Lost in Time

Chapter One

"This is my storm! I caused all of this!" the short brunette had yelled over the wind that was howling through the trees behind them. "I changed fate and destiny so much that...I actually did alter the course of everything. And all I really created was just death and destruction!"

Her blue haired friend, standing behind her, had placed her hand on her shoulder, spinning her to look her dead in the eyes. "Fuck all of that, okay? You were given a power. You didn't ask for it...and you saved me," She was yelling at the shorter girl as the storm grew in power, thunder echoing around them. "Which had to happen, all of this did…except what happened to Rachel. But without your power we wouldn't have found her!"

The shorter girl was looking around her now, uncertain of her friend's words, but her friend kept yelling.

"Okay, so you're not the goddamn Time Master, but you're Maxine Caulfield and you're amazing,"

Max looked down, accepting the compliment, which she felt was an odd time to receive one, and she also felt guilty. Max's eyes shifted to look out at the raging storm that had formed in the harbour, the blue haired girl staring in anticipation as to how Max was going to respond to the situation, and as the shorter girl came back to face her friend, she realized she was going to have to make the call.

The shorter girl accepted the photo that was placed in her hands. A sad smile gracing her lips as to what she realised had to happen. She was going to have to go back in time and allow her friend to die. She knew she would be sitting at the end of those stalls, knowing that the bluenette would have no memory of the time shift. She would pass away alone; isolated; not realising that Max and she had fallen in love and never knowing what had happened to her friend Rachel Amber.


Blackwell had only been closed for the day of the fatal shooting in the ground floor, female bathrooms. Max had listened, as she had figured, as her best friend passed away on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. She remembered the sound of the gargling as the bluenette's lungs filled with blood; she remembered the clatter of the pistol falling from Nathan Prescott's hand. But most of all, she remembered the sound of her own heart stopping.

Max had been made to attend classes almost immediately after the incident, meaning she had to replay almost everything she had already been through. Her photography class was slightly different. Nathan had spilled the beans on the darkroom and on Mark Jefferson. So Max's class had ended up being a free for all, with no relief teacher coming in to fill the position.

Principal Wells had sent out an email to the parents and students telling them that they were unable to find a suitable teacher to take Mr. Jefferson's place and that if they couldn't, then the students that were there on photography scholarships, like Max, would have to relocate to another school or cough up the fees to keep them there.

Of course, Max's parents had called her straight away, not only to find out how she was doing after witnessing a 'long lost friend' be murdered, but also to find out if she wanted to come home. Max had politely declined moving back to Seattle. It wasn't that she hated it there, it was that she felt like she would be abandoning Chloe's memory. Not after the week that they, well, she, had just been through.

On the day, in her previous timeline, that Kate Marsh had attempted to jump off the roof, Max made sure to be around her friend, although she wasn't sure if she would really need it. After finding out about the darkroom and the two men involved, Victoria Chase had removed the original video of a clearly inebriated Kate, and sincerely apologised to her.

"How are you, Kate," Max had said as they had both appeared in the dormitory corridor simultaneously.

"Hey Max," she had responded, her soft voice no longer marred with the sadness of the previous timeline. Max also noticed the lack of dark rings around her eyes. "I'm feeling really good, but I'm running a little late to my visual art class,"

Max accepted her polite apology, watching as the blonde ran with composure down the hallway and out of the dormitories. She smiled, it was good to see a happy Kate. Max's mind was still haunted by the vision of Kate being up on the roof as she so desperately wanted to end her life.

Max's phone sounded, shaking her head of her thoughts, she fished in her camera bag for the phone, wondering who it was who had left her a message. No doubt it was Warren. She half expected to see Chloe's name pop up. Dreams were free, right?

'Super Max! Are you free for a movie night?'

She rolled her eyes, of course it was Warren, but comparing this timeline to the previous, she should have expected it. It's not like he was going to ask her out on the day Chloe had been murdered.

Max couldn't be bothered writing out a reply, so as she proceeded down the hallway of the dormitory, she called Warren.

"Max!" he greeted, overly cheerful.

"Hey Warren," she replied, less enthusiastic than her male friend. "I just couldn't be bothered texting,"

"That's cool, I always love hearing your voice,"

Max in the previous timeline would have been totally oblivious to the fact that Warren was hitting on her, but now, with her feelings for Chloe, and the fact she was still mourning her loss, meant that she felt a little repulsed by what he had said. She couldn't formulate words so she laughed a bit.

"Okay, anyway, back to business," he continued. "I have a new car, well, it's not new, but it's new to me and there is a drive in movie that I was thinking we could go to,"

Max had already braced herself for this question, "I know this means a lot to you, but after the week I've been having, I'm really going to have to pass. I think Brooke might be free though," she suggested, steering him in the direction of a fellow science nerd.

Max could almost feel Warren's disappointment before he let out the audible sigh. "I understand, Max, I guess my timing was all wrong," he said, trying to add his usual cheer to his voice, but it wasn't fooling the photographer. "Maybe some other time?" he then offered again.

Max smiled to herself; he wasn't one to give up. "Sure," she agreed. "I have to go to my math class, so I suppose I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure thing, Mad Max,"

Max expelled a sigh of relief. She hadn't realised that she'd managed to leave the dorms and make it halfway across the yard in the phone call, but it didn't really bother her. She wasn't going to be late for a class.


