunday Omony who are completely comfortable in their own bodies and are happy with the way they look. It won't be easy for me to accept myself, but I will work on it one day at a time. At least I know I have two people who like me as I am. Thank you so much Max. And also, thank you for returning the book. I was up late finishing it.

Love,

Alyssa"

Max found Kate before she left the dorm and found that Alyssa had slipped a similar note underneath her door (to prevent anyone from defacing or stealing it). When she saw Alyssa later in class, she had flashed a thumbs-up, and Alyssa smiled back at her. Max was very happy about how that chain of events had panned out.

'Now I just have to see if the day between Chloe and I pans out just as well,' Max thought.

What made Max so nervous was trying to figure out how to confess to Chloe. Her friend had definitely changed in the past five years, so it was difficult to figure out how she would react. Should she work her way up to it or should she be really spontaneous about it? It was hard to tell with Chloe, especially since that woman had such a good poker face.

After classes had let out, Max went back to her dorm to shower, change her clothes, pack an overnight bag, and generally be a nervous wreck. She texted Chloe that she was out of class and Chloe immediately let her know that she was on the way to pick her up.

As Max set off to where Chloe would pick her up, she saw Kate and waved to her. Kate came right up to her and said, "Are you hanging out with Chloe today?" She had a knowing smile on her face.

Max smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, "Yeah. Kate…I'm going to confess to her today."

Kate looked ecstatic about the news.

Max spilled all her worries, "Kate, what am I going to do? Chloe and I have both changed since I've left. I don't know how I should do this, or if Chloe will like what I'm wearing or…" she was silenced by a single finger to her lips.

Kate smiled, "Max, you have nothing to worry about. If you and Chloe were so different, you wouldn't have recovered your friendship so easily. You and Chloe may be more mature and experienced now, but that is to be expected after five years. It takes two people to build a relationship Max, and the most important thing is to just be yourself. If you can do that, then your confession does not have to be perfect, it just has to be natural."

Max was stunned. Despite never being in a relationship, Kate was really wise about matters like this. As she took another heavy breath in and out, she felt a good chunk of the anxiety leave her. She now had more of a plan for what to do.

Max gave Kate a huge hug, which was returned with equal fervor, "Thank you so much Kate. I'll let you know how everything goes when I come back."

With that, Max headed to the doors of the dormitory and walked out. Kate watched her as she left, striding with just a little bit more confidence.

Kate said a silent prayer for her friend and smiled, 'You'll be fine, Max. I know you will.'

Max went out to the front gates of Blackwell and Chloe was just pulling up.

"Hey Max! What's up?" Chloe greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Chloe," Max said, and the two friends high-fived.

"So, where do you wanna go?" Chloe asked.

The question surprised Max. She had thought that she and Chloe were going to just hang out at Chloe's house. However, the absence of a concrete venue sent Max's mind into overdrive.

'Okay, if I'm going to confess to Chloe. I want to do things right. For me, I would get dinner first.'

"Let's go to the Two Whales Diner then," Max offered.

"Hella yes! Time to get some food in my system. The bill is on you Max," Chloe joked.

'That works just fine for me,' Max smiled to herself.

The drive to the diner was relatively quiet. Chloe would fill the silence by playing music, which was just fine for both of them. It was hard to have a meaningful conversation while someone was driving anyway. Max's mind was racing with thoughts, mostly full of self-doubt and negativity, but she kept on trying to push them out and focus on what she wanted to do.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't even realize when they pulled up to the diner.

"All right! Let's get some food," Max had to smile at the sheer energy and carefree nature of her best friend. No matter what was going on in Max's life, Chloe always had a way of pulling her out of her funk.

They went into the diner and were promptly served by Joyce, who also seemed very happy to see them. Perhaps Chloe's sudden 180 was making life easier for everyone, Joyce included.

As if on cue, Chloe said, "Things have been getting better at home. David and I are on better terms than before and he's mentioned that I can come to him for anything. I'm starting to see what my Mom sees in him. He always seems to be able to spare a minute to talk, even if he's in the middle of something. I guess he tends to be quieter than most because of his own history of being a war vet. I'm definitely not ready to see him as a step-father, but we aren't having such vehement disagreements anymore. I've decided to go back to my normal hair color, so I'm going to let the blue dye naturally fade away. For you and me, it will be just like it used to be." Chloe's voice took on a wistful tone at the end, as if reminiscing about a memory from all those years ago.

Max smiled, "Are you still up for taking that photo of the two of us at the lighthouse?"

Chloe's eyes lit up. "Hella yes! Let's do that right after we finish dinner! We'll have enough sunlight to take a really good shot, and it'll be…"

"…the new introductory photo to our album," Max finished with a grin. Chloe's beaming smile was proof enough that Max had finished her sentence for her.

