So, I'm trying my hand at a fanfiction for the MTV show Scream. I started watching it on Netflix a while back and liked it enough to add my own twists and such. My OC is Athena, you'll get to know the unconventional girl soon enough. I OWN NOTHING!

WHEN THE KNIFE COMES DOWN

CHAPTER ONE

JULES OF ATHENS

It was like a dull claw ripped into her life and tore it to shreds, leaving her with only the aftermath. It was a single moment, one meeting and it was all blown to hell. And suddenly, her life wasn't the same. Athena was starting her senior year off on the worst foot. She knew no one, she was just the new girl, the odd one.

She arrived at the Tyler household with a duffel bag and school bag of her belongings. A mini U-haul was coming in with the rest of her important belongings. She had stared up at the suburban two story house for nearly twenty minutes before the suit from child services nudged her towards the front door.

"It's okay, sweetie," the woman cooed. "They're a good family. And they're going to love you no matter what."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before letting the older woman with her lead her to the door and knock on it three quick times.

That had been a week ago. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler let her adjust to being in their home with their son and daughter before having her start at school. It was difficult going from being an only child with parents that gave her their undivided attention and space, to this nuclear family with a life outside of her. She was trying her best to find a place to fit in but she felt like she was swimming in her skin that was too big for her.

The weekend before she was to start at school, there was a knock at her door and the next moment, Mrs. Tyler poked her head in, "Hey sweetie, what are you up to right now?"

She looked up from her sketchbook and gave a short smile, "Hey Diana. I'm not busy if that's what you're asking."

The woman had blonde hair and dark eyes, and looked solemn at the use of her first name by the younger girl. She shook it off and said, "Well, our next door neighbors are here to meet you. Maggie and her daughter Emma – she's around your age. And coincidentally, Maggie and I have been best friends since middle school."

"Do they know..." she trailed off, "...about me?"

Diana nodded lightly, "Maggie does, for obvious reasons. Emma doesn't and I respected your wishes and asked Maggie not to tell her."

"Thank you," the teenager said quietly before standing up. "Let's go meet them then." She followed Diana down the stairs where the Tyler's twenty-two year old son, Ian, was laughing with a blonde woman with glasses and teenage girl with dark blonde hair and dimples. They all turned when Diana and she walked in and the blonde woman stepped forward, hugging her.

"Hello sweetie," she squeezed once and pulled away, still holding her shoulders in her hands. "I'm Maggie, a friend of your—of Diana's."

"Hi," she tentatively replied. "I'm Athena."

Maggie faltered for a brief moment before stepping back and putting an arm around the other teenage girl, "This is my daughter, Emma."

Emma smiled in a friendly way and put her hand out, "Hi, nice to meet you."

Athena awkwardly took her hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you too."

They had an awkward snack in the kitchen until Maggie suggested, "You know, Athena, if you want, Emma can show you around school since it'll your first day."

Athena felt awkward at the prospect since it seemed like Maggie and Diana were pushing her and Emma to be friends. But Emma smiled, "I really don't mind. I can even show you around town too and introduce you to my friends."

It didn't sound like fun on Athena's part. She was mostly a loner, with a few close friends. She liked to observe life, stay out of the spot light. She wasn't good at starting over and making new friends. But she'd feel bad if she completely blew off Emma, and she promised Diana she'd try to make life at Lakewood really work.

So she nodded, "Sure, sounds nice. Thanks."

They kept chatting for a little while before Emma excused herself to go meet up with her friends, "Do you want to come?" she asked Athena at the last moment. She wasn't stupid, she knew Emma wanted to go hang with her friends alone.

So she shook her head, "Thanks, but maybe a rain check."

Emma nodded with a smile, "Okay, well I'll see you on Monday."

For the rest of the weekend, Athena barricaded herself in her room until come Monday morning, there was a knock at the door and Ian poked his head in, "Ready to go?"

It was time for her first day at the new school. All she knew was that she didn't want to stand out, so after standing in front of her closet for fifteen minutes, she had slipped on a pair of jeans and a gray knit sweater. She looked up when Ian came in and jumped off the bed, grabbing her bag and walking out of the room with him, "Sure, let's go. And um, thanks for giving me a ride to school. Someone will drive my car here by next week or so."

