Lazy Note: Hey there, Strangers.
Until Dawn killed me.
Episode 5 killed me even more.
It's only logical that I've decided in the spirit of my despair that I would start an Until Dawn AU for Life is Strange. :D Please note that these characters will not be taking on the personalities of the Until Dawn characters. I'm going to make then as in character as I can. Also, I'm tweaking the story a bit to match the characters. You'll see when you read it. :)
With that, let the adventure begin.
Enjoy!
Boom. Butterfly Effect
Prologue
by
xLazyxWriterx
Rated: M
Warnings: Harsh Language, Sexual Themes, Violence, Character Death
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
A tiny butterfly flapping its wings today
may lead to a devastating hurricane weeks from now.
There was nothing friendly about the swirling storm of screaming silver; it fell thick enough to blind any batting eye. The wind's whispers piled up snow in drifts, blinding the night with ice-white dust. The partial moon shone bright enough to reflect crystals in the powdery snow but not nearly enough to clear the fog. Snow slipped off the branches of the many trees onto the ground due to the breeze.
The cold did not bother him; this lodge did.
Through the broken darkness of the mountain trees was a glow that illuminated from the structurally large lodge known as Blackwell Pine. The lodge seemed to melt through the bitter cold the closer he got. Squinting up at it with a deep scowl tugging at his chapped lips, his fingers gripping the handle of the machete tightly, listening.
Shuffling his feet through the snow and ignoring the wetness already seeping into his worn boots, he focused on the small movements behind the semi-closed shutters pressed against the windows. So far, he only counted seven figures.
Sleet whipped his face, causing him to lose his focus. He scanned the woods quickly.
Something moved.
He held his breath, watching.
He remained as still as he possibly could.
If he moved, even a slight twitch, he was dead.
The insulated walls of the Blackwell Pine lodge protected against the freezing weather remarkably well. The fireplace cracked and emitted a fresh woods smell to linger and swirl with the scent of vanilla and alcohol.
Beer bottles and red solo cups were scattered across the table and floor along with paper plates and pizza boxes. Beneath the hushed giggles was small snores coming from the parted lips of one of the unconscious boys. But the two who passed out weren't the cause of the giggles.
Instead, the cause was a note that was plucked up by Victoria's fingers.
With a mischievous grin, she wiggled the note in front of her friends. The note was snatched from her by Brooke.
"I can't believe you did this," Brooke whispered, smirking as she read over the note forged by Victoria's hand. Victoria giggled, pressing a finger to her lips and shhhing them. She nodded her head towards Kristine, who was staring out the kitchen window to admire the blizzard that was happening outside.
"Guys," Max whispered, frowning at the note as Victoria took it back and set it on the table. "Don't you think that this is a little bit cruel?" Victoria rolled her eyes, staring Max down.
"C'mon, she deserves it." she replied.
Kate spoke up from behind Max, "How? She didn't do anything to you, Victoria."
Kate was right; what reason did Victoria really have to pull something like this?
"It's not her fault that she has this huge crush on Chloe," Max sighed, looking around in hopes that either Rachel would walk in and see them talking, or that Kristine would over hear them and stop this stupid prank. Max had thought about sneaking over to Kristine, but Victoria would be on her in a second, pulling her back with a hand covering her mouth. "This is just kind of... mean."
Brooke rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Max, she has been making moves on Chloe even since we got here. It's a perfect opportunity."
"Yeah," Victoria agreed, "don't think of it as a prank. Instead, think of it as a push in the right direction. Rachel will thank us later."
"Is that why you're planning on recording it?" Max asked dryly, motioning towards Zachary. He was messing around with the camera Victoria gave him, trying to attach it to the selfie stick he had. At the acknowledgement, Zachary glanced up at Max.
"Max, lighten up," he said halfheartedly, finally getting the camera on the stick. "They'll be laughing about it by tomorrow morning."
"If they aren't swallowing each others tongues," Brooke added.
"Oh, I'm sure..." Max scratched at her arm, turning to Kate and sharing a worried look.
"What did Chloe say when you told her?" Brooke asked as she and Victoria headed out of the kitchen, Zachary following right behind them.
