Chapter 1: 'First Day' of School

~Joann~

Joann sighed as she left her gaze on the rear view mirror, observing Ethan as he stood on the sidewalk. After watching the car drive away for a little while, he walks up the steps and out of sight, leaving her with a slight frown. He could take care of himself, he was an adult now, technically. Even so, she worried about him. Even if he is 18, she'll always feel the need to protect him.

But he has his own path to walk. He won't get anywhere with me holding his hand...

She was just about to leave the grounds of the campus before something catches her eye. An RV parked at the corner of the school parking lot. Judging from the design and seemingly weathered texture of the vehicle, she knew exactly who it belonged to. And as it turns out, it was just the person she was looking for. She lightly pressed the brake pedal and slowed down to a steady speed before reaching the entrance of the parking lot. Finding a spot to park wasn't difficult since most of the students lived on campus, anyway.

The engine cuts to silent as she removes the keys from the ignition and exits the vehicle, the early morning chill causes her to shiver as she wraps her arms together and tenderly rubs them for warmth. It would get warmer later in the day, she knew that, but right now, the wind was blowing icily with the shining sun. After locking her car, she began making her way to the stationary mobile home. The parking lot was littered with trash, she had to stop herself from picking up just about everything. She caved, throwing away a few things in the recycle bin, but decided it would be best to leave the rest for the school staff. She had to get to work soon, after all.

The closer she got to the RV, the more she began to notice just how dirty it was. Joann cringed at the sight of it—she had half a mind to return home, grab her cleaning tools and wipe away all the grime that settled in to the exteriors. Once she arrived at the door, she knocked promptly three times, hearing the sound of a dog barking from inside.

Pompidou, no doubt. She smiles at the thought.

A cool breeze hits her from the left side, allowing her to smell the maple trees erectly swaying outside the edges of the lot. She loved the scent, something that brought her back to her days as a child. It seemed like a million years ago that she was planting fruit in the orchard with her mother. The nostalgic memory was one of her happy places, but not as great as the moment she did the same with her own little girl. Perhaps that's why she loved flowers so much.

A rustling is heard from inside, and then a groan. Blinds are bent down on the corner of the window and she waves to it with a smile. After a few more footsteps, the door unlocks and it swings open, "What do you want?"

Joann was appalled by his bluntness. He was wearing slightly torn blue jeans and a wife beater, with his usual scruff and messy dirty blonde hair. "Franklin! Is that any way to address a friend?"

"It is when they come knocking on my door this early in the day..." He groggily rubs his head, still trying to shake the sleep off.

"That may be how you treat your other friends, but not to me, young man." She warned him in a calm and playful manner, "May I come in?"

She saw a flash of his eyes rolling before he shrugged, "Sorry, Jo. You can come in."

He moves to the side for her to enter. The smell had hit her instantly, like three day old Chinese food and spilled alcohol. She could see the many ashtray's scattered around the RV, for wherever he chooses to smoke, and the sight of other sharp objects mimicking needles suddenly made her uncomfortable.

"I can see that talk we had last week didn't help much for anything, did it?" She gestures to the air around the room, "And when was the last time you cleaned this place? It smells even worse than a garbage yard."

"It's hard to quit, Jo, you know that." He says, groaning as he closes the door and leans his back on it, "It's the only thing that helps me get through the day. Oh and sorry, again, I wasn't expecting company..."

Joann rolls her eyes, "That's what Pompidou's for! Excuses will get you no where, Frank. I've already said I can help you, but you have to be willing to make the attempt." She tilts her head as he lowers his own. She knew the real reason behind this 'self-destruction.' It was because of her... "I know you're still hurting about Rachel, and you're not the only one...but it's been months since we've last seen her. She will turn up eventually, but you need to move past this."

