Hey! I've been off from Fanfiction for about 4 years now. Made a few attempts to get back into writing a few times but well, due to life reasons, i failed each time. The HOTD section of has never been the most active; and from the look of things it's more or less the same in terms of activity now. Out of the fics i attempted to write there was one i was, and still am, passionate about however; an SYOC fic!
There's been 3 attempts to do it now with my third attempt being a try to continue where the story left off, but well that never went anywhere. Life for me has gotten much easier; i am independent now, earn enough money to live comfy, and while my life has been full of regrets there is one thing i could never get over. Never completing this HOTD SYOC fic. I started this at a time where i felt lost, wanted something to kill time with, but the more time i spent on thinking over characters and EVERYTHING i had planned the more i realized how much i wanted to do this. So here i am, again, not even sure how many authors or if the creators of the characters i made are still active. I plan to send them a direct message before i post this. However this, for me, will be a passion project. I want to write this. I want to complete this.
This chapter is mainly to just inform you guys on the backstory behind this and get a better understanding of me. If anyone is even reading this haha. Of course i also want to add a new mix to this; i will be accepting characters for this story. More info will be on my profile. I would have loved to get more into this story but i wanna get more characters before i introduce the interesting stuff, so consider this chapter an epilogue.
Well, here goes nothing. Hope you enjoy it.
- Monday – April 18th of the year 2018 – Washington Seattle
A pair of onyx orbs analyzed the documents spread over the wooden dining table. The bearer of these eyes had been at it for a while now and had clear bags under her eyes – to anyone that even half knew her this meant Emiliana had been overworking herself again and most likely hasn't gotten much sleep these past few days. In fact if it wasn't for the chief, who had told her to go home and rest, Ana would have remained back at the station looking over the reports.
You didn't even need to half know her to realize that she wouldn't be rid of that easily; only following a part of the order Ana simply copied some of the files she had been looking over and brought them home with her.
Not even bothering to change out of her midnight police uniform Ana had only taken her cap off, leaving her strawberry colored hair exposed. It was slightly curled and left down so that the tips reached her shoulders with some bangs often sliding onto her face which Ana would merely brush to the side. With her smooth well taken-care-of olive skin and well built physique one could easily tell she wasn't a day over 30.
Unfortunately Ana was 34.
Grumbling some nonsense under her breath Ana took a moment to stretch and look around her apartment. It wasn't anything fancy or big in particular; it had a small kitchen with a stove, some cabinets, a white fridge and a sink – all which if it wasn't for her would be working like just how old they looked. If she glanced at her left there was a large glass door which one slide open, which led to the small porch outside which had actually had a pretty view of the nearby ocean. Perks for being on the second top floor of a 15 story apartment. Behind her was the living room which only had two red leather couches, an average size plasma TV, and an ugly looking carpet that was honestly only there because of her mother. To her right there was a small corridor leading to the bathroom and the two bedrooms that came along with renting this apartment.
It wasn't like she couldn't afford anything better, it's just she didn't like wasting too much on anything.
Getting back to the case in hand the redhead turned back to look at the files in front of her; according to everything they have gathered so far a prostitution ring by the name of "Heavens Tune" which they have been trying to track down for months made some sort of deal with a nameless drug ring that just popped out of the blue, now they were working together. While it sounds easy to deal with there was one problem; these guys were like cockroaches and whenever they got a lead on them they dispersed without leaving a trace behind. Of course there were times when some members got careless and they ended up getting caught but no matter how much they interrogated them not one of them would say split. Nothing, nada! It looked like they preferred to take their chances in prison instead of just ratting out their boss.
"Now all that's left is for the Russian mafia to join in..." Ana joked dryly, thinking for a moment how ridiculous that would be, " I guess I really can't do anything right now!" the older woman whined before bringing her head down on the table. She had originally planned to look over the reports filled out after catching some of the involved and maybe pin down where they usually met up or had deals going down, but all her efforts had turned out fruitless. With all the dignity of an eight year Ana began banging her head on the wooden table and kept at it till a certain thought popped into mind;
'I feel like I'm forgetting something...' whacking that memory of hers Ana not only realized that she really didn't work well half-asleep, but after taking a glance at her watch...
