Disclaimer: I do not own the show or the characters
This is AU. Set during their senior year of High School
Chapter OneA Fresh Start
September 6th 2005
"Here goes nothing," said Emma King as she shut her front door and walked towards the sidewalk that would lead her to school. It was the same sidewalk that was leading everyone else back to school after a much-enjoyed summer, but to Emma King, it was different.
It was a different sidewalk, in front of a different house, that led her to a different school, in a different town. And Emma couldn't be less happy about it.
She had been content in her old home. Maybe not always happy, but content. She had liked her old house. She had liked her old town. She had even liked her old school, despite having to wear the blue kilt and white blouse uniform everyday.
She felt that the uniform helped her blend in. Made her feel the same as everyone else, and kept people from judging you by the clothes that you wore. Everyone was just there to learn.
That was what she liked to do at school. Learn. She was the smart girl.
She had liked her old friends. She may not have had many, and they may not have been that close but they were still her friends. The only ones she had ever had.
It was the summer before her senior year of high school when she lost all the 'olds' that she had liked so much. The 'olds' that she never realized how much she liked them until they were gone.
It was only a week into summer vacation when it happened. An unseasonably rainy Wednesday morning for that time of year. Her father, Andrew King, was at work as usual. Work was his home away from home. Or more accurately, home was his home away from work. His small but quickly growing self-owned business was everything to him, and he spent much of his time there. During those rare days when he wasn't at the office, he wasn't much fun, as he was as serious as they came.
Her mother, Rose King, was a more of a free spirit. Sometimes Emma wondered what her parents ever saw in each other, as they were so different. Her mother had always responded to that question by saying "dear, haven't you ever heard that opposites attract". That day Rose, who was a part time nurse, had the morning off. She was on her way to the supermarket, when she got in a car accident. Witnesses say that when she got to the end of the road, she just kept driving. Doctor's say it was a severe aneurysm. No warning and nothing that could be done.
It was three days after the funeral that her father sat her down and told her they were moving. He gave her many reasons to convince her it was the best for both of them, but not were sufficient. She knew it would be hard to stay here, but at least that way they would have people to support them. She knew the real reason was that her father had never liked living in their small town. It was where her mother grew up so it was important to her that they lived there, near her family. Now that she was gone he thought there was no reason to stay. He thought nothing about the fact that this was where Emma had grown up as well, and that it may be important to her as well.
They were settled in their new house by the end of July. It was a simple house. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and enough space for both of them to live comfortably. Simple was an understatement when it came to the decorating though. Everything was white, the walls, the carpets, the curtains, the trim, the appliances, the cabinets and the countertop. Her mother would have hated it. Her mother loved colour, and had filled their old home with flair. No matter how much Emma used to tell her mother she would prefer a simpler home to the array of colours she had used, the copious amounts of colour used in their new house was enough to make her sick.
The rest of her summer had been uneventful. She had met no new friends and had no contact with her old ones. She spent most of her time at home, going through old photo albums from when she was younger. From when they were a family. Before she knew it, back to school was upon her and she prepared for her last year of high school alone.
She had found her way to the local mall, and with the money her dad had thrown at her, she had managed to buy some new outfits for school. Buying outfits was so new to her. Having to wear the uniform at her old school had enabled to get by on just having a few articles of clothing to wear on weekends and such. She supposed it was just another 'new' thing she was going to have to get used to, but she found it very overwhelming. There were so many things to choose from, and she didn't know which outfits would be 'acceptable' to wear at her new school. As much as she hated herself for it, she cared way too much what people thought about her.
Before she knew it, the first day of school had arrived and she was walking on that same sidewalk hoping for, as her father put it, 'a fresh start'.
As she looked up from her sidewalk-crack counting, she realized she had arrived at her destination. She knew exactly where she was. One indication was the voices of perky students growing louder all around her. But the main reason was because she had walked here so many times over the last month to rid herself of her internal fear of getting lost that she knew exactly how many cracks there were from her house to her school.
"No turning back now" she told herself as she quickly straightened her shirt and fixed her hair. She walked towards the front door and read the sign that was put out for students: WELCOME TO TREE HILL HIGH SCHOOL.
As she grabbed the door handle and went to open the door, she said to herself for the second time that morning "Here goes nothing".