Frank was a drug dealer, though there weren't too many people who knew that for sure. Everyone just assumed it by the way he dressed and how he drove around everywhere in this rust bucket of a mobile home. While she doesn't agree with him doing it, she respects his decision to do so. If he wants to make a living that way, so be it. She can't stop him, though, not for lack of trying...This visit was yet another attempt to pull him away from this life. Joann knew more about him than any other person in Arcadia Bay, for she was the only one he felt he could confide in. The only one who wouldn't judge him for his decisions or motives. She was his friend.

He grimaced at the mention of her name, "Jo, can we not today? Please? I'd just rather not talk about it right now..."

"As you wish." She replies. A patter of foot steps is heard in the other room, which a second later is met with a dog turning the corner of the bed room. Joann only gets a moment to crouch down and prepare herself as it comes charging towards her. She embraces the dog lightly as it showers her in kisses, "Ooooh, hey Pompidou! Did you miss me? Oh, you've been good haven't you?" He barks in response, "You remember our last talk don't you?" He barks again, happily, "Well, it's good to know at least one of you has been paying attention..." She shoots Frank a stare to which he just rolls his eyes with a barely noticeable smile. Joann continues to pet him and scratch behind his ear, "He looks good, healthy. It's great that you keep him fed and well nourished."

Frank steps down to their level and begins to pet him too, "Pomp's basically the only good thing in my life right now, I take care of him better than I do myself."

Joann turns to face him and she catches the glimmer in his eyes that she was looking for while he played with his dog. He is the one she needs. She saw that now with absolute certainty. "Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about..."

He glances up at her, "What is it?"

She stands up, taking a more serious stance while he reciprocates, "I have a proposition for you."

"Alright, let's hear it..."

Reaching into her bag, she grabs the flier of her new business and presents it before him, "As you know, I'm opening an Animal care center soon and—to avoid beating around the bush—I'd like you to help me manage it."

He scoffs observing the sheet of paper, "Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie to you about something like this?"

He shakes his head, "Jo, there are plenty of people more qualified than me. One's who would be more than happy to deal with the bullshit responsibilities of managing a store. No offense. I'm sorry, but it's just not my thing."

"And what is your thing?" She asks raising an eyebrow, "Selling drugs to idiotic teenagers looking for a quick fix?" He scowls at her, "Go ahead and frown all you want, but you know I'm right. You need to get out of this sort of business before you end up in more trouble than you deserve." She waves the flier in his face, "Here's your open door, Frank. Go through it."

He crosses his arms, thinking about it for a moment, "Why ask me to do this, Jo?"

"For the exact same reason you just told me." She explains firmly, "You take better care of Pompidou than you do your own self. If I'm going to have someone managing my store while I'm somewhere else, I need to know that I have someone I trust that truly cares about the responsibilities of their job."

He leans back on his dirty bowl-covered counter, "I don't know...I mean, I appreciate the offer, I really do. But..."

Joann lets the silence linger a bit before smacking her lips together, "Well, I'll tell you what, The store opens in a few days. You know where to find me." She places the flier on the table, "Think about it and come back to me with an answer."

He nods while she pets Pompidou one last time and opens the door.

"I hope I see you soon, Franklin." She says finally before exiting back to her vehicle.

~Ethan~

"Mr. Cole, it's very nice to finally meet you! I'm Principle Wells." He greets with a hand extended towards him. Ethan grips and respectfully returns it. "You're grandmother speaks very highly of you."

Ethan rubs the back of his neck, "Yeah, I bet she does. I mean I'm pretty sure she wouldn't say anything bad about me. No disrespect, sir."

He chuckles at this. The principle was a large man, with an authoritative look about him. He seemed like a no-nonsense type of person with a smile that almost seemed...fake? But then again, he assumed that was something he had to do in order to get more students into the school. Gotta make it seem like it's all sugar and rainbows...Judging by the frown lines on the outer parts of his lips, you could tell he scowled a lot. The scrunch lines and folds on his forehead pretty much confirmed it after that.

"No, I suppose she wouldn't," He gestures to the seats in front of his desk, "Please. Have a seat." Ethan does so and slumps into the chair. It wasn't very comfortable, which seemed kind of strange. One would think for such a prestigious school, they could afford better guest chairs for the principle's office. "Now, let's see if I can't pull up your information right here..." He trails off at the end.

