Polarized

Life is Strange

 

(A/N : I know I said before that this would continue more than five chapters than the traditional game Life is Strange, but I couldn't help but put it all in one chapter. I know, it's super rushed, but..I hope you enjoy the last chapter and prepare for the ending..)



Seohyun died that day.

Nathan and Victoria were suspended due to the belief their bullying caused Seohyun to take her life. The video was taken down.

But even so, people still talked about her. They all pulled up their masks, pretending they had been her friend, crying as if they weren't expecting her to go that far.

Tiffany wanted to slap them all. They knew nothing, but caused everything.

It was a Sunday morning, but at Blackwell Academy, it was quiet.

The girl walked quietly down the hallway, knocking at a specific door near the end. She didn't hear a response, but opened it anyway.

She heard the flapping of wings and a short gasp of breath. Tiffany watched as a bird flew away from the photographer, who turned around with a disappointed look, her camera in her hands.

"Sorry, did I scare the bird away?"

Taeyeon shrugs. "It's fine. I can just rewind."

"Instead of wasting your power, I can be your Rachel Amber." Taeyeon looks at Tiffany weirdly, wondering what her sentence meant. "Oh, I guess you don't follow fashion magazines huh? Rachel Amber is a popular fashion model. I was trying to say, I could be your model."

The photographer laughs sadly, then points at her wall of polaroids. "Have you ever actually..looked at the pictures closely?"

Tiffany shook her head slowly, before turning around to properly admire her pictures.

She was surprised.

There was a picture of Taeyeon kissing a girl on a cheek. Another picture of a person in a pool. Someone sitting on the bench. Then, at the beach.

They were all photos of her.

Of course, Tiffany didn't remember any of these photos, as they were pictures of her in different alternate realities.

"What about this one?" She points at a photo near the bottom. "Oh." She quiets down, realizing Seohyun, Taeyeon, and her have been in the photo.

Taeyeon doesn't say anything, and instead closes her window. "It's starting to get cold. I use to be able to sleep with my window open all night. Now I can barely stand it even in the morning.." Tiffany realizes how troubled Taeyeon looks, and how much older she seems to be than a student. No matter how much she asked, the time traveler never told her how many times she's rewinded time. It was a mystey that would haunt Tiffany in every timeline.

"Before.." Taeyeon started off, nearly mumbling. "Pictures meant nothing to me. I use to just take them, maybe to enjoy how I looked that day. But the smiles, the laughter, the background, the people in it -- I didn't care about any of it. I would simply take a photo and show everyone how pretty I looked.

But ever since I got my power..I realized how many things I took for granted. The smiles from that moment, the liveliness we all had in each frozen moment in time." She sighs, looking outside. "There's so much I want to do..but I can't keep doing it if I'm still stuck in the past."

"Do you regret saving me?" Tiffany says, wondering if she was just avoiding the question.

"No." She calmly responds. "Not at all. As you can tell, I've gone through hell and back to save you. Every single choice I've ever made in my life has brought you to this exact moment, listening to me." She turns her head, locking eyes with Tiffany. "I just want to tell you that I love you. And not just you from this timeline, but from the one before that..and before that..and.."

Tiffany walks over, wrapping her arms around the sad, teary-eyed girl. She sobs into her shoulders, hugging her back tightly. "No matter what I do, every choice I make is the wrong choice. I can't save you Tiffany..I couldn't even save Seohyun..what's the point of having powers if I can't save anyone?"

"Not every Superhero ending is good. Some people have to die, and it's--" She stopped, wondering if this was the correct thing to say. If only she could rewind time like Taeyeon. "It's unavoidable. I can't tell you what's right or wrong, but I just want you to know how much I love you too. You might not be saving the world, but you're saving me. You're my Super Taeyeon and I love you."

That morning was spent in bed, cuddling each other as they waited for the tears to dry up. Taeyeon spent every moment with Tiffany, cherishing it as if it was her last. Every moment, no matter how many times she rewinded, was special in it's own way.

"There's an End of The World party later on today." Tiffany blurts out, rubbing Taeyeon's back in a comforting way. "Just telling you, not that I'm forcing you to go or anything."

"I don't think I can do it." replies Taeyeon. "This is the first timeline where Seohyun has.." She pauses, trying to avoid her tears again. "..passed. We use to go to the parties together. The video still happened--...You don't want to hear this." 

