...

Max shook her head of the encounter, not liking the way Victoria sounded in regards to her being "mysterious." There was no way she could ever tell Victoria the true nature of her involvement. That would involve telling her all about her rewind power and the week that's been lost to time. The alternate reality contained both Victoria's and Nathan's death, now that she thought about it, and she wouldn't wish such a mind-fuck revelation like that on anyone.

Wanting to just get the afternoon over with, she swung open Ms. Grant's classroom door and stepped inside. Immediately, she spotted Warren bent over his notes, a collection of substances spread out before him. He looked more confused than usual when he worked on his assignments, the puzzled look on his face usually attributed to thoughtfulness rather than flat-out perplexity. Another emotion buzzed behind his eyes as well, one that Max couldn't place.

She approached him carefully, spotting Brooke in the distance working on a similar assignment but not looking nearly as baffled. Max wondered why she didn't just help him out if she was as fond of him as her words and actions would claim.

"Hi Warren," began Max, sidling closer to him, the events of last night not completely forgotten. She did her best to push them aside though, wanting to assist him as needed on a simple school assignment. The rest could wait.

"Max-Stallion come to save the day again," he beamed at her as usual, the darkness she witnessed in his eyes last night completely absent as if such a look wasn't possible. The only evidence of the scuffle last night was the bright red carpet burn that adorned his face. That was like Warren, she supposed, he never got too hung up on anything if he could help it. A part of her wished she was capable of such a care-free attitude.

"Don't count your chickens too early," she responded, pulling up a chair in front of him. "So what exactly do you need me to do?"

He explained swiftly, Max doing her best to follow along. She nodded in understanding and held up the needed ingredients. Briefly, she recalled helping him on an experiment like this before, however, she had used her powers to snoop around and gather information from the teacher. No such luck this time, they'd have to figure this out on their own. The thought of relying on themselves brought an unexpected comfort to Max, who had up until now felt completely powerless and wary without the rewind ability.

'Being self-sufficient must have its perks,' she thought as Warren poured over his lab materials. 'Warren manages just fine without rewinding time.'

A sense of pride swelled through her as she watched him. It was similar to how she felt when she watched Kate nowadays. Both of her friends managed to get through life, fighting their burdens with a head-on approach, not once looking back. For them, the option of changing their past was never a choice they could make and they were (mostly) better for it.

"What's that smile for?" Warren asked curiously, hands raised in preparation to begin.

"Nothing, nothing," Max said, "it's just fun to watch you get your geek on."

He smiled in response, satisfied with her answer. He turned his attention back to the experiment. "Okay, you ready? On three… one, two, three-!" The pair tilted the beakers they were holding into one large concoction. It immediately fizzled, splattering foam and various chemicals all over Warren's workspace. "Whoa!"

"Was that good?" Max asked, trying to suppress her laughter.

Warren shook his head no. "Pretend you didn't see that…"

Even in the face of failure, Max enjoyed the ease of accepting the outcome. She had tried so hard to change her past before, even with the most meaningless of actions, that she never stopped to appreciate what she could learn from a negative result. She never realized just how truly exhausting it was to constantly try to prove herself. That missing week must have been at least a month long with all the time she rewound trying to fix it.

The pair returned to work, Warren making tweaks here and there to try and get the desired result. Every attempt had the same failed look to it and Max found herself giddy, the prospect of figuring out a solution being rather appealing. Warren felt the exact opposite however, frustration becoming evident on his face as he ran an exasperated hand through his hair. It was obvious he wasn't used to being stumped for so long.

Still, he seemed to enjoy just having Max for company, laughing whenever she yelped in surprise as the experiment exploded in front of her.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore," a voice sounded from behind them. It was Brooke, looking more irritated than usual. "Can I just tell you what to do or are you two going to keep making a huge mess?"

"Brooke, hey," Warren said, startled, "you're finished already?"

Brooke crossed her arms. "Don't sound so surprised. Just because I'm more into robots, doesn't mean I don't understand anything about chemistry."

"Yo! I didn't even imply that at all."

"Whatever. Just watch."

Ignoring Max's presence completely, Brooke reached over to rearrange the chemicals and point out Warren's blatant mistakes. Max sat there patiently, having nothing to interject as Brooke went about her business with proficiency. 'Now that I think about it, I've never really seen Brooke and Warren interact before.' It was a curious sight, Brooke talked to Warren so openly and honestly about herself that Max couldn't help feeling jealous of her take-no-shit attitude. She was flagrantly blunt, almost to a fault, and wasn't afraid to say what she was thinking.

