A/N: This story takes place in an AU based off of the Save William timeline from S1 EP 3/4.

October 28th, 2008

The girl wakes with a start, tears streaming down her face. Her throat constricts with the effort to take a single, strangled gasp of breath, the cold grip of panic constricting her insides like a vice. Like something heavy laying across her chest, refusing to allow her lungs to expand like they should. This feeling has become all too familiar to the girl by now. It happens to her every night that the dreams come.

Truthfully, most nights she's grateful for the panic that steals her breath. If not for that, she'd surely wake up screaming.

She clutches her stuffed animal (an over-sized, fluffy plush rabbit she's had since she was six) tightly to her side while she struggles to slow and deepen her quick, shallow breaths, and calm the frenzied drumming of her heart against her ribs. She's not sure if it takes minutes or hours, she hasn't the energy to even turn her head to check the clock on her bedside table, but finally, after what feels like an excruciatingly long amount of time, she manages to achieve some measure of calm.

She gently pushes her stuffed rabbit to the side as she sits up, whispering a silent prayer of thanks that her silent companion is still with her on nights like this. It's only been 6 weeks since her thirteenth birthday, and already her mother has been fussing about it being time for her to put away childish things, to focus on becoming a proper young woman in Christ's eyes. So far, her father has managed to talk her mother out of throwing away youthful comforts like her rabbit and nightlight while she's at school. The girl whispers her thanks for him too.

The red glow of the digital clock reads 3:00 AM, and she stares dumbly at it for several seconds. The number has significance to her, both in her life and her faith. The Holy trinity. The eldest of three daughters.

The number of times Katie Marsh dies every time she dreams.

Thoughts of the nightmare shaking her out of her reverie, the girl begins to move quickly, scrambling to the floor to fish underneath her bed for a flashlight. She desperately tries to hold on to the remnants of the dream that are, even now, fragmenting in her mind. Fading away like wisps of smoke. She turns on the flashlight with a click and hurries over to set it on her desk, the beam pointing at the ceiling as she sits and opens her sketchbook. She needs more light to do this properly, but at the same time she does not want to alert her parents to the fact that she's awake. They will only demand to know why, and the couple of times she's admitted to having these visions… did not go over well. So, she will just have to make do.

She closes her eyes tightly, smooth forehead scrunching up, tapping the tip of her pencil lightly to the pad as she tries to recall the images and sensations that have plagued her mind nearly every night for a month now. She is standing… somewhere high. Where she cannot really recall, but she can still feel the cold chill of wind and rain on her skin. There is a sea of people below, their heads turned upwards as though they are staring at her. Accusing. Standing in judgement of all of her sins. Terror fills her at the knowledge of what is to come, but mostly she feels an overwhelming sense of resignation. That this is what must happen. This is how she must end.

She scans the crowd for one face in particular, one that she wants… that she needs… to see. There. This mysterious girl that she seeks out in her dreams each night before she dies. Who is she? What does she mean to her? All she knows is that she feels an intense connection to this girl, or woman, or whatever she may be. And that she is so beautiful it makes her heart ache just to think of it.

Then she's falling. And though fear makes her want to clench her eyes shut, though wind and rain and her own tears seek to blind her, she does her best to keep her eyes on that mysterious, beautiful girl as the ground rushes up to meet her.

And then she's pulled back up, as though by the hand of God himself. And though it may be God's will that she finds herself once again in this high place with wind and rain and the deepest of sadness chilling her to her core, it is not enough to save her. For once again, she seeks out that perfect face. And once again, she is falling.

The impact of flesh to earth and stone does not come until the third, and final fall. But when it inevitably does come, the last thing she sees as she feels the life leave her broken, crumpled form, before she is wrenched back out of this dream and into the waking world once again, is that beautiful, perfect girl clapping her hands to her face as she falls to her knees, an anguished cry escaping her lips.

'KATIE!'

Tears form in the corners of Katie's eyes as the images continue to slip away. Try as she might, she never can quite recall the exact details of that face that haunts her sleep. So instead she focuses on what she can remember. Eyes, green like emeralds. Short hair, gold like morning sunlight, encircling her head like a crown. Matching gold around the neck and wrists. Rain-soaked cloth, red like the color blood that seeps from Katie's broken body to mingle with gray concrete and wet grass.