Ian faced her seriously, "I really don't mind."

Feeling slightly out of place in the serious moment, she just nodded and kept walking down the stairs, "Okay, let me go play new kid."

Walking through the grass of Washington High School, she kept my book bag close to her body as she could. The school was buzzing about something – some video of two girls kissing or something – as if that was so scandalous in 2015. She hadn't seen the video and she didn't really care to. It was none of her business. She just made her way to her class as quickly and quietly as possible, sitting in the very back. She pulled out her sketch pad and started finishing up a pencil piece of a puppy she had seen the other day.

Emma and a group of kids walked into the room and she had them come sit next to her, "Hey Athena, these are my friends. This is my boyfriend, Will," she rested her hand delicately on the pale brunette boy's chest briefly before gesturing to a blonde girl with bangs to her eyes, "this is Brooke Maddox." She then pointed to the tan boy with wavy black hair who wore a flirty smile, "That's Jake Fitzgerald."

An Asian girl next to him smiled for herself and did a little wave, "I'm Riley—Marra. Our friend Nina is playing hooky today but I'm sure you'll meet her tomorrow."

"Nice to meet you all," Athena muttered, going back to her sketching.

Soon other teenagers started milling into the room and taking their seats and the hot-for-teacher, Mr. Branson, began class with roll call, "Okay, when I say your name just raise your hand or say here. If you prefer to be called something else, just let me know. And let me know if I butcher your name."

"Erin Adams."

"Here."

"Will Belmont."

"Here."

"Emma Duval."

Emma tentatively raised her hand and said, "Here," getting a smile from her boyfriend, Will, sitting next to her.

"Audrey Jensen."

"Here," the girl said in a deadpan next to Noah.

"Noah Foster."

The scholastic boy raised his hand enthusiastically, "Here."

"Brooke Maddox."

"Here," the blonde winked with her answer.

"Nina Patterson."

There was a lull of silence as no one claimed that name. Emma and her friends looked between each other, each thinking something different of the girl's absence.

"Jules Tyler."

There was another lull of silence. Branson repeated the name twice more before the new girl in the back raised her hand, startled, "That's me, but, um, I go by Athena."

This earned her curious looks from the students and teacher but Mr. Branson simply accepted her answer and wrote it down on his roll call. With that done, he began class, "Cavemen made fires. Those fires cast shadows, and those shadows created fear. Men have been obsessed with scaring each other every since."

The other students were casting looks at the two new people sitting in the back. Brooke turned to Riley and whispered salaciously, "His name's Kieran Wilcox. He just moved here from Atlanta."

"Brooke," Mr. Branson called her attention to the front of the class. "Would you please tell us which genre originated with 'The Castle of Otranto'?"

Brooke stared up at him with disinterest, "The Castle Genre?"

"The Gothic Genre," Kieran answered in a deep voice.

"Thank you," Mr. Branson nodded, before facing the class. "Guys, look, I get it. Nobody wants to sit around reading 500 dusty pages about monks and curses. But nobody's forcing to watch 'The Walking Dead.'"

Jake Fitzgerald, the resident burn out of Washington High, raised his hand and asked, "Is 'The Walking Dead' on the midterm?"

Riley rolled her eyes, "Zombies are not literature, Jake."

"Why not?" Kieran piped in again, a grim smile on his face. "George Romero, Horace Walpole, it's all the same bones."

"Or the same rotting flesh," Mr. Branson agreed. "Kieran's right. Gothic genre is all over TV right now. You have 'American Horror Story,' you have 'Bates Motel,' 'Hannibal.'"

"What about 'Texas Chainsaw' or 'Halloween'?" Jake asked again, his voice dragging down in dullness at the end of his words.