They ate an excellent dinner, and Max picked up the bill, as she promised.

As they headed back to Chloe's truck, Max asked Chloe if she happened to have the boom box that was powered by batteries or electricity. Chloe responded by saying that it was back at her house, and Max asked if they could grab it from her house before going to the lighthouse.

After a brief stop at Chloe's house and a cordial hello to David, the two were on their way to the lighthouse again. Unbeknownst to Chloe, Max had made a mix CD early that morning to play for Chloe, and she had one of the albums they had made so long ago in her overnight bag. Max wanted to show Chloe just how much their friendship had meant to her over the years.

Once the pair had arrived at the lighthouse, Max got out of the truck with her bag and walked over to the lighthouse and looked out over the bay. The sun was just beginning to set, and it was, in Max's opinions, one of the most beautiful parts of the day. The lighthouse was on a ledge overlooking the bay, and the town was spread out underneath the lighthouse to the south. The sun's rays stretched over Arcadia Bay, casting long shadows behind the buildings. The ledge was the most beautiful location to view the sunset, as there was nothing else between you and the bay.

Max felt Chloe come up behind her and drape an arm over her shoulder. She was carrying the battery-operated boom box in her other hand. They stood there in silence for a moment before Chloe asked, "Did you miss this view Max?"

There was no malice or bitterness in her voice anymore, just genuine curiosity.

Max nodded, "I would always miss this place. Whenever I saw the sunset, looked through the photo albums, or even just thought about Arcadia Bay, I would always think about how the sunset never looked as beautiful as it does here." Max grabbed Chloe's hand, and their held each other's hands. Max couldn't get over the warm feeling that flooded through her, even at the casual contact. Not long ago, it would have just been a gesture of friendship, but Max now saw it as a powerful sign of support.

Max sat down on the bench next to the lighthouse and brought the photo album to Chloe's attention.

"Dude, is that our first ever photo album?" Chloe was stunned at seeing it, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Max smiled. The photo album was covered with blues and purples after Max and Chloe decided to color the cover. In the center was a close-up shot of Max and Chloe smiling. To that day, it was still one of the best photos they had ever taken. It was covered in small stickers: science fiction ones from Max and superhero ones from Chloe. Even though they had three albums, the first one was still Max's favorite.

Max opened the photo album to a random page and the two started going through the pictures together. There were pictures from sleepovers, birthday parties, playdates, 'adventures' they had gone on, and some really well-taken shots of the two of them by Chloe's father, William.

"Man, this is unreal!" Chloe sighed. "All these photos…it feels like we took them yesterday, and yet it has been freaking years! We definitely need a new album with plenty of new pictures."

"You're lucky I still have my Polaroid, Chloe," Max giggled at Chloe's enthusiasm.

"Let's take one already! We're at the lighthouse; let's take one together. Remember, we have to as a last farewell to my blue hair."

Max took her trusty Polaroid out of her bag and the two sat close together on the bench. From here, the sun was in front of them, so the lighting was excellent. The two smiled big, Chloe from her enthusiasm and Max from the nostalgic feeling of taking photos with her long-time friend, and snapped a picture.

It was perfect, capturing their smiles and heads perfectly. It was almost as if they had taken the front cover and applied an age progression to it. Both of them look at the photo and at each other, and smiled at just how nostalgic it seemed. Max put it in the old photo album for safekeeping until they got a new photo album to start. That photo would likely be the new cover.

Max turned to Chloe. It was now or never, she thought to herself.

"Chloe, can I talk to you about something?" she asked softly.

"Dude, you can talk to me about anything you want. You know that, right?" Chloe voice started as a joke, but when she saw Max's expression, it turned softer.

Max's face looked nervous. She looked unsure, but her balled-up fists were clear signs of her determination. She was worried about something, but Chloe couldn't imagine what. Max took a few deep breaths before continuing.

"I'm just afraid of having you judge me for something. Oh God, I'm not sure I can do this," Max sighed, her resolve clearly wavering. Her face was already in her hands.

Chloe wasn't sure what was distressing her friend, but clearly it was important stuff. She held Max in her arms gently.

"Max, I would never judge you for anything you told me. You may have been gone for five years, but you're still my best friend. We're just as close now as we were back then, perhaps even more so now than before. You can tell me anything and I won't hold it against you."

Max took a few steadying breaths, strengthened her resolve, and then cried more gently into Chloe's shoulder. Chloe gently kissed Max's forehead, and that simple action helped Max calm down enough to speak again. The truth was Max was terrified of Chloe's reaction. She couldn't afford to lose the friendship that she had just been able to rebuild. However, she also knew that she couldn't simply leave things as they were. Max had a feeling that she and Chloe could be more, but someone had to say something.

