Note: Hey guys, I've been debating if I should even do this for awhile now, but I decided to do it anyway. Recently, I've not really liked the direction I was really taking the previous one. Like, I felt like Chaz was a little too soft a character in the previous fic, not to mention there was a lot more things that I felt like could've been worked a little better. As far as I know, this is the last time I'm ever attempting to start over on any fic ever.
Please, enjoy.
It was just another night in the small, secluded town of Simport, Maine...
During the day, the town was normally silent. The citizens of this town would either go to work, hang out with friends or relatives, or just doing anything else important around this time; however, when night comes around, that is when the real fun starts. The town was probably best known for its parties; most specifically, the ones that usually take place in the multiple clubs scattered around the city, where everyone is dancing to loud techno music and usually gets themselves a bottle of beer or two...or maybe even five. Some would probably call this place paradise, while others would probably call it 'Hell on Earth' to live here; since despite the fun nature of the town, the personal lives of the residents who lived there tend to be anything but happy and wonderful. Everyone in the town have their own personal problems, whether it would be about family, friends, relationship troubles, or whatever else, not even a town like this can escape the harshness of reality; a couple of the town residents who grew up here are going to discover why that's the case, especially one girl who was just returning here from college.
Just like how most of the residents would, regardless of whether or not their entering or exiting the town, said girl took the monorail into the city. This girl in question has shoulder-length dark brown hair and freckles all over her face; and her outfit consisted of a dark blue baseball cap, a black jacket with a light blue t-shirt underneath, dark blue baggy cargo pants, and black sneakers. Beside her on the bench laid a backpack and sticking out of it was a skateboard, which she normally carries around on a daily basis, no matter the cost. If she had the chance, she probably would've used it to get into the town; but considering the college she went to was very far away from her hometown, she felt like it would've taken longer to get here.
It was about midnight when she finally made it the location in Simport that she remembers the most; Main Street. Once the monorail train came to a complete stop, the girl picked up her backpack and got off onto the station; where from there, she went down the stairs and made her way over to the bus stop that was by the side of the road. She wasn't planning on taking the bus back to her house; since moments prior, she and her best friend agreed to meet up there so that they can head home together. So far, from the looks of it, she didn't see her best friend anywhere in sight; she just hope that she didn't forget that they had planned.
During her wait, the girl decided to see if anything around Main Street has changed since she left. She turned her head to the left, seeing a couple houses off in the distance, a construction site, and a beauty salon; all of which, didn't change one bit. She then turned her head to the other direction, seeing the town's pizzeria, the town hall, and the park that was in between both buildings; just like the previously mentioned locations in the opposite direction, none of them seemed to have changed a bit either. She then looked forward, staring at one of the buildings that right across the street from her, which was none of than a simple dentist building; one would probably not see it as anything special, but to her, this was no ordinary dentist building; it's her father's dentist building, and now that she returned, she was planning on being his assistant there.
It was just then; the silence was interrupted by a voice coming from closing by. "Well, well, well; you're finally back, Katie." The voice said in a calm, happy tone.
Upon hearing that voice, the girl, Katie, immediately stood up from the bench and turned to the person who had just greeted her. Standing to her left was a girl who was roughly her age, which was twenty; she has black short hair that if one were to see, she'd probably be mistaken for a boy; and her outfit consisted of a dark purple t-shirt with a black vest over it, a red skirt with chains around her waist, black and white striped stockings, and a few spiked bracelets around her waist. The moment that she saw this girl standing a few feet from her, Katie already knew that this was none other than her best friend; and from the looks of her, she hasn't changed a bit when she left town.
"I was wondering where you were, Crystal; and here I thought you would've forgotten about me." Katie told her best friend as a smirk slowly formed on her face.
"Dude, you're my best friend in this entire town; you know damn well I'd never forget about you." Crystal said as she walked up to her best friend; she gave her a high-five once she approached her. "How've things been in Augusta when you were up there? Was your cousin happy to see you again after he left Simport like, twelve years ago?"
"Of course, he was." Katie answered while nodding her head. "The moment I got off of the bus outside of our college, he smiled like he never had smiled before; I had never seen him so happy in my entire life. I guess you could say that me showing up there was probably a dream come true for him."
"It must've been, dude; like I said, twelve years is a hell of a long time for you guys to not see each other."
"I know, dude; but hey, at least we had enjoyed spending time with each other and had fun studying in the library, because thanks to him..." The tomboy than pointed at herself with both thumbs, as a smile formed on her face. "I'm finally able to work at my father's place and become a full-fledged dentist."
"That's awesome, dude; and soon, your cousin will be too; at the end of August, that is."
It was just then; Katie's genuine smile became a worried frown the moment her best friend said that. "Oh...yeah, about that."
"What?" Crystal asked, rather confused.
"So...I probably should've mentioned this to you back when we were texting each other a couple days ago; but...Vance changed his mind on becoming a dentist alongside me." Her best friend raised an eyebrow at her as she continued to explain what had happened. "So...around December, roughly around Christmas Eve; he met up with me while I was busy at the coffee shop I was working at while I was there, and he came to me saying that he was now considering becoming an agent at the S.P.A. Agency here instead."