"Uh, those are slasher movies," Noah piped up, his lip quirking at the ends at the chance to get into one of his favorite interests. "So, you can't do a slasher movie as a TV series." He paused, looking to Mr. Branson for permission to continue. After the teacher nodded, he went on, "Well, think about it. You know, girl and her friends arrive at the dance, the camp, the deserted town, whatever. Killer takes them out one by one. 90 minutes later, the sun comes up as survivor girl's sitting in the back of the ambulance watching her friends' bodies being wheeled past. Slasher movies burn bright and fast. TV needs to stretch things out. You know, by the time the first body's found, it's only a matter of time before the bloodbath commences."

It was like he jinxed it or something because by the time first period was over an announcement came over the intercom informing everyone that the absent girl, Nina Patterson, had died last night, "Nina Patterson's death is a great shock. Once you've seen the grief counselor, you're free to return home. Classes will resume tomorrow."

Athena headed to the front desk and waved for an office employee's attention, "Hey, hey, hey – can I just go home?"

The plump older woman shook her head, "It's mandatory, honey. That means you have to."

Athena rolled her eyes, "I have no idea who this girl even is. This is my first day here."

"I don't know what to tell you, hon," she replied. "I'll try and push you up so you can talk to the counselor and move on."

"Thanks, I guess," she mumbled before going to sit in the corner where Emma, Jake, Noah, Riley and the new guy were all sitting.

Jake was on his phone grumbling about WiFi and Riley frowned at her friends, "Guys, Nina was murdered in cold blood. Do you not even care?"

Emma stared ahead, "It just doesn't seem real."

"Here we go," Jake cheered, still staring at his phone. "One of Nina's neighbors tweeted that her throat was sliced ear to ear." Athena flinched at the mental picture. "The press is all over this. They're playing the whole 'Maybe Brandon James is Back' angle."

Emma's face dropped even more if that was possible, "Brandon James is dead." She got up and walked off in a huff.

Athena kept quiet. She knew the history of Brandon James – how his rampage dubbed Lakewood Murderville for the next two decades. The new guy, Kieran, two seats down from her asked though, "Who's Brandon James?"

Noah piped in, as a resident expert, "Uh, he killed a bunch of students twenty years ago. He, um... he cut some others up," he pulled out his phone and quickly showed a grainy photo of a deformed boy to them, "This is him. Emma's dad got stabbed. He almost died. Brandon had Proteus syndrome, like the elephant man. People say he was born a monster, but I think he was bullied and beaten into one."

Kieran gave him a skeptical look, "And you know all this... why?"

Noah shrugged, unperturbed, "I don't know. Some guys like sports. I like serial killers. And Brandon James is my Dallas Cowboys. He was a classic case of the deformed kid who lived in the shed. Mom home schooled him. Dad was ashamed of him. His older brother, Troy, was the only one who cared about him. Whenever he went out, he wore this post-op surgical mask. They tried to fix his face a few times."

Kieran looked more curious now, "What made him start killing people?"

"Rumor is he fell in love," Noah intoned. "His brother said Brandon was obsessed. Wrote her anonymous love letters. Made her little carvings. Brandon found her at the Halloween dance. He got up the nerve to talk to her. It went okay at first. But then a bunch of drunk jocks jumped him. They thought they were saving her from a monster. After a lifetime of taking it, something in Brandon snapped. He killed five students by the time he was done. The manhunt ended at Wren Lake. The girl agreed to meet him. Nobody ever knew who she was."

The office clerk was true to her word and got Athena moved up the list so she could quickly speak with the counselor and explain that she never knew Nina and just moved to town. Once the school shrink was satisfied that Athena wasn't traumatized, she signed her out to go home. She walked to the front of the school where Ian was waiting parked in the parking lot. She hopped into the passenger's seat and sighed.

Ian looked sideways at her as he pulled out of the parking lot, "Good first day?"

"Well I didn't even make it to second period, so not bad," she replied sarcastically. "Though apparently one of my classmates was murdered last night so that put a damper on things."

"I heard about that," Ian mused. "Nina Patterson – Lakeview's resident party girl."

She shrugged, "Whatever. At least I don't have to endure the rest of this first day of school bullshit."

"It can't be that bad," Ian dragged out his words. "Did you meet anyone?"

