Full Summary: When seventeen-year-old Emma Brooks is forced to move from Chicago to tiny Hemlock Grove she doesn't start with the right foot, immediately finding herself in a clash of personalities with her arrogant classmate Roman Godfrey. The town is about to welcome back William Godfrey, Roman's cousin and the new Biology teacher at Hemlock High. Unlikely friendships begin to develop as a series of bizarre events unravel and there's a collective demand for explanations.

A/N: First of all thank you for clicking on my story! This fic does not follow the storyline of season one. It contains a plot of my own with some twists that remain faithful to the original elements of the show/book. SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE -I think it's important to warn you Roman isn't romantically/spiritually attached to Letha, nor does she get pregnant with his baby. You might recognize this story as I've posted it before, but this time I've improved (hopefully) phrases and fixed grammar mistakes. Emma's face claim is Anya Taylor-Joy, and William's is Sam Riley but obviously you're free to imagine them the way you want to!

Warning: T for now. Occasionally contains strong language, violence, gore, detailed descriptions of blood and sexual references.

Chapter One

POV: Emma

I entered the school bus, found my usual seat in the back and gently placed my backpack on the seat beside me. As soon as I was comfortably settled, I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out my iPod and earphones. While the music started to seep into every tense muscle in my body I couldn't help but think about the hours ahead. My parents and I don't usually go out to eat, but what has been really alarming to me is the fact that they have implied more than once they want to discuss something important tonight. Being the pessimist I am, I've been assuming the worst and my thoughts have been violently whirling inside my head with different possibilities all week.

I simply couldn't wrap my brain around what piece of information was so pressing they couldn't reveal it straightaway. The only thing keeping me sane is the logical perception that if it was something truly terrible they wouldn't torture me all this time. At least I like to believe my parents aren't that cruel. Well... Nah, they certainly would have said something.

The music actually helped to ease my body and mind a little and I quickly found myself unlocking the front door of our building. I took the stairs to the second floor where I was met by Mrs. Warren wiping the floor and humming what sounded like a jam from her time. Discreetly, I said my greetings and closed the door behind me before she had the chance to engage us in a conversation. Any other day I wouldn't mind small talk with her, she's an amazing cook and an invariably nice neighbor, but I was exhausted from school, I needed to zone out.

"Mom?" I inspected the living room and concluded I was alone in the apartment. Considering the time dad was still working, and mom probably went out to buy groceries. With a yawn, I threw my backpack as far away from my shoulders as possible and hustled down the hall to my room. My room, my embarrassing room, is filled with cheesy posters, dolls and sparkly objects, despite the certitute I've grown out of those interests a long time ago. I would change it completely but my parents are in what they like to call a 'fragile era'. Mom doesn't have a job and we've been mostly living off my dad's salary for the past two years. Needless to say redecorating my room is the least of our concerns right now.

As I stretched around the small division my eyes instinctively fell on the desk, more specifically on the drawing of a fox I traced out in the dark without rigor last night. I began sketching in the summer out of pure interest, going as far as to learn techniques from tutorials online. My objects of study are mostly animals, nature, and the occasional human face. It's not like I can declare I'm the next Picasso or something, but it definitely could be worse. I draw to pass the time, let out my emotions, and simply because I love to get a hold of the pencil. Every single one of my drawings expresses a thought, a dream or a feeling. Since I live a pretty ordinary life, dreams are the most common theme. Usually I let my subconscious guide my fingers and see what comes out of it.

Probably half an hour had passed when I heard the front door unlocking. From the frantic sounds and rattling it was mom, and her loud voice in the kitchen confirmed it a second later.

"Emma?" She called out.

"I'm here!" I yelled.

I jumped from the bed and left my room in a neutral mood now that I knew mom was home. However when I entered the kitchen I saw that she came in with three bags of groceries, a sight that caught me off guard.

"What's the occasion?" I analyzed the content inside with squinted eyes. Eggs, bread, juice, milk, the usual groceries, yet something was definitely off. This was double the food mom regularly buys. "I thought we were going out to eat tonight?" I asked, naturally confused.

