A/N: Wow I am so sorry it look me this long to get this chapter out. I'm so happy with the response I got from the prologue, I hope ya'll will love it even more as the story gets going! Huge huge thanks to Christy (Hearts1989) for helping me with this, you're the best. I have two super quick things I need to say before getting on with the chapter. 1) I'm completely aware that Beth being sent to another world is completely unrealistic (its fanfiction, nothing is realistic lets me real here) and it probably goes against Christian theology in a billion different ways, but again, it's fanfiction. 2) Someone brought to my attention that an author on AO3 had posted a story that is very similar to this one. I was aware that she was writing it, and they're similar because they're both based on the same brilliant head canon! So there is no story stealing going on at all, nothing to worry about. (Im actually so excited to see her take on it, to be honest)
Okay enough of my jabbering. Here's the chapter.
Everything hurt. Honestly, she felt like she had been hit by a truck three times over. Her bones ached and her head pounded something fierce. With a groan she forced her eyes open, squinting from the early morning light that assaulted her. She groaned in pain again, clutching her head as she wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell that surrounded her. She looked around, suddenly wondering how the hell she had gotten into an alley.
"Y' alright lass?" An unfamiliar voice asked, making her jump. She turned quickly, her hand unconsciously flying down to the waistband of her jeans as if she was searching for something that wasn't there. She furrowed her eyebrows at her strange reaction as she looked up at the person. There, a few feet away from where she was laying, were two men dressed in jeans and black jackets, eyeing her cautiously.
"W-where am I?" She stammered, her throat dry and her tongue heavy. One of the men chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets and taking a step towards her. She shrunk away, pushing herself backwards until she was pressed up against the dingy dumpster.
"I ain't gonna hurt ye, I promise." The man said, and for the first time she noticed the Irish lilt in his voice. "Name's Connor MacManus, and your's is?"
She thought hard, racking her brain over the simple question, frustrated when she couldn't find the answer. "I-I don't know." She whispered, looking down at the ratty Chuck Taylors that were on her feet. The second man chuckled, pushing himself off of the wall that he was leaning against and stepping forward. Something was eerily familiar about him, like she had seen him before somewhere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Must've been a hell of a Saint Patty's day for ya, wakin' up in an alley and can't even remember ya name." He joked with the same accent the other man had. She huffed, sitting up, frustrated with herself.
"Shut up Murphy, the poor lass is obviously terrified, she's shakin' like a leaf." Connor scoffed, slapping the other man, Murphy, in the arm. The blonde huffed then, shifting uncomfortably as she felt something in her back pocket. Taking the offending object out, she ran her fingers over the laminated ID card.
"Elizabeth Greene." She murmured, looking down at the picture of herself smiling brightly up at her. It looked like the Elizabeth had been crossed out haphazardly with a red pen, with the name Lizzie scrawled beneath it frilly script. Lizzie squinted at the card before looking up at the two men, who were looking down at her. Connor offered his hand down to her, which she cautiously took. He hauled her up, brushing her back off with his free hand. "D-do you know where Berklee College is?"
"Pleasure t' meet ya Miss Greene." He said with a smile. "The college is just a few streets away, 's that where you're living?" Beth hummed, looking down at the ID again before nodding.
"Uh, yeah." She mumbled, patting down her pockets again and finding a gold key with " 98 Hemenway Street, Apartment 508" inscribed on one side. "Can you show me where this street is? Everything's sort of foggy right now." She sighed. It was true, she had no recollection of the night before, or anything else before then. She was beyond confused, and her confusion was only making her more and more frustrated with herself.
"Aye, must be a damn bad hangover for you to be so out of your wits." Murphy chuckled, earning another hit from Connor. This time he hit back, punching Connor in the gut, sending the two into a little scuffle. Lizzie raised an eyebrow at the scene, wondering if she should trust the two strange men with helping her.
When the two finally stopped fighting, Connor cleared his throat and adjusted his rumpled shirt, flashing her a smile. "Right this way." Lizzie giggled as Murphy snorted, following the two of them out of the alley.
