WELCOME TO GREENDALE
CHAPTER ONE

The blur of emerald green pine trees rolled by as she stared longingly out the passenger side window. Dani sighed, subconsciously twisting the ends of her chestnut brown hair around her ring finger. Every few moments her eyes would flit to the phone that lay useless in her lap as if she could will it to display something other than a blank screen. She didn't know what she expected. It wasn't like she was ever particularly close with any of her friends from Riverdale High, but it would've been nice if she'd received at least one text saying they'd miss her. Leaning forward in her seat, she turned the dial-up on the radio, welcoming the distraction of the overplayed pop song. Anything to quell the nerves clawing at her stomach.

"Welcome to Greendale." She looked up at her dad's voice, catching sight of the sign with those very words printed clearly across it. It marked the beginning of a new town- a new Life. Moving a month into school definitely wasn't desirable, but she was taking her father's consolation speech to heart and looking at it in a positive light. It was a fresh start, even if Greendale was just across the river from her previous home. It felt like a world apart from the horrific events that haunted Riverdale.

It was another few minutes before they came to a stop before one of the many homes that lined Willow Street. Dani stared up at the two-story, white painted, house appraisingly. It wasn't anything spectacular, a covered porch jutted out from the front, with a few flower bushes scattered around the steps. It was barren, considering they had yet to unload the moving trucks and add their own unique touch to it.

A bout of grief welled up in her chest as she stared at the red-painted front door. Her mother had always made whatever house they'd lived in feel like a home. It made jumping from one town to the next not only bearable but an adventure of their own making. Whether it was her home-cooked meals or endearing laugh that never failed to light up a room, she always knew how to turn any situation into a positive one. This would be the first time she'd be forced to do it all on her own. Her older brother Callum was away at school for the year, leaving her alone with her dad. She loved her dad more than anything, but he hadn't been quite the same since her mom passed away.

She stepped out onto the sidewalk, taking her overstuffed duffel bag of clothes with her. Her dad wasted no time in hurrying to direct the movers, leaving Dani to go ahead. She fiddled with the keys as she approached the front door. She unlocked it in an overly meticulous fashion in an attempt to delay the inevitable. Her footsteps echoed against the hardwood floors of the entryway. The house was an open concept, with a spacious living room to her right, and a stairway straight ahead leading up to the second floor.

She took a peek into the office area, know that this was most likely the only time she'd get to see it, given her dad's strictly enforced rule that she was not to enter. As the movers began to carry in the furniture, she absconded up the stairs, knowing that she'd have to be quick if she wanted to claim the best bedroom. Even though Callum wasn't living with them full time anymore and wouldn't be arriving at the new house till later that afternoon, she still wanted to make sure he didn't beat her to it.

Dani decided on a particularly large room facing the street, with an attached bathroom that she wouldn't have to share with her brother. That was a luxury compared to the rooms she'd had in the past. She hurriedly threw her bag down in the very middle of the empty room, marking it as her own before returning downstairs to help with the unloading.

The final box hit the floor with a heavy thud and Dani let out an exasperated sigh. She was sweating, despite the slightly chilly November air. She had absolutely no desire to begin unpacking as she took in the disaster zone that was her new bedroom. So she hurried down the stairs, weaving in and out of the scattered stacks of boxes and into the kitchen. Her dad was already there, taking a swig of an ice-cold beer.

"Great minds think alike, I see." She nodded towards the bottle in his hand, heading to the fridge to grab herself a glass of ice water.

"The movers just left, I'm gonna get started on unpacking my office. You think you could keep yourself occupied with the kitchen?" he asked, running a hand through his short, peppered brown hair.

"Actually, I was thinking of taking a look at downtown. I wanna see what there is to do around here."

"And leave me with all this work? Not a chance," her dad scoffed, leaning against the countertop casually.

"Wasn't it you that said we should make the best of things? That we should think of it as a fresh start?" She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet shooting him an overly innocent look.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off with an eye roll, realizing she'd played him with his own words. "Just be back before dark, alright? Let me know if you go anywhere else." He gave her a serious look, to which she grinned, knowing she'd cracked him. Dani gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, grabbing her bag and a light jacket before bounding out the door.

Downtown Greendale was quaint, to say the least. It had an undeniable charm radiating from the strip of little shops and restaurants. Multicoloured leaves skittered along the pavement, carried by the light breeze that swept over the town that day. The businesses inhabiting the storefronts were a hodgepodge of different styles and colours. Somehow all the little quirks made downtown even more endearing.

Dani found herself drawn in by a particularly eclectic display of skeletons, gravestones and fake bats hanging in the window of one particular shop. A glance skyward revealed the name to be Cerberus Books and Spirits. A drawing of the monster itself glared down at her from its vantage point. A bell chimed lightly as she pushed the door open. She was immediately enveloped by the scent of fresh brewed coffee and old books.

The walls were plastered with posters advertising horror movies like Dracula and The Sixth Sense. The store was cut in two, warring between a bookstore and diner. She'd entered at the bookshop side of the store which seemed to hold every manner of things, overflowing the shelves. It was chaotic and overpacked but still managed to make her feel completely at ease. The diner was much the same, the only difference being that instead of bookshelves, red vinyl booths lined the wall.

Dani made her way to the back, where a coffee bar had been set up. There were a few people in the shop already, but none bothered to look up from their books when she entered.