"I didn't tell her anything. She received a note of her own." Victoria's voice faded as they grew farther away. The three were no doubt going up to one of the bedrooms to get ready for the prank.
"I don't like this," Kate frowned, fingers tugging at the golden cross around her neck nervously. Max nodded.
"Neither do I," Max turned towards the stairs. "I'm going to go find Rachel and warn her, okay? Can you catch up to them and make sure this doesn't get out of hand?"
Kate hesitated before slowly nodding. The two parted, and Max headed up the stairs. She had no idea where Rachel might have gone after receiving "Chloe's" note, but her first guess was the room she shared with Kristine. Quickly moving down the hall, she stepped into on the the rooms.
She didn't see any sign of her.
"Rachel!" Max called out.
No reply.
Stepping further into the room, she tried again. "Rachel!"
Nothing.
"You shouldn't record this-"
"Kate, if you don't want in, then leave."
"But-"
"I think I hear someone, shh!"
Kate found herself being lightly pushed into the closet by Zachary. Victoria and Brooke were laying beneath the bed, attempting to confine their giggles.
"Zach-"
"Shhh," Zachary grinned at her, steadying the camera that only the lens was peaking out of the closet. Kate only hoped that Zachary forgot to turn it on.
The room became silent, waiting.
Kate heard the door open, then close. She risked peaking through the crack that Zachary was filming through.
She recognized the person to be Chloe.
Chloe entered the empty bedroom, glancing around to see no sign of Rachel. She told herself to relax as she paced around the room, shaking her hands out and chewing on her dry lip. She ran her fingers through her freshly dyed hair, combing it out. It felt odd to not have her usual beanie on, especially given the cold weather.
Not even twenty minutes ago was when she found a note sitting on her bed from Rachel. It said something about wanting to tangle her fingers in Chloe's hair and how hot she was. Something along those lines; Chloe had read the note too fast due to shock. She got the important part though:
meet me in the spare bedroom on the 1st floor at midnight xoxo
Fuck, she was jittery.
This would be the first time her and Rachel would have a moment alone since they got here. They had spent the day hanging out with their friends and drinking and eating. Chloe had managed to sneak away to grab her phone from her room when she found the note.
While her and Rachel were good friends to begin with and were alone all the time, there was something nerve wracking about being up in the chilly mountains at this lodge. It made the idea of being alone with Rachel seem more intimate.
She hated this nervous feeling; it made her feel weak.
Hell, Rachel made her feel weak sometimes. Chloe sat herself on the soft bed, drumming her fingers on her knees. Checking her phone, it was almost midnight. Her heart seemed to bounce about in an unusual rhythm as the time neared.
Rachel would be here soon.
Shit.
Her stomach was tightening into nervous knots. She took a deep breath and told herself to relax. While the her family lodge was warm, she was shaking and goosebumps were crawling along her skin.
The words of the note she had found folded underneath her door still flowed through her mind. She had each syllable memorized by the eighth read through, yet the same fluttering in her heart and belly only grew stronger. She had spent the past half hour constructing scenarios for the moment that was nearing with every step she took. When she brought it downstairs to show Nathan and confide in him, she found him passed out at the kitchen table with Warren after their drinking game. She even ended up accidentally leaving it on the table.
Perhaps she would've felt better if she had it with her.
"Chloe?" she whispered as she neared the door to the guest bedroom where the note said to meet. Before slipping into the room, Rachel took a deep breath and straightened out her plaid shirt.
Once inside, she close the door with a soft click. "...Chloe? It's Rachel."
Chloe shot up from the bed, rubbing her palms against her worn jeans. "Hey, Rachel..." Chloe couldn't stop the wide grin from forcing it's way onto her lips. Rachel met her smile, shyly approaching her.
"Hi," Rachel beamed. She glided across the room to Chloe. They stared at each other in silence, each waiting for the other to say something. Rachel felt a nervous giggle bubbling in her throat.
"Um, so... here we are."
"Yeah," Chloe breathed out, "It's nice to be here with you... alone."
Rachel's smile widened, showing her straight teeth and causing Chloe's pulse to quicken. She looked down at the floor as she replied, "To be honest, I've wanted to be alone with you for a while now."
