Life is Strange: Burden of Proof

Chapter 1 of the first Episode of a LIS idea I had, featuring Chloe paired up with an OC based on and created by a fellow writer Holywoodunderfed, will also include an OC character based on me, paired with Stella, but as a minor character, this chapter merely serves to introduce a number of the characters, as well as set a few plot points in motion, anyway, hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Life is Strange or its characters.

Episode 1: Shattered

Chapter 1

As the sun shone down on the start of another day in the idyllic town of Arcadia Bay. In one of the houses, one of the occupants made their way into the bathroom, yawning as she did so. Standing before the mirror, she sleepily observed her own reflection. She was a tall girl of nineteen with pale skin and a skinny lanky build, she had chin length unevenly cut strawberry blonde hair that was dyed blue and blue eyes. She was still dressed for bed in a pair of simple black shorts and a black T-shirt with a white pirate flag design on it.

'Well, another day.' She reflected to herself.

With that she quickly undressed and got into the shower, as she showered Chloe Price, for that was the girl's name, was surprised to find herself thinking about, of all things, her current life and the future.

'What am I even gonna do now...What does a day like today hold for the high school drop out with the tight-ass step-father and a mom who just can't see that.' She thought to herself. 'What the fuck am I even doing thinking about this, do what I usually do, whatever I feel like in the moment and fuck everything else of course.'

She shook her head and tried to do just that, but those thoughts did linger in her head as she left the shower, got dried and, wrapped in her green pirate towel, made her way back to her room to get dressed.

Now clad in her usual style of clothing, in this case a pair of ripped jeans, a white T-shirt with a black raven design, simple white socks and black sneakers, Chloe was downstairs, joining her mother, Joyce and her mother's new husband, David.

Joyce was slightly shorter than her daughter with long blonde hair she tied back in a bun, blue eyes, a slender build and fair skin. She was clad in khaki pants, a light blue collared shirt and simple slip-ons. The other occupant at the table for breakfast was David Madsen, a tall fair skinned man with short dark brown hair and a similar moustache, brown eyes and a muscular build, he wore a dark green work shirt, brown slacks and boots.

'Here we go, wonder what shit he's gonna start with this time.' Chloe wondered.

Ironically, despite obviously meaning well, it was a comment from Joyce which started it off.

"So, what you have planned for today?" She asked casually.

Chloe shrugged. "I...I honestly don't know yet, mom."

Joyce nodded slowly, David shook his head before resuming eating.

Chloe just glared. "What's your problem?"

"Let's not fight..." Joyce began.

But David wasted no time. "If you would make an effort with proper planning and actually did something meaningful, maybe.."

"Maybe what"? Chloe snapped.

But before anything else could be said, Joyce cut them both off.

"Enough, we are not fighting, not this early in the morning."

Chloe bit her lip, neither she nor David arguing further, not wanting to test Joyce's patience.

Meanwhile, in the dorms of Blackwell Academy, the prestigious school that made Arcadia Bay famous, despite it's small town status, another teenage girl was waking up to the start of a new day. This girl was eighteen with chin length brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin and a skinny build, freckles decorated her face and she was clad in her pyjamas, a pair of grey shorts and a green chick T-shirt. Her name was Max Caulfield, a student at Blackwell, studying Photography and she was due to start another day at school.

'I better get showered and get dressed, don't want to be late.' She thought to herself.

Gathering her clothes and shower supplies Max left her dorm room, ready to head for the showers. As she did so she noted a few of the other girls in the dorm as they left their rooms, ready for the day too.

Namely she spotted a beautiful girl with fair skin, long auburn hair that she tied in a ponytail and blue eyes, she had a generous figure and was chatting to the girl next to her, the two of them standing outside the dorm room of the first girl. The second girl was slightly taller than the first, with shoulder length dirty blonde hair, brown eyes and lightly tanned skin, she had a similar figure and degree of beauty to the first girl. They were head cheerleader, Dana Ward, and budding star reporter, Juliet Watson.

They were already dressed for the day, Dana in a black tank-top, a pair of denim shorts and flip-flops while Juliet wore a white blouse with a short denim skirt and simple flats. They both spotted Max and smiled to her in greeting, Max smiled back, glad that, despite their beauty and popularity, both girls were still kind and respected others.

Her shower done, Max dried herself off and got dressed before leaving the shower room, she now wore a pink Jane Doe T-shirt under an unzipped grey hoodie, jeans and simple converse. Making her way back to her room she bit her lip as she spotted another three girls outside the room across from hers.

