Life is strange

A special request from an Anonymous user, sequel to a caption I wrote a while ago :) It turned out a bit lenghty, but I had a great time writing it ^-^ Hope you'll like it

Joshua was looking concerned at the clock, like he had been doing for the previous three hours of that school day. He was alternately looking at that clock and at the door, hoping that eventually he would have seen his friend Gabe step through it, even though he was aware that that was highly unlikely. Gabe was never late for class, he would either arrive on time or don’t come to school at all, and that basically only happened when he was sick or something. Maybe that was that, maybe he was just sick. But then why wasn’t he answering his messages? That wasn’t like him at all! He always had his phone with him, and always responded instantly. Something strange was definitely going on, and yet nobody around him seemed to notice his absence like he did. While that was not really that strange, since Gabe had always been a quiet and reserved guy that nobody really ever paid attention to, it was really weird that not even the teacher had called his name when she called attendance. What was going on?

He realized that maybe he was just getting paranoid about nothing, but he was just too distressed, and asked to go to the bathroom to clear his mind for a minute. He was in the stall when he heard someone burst through the door. He peeked through the stall door, and saw that damn bully tormenting another poor guy. God he hated him! He wanted to get out of his hiding place and teach him a lesson, but he knew he stood no chances against him. He was a compassionate and idealistic guy, always wanting to do the right thing, but he was painfully aware that there was really nothing he could have done. He resigned himself to staying hidden and let events unfold in front of him, when suddenly someone else burst through the door. A girl. She faced the bully, and not only stood against him but she even managed to put him in his place. That was amazing! Who even was that chick? He had never seen her before! She was such a peculiar character, with her tattoos, and the blue hair, and the strong attitude, and there was something strangely familiar about her, even though Joshua could not quite put his fingers around it. Even though he knew he could have gotten into trouble, he incredibly intrigued by her, and started to follow her from a distance as she exited the school building. He watched from afar as she lit a cigarette and took a selfie with a polaroid before throwing both of them in a trashcan, then she just jumped on a bus and left him behind, unable to keep following her.

Joshua didn’t know why, but seeing that girl really startled him for some reason. He felt irresistibly drawn to her, and felt the need to find out more about her. But now she was gone just as fast as she had appeared, and the only thing she had left behind was… that Polaroid! He took it out of the trashcan and started to inspect it. It looked just like a plain common Polaroid, and there were really no characteristic that made it stand out or that could have served as a clue to find out who that girl was. And yet, there was something awfully familiar about that device as well. He started to get nervous. Why was he having so much trouble remembering things that day? It was almost like he had conflicting memories battling in his mind, and every now and then something new would emerge and bug him, making him question the reality around him. He knew that he had seen that Polaroid before! It was… it was his! He used to own it! And he gave it… to Gabe! It was like waking up from a dream. Of course! That was his Polaroid, and he sold it to his friend so he could be more like… like who? He took out the selfie that the mysterious girl had just taken. Those blue hair, the punk clothes… he had seen that girl before! Then everything started to come back to him. The afternoons spent together with his friends having a good time and talking about all things pop culture, Gabe’s obsession for a certain game and specifically for a particular character of that game. He wanted to be like Chloe from Life is Strange!

Nothing of that reconstruction made any sense. How was it possible for a real life equivalent of a video game character to exist, and where was Gabe? He needed to find out more, and the only idea he had was to check out at his place. However once he got there and asked about him, his parents denied that a boy named Gabe had ever lived there, and that they only had an ungrateful brat of a daughter, which was already more than enough to deal with. He asked them where he could have found her, and all he got as a response was that she was probably fucking around in the forest as usual. It was clear that they did not want to talk about it, and yet there was so much more he needed to find out. How was it possible that not even Gabe’s parents remembered him? It was like he was the only one left in the whole town who knew he ever existed. He was getting increasingly frustrated with all that nonsense, but also more and more resolute, and so he headed to the forest. Whatever was happening, that girl had to have the answers he was looking for!

