Life is Strange: The Graham Theory

Episode 1: Hypothesis [Part Two]

He couldn't shake off that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Warren knew nightmares; he knew them all too well.
This? This was something different. It was during when he was awake.
First the black eye, then the voices, then Chloe dying- this isn't anything ordinary.
Warren was perplexed about another thing: Why did time seem to skip? Why, after all that, did he end up in the class as normal?
It never made sense.
The off-white ceiling of his dormitory room reflected the light from the low autumn sun, making Warren squint. He felt queasy, but he was one hundred percent sure that it was from fear.
Despite his constant research and curiosity, Warren feared the unknown. He feared what could possibly be happening in the universe, despite his constant effort and studying to explore what was real and what wasn't.
It was mid-afternoon. Ms Grant was informed of Warren's whereabouts by Max. Luckily, she accepted with no hesitations.
The Bigfoots cheered down the halls, echoing through the dorm. A large knock shook Warren's door, before a figure walked in.
It was Nathan.
"You seen Caulfield anywhere?" Nathan asked, naturally adding venom to his vocals. "I need to ask her something."
"No. Why did you ask me?" Warren replied, looking back towards the ceiling.
"Cause you desperately want to get in her pants." Nathan hissed. "Honestly, Graham, I'm surprised you haven't fucked her- or are you too much of a pussy? Hah. Are you, Gayram?"
Warren didn't look at him. "I'm sorry, I almost forgot- I have to fuck girls and leave them hanging like a dead weight to gain satisfaction for my own sorry self and how pathetic I am- or am I thinking of someone else?"
Nathan screwed his face up. "Oh yeah. I forgot you're all about 'respecting women' and being a pussy cause you can't gain any yourself, virgin!"
"Wow. Is that how you talk to your own mother?"
"Don't even dare speak about my mom like that!" Nathan snarled. "I bet your mom is a dirty slut that's banging random-ass dudes right this second."
"My mom's dead. Has been for two months." Warren mumbled, point blank.
Nathan froze. For once, a guilty conscience set in. "Oh shit, man... I'm sorry. I never fuckin' realised." He held his head in his hands. "Fuck. How did she-"
"Drive-by shooting. Look at my wall of notes if you want more info." Warren gestured to the wall, unable to make eye contact. He remained lying on the bed, whilst Nathan wandered to the cork-board opposite. It was plastered with notes; some of them were on theories on different universes and wormholes and other theories about space and time. The wooden edge of the board was lined prettily with various photographs and Polaroids of him and his friends and family. A lot of them were of him and Max.
The middle section, however, held a newspaper article. It read: 'ARCADIA BAY WOMAN MURDERED IN FRONT OF SON DURING DRIVE-BY SHOOTING.'
Around the article cutting shown cut outs of various eyewitness accounts with various different descriptions of the murderer. They all said the same thing; a black trench coat, black gloves, balaclava, only thing showing were a pair of slate grey eyes. Alongside that, no one could depict if it was a man or a woman.
Dates, times, screenshots of CCTV footage released to the public of the day- the board was packed full of notes and sketches. Warren even written various accounts of his own memories and plastered it to the wall.
Nathan was astonished at the sheer amount of information gathered by Warren.
"So you spent the last two months..."
"Yeah."
"What are you planning on doing?"
Warren sat up. "I'm gonna find that fucker and bring them to justice. There's no way I'm letting that bastard move freely knowing that they killed my mom mercilessly."
"Good call." Nathan assured. "Personally, I'd fucking shoot them at sight."
"That wouldn't fulfil me." Warren disagreed. "I bet you'd think I'm a pussy for saying that."
"No. You're right." Nathan nodded, wandering to the door. "I'll leave you alone now."
He proceeded to step out of the room.
"Nathan."
"What?"
"What did you need Max for, anyway?"
"Curriculum notes." Nathan bluntly told him. "I've been skipping lately, and I don't want my dad to know- if I get kicked then my dad will kill me."
Warren laughed. "Yeah... Nathan. About the Vortex party last night. Was that-"
"Shut up. I don't wanna talk about it-"
"So it's true?"