Katie sighs. No more will come to her tonight, she's certain of that.

And so, biting her lower lip and furrowing her brow with concentration, Katie Marsh leans over her sketchbook and begins to draw.

With a spark of inspiration, she draws the golden hair as more of a halo this time. Blends the red and black cloth into a robe-like shape. Her lips quirk up into a smile as the image in her mind takes form on the page, one that brightens as she gives life to the figure God deems fit to show her in these nightly visions. The one that calls out for her with such pain, such grief, such… such love evident in her voice.

Her angel.

September 20th, 2013

Victoria Maribeth Chase huffs a small, frustrated sigh through her nostrils, the maroon nails on her left hand tapping rhythmically on the wooden surface of the table to her side. It is ten past four now, and classes in Blackwell Academy have ended for the day. And yet here she sits in one of the classrooms designated for afterschool activities, impatiently awaiting the commencement of this afternoon's entertainment.

The tables and chairs in this room have been rearranged to form a semi-circle centered around a single chair in front. Ever since Mrs. Hoida's leave of absence, the Blackwell administration haven't cared enough to dissuade clubs from coming in early to set things up in whichever way suits their needs, and oftentimes no one bothers to move things back at the end of the day. Victoria has claimed the seat directly in front of that empty chair, center-stage if you will, and is flanked on either side by the other members of the Vortex Club, or at least those she could trust not to be total wet-blankets about this.

A few heads have peeked through the open doorway during this time, but whether they belonged to curious passersby or people who actually wanted to attend this particular after-school activity, it's hard to say. Certainly no one was going to stick around after seeing Victoria and her cronies perched inside like a pack of hyenas salivating over thoughts of their next meal. Good. She likes inspiring a healthy sense of social self-preservation amongst her lessers. It means she's taking her role as Bitch-Queen of Blackwell Academy seriously.

She sighs again while checking her phone. 4:15.

Seriously? This was supposed to start five minutes ago. It's Friday, and SOME of us have got shit to do!

She's not really sure why she felt compelled to choose today's victim in particular. Kate Beverly Marsh, Blackwell Academy's shining example of Christian morals and self-appointed spokesperson for Abstinence Awareness, makes herself an easy target for mockery, certainly. But she's friendly, even to those who tease her for her faith or manner of dress, and is cute enough in a good-girl next-door kind of way. Which, of course, she literally is… in the sense that she's Victoria's next-door neighbor on their floor in the Girl's Dormitory. Victoria often has to suppress the urge to reciprocate whenever Kate gives her one of those sweet, shy little smiles when they pass each other in the hallways. Sometimes her eyes are even drawn to the quiet, graceful girl for reasons she can't quite understand, and sometimes she wants to call her 'Katie' even though she's never heard anyone else refer to her by that name.

However, Victoria has been feeling particularly antsy this week. Thoughts of gallery submissions, parental disappointment, and Max fucking Caulfield plaguing her mind, as usual. She needed to blow off some steam, and when a particular poster caught the Queen-Bee's eye, she just couldn't help the devilish grin that crossed her face. Besides, it's not like she and Kate are friends or anything, right? They are simply from two drastically different worlds, two opposite ends of the social ladder. This is just how things are meant to be.

Victoria is about to call it for the day so that she and her friends can get on with their weekend, when, finally, the Guest of Honor arrives. With a wide metal tray in hand, Kate Marsh mumbles out an apology for being so late while she attempts to shoulder open the door. The girl is primly dressed, with her long hair wrapped into a tasteful bun and a small cross hanging from a gold chain around her neck. The smell of the freshly baked cookies from the tray she's carrying wafts into the room, and Kate is so focused on making it inside without spilling them that she's yet to notice exactly who her audience for the day is going to be.

The room goes silent, and Victoria sits up straight, adjusting her designer blouse and crossing one black-stockinged leg over the other, smirking with anticipation. Kate is halfway to Mrs. Hoida's desk, where she apparently intends to set down her tray, before she finally looks around the room… and stops dead in her tracks.

So… the widdle rabbit spots the snare. Will she do the smart thing and hop away or…?

