Life is Strange: The Graham Theory

Episode 2: Preliminary Analysis [PART ONE]

Why?
That was the word that floated around Warren's head.
Why the visions? Why the storm? Why another woman?
"Why?" Warren could only choke, lying in bed alone in his room.
It was 11pm. Five hours before, he sat on some roadside, sweating and shaking in fear.
Chloe and Max had put him to bed soon after they returned to campus. Max offered to get him some food, but Warren declined. Food was the last of his worries.
Warren opened his eyes. One of them ached a bit, without any explanation.
Warren sat up and walked out to go to the bathroom. On the way past, he heard Nathan in the room opposite his. "Yes... I know, but I have a feeling that she's on to us..."
Warren stiffened, before slowly approaching the door. He pressed his ear against it, listening in on Nathan, who seemed to be on the phone.
"I think Max is trying to find evidence that I assaulted Kate Marsh at the Vortex Club party, and she's trying to gather evidence that I drugged her at that party to bust me. Man, Caulfield is too nosy for her own good. First the gun in the girls bathroom, now this shit? It's shit that I couldn't hurt her little friend, Price, cause of that stupid fire alarm."
Warren widened his eyes. 'So she didn't die?... Wait, why does this make sense to me?'
"Max is gonna fuckin' pay for that shit. As soon as she leaves her dorms tomorrow morning, I'm gonna sock her good. Mind you, it felt good to punch Warren Gayram today. Acting all tough and shit.. Pfft! I socked that motherfucker and now he's walking around with a fat shiner on his eye. Nice to see that nerd has been put in his place. Pussy."
'Shit, he's after Max. I best wait outside her dorm tomorrow to see of that bastard's gonna hurt her.' Warren thought, before dashing to the bathroom. He had heard enough.
He stopped outside the bathroom. "Wait a minute... He never punched me- shit. It happened again. Is this another universe?"
Warren slowly stepped inside and approached one of the mirrors. He looked up. His eye was bruised, just like Nathan said.
"It was bruised before... But that was before Nathan tried to kill Chloe. He punched me after- he even said." Warren speculated. "Maybe this bruise could come in handy- as an indicator of what timeline I'm in." He touched his eye, and winced at the pain. "Thanks, Nathan. You made this easier."

The next morning, Warren rose early. He peered in the mirror. No black eye.
Someone knocked loudly on the door.
"Chloe?" Warren called out.
"Excellent guess!" Chloe opened the door. "Ten brownie points to you!" She exclaimed, as she pointed to her head. "Decided I got bored with blue, so I'm a girl of fiery red now!" Her hair was a brick red shade. It suited her just as much as the blue did.
Warren sunk back into his bed, as he looked at Chloe's hair in approval. "Nice! Totally Ramona Flowers. How's Max?"
"It's all Max, Max, Max with you! Not that I blame you." Chloe teased. "She's fine, she got up super early to have one of her catch ups with Kate again."
"Is Kate okay, too?" Warren asked.
Chloe tilted her head in surprise. "Wow, you're a man of twenty questions today. She's just usual Kate. Happy, religious... Uhhh, she's just Kate, I guess."
"Nice to know!" Warren told her, relieved.
"Okay, you're acting hella strange again but it's nice to see you're concerned for the people in your life... And the fact you don't look as pale as fuck anymore."
"Yeah."
"I'll see you later! Got a cool ol' date with Rachel going on this morning. Breakfast!"
"That's what you wanna call it!" Warren told her, winking.
"Shut it! Later, Graham."
"See ya!"
Ten minutes after Chloe left, Warren decided to get up.
After showering and getting dressed, Warren made his way out the dorm.
It hit him- the excruciating eye pain. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it on front camera. The black eye had returned.
From a distance he saw Kate Marsh walking hastily across campus, looking miserable. In the distance, he saw David Madsen observing her. Warren scowled, and went to approach him. Before he could, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. "Warren!"
"Brooke, I, uhh..."
"I was looking everywhere for you!" She mentioned, grabbing his arm. "There's this thing on Saturday and I was wondering if you and I-"
"Sorry Brooke, I don't know- I don't have time to talk right now. I'm sorry, I'm in a rush. Maybe I'll talk later.."
Brooke scowled. "I see how it is. You're probably way too into Max..."
"Wait, that's not what I-"
"Whatever." Brooke spat, before walking away.
Warren sighed. 'Never mind. I have more important shit to do, like checking on Max.'
He ran towards the girls dorms, and made a rough guess where Max's window was. Warren stood by the wall of another building. He observed. Max was in her room, tending to her plant Lisa.
He briefly observed the courtyard. No Nathan. Where is he?
He looked back up to the window where Max turned suddenly to look out of. Warren jumped behind the wall, but knew full well Max had seen him.
"Shit!" Warren whispered harshly. 'How am I meant to explain that shit to her without her thinking I'm a creep? Good job, Warren.'
He ran from the dorms where he bumped into someone. Max again.
Max tilted her head. "Wow! You're super skittish today."
"I'm fine! Just still a bit exhausted from yesterday." Warren assured her. "How are you?"
"Good! Just needing a couple of photos of people for my 'Everyday Heroes' contest entry. Would you like to be my subject? I'm making a collage of people."
"Would I be considered an everyday hero, though?" Warren asked her.
Max nodded. "Some people consider their friends to be heroes." She pulled out her camera. "Get ready."
Warren smiled, as the flash illuminated his face for a split second. He watched as Max shook her photo and held it up to Warren. "What do you think?"
To Warren's surprise and relief, his eye was clear- no bruising whatsoever. "It's great!" He complimented.
"Thanks!" She set the photo and the camera in her bag. "One more for the collection."
"I heard you were with Kate this morning! How is she?" Warren asked.
"She's great! She has a violin performance at the local church here in a couple weeks. She's incredibly excited."
"Ah good!" Warren spoke, relieved.
"I have to go! My mother wants me to ring her asap cause I haven't done it in a while and she wants a catch up! I'll see you later!" Max told him, giving him a small wave.
"See you, Max." Warren called back as they parted ways. He walked towards his room.
He sat alone in his room, trying to piece together what was going on. He pulled out his notepad. He scribbled notes on what happened before. Accounts of Chloe, Max, Kate, and Nathan had been written. Each of their pages had been split in half. One was labelled 'black eye' and the other 'none'.  For Chloe he written for 'black eye': Was shot, killed, but not dead also? Nathan out for her? Blue hair.
Max's accounts read: Suspicious about Nathan, Nathan out to get her. Helping Kate? Always in right place at right time...
Kate's account was full of information: One moment she's happy, next moment she's depressive. Madsen stalking her. Vortex club party attendee, yet didn't attend in no black eye scenario. Worried about her. Something about a viral video.
Nathan's account was blunt: Nathan worries me. He is suspicious. I am scared.
Warren snapped the notebook shut. He had been theorising his information for a couple hours. He looked up at the cork board across his room. "I'll find your killer soon, mom."
He walked across campus, where his eye twinges again. He heard a worried voice around the corner. He peeked around, where Kate stood- on the phone. "...Max, I don't know what to do, I feel hopeless! I can't just sit here and wait for evidence whilst everyone calls me a viral slut."
Warren listens in further.
She nodded. "...okay, I won't go to the police just yet. I'll wait. Okay, I'll see you." She hung up, on the verge of tears, she turned and walked away towards the girls dorms.
Something was definitely wrong. Warren had a feeling about it.
'Maybe I could use this new found ability to help her. I could be an everyday hero.' Warren thought.
But little did he know it wouldn't be as easy as that.