Author's Note: Hi friends. My name is Mari, I used to go by JNMA on this website. I wrote my last fanfiction almost six years ago and over the years I've been trying to come back. I've been writing things and deleting them for years but I've never forgotten about this website and I thought if I just published something I've written instead of keeping it locked away on my computer until I hate it enough to delete it, then maybe it would force me to update consistently. So hi. I'm still that same girl who would randomly burst out into song in the middle of her fanfictions, just much older, not an immature teenager anymore but an immature adult. Anyways, I'm sure I'm not the only person who still harbors an unhealthy obsession with the game "Life is Strange" and I deem there to be a lack of variety within the Grahamfield waters. Don't get me wrong, I totally love Pricefield but I've always viewed Chloe to be better suited with Rachel than Max. And after I played the game, I thought I would write something that I myself would've wanted to see in the game. I've had this story in mind ever since I first played the game a few years ago. So sit back, enjoy, review and follow if you like. But as always, this is a safe, positive space. So any ship-warring, negativity, fighting, and just all around shitty comments towards me or anyone will not be tolerated because bitch I don't need no degree to be a clothing hanger.
So, I hope you're ready for the moshpit, Shaka Brah's because, without further delay, I give you:
Life is Strange: The Fabric of Time
Chapter 1: The Wake of Night
On a clear and quiet night, 18-year-old Max Caulfield lay wide awake in her dorm room at Blackwell Academy. A prestigious boarding school in the silent town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon.
Max lay awake in her bed, her head reeling and her mind flooded with thoughts and emotions of all the events that, within one week, had disrupted her calm, normal life. Events that had changed everything. Events that had literally altered her past, her present and, even, her future. Her phone dinged and she looked down to see a text message. She smiled when she saw that it was from one of her best friends, Warren Graham.
Monday, October 14th, 2013:
Warren 2:42 AM: Hey, Max. You up?
Max 2:43 AM: I'm wide awake. Can't sleep :(
Warren 2:43 AM: Me neither
Warren 2:43 AM: Not after everything that happened this past week…
Max 2:44 AM: Gawd you're telling me :/ I'm a total fucking wreck.
Max 2:44 AM: Are you just up playing video games?
Warren 2:44 AM: No I've just been watching this new flick called "Warren Graham's Wall" it's boring as fuck XD
Warren 2:45 AM: Okay I'm done being a smartass, I was thinking since we both can't sleep anyway...We should go out
Max 2:45 AM: Dude are you cereal? It's almost 3:00 AM and we have school in a few hours. Where would we even go?
Warren 2:45 AM: Just for a drive. See where the road takes us? We can make up for the fact that we never got to go on that date at the drive-in.
Max 2:46 AM: lol date?
Warren 2:46 AM: ...we never got to Go Ape!
Max 2:47 AM: Suuuure .-.
Warren 2:47 AM: SOMEONE'S modest :P
Max 2:48 AM: :( You're actually the worst lol
Warren 2:49 AM: Well, like science, sometimes you need a positive combined with a negative to find that perfect balance. SOOOO, sometimes the best and the worst are actually a dope-ass combination!
Max 2:50 AM: lol geek much? fuck it, I'm down. I'll meet you by your car in the parking lot in like 10. Should I bring anything?
Warren 2:50 AM: Only that charming sense of humor! And maybe your camera too :D
Max 2:51 AM: Good call, who knows what kind of sick shots I could land?
Warren 2:51 AM: See you in a few, Cauliflower
Max 2:52 AM: :3 kek and btw don't ever call me that again lol
And with that, Max got up and looked around her dorm.
Ugh, gawd. I can't believe I'm doing this. Max thought to herself.
What else should I bring?
She eventually decided to bring her bag, her camera, her phone, and her favorite gray hoodie. Max quickly glanced at herself in the mirror on her way out the door.
I wonder if Warren will care that I'm still in my pajamas? Do I care that I'm still in my pajamas? ...nah
Max walked quietly out of her dorm, making sure to slowly close the door on her way out in order to not wake anyone else up.
If Victoria was to catch me right now, I'd be screwed.
As she crept through the hallway, she took notice of Rachel Amber's Missing Person posters that were still hanging on the poster board. Those once gleaming and enchanting hazel eyes now looked haunting, almost angry. No longer doe-eyed and innocent but now ridden with the darkness of the truth.
