Disclaimer : Okay, I do not—I REPEAT—do not own South of Nowhere. Though I have wanted to be left alone in a dark room with some of the actresses, I have no ownage of them.

Author's Note: Yippie, the first chapter. This is exciting and strangely terrifiying sharing this with you guys. Enjoy :)

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UPDATE: EDITED.
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Breathe In, Breathe Out

Chapter One : Painful Welcome

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

Ashley Davies stared out the window of her Mom's black limo, seeing the familiar entrance to King High School.

"Language, Ashley," Her mother scolds, continuing to talk to a client on her cellphone.

Ashley rolled her eyes.

Still glaring at the students staring at their car like they were some freak show, Ashley was fighting the urge to give them the finger. Hadn't these kids seen a damn limo before? She really thought she was going to die coming back here. After her mom had told her they were moving back, she'd been so angry. The last thing she ever wanted was to come back to this stupid town, swearing to herself that she'd never have to the day she left. That was three years ago. Though she was only fourteen at the time, Ashley hadn't been too shaken up to leave her home town. It was quite the opposite really...but Ashley blocked out that part of her life a long time ago, and she wasn't going to revisit it anytime soon. Glancing around, she was pretty sure nearly all of her peers in her seventh grade class still lived in Columbus after all this time. Figures, it's Ohio for god's sake.

This had switched on a light in her brain, and a person she'd wish she could've just forgotten came crashing in again. A person who may or may not still lived here as well. In that moment, Ashley felt like all the air inside the limo at rushed into her chest. She hunches herself over, catching her breath.

"Oh, god, I'm gonna puke." Swallowing hard, she slowly composed herself a few minutes later. Looking up at her mom, at the other end of the limo, Ashley noticed she was still talking on her cellphone.

"No, don't change our account right now. Dammit, Rick, I'll call you later." Christine sighed, looking up to smile warily at her daughter. Ashley managed a small smile, her eyes pleading out to her mother who just shook her head.

"Honey, I know your mad about this," She whispers, sliding down the smooth leather to sit beside her daughter. "And that this place doesn't hold good memories for you anymore...but it was our only option at the time. After what happened at your school, we couldn't stay in L.A. anymore. You know that."

Ashley exhaled slowly, clenching her tiny fists in her lap. "I just—I just didn't think I'd have to ever come back. I left this place behind, Mom. I finally moved on, and now..." I decided it best to stop there, already saying too much.

"No, you talk to me," Mom had ordered, much too harshly than she intended it to be.

Honestly, she wouldn't blame her. Ashley never talked about why she was so determined to leave everything behind when they left. Since then, her and her mom weren't the same. Ashley had kept so many secrets from her mother that she just blocked herself off. A big part of Ashley was broken, and her mom and Kyla watched helplessly on the sidelines. The brunette's eyes slam shut, forcing the words out. If she wanted to talk, then they'd talk.

"I'm angry that you took me away, away from JayJay and Aiden," She whispered through clenched teeth. "After I left, I thought I'd never make new friends again, but I did. I met those amazing people, and you took me away from them. Don't you get it? This place was my hell, mother, and you brought me back to it."

Ashley stared into her mother's tear filled eyes, fighting not to cry herself.

Christine clears her throat then, lowering her eyes in defeat. "I'm so sorry, Ashley. I was doing what I thought was best for my daughter. I was just trying to protect my little girl."

Ashley shakes her head, guilt dropping heavy in the pit of her stomach. She shifts forward, facing her mother, and taking her hands. "I know, Mom, I'm sorry...I just need some time okay, to adjust to everything. I just need time."

Christine nods, lifting up their interlocked fingers to kiss Ashley's hand. In turn, her daughter kissed her forehead gently, whispering how much she loved her mother into her ear before pulling back.

"Things will be better, I promise," Christine tells her daughter, before handing over her book bag. "Here, you don't want to be late on your first day. Oh, and your sister is coming down soon, so you definitely won't be alone here."

Christine smiles, absently patting Ashley on her bruised shoulder from when she tripped on her bags earlier. The young girl winced as she opened the door and stepped outside.

"She better be, I haven't seen her in like 2 months," She mutters, turning back to talk to her mother inside the limo. "Mom, what if the friends I had before I moved want nothing to do with me? I mean, what if I can't—"

Christine's hand reaches out, covering Ashley's mouth. "You'll be fine. You have a natural kindness that people adore, and a spunky sass that people can't argue with. If you come across them, they should welcome you with open arms if they're your true friends. Okay?"

Ashley nodded, leaning in to hug her mother. "I gotta go now, I love you."

"Love you too, sweetie," Christine whispered, kissing her cheek.

Ashley steps away, closing the limp door, and waved goodbye to her mother before watching the limo soon disappearing down the busy street. Now all alone, she walks up the familiar steps of King High, ignoring the mob of curious glances and glares following her every move.

...

The stares only increased once she actually stepped foot in the colossal building, which Ashley expected. Being the daughter of the late Raife Davies, she was used to being stared at. But here, in her home town, it felt different than when she was in Los Angeles. Even so, she soldiered on down the endless hallways of the school in search of the locker that belonged to the number scribbled onto the piece of paper in her hands.

Approaching the general direction Ashley figured my locker was located, she started to feel herself getting bumped and pushed a lot more than the normal traffic in High School. At one point, she was even knocked into the wall, and most recent, her shoulder slamming into a set of lockers. These weren't accidental at all, she had obviously pieced together from the first body check she'd received earlier. This was backlash for being famous apparently, which annoyed her to no end because she wasn't really famous. Her dad was, not her.

Ashley rolled her eyes, gripping tighter to the strap of her book bag around her shoulders as the hallways started to empty. When she's being pushed forward a few minutes later, her anger gets the best of her. Prepared to put her sloppy fighting skills to good use, she turns around to see who pushed her. Instead, her eyes widen, seeing a hard, fast moving object swing into her field of vision. And before she could figure out what it was, Ashley found herself falling flat on her back against the cold tile.

Holding her face in pain, Ashley bites back a scream.

"Son of a bitch," She hissed from underneath her shaking hands. Her fingers lowered to touch the line of blood coming from her nose as Ashley's eyes start to flutter incoherently.

Just seconds later, her vision starts to get blurred around the edges just as a figure hovered over her. Ashley's eyes rolled back into her head then, and everything goes black.


END of CHAPTER

If you'll just hold your horses, Spencer will be making her appearance known shortly.

R&R. Please?