"Yeah?" Chloe froze when Rachel moved closer. Chloe stared down at her, their eyes meeting. "Uh, so, did you want to talk, or...?" Chloe trailed off, waiting.
Rachel reached out a delicate hand to brush a chunk of blue hair from out of Chloe's eye, tucking it behind her ear. Her fingers trailed down Chloe's flushed cheek and rested on her neck. She could feel Chloe's quickening pulse beneath her the pads of her fingers, the palpitations syncing with her own.
She thought on her words.
If Rachel were to be perfectly honest with herself -and she usually was- she didn't want to just talk to her. Her and Chloe talked all the time back in Arcadia Bay. They would stay at Chloe's house and chill up in her room. Chloe would lay back on her bed with a joint between her lips and Rachel would sit with crossed legs at the end, usually reading or browsing magazines. They would fantasize about leaving Arcadia Bay to go to the bigger cities where they could actually become something.
Shared glances and a rare brush of skin were the only things that happened between them in Arcadia Bay.
This wasn't Arcadia Bay, and Rachel didn't feel like talking at the moment.
Moistening her lips with her tongue, Rachel brought Chloe's face down to hers. Her eyes fell shut as she was overcome by the tingling sensation that Chloe's lips brought her own.
Rachel pulled back, but only enough to meet Chloe's eye to assure herself that their first kiss together was having the same impact on her. Chloe's eyes were still shut, lips puckered, as if in a daze. When her eyes were opened, Rachel saw the dilation.
They molded together, fit snug against one another as lips caressed.
Intricate patterns of ice floated weightlessly downward from the pure night sky above, each flake swirling and dancing around the trees as an icy wind carried it. It was a beautiful sight, hypnotic even. If there was no risk of frostbite, Kristine might have gone out to see the snow up close and personal. But, she settled for watching out the window.
As she admired the beauty that was falling, she noticed a shadow. Focusing her gaze on said shadow, she recognized it as a figure. The figure was perfectly still, seemingly unfazed by even the wind. Kristine leaned closer to the window, her breath fogging over the glass and blurring her vision. She ran her hand over the fog.
The figure moved, walking away into the woods.
"What the...?" she mumbled. "Hey, Nate, did you see that? I thought dad said it would just be us this weekend."
No reply.
Kristine turned away from the window. "Nathan?"
She saw Nathan slouched over the table, eyes buried in his sleeve and a trail of saliva glistening down the corner of his parted lips. Warren was mimicking Nathan's position from across the table. Kristine walked around and placed a gentle hand on her brother's back.
She picked up the nearest glass bottle, reading Jeremiah Cragg. Kristine smirked, setting the empty bottle down and patting Nathan's back. "Geez, Nathan," she chuckled. "Once again, you've outdone us all."
Kristine looked across the table at Warren, who was softly snoring with a pained look on his features. Kristine sighed. Warren knew better than to drink with Nathan; the poor guy was an extreme lightweight, no matter the drink.
That was going to be one massive hangover.
Kristine moved away from Nathan, beginning to gather bottles and plates to throw away. While the evening had been a blast, it seemed that she was left to clean up. Again. After all, Nathan and Warren were off in drunken la la land, and she had no idea where the rest of their friends ran off to. She didn't even know where Rachel was, which was odd, but Kristine didn't dwell on it.
As she picked up the trash, she came across a curious piece of paper. Just as she was going to throw it away, she noticed there was writing on it. Flipping it over, she read:
Rachel, you look so damn hot in the shirt. But I bet you look even better out of it. Meet me in the spare bedroom on the 1st floor at midnight xoxo Chloe
Kristine scoffed. "Oh man," she almost groaned. "What are you doing, Rachel...?"
She knew her sister had a massive crush on her blue haired punk best friend, and that she obvious about it. Embarrassingly so sometimes. The two of them were close, but Kristine never did pick up any signs that Chloe was into Rachel like Rachel was into her. Then again, Kristine wasn't around Chloe much to begin with. It wasn't that she disliked Chloe, but if she wasn't Rachel's best friend then Kristine wouldn't go out of her way to befriend her.
The note seemed odd and it gave Kristine a feeling of unease. She just hoped that Rachel knew what she was doing.