Ethan decides to take a gander around the room, seeing as how he has to wait anyway, may as well do something to occupy himself. He had always been known for being too curious. 'Always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong,' his mom used to say. But he couldn't help not knowing something. It's not like he planned to use the information on people, it's just that he liked to be in the know of things. Those who believe ignorance is bliss, he envied in a way. Because no matter what he does, not knowing something—especially when it involves himself—drives him insane.

The office appeared to be rather generic. There was a stuffed owl figure on the desk that kind of spiced the room up a bit, but other than that it was exactly what you would expect from a principle's office. Awards, scholarships, diplomas, and the sort lined up on the walls. Photos in holders on top of the bookcases and lots of file cabinets for the students of Blackwell. Why so many files though? There wasn't nearly that many students here, maybe only in the hundreds or so. For the most part, Principle Wells seemed rather boring.

There was one thing that caught his eye...A missing persons poster for a 19 year old girl named Rachel Amber...5'5, weighed approximately 110 pounds. She had blonde hair and hazel colored eyes. She also had a tattoo of a dragon on her right calf and a star on the inside of her left wrist. She seemed beautiful and kind in the photo, glowing even. Why would anyone want to hurt her? Could be she ran away, she is a teenager after all. But for nearly six months?

"Who is she?" Ethan asked, pointing to the poster.

Principle Wells pulls away from the screen, "Oh. That's Rachel Amber, she was a student here at Blackwell several months ago."

"What happened to her?"

He picks up a poster with one of his hands, "She was the pinnacle of excellence here, top marks in all her classes and yet equally as popular with her peers." His face darkens, "She was very well liked by everyone, but one day, she just disappeared without so much as a 'goodbye.' The police department had opened an investigation, but all the leads they had, came up with nothing." He clenches his teeth, "It's quite sad really, that someone with that much talent could be involved in such a terrible situation."

Ethan was getting more interested with every word, "Does anybody know what happened to her?"

"There are several theories," he begins, "Most of them too far fetched to be true, but I suppose anything is possible. I don't know too many myself though, so if you're that interested, I'm sure the countless students still talking about it would be happy to fill you in." He was hoping he could get more out of him, but he guessed he'd have to talk to the students about it after all. Wells places the poster back down on his desk, "Someone keeps posting them around here on campus...It's unfortunate, yes, but there's nothing more we can do."

Ethan leaned back in his chair. The last thing he expected from coming here was to find a missing person's case. It seemed like nothing happened in Oregon, yet here was a case that no one had been able to crack. As cool as the situation was for him, he felt sorry for the victim. She doesn't look like she deserved it.

"Aha, here we are!" He states while hitting something on his keyboard. The printer begins to whirl as it generates a sheet of paper. "Here is your class schedule for the semester."

Quickly scanning it, Ethan saw that he had: English, Statistics, Science Lab, World History, and Language of Photography. It's strange that he would have a photography class, he was never one for taking pictures. Well, not being in them, anyway. Just from that fact, he deemed it as the class he's going to find the most boring. Then again...it's Language of Photography. It might be fun to learn about the history of Photography and the way it's translated. Maybe he'll even come to enjoy it. Either way, he gave the principle a confused look, "I don't mean to sound arrogant, sir, but why do I have Language of Photography?"

"Well, seeing as how you're joining us at almost the middle of the semester," he states, "There weren't too many classes available. But, Mr. Jefferson is always happy to take new students. I'm told his teaching ethic is very well received, and the students seem to love him." He paused before continuing, "I've always been a fan of art myself, if you couldn't tell," he pointed to the bird on the desk. Ethan mentally rolled his eyes but chuckled to avoid seeming rude. "Photography is another form of art and humanity is the greatest canvass. You just have to know where to look..."

Ethan shakes his head, "Right...Well, I guess I'll take your word for it." He raises the sheet of paper with a smile, "Or I'll find out soon enough."

