Hey hey, imakemyownblog here with my first ever AC fanfic—lucky Shay *cue the damn catchphrase* :')
I am in no way a professional writer of any sort. I'm simply doing this for fun, so please bear with me through the various grammar mistakes that are bound to show up. I may or may not make a few changes to the Rogue storyline, but nothing too major, so no worries. Also, this story will have romance between Shay & an OC, so if you're not into that, do yourself a favour and click that back button. Lastly, my updates don't have a super frequent schedule, but I'll see how I go. :)
Reviews are super, super appreciated! It helps me know what you guys are thinking, what you guys would like to see, etc. I'm always willing to take in suggestions! Either way, my tumblr and AO3 accounts share the same username as this one, so if you ever want to talk to me about the story (or about Shay in general lol), then please drop by! :D
Keep in mind that this story will be very slow-paced because who doesn't like realistic romance build up? XD
Only Time Will Tell - Chapter One
December 8th, 2016 | Western Australia
"Mum? Dad? I'm home!"
A young teenage girl ambled into the house, the front door quietly clicking shut behind her. She wiped the sweat off her brow with a grateful sigh, feeling much better now that she was out of the unrelenting heat of the summer. She was tempted to head straight upstairs for a cool shower, but she wanted to greet her parents first. Glancing around, she gently removed the school bag from her shoulders and dropped it by the staircase, making a mental note to grab it before heading to her room later. Her mum hated it when there was clutter near the stairs.
"Tia!" She jumped in surprise, snapping her head around to find her dad poking his head out of the kitchen. The rest of his body soon followed as he rounded the corner and approached her, a warm smile tugging at his lips.
She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Hey, Dad!"
Standing at nearly six foot one, her dad was by no means a small man, his chin easily coming to rest atop her head as he returned the affectionate gesture. He was doing quite well for a man of his age; nearing forty with light wrinkles caressing his face and only the slightest of gray hairs shining through the thick tuft of dark brown hair on his head. He still manages to maintain a fairly healthy body, despite all the hours he puts into work. He barely has enough time to do anything anymore - including coming home before dinner, so this was a pleasant surprise.
"How's my beautiful muchachita today?" He asked, dropping his arms.
"Eh, school was uneventful as usual," Tia replied, moving back to gaze up at him. "Where's Mum at?"
He jabbed thumb over his shoulder. "She's in the kitchen. Come on."
She followed after him as he walked back into the kitchen and perched himself on one of the stools. Taking a seat beside him, they both watched in silence as the woman bustled about in the kitchen, pulling out various pots, pans and ingredients for tonight's dinner.
As opposed to her husband, Tia's mum was a relatively short woman, only coming to stand at around five foot three—shorter than Tia herself. Much like her husband, she was also doing quite well for her age; she still looked as youthful and vibrant as any young woman out there, her voluminous dark blond hair being the envy of many. She was so focused on getting ready to cook that she almost missed the surprise audience sitting on the stools, waiting for her to notice them.
"Oh, Tia, honey! Good, you're home." She beamed, making her way to the island in the centre of the kitchen to wash her hands in the sink. "I was about to ask your father to help me with dinner, but seeing as you're home now, you can take his place. We're making spicy burritos tonight—your favourite."
"Yes!" Tia beamed, pumping her fist in the air. Her mum's spicy burritos were the best.
Her dad immediately protested, gaping at his wife in disbelief. "Hey, why does she get to help and I don't?"
She glanced at her husband with a teasing smile, "I'm pretty sure I've told you how bad you are at cooking…" She trailed off, not needing to explain any further, as her husband scoffed at the words.
"And what about Tia?" He asked. "She's not that great at it either!"
"Yeah, but I joined a cooking class last year to remedy that. Either way," the teen covered a cheeky smile with her hand and murmured under her breath. "I'm still better at it than you are."
Her quiet giggles turned into full-blown laughter as her dad feigned a look of hurt and wandered off to the living room, most likely to watch the live football game that was on this evening. Her mum shook her head, an amused smile tugging at her lips.
"Be right back, Mum. Just gonna wash up first." Tia said, receiving an 'alright honey' in response.
She left the kitchen and grabbed her schoolbag, before rushing upstairs to her bedroom. The bag was haphazardly flung to the side as she entered and plopped herself onto her bed to remove her shoes. Just as the second shoe came off, her phone made a quiet 'ding' noise, notifying her of an incoming text message. She pulled it out of her pocket and unlocked it to see a text from her best friend, Mark.
'Hey Tia, just wanted to know if you could come in and cover my shift at the cafe tonight. Family emergency.'
Frowning at the news, she typed back a reply: 'Hey, sure thing. What time do you need me in?'
As she waited for a text back, she lazily began to remove the rest of her school uniform from her body, so she could jump into the shower once she got an answer. The reply from her best friend came not even a minute later, surprising her as she tucked a fluffy beige towel around herself. Looks like it really was an emergency, considering he still had his phone in his hands. He never answers this fast.
'5 to 9 sound alright? I've called the boss, so she knows. Oh, also, I was supposed to close up tonight but I'll just leave the keys in my locker for you and grab them first thing in the morning. I'll even give ya a lift to school as thanks. ;)'
Tia glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It read four twenty-six pm, meaning she had less than thirty minutes to be showered and out the door in order to reach the bus stop in time. She cussed under her breath.