"I was pressured, okay?" Nathan hissed. "Don't be crawling up my ass for too much information cause I don't have any more to give. And don't be telling your little friends about it either."
"I promise... On one condition."
Nathan winced in confusion. "What?"
"Don't you fucking dare hurt or endanger Max in any way." Warren warned.
Nathan nodded reluctantly. "Alright. Ok- but you better keep your word or I'll cut your tiny-ass balls off, and feed them to a rabid dog for dinner."
"Fair enough."
Nathan walked out in haste, swinging the door behind him.
'Man, Nathan can be such a douche at times... But also a big softie when his mom is mentioned. I was actually surprised by how sympathetic he was about my own mother's death.' Warren grinned. 'I guess under the bitterness and angst, there's a sweet guy underneath- well, besides his weird murderous tendencies. He needs help.'
His more positive thoughts were intruded, and he vividly remembered Nathan killing Chloe.
'No. He wouldn't go that far, would he?'
Another knock filled the door.
"Warren?"
"Max!"
Max walked in, before sitting on the edge of Warren's bed. "How are you feeling?"
Warren gazed at her, and flashed her a gentle grin. "Calmer."
"Calmer? That's great." Max grinned back. "You did look worried."
"Yeah." Warren nodded. "Today has been super strange."
"Really? Tell me!" Max asked, intrigued.
Warren took a deep breath and sighed. "You might think I'm insane, but I had a vision of Nathan killing Chloe."
"Wait, what?"
"Even worse, you witnessed it- in the girls bathroom."
"No fucking way." Max's eyes widened in horror. "That's some bizarro movie shit right there, Warren."
"Then I felt dizzy and 'woke up' in my science class, as if no time passed at all."
"Maybe you fell asleep?" Max suggested.
"Maybe but... I don't remember walking into class- or even feeling tired. And when I went to the bathroom before class started- I noticed I had a black eye and it disappeared."
"Okay, now you're scaring me." Max shook her head. "That's super weird."
Warren turned and fell face first into his pillow. "Max?"
"What?"
"Did Kate, you, and I go for tea today?"
"Yeah. You had the same as me and you paid for us!"
"So today is real?"
"Yes."
"Fuck."
"Oh."
"Nathan was in here before. He wanted you."
Max scrunched up her nose. "Gross! What for?"
"Curriculum notes, apparently."
"I guessed." Max shook her head in disgust. "He never shows up to class."
"He was worried about his dad." Warren mentioned.
Max nodded. "Oh yeah. I think I heard Victoria mention it to Taylor or whatever."
Warren stayed silent, nodding only for response.
"Hey, did you ask him about last night?" Max said, out of the blue.
Warren turned his head to her. "I did, but he was incredibly vague. I couldn't get a straight answer."
"Oh. What did he say?"
"I'll tell you, but promise you won't tell anyone else."
"I won't. Why?"
"I made a pact about it so I don't tell anyone else. So don't tell anyone- not even Chloe." Warren stressed.
Max acknowledged. "Sure thing. What did he say?"
Warren sat up and leant against the headboard, Max shuffling closer to him.
He looked at her, seriously. "He said he was pressured into it."
"Wait- are you cereal?"
"Yeah. He told me there wasn't much else to tell and for me to not tell anyone if I don't want to be castrated, so I said I would on one condition."
"Which was?"
"I told him not to even think about hurting you." Warren admitted. "Sorry- I just want to make sure you're safe."
Max was taken aback by Warren's request for her protection.
"Thank you." Max smiled, looking up at Warren. "It means a lot. For that pact, I'll promise to keep my mouth shut tight."
"Thank you, Max."
"You're right about today being weird." Max giggled. "Super weird."
Warren smirked. "Honestly Max, you make my shitty days a hundred times better and more bearable to live through."
"I'm glad." Max spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. She shuffled closer, and tucked her head onto Warren's right shoulder, near the crook of his neck- closing her eyes. Warren wrapped his arm around her, feeling more tranquil than what he had been feeling over the course of the day. He rested his head on hers.
Suddenly, a door burst open.
"THERE YOU ARE, MAD MAX!" Chloe paraded herself into Warren's bedroom, as the pair quaked from the unexpected outburst and pulled apart from each other.