"We are, I just bought some extras for the weekend." Mom said simply, unfazed by my reaction. "We need to be ready by seven, the reservation is really tight. Give me a hand here please."

I rolled up my sleeves and helped her, not particularly satisfied with the answer I received.

x x x

My parents occasionally made the usual back and forth chit-chat but it was mostly quiet as we swung by the illuminated center of the Chicago nightlife. As we motioned by all the fancy shops I saw with great relief that the restaurant was directly in my line of vision, and mom gave me a comforting smile from the passenger seat.

"So..." I began but was cut off by my dad's assertive voice.

"We're still in the parking lot, Emma. Jesus. Can you wait a minute." He puffed out of his chest and mom laughed.

"There's nothing to worry about. Do you seriously think we'd bring you here if we had bad news?" She challenged with a raised brow.

"Depends on what they're serving." I'm really picky with food and this comment made mom roll her eyes to the back of her head.

After several failed attempts of trying to figure out what was going on, I merely subjected myself to follow them to the entrance of the building. The restaurant was something like I'd never seen before, the beautiful purple color scheme contrasting with all the golden foliage around. We didn't often explore this part of the city and it was a shame, the classy environment enhanced by the smooth jazz music was definitely worth the expense.

The space was unsurprisingly crowded for a Friday night and we were welcomed by warm salutations. After waiting in a long line we were brought to one of the empty tables and I breathed out in suspense. A waitress came around, and I immediately picked the cheapest and most familiar meal of the menu out of habit. Because of this, I was in shock to see mom and dad struggling with their choices.

"Did you win the lottery or a television quiz I'm not aware of?" I accused them when the waitress picked up our cards and left.

Mom laughed again while dad just looked like he was holding back a comment. "How was school today?" He asked instead.

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. "Please dad. I don't want to talk about school, this has been torturous enough."

They glanced at each other and from the looks on their faces seemed to give in. I braced myself, I guessed the wait was over, I was finally going to find out what they've been so secretive about. Dad just kept looking back and forth between mom and I hesitantly, it was starting to make me feel tense.

Ten seconds of silence went by and I couldn't wait any longer. "Just say it!"

Mom nodded but still didn't lift her head up. "So as you know your father has been working double in the company these past few months with a salary that can only be described as miserable, well considering what he does." She stated tiredly. Dad has been working the double because someone had the brilliant idea of presenting a resignation without previous warning, leaving him with extra paperwork. He works as an insurance agent and has always been one of the most dedicated employees.

I nodded my head, wondering where she was going with this. "Yeah..."

"Well, Carl, you know Carl Harrison, he was in college with your father, contacted us recently..." She glanced over at dad with a proud smile. "Carl was looking for a new claims adjuster for his company, Hemlock Insurance, and he included your father as one of the possible candidates. Your father was interviewed, went through all the required conversations, and... he was chosen! Out of seven people!" She jumped a little on her chair with excitement.

"Wow..." I said a bit dumbfounded, but mostly relieved for obvious reasons. "Dad, that's great! This is great news." I cheered, an inflection of insecurities in my voice when I looked over at dad's neutral expression and understood they weren't done.

He shut his eyes for a moment and my relief was cut short. "The job is in Hemlock Grove."

"Where is that?"

"It's a small town in Pennsylvania." He didn't face me for long.

My smile slowly died and I nervously twisted my hands in my lap. "So does this mean you're moving out? It's a temporary job?" I watched as they glanced at each other at the same time.

"No, this means we're all moving out. It's not temporary, it's a solid position." Dad informed me and I could tell it was hard for him to get that phrase out.

"We're officially moving to the keystone state! Who would've thought?" Mom added happily and I fought the urge to bang my head against the nearest wall.

"You can't be serious." I blurted out and mom's smile went missing. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" I crossed my arms over my chest. This was beyond frustrating and unexpected. I have my life here, my stuff, my school, my routine and I wasn't ready to drop those things any time soon.

Mom shook her head at me. "We wanted to be certain of our options and wait until it was official to tell you. Honey, if you're concerned about school, you'll catch up with their program there in no time. You're a smart girl." Her friendly smile returned and I didn't know whether to cuss or cry.

