Set five years after the mystery of 'A' was solved, a fresh batch of teens are settling into Rosewood High. With the small, quiet town seemingly back to the way it once was, a mysterious chain of events causes three new students to have their feathers rustled. Together they must unite to figure out who is causing trouble and who is transforming into Rosewood's new 'A.'
~ A For Ashes ~
Chapter Two:
The Ashes
Cassie pushes the strands of her red hair out from her eyes and fixes the position of the straps over her shoulders. She walks along the paved sidewalk and looks up at her new home. Three floors tall with the gigantic window to her bedroom in the attic at the side of the house.
She turns right and walks across the short-cut grass, pulling her key out of her pocket. She pushes it in gently, twists it and pushes the door open, rays of light casting a shadow in the doorway.
She steps inside the darkness and closes the door behind her, flicking on a switch which lights up the hall. She drops her bag beside the small table out in the hallway and picks up a piece of paper sitting on top of it.
Cassie. Home at eleven. Reheat the lasagne in the fridge. Dad.
As the note says, she walks into her kitchen and pulls out a small dish filled with cold, leftover lasagne from the previous night. She places it in the microwave and times it for three minutes, sparks of energy coming to life inside as a small circular plate begins to spin.
She heads back out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor where a few doorways sit. Three bedrooms with only two of them being used and a small bathroom. She walks up the second flight of stairs into the attic and turns on the light. The room brightens, revealing the bundles of clothes and useless junk spread across the room, boxes piling up in the corners.
Unpacking was the worst thing to her; she hated it so much she wasn't even half done yet. And even with what she had unpacked by now isn't even tidied away nice and neatly. Instead books are jammed behind the door, shirts curled up in balls in the drawyers and cups sitting on the windowsill.
She sighs, marching through the junk between her feet and she leaps onto her bed right on top of a raincoat. She gently closes her eyes and tilts her head back on her pillow, folding her arms across her stomach.
She tries to blank all her thoughts from her mind, but she is suddenly frightened awake by a loud bang. She props herself up on the side of the bed and sits in silence trying to hear anything else.
Nothing. Dead silence.
She tuts, swinging herself off the bed and down the stairs, she looks over baluster and at the front door. Not anything moves. Not anything makes a noise. Once again, dead silence. She slowly creeps down the stairs cautiously and looks into her living room. Nothing but a small dot of red against black showing the television on standby.
She reaches the bottom of the steps and walks into her kitchen. Suddenly, a black shadow sways out through the window and over the fence that squares off her garden. She swipes up the key to the backdoor in one of the drawyers and unlocks the door. She quickly swings it open and looks at tall, tan brunette with wavy hair who waves at her.
"Hello, new neighbour," she says, a smile across her face.
"Hey," replies Cassie stepping out into the grass and towards her. "What's your name?"
The girl forms her hand into a fist, coughs and taps against her chest before replying. "Naomi. My parents say I was named after Naomi Campbell the supermodel. We're both pretty similar."
"You're both beautiful," says Cassie, admiring her cheekbones.
"Well I didn't need you to tell me that for me to know that," Naomi replies, slowly walking along the fence closer to her. Cassie tries to run that sentence through her mind, trying to figure out if there was something else she meant by that, but no. All she can think is that she thinks herself is beautiful.
"Cat got your tongue?" Naomi asks after a few seconds of silence.
"Uh, no," replies Cassie. "But, uh.. Do you go to Rosewood High?"
"Of course, silly. Everyone in this town goes to Rosewood High," she replies. "What? Did you think I was a dumb homeschooler?"
Cassie stares at her confused, trying to figure her out. It's like she's a little puzzle. She didn't know whether she was serious, acting, or maybe just joking. As more seconds pass without Naomi changing or admitting anything, the truth sinks into Cassie's mind little by little.
"Okay, I don't have time for this," Naomi says spinning on her heels. "These bitches at school think it's okay to give us tests the first week back. Who do they think I am? Ain't no body got time for studying..."
