Life is Strange: True Colors

Ну второй походу будет по веселее, судя по всему за Хлоей придет торговец футболками  

"Wait," Max said. Chloe recoiled with a look of surprise, unsure if she'd done something wrong. "No," she laughed, stroking the back of Chloe's hand. "You're fine, I'm not saying wait because of that. It's just, um..." Suddenly, all of the nervousness from before resurfaced, bouncing around inside of her chaotically.

Ah, shit.

"What is it?" Chloe asked, still uncertain.

"Well, at most shows, there's always an encore, right?" Max bit her lip and looked down at her guitar, patting it for comfort.

"Yeah..." Chloe's voice lilted into excitement. "But you said you learned three songs. You can, um," she blushed unapologetically, "you can play them all night, honestly." Max looked away, smiling despite her nerves.

"Dork," she mumbled. "I didn't exactly, I guess...learn this last song?" She turned back to Chloe who was attentively confused. "I kind of...made it." Chloe squinted and a long second passed before she gasped.

"Wait, you..." Chloe pointed at the guitar, "you wrote me a song?"

"I hope so," Max said with a nervous giggle. "I hope it sounds like a song."

"You. Wrote. Me. A. Song?" Chloe repeated.

"Yeah," she replied simply.

"Wow." Chloe put a hand against her chest and her eyes started darting around. "My heart's beating so fast..." Max found it unfortunate that the amazed reaction didn't cover up her anxiety as it had done earlier. She had no idea what she must have done or what face she must have made, but Chloe reached out and placed her other hand against Max's heartbeat. "You're nervous, huh?"

"I want it to be good," she said weakly, still smiling.

"It will be," Chloe assured. She moved in closer again and kissed Max on the cheek. "It'll be the best. I'll, uh..." she pointed her thumb over her shoulder, "I'll get back in the audience seat."

Well, I'm glad you didn't say 'you don't have to' because I'm not sure I'd turn that down...sigh.

"Okay," Max said, steadying her breathing as best she could, "it's pretty cheesy. On...on purpose, okay? I'm gonna...I'm gonna start." Chloe grinned and gave her two thumbs up.

She took another deep breath and began, releasing a jaunty, whimsical tune into the air. She kept her eyes mostly on Chloe this time, having practiced this one more than all of the others combined. Perhaps as a show of encouragement, Chloe began to sway and bob her shoulders to the music.

"It's gettin' kinda silly how much you hog up the frame
You hold my lens for ransom like I have a say where I aim
But the truth is I would pay so you'd never leave my sight
I don't care how much it costs, I promise the Price is right"

As she finished the last line, she summoned up enough flair to wink at Chloe, who gave a shocked, open mouthed, 'I cannot believe you' smile in return. Keeping with the pace, she slid into the next verse.

"'Cause I'm taking heavy fire from all those looks that you shoot me
You think that you're a pirate captain, but I'm the one gettin' booty
Guess I can't ever say I'm broke when it's your hand I'm holdin'
Because when I'm with you, every hour is golden"

She was pleased to receive the appropriate reaction at the mention of booty, and just as pleased to see the underlying sparks in Chloe's eyes become more feverish with each word. She dropped the tempo a little and started the chorus, stumbling while delivering the first line.

"But...I'm sorry that I wasted those years
Time's like Houdini, it just disappears
But I swear I'll spend the rest of mine
Being your permanent Valentine
There's a piece of me that can only be yours
A kiss during a week no one else remembers"

There was a little frustration about losing her footing as she sang, but it was also something she'd been expecting to happen with the more serious lyrics. It was why she ultimately decided not to include one section just a few days ago. She hid her annoyance and smiled at Chloe, who was now clearly treading water in a desperate attempt to avoid crying again. Skillfully, she yanked the pace back into a more bouncy sound.

"It's true that I adore all of your witty jokes and your quips
But they're not even my favorite thing that you do with your lips
Drives me crazy to the point where I think you're the one that's the otter
I'm the shark that wants a taste and there is blood in the water"

She snorted as she finished the last line and chomped in Chloe's direction. Chloe merely sat still, her mouth restricted into a tight O shape. She finally smiled and waved a hand at her neck, causing Max to laugh. She shook the giggles off and continued.

"I know I couldn't ask for a better partner in crime
No prison cell can hold us, not even the handcuffs of time
And if it's lookin' kind of cloudy, it's okay, we have an umbrella
On a scale of one to ten, I guess I'd say my love for you's 'hella'"

Chloe gave a 'fuck yeah' little fist pump at that and Max nodded in agreement. She had written this verse in an attempt at making the scrapped section sound happier, which was a move she was glad to have made. She strummed the guitar and took an extra pass to simply look at Chloe, taking in all of those small features that culminated into something so beautiful. Her mind strayed on her, wandering into the busy road of memories that showed all they had gone through to get here. She couldn't believe she'd almost lost Chloe forever. But, it wouldn't have been forever...right? She wouldn't stop trying. She'd do it again and again to try and achieve this very moment. But just the thought of her being gone...

"But I'm sorry I..."

She stopped playing.

"Max?" Chloe sat forward.

Max stared down at the guitar in her lap, rocking it just enough so the strings would touch her fingertips one second and recede the next. She lost herself in that rhythm of being able to feel them and then...not. One moment, her skin was pulling in all of the information of touch through her nerves and the next, she had nothing. It was gone. A teardrop fell onto the guitar.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Chloe asked, brushing Max's hair out of the way to try and see her face. Max sniffled and shook her head, still not looking up. She repositioned the guitar and set her fingers hard against the strings so that they dug through her callouses. She clenched her teeth and began to strum.

"A kiss destined to drown the Earth
With all the rain that you are worth
Come hell or high water from the shore
I'll keep you safe and close to me
Break every...goddamn reality
I...I won't let them take you anymore"

She was crying honestly now, biting off some of the words angrily.

"I j-just got you back, p-please don't leave me
What kind of superhero would I be
If I c-can't even save what matters most?
Send me all your darkest weather
I...swear we'll get through this together
I...I won't let you become a ghost"

She could feel Chloe's hands on her and hear sniffling that wasn't just her own. She sobbed once, laughed, then shrugged her shoulders as she switched the pacing back to as it was before.

"But...I'm sorry that I wasted those years
Time's like Houdini, it just disappears
But I swear I'll spend the rest of mine
Being your permanent Valentine
There's a piece of me that can only be yours
A kiss during a week no one else remembers"