"6:30?!" that meant there was only half an hour before the school bus got here... and that kid hasn't gotten up yet. Knowing just how well Anthony took his time with getting prepared the woman shot up from her chair and walked towards the corridor. Ever since getting here Ana hadn't heard a peep from her nephew... which was odd since this was not only the first time she's been around the apartment (awake) so early, but Ana always figured Anthony woke up early for school.
Even if it was a Monday she had an idea on why Anthony wasn't awake yet, 'If that kid spent all night watching cartoons I'm going to take that laptop away from him...' considering it was her nephew she was talking about Ana wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. Ignoring all the pictures hanging on both sides of the corridor Ana walked to the furthest door and opened it up, fully prepared to shout and nudge him till he woke up the woman was... surprised, to say the least, with what she found;
As always her nephew's room was perfection; the floor seemed free of any liter, clothes seemed neatly put away in his small cabinet, and his bed was perfectly done. The small room was slightly illuminated by the weak morning sun that seeped through the only window in there all while her nephew sat on his bed, laptop in front of him and headphones in his ears. In fact Anthony didn't even seem to notice her till he casually glanced at his door for no apparent reason; frantically pulling out his headphones Anthony closed his laptop in the same fashion before shooting out of his bed.
Ana took a moment to analyze her nephew; as of right now Anthony was wearing a pair of greyish blue jeans, his usual black jacket that was zipped up all the way, and some white socks... if she looked down Ana would see his usual pair sneakers right beside his feet.
"Erm... could I help you?" the seventeen year old questioned his aunt, who merely kept staring at him, "I mean... the bus doesn't get here so early," Anthony quickly added, a part of him was a tad surprised to see his aunt around the apartment so early... awake. Adjusting his glasses the teenager continued to look at his aunt before she finally spoke up;
"So... you're already done, I see."
"Uh, yeah... I wake up at five," Anthony reminded his guardian, "I take a shower, change into a pair of clothes... you know..." the younger Latino trailed off. Honestly his aunt seemed a bit out of it right now.
Ana looked at his already combed hair and could tell he wasn't lying; despite some while passing it still seemed a bit wet.
"You took a shower already?" Ana questioned, as if she needed to make sure this wasn't just some sort of trick.
Anthony nodded, "Yup I-,"
"Wait, you wake up at five?!" the redhead questioned in a slightly louder voice.
The seventeen year old flinched back at the sudden shout, "Well yeah... I thought you knew," Anthony confessed in a bit of a timid tone, wondering that if he should really continue talking to his aunt or just tell her to go to sleep, "I mean, I did see you in the kitchen and heard you arrive... but I thought you would head to bed right away,"
Ana felt like face palming and began to wonder if she really should just go to sleep... though a sudden noise caught her attention. Looking at the laptop which Anthony had left on his bed the redhead could make out the slightest sound of speech... though she couldn't quite understand it.
"So what are you doing now?" His aunt suddenly questioned as a warm smile formed on her lips, not even bothering to hide the curiosity in her tone.
"Oh, erm just... checking my email," Anthony glanced at the floor, which was probably a big mistake in his part. In fact Anthony wasn't surprise with what his aunt did next;
Like the child she sometimes acted Ana slowly walked towards the bed before snatching up the closed laptop, "Lies!" The redhead shouted out with a devious grin.
Suddenly realizing what she's done Anthony reached out and attempted to get a hold of his laptop, but his aunt merely dodged all his grabs, "Auntie! Give that back!" Anthony's dark eyes were wide open. His tone was nothing but desperate which merely motivated his aunt more.
"Now let's see what you've been looking at..." Opening up the laptop to see whatever her nephew was watching Anthony simply froze there, probably wondering how she'll be reacting this time. A part of Ana regretted doing all this and coming face to face with... four amine-or-whatever-looking girls dancing around a small platform all while a very sappy sounding song played in the background, "...what's this?" the redhead questioned her nephew, a slight confused look on her face while the younger boy in question seemed like a radioactive tomato.
"Um... it's not as a girly as it looks!" Anthony quickly defended, "There were pirates on the previous episode!"