She steps inside her open doorway and comes to a halt.
"Oh. Also, do you like my heels?" she asks, sticking her leg out into the air, showcasing the long pink shoe. "They're vintage. Got them at the mall!"
She walks backwards into the darkness of her home and slams the door shut with a loud bang. After moments of pausing and thinking, Cassie walks back into her kitchen and tries to make sense of what just happened.
"Did you get into trouble today?" a deep voice asks.
"No," replies Jax. "Why would I get in trouble on my first day?"
"You better not have skipped any of your classes today," he father responds, his voice serious in tone.
"Dude, it's only the first day!" Jax yells, storming past his father. "I'm not that bad!" His father reaches his arm out and latches onto Jax's shoulder, pulling him backwards.
"I am warning you right now, if you get in any more trouble, I am done with you," his father growls. Jax claws at his hand, pushing it off and he storms up the stairs with his bag on his back.
"What a great father you are!" he shouts. He pushes his door open and marches into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He drops his backpack to the ground and sits on his bed, taking out his phone and tapping around on the screen.
His door flies open and he sighs. "What is it now?!"
"What is wrong with you?"
He looks up and sees his blonde sister standing in the doorway with her ripped jeans.
"Evie, go away," he mumbles. She steps inside his bedroom and gently shuts the door behind her.
"Rosewood is our chance to start on a new leaf," she says. "No more suspensions, no more detentions, no more expulsions."
"I've heard that way too many times," Jax replies.
"Indeed," Evie says. "Well from now on, you need to stop hearing it. And don't you dare make a heart break in this town or I will have you finished." She walks out and slams the door shut, Jax staring at the wall in silence.
And don't you dare make a heart break in this town or I will have you finished, swirls in his mind.
Don't you dare make a heart break.
"Don't let your parents know.." a girl whispers, climbing through a large open window.
The white-blonde haired boy steps out of the darkness of his room, into the light of the shining moon in the sky. He grins, gently pulling her dark brown hair over her shoulders.
"They won't know a thing.."
They both wrap their arms around each other, leaning in and pressing their lips together. He feels the taste of her cherry lipgloss making an incredible sensation in his mouth as she lets go of him to pull her top off. Her black bra now revealed, she helps pull his shirt off revealing his sixpack.
They both stumble backwards and they collapse onto his bed, continuing to kiss and touch each other.
The hands of the clock tick by, second after second, minute after minute. The house sits completely quiet apart from the news station blaring from the television downstairs.
They both sit on the bed, arms wrapped around each other when the girl bounces up.
"I need to leave now or my parents will know I've been gone," she announces, snatching her lemon-yellow shirt up from the floor and pulling it over her head. She plucks her phone up from the bedside table and scurries towards the window.
"Oh Romeo, Romeo. I'll be back tomorrow night," she whispers which makes him giggle. Within seconds she leaps from the windowsill towards the large tree in the garden and her body slides down the bark.
He jumps up from his bed and looks out the window, watching as her darkened figure runs away over the fence. He lets out a deep breath and smiles, but his thoughts are soon interrupted by his father's voice echoing in the hallway. He scrambles for his shirt, pulling it on over his head just before his door springs open and his father steps inside.
Jax snaps back to the present and he looks around his bedroom. The girl is nowhere to be found. He takes in a deep breath, picks up his phone and leans back against the wall, opening up his Facebook app and relaxing.
"Apparently Mrs. Brown is out today.. At least that means we don't have to carry geography books today," chirps Olivia shutting her locker door shut.
Cassie shuts hers too and turns to face her. "Mrs. Brown is such a pig. Did you see her blowing her nose yesterday in class? Her boogers-"
"Are we talking about boogers?" Jax asks. Cassie turns and stares at him deep into his eyes.
"The only booger around here is you."
He laughs, gently closing his locker and stepping beside Olivia. "And you're the tissue."
