[color=lightgray][right][sub][b]TIMESTAMP: After Paradise Lost Collab[/b][/sub][/right]
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[indent][indent]Narrowing her list down to four girls in her class, Jillian O’Brien, Lanie Lancaster, Caitlin Cleary, and Alexandria Davies, Kylee closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair at the library. He still hadn’t texted her. She was trying to not be the one to give in because if she kept doing that, he’d never learn, but the clock ticked, and the unsettling feeling of him not needing her was blinding at this point. 

Was she really that insignificant? 

He couldn’t even send a good morning text. 

Clenching her teeth at her sinking heart, realizing more by the hour her father was right, he always was, Kylee sat there aimlessly staring at a bookshelf. For the time they dated, when they were physically together, Wesley Silo made her feel special. Occasionally Wes got distracted by his phone but he was still there. The moment she left him, his side, the moment she wasn’t with him, all the doubt she buried so well crawled out and caused her to go to a place she hadn’t visited awhile. 

The dark place. 

Stupid, she was stupid. 

Why didn’t she question him? Why didn’t she demand him to tell her his secrets? Kylee knew he had them. She knew he wasn’t ready to open up to her. But why? Why wasn’t she good enough to know? It sucked. This feeling sucked. This was her fault for falling again. Falling again for the wrong one. Time and time again, she fell for the wrong one. 

First was Pierce, who was a wonderful friend, but who knew she couldn’t love him and he couldn’t love her the way they both deserved. He was there for her whenever she needed him. They did all the things couples did and even though those things didn’t make her heart flutter, he was good for her. He was safe. 

Pierce was everything she thought she deserved but then, suddenly, he wasn’t. He was a boy who lived in an abusive family that fought the most heartbreaking thoughts, apologizing for dragging Kylee down with him. All he wanted to do was keep his sister safe but through that fear, through that pain, and anxiety, he found solace in Jakob Torres, who died the same day, in the same room, at the same time inches away from her. 

Second was Natalia, who was such an admirable headstrong girl, but who still loved a boy in a way that she could never love Kylee. She was good until she wasn’t. There was so much spark in the beginning, so much fire. They explored each other’s bodies, minds, and even souls, but not enough where Kylee felt satisfied. Deep down, she just knew no matter what she did, she would never be good enough. 

How could she give in? Give all herself when she couldn’t stop thinking about her ex’s bloody face? Not getting in her dream school was an excuse. Natalia was beautiful,  driven, and so, so very smart. It was just, senior year was hard to love someone when she found it hard to love herself. And she knew, she knew by Christmas, she could never love Natalia the way she deserved, but neither could Natalia. Natalia still had feelings for Niles Sinclair, even though she tried so hard to hide it. 

Now Kylee was with Wes and the cycle repeated. There were bruises on her ego while she tried, and tried, and tried, to figure out what he was about. She was once again put in a place where she felt undeserving of his love. He clearly didn’t want her like she wanted him. He clearly didn’t want her. 

Not too far off, quick Russian could be heard. Kylee snapped out of her depressive stupor to see the woman she named Jane saying things under her breath and walking from one aisle to the next. Back to reality, Kylee noted the time and realized she was here longer than expected. Once she packed her things, she took her leave. Getting fresh air could do her some good.   

Edenridge. 

Home.

Finding his way back to the town of his birth had been a whole journey but Adam Callahan was doing best to keep on moving forward. Rolling down the street in his skateboard, camera in hand, he passed by scenery he had not seen in years. When he and his father moved to Pinehurst a few years ago, it became very apparent the senior Callahan wanted to cut out everything that reminded him of where they came from, in spite of the fact that their family helped found the town. Though it was also the case that his father didn’t mind using that Foundling status to his advantage financially.