"Emma introduced me to her friends but they don't seem like my kind of people," she answered.

"What are your kinds of people?" he asked, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove them into their neighborhood.

"Not stereotypes," she droned. "I had a few friends and they were all unique and fun. Not dumb jocks or socialites."

"Had?" Ian asked. "Didn't you keep in touch with them?"

"After what happened?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him sarcastically. "What would I tell them? All they know is what was released and even with that they haven't called me."

"How would they know to call you?" he asked her. "They have no idea where you are."

"Dido does," she responded quietly, thinking back on the girl. "She's the only one I talked to before I left."

"Who is Dido?"

"She was my girlfriend," Athena deadpanned.

Ian's eyes widened a little, "Oh! So you're..."

He let the last word drag on and trail off until Athena took pity on him and smirked, "I'm bi, Ian. That an issue?"

"No, of course not," he responded quickly, easing her little nerves. "I just feel cheated sometimes. You're this whole person that I don't know and I always feel like I should have."

"You're right," she sighed. "But there's nothing we can really do about that other than get to know each other now."

"Right," he agreed as he pulled into their driveway.

The walked inside and Diana called out her greetings to them from the kitchen, "You're back early. Hours early? What's going on?"

They walked into the kitchen and Ian filled her in on the situation, "Apparently Nina Patterson was killed last night. They canceled classes today."

Diana gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, "Oh that's awful. She's a friend of Emma's, I think."

"Yeah, they mentioned her earlier this morning," Athena commented. "They all thought she was playing hooky today or something. Apparently it was pretty grizzly though. The media is already spreading trash like Brandon James is back."

Diana's face paled, "That's impossible. He's dead."

"Yeah, obviously," Athena played along. "But this town has a reputation because of him so the next nasty murder is gonna paint his name all over it again. No matter who really did it. The office was buzzing about her boyfriend though. Apparently nobody's seen him since the weekend either."

"I never liked that boy," the older woman scowled. "He's always been troubled, his foster parents could never get a handle on him. I wouldn't be surprised if it was him. But I hope if it wasn't, that he's okay."

"Speaking of foster parents," Athena quickly cut in to change the subject. "In first period, the teacher called my name on roll call – as Jules."

Diana and Ian shared an awkward look as the older woman started to speak.

But Athena carried on, "You agreed that I could use my own name here."

"It must have been a clerical error," Diana excused. "All that shuffling of your paperwork must have lead to a lot of confusion at the school office. Don't worry, I'll have your—I'll have Till sort it out when he gets home from work. The ladies in the office still have a crush on him – like High School never ended for us."

"When is Lana getting back?" Ian asked, taking away the edge of awkwardness. "I'm surprised they didn't let the middle school out too in the wake of the news."

"Oh, she'll be home at the regular time," Diana waved her hand. "Does anyone want cookies?"

"No, I'm good," Athena mumbled, excusing herself to her bedroom. Night had fallen eventually when her cell phone rang. She answered it after the third ring, "Hello?"

"Hi, Athena," it was Emma's voice. "It's Emma. I hope you don't mind, Diana gave my mom your number and she gave it to me. There's a party tonight – like a memorial for Nina but with booze. I was wondering if you wanted to come. I'm getting ready to leave soon."

"Oh, um, that's okay, really," Athena flinched as she heard herself sound like a bitch. "I'm grateful for you trying to include me really, and I mean no offense, but I didn't know Nina and I'm just gonna feel awkward there as my first big outing as the new girl with a bunch of strangers. If you really wanna be friends, can we just start smaller? Like lunch or something."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Emma was quick to assure her. "I'll see you tomorrow and we can set something up?"

"Sure, thanks," she said quickly before hanging up with a soft, "Goodnight, have fun at the party."

About an hour into the night there was a knock at her door, Ian peaking his head inside, "Hey, we're about to watch a movie downstairs. And there's someone I wanted you to meet."

"Who else could there possibly be out there for me to meet at this point?" she asked wryly.

"My best friend, Sam," he answered. "He works a couple jobs so he's usually busy, but he's free tonight so I called him up."