"You don't have to tell me." She leans in, kissing her on the forehead. "Have you used your power lately? You've been looking healthy, physically, I mean."

"No. I haven't used it lately. No reason to." She sadly replies.

"Okay." Tiffany sighs. "Just enjoy this moment. No pictures. Just memories of you and me."

X X X 

The two didn't go to the party, but went out during the night. They ended up spending an early dinner at the Two Whales Diner, talking as if everything was normal. They even went to the junkyard, even if it was as creepy as it was during the night, the two ended up finding ways to have fun.

Tiffany jumped at the sight of a new, red leather chair recently added to the junkyard, sitting near the front entrance. She examined it closely before sitting on it happily.

"Dude, this is like..mega new!" She laughs out loud. "How can anyone throw this away? It even smells nice. How?!"

"Yeah..it seems pretty recent.." Taeyeon resists the urge to snap a picture of Tiffany swinging on the chair back and forth. "Don't know why anyone would throw it away."

"Taeyeon." Tiffany leans forward, grinning a little bit. Her eyes travel back to the car and her's.

"No, you are not taking the cozy chair." She says in a child-like manner.

"Super Tae, do your powers include mind-reading? Or did you rewind because I tried to steal the chair? , I'm confused."

Just then, the moonlight suddenly became stronger, as if someone pointed a flashlight at them. "Woah." The two look up, surprised to see two moons in the sky.

"That's so..beautiful and..creepy.." Tiffany laughs, looking at Taeyeon next to her. She frowned, examining the girl. Taeyeon had wide open, obviously surprised, but she looked..angry and confused.

"No.." She started off quietly. "No...no..no..no-- God damn it!"

"What's--what's wrong?" Tiffany stands up, ready to reach out to the girl.

"First the snow..now the two moons...next..the storm.." She collapses onto the floor. "It's wrong..everything is still wrong..I thought that maybe if I told you I had powers..we could get through this together.." She stops, choking on her tears. "It's still all wrong!"

"I don't get it Taeyeon. If you want me to help, I need you to tell me what's going on--" Taeyeon wipes her tears away, then lifts up her right hand.

"nogniogstahwemlletotuoydeeniplehotemtnawuoyfinoeyeattitegtnodi-- Tiffany retreats back to her seat, she rocks back, goes forward, stands up--"

"Dude! This is like..mega new--" Just as Tiffany turns around, her lips pause. "Taeyeon, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Taeyeon says, her lips curled into a frown, her eyes a little red.

"What do you mean, nothing?" She gets up angrily, ready to hug her.

Taeyeon backs away uncomfortably. "Just ignore me. It's..just that you look so pretty, you made me cry." She laughs awkwardly, then marches towards the car. Tiffany could tell the girl was lying, but she couldn't figure out what she was hiding. She looked up, surprised at the two moons staring down at them.

X X X

The town was engulfed in a gloomy, gray fog. Taeyeon use to spend most of her time in Tiffany's room, or let Tiffany in her room, but now whenever moments they spent with each other, Taeyeon always seemed so tired, like the first time they met, in this timeline, at least.

The life in her eyes was gone, as if she was waiting certain doom. The rain continued, at first, softly, then began pounding hardly as it knocked on the windows and buildings.

The wind eventually began to accompany the water as it threatened to blow everything away. Everyone stayed home, or where ever they felt safe.

When Tiffany couldn't sleep, she went to Taeyeon's room again, only to find the girl mindlessly looking outside, holding a photo in her hand.

She looked so hopeless.

"Hey." She put her hand on the girl's shoulder, wondering if she even knew she was there or not. "Want to run to the cafeteria to see if they're open? I'm sick of eating all my emergency noodles day and night waiting for this huge storm to pass. It's crazy, there's never been a storm this big in Arcadia Bay for the last twenty years."

"It's not just a regular storm. It's a freak mother nature, tornado, thunderstorm, crazy blizzard all combined into one, and it's going to kill us all."

Tiffany paused, unsure of what to respond. Taeyeon was blunt, depressed, and didn't seem to care. "Nothing I can do anymore."

"What's the matter with you?"

"I give up." She merely responds.

Tiffany sighs, crossing her arms, repeating it again. "I don't get it. I never get it when it's with you."

