Salutations! I wrote this because Kate is my baby bunny, and she deserves more love!
Main character: Kate Marsh
Other characters: Max Caufield, Warren Graham, Victoria Chase, Mark Jefferson, and Nathan Prescott
Warnings: Naughty language, (off-screen) attempted suicide, Warren making references to a great many things, Mr. Jefferson in general, Nathan Prescott in general, drug abuse
Important Note: This fanfiction was published previous to the release of episode 4.
~ Max ~
It was hardly a few minutes after Kate woke up, that Max came bursting into the room. Before she could even open her mouth to say anything (what could she say, anyway?), Max's arms were wrapped around her, squeezing her as tightly as she possibly could.
Kate sat there in shock - shock that only grew as Max began shaking like a leaf, her breaths coming quickly as she burrowed her head deeper into Max's shoulder.
"Max," she said, though it barely came out as a shaky whisper. Max's arms wrapped tighter, as she pulled herself into a more comfortable position on the bed.
Kate felt her own breathing hitch. "M-Max...I...I'm so sorry-"
Max pulled back suddenly, her eyes shining and fierce, her cheeks still damp from freshly fallen tears.
"Don't," Max said strictly, before her voice faltered, her lips quivering. Kate blinked, and Max was once again latched onto her.
They stayed like that for a long time, before Max finally pulled back. In addition to the tear stains on her cheeks, there was a bit of a blush.
"I...I didn't mean to...get my snot all over you," Max said, every the epitome of awkwardness.
As usual, she never failed to make Kate smile. "Thanks Max. For...for everything."
Max placed her hands on Kate's cheeks, bringing her face so close that their noses touched. "I love you, Kate."
Kate swallowed, her eyes darting away from Max's intense ones. "I...know..."
Max suddenly pulled away. Kate could practically hear the self-admonishments Max was giving herself in her head. "Anyway...I found another cat video. Want me to send it to you?"
Kate smiled genuinely at her friend. "Of course."
~ Warren ~
Her door burst open once again, a few minutes after Max left.
"Your bitch Warren is in the house!" Warren smiled, as he walked over to plop in a chair beside her hospital bed.
Kate forced a frown at him. "Language!"
"You been taking lessons from Captain America?" Warren laughed when she blushed. "I didn't pin you for a Marvel fan."
"My dad loves those movies," she admitted, shifting. "And my brother never wanted to see any super hero movies, so my dad dragged me along."
"Oh, what torture," Warren deadpanned, before winking at her. "In any case, Joss Wheadon is a genius. I would pay money for him to own my ass!"
Kate buried her face in her hands. "REALLY, Warren?!"
He beamed cheekily. "YES, really! Have you not SEEN Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog? You take the REAL NPH, throw him together with my dear Felicia Day and Malcolm Reynolds and mash them all together with Howard Wolowitz-"
"Calm down, Warren," Kate laughed, surprising herself. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time - she really needed to hang around Warren more often. "I don't get most of those references..."
Warren patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll work on that. In the meantime, I'm taking you to see The Room, by Tommy Wiseau. Because...it's necessary." The smirk he wore on his face was a bit evil.
Kate gave him a look. "Somehow, I don't think that's a good idea..."
Warren rolled his eyes. "Fine. Then we're marathoning the Jurassic Park movies, and you'll have to deal with my Jeff Goldblum fangirling."
Kate laughed once more. "Okay, that's fine."
~ Victoria ~
The next time Kate's door opened, it was slow, hesitant. Then the queen of Blackwell herself walked through.
"Well, they spared no expenses on this room, did they?" she asked with her usual attitude, as she sauntered in, looking around at all the flowers and balloons that had accumulated over the past several hours.
Kate swallowed, her eyes moving to look out the window. And just when she had began to feel less like hurling her life away. "What...do you want, Victoria...?"
There was a long moment of silence, where Kate almost thought Victoria left. But then the chair Warren had vacated squeaked. Kate's hands balled up the sheets around her waist, still refusing to look at Victoria. Looking at her, and feeling that gnawing pain and shame...it would be too real for her at the moment. She wished for some time to heal, some time to fortify herself for the harsh words that were no doubt to be thrown her way (and thrown her way, no doubt, by the girl sitting beside her hospital bed).
She needed more time.
However, when Victoria spoke, her words didn't match the tone of voice she spoke in. "I want you to not ever try a stunt like that again."
Kate whipped her head around to look at Victoria.
She looked a mess, truly. She was hunched forward, her clothes still stained from the rain. Her elbows rested on her knees in a very un-Victoria-like position. Even her head, usually held up with confidence, seemed to bow with some unseen weight.
"I...am careless..." Victoria said, her voice softening to barely a whisper. She lifted her head slightly, meeting Kate's eyes, before she dropped her head once more. "I pretend...so I forget..."
Kate swallowed. "I...I don't-"
Victoria's head shot up. "Please...hear me out..."
Kate swallowed. Nodding.
Victoria dropped her head. "I pretend the words don't hurt me. And there ARE words...they're just spoken quieter. That just makes them echo all the more." Victoria sat up straight, leaning against the back of the chair. "I pretend so much that I forget their words can hurt me - and I forget my words can hurt others."
Kate turned her head away once more, staring out the window. She didn't like Victoria, but she couldn't hate her - it was against her principles - however, she did hate seeing a strong person such as Victoria crumbled like this.
She hated seeing anyone falling apart.
"It's alright. We all make mistakes," Kate said quietly.
"My "mistake"," Victoria snapped, "nearly cost you your life."
Kate turned to Victoria. "You weren't standing up on that roof, pushing me off."
Victoria ground her teeth. "I might as well have been."
Kate swallowed, closing her eyes.
