Disclaimer: I do not own Until Dawn or any of its characters. The faceclaim I used for the cover of this story is model: Marilhéa Peillard.

Author's Note: Wow, lots of things I'm going to have to do to make this original and not a bite by bite of the game. This chapter is merely an introduction, so don't worry. It will never be short like this again.

Entering a new school used to scare her. In fact, you could say it still does. She wanted to feel numb about it, but she couldn't stop her hands from trembling or the way her foot wanted to tap without her permission. Her teeth would sink into her bottom lip, wanting to chew it until her nerves were calm since she was forced to outgrow chewing her nails. Her father despised that habit and because she was tired of him fussing about it, she grew to stop and found it odd to see the nails actually begin to grow. That wasn't the problem at hand here! The problem was that tomorrow she would be going to a new school for about the eighth time in her life.

Being an army brat was physically exhausting, but her father promised things would be more stable this time in this new place. And if she couldn't handle it, she could stay here with her grandmother while he changed base. It was comforting to know that he was acknowledging the strain the constant traveling had on her. And how sad she would become when she would have to leave friends she grew attached to in another city, state, or even another country. Why did it take so long for him to notice? Who knows. She was just glad that he finally did.

Her grandmother was good stability, at least to Marceline she was. The woman was grounded yet friendly, smart as a whip yet a complete technophobe. She never had the patience for keeping up with technology and figured she could live without. Oh, how wrong she was! Whenever the woman was forced her hand, having to come to interact with something that wasn't human, she relied on her granddaughter. The woman was so fiercely independent that Marceline could hear the frustration in her tone when she needed help with a "contraption" or "iGroan" as she would call her cellular device. Since what she needed help with was minor, and up to Marceline's abilities, she didn't mind helping her out. Now that she was going to live with her, she suspected that her grandmother would be relieved that her help was only seconds away.

Marceline's feet dragged around the wooden floors. A sigh would constantly blow past her lips and her fringe would fly up out of her face before flopping back down. There was no way she wanted to start her Sophomore year as new, but she didn't have a choice. Her grandmother sat in her favorite chair in the living room, flicking through channels while out of the corner of her eyes watching the brunette pace around. It was aggravating her, but she understood the girl's pain and that's why she had been quiet by letting Marceline get herself together. The girl had a good head on her shoulder, she figured Marceline would let those "first day/new kid" jitters shake themselves away.

"Gran-Gran..." Marceline decided to speak, quitting her pacing and letting her eyes rest on the grey-haired woman.

"Hmm?" Hummed the elderly woman, her eyes slowly gazing away from the television and at her grandchild.

"Did dad call?" She was finding excuses to fill the time. Thank God this place had wifi so she didn't have to worry about being too bored.

"No." Her grandmother replied, "I'm sure he will later."

The woman wasn't feeding into her need for conversation. She was so sharp and to the point whenever she was too distracted by the program she was watching. Marceline shot her a glare, but settled that it wasn't fair to be angry that she wasn't getting any attention. She was far too old to be mad at those childish things. "I'm going to the convenience store."

"Do you know how to get there?" asked her grandmother.

"Mhm, I remembered from when dad dropped me off. I'll be back." Swiping her hoodie from the coat rack, she grabbed her keys and stuffed them into her left jean pocket since her phone was in her right, front pocket. Locking the door behind her, she inhaled the fresh air and was grateful for that little warm breeze that went by.

It was best for her to get used to walking around. Her shadow took her interest until her brown eyes decided to look around. Her fingers would occasionally comb through her hair as she felt fairly nervous. This would be the place she would be living until she was eighteen. How was she supposed to get used to this after spending three years in France?

America was her home, she was born here, but even she felt like a foreigner in her own home. France became such an endearing place with a group of friends from around the world around her. It just felt odd to completely leave that atmosphere and settle for here, but California was a melting pot for different cultures and it was always warm. That was something Marceline could find herself loving about the place.

When she finally found the convenience store, there was a little skip to her step as she reached the grab the door but someone else had decided to open it for her. "I'll open the door for you, my lady~" The playful tone was enough to make her raise a brow but she glanced at the "chivalrous" boy.

He was a good few inches taller than her, but he wasn't crazy tall. She still had to look up at him, she had to look up at most people anyway, but 5'3" was a pretty good height as far as she was concerned. "Thanks." She said with a slight smirk, giving a curtsy to appease and tease him in return. He merely cracked a grin as she watched her walk through before she began to stroll the isles.

All she wanted was a bag of chips. That whole diet she went on where she had only drank that healthy tea was over, and she felt like she tortured herself enough. She had gained a lot of weight in France, she had a hard time staying away from the fatty and carby things. She liked food too much, but that was no excuse to not exercise and eat correctly. She could still eat the things she liked, but in moderation; at least, that's what she promised herself that she was going to do.