Oh, no, no, no...
Kate and Zachary exchanged glances through the darkness. Kate nudged him, motioning towards the camera with a stern look, as if to tell him to turn it off. Zachary looked back at the camera, slowly pulling it away from the crack.
Kate couldn't believe this. Instant regret boiled in her stomach; she should've said something when Chloe first walked in, or she should've guarded the door to prevent Chloe from even coming in. Instead, she tried to talk Victoria out of doing this only to be pushed into the back of a closet with Zachary. In fact, he was almost too close for comfort, and what was happening outside of the closet wasn't helping any.
Luckily, Zachary understood when enough was enough. He felt around the camera in search of the off button.
Rachel's hand tangled itself in Chloe's hair, her thumb caressing her cheek. Her lidded eyes revealed more than her words can express. Chloe could see it. Their lips part and breaths mingle.
Rachel's hand slides down Chloe's neck, fingers tickling down Chloe's clothed chest.
With a sweet smile and a glint in her eye, Rachel began unbuttoning her shirt.
The moment Rachel's black bra was revealed, a bright light flashed from within the closet.
Rachel froze, staring past Chloe at the closet with wide eyes. Was she imagining things...? Her shirt fell from her hands and onto the floor.
"Rachel?" Chloe breathed out. "What's wrong...?" Rachel shook her head.
Someone giggled.
"She took her shirt off!"
"What?" Rachel snatched the shirt from the floor. "You heard that too, right?"
Chloe looked around the room. "Yeah-"
At that moment, Victoria and Brooke scooted out from under the bed and Zachary and Kate showed themselves from behind the closet door.
"W-what-"
"The fuck?" Chloe exclaimed.
Rachel noticed the camera in Zachary's hands. "Zach...? Kate...?"
"Rachel, I-" Zachary looked at the camera, unsure of what to do or say, "-Damn it, I'm sorry."
Kate found her voice. "Rachel, this wasn't-"
"What are you doing here...?" Rachel asked.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Were you filming us!?" Chloe jerked the camera from Zachary's hand, ready to smash it into pieces. Victoria stopped her.
"Don't you dare!"
"Oh my God!" Rachel's eyes began to burn with embarrassment as she turned away from the group and pulled her shirt back on, fumbling with the buttons.
"Rachel!" Max's voice called from behind the door. Max burst in, looking around at everyone before hurrying over to Rachel. "Rachel, sweetie-"
"Rachel, this wasn't suppose to happen-" Kate tried to explain, moving to stand beside Max.
Rachel turned to look at everyone in the room. They were all looking at her...
"...Chloe?"
Chloe let got of the camera, letting Victoria take it. Panic spread in her features. Chloe reached for Rachel's hand. "Rachel, no! I didn't-"
Rachel jerked her hand away, pushed past Max, and was gone.
"Rachel!" Chloe called after her. She whipped around, glaring at the people who just humiliated her and her best friend. "What the hell, fuckers!?" she snarled at them. Without waiting for a reply, Chloe headed out the door to go after Rachel.
It was silent.
Max sighed, turning to frown at them. "You guys are jerks, you know that?" Max left with Kate following right behind her.
"Damn..." Zachary sighed. "That... that wasn't great."
"What the hell were you doing with the flash on?" Brooke asked him.
"It was an accident! I meant to shut it off!" Zachary defended. "What were you doing giggling and whispering?"
"Both of you! C'mon," Victoria rolled her eyes.
The bedroom was empty once again.
What?
Kristine dropped the trash she had been carrying around to collect garbage and hurried back over to the kitchen window. She was absolutely positive that she saw someone walk -no, run- by.
"Nathan," Kristine turned and jogged to where Nathan still sat unconscious. She began to shake him. "Nathan! I just saw someone! Nathan!"
Nathan merely groaned, not showing any signs of true consciousness. Kristine looked over at Warren, knowing that there was no way she was going to be able to wake him up. "Shit...!" Kristine ran out of the kitchen area, swinging the door open to the lounge area. "Guys! There's someone outside!"
She heard mumbled voices, but none of which were a reply. "What the hell?" Grabbing her coat, Kristine followed the voices to the front doors of the Prescott Pine Lodge.