Chloe smiled wryly, ready to tease. "Did I interrupt you love birds?"
"Chloe!" Max whined, laughing. She threw a pillow at her childhood best friend. "I hate you, honestly!"
"Love you too, Maxi-pad. So..." She wandered around the room like a police officer on patrol. "Much gone on?"
Warren felt an urge to tell Chloe everything.
But he remembered the pact.
"Not much." He explained. "I'm just trying to tell myself I'm not going insane."
"Going insane?" Chloe asked. "Yeesh, you're gonna end up like Nathan."
"Yeah... That guy is crackers."
"Why are you convinced you're on a one way ticket to the mental institute of hell?"
"Well... uh. Maybe i'm just tired. Yeah."
"Okay, Warren. You're being all weird now." Chloe winced. "You sure that you're not going bonkers?"
Max fidgeted in her seat.
"Do you know, Max?" Chloe inquired.
Max sighed and placed a hand on Warren's shoulder, giving him an apologetic look. "Warren had a strange vision."
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Vision? Like a premonition?"
"God I hope not." Warren mumbled.
"What of, anyway?"
Max looked up at her best friend. "He saw you and Nathan in the girls bathroom... and he shot you."
"And Max watched the entire thing happen." Warren added. "But straight after it, I felt faint and woke up in my class as if nothing really happened. No one was panicking except me, and no one had any idea of what happened." He held his head in his hands. "Do you see why I think I'm going insane?"
"You're hella fuckin' mental, Warren." Chloe shook her head. "You probably dreamt it."
"Probably... but it felt so real- and the black eye..."
"Black eye?"
Max continued to rub Warren's shoulder. "He also saw himself in the mirror with a black eye." She spoke. "Then two seconds after it was gone."
Chloe sat down on the bed. Her piercing blue eyes stared at the boy, seriously. "Sounds like you need some mental help."
"Chloe!" Max scolded. "It might just be a bad day. Don't just jump to conclusions!"
"I don't know, Max..." Warren sighed. "Maybe Chloe's right."
"Yeah, that's some heavy shit you're dreaming up though." Chloe said, half laughing. "I'll be on my toes if it is a freaky case of déjà vu, though. Ain't gonna let that fucker shoot me!"
Warren tried to smile, but couldn't quite muster even a smirk. "Be careful." He warned.
"Maybe Max is right, kid; it could just be a bad day." Chloe comforted. "As weird as it is."
Max nodded, lying down on Warren's bed. "I wonder what Kate would think of this?"
"She'd probably think I'm a freak!" Warren claimed, slightly grinning.
Max laughed. "She'll think you're bizarre, then try and help you."
"Yeah."
"Oi! You two hungry?" Chloe asked. "Might pick up some grub from my mom's diner if you two fancy joining me?"
"Count me in!" Max jumped up. "You coming, Warren?"
"You two go ahead. I'm needing some head space to think about what's going on." Warren declined. He grinned at the girls. "Have fun for me, though!"
Chloe nodded, making her way to the door. "I'll get mom to put some aside for you so we can take it to you, if you'd like?"
"You're too kind! Thanks, I'd love that."
"It's good, Graham! Come on, Max! I can smell the food from here!" Chloe wandered out.
Max followed behind, before stopping at the door and turning to Warren. She waved gently. "Take care, Warren. I'll see you later." She spoke gently.
Warren smiled slightly. "You too, Max. Make sure you and Chloe drive safely, okay?"
"I'll guarantee it!" Max assured, before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

It had been twenty minutes since Max and Chloe left for dinner, and Warren was beginning to feel claustrophobic in his bedroom. He jumped up and made his way out of his room, then out of the dorms.
The evening sun glowed around Blackwell Academy, and the crisp air felt refreshing on Warren's skin.He felt like he could breathe easy.
Maybe a walk could help clear his thoughts. Warren enjoyed that idea very much. Thoughts of a drive entertained his thoughts also.
Yeah.
He didn't get as far as the bottom of the courtyard before bumping into Brooke.
"Hey, Warren." She greeted.
Warren waved. "Hi, Brooke."