The memory of the day they left still resonated with Adam. He had been out all day with Roddy, his cousin. When the duo got back to Rod’s house, they walked in on their fathers, brothers Thomas and John, locked in a heated row about their long dead older sister, Mary. Neither man was small or weak, they were big strong Irish men whose faces had turned crimson red, fists balled, chests puffed out and flares of malice and hatred darting between those Callahan eyes. Tom was the bigger brother, so when he slapped the taste out of his little brother's mouth, the room shook. He then grabbed Adam by the back of his neck and they stormed out. Within hours, their car was packed and they were out of town. 

Sure, they only moved several miles down the road but it might as well have been an ocean. Adam’s older brother Andrew was married to Clari Osso at this point so he stayed in Eden and was Adam’s only real point of contact in the town. He tried to maintain his other links but Thomas had ways of isolating his young son. The most Adam could manage was a message to Rod or his brother here and there. He did follow the news though and the myriad of tragedies that befell the sleepy hamlet of Edenridge. Adam loved the supernatural and went on several ghost hunts with his friends before he moved. He was sure that the brown was cursed and took his own isolation as his  part in it. After a while, it became easier just to go along with it, at least until he was old enough to fight back. Now there he was. Home again after five years, with a shitty apartment in Westbrook and a recent successful job application to his old English teachers coffee shop. The life right?

Lost behind the lens of his video camera as he rolled down the street, Adam didn’t realise he had just entered into a collision course. 

With her laptop bag around her arm, one arm carrying a couple books, and her hands preoccupied with note taking, Kylee walked on the sidewalk outside the library. She held a small composition book that housed her thoughts, her theories, and her concerns. She didn’t want to forget a single thing that popped in her head so taking notes on her phone and in small travel notebooks became absolutely necessary in a day of the life of Kylee Grimm. 

Her mind constantly moved a mile per hour. This had been the case for the littlest Grimm since she learned how to walk. Prudence would compliment her curiosities, ideas, and questions, encouraging Ky’s mind and tending to it like a blossoming garden. It was Prue who got her in the habit of writing what she saw, what she heard, and what she thought down. From her dream journal to her planner, Kylee wrote [i]everything[/i] down. It was the best remedy for a girl who couldn’t stop the cogs from turning. The greatest weapon one could have was a pen and paper. 

Puckering her lips in thought, tapping her pen on her notebook, Kylee took a moment to quickly glance up to make sure she wasn’t going to walk into someone, like she’s done to Wes countless times. The moment she did, she saw a boy zooming on his skateboard, straight toward her. Alarmed, Kylee was caught between fight or flight. She wasn’t prepared for this at all. The last time someone skateboarded around these parts were YEARS ago. There were better places to skate! In most people’s cases they would jump out of the way but there Kylee was, a deer in headlights, waiting for her inevitable doom. Fight, flight, or freeze. She certainly was frozen. Oh how her dad would not be proud.  

Finally seeing a wave of brunette hair in his path, Adam moved his camera to his side and slammed his foot down, effectively putting the brakes on his board (if it had any). He stopped inches from the girl in his way and spun out. He managed to maintain his footing as his board rolled off into the bushes of the library. With his elbow he clipped the girl and her pile of books fell onto the floor. 

In milliseconds, Adam was down collecting them. [color=82A989]“I’m so so sorry,”[/color] He apologised. [color=82A989]“I was in my own world just filming. You’re not hurt are you? I promise I….”[/color] He stopped when he stood back up to his full height and caught sight of the face of the girl he had just assaulted. He knew her. And well! Big brown eyes and an angular face. She was someone he hadn’t seen in a very long time. [color=82A989]“Kylee?”[/color]

The scene was set and Kylee went from frozen to shock. No longer holding her composition book and the books she checked out from the library, she watched the boy in front of her collect her books, or try to until he saw her. Squinting her eyes and subtly shaking the shock away, Kylee tried to gain her composure so she wasn’t staring at her old friend like a dumdum. [color=a95963]“Hi,”[/color] she smiled, her shock was so high that she didn’t even know how to talk to him. Hi was a good start. How unexpected. Her big, brown eyes went from his handsome Callahan face (y’know those features that most girls couldn’t resist) to her books. Oh, yeah. She should… yes. Going to the ground, she finished collecting the rest of her things, placing her hand on her small composition book. 