Ana merely breathed out a sigh before she continued fiddling around with the laptop, wondering what else Anthony was doing "You know, at times like these I really think you should get yourself a girlfriend," the redhead pointed out, not even bothering to look at her nephew anymore.
"I-i already have one!"
"Oh?" Ana was honestly surprise to hear that, but doubted it was true, "How is she?" the caretaker asked with a devious smile, almost as if she knew whatever Anthony would be coming up with was going to be hilarious.
"Let's see... um, she's blonde and has stunning emerald eyes! I'd say she's a tad shorter than me... but she's really graceful! And cool!" while her nephew went on listing all her characteristics Ana simply continued to fiddle around with the device till she suddenly arrived to his desktop.
Ana had been right, this was hilarious, "Your girlfriend wouldn't happen to be this amine-or-whatever girl on your wallpaper, right?" the redhead turned around the laptop so her nephew could be reminded of his own wallpaper, which had a young woman that fit his description exactly.
Somehow Anthony's face got even redder than it already was, but taking this chance Anthony snatched back his laptop, "Stop it auntie! What did you want anyways?" the chocolate eyed male questions his aunt, who looks like she's about to burst out laughing.
Much to his suspicion that's exactly what she did. Ana didn't stop till some moments later where she managed to get herself composed enough to speak, "I wanted to wake you up since I didn't hear you... but that isn't really necessary," placing both hands on her hips Ana merely continued to stare at him, probably wondering how on earth she found her seventeen year old nephew adorable, before clearing up her throat, " Anyways, I'm just going to ignore all that and just offer you breakfast? So?"
"Oh, uh, thanks but I'm good," looking a bit calmer now Anthony shook his head, "I don't feel like cooking right now," the seventeen year old spoke with a yawn.
"Who said you would be cooking?" Ana glared at her nephew before crossing her arms over her chest, wondering if he was really going there.
"We both know you can't cook auntie," her nephew pointed out bluntly, a smirk forming on his lips as he simply enjoyed the sight of his aunt trying to figure out some comeback and probably failing.
His theory seemed right as Ana simply shook her head before turning towards the door, "Fine! Have fun watching your... whatever that is, I'll just be cooking some eggs myself,"
"It's actually pretty interesting! It's about an amusement park that's on the verge of collapsing, but all the workers are actually from this fairy tale like world called-" Anthony continued to happily explain the plot to his caretaker before being cut off.
"You lost me at fairy tale," Ana stated bluntly before closing the door behind her, determined to prove her nephew wrong.
Simply staring at the door for a couple moments Anthony took a deep breath before dropping onto his bed, laptop tightly held to his chest. That had been tiring... for a moment he wondered why his aunt was home and awake so early in the morning, though he figured it had something to do with her police work. After a while Anthony lost interest on the subject and simply opened up his laptop to finish off the episode... that is till he noticed the time.
"Oh..." a disappointed sigh escaped his lips as he realized that it was about time he should get going. The school bus wouldn't be arriving any time soon but Anthony wanted to get there first, so turning off his laptop Anthony simply placed it on top of his bed before sliding on his sneakers. Getting up from his bed the seventeen year old walked towards the door, which was where his backpack was hanging off of, and once he put it on left his room.
(7:00 am - Clover High School Building)Shannon!"
A young, dark skinned woman suddenly turned to the call. Having just gotten off her bus and making her way inside Shannon's eyes gazed around the area for a moment as they eventually fell onto Ashley Baker... who was running straight in her direction.
Waiting for Ashley to catch up Shannon merely watched as she got closer, which was probably a mistake on her part. She wasn't given enough time to react as Ashley suddenly took a leap and gave an all-out bear hug;
"Gaah! Ashley!" feeling as if the air was literally being squeezed out of her Shannon tried her best to get Ashley off, "Not the time!" the young native american protested, slightly impressed with how much strength her slightly taller friend was displaying.
"You've been sooo busy lately though..." Ashley wined while cuddling her, "I haven't talked to you in like a week!"