"Because you don't know what I've been through." Taeyeon growls. "I've seen this storm coming..so many times..I've tried to avoid it and save everyone from it, so many times." She tosses the photo away, rubbing her head with her thumbs. "I can never do it. So I give up. Maybe everyone does need to die, maybe that's just what reality is. It's just like my dream, except the lines blur together and nothing makes sense anymore."

She watches the girl mope around in her room, wondering what to do. She ends up digging into her pockets, in search of one thing.

Her keys rattle, and Taeyeon looks up.

"Let's go." Tiffany says, pulling her up. "Let's go and make sense of this thing."

X X X

Tiffany didn't bother looking nice in this brutal weather. She grabbed the only thick coat she had and ran to her car. Taeyeon followed, voicing where to go. Nobody else but their car was the only vehicle driving on the empty streets. Tiffany had to keep both hands on the steering wheel, especially with the wind nearly driving them off the course each time. The storm was no joke, they had to ditch a couple of the roads due to the buildings that had fallen over.

"Go a little bit further, then to the left." Taeyeon says.

"That takes us to the beach." She looks around, stepping on the pedal. "Is that where we're going? In the middle of this storm?"

"No. We're going to the safest place I know."

"And where is that?"

In the midst of all the gray, grueling color, a beacon continued to light up near the end of the town.

"There." Taeyeon says, pointing up ahead. "The lighthouse."

Halfway up the hill, Tiffany could barely stand up without nearly getting lifted off her feet. Taeyeon reached out to her and held hands. Together, they walked up the steps towards the lighthouse.

"Holy .." Tiffany said, staring in disbelief. She knew the storm was bad, but she couldn't believe how massive it truly was. The town she lived in all her life seemed so small compared to Mother Nature's wrath that would soon swallow it all. She could see Blackwell from here, her house, the diner, their dormitory..

Thunder crashed down, lighting up the sky for a second. Water turned and slowly marched it's way directly at the town. It was as if the entire ocean came to swallow the town. The ever so tall trees swayed uncontrollably, losing their stand against the element. Within a few seconds, they were completely soaked from the rain. 

Her grip on Taeyeon's hand tightened, but to her surprise, Taeyeon let go.

She couldn't see the tears on Taeyeon's face because of the rain, but she could hear and understand the misery she was going through listening to her voice.

"This is my storm..I caused this..I caused all of this.." She sobbed. "I changed fate and destiny so much that..I actually did alter the course of everything." Taeyeon turned to Tiffany, the love of her life. The reason she got the power..

"All I created was just death and destruction!" Taeyeon watched helplessly as the storm grew closer. Seohyun..Nathan..Victoria..everyone she ever knew and even hated would die because of her..

Tiffany pulled Taeyeon by the shoulder, forcing the girl to face her. " all of that, okay? You were given a power. You didn't ask for it.. and you saved me.  Which had to happen, all of this did, except for what happened to Seohyun." She shook the girl. "Okay, so you're not the goddamn Time Master, but you're Kim Taeyeon..and you're amazing."

The time traveler didn't say anything, but continued to look on at the terrible storm she created.

Tiffany shivered and looked away, but eventually gathered the courage to do what was right. She called her name out, and pulled out the photo she took from the girl a while back.

It was the picture of the blue butterfly on the bucket. The very picture Taeyeon took a few minutes before Tiffany got shot in the bathroom. "You..you could use that photo to change everything right back to when you took that picture..All that would take is for me to..to.." Her lips quivered as she attempted to finish her sentence.

Taeyeon screams. " that! No..no way! You are my number one priority right now. You are all that matters to me!"

"I know! You proved that over and over again..even though I don't deserve it. I'm so selfish...look what Seohyun had to put up through. Things I thought would never happen. Even the people I don't even talk to at school -- they all deserve so much more than to be killed by a storm in a ing classroom. Even..even Victoria..deserves to live..There's so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live..way more than me.." Tiffany sobs, her body shaking.

"Don't say that..I won't trade you." Taeyeon desperately steps closer.

"You're not trading me. Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny..Look at how many times I've almost died or actually died around you. Look at what's happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me. I know I've been selfish, but for once I think I should accept my fate..our fate.."

"Tiffany.." She begs.

"I know you carry memories of me from different timelines, but all you've done for me is shown me your love and friendship. You've loved me more than I thought or could handle. Wherever I end up after this..in whatever reality..all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours. No matter what you choose, I know you'll make the right decision."