[color=82A989]“Wow,”[/color] Adam took a step back to give the girl some space. He had just nearly trucked her after all. [color=82A989]“Five years and the most I get is hi…also the wow was a two pronged, other prong was because you look amazing.”[/color] Kylee had been best friends with his cousin Roddy and for the most part, Adam was the third musketeer. He could never be around them all the time because of his dad but when he was, he loved every second of it. When he moved not so quietly in the night, he never did get the chance to say goodbye properly to the mayor's daughter. He had to get Roddy to do it. Which probably didn’t go well since Roddy barely spoke at the best of times and had the emotional range of a toaster. Robo Rod still on his mission from the future to be awkward as fuck all the time. 

The thing was, Adam knew Kylee. If she haven’t changed in the years they’d been apart, she was likely processing. For someone as clever and as bright as she was. Sometimes it took her a little while to get there. He waited until their eyes met again and he offered up a toothy goofy smile [color=82A989]“Hi Velma.”[/color]

Any other day, Kylee would cry and embrace him. Any other day. It hit her face and a tint of pink could be seen on her cheeks. He was back? When did he get back? She was standing up now with her things, hugging them close, as if those books were a comfort thing to her, protecting her from him leaving her again, like everyone else did. Her guard was undeniably visible and the atmosphere, her whole vibe, could cut like a knife. He caught her at a bad time. Kylee Grimm was not doing good at all. Of course something like this would happen. [color=a95963]“Hi Adam, it’s good to see you,”[/color] Her voice cracked. Stop it, Kylee. [color=a95963]”I, um, I was heading this way…”[/color] Swiftly, she walked past him in a direction. He could follow her or he could not. His choice. 

Ok. This was a little weird. [color=82A989]“Erm yeah…”[/color] Adam ran to the bush to grab his board and placed it under his arm before he swiftly followed the Grimm girl. Ky was not herself or at least how he remembered her. Perhaps she had changed? Maybe she had no interest in rehashing their old friendship? It had been a long time and he had basically been missing that entire time with little to no communication with those he left behind. [color=82A989]“I’m sensing today is not the best day for me to suddenly reappear.”[/color]

As they walked, slowly approaching the corner of the street, Kylee whispered, [color=a95963]“Was I not a good friend to you?”[/color] Was she really not worth the goodbye? She held her books tighter, not looking at Adam, not even looking straight ahead. She looked toward the ground and the darkness overtook her. Kylee may have left the library but she took the dark place with her. Everything about her was melancholy. If this were a cartoon, she’d have a rain cloud over her head. There was a storm brewing in Edenridge, but the forecast predicted it to be more towards the evening. No, this rain cloud was just Kylee’s depression that she couldn’t pretend to hide. 

There it was. That Grimm veil that sometimes reared its head. Adam remembered that and he remembered one of the few to be able to pull her out of it was Roddy, who by all accounts didn’t live there anymore. [color=82A989]“You were the best friend, Ky.”[/color] It was one of his biggest regrets, not being able to say goodbye. [color=82A989]“The old man put me on lockdown. I couldn’t do anything. No phone, no computer, whenever I did use it I had to do it in his presence. You know how he was.”[/color] Thomas Callahan was not a good man and his children suffered. He was the polar opposite of his brother but his sons were lucky that their uncle would try to instill in them the goodness that their father was lacking. [color=82A989]“I’m sorry.”[/color]

[color=a95963]“How long are you even here for?”[/color] Kylee turned to face him, rooting her feet to the ground. There was so much pain and hurt behind her beautiful, brown eyes. 