Kate is looking from face to face, the smile she had upon entering replaced with a suspicious frown. Zach and Logan chilling in the left side of the room. Nathan on the right, leg bouncing manic-ly, staring through the window like he's a thousand miles away. Taylor and Courtney flanking Victoria, their arms crossed and bearing smirks to match her own.

When Kate's eyes meet Victoria's, the Queen-bee puts on her best demure smile. They stay like that for several seconds, the only sounds in the room those filtering in from outside. And Logan's breathing. Jesus, deviated septum much?

Finally, Kate takes a deep breath, smiles as brightly as she can muster, and places the tray down on Mrs. Hoida's desk. "My goodness, I had no idea attendance would be so good today! Everyone, please help yourself to some cookies. They're freshly baked! I'm sorry, I'd heated some water for tea but I don't think there's enough for every…" she cuts off with a giggle, as Zach and Logan practically rush the desk to grab fistfuls of cookies before returning to their chairs.

Or… she'll just step right in? Damn… gotta admit I'm a bit impressed, Katie.

Taylor is half out of her seat as though she wants to get in on that sweet cookie action, but is looking to Victoria for approval. When all she gets is an annoyed roll of the eyes in response, she sits back down with a huff.

Kate takes her seat, folding her hands in her lap as she smiles around the room once more. "Well, normally when there are new faces I like to have everyone go around the room and introduce themselves, so why don't we start with—"

"Oh my GOD we so do not have time for this boring ass shit!" Courtney interjects, voice filled with customary amount of venom she displays for literally anyone below her on the pecking order. "Those of us who actually have social lives have got to go in, like, ten tops."

Despite the fact that she does an admirable job of keeping her smile in place, Kate's sigh can probably be heard all the way back in the Girls' Dormitory. After a moment she asks, in as sweet a voice as she can manage:

"Very well, then, Courtney. In that case, is there anything you wanted to talk about today?"

Victoria sits forward in her chair, a smirk forming on her lips in anticipation. And here we go…

For now, she's keen to simply observe.

"Why yes, Marsh, there is! Thank you soooo much for asking!" If sarcasm had an entry on the periodic table, it would be called Courtnerium. "We're adults here, right? We all know this whole abstinence thing is just a scheme to attract gross old men with virgin fetishes. So, I guess my question is, what's the going rate for little Kate Marsh's V-card?"

That causes the polite smile to drop, and Kate's eyes widen with disgust. "Excuse me-?"

"Wait, that's a thing?" Taylor's voice raises in shock. "Why didn't anyone tell me that was a thing?"

"I so did, slut. Not my fault you decided to settle for a Two Whales burger and a couple wine coolers in Sophomore year."

Zach guffaws at this, while pulling out a ratty leather wallet. "Shit, how much we talkin' here? I'm good for twenty bucks!"

"Fuck you man," Logan laughs, "I got thirty on me right now!"

Kate seems to want to shrink back into her seat, cheeks growing redder by the moment. Disappointment and humiliation appear to be at war on her face. This clearly wasn't how she expected this meeting to go, even in her worst estimation.

"Like, do they make the check payable to the Pope, or are you one of those weirdos that pledges their virginity to daddy?"

"Gawd, Court, that is soooo gross!"

Now Kate's eyes are closed tightly shut, her whole body tensed like she could bolt out of the room at any minute. For whatever reason, Victoria isn't enjoying this as much as she thought she would.

"Oooh how about group rates? I bet we could get some of the other guys—"

"What? You don't believe me? Google it, bitch!"

Kate moves as though to-

CLACK.

The sound of metal on wood successfully brings the cacophony to a quiet, drawing everyone's attention, including Kate's, to Victoria. The blonde-haired Queen holds a shiny, black credit card between two manicured fingers, tapping it again before placing it flat on the table and sliding it in Kate's direction. She follows this up by speaking her first words since Kate's entered the room, one imperious eyebrow raised.

"I think we can all agree that if there's a bidding war going on, I win, no?" This wasn't quite true, as Nate's family fortune made Victoria look decidedly middle class, but he was still being uncharacteristically quiet and was unlikely to step on one of her power plays regardless. "So, if that's all settled, I for one would love to hear Mother Mary's pitch to save my maidenhood."

