Once Upon A Time~ Ashton Irwin fanfiction (AU)

Part 1

Everybody seems to think that fairy tales are happy, and full of love and magic. But she prefers the Brother's Grimm versions, where everybody dies and happiness is a rarity. That's the version she likes, because it's honest. Life sucks, true love is a myth, and, most importantly, evil always wins. Maybe that's why people say she's depressed; because she chooses to believe that the evil people and things in this world are more powerful than the mythical goodness everybody seems to believe in, because she'd rather wear black from head to toe than dress in skirts and flowy tank tops, because her hands tell a better story than her mouth ever could. She really didn't care, though.

He was happy and carefree. He believed there was good everywhere. He believed there was a fairy tale for everyone. To him, that was honest. Yet again, he was happy. He overcame the struggle of growing up with a single mom, he believed everything was possible and nothing could stop him.

Her eyes used to be blue, a sparkle always present. But now they were dull, gray, desolate. His were hazel, with a gleam to light up the darkest places. She couldn't smile, he couldn't stop. They went to the same schools, had the same classes, lived on the same street...but they never met. They were different. They knew the other existed, but they never really knew each other.

As Andi walked through the halls of her school, the first day of senior year, she wanted to be anywhere but there. Her peers were all gallivanting through the halls, cheering and hugging, while she slumped by, tugging her sweatshirt sleeves over her hands, arms wrapped around her waist. It wasn't a good summer for Andi. Actually, it wasn't a good life. She wanted to disappear, run away, be gone forever. She wasn't accepted by her peers, her family, or her teachers. They all thought she was a failure, an outcast that should just stay out, a person who was going nowhere, and they let her know. Nobody took notice when she didn't show up, in fact, it was worse when she did.

"God, watch out, you freak! I thought you would've learned by now that nobody wants you here," Alana said to her after knocking her into a set of lockers in the hall. She had always been awful to Andi. She was the popular girl in school with the happy parents and the designer clothes. She was a pretty face, with an ugly spirit. For Christmas, she got Andi a box of razor blades and a bottle of bleach as a joke, because that's the type of person Alana is. Little did she know, Andi opened that box and sipped from that bottle, which lead to getting her stomach pumped and her wrists bandaged on New Year's Day.

Andi's parents were not very thrilled to find their 17 year old daughter laying on her bedroom floor in a pool of her own blood and vomit. They weren't sad though, they were angry. Her mother marched into her hospital room screaming about how she was a disgrace to the family name, and how she was going to explain this "attention stunt" to the people at her office. Her dad didn't say anything, because her dad was dead. He had died of a brain tumor 3 years prior, which gave Andi's mom--who was actually her step mom--the chance to unleash her reign of terror over Andi. It was a classic Cinderella story: dad died, step mom takes over, Andi gets pushed to the bottom of the food chain. Only, she didn't have evil step sisters, she had the entire school.

Ashton, on the other hand, did not face this misfortune. He was loved by his family, admired by his peers, and honored constantly by his teachers. The only scars on his body were those earned in honorable acts, or at least acts he had no control over--like tripping on the sidewalk, or getting bitten by too many bugs. His chiseled face and perfect lips told no lies, his eyes lit up the darkest of rooms, his soul shining on display.

His mom was a single mom, but he didn't think anything poor of it. She was his hero, the queen to his prince. His little brother and sister were the light of his life, and to them he was their king. He didn't date many people, though every girl who knew him wished to be his princess. He was humble, strong, brave, kind. He was the best type of charming. He had top marks in all of his classes, never missed a day of instruction, and all of his teachers loved him. His first tardy was a shock, and it changed him forever. It changed Andi, too.