He roamed through the forest almost until dusk, and just when he was about to give up he finally saw her, sitting on a chair in the middle of a clearing, smoking and drinking and looking into the distance. He imagine he would have rushed to her as soon as he would have seen her, but now that she was right there in front of him he felt somehow intimidated by her. And yet he needed to go all the way, so he took a deep breath and headed towards her.

<<H… hi!>>

The girl jolted as she turned towards him, and stared at him with eyes wide open without uttering a word. She looked shocked, almost frightened, and she kept just sitting there in complete silence. It took her a couple of seconds before she snapped out of that state of apparent confusion and her shocked expression turned into one of annoyance. She started acting distant and very defensive, and wasn’t answering any of Joshua’s question, and every time he would mention Gabe she would get mad and yell at him to go away, but he wasn’t willing to give up just yet. And as soon as he took out the Polaroid her annoyed expression turned into one of terror, and she jolted from her chair and started to harass and intimidate him, pushing him around and yelling at him to go away. She looked so scared, and enraged, and yet at the same time it looked like she was about to break down crying, like she was conflicted about what to do. He left him with just a sentence. <<Meet me at the diner tomorrow same time.>> That was all he got out of her before she run away and he was left alone in the middle of the weirdly silent forest. He felt like he had achieved nothing, but also realized that there was no point in trying to follow her, and that he would only have ended up making things worse. At least she had promised him to meet her, and while not much it was still something.

He sighed and headed home, and spent the evening shut in his room, just listening to music to distract himself as much as possible, thinking, and playing around with the Polaroid. He kept thinking about his friend Gabe, and was getting increasingly worried about him. He sure was a strange guy, and definitely not the most popular kid around. Nobody would want to spend time with him. Nobody but him. He liked him, and enjoyed spending time with him, and didn’t mind at all his weird quirks. They grew to have each other’s backs, and one could have even said that they were best friends. And now he was gone, disappeared without anyone even remembering his existence. Nobody but him. That Polaroid was all he had left of his friend. He didn’t really know why, but he suddenly felt the urge of taking a selfie. He wasn’t really the type of guy to indulge in something that shallow, but he just could not help it. As he took the pic he was blinded and startled by the flash, and his head was spinning.

He felt weirdly dizzy, and confused, and was barely able to pick up the pic from the floor. As his sight cleared and looked at the results, he was shocked to find the image of a cute girl with long red hair. He then caught a glimpse of his hand, and realized that it was dainty, and slender, and his arm looked different as well, much thinner, and his skin looked brighter and softer. He felt something brush against the back of his neck, and realized that his hair were longer, and that their color had changed to a copper tone. He looked down at himself, scared and overturned, and saw that his shirt had changed into a tank top and his pants into skinny jeans, and realized that he could not feel anything between his legs. He started to shake, and was barely able to bring his hands to his chest, where he felt two modest mounds of flesh under his tank top, and as he gave them a firm squeeze he gasped, and immediately snapped out of his state of confusion only to be plunged into one of utter panic. And as he frantically brought his hand down to his crotch, and all he found was an unsettling and alien void, he could not hold back a high pitched shriek of terror that came out in a female voice.

He rushed to a mirror, and immediately fell silent as he saw his new reflection. He could barely think straight, and yet he realized that that pretty girl staring back at him from the mirror looked strangely familiar, even though he was way too freaked out by the realization that that girl was indeed him to actually remember where he had seen her before. A knock at the door made him jolt. <<Max? Max! Are you ok?>> Max..? As he heard that name suddenly he remembered where he had seen that girl before. It was another character from Gabe’s favorite video game. The protagonist, Max, the shy and quite girl who becomes friends with Chloe. He had transformed into her, and somehow that had something to do with… the Polaroid. All of the pieces started to fall into place. Somehow that Polaroid must have transformed his friend into Chloe and changed reality around him so no one remembered him, and now that he had taken a selfie with it he had changed as well, becoming Max. It was crazy, and yet it was all real. He was a girl! <<Max! Answer me! Are you ok?>> <<Y… Yes… mom. I’m ok. It was… nothing.>> It was so weird to hear a female voice come out of his mouth. It took him a while before he could finally stop staring blankly at his new reflection, and even more before he could master the courage to start exploring his new body, only to be way too weirded out by it and immediately stop. That night he could not catch any sleep. His mind was flooded with too many thoughts, and he could not stop thinking about when the next day he would have met… Chloe. Maybe then he would have got some answers, and finally found out what had actually happened to his friend.