Max also sensed that Brooke, in this timeline, still didn't particularly vibe with Max and saw her as a bit of a try-hard. It was to be expected however, since the pair never got an opportunity to reconcile at the End of the World party where Brooke apologized for her harsh words and actions.

Once Brooke was finished with her explanations, Warren's face broke into relief. "Thanks Brooke! I thought I was going to die inhaling all these fumes. I owe you!"

"Yeah you do," she smirked. "Why didn't you ask me for help in the first place?"

He glanced downwards, "I thought you were mad at me or something," he admitted.

"Sorry," Brooke continued, "I just got a little weird because of what's been happening at school, didn't mean to take it out on you."

Max was beginning to feel a little awkward, not exactly feeling like she was privy to such a conversation. The way they flat-out ignored her was especially jarring, as if they were in their own private world and she were an intruder. Max felt that she could get up and walk away and they wouldn't even notice.

"Nah, I totally get it," Warren nodded, glancing briefly at Max who was still sitting there. His eyes widened, "Max! Hey, check it, I won't be a failure after all!" he laughed, relieved at the conclusion of Brooke's supposed "ignoring" as well as having a solution to his experiment.

Brooke wasn't done speaking, she looked between Max and Warren and continued, "by the way, what happened to your face?" She held a hand on her hip, looking at Max as if she could tell that the photographer definitely had something to do with it.

"Oh this?" he pointed at his face, peeking over at Max. "Lost a battle with the dorm room carpet."

"What?" Brooke looked disgusted. Her eyes darting between Max and Warren, both of whom were eyeing out the other, the implication not sitting well with her. "Augh! Why would you even tell me that?" Brooke stormed away, ignoring Warren's pleas of confusion.

He looked back at Max, who had yet to say a single thing during the entire exchange. "What was that all about?"

Max was bemused. She half wanted to say something and half wanted Warren to try and figure it out for himself. She settled on the former, betting that even a smart guy like Warren couldn't always figure out the mystery that is Brooke.

"I think she might have confused your carpet burn with… another type of carpet burn," Max said, bewildered. Hanging with Chloe did have its influence on certain types of knowledge and she couldn't believe she was explaining this to Warren of all people. "You know…" Max coughed, her ears tinged red, "the sexual kind?"

"The…?" Warren's eyes widened, his cheeks pink. "No way she got that just from what I said!"

Max shrugged, "I could be wrong. I can't imagine what else would upset her…"

"For your sake, I hope you are." Warren stood up from his seat, knocking over a graduated cylinder in the process. "I, uh, I'll be right back. I better sort this out before social media does. Hang tight, Dr. Max!"

Without thinking, she held a hand up, the same way she used to when using her rewind powers. Warren looked at it, curious, and Max, realizing what she was doing, immediately brought her hand down and looked away. Warren took it for a wave and continued to run out of the lab room to search for Brooke.

In contrast to Warren's fretting, Max felt curiously calm. Whether Brooke confused his innocent words as some sort of sexual innuendo was beyond Max's scope of worry. She wanted to laugh at the silliness of it. Though it might have been the effect of previously having rewind powers, an assumption that came with never having to worry about an outcome if she could just rewind and try again.

'They fight like a couple,' Max thought, going over the previous conversation she was excluded from. The thought gave her pause, a strange knot forming in her stomach. She had to take a walk to relieve herself of it. 'The fumes must be getting to me…'

Walking around the lab room, she looked at the skeleton at the back of the room, and visited the fishes darting around the fish tank as she approached. There was only one other student left in the room after Brooke had left. It was Daniel. Max wondered if he was here to work on his science assignment but his blank tabletop told her otherwise. He was watching the doorway that Brooke had exited from, a blank expression on his face. Max approached him.

"Hi Daniel," she began.

"…Oh Max, how are you doing this afternoon?" Daniel said, looking pensive. He didn't even have his notebook out for drawing.

"I'm okay. This whole day was a little weird if I'm being honest."

"I don't know how anyone can feel normal after everything that's happened. And to Rachel Amber…" Daniel frowned, pulling out his sketchbook. He began to flip through it, pausing on old sketches.