The streets of Boston were loud and bustling, and for some reason Lizzie felt overwhelmed by the fast paced feel of it all. People were shoving her without bothering to apologize, some sending her dirty looks as if it was her fault for them running into her. She constantly was glancing at the men on either side of her, who were both looking straight ahead with neutral expressions on their faces. They were strange, but it seemed like everything around her was bizarre and foreign too. It was like everything around her was brand new, but the ache in her head kept her from dwelling on it too long.
It wasn't long before Connor and Murphy stopped in front of a tall building, shoving their hands into the pockets of their jeans. "Do ya think you'll be alright gettin' up to ya house?" Murphy asked, looking up at the building then down at Lizzie. She nodded slowly, gripping her keys tightly in her hands.
"Yeah, thanks for help, who knows what would have happened if someone else had found me." She chuckled softly, letting her eyes drop down to her dirty Chucks again.
"You can say that again, buncha evil bastards in this town, there are." Connor agreed, nodding slowly. "Well go on then, sleep that hangover off."
"What'd you say yer name was again?" Murphy asked, grabbing her attention just as she had started to enter the building. She turned on her heel, letting the corner of her mouth turn up into a small smile.
"Elizabeth- or Lizzie, I guess." She shrugged. Murphy nodded, looking her up and down once before meeting her eyes.
"Ya look more like a Beth t' me." He said simply before turning and disappearing into the crowded streets with his brother, leaving Lizzie feeling completely shell shocked for a reason she didn't quite understand. Sighing, she turned back to the door and entered the building, ready to sleep and hope that the odd feeling she had would go away with it.
After a little confusion on finding the apartment, Beth finally entered her home, wiping her feet on the welcome mat as she entered. The kitchen was fairly clean and smelled of coffee, the smell alone making her mouth water. Somewhere in the apartment, a TV played loudly, but it seemed like no one was home.
"Lizzie? Is that you?" A voice called from another room, proving her suspicions wrong. Lizzie shifted awkwardly, feeling like a stranger in her own home as she shut the door behind her.
"Yeah, it's me." She answered as a petite redhead stumbled into the room, a relieved look on her face.
"Thank God." She breathed, crossing the small kitchen and throwing her arms around her neck. "I was worried sick when you didn't come home last night."
Lizzie tensed at the embrace before wrapping her arms around the other girl, patting her back. "Sorry, I should have called." She apologized, racking her brain for the girl's name. Glancing at the fridge, her eyes landed on a Polaroid picture of the two of them, smiling brightly. Lizzie and Betsy take Boston! The caption read.
"Where the hell did you go? You smell like a dumpster." Betsy asked, taking a step back and scrunching up her nose in disgust. Lizzie chuckled, bringing the collar of her shirt to her nose and inhaling, frowning at the awful smell.
"I woke up in an alley, if that tells you anything." The blonde said, shrugging. Betsy's jaw dropped to the floor before she broke out into laughter, leaning against the table for support.
"You sure are Irish, aren't you?" She said through giggles. "Go take a shower before the apartment smells like garbage and beer."
Lizzie laughed, starting to feel like she had known the tiny redhead much longer than she first thought. "Yeah yeah, whatever you want Bets." She said, pinching the girl's side as she passed, letting her feet carry her through the apartment to a room she knew was hers.
Like the kitchen, it was clean and tidy, the only real mess being the unmade bed that was covered in papers and textbooks. Upon closer inspection, Lizzie discovered that it was Music History notes. I have a test in that class on Monday, 9 o' clock. She thought, feeling silly that she somehow had forgotten.
Stripping off her dirty clothes, she padded into the connecting bathroom, shaking her head in an attempt to rid herself of the weird feeling she had had since waking up.
"It's the hangover." She whispered to herself as she turned the shower on, relishing the feel of the hot water on her arm as she tested the temperature. It seemed like it had been years since she had a nice, hot shower. "I just had way too much to drink, I'll feel better after a nap."
Little did she know that her confusion was more than a simple hangover, but the confusion of entering a whole new world.