A few minutes later, Victoria stood up and walked out without another word.
~ Mr. Jefferson ~
The sun was nearing the horizon when the door opened once more. She turned her head to see who it was.
Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and she broke out into a sweat, though she was not quite sure why. However, it took all she had not to duck her head. "M...Mr. Jefferson..."
He smiled kindly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Kate...how are you doing?"
"Alright..."
The silence that pervaded the room was awkward.
"About this afternoon..." Mr. Jefferson began.
"I'm sorry," Kate whispered, her hands wringing themselves over and over on the sheets.
"No, I'm sorry. I knew you were going through something, but was...well, an insensitive jerk to you. And I'm sorry..."
Kate swallowed, nodding. Why did she feel so timid, suddenly?
Mr. Jefferson's hand suddenly planted itself on her shoulder, a firm, comforting pat.
It only made her swallow hard, forcing every fiber in her being to remain still, ignoring the silent protests of "get away now!"
And then the hand was gone, and Mr. Jefferson was at the door. "Sorry to cut this meeting so brief, but I have lots of grading to do. I hope to see you in class someday soon."
"Y...yeah. Thanks..." was all that Kate could force out of her dry mouth, before the door closed once more.
~ Nathan ~
It was right at the end of visitation hours, when her last visitor quietly entered the room - not that they wouldn't have let this particular person in.
After all, their father owned the hospital wing.
Kate immediately shrank back, her eyes growing wide. Her hand immediately found the buzzer to alert the nurses of her distress, and brandished it like a weapon.
"Get out! Please!"
Nathan, however, came over and sat down in the chair.
Kate hesitated. Nathan wasn't looking up, his eyes trained on his shoes. She noticed a brown paper bag with the hospital's insignia on it clenched tightly in one hand, but besides that, there was nothing truly suspicious about him.
Besides his being there, that is.
As though he had heard her thoughts, he lifted his head, glazed, bloodshot eyes struggling to focus on her face. "I had to come here anyway. That's why I'm here."
Kate swallowed. "W...will you please leave...?"
Nathan stared at her with that blank expression for a long time - he looked like a statue.
Or like a corpse.
Finally, he moved sluggishly, looking as though he was going to make to stand, but he didn't quite make it.
Kate winced, as he nearly toppled over the chair. "Y...you're high..."
"I wish," he mumbled, surprising her. Suddenly, he thrust the bag at her, causing her to flinch. "Don't worry. Just look."
She hesitated, before opening up the bag. Her eyes widened - there were anywhere from ten to fifteen bottles of medication in there, all bearing one name.
Nathan leaned against the chair, his eyes half-lidded. "They put me on something new, I think. Seems like they do that every week. They gimme somethin'...and then there's side effects, so I need somethin' for them...and then I need somethin' for the side effects of those meds..." His head lolled slightly. "They'll eventually gimme so much stuff, that I'll overdose by just takin' what they prescribe to me..."
Kate swallowed, holding out the bag to him. His eyes suddenly swiveled, focusing on hers. He snatched the bag back, though it nearly slipped out of his fingers. "But why the fuck am I tellin' you that, huh?"
Kate nearly flinched at the sudden harshness of his voice. "I...I don't..."
"You told that...bitch Max that I drugged you," Nathan accused her suddenly. "Why?"
"Because you did," she said, a bit of confidence leaking into her voice. Her thumb was still positioned over the button, after all.
Nathan tried to move, but it was like his mind wasn't communicating right with his body. He nearly slipped out of the chair again, catching himself on the bed. Kate flinched at the sudden movement.
However, some clarity shot into Nathan's eyes. "You're so...stupid..." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. His hands didn't leave their place on the bed...but...were they shaking?
"You don't know who the fuck I am. So don't go...runnin'...your mouth..." Nathan swayed, in spite of the fact he was sitting.
Kate frowned at him. "You said you would help, and then..."
Nathan continued the slight swaying, but his eyes opened. There was something swimming in their depths, though, that she couldn't quite place.
"I've been...like you were that night...I...I KNOW..." he paled, closing his eyes once more, looking sick. "No... control... darkness... like in a room... but its bright... no control..."
He reached out, touching her arm; she nearly flinched - nearly.
His hand was hot, slightly sweaty.
In spite of that, having that had touch her did not shoot rivets of disgust through her spine.
And then the hand was gone.
Kate jumped as Nathan suddenly passed out cold on her floor.
She rammed her finger onto the buzzer, calling the nurses to get him. He was hauled out on a stretcher.
One of the nurses stayed behind, quickly asking Kate what happened. After briefly explaining things to her, the nurse clucked sadly.
"He baffles all of us, really. He experienced something, we're all pretty sure - something traumatizing...and nothing we give him helps..." The nurse quickly shook her head. "Is he a friend of yours?"
"No...we just both...go to Blackwell..." Kate said quietly.
The nurse smiled sadly, though her eyes scanned over the numerous gifts Kate had received. "Well, I'm glad, in any case, you have a great deal of people that care about you."
As the nurse was walking out the door, Kate looked once more out the window.
She did. She really did.
I enjoyed writing all of these! Well, except for Jefferson's...but I just...he is so creepy.
I don't have any clue where "Life is Strange," is going...but I just have a feeling that Mr. Jefferson is up to something not-that good...and I think Nathan is somehow involved, just not in the way many of us think. I mean, it'd be too obvious for him or David M. to be the primary antagonists of this. Seriously.
I hope I got everyone's characters alright...I'll admit, I am Nathan trash. There's something so...intriguing about his character. And I pity him...
I am also Kate trash, but that's socially acceptable... so... yeah...
I hope you enjoyed. If you wish, feel free to review!