Until Dawn: Bound by Fate

Chapter 1 of a new Until Dawn story I did, thoroughly AU with no Wendigos or horror elements, but should still be a dramatic story, will feature Sam/Ashley as the main pairing and is inspired in parts by another favourite video game of mine, Life is Strange (and it's prequel) but hopefully contains enough of it's own elements to stand on it's own, anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

Episode 1 – Chapter 1

The start of yet another day, for one girl it did little to fill her with enthusiasm. The girl's name was Ashley Brown, a girl of medium height, aged seventeen with long auburn red hair and greenish eyes, she was pale and had a thin nose, slightly square jaw and large forehead. She was standing by her bed, once again wondering to herself.

'Another day at school, another day being invisible...just, what is the point I wonder.' She pondered to herself.

It wasn't the first time she thought that. Despite her thoughts however, her academic desires always ensured she attended school, did well in class, but her painful shyness made her a ghost. Nobody else in school paid any attention to her. She had only one friend and they only ended up friends due to working together in chemistry class.

She thought about that, biting her lip. 'Still, Chris is smart...probably even smarter than me...Makes for some good conversation, when we do manage to talk.'

The issue there came solely from her she knew, she just, wasn't good at communicating with people. Shaking her head she sighed.

'No sense in delaying any further, let's just...get this over with...get dressed, have breakfast, then just, go to school.'

So, quickly pulling out the first clothes that seemed suitable to her she removed her pyjamas and began getting dressed.

Once dressed she quickly checked herself over in her mirror, she had chosen a simple grey T-shirt with faded jeans and scuffed black sneakers as her outfit for the day. Knowing better than to waste her time with worthless frivolities like make-up and whatnot, Ashley simply turned away from the mirror and began making her way out of her room. The moment she stepped out into the hallway she heard her mother shouting from downstairs.

"Girls, breakfast!"

Ashley sighed and prepared herself, this would be the most social interaction she'd have all day, of that she was certain. Heading downstairs she spotted her parents right away, Andrew and Rebecca Brown were both already at the dining table, ready for work and beginning breakfast.

It was from her father that Ashley inherited her hair colour and some facial features, the rest of her appearance came from her mother. Even as she approached she spotted her little sister, nine year old Kelly, the image of their mother, already taking her seat.

"Morning." Kelly greeted the family animatedly.

Seeing her parents return the girl's greetings, Ashley managed a small smile as she joined them.

"Morning."

They all greeted her too and Ashley nodded before beginning breakfast. It was at times like these she wondered where her shyness came from. Her father was in the medical profession and her mother worked as an office receptionist, both of their jobs required good social skills and they clearly had no problems on that front. Meanwhile Kelly was a social butterfly, yet Ashley herself couldn't be more opposite them if she tried.

Still she did her best not to dwell on it and acted as if everything was fine all through breakfast and the journey to school. She even managed to maintain small talk with Kelly, it wasn't until she was actually at school that it happened.

'Here we go...' She thought worriedly.

For now she stood on the main campus of school, looking around, biting her lip as her usual anxieties and shyness came to the forefront. She wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her up at this moment, all these people around and she had no idea what to say to any of them, how to fit in, anything.

Still looking around Ashley decided to see if there was anybody around she recognized. Being a school ghost had some advantages, namely it allowed you to be observant and spot things and people that others normally missed. Some people she knew by association, others by reputation alone.

To her relief, the first person she spotted was a tall fair skinned young man, a year older than her, with short blonde hair in a faux-hawk style, brown eyes and glasses, it was Chris. Like her Chris was smart, geeky, yet he was also laid back and cheerful and had some surprising friends, mainly surprising due to his 'nerd' status.

One of Chris' surprising friends was the man talking to him right now, nineteen year old Josh Washington, son of the famous movie director Bob Washington and therefore an all around popular kid at the school. Yet he was known to be friendly and cheerful and never let his popularity get to his head.

Josh was also tall and had short dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin, traits he shared with his younger sisters, Hannah and Beth. Looking around Ashley spotted them, both the same age as Chris, twins, the main way to tell them apart being mainly the fact Hannah had longer hair and wore glasses. Personality also separated them too for Hannah was also shy and something of a ghost, yet her family name garnered her some popularity, even if it wasn't all wanted. Beth was also popular, but not just due to her family name, her personality itself added to it and made her stand out.

'How is it people with so different personalities end up as friends, related or...anything like that?' She couldn't help but wonder.

Making her way onwards Ashley began heading into the school. As she reached the doors she tensed as they opened and another girl stepped out, almost walking into Ashley. Said girl was roughly the same height and age as her, with long beige-blonde hair and green eyes, pale skin and designer clothes, easily the most beautiful girl Ashley had ever seen.

'And with the popularity to match...Jessica Riley.' Ashley reminded herself.

Reacting to them nearly walking into each other, Jess smiled.
"Oops, sorry, careful there." She said cheerfully.

Not trusting herself to speak, Ashley just nodded, shifting awkwardly. Leaving the door open for her however, Jess headed down the steps into the main campus. Not pausing to see where she went, desperate to get inside, out of sight, Ashley hurried through the school doors.

Even inside however, there were still enough people around to make her nervous. Three of whom stood out to her, as again, she knew them by reputation, or association. The first was a tall dark skinned young man, the same age as her, with short black hair and eyes and a strong build. It was Matthew 'Matt' Taylor, the school's star football player and, despite the usual reputation of jocks, a genuine nice guy.

The remaining two were actually a couple, both tall and both a year older than her, the guy had short dark hair, dark eyes and light tan skin with a strong build. The girl was Asian with a slender build, with notably long legs, shoulder length black hair, black eyes and rather generous curves.

'Emily Davis...popular yet mean girl...and her boyfriend, Michael Monroe, Class President.' Ashley

identified them sadly.

While Emily sadly lived up to her reputation, Mike was a strange on in Ashley's eyes. Yes he was popular, he could be a bit of a jerk sometimes and got away with a lot, he was also popular with the ladies. Yet there always seemed to be something more, something deeper, about him, something which he hid for some reason.

Ashley quickly shook her head, she was getting distracted again. Funny how she could see these people, know some things about them, yet always be too nervous to approach them. But that was besides the point, she needed to hurry to ensure she wasn't late for class. But while she was walking to class it happened, despite avoiding such a confrontation with Jess earlier, Ashley let out a squeak of surprise when she suddenly walked into someone, they also let out a noise of surprise.

Ashley immediately panicked.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

She trailed off, eyes widening when she saw just who she had bumped into.

The girl's voice confirmed it when she replied. "It's alright, no harm done."

Said girl was also a year older than Ashley, roughly the same height with long blonde hair, tied back in a loose bun, hazel eyes and fair skin; she was slender but with a generous figure and dressed up nicely in black leggings, a white undershirt, red unzipped hoodie and red sneakers.

Ashley knew the girl right away, knew she was popular and seemed able to fit in with everyone, no matter what group they were part or, she was one of the stars of the school, especially the drama class and very few people in the school had anything negative to say about her.

The girl she had walked into was none other than Samantha Giddings.

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