Principle Wells smiles as well, "Indeed you will, Mr. Cole." He squints his eyes, "Though you do know you don't have class today, right?"

His neck becomes crooked, "You mean, I didn't have to come to school today?"

"Not necessarily."

...

God Dammit Nana!

"But it's good that you came though," he says, "It's a good opportunity for you to check out the academy."

Ethan was a bit frustrated now. He could have slept in after the long way here, unpacked everything and had his room finished and ready to go by nightfall. In the end, he decided it was better not to think about it...

"I suppose so." Ethan said quietly. "I won't get into any trouble for being outside of class?"

He shakes his head, "All of the faculty has been made aware of your presence, Ethan. As long as you give your name, you have nothing to worry about. Even your teachers are expecting to see you."

"So you're saying I can go visit my teachers in the middle of them teaching class?"

"No, no, no, no." he quickly dismissed, "In between classes of course. They're all looking forward to meeting you."

Ethan cringes slightly at this, Do I have to visit them today?" It's not that he didn't want to meet them, in fact, the earlier the better! But he didn't want to stand there in the middle of the doorway, waiting for the students to exit the classroom just to introduce himself. It's very awkward...

Wells begins to adjust his tie, "Of course not! You're all adults here, Ethan. You'll be treated as such. I'm sure you can make the right decision."

Yeah, I get it, you think the right decision would be to introduce myself today. Just say it out loud why don't you? *sigh* Though, I guess it would be a good idea...it's better than doing nothing.

"Thanks Principle Wells," Ethan says as he stands up and straps his bag onto his shoulder, "I appreciate all the information you've given me today."

This time, it's Ethan who offers the handshake, which Principle Wells takes gladly. "Before I forget!" He writes something down on a sticky note, "Here is the combination to your locker." Ethan takes it and puts it into his pocket, nodding as a thank you. "Tell your grandmother I said hello when you get the chance. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to give me a call! And be sure to check out the bill boards around the school for any extra curricular activities you may be interested in." He pauses, "Oh, and Mr. Cole?"

Ethan is already at the door, about to leave before turning his head to the Principle one last time.

"Welcome to Blackwell."

Ethan yawned loudly while stretching out his limbs under the tree he was napping under. He was in the school courtyard, and several hours had passed since he left the office. The last class of the day ended in about ten minutes, so he decided to just make use of the beautiful day outside.

After leaving the principle's office, he went for a walk around the campus and explored a bit. The first thing he checked out was the football field, which for a small school, it was kind of shocking just how big it was. Same goes for the swimming pool. It seems like they'd have to have competitions here for it to be that big. The next thing he visited was the dorm rooms, which he was only able to scope out from the outside and the courtyard really. He did see something interesting though. There was a man, a janitor maybe, feeding a bunch of squirrels. They were literally all over him, so he must be pretty well known for it. He appeared to be taking a break from painting the building as the scaffolding equipment was still there. Ethan was never great with animals, not like his sister anyway. She could make even Cujo turn on his back to play.

Some time had passed before the lunch bell rung. His lunch number came with his schedule, but he was still full from the breakfast he had earlier, so he decided to pass on the food. During the 1 hour lunch break, he sat by himself pretty much observing the other students. He started making mental notes to himself which person belonged to which group, as the cliques just sort of flocked together.

There was the skater kids, who were hanging out by the railings and even smoking a bit of weed. It was crazy what the kids could get away with here...Then there were the jocks, almost all of them were wearing a Letterman jacket, just like in the movies—which was absolutely frustrating. Then there were the stray away's, the category that he would most likely fit into at this moment. One person was flying a HiFly drone, though he couldn't tell what model it was. Very cool! Another girl was sitting by herself at a table, looking like she hadn't slept properly in days. Though, judging by how some people were passing by her and laughing about something, he could guess that there was more to it than just lack of sleep. Ethan hated bullies and for good reason...

