Author's Note: Let me start by saying how much I LOVE this game! It inspired me in so many ways! Anyway, this is an AU of Life is Strange. As the summary says, it takes place a week before the events of the game. The reason is because I wanted Chloe and Max to slowly become friends again [and more] but when I get to the actual part of the first episode, there will be a lot of different things.

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Max Caulfield stared down at her phone for a couple of minutes, deciding whether or not she should call her: Chloe Price, her best friend she moved away from years ago. She knew the phone number, keeping it safe, and yet never dialed those numbers when she moved to Seattle. It was the one thing she never understood, and the biggest mystery of all? Why she didn't contact Chloe as soon as she arrived in Arcadia Bay.

She hadn't seen her around in Blackwell Academy… did she go somewhere else? She put the phone down on the end table, lying on the bed for a while. Dwelling on it made the fear of how Chloe would react even worse. Just do it, Max. Dial the number. She grabbed the cellphone, dialing the number. It rang a couple of times before a woman's gentle voice picked up, a voice she recognized. Joyce Price, Chloe's mother. "Hello?"

Max opened her mouth to say 'Hi, Joyce. It's Max Caulfield'. No words came out. "Hello?" Joyce repeated. What was she supposed to say? 'Sorry I hurt your daughter by moving away and never speaking to her again'. Panicking, Max quickly ended the call. She buried her face into her hands, not able to believe what just happened. What an embarrassment to hang up on a woman she knew for most of her life.

"God - what's wrong with you? You are too scared to make single phone call, Max!" she muttered to herself.

She had to attend class shortly and would think about trying again later by not hanging up if she could bring herself to look at her cellphone again. Her heart still pounded after the call. Max never realized it was a lot harder than she thought… not like she gave it time to think about what to say.

Photography class. One of her favorite courses and the main reason for her returning to Blackwell Academy. Mark Jefferson was also another reason, too. And she was psyched to attend the school until the first day when she could feel everyone judging her. Especially from Victoria Chase but she chose to stay out of that girl's way and avoid confrontation altogether. Another reminder of why high school sucked in general.

She ran into Kate Marsh in the dorm hallway who barely murmured a "hello" to Max. They had the same class together and Max enjoyed having her around. "Hey Kate. How are you?"

Kate shrugged. The dark bags under her eyes indicated she did not have a great sleep. "Okay… I guess. What about you?"

"Same old, same old. Kind of tired since its Monday."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes I just want to be by myself and not in a classroom."

"At least it's a somewhat easier class." The photography class was easy because Max knew what Jefferson was speaking about in his lectures. Photography, since she was young, had become a serious hobby for her.

Kate nodded, her eyes facing the ground, pretending as if something caught her eye, but Max knew something was off with her. She walked with Kate to class even though her usual friends, Alyssa and Stella, usually walked with her. Those two were not in their dorms or already went to class.

She remained silent on their walk to class, staying quite close to Max when they passed Victoria Chase and her two 'minions', Taylor and Courtney. Victoria never gave the time of day to anyone least of all Kate. Everyone bullied Kate because of her belief in abstinence, making it ten times worse when she created a program for it. But they didn't know her. How could they judge somebody without knowing them first?

She was one of the first few people who welcomed her with open arms and never once enforced her faith on anyone. "Kate… want to do something after class?"

"Maybe," Kate replied. "I don't know yet. It depends if I am feeling up to it."

"We can always do it another time if you choose not to," Max said, arriving on the front steps of the academy.

It was hard not to become awestruck by Blackwell Academy's structure. There were at least several more classrooms than in her last high school in Seattle. The school had two stories and a pool on the other west side of the building. The statue, surrounded by a fountain, of Jeremiah Blackwell, who founded the academy, remained in the courtyard proud and tall with the motto "The future needs excellence" written on the plaque. Although the exterior was amazing in architecture, the inside was simply an average high school with a bit more history than most.

The classroom wasn't like most in the school. Instead of desks, it had tables where three or more students sat at, but there were enough for Max and Kate to sit by themselves. Mr. Jefferson would usually talk in the middle of the classroom instead of the front. He said in the first day of class that he wanted to be more open with his students.

In the few minutes before class started, Victoria and Taylor entered laughing about something. Victoria stopped, her eyes on Kate's table. "Had fun at the Vortex Club party on Friday, now didn't you?" Taylor giggled. Kate wasn't laughing, though. "What was that about celibacy, Kate? I guess you can't keep everything."

Max wished she sat beside Kate instead of her usual seat. Victoria acted like her normal self. The cliché of a selfish, spoiled, popular girl Max saw so many times on television, or otherwise known as the Alpha Bitch. She couldn't understand the need for it in such a prestigious school. Weren't a lot of people in the school artists? They had no purpose to look down on others. Kate wiped a few tears from her eyes as Victoria made another awful comment towards her. Luckily, Jefferson came into the classroom as soon as the bell rang, prompting Victoria and Taylor to take their seats.

