Hey guys, a big warm welcome from myself and tylerbamafan34. We present to you another fic, idea courtesy of Tyler.

Prologue: The Gathering

A beat-up, pale dirty yellow truck made its way down the road at a steady pace; sat inside were two girls in their late teens. The passenger looked out of the open window with rapt attention, watching the streets and trees speed past. Long blonde hair whipped around her as she tapped long, painted fingernails on the dashboard. She soon grew bored of this view and shifted her gaze back over to the blue-haired girl in the driver's seat.

"I'm just saying, Rach," Chloe said animatedly, "don't you think this is a bit odd? I'm not even a student anymore."

It did strike Rachel as strange, however this didn't deter her from wanting to investigate. She idly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "That as the case may be, you have to admit you're at least a little curious."

Silence passed between them as Chloe thought over her reply. Then, she shook her head and sighed resignedly. "Maybe," she conceded reluctantly, "but that still doesn't explain anything."

Rachel shrugged, hazel eyes gleaming with interest. "The letter did say there would be explanations in due time. I say we give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I think I've heard that one before," the bluenette chuckled heartily. The pair had certainly been in their fair share of trouble over the years, mostly as a direct consequence of their mischief.

The shorter of the pair stuck out her tongue and resumed her window watching, propping her chin on her hand. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Chloe focused her attention back on the road. While she wasn't one to pass up the chance to investigate, something about this seemed off. She couldn't explain it, but that was her gut feeling. "I think we've seen plenty of adventure for several lifetimes over."

Pouting, the blonde sank back in the seat and once again stared out of the window. "You are no fun."

Chloe had to laugh at her childish display. This was the side of her not many got to see. Rachel spent so much time pretending to be something she wasn't to fit in. She gave off the impression that she was perfect to live up to everyone's high expectations, making it almost impossible to expose the girl behind the many masks. The blue-haired punk liked to think that she had uncovered the real Rachel Amber, or that she was closer than most at least.

"Hey, I went along with it, didn't I?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow skeptically at the blue-haired punk. "Yes, but it took some convincing."

She scoffed at the accusatory tone. "Oh yes, because nothing bad could ever come from blindly following the instructions from some weird anonymous handwritten letter."

The letter in question had a short and simple message: Come to Blackwell Academy's Auditorium on Saturday 13th April 2013, 9 A.M. Further explanation will be given in time. Your life – and those of your friends and family – will depend on it.

Gently nudging her shoulder, Rachel playfully rolled her eyes. "Enough with the sarcasm already. Whoever it's from clearly knows where you lived. If they wanted to hurt us, they could've done it already."

Chloe turned her head towards the other girl, smirking at her attempts to justify their compliance with the strange request. "Well, why didn't you say that in the first place? Makes me feel so much better."

The blonde sighed melodramatically. "You know what I mean. Seriously though, who do you think set this all up?"

That was the real question here. Chloe had been trying to work that out ever since she received the mysterious letter, around three days ago. Whenever she tried coming up with a comprehensive list of suspects, it only made her more confused and intrigued. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if this was one of Rachel's big pranks; it seemed like something she would do.

Drawing a blank, Chloe shrugged. "Well, let's just hope it's not some creepy kidnapper or something."

"I pity the person who decides to kidnap you," Rachel mumbled into her hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the bluenette challenged, narrowing her eyes at the numerous possible insinuations.

Before either girl could say anything more, their destination came into view: Blackwell Academy. Their trivial squabbles were soon forgotten as the truck pulled into the small enclosed parking lot. As always, Chloe haphazardly pulled up across two parking spaces, one being the handicapped bay.

"Chloe…" Rachel groaned. "Really?"

"What? No-one here uses them," she retorted defensively.

Blackwell's celebrity couldn't help but smile at her infuriating logic. "Yeah, tell that to David."

"At least this time he'll have a reason to bust my ass," Chloe muttered, more to herself than Rachel. David didn't need much of an excuse to get on her case.

Both girls got out and headed towards Blackwell's auditorium, as specified in the letter. The grounds were eerily silent, only broken by the gentle swishing of the trees in the warm breeze and the cheerful chirping of birds as they lazily swooped overhead. Chloe shoved her hands in her pockets as they walked, kicking a stone along the well-travelled pathway. A mounting sense of apprehension began to build up in the pit of her stomach.

