Disclaimer: I don't own Life is Strange.

Summary: Retail is a monster unto itself.

Max Caulfield never considered herself a fashionista. To her, a fashion statement was simply having clothes on. She never followed trends, shied away from fashion magazines, and couldn't care less about things like coordinating or style.

This, unfortunately, irked Victoria to no end. She loved Max, but the girl's fashion choices (or lack thereof), were horrendously bland. Simple shirts and jeans did not an acceptable wardrobe make, and so she took it upon herself, one weekend, to educate the hipster on how to dress like a proper girlfriend of a Victoria Chase.

"This sucks." Max grumbled as Victoria dragged her down the shops of the Arcadia Bay Mall. "You know I don't like shopping for clothes, Tori."

"That's why I'm here; to help you. You've played the role of drab little wallflower for too long, Max Caulfield. It's time for you to break the mold."

Max gestured behind her, where Chloe and Kate were trailing behind, the former grinning ear to ear, the latter looking rather apologetic. "Then why aren't you forcing this on them?"

"Kate has her own style. It's conservative, but it's hers. And Chloe is a lost cause."

"Watch it, Chase." the blue-haired girl warned. "I'm your ride back." Victoria went quiet but stealthily flipped her the bird.

"Tori, if you're gonna force me to do this, I want some reimbursement."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Fine. Name it. New camera? Bag of your favorite cookies? Special Edition DVD of Spirits Within?"

"No, I don't want–" Max paused, eyes twinkling. "Special Edition? …No, no, I don't want any of those."

"Then what? Just ask, and no matter what it is, I'll make it happen."

A devious grin made its way onto Max's face. "I want you to do that thing I like."

Victoria stopped instantly, Max nearly crashing into her. The blonde whipped her head around, cheeks flaming red and eyes wide. "Y-You what?"

"You said 'anything'." Chloe smirked, relishing the moment. "And a Chase never goes back on her word, right?"

"Of all the things to keep in your walnut-sized brain, you keep that?" Victoria groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "Fine, I'll…do that thing you like."

Max extended her pinky and held it towards Victoria. "Pinky swear?"

The blonde bit her lip to prevent the overjoyed squeak from spilling out. Rolling her eyes, she extended her own pinky and wrapped it around Max's. "Pinky swear."

A short while of dragging later led the quartet to their destination, what Victoria called 'the retail capital of Arcadia Bay'. It stood before them, a monolithic store where the very foundation seemed to drip high fashion and eloquence. The store known as the Preen, Tend, and Shun Outlet.

"I don't know how I feel about entering a store with 'shun' in its name." pouted Max.

"Hush." Victoria chided. "The name isn't important. What is important is that when I'm done with you, every girl will want to be you, every girl wrapped around you."

"I don't want every girl wrapped around me." Max sighed. "Just…y'know, the three of you."

"Awww." Chloe and Kate cooed in unison.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." But Victoria's cheeks were bright pink all the same. "Now, c'mon."

From the second they entered the store, Chloe, Kate, and Max felt out of place. It was as though Neiman Marcus, Dolce and Gabbana, and Chanel had combined their collective high-prices and formed them into one huge superstore. It was so large than the four could barely see the end of it from the entrance, and the bright lights above streamed from crystal chandeliers that threatened to blind the group.

Rows of pricey handbags and shoes stretched across the store, and past that was a maze of flashy, upscale clothes that Max had only ever seen celebrities wear at award shows on TV. Exposed to this ocean of affluence, only one word could do it justice. "Wowzers."

Before anyone else could react, a pencil-thin man with hair so slicked back it was a wonder his wasn't peeling appeared next to them. "A pleasure seeing you again, Ms. Chase." he spoke in a posh voice. He glanced at the three girls surrounding the blonde and wrinkled his nose. "And I see you've brought…guests."

"Good morning, Bruce." Chloe greeted. "I'm looking for something to spice up my girlfriend's wardrobe. Any recommendations?"

Bruce's eyes shifted to Max, giving her a quick look up and down, the brunette shifting uncomfortably beneath his gaze. "I'm sure I can find something. Follow me." He turned on his heel and began strolling down the aisles, Max and Victoria following close behind.

"Hey, what're we supposed to do?" asked Chloe.