A pair of green eyes she had just met were lingering on her, and she pretended to act as if she didn't notice. Her eyes wandered the aisles, trying to remain focused on her objective, but she was feeling too curious to just let her mind only center on a bag of chips. And so, her eyes slowly gazed up to meet with the green eyes of the manner-bound boy. The corner of his mouth rose in that grin she was given minutes ago and hers raised with a smile. Marceline kind of hated that about herself; she always smiled when someone smiled at her. She figured it was too kind and some people were undeserving of such a gesture, but she didn't feel that way about him since he did deserve it for being polite when he didn't have to.

"You must be new." He said from several aisles away from her.

Her eyes smoothly looked away from him, her lips pursed. "What makes you say that?"

"I would've remembered if you lived around here." His head dipped into a slight tilt, "I am a trafficker of information, I know everything I can."

Her cheeks puffed up, trying to hold in her laugh. His eyes glinted into a knowing smile as she couldn't help to sputter a few chuckles, "Did you just…"

"Quote the Matrix? Yeah, Reloaded. Something we rarely wanna acknowledge, but it's still apart of a legacy." She smiled as she picked up a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, finding that she was in the mood for the taste of them.

He watched as she was making her way towards drinks, bending her knees so that she wasn't bending over. His footsteps came close until he was right next to her, and she gazed up at him. "Seriously though," he pointed at her in an playfully accusing manner, "who are you?"

"It would be overused and obvious to say that I'm new." Her hand reached for a peach ice tea, shivering when her hand went into the cold refrigerator before standing up on her feet with a slight jump. "But the name's Marceline. Marceline Moreau."

"Foreign." He seemed intrigued, "Sounds kinda French-y."

"Ah-ha! So the boy is smart as well as he is chivalrous!" She nodded as she watched him impishly roll his eyes as he couldn't help but chuckle, "But you're right on the money. I'm only half-French, and I just came back from France too."

He seemed interested with the way he kept his eyes steadily focused on her. "Your English is perfect, I don't even hear an accent."

"That's cause I was born here. My mother was French. So I guess you can say that I am French by blood but not by nature. My dad was stationed there and so that's why I lived there for a few years." Why in the world was she getting into a discussion like this with a random guy in the convenience store? She had to been truly and desperately bored.

"Interesting." He mused, "So that means you'll probably be going to the same school as me."

Her ears perked up at that, "What school is that?"

"Uni High, no doubt." It was true. That was exact school was going to. "I met the new girl before she officially steps into the school. Does that give me any points?"

Arching a brow, she tilted her head inquisitively. "Points? What kind of points?"

"If you throw a party, won't I get the first invite? After all, I met you first." She was almost glad it wasn't perverted as she had expected it to be.

Shrugging, she gave him a small smile. "I don't see the problem in that."

"Alright, I'm already in your favor." Marceline didn't plan to throw any parties. She was sure her grandmother wouldn't want any, but if she ever did she would've been glad to have—wait, she didn't even know his name.

The brown-haired boy was making his way towards the counter, placing junkfood down. He must've been in the mood for snacks too, she mused. She made her way towards the counter, standing next to him without much of a choice.

He looked at her rather briefly as she forced her eyes to look everywhere but at him. It made her wonder why their conversation just stopped. Did he lose interest that quickly? He paid and then walked to the door and she kept her stare focused on the cashier pricing up her chips and drink.

"Do you need a bag?" asked the cashier, and Marceline shook her head. It was two things, she could handle that and she was terrible at recycling.

He was already gone, which disappointed her. She pushed her shoulder against the door to open it, just to find herself stumbling forward when it was opened for her around the same time. Her feet managed to keep her from crash landing onto him and he looked at her with that lively glint in his eyes.

"Josh. My name's Josh."

'Josh, huh?' She thought to herself, unable to break away from the steady eye contact. 'It's probably short for Joshua, but no last name? Figures. He's going to want me to chase him tomorrow, isn't he?'

She stood like that for several minutes before gathering herself, her eyes averted as he had let go of the door once she was faraway from it to not be harmed by it. Her eyes noticed an expensive car and he was walking right towards it. 'And he's rich too? This school is probably full of loaded kids. Shit, I have to make a good first impression.' That obviously meant she had to best in her best clothes. She couldn't wear her favorite pair of jeans and old boots. She would have to dress up in her brand new clothes that still had the tags on them.

Before Josh had entered the car, he looked towards her as she was ready to head her way back home. "Want a ride?"

Glancing at him from over her shoulder, she slowly turned around with hands behind them steadily holding onto her things. "You've opened the door for me, twice. I can't owe you any more favors."

"That's just common courtesy." Leaning against the car, he watched as she seemed to be contemplating.

Her feet wanted to play a game, and so she took several steps back while still facing him. "I'll pass this time, Ser Joshua~" With a bow, she gave a grin. "I bid you adieu."

He couldn't help the grin on his face, his head slowly shaking in disbelief. "I'll be seein' ya!" He shouted before climbing into his car.

"Don't miss me too much." With a slight wave, she headed her way home and she found her anxiety about starting a new year at a new school slowly started to turn into excitement.