She glares at him, her eyes widened so far they could pop right out of their sockets. She forms her hand into a fist and bites her lip, slowly raising it into the air. She stops before taking action, letting out a cough.
"How polite of you," she says, fixing the straps of her bag over her shoulders. "Come on Olivia. We better get to class."
"Hello ladies and the lone gentleman!" exclaims Josh turning around the corner. "Settling in well?"
"Definitely. People seem pretty sweet here," Olivia replies.
"Good. Well my parents are going to be leaving town in a few hours, and I'm welcoming all three of you to a party at my place," says Josh. Olivia looks at him trying to figure him out. All that she can believe is that he's acting. Covered by a mask. She can't quite possibly believe that the boy sending her annonymous text messages would just invite her to a party. Well, that was if he was the one sending the messages.
"Sure," Olivia says, not knowing she just interrupted Cassie beginning to speak. "We will all go." Cassie and Jax both look at one another with vicious looks on their faces, both turning to look at Olivia afterwards with frustration.
"It's going to be killer!" pipes Josh. "There are going to be a lot of students from this school attending. Cassie, I guess you could give them directions to take."
"Yes," Cassie spits out with an expressionless face. "Yes I will."
"Good. It starts at nine. See you all there!" says Josh before marching on down the hallway towards another group of students.
"I am not going if you're going!" Cassie squeals to Jax.
"Fine. I guess that means I'll have a bit of peace at the party," he bites back.
"No! That means I'm going then," says Cassie. "You shall not get undeserved peace!"
"Both of you be quiet!" Olivia interrupts which silences the two. "You are both coming with me. We're going to find out if it really was Josh sending me those text messages."
"Text messages? What did they say?" Jax asks.
"Uh... Um.." mumbles Olivia.
"It's none of your business, douche pants!" Cassie shrieks.
"Well so far, she's my only friend in this hellhole, and I'm going to make sure she's safe!" replies Jax.
"Both of you, just stop. It's getting tiring," says Olivia. "You don't need to apologize to one another. Just refresh yourselves and begin again with even plates.."
Cassie and Jax both look at each other with smug faces, both trying to look like the one on top. Neither speak. Neither move. Instead they just freeze like soldiers ready for war.
"Good. You're both making progress!" chirps Olivia. "Now let's all go to class."
All three walk through the hallways in a line, Olivia in the middle in between Cassie and Jax. She smiles, feeling confident with herself, ready to start the second day at school. Ready for the party that night. Ready to be herself.
Her phone rumbles inside her pocket and she pulls it out expecting the littlest of things. A box fills the screen showcasing a new text message sent from an unknown person.
She looks up around as she continues to walk forward to try and spot Josh. Nowhere to be found. Students tap away on their phones, chatting and having fun by their lockers. She tilts her head back down and reads the message through her brain.
The party will be celebrating your birthday and I will be your present. -A
Author's Note:
Well hello everybody!
Welcome to Chapter 1 of A for Ashes: The Ashes. That chapter title was clearly formed after a certain reveal during Jax's section of this chapter... But don't worry, the ashes won't stay as ashes forever... We'll be finding out more about Jax's past throughout this story, so be prepared! :)
And what about that semi-cliffhanger? So someone is using 'A' as a way to secretly message Olivia without her knowing their identity! She thinks it's Josh, but then her mind switches thinking it could be anyone... So who is it?! Obviously there's the invitation of the party at Josh's house, and if you have watched Pretty Little Liars before, events like parties/celebrations/special days usually go down as the chapters with more story, so expect that coming really soon ;)
Whether you liked or disliked this chapter, please leave a review if you have time! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story so far and I'd love to see what you think of my writing! :D
I'm going to make this story a weekly thing where chapters come out every Tuesday, and there will be a few exceptions: sometimes I may not get a chapter out every Tuesday due to schoolwork and sometimes I may even post two chapters a week! :D
So that's it for today... If you liked this chapter, stay tuned for the next one!
Thank you all so much for reading, byeeeee! :)