"If this is just some elaborate plan you concocted, I am so going to hit you," she threatened, squinting suspiciously at the girl walking beside her.

It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility. They were both renowned for their mischievous pranks, particularly those they performed on each another in their battle for the crown of 'top prankster'.

Rachel snaked her arm in the crook of Chloe's, calming her worries a little. "I could say the same to you. Only one way to find out..."

She began to tug insistently at the blue-haired punk's arm as their destination drew ever closer, dragging her along like an excited puppy out on a walk. Chloe smiled at the interesting mental image, then picked up her pace. Before long, the pair were standing in front of the double doors leading to the auditorium.

"Come on!" Rachel impatiently shoved the doors open, Chloe shaking her head in slight exasperation.

"Geez, wait a minute..." As these words left her mouth, the blonde was already through the doors. So much for being careful.

Chloe followed her inside, met by a sight she hadn't expected. Several chairs sat in the middle of the large empty space, some of them were already occupied. A screen had been set up in front of the chairs, which for now remained blank. The noise of the doors creaking shut caught the attention of the others in the room.

"Ugh, figures you two would be here," a tall girl with short blonde hair grumbled. She stood up from one of the chairs, striding over to them. Drawing herself to her fullest height, she planted a hand on her hip and offered them a contempt filled sneer.

"Hello to you too, Victoria." Rachel murmured calmly as to not antagonize her further. Chloe crossed her arms and bit her tongue to curb potential insults.

Victoria waved her hand lazily in their direction – like she was swatting an annoying fly – expression filled with disgust at having to be in the same room as them. "What do you two losers want? You'd better have had a good reason for calling me out here."

Rachel's eyebrow arched in confusion, hazel eyes holding a question. "What are you talking about?"

The taller blonde scoffed, lethargically clicking her fingers. Taylor came out of nowhere, shoving a crumpled piece of paper at them. Rachel scanned the paper, eyes widening as she read it. Growing impatient, Victoria began tapping her foot on the floor.

"Well? I'm waiting," she demanded in her default derisive tone.

Digging around in my jacket pocket, Rachel pulled out an identical piece of paper and showed it to her. She sighed, snatching it. Her brow furrowed in confusion as her eyes darted across the page.

Once finished, she shoved the latter back at Rachel, rubbing her temples. "Just fucking great. Now what?"

The shorter blonde shrugged, absentmindedly inspecting her nails. "We wait, I guess."

This suggestion earned her a scowl and an exasperated sigh. "You may have all the time in the world to wait, but some of us have important things to do."

Chloe couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Yeah, I suppose being a total bitch must take a lot of time and energy."

Victoria glared at her with an intense hatred. Most would have backed down at this point, but Chloe seemed to be itching for a fight. Rachel briefly considered trying to prevent this but knew that it was futile. Both girls were stubborn as hell. Nothing she said or did would change that. She had learned to just stay out of the way.

The Queen Bee took a step towards her adversary. "Um… excuse you…"

Before a fight could break out, the door creaked open once more. This time, a head cautiously poked through, checking to see if anyone was here. Hazel eyes flickered with relief as they settled on the group, an audible sigh echoing around the room.

"Oh, good. I was starting to think I had the wrong place," a sweet, shy voice spoke.

The door opened fully to reveal a girl with a blonde bun. Cautiously stepping inside, she approached the small group, the gold cross hanging down from her neck swaying. Victoria rolled her eyes and returned to her chair, closely followed by her minions. Rachel smiled warmly at the new girl, who was insanely cute.

"Don't worry, you got here just in time," Rachel reassured, glancing over at Victoria – who totally ignored her – then at Chloe, who simply shrugged. "So, what's your name, darling? Don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Kate," the girl answered, looking confused at the strange situation she had found herself in. "Um, I'm supposed to be coming to Blackwell in a few months, but…" She hesitated when Victoria scowled at her, not interested in her life story. Swallowing, Kate turned to the friendlier members of the group. "I'll assume you received a letter, too."

Rachel nodded, jabbing her thumb towards the occupied chairs. "Yes, so did Victoria and her minions."

At the mention of her name, the blonde scoffed in disgust. Chloe muttered something under her breath, no doubt some sort of insult at Victoria's expense.