"In no time? When is this happening?" I managed to ask while gritting through my teeth.

"We're moving in three weeks." Mom announced it like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I'm sure you're going to love Hemlock Grove, the green scenery is absolutely beautiful. Your father and I will be going there next week to see the house we have in mind. We can show you some of the pictures when we get home."

I was about to protest when the waitress popped up from behind me with our drinks. As soon as she turned her back to our table the tension reinstalled itself, and I looked down to examine my empty plate, knowing I had lost my appetite.

"Emma, this is our chance to start with a clean sheet of paper." Mom persisted. I knew our financial situation wasn't the best here, but moving? Starting all over again in a completely different state was definitely not one of the possible scenarios running through my head earlier today.

"It's my senior year of high school. I don't want a fresh start! Shouldn't I have a say in the matter?" I asked impatiently, unaware of a few curious heads turning my way. I understood their hesitation, but I'm seventeen, not seven. My angle deserve to be included in their decisions.

Dad scratched his forehead, the worry visible in his eyes. "Listen, we know you have your plan here, but I think you're mature enough to understand this is an incredible opportunity to turn things around for us. Here things are not looking promising, the company is going bankrupt at an alarming pace. I need to have a job by the end of this year and in Hemlock Grove that is a certainty. Here, hell, I don't even know."

My voice came out in a whisper. "Are things really that bad?"

Dad sighed. "Unfortunately yes."

"Okay but are you aware that you'll be moving from Chicago, a city with endless opportunities for employment, to a small town in the middle of nowhere for a job you're not even sure you're going to like? Don't you think this decision is a little imprudent all things considered?" I tried to inject some sense into the discussion.

Dad leaned forward slightly, clearly expecting these questions. "That has crossed our minds, yes. However Carl has me in great esteem and I can tell I will have an easy time adapting to the new job, not a lot of things can go wrong from there. He's also been helping us out with the bureaucracies of the move. Simply put: he's been a real saint. At this point in our lives, we want a calmer life in a green setting and Hemlock Grove might be just what we need. It would be perfect if the move only happened a year from now, when you'd be done with high school, but we have to take what's presented to us. We can't discard this shot." His tone was secure but it did nothing to comfort me.

My head felt dizzy from soaking in new information. "Are you sure this isn't because I was fired? I told you it wasn't my fault. I can find something else! I can help you!" I begged desperately. I was fired from a part-time job as a receptionist in an art gallery three months ago because, being the genius I am, I forgot the keys inside and locked everyone out for hours.

As I was going over possible solutions with the manager he said I was fired and he had never met anyone as absent-minded as me, an observation that sure didn't help my self confidence. I was just glad I didn't have to deal with that asshole anymore. But now I would do anything to avoid this move, including apologizing and begging the respective asshole for a second chance.

Mom shook her head. "Please don't be ridiculous, it has absolutely nothing to do with that. This is a good thing and you're gonna have to accept it sooner or later. You should be happy for your father!"

"But..." I began and stopped myself before I could say some really dumb stuff I didn't mean. It seemed like my perspective had no impact in their decision whatsoever. At the end of the day I was going to have to accept this reality whether I liked it or not.

I just did everyone a favor, nodded my head, and listened to whatever they had to say next with an emotionless expression on my face. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to start the process of accepting the unavoidable changes coming my way. Chicago is all I've ever known, I feel comfortable here. The weather is nice, school isn't the worst and above all I'm surrounded by people I tolerate.

When we got home and I was finally alone locked up in my room I considered turning on my laptop and googling everything there is to know about Hemlock Grove, but I was so angry I just wanted to block out related thoughts. So I dropped down on my bed in disbelief, not bothering to remove my make-up or my dress. This felt like such an impulsive commitment from my parents, something so rushed and weakly thought-through. I had to remind myself they'd been planning this behind my back for months. I take back what I said before, this was just pure cruelty! Since I don't have a punching bag, I took my pillow and slapped it against my bed violently. I refused to believe this was happening, and only with that temporary illusion in my mind was I able to lose consciousness and find sleep.