'Oh no, Victoria and her crew.' She noted worriedly.

The trio she spotted were three girls who were part of the elite Vortex Club and practically confirmed all the worst fears of popular mean girls. The first girl was tall with short blonde hair, brown eyes and pale skin, as well as a slender yet curvy build, her name was Victoria Chase. She was dressed up stylishly as usual in a pink sleeveless top, black denim shorts and flats.

The other two were a tall girl with long blonde hair, brown eyes, light tan skin and a slender curvy build, named Taylor Christensen. The other girl was somewhat shorter with chin length black hair that had dyed streaks, grey eyes, pale skin, a slender build and Asian features, called Courtney Wagner.

They too dressed stylishly, Courtney in a yellow tube top with skinny jeans and sandals and Taylor in white denim shorts, flip-flops and a purple crop top. Yet to Max's relief, not one of them made any comment towards her like they normally did.

She let out a sigh of relief once she was back in room and got everything she needed. 'Guess it was too early in the day for any trouble.'

Preparing herself she left the dorms altogether and headed out towards the main school building where she spotted yet more members of the Vortex Club namely it's top member.

Said top member was Nathan Prescott, a tall pale young man with a muscular build, dark blonde hair and brown eyes, clad in a dark blue crew neck shirt, black pants and black shoes.

Max grimaced. 'Nathan Prescott, born into wealth and a scary guy to boot.'

The other two were both jocks, players in the football team, both tall and muscular with fair skin, one had rather short black hair, black eyes and was dressed in a grey school shirt, red basketball shorts and sneakers, named Logan Robertson. The other was Zachary Riggins, who had messy brown hair, brown eyes and dressed in white and grey plaid shorts, a black T-shirt and sneakers.

'More people I'd rather avoid, I...' Max began to think, but her thoughts were interrupted when she spotted someone else, stopping in her tracks. 'Warren...'

It was Warren Graham, a young man of sixteen, almost seventeen, tall with short messy brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin. He wasn't muscular, but not exactly scrawny either. Max knew Warren well, they were good friends, both sharing interests in movies and such, being quite geeky and Warren certainly qualified as a school nerd. Max couldn't help but bite her lip as she reflected on her friendship with Warren.

'It's, we both have similar interests and, and we both get on so well, I...I don't know though if he...' She thought to herself. 'Some of the things Warren has said kinda hints he might have feelings for me. But I can't tell if he's being serious...but I...I think I...certainly do.'

She bit her lip, praying she wasn't blushing as she watched Warren enter the school, reflecting on her crush on him too.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by someone nudging her making her jump.

"Huh?"

The girl laughed. "Whoa, jumpy Max?"

Said girl was nineteen, rather beautiful, of medium height with long blonde hair and hazel eyes, she had light skin and a curvy slender build. She was wearing a white T-shirt with the hem tied up by a hair tie, showing some skin, denim shorts and simple sneakers.

"Oh, Rachel, hey." Max greeted her with a smile.

Said girl was Rachel Amber, easily the most beautiful and popular girl in school. The two of them were friends, despite Max generally being considered an invisible by most in the school. Rachel was also the friends with Max's best friend, Chloe Price and the three frequently hung out together, forming a triumvirate.

"So...I just got a text from Chloe..." Rachel began.

"Oh?" Max checked her phone. "Me too, looks like she wants to hang out after school today?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, obviously we're gonna do it, right?"

Max laughed and nodded. "You bet."

Smiling both girls made their way to class, already preparing for their after school meeting with Chloe.

Laying back on the sofa within the junkyard, Chloe smirked at Rachel and Max who were with her. They were in their usual hideout and, sharing a devious smile with Rachel, Chloe turned to Max.

"So, Max..." She began, getting the brunette's attention. "Any luck with Warren yet?"

As she hoped, Max went bright red and Rachel couldn't help but giggle.

"I, what, I don't..." She stammered. "Urgh, Chloe."

Rachel shrugged. "C'mon Max, you gotta admit, you haven't exactly been open with him."

"I can't, I just...I should never have told you guys." Max muttered.

Sitting up Chloe shook her head. "Max, in all seriousness now, you need to tell Warren the truth, trust me, it'll be better when you do."

Max sighed. "I wish it was that simple."

"Seriously, it's kinda depressing seeing the two of you dancing around each other." Rachel admitted, shaking her head.

Max groaned and shook her head. She needed desperately to change the subject to something else. Luckily Chloe and Rachel seemed to have their own ideas to do just that.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Chloe, tomorrow night, that party you spoke about, are you still going?" Rachel asked.