"Whatever. Just don't destroy anything. There are scarves here more expensive than your truck."

Chloe huffed and shoved her hands into her pockets, boredom overtaking her in no time flat. "Well, this day is sucking already."

"…We could try on clothes." The blue-haired girl whipped around to give Kate an incredulous look. "Well, we are in a clothing store…"

"Kate, have you been paying attention? Even if I could afford this stuff–which I can't–I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. It'd totally mess with my image."

A devious smile appeared on Kate's face. "We could make out in the coat aisle. It's pretty big."

Chloe's eyes glittered with mischief as she grabbed Kate's arm and strolled to the coats. "And they say pretty girls can't be smart."

-/-/-/-/-

"Hating this." Max hissed. "Really, really, really, really hating this."

It was barely an hour since entering the store, and Max wanted nothing more than to rewind back to the start of the day and hide before Victoria could find her and drag her here. Already she'd tried on at least five different outfits, including a pencil skirt that she swore cut off her circulation, and a pair of heels that had to have been made by a negative version of Quentin Tarantino.

Currently she was dressed in a dark red cashmere cardigan not unlike the ones Victoria usually wore, a crisp blouse the color of the sunset sky underneath it. Hugging her lower half was a cream-colored taffeta skirt that, although breezy, still made her feel wrong.

"Stop complaining." Victoria pouted, eyeing Max up and down from all angles. "Trust me, you look amazing."

"I don't feel amazing." Max sighed and pulled at the edges of her skirt. "Tori, I get that you're trying to do a nice thing for me, and I appreciate it, but…all this…" she gestured around the shop. "…this isn't me."

The sorrow in Max's voice made her look up, and for the first time that day, she truly noticed how morose her girlfriend was. With a start, she realized that she hadn't smiled once since bringing her to the mall.

"…I feel really bad all of a sudden." mumble the blonde. "I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

"Not the worst…" Max spoke, trying to console Victoria. "Just…a little overzealous."

The two stood in silence for a few moments, each refusing to meet the other's gaze.

"What do you say to one more outfit, and then we leave?"

More than anything, Max wanted to refuse, but the hopeful look in Victoria's eye made her give in. With a sigh and a slump of her shoulders, she muttered "Alright.", and Victoria disappeared from the dressing room in a flash.

When she returned, she brought with her not a pants suit or brooch, nor sunglasses of Coach, but instead…a simple pink shirt with a white deer on the front, a grey hoodie, and blue jeans.

"…Tori…" Max spoke, wondering if her girlfriend was suffering a minor stroke. "These are the clothes I was wearing when we got here."

"I know." Victoria smiled, leaning forward and giving Max a quick kiss on the lips. "They're what you look best in."

Max's face turned as pink as her shirt, and a goofy, wide, and welcome smile spread across it. "Damn, that was smooth."

A short change later and Max was back in her usual attire, looking more comfortable and happy than she'd been all day. And even though Victoria was almost drooling at the sight of her in a skirt, she had to admit, the bohemian hipster look suited Max perfectly.

"Again, sorry for dragging you through all this." Victoria said as they left the dressing rooms. "Forgive me?"

Max slung an arm around Victoria's waist, flashing her a coy grin. "All is forgiven, Space Chase."

"Ugh, you and your references."

"Also…I believe you owe me something."

Victoria's heart skipped several beats, but she tried to play it off. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

Max sidled up to Victoria, grinning cheekily. "Liaaaaaaaar…"

The blonde groaned and held her face in her hands. "Do I have to?"

"Yes. You owe me for spending a day of dressing me up."

Grumbling, blushing furiously, Victoria broke into a little jig, and began to sing. "Max is the greatest, the best girl around; I wanna show her off to the whole damn town." Crossing her arms, she glowered at her girlfriend. "Happy?"

Another kiss was Max's response. "Very."

"MY WORD!"

Bruce's voice rang out from the coat aisles, a familiar and shirtless blue-haired punk dashing out from inside. Trailing just behind her was a flustered Kate, buttoning up her blouse and running as fast as she could.

"I think it's safe to say we can't come back here again." Max said as they ran after their friends.

"Just as well." replied Victoria. "Everything here is way too expensive."

Thanks to jaythebee for the prompt, and for being such a great friend and fan~!^^