Max took a shaky breath and looked down for a moment, "When I was with Rachel…we talked about the way events went, but we also talked about other possibilities and how things could have progressed." She hadn't told Chloe about the other possible timelines because she was afraid of scaring Chloe after they had just reunited, but she figured it was time to come clean. Max didn't want any secrets between them if she was going to attempt a relationship together.

"Rachel told me how the…universe or whatever, thought that I was going to take a different path. In that path, you and I went through an entourage of terrifying events. However, at the end, the use of my powers would have caused a massive superstorm to form. I would have to choose between sacrificing the town of Arcadia Bay…or you."

Chloe's eyes widened as the implications of that statement dawned on her. She knew that Max would never willingly give her up (the past few days were living proof of that), but that meant everyone in Arcadia Bay would have felt the full fury of that storm. That meant that everyone in Blackwell, the people of the town and, she gasped, her mother and step-father would likely not come out of that storm unscathed, if they even survived.

Max was sobbing at this point, and Chloe pulled her in to comfort her. Chloe thought that thinking about this was hard, and she could not even imagine how it made Max feel. Chloe had the hypothetical idea in her head, but Max literally had almost crossed into that possibility. However, Chloe also knew that Max hadn't chosen that route, and was immensely grateful for that.

Max was trying to compose herself, but it wasn't easy. She hadn't thought it was going to be this difficult, but actually having Chloe next to her made her realize how close she came to losing her. She couldn't bear the thought of losing the one she loved because of her own actions. Chloe held her in her arms, gently rubbing her back with one hand and holding Max's head against her shoulder with the other.

"Max, if anything, you gave me a far greater destiny than I could have ever conceived of. You solved the mystery of Rachel's disappearance, took a shadow of my former self and brought me back to it, you helped mend the ties between my family and I, and let's not forget," she lifted Max's face to look at her, "you saved me as well."

Max held Chloe's gaze and took a deep, shuddering breath. Her nerves ignited and she started shaking. If anything, Chloe only held her tighter. Eventually, she spoke, not caring in her voice was raspy or stuttering. She knew that it didn't have to be perfect, it only had to be true. She was about as raw as she could be right now, so it seemed like the perfect moment.

"C-Chloe, it has always been about you. You've always been one of the m-most important people in my life. We…we were always together growing up, and you made my childhood more fun than I ever could have imagined on my own." She smiled slightly as she thought of the photo album, and based on Chloe's smile, she was thinking the same thing.

Max continued crying, but her voice was stronger, "When I moved to Seattle, I was devastated. Suddenly the source of all my happiness was…missing. I tried to be strong for my family, but I was broken inside. Most nights, I couldn't believe that we were separated. It wasn't easy for me to make friends, and most of the time I compared them to you, and none of them could hold a candle. Some were good, but they were never as good. I…I had to accept that we were separated over time, but it didn't make things easier, and I never forgot about you."

Chloe's eyes shot open in surprise. Max valued their friendship even more than she thought. If only she could get Max to see things the same way that she did…

"When I was at Blackwell and I first saw you get…shot, I gained the ability to time travel, and I only used the power once. It gave me a chance to try again, and I knew that I wasn't going to let you get hit…no matter at what cost it came. So I made sure that you weren't harmed. It was about you, Chloe. It has always been about you, and it always will be. Like I said before, I am not leaving without you again." Max paused, looked deep into Chloe's hopeful, compassionate eyes and finished.

"Chloe, I love you."

There was a pregnant silence following this statement. Chloe was absolutely floored. Max returned her feelings? Granted, Chloe had never voiced them, but Max felt the same way about her? Her mind could barely process it. The idea of Max returning her feelings was something that she had only ever fantasized about; she never thought that it would actually come to be. She was elated, but her absolute awe kept her from replying right away.

Max was another story. This silence was turning her into more and more of a basket case by the second. Her mind was racing, trying to make sense of it, but only coming up with negative reasoning.

'Oh my goodness, did I just ruin everything between us?'

'Will she never want to speak to me again?'

'Did I just lose my best friend forever?'

While her mind was going frantic, she only barely registered her face being turned from down in shame to up to look at Chloe's face. She couldn't process the smallest smile forming on Chloe's face before she looked right into Max's eyes and replied,

"Max, I love you too."

Max's mind froze in its tracks. Wait, Chloe accepted her feelings? She was returning them? Was this even possible? Her mind had stopped thinking up negative scenarios and was now frantically trying to backpedal. The most intelligent thing she could think of was

"Wait, what did you say?"