Adam stopped with her and hugged his skateboard and camera tightly. [color=82A989]“As long as it takes for me to save up some cash,”[/color] he lamented. [color=82A989]“The old man is out of my life now, I’ve got no money. Didn’t get into college. So I’m here to work, get paid and then grab this thing.”[/color] He waved his video camera [color=82A989]“and head off in search of big adventure, just like we always talked about.”[/color]

In Grimm fashion, the sadness started fading, masked by a cutthroat coldness. Subconsciously, Kylee was shifting her gears. Having Adam back could be useful. She was doing an investigation alone today because Clay was in his feelings. This could be the kind of distraction she needed. There was no point brooding over things she had no control over. Wesley? It was his fault for not talking to her. If that’s how he wanted to play, two could play it like that. She didn’t need him. He was lucky to have her. [color=a95963]“What are your plans today?”[/color] Her tone was firm and harsh. And for the briefest of moments, her expression shadowed one similar to her father’s. 

[color=82A989]“Alright, so your creepy Grimm split personality thing is still a thing. Good to know.”[/color] Adam looked out at the stretch of Main Street that Kay out in front of him and Kylee before returning his attention to her. [color=82A989]“Well I was just getting my bearings, seeing what’s changed and such. I’ve only been back a few days,”[/color] His face morphed into another grin. [color=82A989]“But I remember that look and you have a plan. It’s the same one you used to have when you’d drag me and Rod to Hanging Hill or the sewer system in search of secret tunnels to the lab.”[/color]

[color=a95963]“Well, you decided to come back at a [i]perfect[/i] time,”[/color] Kylee’s smile widened as she tilted her head, closing the door of the dark place, forcing herself to stay in the moment. [color=a95963]“We have a lot to catch up on, but first, we got to intrude on the lives of northie girls.”[/color] She stepped closer to Adam, breaking the distance so he could look deep into her eyes, and see how deadly serious she was, [color=a95963]“Want me to forgive you? Let’s start with an adventure.”[/color] 

This was the Kylee of old. The strong one. The mad one, the one with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, adventure and mystery. This was the Kylee had crushed on from the moment Roddy introduced them on his misguided quest to see if there were trolls under Milligan Bridge (there weren’t but there was a homeless man called Alan, nice guy). [color=82A989]"You know I’m always up for an adventure, lead the way boss.”[/color]

Shaking back her hair, she shifted her books into one arm and playfully reached for his cheek, squeezing it, [color=a95963]“Good, because this case has everything to do with your cousin.”[/color] In a seemingly better mood, or at least able to compartmentalize all her negativity, Kylee was upbeat and off to the races. Turning on her heel, she was marching forward into the unknown, like she had done many times when they were little, [color=a95963]“Do you know anything about what’s been happening lately? Like the letters?”[/color]

Wait cousin? Rod? No he was gone. Lamb? Nope. … was it Clay? Course it was fucking Clay. [color=82A989]“Just what’s been on the news. They don’t really show a lot of Eden stuff in Pinehurst. Even our local news outlets despise each other.”[/color] Adam opened up his camera again as he followed Ky and began filming. [color=82A989]“I did speak to one of my new neighbours this morning and they mentioned a letter about that O’Hara guy, David? The one that drowned in the lake.”[/color]

[color=a95963]“Also Clay’s best friend,”[/color] Kylee instructed, crossing the street, making glances here and there to her old, childhood friend. Jeez, AC had a lot of catching up to do. Sparknotes time! [color=a95963]“Well, you know about the letters, so that’s good. Like a month or so ago, the first incident revolved around Allison Davies. Someone got a hold of Decker’s journal and is playing games with the town, and that one, phew, was a doozy. Allison was miserable because she had nothing going for her beyond highschool, turned to drugs, slept with her best friend’s boyfriend, which I mean, I don’t blame her! Her boyfriend was sleeping? Kissing? Doing something with a boy that day of the party. Well that was fun! But here’s the kicker, this specific letter isn't written by Decker. No, it’s a love letter to David. His drowning hit the news, but I don’t know if you would know about the rumors of him fucking someone underage?”[/color] 

[color=82A989]“Fuck my ass.”[/color] Adam had to remember to edit that bit out later in post. [color=82A989]“So O’Hara might be a diddler and this girl is…was sending him love letters? Meaning that realistically if the rumours are true, it was consensual which is a completely different can of worms to be opened.”[/color] The skaterboy began to run the maths in his head to connect the dots. He had missed a lot in his time away. The reward for having a psychotic father. Something he knew deep down Kylee could appreciate, even if she never wanted to admit her father was dirty. [color=82A989]“And you want to go interview Northie girls, meaning that you have suspects”[/color]