As the day came to a close, she found herself back in her room. She had been sitting on her couch for a couple of hours, her guitar in her arms, mindlessly plucking at strings. She wasn't trying to play anything, she had just spaced out and become numb to her surroundings. Of course, as spaced out as one has become, it doesn't stop the tingling in their backside if they've been sitting too long.

She shifted the guitar back to it's spot at the end of the couch and stood, stretching her arms above her and leaning back.

'Why do I feel like I need to be doing something?' she had thought to herself.

Now that she was aware, she felt like she was running late, or something was missing. She checked her phone for anything that might give her a hint to what this was but alas, nothing came up. Walking over to her desk, she picked up the journal that she had left discarded there; nothing in that either.

'Maybe if I go for a walk, it will jog my memory,' she thought again.

Looking out her window, she realised that it had become rather dark, and the cool October air was slipping through the seals on her window. Brushing her hand up her bare arm, she thought it was a good idea to throw her jumper on before making the journey.


With the head of Blackwell security on bereavement leave, Max found it easier to walk around the school campus after hours. She felt sorry for the poor man. David Madsen, from first glance, was someone who you would try to avoid, but over the week of her previous timeline, he was someone she grew fond of. Although he and Chloe had never seen eye to eye, he clearly cared a lot about his family. He had been the first on into the bathroom on the day of the shooting. His first emotion, Max recalled, was never sadness at the death of his step-daughter, it was anger. Nathan Prescott was someone he had been hunting for a long while, and he was ready to take him down.

He had lunged over Chloe's body straight at the boy, tackling him straight on to the blood soaked floor. He had been quick to pull out cable ties to ensure the boy didn't run, meanwhile Principal Wells had already seen the commotion and dialed for emergency backup.

Max felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes, the scene playing out so vividly in her imagination. She remembered as David had turned his attention back to the bluenette, scooping her in his arms and cradling her as her lungs gave a death rattle. He had stroked her face of the single tear that had escaped her lifeless eyes before shutting them forever.

Max suddenly tripped, pulling herself from her thought. 'Stupid fucking rock,' she cursed in her mind as she'd turned to look at what she had tripped on.

Of course!

The thought didn't hit her, more she'd stumbled upon it.

'This was the night that I was meeting Chloe to search Principal Wells' office,' she remembered sadly. 'But I don't have a key, so why do I feel like it's something I need to do,'

'Destiny,' another voice echoed in her head.

'What the heck?'

'I said destiny, or do I need to make myself clearer?'

Max felt like she was tripping balls, but did her own thoughts take on Chloe's voice and demeanor? 'God I feel like an idiot thinking to myself,'

'Ah, but at least it isn't audible, therefore, you're the only one who knows you're crazy,'

'Well if you can reply, then what am I meant to be doing?'

'Me,'

Why was this voice so like Chloe's. Was she schizophrenic? Is this what it felt like?

'No, you don't have a mental illness,' her Chloe mind told her. 'Well, not schizophrenia anyway,'

'You're not helping! Go away! You died!' she yelled to her own thoughts. Why would her mind play cruel tricks on her?

Forgetting her stumble, she turned to go back to the dorms, but the light from someone approaching made her turn and run towards the pool.

'Destiny...oooooh,' her mind taunted, making ghost like howls.

Of course the pool was unlocked, as she found out by running straight at the main door, pushing the bar in enough to grant her entrance. It was almost as if she was back in the old time line. The place smelled of chlorine, and on top of the visual stimuli, she almost cried. Everything was triggering her to her Chloe.

'You chose boys last time, but we both know you're into girls,'

Max had no desire to fight the voice in her head, instead she chose to ignore it. For the most part.

She found herself walking into the girls changing room, the smell of chlorine still strong here, but with the faint smell of perfume. She wandered through the darkened room, popping out by the showers. She was tracing her steps. Was it still déjà vu if it had actually happened before?

Walking out to the poolside, she knew exactly where to go to find the lights. She thought back to the previous time, how she had been circling the pool to try and find the light switch.

She removed her shoes and socks, rolling her pants up to her knees so she could dip her feet into the warm water. Her arms were naturally positioned at her side as she allowed her upper body to lean forward slightly. She smiled sadly at her memories as she diverted her gaze from her feet to the moon shining through the windows.

"Max,"

'Get out of my head, let me mourn,'

"I'm not in your head, turn around,"

Max didn't turn around. She didn't want to. She didn't want it to be a lie. But of course, the Chloe voice was closer now. The hand on her shoulder startled her, and she didn't believe it as she saw a familiar person come and sit next to her.

"Chloe!?" She couldn't believe it. Chloe. Her Chloe was sitting right next to her; her legs dangled in the water as Max's were.

"I told you to turn around," she said, shrugging her shoulders, looking at the circles she was making with her feet under the surface.

"How the fuck are you here?" Max still couldn't believe it. She was frozen solid and all these questions were floating around her mind.

"Long story," Chloe responded, a smug grin spread across her face. Quickly leaning in, she placed a light kiss on Max's cheek. "It's been a crazy few days,"

"Tell me about it," Max replied.


AN: Well! Here is my first Life is Strange fanfic! I really hope you enjoyed my first chapter. I have a few bits and pieces planned out. Of course there will be Pricefield, because, why the fuck not! I love this game, I love this ship and Chloe is totally bae. I love feedback on my fics and I really appreciate constructive criticism, so please, if you see anything I can do to improve, let me know!