"Is there something special about this guy that you want me to meet him?" Athena asked. "I was just gonna turn in early."

"You can't keep avoiding us, Athena," he responded seriously. "We are family, finally."

"Ian," she sighed. "I don't really understand what you all expect from me. I'm a foster kid for all intents and purposes and you all have each other."

"You have a place here with us," he insisted. "You always would."

"No, you expect me to take her place," she cut in. "I'm not Jules."

"I know you're not," he insisted. "I know that. But that doesn't mean that you can't be part of this family now that you're here. Just come on down, watch a movie, meet Sam, make an effort. This is weird for us too but we're trying."

She sighed, "You're right." She ran a hand through her hair and set aside her computer, "I'll be down in a minute. I'll change into pajamas if we're all gonna cuddle up on the couch."

"Okay, thank you," he said quickly letting himself out.

Athena sighed for what felt like the millionth time. This whole situation was backwards to her. She felt like this family had a void in their home and in their lives and just expected her to fill as if she had been there the whole time. She had had her own home and her own family and her own life until it was all ripped away from her. Now she was with the Brady Bunch like a recast way late in the series, where everyone acted like nothing had changed and it was all the same but they couldn't fool everyone else.

She walked downstairs and let herself doddle in the hallway, listening to the chatter of Till and Diana with their kids, and another deep voice, arguing over what film to watch.

Lana's youthful voice with the tell tale lilt of middle school inflection – the kind that made every sentence sound like a question – begged for The Lucky One or anything based of a Sparks book. Ian immediately rebuffed the idea of watching a chick flick and wanted a food old fashioned slasher film like Texas Chainsaw.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ian," Diana voiced. "Nina was just killed last night – and it was brutal. It doesn't seem to be in good taste."

"That's nonsense," Ian rebutted. "We don't even know Nina. We're supposed to manicure our daily lives because someone in town was killed?"

"Dude," the deep voice admonished, it must have been this Sam character.

She figured she might as well make her appearance since she told Ian she would join them. But she felt awkward just walking in like she actually lived there, when she still felt like a visitor. So she cleared her throat as she arced into the living room from the hallway, causing everyone to look up at her.

Diana smiled welcoming her inside, "Come sit, sweetie. We're just picking a movie."

"Does it require a battle to the death?" she asked sarcastically. "Cause that's what it sounded like when I walked up."

Till laughed, the gruff kind of laugh that came from the chest. He was a big man that would look intimidating to anyone who didn't know him. But Athena got the sense that he was a big softie underneath it all, and it showed in his smiles when he thought she wasn't paying attention to him, and his refusal to push her limits when it came to her role in their family. He was also the strong, silent type for the most part. Not really speaking unless he felt he could actually contribute something to the conversation.

She took a seat at the end of the couch, the only place left alone. Diana and Till were curled up on the large plush chair. Lana sat on a bean bag chair at their feet. Ian and Sam – assuming the only one she didn't know was Ian's friend – were on the on the couch. Sam was a big guy, not fat, but bulky and broad shoulders. He looked like he could lift anything he came across. His skin was dark, naturally tan and his hair black and cut close to his head. He had a long face, with deep brown eyes and a straight nose. He was sitting down, but Athena could tell that he was tall, taller than Ian or any jock at her High School. Maybe even taller than Till.

She had to be seated next to him. She shuffled against the arm of the couch and awkward looked at him and then Ian, waiting.

"Oh," Ian realized. "This is Sam. I forgot, you don't know him actually. Sam this is... Athena."

He looked at her and she felt for the first time that she was meeting someone who didn't expect anything out of her, and didn't look at her and see someone else entirely. At least, out of all the people who knew who she really was. "It's nice to meet you, Athena," he held out his hand for her.

She shook his hand quickly and looked to the group, "How about we watch a marvel movie? Avengers or something?"

"Yes!" Ian cheered, pointing at her thankfully. "Finally a good suggestion."

"Hey," Diana smiled playfully. "I've suggested good movies before."

"Sure," Ian scoffed. "Like Catwoman?"