"Rachel!" Kristine heard Max's voice call out.
"Shit! Where'd she go?" Chloe snapped out.
She found the group standing outside the door, calling Rachel's name.
"Guys!" Kristine called out to them. She joined the group, looking around to see Rachel wasn't with them. "What's going on? Where's Rachel?"
"It's fine," Victoria sighed. "She just can't take a joke."
"A joke?" Chloe exclaimed, glaring at Victoria. "Is that what you fucking call this!?"
"Joke? What joke?" Kristine demanded.
"It was just a prank, Rachel!" Brooke called out.
"Prank?" Kristine eyed them. "What did you do?"
Chloe glared back at them. "These pricks thought it would be funny to film me and Rachel!"
Film? Kristine couldn't believe what she was hearing. "W-wait, what?"
Zachary scratched at his neck. "It wasn't serious, Kris..." he mumbled. "We were just messing around..."
Kristine scowled. "You jerks!" She turned around and ran in the direction of Rachel's footprints. "Rachel! Rachel!" Kristine called out as she vanished behind the curtail of powdered snow.
Chloe tried to follow her, shouting, "Shit, we have to go find her!"
Max grabbed her by the wrist. "Wait, Chloe-"
"You can't be serious," Brooke said. "It's a blizzard."
"Shut up! Let me go!" Chloe jerked about, freeing herself from Max's grasp. "I'm not leaving Rachel out there! I hope you assholes get fucking frostbite!"
"Chloe, stop!" Max called after Chloe as she ran off.
Chloe's slim figure disappeared into the mess of snow flakes. "Rachel!"
What a disaster.
Max covered her face with her trembling hands. "I told you guys that this was a bad idea."
"How were we suppose to know that she would run off like this?" Victoria replied, rubbing her arms to try and get some warmth back into them. "It's going to be fine. Chloe and Kristine will find Rachel and then we'll apologize, okay?"
Max still wasn't satisfied with that answer. She saw the look of absolute embarrassment in Rachel's eyes as she realized what happened. And then there was Chloe, absolutely furious. Max would be surprised if she even talked to Victoria, Brooke or Zachary ever again.
A particularly harsh wind blew, causing her to shiver and zip up her jacket.
"Should we go after them?" Zachary asked. "I mean, it's a blizzard. We should do something, right?"
"I agree." Kate nodded, rubbing her hands together and puffing warm air on them.
"I think we're the last people they want to see right now," Max muttered.
Tears blinded her as the wind burned her eyes. Kristine ran as quickly as her long legs could carry her through the thick snow, bolting and dodging trees. The crunching noise of the snow under her boots echoed through the woods with a clanging echo that matched her throbbing heart.
"Rachel!"
A tree branch slapped her shoulder, bouncing off her heavy coat. She could see a small fallen tree, and she took the risk of jumping over it. "Oh shit!" She barely landed the jump, stumbling forward before catching her balance.
She came to a set of stairs, careful yet quick as she bounced down them. Her lungs were beginning to ache from the cold and the running, and she was gasping and swallowing as much air as she could, but she couldn't stop now. Rachel was out here somewhere.
"Rachel!"
Kristine saw markings in the snow, recognizing them as footprints. She quickly followed them down the path.
Something moved.
Kristine came to a stop, listening. Her frantic eyes searched darkness. Heavy hoofs sounded from behind, causing her heart to leap up into her throat. She swung herself around, cursing as she watched the deer fade into the woods.
"Damn it, Rachel..." She didn't have time to worry about a bunch of deer. "Where are you...?"
Her legs felt like thick, wobbly jelly but burned like white fire as she continued on. The deeper into the woods she got, the darker it seemed to get. It only enraged her when she thought about Rachel being out here all by herself all because of some stupid prank their "friends" decided to play. Kristine should've known the true purpose of that note.
"Rachel! Please! Answer me!" she cried out. "Hello-huh?"
What was that? It sounded like a screeching animal.
"Rachel!" Kristine slowed to a walk, attempting to catch her breath. The screech was still echoing through the air, and her thoughts went to the worse case scenario. Though it didn't sound like Rachel, but...