"Seriously?" The tomboy nodded her head to her best friend's question. "Why? What made him change his mind?"
"Let's just say that during his casual trips to the campus's library, he's been reading up on the whole situation revolving around Evelyn Gray, Morcubus, and their disappearances years ago."
"Evelyn Gray? Morcubus?" Crystal asked, only to receive a silent nod from her best friend as her response. "He can't be serious, right? Everyone in Simport mutually agreed that all of that was just an urban legend; even the teachers at our old school say that it's bullshit." She then lets out a scoff before shaking her head in disgust. "Here I thought he was the more studious one between the two of you; now he's believing some myth that everyone around here is saying never happened."
"Well, I tried to talk him out of it after he told me, but his mind's made up; he's not going to be working alongside me and my father when he gets back to Simport." Katie then rolled her eyes, before deciding to bring up another thing involving what her cousin was planning on doing. "Also, he's not returning at the end of August; he told me that he might be spending another year trying to train himself, both physically and strategically, to become an agent."
"Well, that sucks..."
"I know..."
"What are you going to tell your dad? It's going to suck ass knowing that his nephew isn't going to work along with him."
Katie lets out an annoyed sigh, before explaining what she was going to do about this situation. "For now, I think I'm just going to let it go; I'll think of something when the time actually comes."
"Alright." Now feeling like their conversation involving Katie's cousin had ended, Crystal decided to change the subject to something else. "Hey, speaking of which, I think we should be heading to your house now; your dad's probably wondering where we are right now."
"You're right. Let's get going then." Katie agreed as the two girls began walking along the sidewalk to get to the suburbs.
It took a bit of walking to get there, but Katie and Crystal had finally arrived at the former's house...
Upon arriving, Katie could help but stare in awe at the house where she once lived in. There wasn't anything too special about it, since the house was nothing more but a standard two-storied house with a white fence surrounding it, which was practically half the houses around this part of Simport is; but something about seeing this place again made her feel awestruck, as well as a little speechless. This was the first time in ten months that she's finally seeing this place again; there was only one time when she returned to Simport, and she never had a chance to even come here...then again, that was a day she didn't even want to remember. It was good to be back nonetheless though.
From the looks of it, Katie wasn't so sure if her father was actually awake or not; mainly due to the fact that almost all of the lights upstairs appeared to be off with the exception of one, that being the living room. Seeing the interior of her house's first floor from where they were standing, Katie couldn't see any sign of her father; not in the living room itself, nor the kitchen that was just next to it. She knew he was home and not anywhere else, as she could see his car parked in the driveway; so, him being awake or asleep was indefinite.
"So, um..." Katie began saying, before turning her head to face her best friend. "How has my dad been lately? I haven't spoke to him a lot from him after...you know what I mean; that fateful day."
Crystal silently shrugged for a moment, before responding to her friend's question. "If we're talking about lately, then he's doing alright; he seems to have moved on from what happened earlier this year." She then turned her head to look at her best friend. "But if we're talking about months ago, however, he was a lot less happy than how he usually is; which is honestly rare, because that guy almost never smiles..."
"Shut up, Crystal..."
"Hey, I'm just saying it as it is, dude; your dad isn't exactly much of a fun and cool parent."
"I know, you tell me that a lot; thanks for reiterating this to me once again." The young dentist muttered sarcastically with an eye-roll. "It's not like your parents are cool in any way, shape or form either; and that also counts for your sisters too."
"Oh, don't bring my family of douchebags into this; fuck them and fuck those bitches I am forced to call 'sisters'." Crystal said sounding incredibly annoyed that her family was brought up during their conversation. In hindsight, Katie couldn't blame her for hating them; her best friend had about four sisters in her family and all of them were cheerleaders, which is something Crystal despises with every fiber of her being.
"Hey, I'm just saying it as it is." Katie tells her with a smirk, using what her best friend told her against her.
"Yeah, you 'tell me how it is' when it pisses me off..." Crystal then fell silent before opening the small gate to her friend's house; they then stepped into the yard before the more rebellious one of the two continued to talk, but this time, getting back to the topic of her best friend's father. "Anyway, back on topic...your dad's been doing alright; however, from the many times I subsequently visited the house, I can tell that he's been feeling very lonely; even more than he did when you left last year."
"Well, I'm sure my dad's going to feel a lot less lonely now that I'm back; because after what happened this January, we need each other more than ever." It was just then that the tomboyish duo approached the front door. "Alright; here goes." Katie whispered to herself before giving the door a firm knock, then stepped backwards to stand next to her best friend.
After a few seconds passed by, Katie's father, Maxwell, answered the door for them. He was a man in his early forties with shorter brown hair compared to his daughter, and he wore a dark purple buttoned-down dress shirt and black dress pants. Ironically enough, he was a very studious man compared to his daughter as evident by his usual attire, which was a complete contrast from Katie's skater clothes; they were also very different tastes in hobbies too, as Katie's father was more into work while his daughter was usually skateboarding, video games, among other things. If it weren't for the fact that they had the same hair color, as well as their love for dentistry, nobody would've ever assumed that these that they were father and daughter; but despite their differences, the two genuinely care for each other very much regardless.
