somewhere only we know || grayson hawthorne x oc

chapter one (avery)

Her wager struck with Jameson, Avery was now listening to Alisa drone on about the NFL game it was obligatory for her to attend. Sure, this wasn't very high on her list of priorities, but she had agreed to it. Unfortunately, being an heiress wasn't exclusive to the perks. But hey, it could be worse.

"-professional photographer on hand for some strategic photo opportunities. Landon has crafted a press release that will go out an hour before the game. All that's left to worry about is . . ." Alice trailed off.

Avery let out a snort. "Me?"

Alisa released a slight sigh, given they'd been through this a thousand times before. And probably would have to another thousand before it finally stuck. "This is a Cinderella story. What do you think Cinderella would wear to her first NFL game?"

How on Earth would she know?

"Something like this?" The voice was followed by her older sister, who was dressed in a Lone Stars jersey, with matching everything. Her electric-blue hair (which had definitely been dyed recently) was up in pigtails, braided with brightly coloured ribbon.

Alisa was obviously trying not to seem disapproving. "Yes, something like that - minus the black lipstick, the black nail polish, and the choker."

"Oh, come on, Alisa. No one likes a buzzkill." Avery tensed at the new voice.

Izzy sauntered into the room, adopting Nash's carefree demeanour. After leaving the secret room and dropping the bombshell of the century, Izzy hadn't so much as acknowledged admitting to murder. To murdering Emily Laughlin.

The boys, it had seemed, were as clueless as Avery was on the matter, so yet another mystery had been added to the collection. Great.

Izzy had seemed to become more casual over her few weeks living at the House once again. Her voice had transitioned back to American, and at this present moment, she was wearing light-wash jeans and a checkered over-shirt, her long hair loosely braided over one shoulder.

"How come you aren't dress?" Was all Avery was able to get out without showing her immediate unease in the eighteen-year-old's presence.

Izzy smirked a Jameson Hawthorne-smirk "Unlike some people, I am not allowed to attend any public events. We wouldn't want the paparazzi finding out about me, now would we?"

"Right." That. Avery was in the public eye. Izzy was not. At least, until the contents of Tobias Hawthorne's will was in a more stable condition. Press coverage would be a lot worse if they hadn't gone along with this plan.

Izzy seemed to decide that, all of a sudden, we weren't worth her time or energy. "Well, I'll leave you all to it." She walked away, calling over her shoulder, "Good luck, Miss Grambs. You're going to need it." The way that Izzy had said her surname sent shivers down Avery's spine.

As Alisa and Libby continued talking around her, all Avery could think about was Izzy's warning. Had it come from a place of genuine concern or malicious intent?

And most of all, was she warning her about the game, or what was to come?

[author's note]
i'm back. it's been over a month, and i'm so sorry for the inconsistency. school's been really busy lately. as always, i love to read your thoughts, so please continue to share them!