Brooke furrowed her brows. "Are you okay? You look spooked."
"Yeah... not in the mood for much human contact I'm afraid. It's been a strange day."
She tilted her head to the side. "How so?"
"I'm not sure if I can even explain it. Everything seems... off."
"Ah! I see. I best leave you then. You don't even look in the mood to do anything that you enjoy. It kinda comes off you in waves. Not your usual Warren right here."
"Yeah.. I'll see you later, Brooke!"
"Later!" She told him, before wandering off.
Warren carried on walking to the car park entrance, when he heard two voices.
"Where are you going?"
"Leave me alone."
It was Kate. And she was being hassled.
By David Madsen of all people.
But why?
"Don't think I'm blind! I see everything at Blackwell. Do you understand?" Madsen continued to interrogate Kate.
"No... Leave me alone!"
Warren shouted out. "Hey! Stop it."
David looked at Warren. "And why should I, kid? I am the official security of Blackwell. I am there for the safety for this school-"
"Well you're not doing a good job." Warren scolded. "And to have a go at an innocent girl..."
"Well she shouldn't have been the main star of quite a risqué viral video, then." Madsen walked off. "Suit yourself though, kid. I'm not done with her, though."
Kate hung her head. "Thank you! It means a lot." She thanked Warren, before walking away, still appearing to be stressed.
"Viral video?" Warren whispered to himself. He was incredibly confused. She never mentioned anything about a video. Neither has anyone else.
He proceeded to walk to the car park, when he got a text from his dad.
'Son! Do hang out tomorrow morning if one does so wish to! Needing to see my younger pride and joy sometimes. Proud of you always, boy! Mom loves you too! Love you son! - Dad."
"Dad." Warren laughed out loud, before accepting his offer via text. He turned around, spotting Kate walking down the car park again.
This time she looked much more content.
"Hey Kate, feeling better?"
Kate looked confused. "Better? I've felt great all day. Why did you ask?"
Warren was horrified. Kate didn't have a clue what he meant.
"Oh! Sorry." He spluttered. "Must have mistaken for someone else."
"It's okay! Mistakes happen. However, I don't mean to be rude but..."
"But?"
"You look awful."
"Yeah. I got that a lot today. Don't worry, you're not being rude though. I'm not having a very good day."
Kate looked relieved but slightly saddened. "Ah that's good that I'm not being rude, but it's awful that you're not feeling very happy."
"Yeah." Warren agreed. He then remembered back to the car park entrance. "Kate?"
"Yes?"
"Do you know of any recent viral videos of around Blackwell?"
"None, I'm afraid!" Kate admitted. "The only thing I know is not exactly a viral video but that massive rumour about Dana and Nathan trying to drug her."
"I see..."
"Why did you ask?" Kate asked, perplexed.
"I'm just making sure I wasn't missing anything vital."
Kate smiled. "I see! I must go; Alice needs a good feeding!"
Warren nodded. "Sure thing! Take care, Kate."
"You too, Warren. May you be blessed with good luck!"
"Thank you."
Kate walked off, leaving Warren alone in the car park, again confused.
Kate looked her happy-go-lucky, optimistic self. She looked as radiant and positive as usual.
But earlier she looked depressed, troubled, angry...The saddest he has ever seen her. She had lost her radiance, and her eyes had horrific dark circles- as if she hadn't slept in days.
Why did he see her depressed one moment, then in the next moment as happy as can be?
"Did I just have another vision?" Warren thought, stressing. "It's the only way I can explain that shit... What is happening to me?"
His thoughts were cut short when a voice shouted from the carpark.
"Hey! The Warren-ator has been summoned from his man-cave!" Max teased, wandering towards him- accompanied with Chloe, who held a bag of food.
"Gotcha some food, kiddo." Chloe announced.
"Thanks, Chloe." He turned to Max. "Yeah, I needed to take some time to get some fresh air."
"Feel better?" Max asked.
Warren shrugged. "I'll feel better when this day is over."
It dragged on too long for Warren.
Quite frankly as time ticked on, Warren got more and more scared.
Why was he getting these visions.
Why was this happening?
What was happening?
And how?