Max nodded, remembering a previous conversation she had with the boy, "she was your muse, wasn't she?" Even without her rewind ability, Max leaned far too heavily on information she actually shouldn't know. She internally reprimanded herself.

"That she was, Max. I hate knowing how things ended up. This school lost a kind heart."

Max didn't know what to say so she merely tilted her head in agreement. She took a seat across from Daniel who began to sketch in his notebook.

"How are you doing though?" Max asked after a moment.

"Same old, I suppose. I draw and the jocks harass me sometimes," Daniel said flippantly. Even though he was joking, Max could tell that something was weighing on him more than usual. It was a shame that the bullying on campus hadn't diminished since Chloe's shooting. She supposed that without the shock of Kate's suicide attempt, nothing was done to combat it. Max felt ashamed thinking that Kate up on that roof actually had a positive effect on Blackwell and she dispelled the thought from her head.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I wish something could be done about that," Max said sincerely.

"Nothing to be sorry for, as long as the bullies don't keep me from drawing. Speaking of…" he turned to Max with a smile. "Can I draw a portrait of you?"

"Um," Max turned to look at the door, wondering if she had the time before Warren returned.

"It'll be a quick sketch," he promised.

"Sure, why not?" Max settled into her seat. She let Daniel draw her once before, but he certainly didn't know that. She knew it would be a great representation and he looked like he needed the company.

"Thank you, Max. I post online if that's okay," he poised himself to begin as Max nodded her consent.

Before long, Warren returned, looking haggard. He stood behind Daniel and watched him finish out his sketch. He watched Max with an awed expression and smiled in support when she caught his eye. Max wanted to turn away in embarrassment, not enjoying the extra pair of eyes watching her.

"Dang, Daniel. Almost a spitting image," commented Warren.

"Almost?" Daniel laughed, "all done, Max." He flipped it around to show her.

"Wowsers," said Max, getting to her feet. "You really are talented, Daniel."

"Tell that to my photography grade. I might need to borrow your talent for the next assignment." Daniel admired his own handiwork. "Thanks again, Max. It was nice talking and drawing with you."

"Of course. I'll definitely see you and your art around." She waved and made her way back to Warren's lab table.

Warren hung back a second, leaning over Daniel's shoulder and whispering something to him. Daniel nodded and Warren responded with a thumbs up. Max raised an eyebrow as he made his way back to her.

"What did you say to him?" she asked.

Warren shrugged. "Oh nothing… just asked if he could send me a copy," he cleared his throat, "you know, for when he becomes a famous artist! Might be worth its weight in gold someday." He looked at her, awaiting any sort of reaction.

Max turned away to hide her red face. "Gosh… maybe I shouldn't have let him draw me."

"Aw, don't be so bashful. It was totally worth it," he turned to stand over his desk, admiring the mess that was still present. "Now let's get this damn thing over with."

…

As Warren was mopping up the remains of their failed experiments from earlier, Max contemplated asking him about the "double date" with Kate next week. Kate was confident he would say yes, but still, the act of asking him was something Max was slightly nervous for. It wasn't something that came naturally to her. But it would be just as friends, wouldn't it? Nothing to fear from just simply asking to hang out. Max wanted to support Kate in any way she could.

"Hey Warren… I was wondering…"

The boy in question looked up in attention, his mopping hand coming to a rest.

"Are you free next week? Kate has a dinner date with Luke and she wanted me to come along… you know, for moral support. Would you like to join me?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Max pulled at her sleeves, waiting anxiously for a response. The look on Warren's face immediately brightened into a wide and uncontrollable grin.

"Kate has a date with Luke? No way! Good for her. I never even saw that coming," he grabbed at his paperwork, gathering it up without looking at it. "What time next week? I'd love to… join you." Excitement ebbed from his jittering voice.

Max sighed in relief, the hard part out of the way. Warren seemed just as excited by the prospect of Kate and Luke as she originally was when she first heard. "She told me Tuesday evening."

Warren's face fell immediately, all the previous excitement dropped away like lead in water. "Next week Tuesday, huh? Boy, does that suck…" he murmured.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"I just asked Brooke to the movies next week Tues… it seemed like the only way to get back on her good graces. She barely believed me about the carpet burn thing." Disappointment ate at his features, his eyebrows turned upwards in dismay.

Max shook it off, offering him a smile. "You should definitely go with her, it's no problem!"

