Aftershock

The sequel of the Lifetime TV movie "A Mothers Nightmare". Slightly AU - In this story Chris was in his sophomore year rather than his junior year to make time-scales work better. I may also have edited Dalton to look like Hogwarts because let's be honest who doesn't want to go to Hogwarts. Sorry this chapter is so short, any future chapters will be longer. I own nothing, don't sue me.

It had been three weeks since Chris had been released from hospital, and things weren't improving. His mum had been leaving him to mope in his bedroom in silence, thinking that he'd eventually recover on his own. Now, almost a month after the event had occurred, her son wasn't any better than the day after it had happened. He wasn't talking to anyone and only ate when she made him. He would have to retake his sophomore year; he had missed too much school to catch up on. The students at Fairview Heights didn't know how to react with the dramatic events. First someone had found out that Chris had been off school due to depression rather than mono, and then there was the story of how Vanessa had accused him of raping her. Then all of a sudden the charges were dropped and she had disappeared. Rumours were flying around, one of the most concerning being that Chris had killed her because she reported him to the police. After thorough discussions with her ex-husband, Chris' parents decided on the best course of action.

"What?" Chris demanded of his parents. They had staged a similar intervention to the one where they had told him that they didn't want him seeing Vanessa any more, and the three of them were sitting around the kitchen table. "You're sending me away? To an all-boys boarding school. In Ohio!"

"Chris honey, Dalton Academy is a lovely school with a zero-tolerance bullying policy. We are lucky that they've accepted you there on a scholarship, the school has an amazing reputation and we wouldn't be able to afford to send you there otherwise. It's the perfect place for you to have that fresh start that you need." Maddie reasoned patiently to her son. His face fell and he appeared to concede that maybe she had a point.

"When am I going?" He asked frustratedly.

"You start officially next week, but you can move in at any time between now and then. They'll provide you with a uniform when you arrive, and you'll get your room key as well. You'll be sharing a room with another boy who'll be in your year, I'm sure he'll be able to show you around." His dad explained.

"I'll go without a fuss on one condition. I don't want everybody to know what's happened over the last year, so you need to let me change my name. I need something different, to let me get away from the memories, to start over. Something like... Sebastian Smythe."

Chris had spent the next week developing his new persona. Sebastian was arrogant and cocky. He always got what he wanted, a classic spoilt rich kid. He was promiscuous and flirty, but would never let anyone close enough to hurt him like Chris had been hurt. Chris was weak. He let people into his heart easily and fell hard and fast. Sebastian knew that love was a human construct, made to explain feelings that were purely a result of an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. He wasn't going to let himself get hurt again, from now on his heart would be guarded by unbreachable walls and nobody would get inside them.

When Sebastian was confident in his ability to retain his new character and not revert back to being Chris, he decided to move into what would be his home for the next three years.

Dalton Academy for boys was situated just outside of the city of Westerville, Ohio. Sebastian was amazed by the size of the school. It was enormous. The school owned acres of countryside, with a beautiful lake and rolling hills as well as lush forests and meadows. The school itself was an ancient castle. The whole site looked like something out of a Harry Potter book, Sebastian felt like he'd moved to Hogwarts.

He knew that he'd get lost and could spend hours wandering around the huge castle. Instead he chose to wait with his bags just inside the reception of the school. He checked the admissions office through the glass window, but it was empty. He decided to sit on one of the plush black seats and wait for somebody to tell him where he was meant to be going.

The corridors were eerily silent; there was nobody else in sight. The stone walls of the castle were lined with dark mahogany doors, which obviously led into classrooms. Sebastian realised that he must be late as all of the students had obviously started lessons.

A very flustered looking lady hurried down the corridor towards him. She stopped just in front of him. He realised that this was the perfect time for the first test run of Sebastian's new-found attitude.

"You must be the new student, Sebastian Smythe. You're late."

"Sorry, my watch must be running slow." He drawled lazily.

"You're not wearing a watch."

"That's obviously the problem then."