No, she couldn't like that. Kristine pulled her hood over her head to bring some protection to her raw ears. She couldn't imagine how cold and scared Rachel had to be out in this damn storm. How could she get out this far? Where was she!?
"Rach-"
The dull, dark sky was disturbed by a puff of bright orange heat, followed by the same screech she heard before. She almost wasn't sure if she had actually seen what she thought she saw.
"What the hell was that...?"
...No...
...Wha...
Rachel squeezed her eyes shut before rubbing them with her numb hands, smearing her make up. Curled up in a ball in the snow, Rachel murmured to herself as the image of glossed over eyes and dripping blood filled her vision. She could smell the copper, tasted it. A sharp pain shot through her right leg, causing her to cry out weakly. Her ears rang with a familiar scream. The falling snow mixed with her tears as the pain ran through her stomach and up her spine.
"No, no, no... no more..." Rachel whimpered.
There was no warmth.
There was only icy darkness...
Darkness...
Dark...
"Rachel!"
...Dark...
So... cold...
"Rachel!"
...Hm?
Rachel opened her burning eyes and pushed herself up from the snow. Turning herself around, she whispered, "Hello...?"
"Rachel! Oh my God!"
It was Kristine.
Kristine was running over to her, unzipping her heavy coat and sliding it down her arms. "Oh God, Rachel! You must be freezing! C'mon, get up," Kristine pulled her up onto her shaking legs, helping her keep balance as she pulled the coat on her. The warmth sunk through the layer of ice that was her skin, causing Rachel to sigh. Kristine was rubbing the wetness away from Rachel's face with her thumbs. "Oh, Rachel..."
Kristine pulled her into a hug, and Rachel began to sob. "I'm such a fucking idiot, Kris..." Rachel wheezed. "I-I can't believe Chloe..."
"Shhh," Kristine rubbed her back, holding her tight. "You're okay. We need to get back and warm you up." Kristine pulled away, and Rachel nodded.
Before they could take a step in the direction of home, a strange noise was heard. It didn't sound like any creature they had heard around before.
"Rachel...?"
"...Kris?"
And it didn't look like one either.
"O-oh..." Rachel choked the breath caught in her lungs and left her dry heaving. Black mist swirled at the edges of her mind, drawing her into it's open arms. Salty tears spilled over onto her cheeks leaving a tight, dry feeling. Her trembling hand grasped Kristine's, who was solid with absolute terror. Her eyes were wide, her mouth falling agape. Rachel began tugging her, her instincts kicking in. "Oh shit!"
Kristine snapped out of it, and they ran.
Hands still locked and blood pumping, lungs expanding and mouth drying, their legs were on fire.
Kristine tripped, dragging Rachel down with her. "Ah!" Rachel gasped out, hands planted in the snow and scrabbling to her feet. "Come on!" She pulled Kristine up, and they hurried forward.
Rachel's fatigue was swallowed by her fear as they reached the end of the woods, and the edge of the mountain.
"Shit!" Kristine cursed, looking over the edge. "Jesus fuck!"
"Kris..." Rachel's voice shook as she stared back into the woods. Kristine's gaze followed hers.
"No..." Kristine allowed her tears to fall. "No, shit, no! Stay back!"
They intertwined their hands, grip tight and solid.
"No- ah!" Rachel stepped back too far, slipping off the edge. Kristine stumbled back with her, but manage to grab a hold of one of the protruding rocks the edge had hidden. Her arm trembled under the weight of her and Rachel, her fingers becoming stiff with the wet ice dripping down them.
"Hold on!" Kristine called down to Rachel.
"K-Kris..."
And then there was warmth, and that orange glow was back.
But so was the screech.
A terrible screech that popped her ears and made her welcome the darkness of her eyelids.
When she opened them, someone was looking down at her. Their face was masked and hidden in the shadows of the night. The figure above her had a masculine presence. He reached a large hand out to her without a word.
Her last thought before her fingers slipped was that he was here to rescue them.
They fell, and the moment Kristine hit one of the rocks at the bottom, her spine snapped and she was nothing more than a limp hunk of flesh. Both girls slipped down the the mountain into the deepest pits of an unknown underground mine.