"Tiffany, I can't make this choice." Taeyeon cries.

"No, Taeyeon, you're the only one who can." Tiffany squeezes the girl's hand, looking deep into the girl's eyes. Thunder flickers again, and the storm comes closer.

"Taeyeon, it's time." She shakes her head, running into her arms.

"Tiffany..I'm so, so sorry... I.. I don't want to do this."

"I know, Taeyeon. But we have to. We have to save everybody, okay? And you'll make those ers pay for what they did to Seohyun. Being together this week..it was the best farewell gift I could have hoped for." She leans away from the hug, then closes the gap between their lips. The kiss felt like eternity and Taeyeon wished she could stop time right then and there. Eventually, Tiffany pushes her away, walking backwards, keeping their eyes locked together.

"Tiffany...I'm going to miss you so much."

Tiffany nods, her crying face will always be etched in Taeyeon's memory. "I'll always love you.. Now, get out of here, please! Do it before I freak. And Kim Taeyeon? Don't you forget about me..."

"Never." Taeyeon softly responds.

The time traveler turns around, gripping the picture tightly in between her fingers. She stares at the storm, at the town, then at the photo.

The blue butterfly slowly comes to life, everything blurring into one moment as she escapes this timeline and goes back...

White engulfs her vision for a second as she leans back, lifting her finger off the camera. The photo she takes slowly comes out and begins to develop. Taeyeon drops it onto the floor and leans against the white and blue colored tiles of the bathroom.

Time ticked. And ticked. And ticked. From the corner, she peeked a little bit, silently hoping that reality would change it's course itself..just this once..

The butterfly flew away, flying towards the sink when the door opens.

Taeyeon retracts her head, looking away as Nathan's footsteps echoed throughout the bathroom. All hope, lost again. As usual, Nathan begins talking to himself.

And then, the door opens.

"Lock the ing door." He hisses.

"Meeting in the girls' bathroom huh? You've got some balls, -scott." She equally ridiculed. Tiffany checked all the stalls, making sure no one was in them. She didn't bother checking the janitor's little corner. "Now, let's talk about that money."

"I've got nothing for you."

"Wrong. You've got hella cash."

Just hearing Tiffany's voice erupted pain in Taeyeon's heart. She grew weak just hearing it, and eventually, she slides down the bathroom walls quietly, staring at the white washed walls.

The argument continues to intensify. Taeyeon knows it's only a few moments away from happening.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE I AM, OR WHO YOU'RE MESSING AROUND WITH!"

Taeyeon lifts her hands up, holding her head..

"W-Where'd you get that? What are you doing? Come on..put that thing down."

"I'M SO SICK OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CONTROL ME!!"

"You're going to get into a hell of a lot more trouble for this than drugs--"

"You may be ing popular -- but no one's here to help you now!"

"Get away from me you psycho!" Tiffany screams.

The sound of the gun shot firing causes Taeyeon to lunge forward, digging her hands into her eyes as tears dropped uncontrollably onto the floor. The butterfly flaps it's wings and begins to fly away.

"S-..no..Please..oh god..N-No!!" Nathan cries out. "I-I didn't mean to!" He tosses the gun to the side and shakes Tiffany. "O-Oh f-."

Taeyeon couldn't take it anymore.

It was true, sacrificing the entire town was too morally wrong, just for one person.

But she couldn't..no matter what..she couldn't let Tiffany die...

She was the only reason she got the powers..the only reason she kept rewinding..

All for her..

Taeyeon looks at her shaking right hand, remembering Tiffany's last words. She cries out to herself, I'm so sorry.

She forces herself to rewind, going back enough for Tiffany to still be alive. Then, she forces herself up just as she hears Nathan entering the bathroom. She writes a note as fast as she can, then sticks it onto her journal in which she wrote everything from each timeline.

Reality plays out once again as it usually did. The black haired beauty went into the bathroom as she was fated to do.

But Taeyeon waited for one particular moment..

Nathan had his gun out, resting against Tiffany's stomach.

It's time to be an everyday hero. Taeyeon thought to herself. It's time to change time.

Then, Tiffany said it.

"Get that gun away from me you psycho!"

Just as she yelled, Taeyeon lunged forward, dashing for the gap between them. Instead of Tiffany, Taeyeon pushes Nathan away, causing him to accidentally pull the trigger.