"I can always reschedule—" Warren began.

"No, no, don't do that. I don't think Brooke would be very happy. At all." Max felt a little silly now for asking. At a time like this, she sort of wished she could've rewound, just to avoid the embarrassment.

"But—"

"Really, Warren… I'm sure Brooke is ecstatic to go." Max wanted to just stop talking about it already. She knows what happens when Brooke doesn't get her way and she'd rather avoid the claws for now. Warren cancelling on Brooke to hang out with Max was a one-way ticket to passive-aggressive-ville.

"But then who will you go with?" Warren had finished cleaning by now, the evidence of their failures now disappeared.

Max scoffed good-naturedly, "I'm sure I can find someone willing to sit down at a table to eat food." Unfortunately, no one really came to mind. If she could, Max would've asked Kate, but Kate was already going. Maybe she could stick out a three-person "double-date" after all.

"Just don't bring Justin. He's a jerk after what he did to you." Warren looked directly at Max, his voice somber. His piercing stare interrupted any and all thought before memories of last night slowly bubbled to the surface.

"I… I wasn't planning to. I don't think Kate would appreciate dining with a skateboarding druggie." And it was true. As cool as she thought Justin was, the idea of him spending time in the company of religious and proper Kate Marsh was almost laughable. Even so, a part of Max didn't appreciate Warren trying to police who she hung out with, though she could understand his reasoning. Max wasn't even entirely sure what had gone down with the incident in the dorm last night, except that for some reason, Warren and Justin did not like each other.

Warren turned away, packing his bag with his back to her. Max heard the soft reverberation of his voice as he talked into his chest. "Good," was all he said.

The pair of friends made their way to the dormitories, Warren being uncharacteristically thoughtful, choosing silence over any sort of commentary on the latest show or movie he's watched. Max didn't consider breaking it, actually appreciating that they could walk together without the constant need of conversation.

At the entrance to the dorms, Max spotted it. A bright blue butterfly. The sight of it caused her to halt in her tracks. It flitted softly near the entrance. Below it, within the bushes, there was a black cat watching with sharp eyes. The cat readied itself to pounce on the helpless insect. Both creatures looked strangely out of place.

"Max?" Warren asked when she fell behind.

The short-haired girl continued to watch the two, silently wondering what they were doing here and why. Warren walked back to her, following her line of sight. The cat darted back into the foliage when he approached.

"Wow. Awesome color," he commented.

Max took out her instant camera, a part of her moving automatically. The last time she got a shot like this, it changed her life forever. She focused on the butterfly, the camera flashed, and a photo popped out. Max shook it and looked at it as if it were going to give her some sort of sign. It was eerie to look at. Her power no longer existed, but when she looked at the photo, she thought she felt it pulse with memory. When nothing further happened, Max placed the photo into her bag and continued walking up the steps. Warren trailed after her.

At the peak of the stairs, the pair turned to each other, Warren rubbing the back of his head, looking like he badly wanted to say something.

Max broke the peace, "I'll see you later?"

Warren gave a half-hearted smile. "'Course," he paused, face turning serious. He leaned closer and Max felt the cold steel of the railing press into her back. "What are you doing this weekend?" he asked with a gravelly voice.

Max hadn't thought about it. The days of the week flying by in an unrecognizable flow of time. But the butterfly reminded her, and she thought of Chloe. "I think I'll go visit Joyce at the Two Whales on Sunday."

Warren stepped back, clearing his throat. "Give her my best," he said.

Max felt a surge of disappointment. She hoped that maybe he would've asked to come with her, feeling like she may need the moral support. "I will," was all she said instead.

They parted ways after that, each going to their respective dormitories.

…

'Looks like it's going to just be the three of us, Kate. Warren can't make it. Is that ok?'

'Oh no :( I'm sorry, Max! I thought for sure…'

'No biggie, he just has other plans.'

'I'm going to drag that boy whether he likes it or not! Talk later?'

AN: Good day, it is I, return once more from the depths.

I've been wanting to replay Life is Strange. It's been long enough! Nearly 10 years? Perhaps? I can't even think of how long. Anyway, that got me missing my stories and I still have tons left to publish but I hesitate to post since I feel like the LiS hype has long since dissipated. But no matter, I still like the characters and the world and my story!

If you enjoy, please let me know with a review! And thank you to those still reading!