'Yeah, I can do that. Hope you and your family are okay, whatever the situation is. See you tomorrow, Mark. :)'
With that now sorted, she tied back her long, silvery-lilac hair into a loose bun, making sure to pin back her side fringe to keep it from getting wet. After her cool shower, she quickly got dressed into her work uniform. It consisted of a white button up shirt with the cafe's logo printed on the pocket, black pants and black canvas shoes - pretty basic stuff. She hopped over to the dresser as she slipped her shoes on, and picked out her name tag, her purse and her headphones from the drawer, before sliding it closed and reaching for her work bag on the other side of the bed.
Crap, she thought with a huff, no time for any makeup. She slipped her phone into her pocket and jogged downstairs to tell her mum about the new change of plans. "He said it was a family emergency." She told her, chewing on her bottom lip.
Her mum nodded in understanding. "I guess your father will have to help me out after all, then." She reached over and planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Message me when you finish and we'll come get you. There's no way we're letting you catch the bus home so late."
"I will, Mum. Love you." She made her way into the living room to bid her dad a quick goodbye, only to find him stretched out over the couch like an over-sized feline. She held back a laugh. "See ya, Dad."
The man jolted in surprise, obviously a little too focused on the game to notice her standing there. He glanced up to see her watching him from behind the couch, an amused look spread across her face, before gazing back to the little figures running around on the TV screen. "Huh? Alright, my little girl, have a good day at school."
Tia rolled her eyes. "I'm going to work, but thanks anyway, Dad. Love you."
Stepping out of the house, she speedily made her way down the driveway. Thankfully, the bus stop was only a few blocks down from here, so she could get out of the heat a lot quicker. When the bus finally arrived, she paid for her fare and took a seat closest to the driver. It wasn't too long of a trip to her workplace—it probably takes around fifteen to twenty minutes at the most, depending on the traffic. Luckily, it wasn't too bad at the moment.
Leanne, a waitress around her age, greeted her with a confused look as she walked through the doors of the spacious, modern-style cafe. "Tia? I thought you weren't coming in today..."
She shrugged her shoulders, offering the girl a small smile. "I wasn't until Mark asked me to cover for him. Emergency."
The blond waitress quirked a perfectly plucked brow. "Oh, really?" She frowned and returned to wiping down the tables. "I hope he's alright…"
Tia continued on to the back room and shoved her bag in her locker, before taking an apron off the hook beside the door. Tying it around her waist so that it sat snugly, she exited the staff room and went over to her station. Tonight, she would be taking on Mark's job as a barista. Not that she was complaining. She actually kind of preferred it over her own job as a waitress; taking orders from customers and cleaning up after them wasn't always the most delightful thing to do.
Several of her other co-workers greeted her with the same confusion as Leanne, and they immediately began to ask her where Mark was and what she was doing in his station. Once that was all settled and everyone was caught up with the story, she finally settled in and began to make cool beverages for the eager customers. Time rolled by slowly, a multitude of drinks being made by Tia's hand. It was almost closing time now and most of her co-workers had already ended their shifts in that time, leaving her to serve the last few customers that ventured into the cafe. She leaned over the counter and checked the wrought iron clock on the wall.
Only five minutes to go. Better do the last round of check-ups to make sure everything is good and ready to go for tomorrow.
She made her way out from behind the counter and glanced around, checking to see if anything needed attention before she packed up and called it a night. Everything seemed to be in check, save for a table at the far end of the cafe. There was something on it still. She walked over to it, tilting her head in curiosity once she was able to make out the small object sitting on the dark, wooden surface of the table. It turned out to be a notebook a little bigger than the size of her hand, it's cover an interesting matte black colour that was smooth to the touch when she picked it up.
"Wonder whose this is," she muttered quietly to herself. I should probably put this in the back and leave a note on it. Someone probably left it behind.
Turning around to leave, she froze when a rush of air forced her to loosen her grasp on the book. It landed on the floor with a quiet thud. Spooked, she glanced around the cafe with worried eyes. I hope the camera caught that... Her attention fell back to the book, and she noticed that it landed with the cover open. Gingerly, she picked it up and was about to snap it shut again, when something peculiar caught her eye.
Her name was written in golden cursive on the very first page.
A/N: So, how'd I go? It's a bit short, but this is only an introduction the to the story. No mention of our beautiful Irish puppy yet, but he will appear soon enough! I simply wanted to give you an idea of Tia's character and her daily life before it all spirals downhill. :') Oh yeah, did I mention this story is going to be very long? I'm thinking like 250-300k+ words, maybe? XD
Muchachita - "little girl" in Spanish
Tia's name - "aunt" in Spanish. I know, tis a little strange that I'd be calling her that. I originally named her after my cousin, but also because I liked the name in general, so yeah… Silly author liked the name and forgot to do a background check in the Spanish language, so now my stupidity will be implemented into the story. Oops XD It suits her though, so I won't change it.
Anyways, hope you guys liked it! imakemyownblog out! xx