Diana pouted and crossed her arms, "Avengers it is."

Athena looked around, seeing Diana and Till cuddling, Diana's hand reaching down to brush her daughter's hair absentmindedly. During the actions scenes, Ian and Sam would make comments to each other. They all seemed at ease with each other, like they all fit. Meanwhile, she sat straight as a stick next to Sam, watching the film with little interest. She didn't even fully realize when it was over until Ian and Sam were standing up and bickering over the next movie while they went to the kitchen to make popcorn.

Seeing the tell tale signs of conversation in Diana's eyes, Athena excused herself to the kitchen under the guise of grabbing a drink. Sam and Ian were arguing over who was better, Iron Man or Captain America.

"Stark is a bad ass," Ian insisted. "He's rich, gets the girls, and made himself. Captain America got made by scientists."

"Steve Rogers has integrity," Sam argued. "He has morals and way more emotional endurance than Tony Stark. Stark still can't get over his daddy issues while Rogers has dealt with losing every person he ever knew and living in a totally different era."

"Athena, settle this," Ian put a hand on her shoulder as she went to walk past him to the fridge. "Who is the better super hero, Iron Man or Captain America? I say Iron Man, he says Captain America."

She rolled her eyes, "Wolverine leaves both of them in the dust."

"Come on!" Ian whined. "That's such a cop out!"

Athena shrugged, making her way into the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "It's true. Logan survived decades of war and torment and losing people he loves only to lose his memory and wander lost for years, only to go through more war and torment and losing people he loves again and again – and he's way more of a bad ass than Iron Man, come on."

"She's got a point there," Sam admitted. "But come on, if you had to pick out of just Iron Man or Captain America."

"Then Captain America, hands down," she answered, earning a theatrical whoop of victory from Sam and disgruntled look from Ian.

The microwave beeped and Ian turned to it to pull out the steaming bag of popcorn, grumbling playfully as he walked out of the kitchen.

Athena was about to follow when Sam let out a cough, "Hey, Athena..."

She shifted on her feet to face him, giving him her attention.

"How are you doing with all of this?" he asked it so casually she was almost thankful.

Almost. "Who asked you to check up on me? Ian? Better yet, Diana?"

He let out a little laugh, "No, nothing like that. I'm being real here."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," she quipped, opening her bottle to take a sip.

"That's okay, but it's true," he assured her. "I know how it feels to be taken out of my home and dropped with strangers."

"Ian said that you live with your mother."

"I do now," he said. "She needs a lot of help. But I wasn't allowed to live with her for most of High School because she couldn't take care of me. I never got along with my foster homes too. But here, you've got a good set up. Way better than I ever had it."

"So I should just enjoy it?" she asked sarcastically. "Not complain, right?"

"I'm not saying it's perfect, or that you don't have plenty to complain about," he backtracked. "You're going through a lot right now and I know that it's a big transition, being here. But all the people in the living room love you without really knowing you. It'll take time for you all to get to know each other. But in the mean time, I just wanted to tell you that you can talk to me if you don't feel like talking to anyone in the house."

"While that's appreciated," she began awkwardly, "it's not necessary." With that said, she walked out of the kitchen, but veered past the living room and up the stairs to her room. She set her bottle of water down on the desk when she felt a shiver go through her spine. She turned and saw that her window was open, which she knew she had closed before going downstairs.

She walked over to close it when she noticed a piece of paper resting on the window seat underneath the sill. She picked it up and unfolded it, gasping slightly upon what she read. In cut out letters from different sources, the note read; 'Are you Jules or are you Athena? Better figure it out, because your secret will come out.'

Immediately she ripped up the note into many little pieces and walked into her bathroom to flush them down the toilet. She didn't know who knew, and why they would want to mess with her, she just hoped they didn't really know the truth, and just the acceptable scandal.

She walked the paper whirl down the water to make sure that it was gone before settling into her bed. She hoped it wouldn't become anything, but the goosebumps on her arms wouldn't go away.

So there's chapter one of this! I'm already done with the first season, I'm just doing major editing and such as I upload. Please let me know what you all think!

REVIEW!