I guess no one's gotten a chance to take these down yet. It's so weird to be looking at these now knowing she's dead...Oh, Rachel...I'm so sorry. I hope you can finally rest now. And not in that dirty junkyard.
I can't just leave these here...
Max ripped the posters down from the board and continued on through the hall of the girl's dormitory until she stopped to find the source of a loud rattling noise.
Is that Alyssa snoring? Christ. She sounds like a lawnmower on crack.
Max made her way out of the dormitory and through the schoolyard, taking in the peaceful serenity of the night as the cool breeze touched her skin. Max eventually reached the parking lot and her eyes met with Warren's.
"Max! Get yer ass over here!" called a smiling Warren.
"Shh! Not so loud, Warren! The whole point of sneaking out is to be sneaky and we can't fucking do that if you're over here yelling!" She crouched as she ran over to him.
"Chillax, Max. See what I did there? *Warren said with finger guns* Who's gonna be awake at… *He checks his phone for the time* 3:04 AM to hear us anyway?" Chuckled a smiling Warren, lightly scratching the back of his neck.
Max rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Well, do you really wanna find out? Maybe Samuel's out here fixing the sprinklers. They're always breaking and there's no one around at this time of night to block his way. Or Wells could be out stumbling around, drunk out of his tree."
"I'd pay to see that. Let 'em find us." Warren crossed his arms.
"You're insane, Warren! Since when did you become so brave?" laughed Max, running her fingers through her hair.
"Since always. Duh." Warren replied with a wink.
"Can I offer myself as a volunteer to kick your 'brave' ass?" Max joked with air quotes.
"Maxine Caulfield applying for a permanent full-time position as Warren Graham's Ass Kicker? You're hired! When can you start?" Warren's big smile triggering Max's.
Max looked down at the pavement. She could feel herself blushing, even though she couldn't explain why. To break the silence, she piped up, "Max. NOT Maxine...Hey, it's 3:07 AM."
She grabbed his hand and led him to his door.
"Let's go now before we get caught!"
And she jumped into the car, quickly putting on her seatbelt.
"Well. That was way easier than I thought it would be!" laughed Max as the two drove off of campus grounds.
With his eyes glued to the road, Warren replied "As long as we don't go setting off alarms like dumbasses, no one will even know we were here!" with a grin.
Max sighed, remembering her and Chloe building a pipe bomb with Warren's instructions and setting off Blackwell's security alarm. Remembering that now, that never actually happened and with Chloe gone, Max herself was the only one who remembered.
If he only knew. I know I can trust Warren but I gotta shake this shit from my mind and move on. If I tell him, I'll never be able to forget. Max thought.
"So where are we going?" asked Max.
"Let's go to the lighthouse. It's only a 15-minute walk from the beach and there's a bench up there for us to sit."
"That sounds awesome. Chloe and I used to go there all the time when we were kids." Max's face lit up at the thought of her old friend.
Warren smiled at her before turning his attention back to the road. "Awesome. We should be there in five."
A few minutes later, Max and Warren arrived at the beach and decided to walk along the shore up to the lighthouse. The air smelled clear. A calm breeze brushed against them as they looked up to the cloudless night sky. The light from the moon shining upon their faces.
Warren stopped in the sand as he noticed the string of rocks along the beach.
He smirked at Max and looked towards the rocks.
"What?" Max smiled sheepishly, stopping in front of him.
Without a word, Warren scooped Max up and slung her over his shoulders as she laughed.
"Stop! Oh my gawd, put me down! Warren! What is this?" Max exclaimed as she laughed.
Warren jokingly spun her around before placing her onto the rocks.
"Joke's on you...I'm taller than you now." Max joked as she fixed her hair.
Warren smiled and extended his arm out to Max. She nervously grabbed his hand as he walked alongside her on the beach.
Ugh, he's so lame...but he always knows how to make me laugh.
"I'm really glad I'm here with you, Warren." Max began. "I just can't wrap my head around all this crazy, fucked up shit that's happened and it feels good to know that there are some things that haven't changed."
Warren's brown eyes locked on Max, he noticed his palms were starting to get sweaty. She always made him so nervous.
I wonder if she knows? I'm pretty sure everyone else does. Warren, you dumbass! Why do you have to make it so fucking obvious?
