A/N: This is my first time writing a story in an incredibly long time. Please be gentle, but please do let me know what you think! This story is set around the Country Cousins episodes of That's So Raven when Raven and Chelsea visit Raven's distant relatives in the country. The storyline of that episode holds no relevance as this is a stand-alone story, but there are parts which give a nod to the episode. Expected to be multi-chaptered as long as everyone reviews to let me know it's worth giving this story a try!
Chapter 1: Savored Reality
"Some nights are made for torture, or reflection, or the savoring of loneliness"
It was 8:00 PM and Raven Baxter and Chelsea Daniels had settled down in their beds for an unwanted early night only an hour previous. Staying with Raven's cousins was both a blessing and a curse for Chelsea. On one hand, she loved being in the countryside, surrounded by nature and animals for her to tend to, but most importantly, she loved spending time with her best friend. However, she did believe that her childhood companion's relatives were a little taxing when they forced her to go to bed at such an early hour. No matter how many sheep she counted, there was no drifting off for the redhead.
"Rae, you still awake?" she asked softly into the darkness. A grumble from the adjacent bed signaled her fashionable friend was still very much awake. With a shuffle, Chelsea sat upright on the firm mattress and positioned the pillows so she could rest her back against them. "I'm thirsty"
Raven mirrored her friend's actions and sat up also, pulling her quilt closer to her for warmth. It was getting close to winter and Raven was definitely not a fan. Chelsea, on the other hand, favored the winter months and never seemed to be bothered by a drop in temperature. "Go grab some water from the kitchen, just be quiet. 'Though, I'm sure they'll all be out like a log by now considering how late it is" the brunette scoffed sarcastically. Chelsea chuckled at this as she swung her legs over the side of the bed to face Raven.
Putting on a thick country accent, Chelsea humorously mimicked the words of Raven's cousin Vicky "Come on Rae, being that it's the weekend and all, we like to stay up a little later." It was Raven's turn to laugh this time. Walking over towards the door, Chelsea grabbed one of Raven's fancy robes and fastened it around her pajamas. "I'm going downstairs, do you want anything?" she asked, looking back at her obviously cold friend who was clutching her quilt to her chest.
"An extra 10 degrees would go down a hit, Chels" came from the bedridden girl. After only just putting it on, the redhead unfastened the robe and lay it atop her frozen friend, only briefly feeling a small chill herself.
"I think you need this more than I do. I'm gonna grab some water, be back in a sec. I'll see if I can find an extra blanket for you too"
"Ah, what would I do without ya, girl? Good looking out, Chels" Raven grumbled gratefully as she snuggled under the new layer. After a quick smiling exchange, Chelsea was out of the door and on her way to the kitchen.
Chelsea loved old country houses, but at night time, not so much. Everything she loved in the daytime was a complete juxtaposition at night. It made her feel uneasy, being in the middle of nowhere. Entering the kitchen, the air hung still as a chill ran up her spine; it was completely silent - the sound emanating from the creaky wooden door the only solace. She padded over to the sink and ran the tap until the water ran cool, catching the waterfall in a purple plastic tumbler.
As the cascading water came to a halt, Chelsea peered out of the side view window into the now very dark farmyard. You could only see so far before the world beyond was enveloped in nightfall. It was both peaceful and eerie simultaneously and it made Chelsea feel unsteady. Closing the curtains, she started for the door as she heard a crack from outside the window as though someone was treading on sticks. She snapped her head back around, reopening the curtain.
As she watched the trees lightly sway, Chelsea assured herself that nature speaks for itself, especially during a windy night like tonight, but at the back of her mind, she was trying to ignore her childish fear of Percy who stood just outside of the house. Percy was the family's scarecrow. Raven had told her countless times how Betty Jane used to scare her with stories when she was little about how Percy would come to life and steal your soul. Of course, Chelsea knew it was a simple fable between children, and if asked, she would deny her fear, but being alone so close to the outdoors at night wasn't on the top of Chelsea's bucket list. As she looked away from the window, she noticed one of Baby G's large blankets on the table. "This looks big enough to give Raven a bit of extra heat," she thought to herself. With that, she snatched the blanket and bolted out of the kitchen, making her way back upstairs to Raven.
Raven lay curled up in her blanket, now wearing the robe that was placed on her as Chelsea returned, slowly closing the door to avoid a loud thud. "You're back! I thought Percy might've got ya" Raven joked, knowing Chelsea was secretly terrified of the scarecrow.
"Well he tried, but I pummeled his idiot straw butt to the ground" The redhead began walking towards the brunette's bed, placing her purple tumbler on the bedside cabinet. "Maybe the scarecrow could have beat me if..." Chelsea looked Raven stark in the eyes as she deadpanned "if he only had a brain". Raven guffawed with an enormous belly cackle as Chelsea tackled her with Baby G's blanket, trying to keep the dark-skinned beauty from waking up the rest of the family.
"Chels, you did not just make a Wizard of Oz joke" Raven poked at the pale girl's ribs as Chelsea stood upright again, smirking down at her. Chelsea tightened the new blanket around a now warmer Raven. "You're basically my mom right now, you know that, right?"
Chelsea chuckled, leaning down to smooth out the edges. "I know, I like it though. I like looking after you" Raven's eyes softened, looking up at the woman she has become so accustomed to. She couldn't imagine Chelsea not being in her life. There was something really special about having someone you can truly trust and talk to without having any boundaries, knowing whatever you said would be safe.
"Well tomorrow, you know, you're welcome to bring me breakfast in bed - that would REALLY be looking after me!" she put on her best attempt at a puppy dog face, but it was to no avail as Chelsea playfully punched her on the shoulder before getting back into her own bed. "So that's at least a maybe, right?"
"Goodnight, Miss Bossy Boots!" Chelsea spoke, snuggling further down under her own quilt.
"Night, biscuit head... love ya" Raven tried once more.
"Love you too, but the answer is still no"
A/N: okay, so that was just a starting point to get a feel for where I want to go and to get a feel for the characters. The next chapter will start to get progressive. What do you think? Is this something you'd want to read? Is the writing alright and more importantly, do the characters feel realistic? Any review will help! This is going to be a sort of survivalist story. Lots of emotions, lots of revelations, loss, hope, new beginnings, feelings of being lost, angst, love, everything you can think of! Inspired by Tartarus, a Rizzoli and Isles fanfiction. Involvement of zombies doesn't have to be cliche. Please review!