By impossible means Ashley's hug got even tighter, which didn't go unnoticed, "Okay okay, I get it! Let's talk somewhere else, though," it's not as if she was bothered by the attention her friend's sudden affection attack had attracted, but her backpack was pretty heavy due to all the books she brought home with her over the weekend.
Ashley let go of Shannon and smiled brightly, "Alright!" the slightly taller teen cheered before she waited for her friend to catch her breathe. In about half a minute Shannon got herself together and two started to walk towards building.
"So how you've been Shannon?" Ashley asked out of the blue.
Shannon turned to look at her, "I've been busy with homework, but i'm fine," the young native american informed her friend with a small smile. While Ashley did get a bit rough when giving hugs she didn't really mind... much.
"Figures," for a moment Ashley wonders why even ask when the answer was obvious, "I really can't imagine anyone else who takes school work as serious as you do, Shany," the dark haired adolescent teased with a smile of her own. Truthfully speaking she actually could think of someone who was as diligent as Shannon concerning school work... but her friend didn't even know him and they hadn't talked in a long time so Ashley saw no reason to bring him up.
"Shany?"
Ashley ignored her friend's questionable reaction to the nickname she had given her, "You should live life more! I mean there's still plenty of school left," the slightly taller girl pointed out.
"Ashley, you sound just like my parents now. You know that right?"
"Well they're both pretty cool so I don't mind!"
Shannon rolled her eyes, though couldn't resist the urge to laugh softly, "I guess you're right about one thing," it didn't take much effort to admit that Shannon had been sacrificing a lot of her social life these past years due to her studious ways. Things had only gotten busier recently because this one was her senior year, " But can't have what you want without a bit of sacrifice, no?"
Ashley shrugged, "That's true I guess,"
Pushing both green doors opened the two friends entered the building. Greeted with the usual sight of the long corridor headed towards the cafeteria they ignored the nearby stairwell and the trophy shelf, having no need to look at them. Walking deeper into the building the two friends reached the first set of lockers but since none of them were theirs Ashley and Shannon walked right past them.
Ashley followed her slightly shorter friend as they passed by the cafeteria and to some stairs that led to the library on the second floor before coming across another set of lockers. Shannon walked slowly towards her own and spun the combination on the reel before it opened. Relieved that she could finally get rid of these books for a good few hours Shannon opened up her backpack and began to neatly stack them inside.
'… Did I really not talk to Ashley for a week?' Shannon originally thought that as a joke but now that she looked back what Ashley had told her wasn't a lie. She really hadn't talked to her friend all of last week due to the sudden load of work the teachers gave out…
Scowling lightly at the thought Shannon turned to look at Ashley, who merely cocked up an eyebrow at her friend scowling, "Shannon? Something wrong?" the slightly taller adolescent questioned.
Shannon shook her head, "Not really," the native american reassured Ashley, "Well... actually..."
"Hmm?"
"Well depending on how the week goes... maybe we could hang out this Saturday?"
Ashley's mouth literally dropped open, but the blonde managed to get ahold of herself quickly enough and jumped into the air, "Yay! It's been a long time since we've done that!" the dark haired teen cheered before getting ahold of Shannon's arms, "But I need you to promise it," Ashley suddenly spoke up in a more serious tone, remembering what happened last time they agreed to hang out.
"That's not necessary," the adolescent stated flatly.
"Promise it Shannon!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
"I said depending how the week went," Shannon reminded her friend, "Anything could happen - like I could be left with extra work I need to do over the weekend," the native american pointed out. Chances of that happening were really high, too.
"Shannon!"
"...I'll try my best not to have any work so we can hang out,"
Ashley pouted, wondering why it was so hard to make Shannon promise something, "That's the best I'm getting out of it, huh?"
"Yeah,"
"Fiiiiine!" the slightly taller student admitted defeat, "If you become a great doctor I guess I don't mind..." Ashley trailed off while letting go of her friends. Honestly Ashley was sort of disappointed that she couldn't make Shannon promise it but forced up a smile nonetheless. It had taken a bit of growing up but Ashley knew how important this dream of hers was so she didn't want to force her into anything.
"Thanks Ashley," Shannon suddenly spoke out, honestly having no idea how she managed to befriend someone like her, "I mean it," the native american returned the smile with one of her own.