Chloe laughed gently, knowing not to ruin the moment, but to appease her friend's (now her lover's) fear. She loved how her friend could have the courage to confess her feelings, but not the self-worth to believe that her feelings would be reciprocated.

"I said I love you too Max," she said, smiling gently. Brushing Max's hair out of the way of her eyes, she continued, "Max, you have always been the most important person in my life. You've been there through the ups and downs. I was devastated when you left, but that was because of what I was going through. I would never blame you for that. I just buried my feelings even deeper in my grief, knowing that they would never be acknowledged. All of a sudden you came back into my life like a superhero and literally save my life. I couldn't keep my feelings bottled though," she had the good nature to look sheepish here, "I kinda kissed your hair when I dropped you off at Blackwell on Wednesday."

Chloe's confession had given Max's mind the time to jumpstart again, and she was now slightly more coherent and able to respond, "Yeah, I realized that. It started making me wonder about how I felt about you." Max smiled slightly, "You always have to make the first move, don't you?"

Chloe laughed, thankful that the heaviest of moments was over. She always preferred lighter moments anyway, and Max knew that about her. "Of course I do. If I waited for you to make a move, it would have taken almost a year!" she joked.

"Hey, who was the first one to start spilling out their feelings here?" Max countered with a smirk.

"Touché," replied Chloe, grinning.

Max noticed she was still in Chloe's arms, and wrapped herself further in her lover's embrace, wrapping her arms around Chloe and giving her a hug tighter than any she had given before. She had finally found love, and was determined to make sure it never escaped her. Chloe, for her part, noticed the intensity of Max's hug and returned the same affection. Both of them were surprised to find tears on Max's shoulder as they separated.

Max softly wiped the tears from Chloe's eyes. It must have been hard on her to be without Max for so long and now realizing that the feelings she had kept hidden so deeply were now being returned. Max was a little misty-eyed herself because Chloe had returned her feelings, and she couldn't be happier. She knew Chloe felt the same way.

Chloe had not wanted to cry, but her body had different ideas. She was absolutely elated, and now that her feelings had been returned, she truly believed that nothing else could bring her down. Knowing that she couldn't stop it from happening, she let herself cry, knowing that they were true tears of happiness.

Max held Chloe's head against her shoulder and gently rubbed her back as she cried. She wanted her best friend and lover to know that she was there for her. She knew that words spoke volumes to her friend. "Chloe, I love you. I'm never leaving your side again."

She felt Chloe's arms go around her and hold her close, and Max admired how Chloe wasn't playing her tears off as a joke or trying to hold them all in. She suspected that she needed this and would give her lover as much time as she needed.

At long last, they had both calmed down enough and were relieved and elated at the realization that they shared feelings for each other. Now the two of them were sitting next to each other, each one of them having one arm around the other.
Max had given Chloe the mix CD, telling her that the CD had music on it that she wanted to share with Chloe if she had returned her feelings, so they were softly be serenaded by songs such as "Everything's Alright" and "White Blood". It was a hodgepodge of songs that Max liked, song that Chloe liked, and songs they both liked. It worked out pretty well.

The song "Obstacles" had just started playing when Max turned to her lover and asked, "Chloe, would you be my…girlfriend?"

Chloe smiled sweetly. She found it cute that Max was so shy in asking that question when she knew what the answer would be. "As long as you get to be my girlfriend as well."

Max smiled timidly in response and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder. She had been such a mess and so worried, but everything had worked out in the end. It had been an upward battle to get to this point, but now the two of them had found love in each other, and they were determined to keep it. They both knew they wanted to go slowly, but they each knew that the other would not push them to do anything they weren't ready for.

Suddenly, Chloe had a flash of inspiration, "Hey Max! I've got an idea! Can you get out your camera?"

Confused, Max sat up and brought her trusty Polaroid out of her satchel. Chloe looked way too excited about this.

Chloe asked coyly, "How good are you at taking pictures without watching where the camera is pointing?"

Max was still oblivious as to where this was going but replied, "I think I could still aim pretty well, but I wouldn't make any guarantees about it."

Chloe figured that was good enough. She took Max's cheek in her hand and whispered, "I think I have a wonderful idea for another picture for our scrapbook." Max's eyes lit up as she realized where Chloe was going with this, and she smiled.

Max raised her camera with one hand, and took Chloe's cheek in her other, gazing deeply into her lover's ocean-blue eyes.

Chloe gently asked, "Is this alright with you, Max? I don't want to rush anything."

"I couldn't think of a better way to finish our day together," Max smiled.

Chloe returned that smile and gently brought her lips to meet Max's as Max's practiced hands took the first of many photos of two best friends who had become a couple.