Gift of Hope

Chapter 12 of my crossover story, enjoy.

Reviews

Brois Yeltsin: Thanks.
TheSparklyKitten: They searched as much as they could, after all they had no hints about what was really there. Especially since, with four people, there's more noise and therefore, it's not as easy to hear. Besides there is more to come, did you not see how Sam reacted after all? Actually no, this chapter is a calm before the storm chapter.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Holywoodunderfed: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yes they have and well, we can only wait and see :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Life is Strange, Until Dawn or their characters.

Chapter 12

Sitting curled up on her bed in her dorm room, Ashley let out a slow shuddering breath. She couldn't shake the feelings of violation within her.

'What is causing this...I know I've not been...I didn't have any marks or bruises or anything like that.' She reflected. 'But I know something happened to me, after that sting I felt, but what; why can't I remember?'

She bit her lip, shuddering again as she kept her arms wrapped tight around herself. Her knees up to her chest.

'It's horrible, it just feels...I know something happened and whatever it was, it was horrible and, and sick...' She thought in dismay. 'But what could it have been, do, do I even want to know, am I better off not knowing?'

She closed her eyes, her hands moving up the cover them and groaned, trying to block out the thoughts from her overactive mind. Sadly, her inability to know what happened to her caused her brain to start unhelpfully provide possibilities, each one more disturbing than the last. Finally, she couldn't take anymore. Standing up she pulled her shoes on, she had to get out of here. Just lying around moping wasn't going to help her.

She remembered Kate's story. 'Kate had people who supported her; helped her...I have too. I can do this; I can make it through this.'

She just needed to get out of her dorm and do something; find her friends and hopefully find some way to relax and stop thinking about what might or might not have happened to her.

Exiting her dorm however she found herself faltering somewhat, due to the first person she saw.

"Ash, hey..." Sam remarked the moment she saw her.

Biting her lip she replied. "Hey Sam."

All at once she found herself once more feeling that way again. Her heart sped up and she felt breathless and had butterflies in her stomach.

'There I go again.' She noted to herself as she asked. "So, um, what's up?"

Sam sighed. "We...Max, Chloe, Mike and I have been, trying to find out what happened to you."

Ashley tensed. "You...You what?"

"Just what I said." Sam remarked. "We...we've found a few things but we've hit a dead end."

Ashley gasped shocked at what she heard. "Sam, that's...I just, I wanted to..."

Sam sighed. "I get it Ash, trust me, I do. But we're trying to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else."

She sighed, but nodded, understanding. Sam gently reached out touching her shoulder and Ashley suddenly felt very warm and even tingly.

"Ash, I promise you we'll find out what happened and put a stop to this." She said. "We may have hit a dead end, but I'm sure there's something we've overlooked, right there in front of us. I'll find it, I know it."

"God Sam, be careful." Ashley whispered; worried. 'Especially when it now makes sense. I...I love you and I'd hate to see you get hurt.'

She didn't say it thought, but Sam did her best to reassure her and, despite being worried, Ashley, for the first time since that party, felt hopeful.

Sighing as he sat on the benches within the main campus, Mike was lost in thought.

'Still not getting anywhere...I don't get it...' He reflected. 'Then there's this...other problem.'

The other issue being the still ongoing feud between Jess and Emily. He wasn't the only one worried too, for at that moment, Matt approached.

"Mike."

Starting Mike turned and saw him. "Oh, hey, what's up?"

Matt sighed as he sat down. "I don't know where to start, but, well...I'm worried, about..."

"About Jess and Emily?" Mike queried, realizing.

Matt nodded. "Yeah; this is getting out of hand. We need to, we need to find some way to get them to talk, to finally...finally bury the hatchet."

"You're right." Mike agreed. "It's not fair on everyone else; we need to put a stop to this."

They remained quiet for a moment, thinking and clearly they were both unsure how to proceed.

Until finally Mike came up with an idea. "Alright, look, we'll talk to them separately okay, I'll speak with Jess, you talk to Emily. We'll convince them to meet up and talk, we'll be there to keep things civil. Hopefully put a stop to this."

"I...That could work, it'll have to work." Matt agreed. "Let's go, no time like the present."

Mike agreed and stood up, they quickly hurried, ready to talk to their girlfriends and hopefully end this feud once and for all.

Jess bit her lip as she and Mike began making their way towards the agreed upon location.

'I can't believe I'm actually doing this.' She thought to herself. "Mike, do you really think this'll work, I mean..."

"It'll work Jess, so long as you remain civil and try to make it work." Mike explained.

Jess crossed her arms at that. "I will if Emily does..."

"Jess."

"Fine, fine." She replied. "Got it."

Arriving they found Matt and Emily waiting for them.

"Ah, there you are." Matt said. "Alright, we all know why we're here."

Emily sighed. "Yeah, seriously..."

Jess stepped forwards suddenly however. "Emily, we keep arguing, what's it getting us?"

"You know full well I can't..." Emily began.

But Jess shook her head. "Emily please; think about it. We used to be friends."

Emily glared. "We were, until you made a move on Mike practically right after he..."

"Actually, other way around Em." Mike replied. "I was the one who moved on to Jess."

Emily stepped back briefly, startled. "Well, okay, but she still...Urgh for God sake."

Jess nodded. "It's past a joke now, Em, it's just ridiculous. We might not be friends like that again. But can we at least put a stop to this senseless bickering."

There was an awkward pause before Emily finally agreed and the two girls hugged.

Mike and Matt both smiled, relieved. Even if Emily and Jess' friendship wasn't what it once was, at least they'd finally mended the breach between them.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.