The one group that stuck out the most to him, was one called the Vortex Club. Apparently, the club consists of snotty, elitist, rich kids that have money coming out of their asses. There are fliers for the club pretty much everywhere around the school. It seemed too pretentious of a group for Ethan though, he wasn't really one to gloat about stuff. Unless he was trying to troll someone. Then it was just for fun. Just because he wouldn't join them, doesn't mean he wouldn't be friends with them though. His motto was: 'if you're cool with me, than I'll be cool with you.' However, it doesn't count when they aren't cool with someone he wants to protect. As a brother he wound up growing into that sort of quality.

He pulls out his phone to check the time.

Class ends in three minutes. I should get off my ass and head back inside...

With this, he straps his bag on and heads for the front entrance. The walk takes longer than he anticipated, because as he steps inside, the bell rings. He sighs to himself, realizing that he's gonna have to get through the crowds of people trying to get out of the building. While he's here, he may as well try out his locker combo, right? He scans the set of lockers until his eyes rest upon one of the ones next to his Language of Photography teacher's class. Mr. Jefferson...if his memory served him. Stepping towards his locker he starts digging in his pocket for his locker combo.

After taking it out, he notices a black haired kid getting picked on by a couple of much bigger students. Should he do something? If he did, it would be like he's picking a side, so he could kiss his neutrality card in this school goodbye! But does that really matter? This kid is in trouble and no one around here seems to really give a shit. So he had to do something! He takes one step toward him before someone bumps into him from behind and he gets pushed towards the lockers.

"Watch it!" the mystery man said.

Asshole...

By the time he gets himself together the bully's were already gone and the poor kid looked sad as can be next to his locker.

If that guy hadn't bumped into me, I could have maybe drove them off or something. Or maybe I would have gotten my ass kicked...Whatever, I guess. Now, let's see if I can—

Something was wrong...The code was gone! He checked his pants and then the floor, but nothing came up.

Where could it be?

Just as he thinks this, he manages to locate it. Only, it's stuck underneath some girl's shoe and she appears to be walking off with it...

Shit! She must have stepped on it by accident. I'd better go after her before she leaves.

He steps onto the trail behind her, trying to catch up with her, until she enters the place which no boys are ever allowed to enter: The Girls Bathroom.

Dammit! Of all the places she could go at this time, she decides to use the little girls room? *sigh* Well I have to go in right? I mean I need that locker combo if I want to get into my locker. So yeah, perfectly good reasoning! He reaches for the doorknob for a second before putting his hand away. Ooooh but it's wrong! I mean, I could get into trouble just being seen in front of here. Fuck it. It's now or never, I'm sure she'll understand once I explain the situation to her.

With his mind fully made, he grips the doorknob once more and pulls it open.

His impression of what he thought a girls restroom would be like was definitely not matching the one he sees here. There was graffiti on the walls and the stalls, markings on the mirrors and black spots of dirt and rust in the corners of the room. Even the boys bathroom looks a hell of a lot cleaner than this...His eyes rest on the main center of the room, the reason he entered in the first place. The girl had brown hair that fell just above her shoulders with bangs covering her forehead. She has freckles on her face, and appeared to be a few inches shorter than him. She was wearing a pink shirt with the design of a deer and blue jeans, with a grey hoodie and a messenger bag. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about this girl that he found fascinating. He didn't know why, she seemed about as generic as they come. And yet, she had a sort of innocent beauty to her. From what he could tell, she was making weird faces in the mirror before he walked in. What a strange girl...

The door closes behind him, attracting her attention. Now, they were awkwardly staring at each other.

The girl seems to get nervous and takes a step back, "Umm...this is the girls bathroom."

Ethan was speechless. He wanted to burst out into laughter just by the way she said it, but she has the wrong idea... "Oh, uh. *Ahem,* yeah, I know. I'm here on purpose."

Her eyes go wide and she takes another step back.

Now, he definitely gave her the wrong idea! "Nononono!" He says with his hands raised, "I'm not here to do anything funny or whatever, honest!"