Chloe smiled and nodded. "You bet I am, it's gonna be awesome, you'll be there too, right?"

Rachel laughed. "I'm sure I will be."

"You girls have fun." Max said. "You know that's not my scene."

But then the two of them smirked and Max knew she'd made a mistake.

"Well, you could use that time to finally talk to Warren." Rachel remarked.

Chloe grinned. "Yeah Max, that's a great idea, think about it. You can take that time to confess the truth to Warren, it'll be perfect."

Max groaned and blushed, but she didn't think that was actually a bad idea.

Chloe narrowed her eyes as she tried to finish the work she was doing, but as she tried to move banged her head on the lid of the hood.

"Fuck." She hissed.

Shaking her head she tried to focus again, she was fixing up her truck as it had been acting up a little on her drive home from the junkyard. Working on the truck, Chloe's mind began to wander to something else.

'I hope Rachel's doing alright, things...haven't been the best for her at home, ever since...' She thought to herself. 'Ever since Sera...'

Chloe sighed as she thought about that. Sera was Rachel's birth mother, while her father James had shut Sera out of their lives due to Sera's past drug addiction. Rachel had spent years believing that James' new wife, Rose was her mother, but then, shortly after she and Rachel had first properly met, things had taken quite a turn and Rachel knew the truth.

Sera had returned and tried to meet her, but James had kept blocking it from happening and Sera eventually left, Rachel learned the truth and now the relationship between her and her father was damaged.

"Chloe!"

She rolled her eyes. 'Here we go.'

She straightened up as David stepped out of the house.

"What now?"

David looked momentarily distracted however as he observed the truck. "What happened?"

"Something with the engine, almost fixed, anyway, what is it?" She replied.

David shook his head. "I've already got my answer, you've taken my tools, without permission."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "They were in the garage, which is part of my house, so technically that makes them mine to use."

David glared and Chloe prepared herself, refusing to back down as yet another argument was due to start.

Back at Blackwell, Max was seated at the picnic benches, biting her lip as she continued to fret.

'What am I even supposed to do...Rachel and Chloe make it sound so easy, but...How do I just go up to Warren and tell him how I feel.' She thought, her issues with Warren foremost in her mind.

But she tried not to let herself be distracted as she wasn't alone, she was with some of her other friends. Seated next to her was a girl of roughly the same height as her with long blonde hair, tied in a high bun, blue eyes and fair skin as well as a slender build, clad in a pair of brown pants with a white blouse and sandals, she was one of Max's closest friends, Kate Marsh.

Seated across from them was a slender girl of medium height with long tied back brown hair, brown eyes and light brown skin, her name was Stella Hill and she was dressed up in a pair of denim shorts with a pink T-shirt and flip-flops.

The final girl was also of medium height with a chubby build, shoulder length dark hair dyed purple, brown eyes and fair skin, wearing ripped jeans, a black band T-shirt and sneakers, her name was Alyssa Anderson.

"Max, are you okay?" Kate asked, looking at her worriedly.

She quickly started and nodded. "Yeah, sorry, I was...kinda distracted.

The other girls just smiled.

Composing herself Max tried to act natural.

"So, what's been going on?" She asked.

Alyssa nudged Stella. "Go on Stella, tell Max what you just told us."

Stella grinned widely. "I...there's a new student, Jamie Townley..."

Max nodded, she had heard about the boy.

"Well, I've met him and, well..." Stella explained. "He's really nice, I think I..."

The others smiled, Max smiled too, realizing the truth, Stella had a crush on this boy, Jamie Townley. However it did remind her of her own issues once again. A short while later something else distracted her, she spotted two more girls, these two actually a couple.

The first was above average height with shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes and light tan skin, she had a slender build with slight but notable curves, she was clad in ripped jeans and sneakers with a grey T-shirt with a sword design on it.

Her girlfriend was of medium height with long brown hair and brown eyes, as well as pale skin and a skinny build, wearing a pair of denim shorts, a light blue T-shirt and sandals. They were respectably, Steph Gingrich and Samantha Myers.

"They're very sweet together, aren't they." Kate said as she came up beside Max. "I'm glad they finally found each other."

Max nodded. "Me too Kate, me too."

Kate sighed. "I'm worried thought, Sam hasn't come out to her family you know...If what I heard is right, they're even more conservative than mine."

Max nodded sadly, reflected that what Kate just said there, might be the very reason why Sam hadn't come out yet.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.