Silence once again. Kate is watching Victoria closely, an unreadable expression on her face. Eventually, her red lips purse, and she cautiously resumes her seat. Victoria doesn't miss the way the prim girl's hazel eyes dart over to her heeled foot as she occasionally bounces her crossed leg. Was she silently judging her "harlot's clothing"? Whatever, that just makes Victoria want to do it more.

"Well, to start with…" Kate pauses, as though waiting to see if there are going to be further interruptions. "Abstinence is not just about virginity. It's more about finding a way to deal with the daily challenges we all face. Has anyone here felt pressured to do something they weren't totally comfortable with?"

A chair scrapes as Nathan rises to his feet. "This is fucking lame," he growls, before storming out of the classroom. Kate watches him go with some concern, before she turns back to Victoria with a questioning look. Victoria motions for her to continue. Always something with Nate these days. I'll check on him later.

"… I would like this to be a place where we can talk about these subjects in a safe environment, and where we can remind each other that it is ok to wait."

"So, you're not going to tell me that Jesus wants me to keep it in my pants until marriage?" Victoria scoffs.

Kate looks up and to the left, considering her response carefully. "I don't believe it necessarily needs to be about marriage, either. Though that certainly is a choice some of us make."

"Oh? Well if it's not about purity or marriage, then what? STDs? Teen Pregnancy?"

Katie… Kate grins at this just a tad. "Well I think most of us would like to avoid those things. And they're certainly good enough reasons to wait. But, for me…" she thoughtfully taps her lips with one finger, before meeting Victoria's eyes once more. "I guess it's more about saving that experience for the one I'm meant to be with."

Something about the tone of her voice and the way she's holding that stare, as though there's not one else in the room, gives Victoria pause. Is it warmer in here, all of a sudden?

She wouldn't mind if someone else wanted to jump in here, but between Zach and Logan glancing between the two girls like watching a tennis match, Taylor's raised, amused eyebrow, and Courtney's vaguely suspicious squint, everyone around Victoria is useless. Like always.

She rolls her eyes finally, feigning a bored tone. "You mean like, soul-mates? Red-string of fate or whatever? I don't believe in hokey shit like that. There's just people I want, and people I don't. And if there's something I want in life, I take it."

Kate leans forward a bit. "So, I take it that you've… been intimate before? If it's not too personal a question, of course." Another small smile.

"Oh, you sweet, summer child…"

A giggle at that. "And… did you find those experiences… fulfilling?"

Victoria, feeling like she's back in the zone now, gives her best lascivious eyebrow wiggle, her voice a bit sultry as she responds "mmm, yes. Full. Filling. In more ways than one."

That earns a slight blush, but Kate doesn't miss a beat. "I guess what I mean is… did they make you happy?"

…

Ok, Vic. Witty comeback. Any day now.

She is intensely aware that the silence has stretched uncomfortably long. Kate waits patiently. Expectantly.

Really? Just say something. Anything!

Everyone's eyes are on her. She fights the urge to squirm in her seat, while images of the partners she's loved and left behind flash through her mind.

Oh my god, are you going to let Kate Marsh make you look like an idiot? You're Victoria Chase, fucking LIE!

Her mouth is too dry. She sucks at her tongue a bit to work up some moisture. "I…" she croaks.

She's interrupted by a loud, staccato blare to her right. Taylor's alarm. "Uh… Vic?" She holds up her phone. "We've, uh, gotta go if we wanna be ready for…"

Ohthankgod.

Victoria rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically, trying not to stand up too quickly. "Damn, and just when it was starting to get fun!" She makes a show of checking her phone as she strolls over to open the door, definitely not avoiding anyone's gaze or anything. "I guess we'll take a rain-check, Marsh? C'mon everyone, we've got places to be and I'm sure Sister Christian has evening prayers to attend to or whatever."

As her bemused friends file out, she hears Logan stage-whisper to Zach "Yo… is it me or was that kinda hot?" Courtney is next, glaring at her with a 'What the fuck was that?' expression. Taylor grabs a couple of cookies on her way, sticking her tongue out at Victoria before taking a big bite of one.

"Victoria…" Kate calls, just before the Queen-bee can make her own escape. She rolls her eyes nonchalantly at Taylor and Courtney and puts on her best sarcastic 'Uh oh, I'm in trouble with teacher' face before closing the door between them. She's not feeling at her peak of confidence right this second, and if she's going to take another 'L' she'd rather not have witnesses for it.

