Prologue
When looking out into a vast landscape thinking about how different it is from the normal view you see from your bedroom window, it kind of overwhelms you. I felt exactly that way as I stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out into the Prescott Valley, the sun beating down on my freckled skin and searing the outer layer because of the closer proximity to the burning gaseous ball in the sky. By the looks of my pale skin and the sound of my North Eastern “accent” the people around knew I was a tourist. Especially when I pulled out my Nikon and snapped a few pictures of the beautiful red mountains of Sedona.
“Watch out!” A jolt ran through my body as I lurched forward, balancing myself so I didn’t fall to my death off the steep cliff. I took a few dozen steps away from the side and glared at my brother who was doubled over laughing just where I was originally standing.
“Mitch! Don’t do that! I almost had a heart attack.” I held my hand on my chest just over my rapidly beating heart. A few deep breaths and I was back to normal, but still glaring at my asshole of a brother. When he stood straight, his blonde hair, much like my own although short and boyish, lit up in the bright sun.
“Oh calm down, Ashleigh. I was just teasing.” Mitch kicked up some dust from the dry ground and made his way over to me. “Taking pictures?” He asked, gesturing to the camera hanging around my neck. “Can I see?”
“Why? The view is right there.” I pointed out at the landscape. We were in an old mining town called Jerome, overlooking the valley. A storm was brewing off in the distance, but I knew the mountain would keep it at bay. He rolled his eyes and removed the camera strap from around my neck before walking off with my camera. “Hey!” I shouted after him, but he kept on walking down the curving road in the town we were in. He swiftly turned on his feet and I heard the shutter snap. “Mitch! Come on. You’re going to run my batteries down.” I was on my last pair and the day was still young. There were so many more pictures to take of that beautiful place.
“But Ash, you’re so photogenic.” He mocked, snapping a new photo. When I finally reached him he slung his arm around my shoulder, tugging at my long hair, and held the camera up at the angle of a selfie. “Say Twins!” He grinned and I couldn’t help but smile a little at his ridiculous behavior. Sometimes I felt like the older sibling in these situations. Hey, those ten minutes count. Mitch never lets the fact go that my mother popped him out ten minutes before me. Woo. Twins.
“Can I have my camera back?” I pouted, wanting my shiny, precious back. Mitch saw that his teasing had ceased to faze me so he carefully handed my camera back and I returned it to its position around my neck.
“But seriously Ashleigh, those pictures are amazing.” Mitch interlocked his fingers behind his head and arched his back; looking up at the clear, blue sky of Arizona. The storm had moved closer, but the skies above were still void of clouds.
I flipped my loose curls over my shoulder dramatically. “It’s because I’m a master photographer.” I said in one of the worst, snooty voices I could muster.
“Right.” My brother snorted through his nose with some laughter.
“At least I don’t use Instagram.”
“True.” Mitch lowered his hands and crunched his tall frame to form a bowing pose. “So where are we off to next, oh master photographer?” He looked up at me and smiled, sunlight catching in his hazel eyes, a shade lighter than my own. I shoved him playfully right at his center of balance and he fell to the ground, forming a dust cloud in all directions around him.
After letting him sit there and contemplate his next move, I offered him a hand up from the dirt. He took it gratefully and jumped to his feet, towering over my five foot six tall body. “We should probably go back to the bar where we left mom and dad.” It was just down the road that we were on and had a beautiful view from the window of the old mine shafts in the mountainsides. My feet carried me in the correct direction down the road and I glanced back, over my now sunburnt shoulder, at my brother who was silently admiring the deep red mountains through a haze of cloudy precipitation. “Come on, Mitch! Or that storm will creep up on you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbled, catching up in no time because of his freakishly long legs. He passed me up and took the chance to mess up my hair. By the time he made it to the front entrance of the small bar slash restaurant dutifully named Grapes because of its amazing wines, I felt the tiny sensation of wetness hit my skin.
Looks like the storm crept up on me when I wasn’t looking.
A/N
Hey Dinos! So I am super excited about this story and if you would like to see more please vote and comment and so ALL the things! I want to see how people like this prologue before I go on and post more. There will be drama and delicious boys to come! PLEASE VOTE to see how the story progresses and how Ashleigh's life unfolds.
Much Love
Jachxx
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Fanfiction(NON FAMOUS AU) It's Ashleigh's first time living on her own, in her own apartment, away from her parents. Her upstairs neighbor is none other than Harry Styles and he is being rudely noisy. It's late and she has had a long day of unpacking and gett...