Eyes were glossed over, and the scent of blood was fresh in the air.
I've seen darkness before.
You know the kind that makes a street like an old fashioned photograph. Everything just a shade of grey.
But this place is a little different.
It's bright. Blindingly so.
In fact, I'd say it's the most professionally neat photo studio I've ever seen. The cameras and equipment were top notch and the artwork was...
...Well, the artwork captured the darkness that I lived in so well.
Computer keys and content breathing was coming from behind me. I don't have to turn around from my spot on the white leather couch to know who was making those sounds.
Shit, it's cold...
Eventually, the keys stopped and were replaced with foot steps.
I could see him from the corner of my eye; he was the darkest thing in this room.
"Before we begin there are a few things I need you to understand," he said with a voice so smooth it was almost comforting to hear. He was standing in front of the couch, staring down at me through thick lenses. He crossed his arms, giving me a sincere look. "Nothing is going to change what happened." He slipped off his suit jacket, leaving him in only his white button down shirt. He tossed the jacket onto the couch, right beside me.
He turned to his equipment with a small smile on his face, picking up tripods and bringing them to lean against the walls. "I know, I know. Listen, you can cry and cry all you like." He rolled up his sleeves. "Complain, scream, shout!" he exclaimed, making grand gestures with his arms. Then, his arms fell to his sides. "No one will hear you."
He grabbed one of his cameras, messing around with the settings and adjusting the lens. "Complaining and begging will only make you a fool," he mumbled. "You cannot change the past. It is beyond your control." He pointed the camera at me. "There is no rewind button," and took the shot, "and you need to accept that." Another shot.
"Sometimes, fate cannot be changed."
He was pleased with the shots he took, and moved to get a better angle. "I am very excited that you chose to share your story with me," he sounded to damn sincere.
He bent one knee, looking through the lens.
I didn't feel threatened by his camera, or by him, for that matter.
"I want to help you," he told me. "You can trust me."
Of course...
He set his camera down, and sat himself beside me. "May I ask you something?"
I nodded.
"Do you believe that we truly ever have a choice in our lives?" he asked. "Do you really have control over yourself? Your life?"
No, I don't.
"What about other people? Do you have any sort of control over them?"
...
He tilted his head, staring at me. He scratched at the shadow that covered his chin thoughtfully. "Do you believe that you have the ability to control another being's fate?"
...
I...
I avoided his stare. He placed a warm heavy hand on my knee, letting the heat sink through my jeans and into my skin. With an amused tone, said, "I'd say sometimes more than your own. Yes?" He chuckled, removing his hand. The heat was still there.
"You know, I've heard that taking someone else's life is much easier than taking your own," he grinned. "Scary thought, isn't it?"
He got off the couch, humming to himself.
"Then again, those who take their own lives aren't around to tell the tale, now are they?"
...I don't...
I don't understand.
He must have sensed my confusion. He turned to offer me a reassuring smile. "I feel good about this. I believe you and I will be able to create something wonderful together," his face grew serious, "but I need you to listen to me."
Listen...
"Things will get upsetting. You may not like the outcome, but that's life. Good things don't always happen." He shrugged. "The guy doesn't always get the girl in the end. Some goals are never reached. The bad guy can get away. And sometimes, someone you love will die."
He snapped his fingers, causing me to flinch.
"Just like that."
He shook his head, moving to stand in front of me once more. "Once it's done, there's no going back... no matter how much you don't like it." He frowned at me. "You cannot bring back the dead."
Of course not...
"...Sometimes, they even have fates worse than death."
There's such a thing?
He bent down so that our eyes were level. "I wonder which is more terrifying; life or death...?"
...
He stood back up straight, features taking on an apologetic nature. "You're uncomfortable. Have I upset you? That wasn't my intention."
And he was beside me again, but now he was much closer. I didn't even need to look at him to know he was here. His heat was enough.
"Please remember, I am here to help you. You can trust me. We are going to create something so beautiful together." His breath was on my ear. "Do you understand?"
And he was gone. He was back at his desk, checking his computer.
"Well, we seem to be all out of time. Seems like we just started. Don't worry, we'll talk again very soon." I could feel his smile on me. "Until then..."
The brightness was fading.