It took a bit for him to actually realize what was going on, as he was still visibly tired, which was right when he saw Katie standing a few feet away from him; needless to say, when he saw her, his tired expression immediately disappeared. "Kathryn?" He asked in surprise. "Is that really you, dear?"
Katie gave her father a smirk before responding. "Yep, and you're not dreaming either." She tells him with a hint of a chuckle.
"Well, it's good to have you back, my dear." The father and daughter both stepped closer and then hugged each other. "I missed you, Kathryn."
"I missed you too, dad."
"Well, I just gotta say; this little family reunion here is quite touching, but...unfortunately, I must be going now." Crystal said as she stepped off of the porch behind her. "I was meant to meet up with Yuki at her house after I met up with you at the monorail, and right now, she's probably wondering where I am."
Katie and her father broke their hug as the former turned to face her best friend. "Alright then; I'll see you tomorrow, dude."
"Alright." As both decided to end their conversation there, Crystal headed off to go meet up with her friend while Katie and her father entered the house behind them.
Once they were inside the house, Katie took a good look around to see if her parents had changed anything since she left, which from the looks of it, there didn't really seemed to be anything that was different. The living room looked the same, as well as the dining room and kitchen right next to it; the latter two she knew weren't going to be different anyway, unless either her mother or father decided to put something important on the door of fridge. The only real difference that she could notice was the fact that there was now a new carpet in the hallway and that's it; other than that, things are relatively the same the last time she was here.
"So, how was college, my dear?" Maxwell asked his daughter, who was just about to head upstairs.
"Oh, it was fine." Katie told her father with a shrug, all while she was taking her backpack off of herself. "All I really did throughout my time there was just studied, practiced how to use dental tools, hung out with Maxwell and some of his friends, and worked at the coffee shop that was on campus."
"You worked at the college's coffee shop?" The older dentist asked rather intrigued to hear this; only to get a silent nod as his response. "How was it?"
"In all honesty, it was irritating; I'm actually very glad that I don't have to bust my ass off at a place like that anymore."
"Kathryn, watch your language, dear."
Katie cringed as she nodded her head to her father's request; she completely forgotten that her parents looked down upon swearing, no matter the situation. "Right; sorry, dad..."
"Anyway, how's Vance been doing lately? I haven't heard from him in quite some time now."
"Oh, you know...he's been doing what he usually does; he's been reading, studying, playing sports, going on the computer; tell you, he hasn't changed a bit since he left Simport years ago." The two chuckled to themselves about this before Katie suddenly stopped and lost her smile, now remembering the fact the situation involving her cousin and his stance on working at their dentist. "Speaking of which, I'm afraid I must also tell you that he...actually won't be coming down here later this August; he doesn't think he's ready to work along with us yet."
"Oh..." Katie's father said in a disappointed tone. "Well, I must say, that's certainly a shame to hear."
"I know, but I wouldn't worry about it too much; I'm sure all Vance needs is a little more time to study on a few things before he can actually work along with us." Katie then pointed at herself as she continued to speak. "Also, you have me working alongside you now, dad; I've been waiting for this moment ever since I was five years old, and now that the moment has arrived, I'm totally ready to be working with teeth."
"That's my girl." Maxwell's smile returned to his face as he rubbed his daughter on her baseball cap, causing her to chuckle. "That reminds me, I have a gift that I want to give you tomorrow morning during breakfast; for now, you go upstairs and get some rest, alright dear?"
"Alright." The two then hugged one last time, before Katie began to make her way upstairs. "Good night, dad."
"Good night, Kathryn."
Once she made it to the top of the stairs, Katie decided to take a moment to look at her upstairs hallway; just like downstairs, nothing really has changed all that much. There were about five doors leading to five different rooms; one of them was Katie's bedroom, another one was her father's bedroom, one of them was the bathroom, one of them was just a plain old closet, while the last of the bunch was...one that they use solely as a storage room, other than the basement. Looking at the five doors that were up here, it was pretty obvious which one of them was her bedroom; her room was the door with the poster of a person skateboarding on it. When she saw her bedroom door, she went over to it and walked right in.
Just like every other room she's been in so far, Katie's bedroom hasn't changed a bit either; everything was in its rightful place, just like how she left it. Her bedroom was pretty standard; she has a bed in one part of the room, as well as a dresser, closet, and a desk; she also has posters of pop-punk bands that she listens to whenever she's out skateboarding. Even though it wasn't anything special, it was nice for Katie to be in this room again.
After she was done gazing at everything in her room, Katie decided to get some sleep. She placed her backpack on the chair that was in front of her desk, since she was planning to unpack everything in it sometime tomorrow; the only thing that she took out of it was one of her pajamas. Once she puts them on, Katie laid down onto her bed and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds in order to get tired.
'Oh, it's great to be back...' Katie said in her thoughts, before eventually falling asleep soon after.