Looking puzzled, Kate anxiously began playing with her cross necklace. "Does anyone have any ideas as to why we were invited here?"

That was the question on everyone's mind. Chloe sighed deeply and re-adjusted her beanie. "No clue whatsoever."

Everyone took a seat, wondering why they had been summoned here. Another ten minutes later, the door opened again. The first guy of the group stepped inside – long, messy brown hair, listening to music to pass the time. As he glanced up, he noticed Victoria and her group on the far side of the room. Wisely, he eschewed joining Blackwell's elite, joining the other three girls.

"I'm not late, am I?" he asked lightly, removing his over-ear headphones and placing them around his neck.

Kate beamed at him, happy to see another friendly face. "No, I don't think so."

"Good," he sighed as he sank into one of the free chairs. "I couldn't pass this up. Have to say, I'm interested to see what's going on here. Name's Warren, by the way."

Rachel leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Aren't we all? And nice to meet you, Warren."

A few quick introductions later and he was brought up to speed. Everything was still a mystery at this point. Given the lack of action, there were supposed to be more people on the way. The two smaller groups continued to talk among themselves, waiting. Finally – after several bored sighs and another angry rant from Victoria about wasting her precious time – the last four people arrived.

The first pair to enter were Joyce and David, making Chloe groan. "Are you fucking serious? It was bad enough having to sit in the same room as the Queen Bitch of Blackwell. Now you're telling me Step-Douche is here as well."

Joyce smiled at her daughter and the others as she passed by, David merely grunting and eyeing them up suspiciously. No doubt he thought this was all some teen prank aimed at him. Another pair came after them; a tall, well-built man with short brown hair and a bushy beard alongside a brunette woman.

A flicker of recognition flashed through Chloe's mind, body tensing as she realized why. What were Max's parents doing here? She hadn't seen Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield in five years, not since they moved to Seattle. Instinctively, she glanced around to check if they were alone, disappointed to find their daughter – her childhood best friend – nowhere to be seen. While she was still pissed at Max for ditching her so soon after William died, she would do almost anything to see her again.

A hand on the bluenette's arm caught her attention, meeting Rachel's concern filled hazel eyes. "You okay?"

Chloe could only manage a half-hearted nod, not trusting herself. She would either completely lose it or burst into tears. For now, she continued to bottle it up as always.

Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield always used to be so cheerful and energetic, full of life. The word that came to mind now was tired. Vanessa looked like she hadn't slept well in days. Ryan's shoulders were slumped, an arm loosely wrapped around his wife. Something was wrong. Remaining silent, they took a seat near Joyce and David and stared blankly at the screen.

Once everyone was seated, the screen suddenly flickered to life. Music started playing, a gentle strumming of guitar strings mixed in with ambient nature sounds, like wind and birds. Large, blocky letters fluttered onto the screen, eventually forming the words: Life is Strange.

Chloe's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "What the actual fuck?" she whispered to Rachel. "It looks like Max designed it. Fits her style exactly."

The screen faded to black, white text suddenly appearing: Life is Strange will show you the things that could have been, the consequence of choices and their impact on the past, present, and future. Pay attention…

These words of warning remained for a few moments, fading away. Everyone looked around, perplexed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel leaned over to whisper in the bluenette's ear. This was getting weirder by the second.

Chloe shifted in her seat, tapping her fingers on her leg. "I dunno, but this is hella strange."

Her blonde friend nodded in agreement. "I guess we'll find out in a moment."

Worry crossed over Kate's delicate features, a small concerned frown forming as she considered the implications of those words. Sheepishly, she looked over to Warren – who was stroking his chin with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

Victoria seemed unimpressed by the whole situation, offhandedly commenting on the pointlessness of all this. Taylor and Courtney agreed almost instantaneously with her conclusion. However, for all her complaining she didn't leave.

Joyce and David exchanged confused glances but didn't say anything. Vanessa and Ryan Caulfield, on the other hand, didn't join in on the questioning. Instead, they stared at the screen intently, never once taking their attention off it.

What the group was about to experience would shake the very foundations of their beliefs, challenge everything they once thought they knew and give them one vital chance to change everything.

What could possibly be going on? Find out in the upcoming chapters...