[color=a95963]“Four specifically. Mostly cheerleaders and one Lexie Davies. All my year.”[/color] There was a bounce in Kylee’s step, being able to talk about everything in her mind was always something that made her feel better. [color=a95963]“I was at the cafe earlier talking to Beau and analyzing the letter. There’s just this weird familiarity about it and that handwriting. I’ve seen it before. Like a weird sense of deja vu.”[/color] She nodded to herself as if she was the smartest person on the planet.  [color=a95963]“So I’m going with my hunch that if David indeed slept with someone younger than him it would be in my year, or the year above, but the way some of the words curve… I just know deep down, she is in my year. Process of elimination from when we all wrote on the chalkboard for class, or when we passed our essays forward, there are five girls with the best penmanship. What makes this even better is that MOST are cheerleaders, which makes total fucking sense since David was big hot shot basketball player. I think I want to focus on the cheerleaders before I even consider Lexie. I think she just writes super nicely.”[/color]  

Typical Kylee, she had already done most of the legwork in the investigation. When they were kids hunting for ghosts and ghouls, she would turn up at Rod’s, notes and books in hand with the entire history of the world written down. Adam was just the camera guy and Roddy just knew his way around. It was a weird little set up but it worked for them. [color=82A989]“I too would like to focus on the cheerleaders,”[/color] He teased. [color=82A989]“Maybe we get you into one of their outfits, so you can get into their heads,”[/color] Adam had to subdue a laugh. [color=82A989]“I’m kidding of course. Whose first on your list?”[/color]

[color=a95963]“Well by process of elimination, I’m taking Lanie and Lexie off the list. Lanie is with Rod’s and she never gave me the vibe that she’d mess with one of the Elite and Lexie; Well we’re leaning to the cheerleader theory and I don’t even know if she’s back in town yet. She also seems too smart for her own good so I doubt she’d get with an Elite either, especially if that made her seem more like her sister, then nah man.”[/color] 

The wheels were turning and Kylee was now on a warpath to find out who was the face behind the letter. [color=a95963]“That leaves Jill O’Brien and Caitlin Cleary. I’m more comfortable with Jilly so let’s start with her. The letter was like some Romeo & Juliet bullshit and I absolutely hated it. I really hope it wasn’t Jilly. I might judge her a little. Okay, I might judge her A LOT.”[/color] 

For a moment, Adam was lost in thoughts of the red haired O’Brien as he remembered her in high school before switching back to reality. [color=82A989]“Well, I'm pretty sure I saw Jill today actually. You can’t mistake that hair. She had her tongue down some goth girl's throat whilst leaning against a badass car. So I guess we’re going to Westbrook?”[/color]

[color=a95963]“Oh yeah, her and Mei Ramsey are totally a thing now. I love that for them, honestly. Mei and Clay have been keeping me busy since Roddy moved… I miss him,”[/color] Deeply sighing, Kylee sauntered down the sidewalk and brought her attention to all her books, [color=a95963]“Oh shoot. I should stop at home. I don’t want to be taking My Sister, The Serial Killer, One of Us Is Lying, and Alias Grace wherever I go, heh. I mean I love me some murder, but I don’t want the library to slit my throat for damaging their books.”[/color] 

[color=82A989]“I don’t know whether to be confused or turned on. Mei and Jill! That’s hot,”[/color] Of course the turned a little more serious when Kylee mentioned his cousin. She adored Rod. [color=82A989]“I mean, if we’re heading to Westbrook anyway, you can leave your stuff at mine? I just got a place there. It’s not much but it’ll keep it safe and save you having to walk to creep manor.”[/color]

Gently, she nudged his arm in agreement, beaming up at him, [color=a95963]“Sounds like a plan. Now let's go solve this mystery!”[/color] 
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