The gunshot happened.

But this time..

"W-What the ?!" Nathan growls, his gun kicked away by Tiffany. The girl punches him in the face, knocking him down, before she screamed loudly for help.

For a long, terrible moment there was complete silence. Then Tiffany rushed forward and picked Taeyeon up.

"Holy --" Taeyeon weakly watched the girl look over her. She grimaced from the pain, but had enough strength to grin and muster some words.

"This was...the..twenty..seventh time..I rewinded for you.." She gasps.

"W-What? I don't get it.." Tiffany says, causing Taeyeon to chuckle a little.

"You never do.." She responds quietly, blinking a little bit. "....I don't..regret this."

"S-Stop talking!" The girl freaks out, hearing the commotion behind her. The security guards begin pounding on the door. "I-I'm going to lay you down on the floor for a second."

Taeyeon watched as Tiffany opened the door while David, the security guard, barges in, just as shocked as Tiffany. Nathan was crying in the corner, but Taeyeon couldn't see him.

"Hey." Tiffany speaks, rushing back to Taeyeon's side. "Help is on the way."

Taeyeon blinks. Was time slowing down or was she just..tired?

"You're in my photography class r-right?" A tear drops from her worried face. "T-Taeyeon was it?"

Too weak to respond, she merely nods.

"Taeyeon, okay, okay. Oh god, yo-" She takes off her sweater, placing it over Taeyeon's stomach, hoping to stop the bleeding. "You're going to be okay, Taeyeon." They could hear the sirens outside and what seemed like a thousand pounding footsteps coming closer.

Tiffany held her smile, then bent over to check Taeyeon's eyes. She brushed a lock of hair out of her face, trying to look hopeful. All Taeyeon could feel was the warmth of her blood across her pale stomach and Tiffany's hand squishing her's.

"What was that about the twenty seventh?" Tiffany whispers. Taeyeon opens , but doesn't say anything.

"Taeyeon?" Tiffany calls out.

...

"Taeyeon? Hey." Tiffany shakes the girl gently.

...

"...Taeyeon..?"

Tiffany leans back, her eyes wide open. Everything around her didn't seem to matter. Some paramedics began to crowd into the bathroom, pushing against her. Police come to arrest Nathan.

And the butterfly near the end flies away.


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Wynteral
sorry not sorry for destroying your feels

Comments

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redskye
#1
Chapter 5: *remembers Chloe died*
* plays Spanish Sahara by Foals *
*watches every scene changes after Max rewind everything and let Chloe die*
*broke down in tears coz I can't handle the pain*
redskye
#2
Fudge. LiS crossover--

Aaahh I don't want to remember the sad scene
xolovetaeny3981
#3
Chapter 5: Omg you did not. Omygosh. No.
saltedkimbap
#4
Chapter 5: TaeNy x Life is Strange cross over is what we ALL need, lesbihonest now. Even though this kinda spoils the game for me lol (not that I play them, I just watch other Youtubers play it!), I have no regrets! Thanks for writing this out, I appreciate it! (:
ONCEXwizone
#5
Chapter 5: I am on planning to edit my story if my protagonist will have the rewind powers or not because cluster headache wasnt a fantasy and idk actually, or just add it to that character. Maybe just add to another character that has a mystery in the story. Rather it will be a headache only if it use the rewind powers. I am on planning era and if I have your go signal I am editing it asap after I settled my job hunting.
ONCEXwizone
#6
Chapter 5: Can I make it as a new story of mine but my plot will be there. I mean is, it is different and I am amazed by the rewind powers. Just the rewind powers will be there and this death scene, and some love story of this. Because Idk how to add the love story. If you want to give me a permission? I have a story hanging on my wattpad and its a cluster headache theme. And I need some inspiration that will add to my protagonist. Its just the cluster headache will be there because of the rewind powers. I am surely give you the credits. my_refraction is my wattpad account that you will see my story about cluster headache. Hoping to have your respond soon. God Bless!
taenysic3981 #7
Chapter 1: Im really confused right now :-/
danifitria77
#8
Chapter 2: You are welcome...

Thanks to write Taeny love stories
BlackChocolate #9
Chapter 1: I've just started playing Life is Strange and got curios if anyone ever made a taeny fanfic over this game, and then i found yours!