She turns and raises an imperious eyebrow, keeping her face as straight as she can manage. "… Yes?"

Kate is now standing between her and Mrs. Hoida's desk, smoothing out her dress while she studies the floor. "I just wanted to say… while ambushing me like this wasn't a nice thing to do, I wouldn't be a very good Christian if I couldn't handle having my beliefs questioned. And if in the process some of my words get through to even one person, well, that's worth a bit of trial by fire. I hope I didn't offend you at all."

Victoria shrugs, pursing her lips. "Whatever. Takes more than that to get under my skin" she blatantly lies, before smiling coyly. "Besides… you held your own today, when a lot of people would have turned and ran the minute they saw us. So… respect." She even allows for the briefest of nods, before turning back to the door.

"Wait! I…" Kate looks up, holding her right hand out plaintively. Spots of pink have returned to her cheeks. "What you said, about buying my… I understand you were just trying to stop the others from being disgusting, for my sake. I know you're not like that, so… thank you"

Victoria freezes, her fingers on the door knob.

Oh hell no. I say one nice thing and this bitch thinks she knows me?

She turns back around, giving Kate her best smoldering stare. The other girl's breath catches in response, and her left hand unconsciously moves up to toy with her cross.

We can't have that now, can we?

"Oh… Katie…" she coos, pausing to give her upper lip a slow, sultry lick, and Kate's eyes go wide. This is good. She relishes the opportunity to win some points back after the way their last exchange ended. Victoria allows her eyes to roam from the girl's face down to her feet, and alllll the way back up again.

"Lord knows I don't need to pay for sex, but…" She languidly walks toward Kate, making sure the clack of her heels ring out like gunshots with each step forward. Kate takes several involuntary steps backwards, until she's brought to a stop by the desk behind her. She grips the edge of it with her free hand as Victoria quickly closes the distance.

"… there's one thing you need to understand, if you're going to make it here, in Blackwell…" She takes a final step into Kate's personal space, using every inch of heel-assisted height advantage to loom over the girl who is now looking away, her face bright red.

"… I'm Victoria Chase…" She leans in, bringing her lips close enough that Kate can feel her breath tickle against her ear, before whispering "… and a Chase never bluffs."

She pulls back slowly, delighting in what she sees. Kate's head turned to the side, red lips parted. Her chest heaving with deep, shuddering breaths. The knuckles of her dainty hands white from gripping her cross and the desk behind her.

A gleeful, victorious sneer forms on Victoria's face as she takes in the scene before her. She waits another triumphant moment, before turning her hip to take a step backward.

And then Kate, taking one last, shaky lungful of air, bites her lower lip…

And turns to meet Victoria's gaze with her own.

...

Holy shit.

If Victoria's eyes were smoldering before, Kate's hazel orbs are fucking wildfires, gleaming with… want. With intensity.

With challenge.

Victoria stumbles backwards as her heel slips behind her, unable to tear her eyes from Kate's.

The prim, demure girl that shrank away from Victoria mere moments ago was gone. This new, alien Kate simply stands there, searing her with that ravenous stare. Her face, her entire body language screaming 'Fucking try me, Bitch.'

Or whatever the Kate Marsh equivalent of that would be.

Victoria isn't sure if the corners of Kate's lips have started twisting into a smile when she turns and practically flees from the room. All she knows is that she can feel the heat of those eyes following her even after she's long since left the classroom far behind, no longer feeling very victorious at all.

A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to this little story of mine! This is actually my first fanfiction that I've ever written... in fact, I never even read fanfic before I played LiS a few months ago. But the game really captured my heart, and left me deeply wanting more. So, after reading many of the fantastic works of art fellow fans have published, I finally got up the courage to give it a try myself. Please feel free to share any comments/Criticisms you may have, as I am always seeking to improve my writing! Also any help with figuring out this site such as tags/formatting would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea wtf I'm doing haha.

I have been posting this work for sometime on archive of our own, but after learning about this site I decided to start crossposting here as well. I will try to add a new chapter here ~ 1/week until I'm caught up with with the current chapter on Ao3 (chapter 12 as of this writing.) Of course, if you don't want to wait that long please feel free to check it out over there as well! Thanks for reading!