As he stepped into the Diner, he immediately spotted Chloe. With her blue hair and the punk clothes it was really easy to notice her right away. She was smoking, looking out of the window, immersed in god knows what thoughts. Max wondered whether she had a hard night as she did, looking forward to that moment and wondering what would have happened. It was weird, but she felt almost scared to actually go talk to her. For the whole day she had been feeling different, and it wasn’t just because of her different body. She felt weirdly shy, and insecure, almost like a different personality was taking control of her. Was that another consequence of the transformation? Was she transforming into an exact copy of Max also in personality? She could not allow that to happen! She needed all of her determination to face Chloe. She took a deep breath and headed to the table, and as Chloe raised her head and saw her, she gasped and stared at her with her eyes wide open.

<<Amazeballs!>> that was all she said. Max was instantly irritated by that reaction. Was that seriously all she had to say? A catchphrase? She sat down in front of her, and listened silently to her ranting. She was so thrilled to find out that her best friend had undergone a transformation just like her, and so excited about starting a new life together as the characters from the game, and the more she went on talking, the more Max was becoming fed up with that. That wasn’t his friend talking. It was just a grotesque mask, an imitation of the Chloe from the game. It all felt just so wrong!

<<This is going to be hella cool!>>

<<STOP THIS GABE! JUST STOP THIS!>>

It was really hard for Max to snap out at her friend like that, but she needed to put an end to all of that. Chloe was staring at her surprised and shocked, but soon the shock turned into rage.

<<Don’t call me like that! I am Chloe now!>>

<<No! You’re not like this! I don’t know what’s got into you, but this just isn’t my friend.>>

<<You’re right Max! This is way better! I am now confident, and strong, and free, and I don’t have to answer to anybody! It feels amazing! I have never felt so happy with myself! Nobody liked me when I was myself!>>

<<I DID!>>

Once again Max had to force the words out of her mouth, but she managed to get Chloe’s complete attention once again.

<<You are better than this Gabe. I don’t know how it is possible that we have transformed, but you don’t have to act like this. Chloe is a sociopath who faults anybody but herself for her failings and lacks any empathy for others. You are not like this. You are nice, and compassionate, and fun, and… I really like you. Maybe others have failed to see the good that is in you, but I didn’t. And I don’t want to lose my friend in exchange for a sad imitation of a video game character. I want my friend back.>>

Max’s heart was pounding faster and faster, and she felt her limbs go completely numb. It was like she had won in a fight against herself, a fight that had drained her of all energies, and she almost felt like she was about to start crying. But she was not the only one. In front of her Chloe was shaking, and unable to hold back she just melted down in a desperate cry, hiding her head in her arms and starting sobbing uncontrollably. Max was so moved by that sight, and once again she had to resort to all the strength she could master to stand up and go sitting next to her. She embraced her friend, trying to comfort her. It was so strange for a type like Max to play the part of the “strong” one, while Chloe was letting everything out, but it felt so good to feel her return the hug and hold her tight. She did not even know why, but she felt compelled to make her raise her head, and as she looked at her in the eyes she gave her a tender kiss. Her lips were so soft, and she smelled so nice, and it felt so good! So right! After endless seconds their lips parted, and they looked at each other in the eyes, tired and overturned, but hopeful for the future. They did not know what it was holding for them, but they knew that they would have faced it together. Joshua and Gabe, Max and Chloe… it didn’t matter. As long as they had each other.