This is my first attempt at fanfiction ever. I just had a spontaneous story idea after finishing the game and wanted to share it. Go easy on me, but I welcome constructive criticism. I'm not sure how long it will be or exactly where it's going. Have fun!


Max looked down at her steak. It was overcooked, and she had just been poking at it since it had been delivered to her table, trying to make it as tender as possible before she began to eat it. At that point it had been a solid seven minutes and she wasn't sure she was even hungry anymore. She pulled at the collar of her dress for the tenth time since they had been seated. She hated the dress. It was too constricting in places she hated being constricted. This is why I wear t-shirts. She looked up and glanced around the restaurant at all of the mostly middle aged yuppies enjoying their expensive meals. Men in black suits and women in far more constricting dresses than hers. She was definitely out of her element.

Speaking of, she looked across the table at her date. He had plowed through half of his filet mignon already and was already biting into the second half. His black sports coat and dark jeans stood out a little in the restaurant and he seemed a tad underdressed, but that was Warren. The most she'd seen him dress up was for Chloe's funeral. She didn't care. She mostly hated stupid ritzy restaurants and their dumb dress codes. He'd asked if he should change when he picked her up but she voiced her opinion on the matter and they'd decided to rebel, unnecessarily, against a non-mandatory code at a restaurant they didn't have to eat at. She chuckled at that thought. Her dad had almost insisted they take some time to themselves in Seattle and eat at Canlis on his dime for their graduation celebration. They had enjoyed their day back in the city she spent 5 years in. More freedom as an adult afforded her the ability to explore more of the city than she ever had when she had first lived here with her parents. They'd browsed shops and had visited the Space Needle. Warren had joked about the Men in Black scene, which Max had laughed way too hard at, which made her chuckle again.

Warren looked up and saw her staring and gave her a grin as he wiped his face off. She smiled back and motioned that she was okay. She saw the slight concern on his face she assumed was because she hadn't touched her food, so she began to cut into it. She'd have to at least try to choke some of it down. After all it was a $145 meal. And even if it was overcooked a bit the steak still looked amazing. She took a bite and glanced out the window at the view. The lake view was beautiful. The buildings were lit up and they reflected marvelously on the water. She thought of the wonderful photograph this would make and absentmindedly reached for her bag, which of course she had ditched for a classy small wallet that matched her little black dress. Well the cell camera will have to do. The app clicked, confirming it had captured the shot.

"That'll be a good one," Warren said. "You okay? You've barely touched your steak."

"Yeah. It's a little overdone and I'm not sure I'm hungry. Just enjoying the view at this point. And the company."

He blushed slightly at that, bereft of his typical endearingly sarcastic comeback. He just gave her a wink and took a sip of his drink. "Your dad does know how much this costs, right? Cause I looked at the menu. I could live off this for a month!"

Ah the life of the mostly Ramen Noodle diet, she thought as she nodded to him. "We've been here before. He took mom and me here when I was accepted into Blackwell…"

That hung in the air for a while. They were both looking forward to graduation. Warren had even taken on a heavier second semester load in order to finish up and graduate with most of his friends who were a year older than him. Max recalled how cool she thought it was that he'd get to graduate with her, Kate, Brooke, and the others. He certainly didn't seem out of place a year ahead of most people his age. He was able to do all of the extra work and still spend time with her after Chloe's death.

They were also looking forward to getting away from Blackwell and Arcadia Bay. Her harrowing experience had left an understandably bad taste in her mouth especially, but the revelations about Mark Jefferson had soured many students on what should have been a wonderful experience at the prestigious school. Warren had eventually heard her entire tale as well, which ended with him slamming a fist through his dorm wall. It was only the second time she'd ever seen him lose his temper, and the other time was no longer a time at all.

Things had gone differently this time. After the brouhaha at the school in the aftermath of Chloe's death, she had texted David Madson regarding Jefferson's deeds and the murder of Rachel Amber. She also found out that Nathan Prescott had spilled all of the beans in his interrogation with the police. She had a lot of time with Kate, who, along with Warren, acted as comforters in the immediate aftermath. Kate had basically forgotten about her video, and Victoria had removed it immediately after Nathan's arrest. Its impact was minimal in this timeline. Kate still had to deal with it a little, but she avoided the fear and desperation of not knowing what had happened to her.

"It will be good to get out of there. For everyone. I can't wait to get to Columbia!" She and Warren had both been accepted to the college with great scholarships. They chose a college that was great for their respective interests, and that they could attend together. They had grown quite close and had decided they at least had to see if there was some future for them together.

"Did I tell you what I heard about Victoria?" Max asked. Warren scrunched up his nose a bit at her mention. He still wasn't her biggest fan, but Max and she had developed a mostly amicable relationship since the incident. Victoria had changed a lot too, and finding out her name was on a binder in Jefferson's dark room had had a massive impact on her behavior. The Vortex club all but dissolved and Victoria had spent more time with Kate and Max than either of them ever thought possible. "She got an acting gig in Los Angeles."

"Oh that's where…" Warren stopped short.

"Yeah. Chloe and Rachel wanted to head there. Ironic I guess. Victoria said she knew Rachel had a couple of contacts and she'd been able to reach one. Funny that girl is still helping people out from the afterlife."

"Well good for her. Is she not going to college then?"