She relaxes slightly and then looks him up and down, analyzing him, "So what are you in here for?"

He rubs the back of his neck as he tries to explain the situation, "Well, you see, I'm new here so I was just assigned a locker. When I was about to open it, some douche bumped into me and I dropped the combination." He waited to see if she would say something, but when she didn't he decided to wrap it up, "Long story short, I think you stepped on it on your way here..."

The girl seems to get embarrassed as a very noticeable blush colors her face and her eyes get wider than before. She lifts up her shoe and surely enough, there it was. "Oh crap, I'm so sorry!" she apologizes, peeling the note off of her shoe, "I had my headphones in so I didn't really realize." She hands it back to him, "Can you still read it?"

One glance and Ethan could tell the number was a lost cause. But he didn't want to tell her that, she felt bad enough already. "Yeah, no it's fine. I think I can guess those last few numbers...There's only like what, a million combinations?"

She laughs at his attempt to make light of the situation. She had a very warm smile, one of the most genuine he had seen. "Well, that's good to hear." Their attention is suddenly taken away when a glowing blue butterfly, absolutely mesmerizing, somehow flew in through the open window in the back. How did something like that just randomly pop up? It almost seems like it was planned..."Could you excuse me a moment?" She moves towards the butterfly before he even nods, taking out a Polaroid camera from her bag. This surprised Ethan, not many people would hold onto something like that. Usually teenagers nowadays prefer to use something more digital.

He takes one step after her before stepping on something on the ground. It was a Polaroid photo. It must belong to her, but why was it on the floor? Did she drop it on accident? He examined the picture closely. He'd be the first to admit he was no pro when it came to photos, but this seemed like it was really good. She wouldn't throw this away, so maybe she did just drop it.

If I give this back to her, than maybe it will make up for creeping her out earlier!

With this in mind, he meets up with her in the back, just as the flash from her camera goes off and the picture gets generated. Another good shot! She looks back at him, almost as if she had forgotten he was there. Before he could say anything, they hear the door open and Ethan quickly jumps behind the corner with her. Whoever just walked in was definitely a guy. He was talking to himself, talking about how he owns this school and that if he wanted to, he could blow it up. Whoever this guys is, he seems really, unhinged...

"Who is that?" Ethan practically mouths the words.

The girl peeks the corner slowly, "That's Nathan Prescott." she replies in the same manner.

Prescott...Where had he heard that name before...Prescott! The family that Joyce and his grandmother mentioned this morning! This was their son? The door opens again, this time it was a girl, and Nathan didn't seem too happy to see her. She checks a few stalls before fully conversing with him. Ethan's chest was pounding and by the looks of it so was camera girl's. The two spoke about business, drugs, money, and eventually, she tries to threaten him with blackmail. Nathan responds...violently.

The click of the action on a gun is heard by the two in hiding, who then look at each other with fear. "You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with!"

The two argue a bit more. The fear was evident in the girls voice as she tried speaking to him—the situation was clearly getting out of hand. Polaroid girl slowly peeks out to get a better view and Ethan grabs a hold of her arm, "Think before you—"

"Get that thing away from me psycho!" A gun shot rings out, shocking the air around the the entire bathroom.

"NO!" she screamed as she raised her hand.

"Wait!" Ethan said, still holding on to her.

Ethan's eyes blink open and he gasps for air as if it had been a bad dream. As he looks around his area, he was no longer in the back corner of the girls bathroom, he was back under the tree, where he had been napping before...

...

What the fuck just happened?

A/N: So there you have it. Max rewinds just like she did in the game. But unlike everyone else who is oblivious to her powers, Ethan could remember everything. More will be explained on this later in the story, but for now, just enjoy the ride!

On a side note, I know Max rips the photo in half in the game, but in real life, ripping a Polaroid photo is physically impossible...So instead she just sort of tosses it aside here, good? :3

Anyway, leave your thoughts if you can! I'm kind of self-conscious about my writing, so if you know any tips that can help me make this story better, I would GREATLY appreciate it :)

See you next time!