"We have a new student joining us today. Not technically new, I guess… she's rejoining. And is apparently late. We will go on with class until she arrives," Jefferson said. "Anyway. Last week we discussed about different techniques. Today I'd like to move on to some examples. If you read your textbook from last class, you should remember."

Max watched Kate trying to pay attention to Jefferson. She almost looked like she was falling asleep. The bullying never truly bothered her before or if it did she never showed it up until today. Taylor threw a couple of wrapped paper balls at Kate when Mr. Jefferson had his back to the other side of the classroom. That's just pathetic, Max thought. Like you can talk, Max. You're not even doing anything about it.

The door opened abruptly, interrupting Mr. Jefferson before he could get to the lecture. "I'm here for class," said the new student, who finally walked in. She was differently dressed than most of the students in the classroom. She wore a dark purple beanie over her blue dyed hair, and a bullet necklace around her neck. The epitome of a punk essentially. She crossed her arms impatiently, tapping her foot like being in class was a waste of her time. Max admired the girl's outfit. It was a bit out there but in a good way.

But her face… where did Max see it before? She swore she did at one point… or maybe it was merely Déjà vu?

"Welcome back!" Mr. Jefferson said, warmly. "You must be Chloe Price."

Chloe? Max almost stood up but remained in her seat. That's Chloe Price?! Shit. She's going to recognize me.

Chloe slightly turned to Max, keeping her gaze for a long second or two, but eventually looked away and sat at the same table as Kate. Max spent the remainder of the next twenty minutes trying not to stare at Chloe. It was hard not to since she was once Max's best friend… and they weren't even sitting beside each other. She changed so much in appearance that Max hardly noticed it was her. She would have known if she picked up the phone to call Chloe earlier.

This is really bad. She had no time for preparation. It was hard to say anything to her when Mr. Jefferson was lecturing. Max was surprised to not see Chloe at Blackwell Academy, and expected her around somewhere. However, Chloe never liked school since they were kids, and unlikely she showed up for majority of her time in class. She hated judging people by their clothing, but guessed Chloe got into a lot of mischief since she generally enjoyed to as far as Max remembered. But who knows what happened after she left.

As soon as the bell rang for class to end, Max took her things and fled the classroom, hoping Chloe would not speak to her just yet. She still had time to prepare if she quickly returned to her dorm and rehearsed what she wanted to say. Then maybe tomorrow would not be so bad. "So, when were you going to tell me you moved back, Caulfield?" Chloe leaned against the locker as Max put her books away. She almost jumped when she saw her punk best friend standing there, not waiting but demanding an answer from her. "Or was Seattle that much better?"

She expected this, knowing there was no way to prevent the confrontation. "No, Chloe… I just... "

"You what?" Chloe asked, mildly annoyed. Max, unable to respond, sighed. She had no way of convincing Chloe she still cared about her and wished to continue their friendship. What a horrible day. Going back to her dorm and sulking in bed sounded nice right now. Maybe she'd stay there for the remainder of the semester.

Outside the school, Chloe was putting up posters on the bulletin board as well as around the walls of the building. It was a missing person's poster… of a girl named Rachel Amber. "Need help?" Max asked sheepishly.

Chloe shook her head, without making any eye contact. "From you? I think I will pass."

She scratched the back of her neck. "Okay… well who is Rachel Amber to you?"

Chloe plunged a thumb tack into one of the posters. "A good friend."

"And she's missing?"

"The poster says she is, doesn't it?"

"Yeah but -"

Chloe shook her head, turning to Max, her anger showing no signs of going anywhere. "Don't pretend to care, Max. It's not like you do anyway. Please, leave me alone." She walked away to the other building with the pool to place more posters there. Max did as she asked. She wondered how many classes Chloe was in with Max. Hopefully, not too many, she thought, gloomily walking to the dorms.

Before Max twisted the knob for her dorm room, she heard Kate calling out to her from behind. "Max, is it okay if… we talk for a moment?" Kate asked, peering from her dorm room door. Max nodded, and Kate let her inside the room. Kate's room was one of the neatest dorm rooms Max had ever been inside of. Not one speck of dust made itself noticeable on any of the furniture, nor were her clothes on the floor but neatly folded. She also decorated the room with quotes from the bible, or paintings of 'Jesus'. "Do you think we could walk to Jefferson's class together from now on?"

"Of course. Why aren't Alyssa and Stella walking with you?"

Kate fed her bunny, whom she named Alice, a carrot before responding to Max. Max loved her bunny, wanting one herself but her parents thought it'd be better to focus on school work. "They've been busy with homework," she replied. "I…I can't stand walking by myself." As if she were cold, she began rubbing her arms repeatedly. How could Max say no to Kate? She was disturbed… by something. "Thank you, Max. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Kate. And if there is anything else you want to talk about, I am all ears," Max said, before leaving.