"She said she may take some online classes. Just some of the basics. She wants to see where the opportunity here goes," Max answered.

Victoria had been big into photography as well, but her interest seemed to evaporate after Jefferson was arrested. She turned her attention to the theater, which Max thought suited her well, given the acting she had basically been doing as the elitist Vortex club bitch till that point, which Victoria readily admitted now.

"Brooke is going to MIT I guess," Warren said. That was the least shocking thing either of them had said tonight. "I think Kate said she was going to TCU when she called when you were in the shower yesterday."

"Oh I meant to call her back. Remind me if you will."

Warren nodded and put his fork down. His plate was empty. Max had actually gotten through most of her steak. Talking with Warren had revived her appetite apparently. She suddenly looked up at him with a mischievous grin.

"You think we can pass ourselves off as 21 yet?"

"Max, I have to drive anyway, and I look 12."

"Not with this you don't," she said as she pulled a fake ID out of her wallet and winked.

"Did you really keep those? Wow. Haha."

Somehow Victoria had been able to get Daniel DeCosta to make them all fake ID's several months back, and they had worked both times they'd used them. Neither Max nor Warren were big into drinking or breaking the law, but there had been two times where they decided to skirt the issue and grab a few beers. It helped to have a few in the weeks after the funeral to just take a few up to the lighthouse and look at the stars and talk. The second time they had several classmates up there around the bonfire to just have some fun before the last week of school.

"Well, your dad's paying. Your choice," he said chuckling. "I just want a beer if we get anything."

"Well Mr. Graham," she said as she motioned to their waiter, "I'm thinking of something with more class. Can you bring us a nice bottle of wine?" she asked when the waiter appeared. "Keep it under $50 though. Otherwise surprise me."

She could tell the waiter knew they weren't old enough, but she held out the id's and he looked at them with a raised eyebrow, nodded, and turned to go get the bottle.

She flashed a victorious smile at Warren who mock-clapped. "Super Max strikes again. You must be desperate to get me drunk tonight."

"Oh yes, that's my goal. Get the uber-dork drunk so he makes an even bigger fool of us than he normally does." They laughed, which was a welcome change to just a few months earlier when she couldn't imagine laughter. After her incident with Jefferson and her time traveling faux pas, she had been troubled. She still had the nightmares sometimes, but they were fewer and farther between as each week passed. Her friends had helped. Warren, knowing the full story, was able to help the most. He was understanding and patient. He told her it was probably PTSD. She thought only soldiers experienced that, but of course it made sense.

An hour later they were staring at an empty bottle of wine, and at a pair of flushed red faces. Neither was completely drunk, but they were both very close.

"I can't drive now, and neither can you," Warren slurred. "Look what you've done to me!"

"It was my evil plan the whole time. Now you are my hostage for the rest of the night!" She bopped him in the shoulder and he faked immense pain as the waiter took the payment from Max. "So what now, nerd?"

"Well we have a few hours to kill while you sober up, how about a walk?"

It was decided and they headed outside to walk along the lake trail. It was a calm and quiet night. A weeknight luckily, so it wasn't so busy. They walked and talked, his arm resting along her waist and her head leaning into his chest. She closed her eyes briefly. She just wanted to remember this moment. It was perfect, and it was just what she needed after the several months long emotional ordeal she'd had. She had such great friends. Such a great boyfriend. It would be sad to have to see most of her other friends head out to the rest of their lives in other states at other colleges. But she and Warren were going to see where life took them together. It gave her a warm peaceful feeling to think their future was mostly secure.

She opened her eyes and saw a figure move near a tree in the distance. She squinted, but the light was not as good at their current location and she could no longer see anything. She looked up at Warren who didn't seem to divert his attention at all. As they continued to walk she saw the figure again, clearly a person. Warren noticed this time and came to a stop.

"Maybe it's time to head back," he said. She quickly agreed and they turned around only to be confronted by another figure behind them. Max quickly thought about the gun David Madson had allowed her to borrow. After all the nonsense with Jefferson he'd almost insisted she take one when she traveled. He'd even talked about a concealed carry permit when she turned 21, and she was seriously considering it. But she wasn't 21 yet, and the gun was in Warren's glove compartment. She did have pepper spray, but she had left it in her bag back at Blackwell. Shit.

"Shit," she heard Warren mutter.

"Good evening," the figure who surprised them from behind said (who she now saw wore a ski mask), "you people know the drill. Empty the wallets, kids. No need to risk your lives here."

"We don't have any money, sir," Warren said.

"That's bullshit. I've followed you from that ritzy joint down the way. You're loaded."

"No, we…" Warren was cut short as the man smacked him in the face with a newly revealed gun. After pistol-whipping him he drew down on Warren. It was all happening so fast, and Max felt she wasn't going to be able to keep it together. She could feel herself start to hyperventilate. She couldn't believe this was happening again. The man who was now behind them grabbed Max's arm and then wrapped his arm around her body as she began to flail, trying to get away.

Suddenly time seemed to slow, Warren sprung up from the ground and smashed the man pointing the gun at him in the face, knocking him cold. She was amazed at how quickly he moved even though time seemed to have slowed. Warren pivoted toward the man who held her. He suddenly shoved her to the side as hard as he could, sending her crashing to the ground hard. She looked up to see him draw a gun and fire at Warren. She screamed.

Time stopped.