"I can't even imagine how you must be feeling right now." Warren sympathized. "I mean, you moved back to Arcadia Bay to be taught by THE Mark Jefferson and within less than a month, Jefferson, the only reason you're here, gets arrested for drugging and kidnapping I don't even know how many girls, your old friend gets murdered by Nathan Prescott before you even got a chance to reconnect with her and you had to witness it. I mean, we're all pretty shaken up right now after Rachel Amber's officially been found dead. But you just buried your best friend. And I'm really sorry, Max. I don't want you to feel like there's nothing left for you here but I don't blame you if you do." His brow furrowed and he looked down at the ground.
Max stopped walking and stepped down from the rocks, facing Warren, still holding his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
"I'm gonna be okay, Warren. I may not be right now, but I will be. I know we've only known each other for like a month but right now, I feel like you're the only constant that I have in my life right now. You're here. That's more than enough for me." Max almost whispered.
"Glad to be of service, Cauliflower." Warren touched Max's shoulder with his other hand.
"I told you not to call me that!" Max laughed.
Max quickly took in every detail about Warren, unaware that he was doing the same with her.
Her light blue eyes taking in the way his wavy brown hair went slightly with the wind. The way his smile could quickly illuminate his whole face. Every detail she could take in, she did. Even his ridiculous galaxy pajama shirt that proudly read "Get Out of My Space".
That's what every great photographer does. She thought. Pay great attention, to not miss a single detail.
Warren could feel his heart pounding like a drum. The way he thought of her being almost poetic. The way the moonlight shone on her pale skin. The way her voice echoed in his mind. Her lips pursed in such a way that he couldn't help but be drawn to them.
He let go of Max's hand and quickly cleared his throat.
"Uh...should we take a selfie?" He smiled.
Way to fuck that up, idiot. Warren's inner self was facepalming beyond belief.
That was...weird. Is he okay? Max was perplexed.
Max rolled her eyes and shook her head as she pulled out her polaroid. She held it up as she and Warren posed.
"Say 'You're a dumbass, Warren.' And… *click* Sweet!"
The pair reached the lighthouse and sat on the bench overlooking the cliff. Several minutes of silence followed as Max and Warren watched the waves slowly pulse against the rocks below.
"There's something about sitting here...Just staring at the stars, that's so peaceful." Max finally spoke. "This is the first time in over a week that I've actually been able to turn my mind off and it feels really damn good."
"I know. I wish I could just stop time and live in this moment for a while." Warren replied.
"Me too, Warren." I swear, it's like he fucking knows or something.
"So what now? I mean, what comes next? Where do we go from here?" Max sighed.
"I don't know. I know I'm a smart guy and all but I really don't have all the answers. Realistically, I don't know shit...I guess we just have to let ourselves heal.
Life goes on and as much as we wish time could stop for us, it never will." Warren looked at Max, who was still staring at the stars.
"Brr...Do you feel that chill?" Max said, rubbing her arms to stay warm.
The breeze picked up ever so slightly, leaves started dancing in the wind. Warren instinctively moved closer to Max, putting an arm around her.
Am I doing this right? This is what guys are supposed to do, right? Warren thought.
"We should do this more often." Max said to Warren.
"Oh, uh...totally!" Warren stammered as he tried to keep from looking too nervous.
What's up with Warren? Is he just really cold or something? The wind's making his cheeks all red…
Max got up and turned around to face Warren. She took out her polaroid and snapped a shot of a smiling Warren sitting on the bench in front of the lighthouse. She took a few steps closer to the edge of the cliff and photographed the leaves that were kicked up by the wind. Warren watched Max begin to relax as she got into the zone, landing fantastic shots left and right. Satisfied, Max then sat back down next to Warren.
"I've got some new additions to my photo wall!" Max exclaimed as she put the pictures into her bag.
Max looked back to the edge of the cliff, watching the clear sky reflect in the water below. And then she saw her. The doe appeared at the edge of the cliff. She stood tall and proud for only a split second before she disappeared again. The wind quickly settled back down, the leaves fell to the ground. Max shook her head and she knew it was time to go.
"Hey, uh Warren."
"Yeah?"
"It's 5:36 AM, I think we should head back now."
End of Chapter 1. More to come...