"Hello, Dearie!" a middle-aged woman with curly blonde hair and an infectiously warm smile greeted her from behind the counter. "Can I get you something warm to drink? It's brisk out there today." Her voice was as pleasant as her outward appearance, with a cheerful British accent.

"That'd be great." Dani returned her smile with one of her own and glanced at the full menu behind the bar. "Although I'm not sure what to get. What would you recommend?" she asked, completely overwhelmed by the multitude of options.

"Well, if you'd like I can whip up something special for you," the woman offered, "I'm quite good at guessing what people like best."

"Surprise me." Dani laughed, watching as the woman set to work brewing her cup of coffee. She pulled out a seat at the bar, making herself comfortable while she waited.

"You're new here, aren't you?"

Dani snapped her head to the right and looked for the source of the voice, jumping in her seat when she made eye contact with a raven-haired boy leaning coolly against the countertop beside her. She was sure he hadn't been there when she'd first arrived. After briefly glancing to the woman brewing her drink, she turned back around to face the boy watching her with a complacent grin curving the edges of his lips. He was dressed in a dapper ensemble, something she'd sooner expect to see on a man from the '40s than a teenager in such a small town.

"Is it that obvious?" She grimaced, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear self consciously.

"It's a small town," he explained, looking her up and down, "and I definitely wouldn't forget seeing a face like yours." Dani let out a startled laugh, taken aback by his words. The boy extended a hand to her, "Nick Scratch." She hesitated a moment before reciprocating the gesture.

"I'm Daniella Monroe."

A deafening crash cut through the calming atmosphere, drawing the attention of everyone in the shop. Dani whipped her head towards the sound, only to find the woman behind the counter staring straight at her. She zeroed in on the raven-haired girl with a wide-eyed incredulous look. Dani shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had no idea what had caused the sudden scene, nor why she seemed to be the subject of the woman's scrutiny.

"Hilda?" Nick spoke up from beside her, breaking the woman from her reverie. Hilda blinked a few times, dazed, before realizing the mess she'd made. She let out a small cry, finally looking away from Dani. The girls' shoulders visibly relaxed as she did.

"Oh, dear!" she cried, bending down to pick up the now shattered mug of brown liquid. In the fall, the drink had splattered Hilda's pant leg, leaving behind dark blotchy stains. "How clumsy of me. I'll get you a new cup straight away," Hilda added, voice strained and cheeks rosy with embarrassment. In the most indiscreet way, she hurried to the back to grab a mop. Although skeptical, Dani shook off the bizarre interaction and turned to continue her conversation with Nick. He was leaning forward slightly, forearms propped up on the counter and his fingers joined. His eyes were glued to Dani's and the seemingly permanent, confident smile was still imprinted on his face.

"So, Dani, do you always hang out alone?" Nick questioned, his eyebrows raised. Dani rolled her eyes at the irrelevance of the subject and the evident tease in the boy's voice.

"Do you always creep up on girls?" Dani retorted, laughing lightly. "Where did you come from anyway? I didn't see you when I came in."

"What?" He looked at a loss for words when he opened his mouth to speak but then paused as though he was struggling to think of what to say. Dani chuckled at the clear difficulty he was having in responding. "I was behind that bookshelf." He pointed to a shelf two rows down. She was more than positive that he hadn't been there. "Really? I must not have been paying attention." She raised her eyebrows and gave him a dubious smile, making it clear that she knew he was lying.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat. Definitely weird, but Dani smiled and nodded. They lapsed into temporary silence while they waited for Hilda to finish remaking Dani's drink.

"So, you go to Baxter High, right?" she piped up, trying to make conversation. She figured it'd be easier if she made a friend before school resumed on Monday morning. At least then she'd know someone.

"No." Again, he went quiet for a moment like he was looking for something to respond with. Then, he answered, "I'm in the, uh, other school."

"Stone Ridge?" Dani's face scrunched up as she tried to interpret what 'the other school' meant.

"Yeah, that one," he mumbled. His voice was moderately shaky, and for the first time since she'd met him, his overly confident front appeared to decline.

"Cool," Dani replied blandly, failing to hide that she was starting to worry that after getting to know him more, Nick would turn out to be a condescending narcissist like every guy who went to a preppy private boarding school like Stone Ridge.

"Here you go, dear!" Hilda's brilliant smile and peppy attitude had returned in full as she placed a steaming mug filled to the brim with the specialty drink and whip cream to top it off. "Sorry again for my little episode earlier. Hopefully, this will make up for it."

"There's nothing to make up for, thank you." Dani grinned, blowing lightly on her drink before taking a small sip. To her surprise, it was at perfect drinking temperature already. As soon as she tasted it she knew exactly what it was. Hot chocolate. Although, there were undertones present that were not native to the drink. A slight hint of cinnamon and something a little spicy warmed her stomach, juxtaposing the traditional sweet flavour perfectly. "This is amazing! What are you, psychic?"

"Something like that." She leaned across the bar conspiratorially, shooting Dani a mischievous wink. Dani watched from behind the rim of her mug as the woman stood idly across the bar from her with a quizzical look on her face. "You're related to Claire Monroe, then, eh?" Hilda asked slowly, giving the teenager a clearly forced smile.

"Yeah, that was my mom..." Dani's confusion masked the little bit of sorrow that rose in her chest at the mention of her mother. The bell above the door chimed to announce a new arrival. Her strange companion finally looked away from her, turning that irritatingly charming grin on someone else for a change.

"Sabrina," he drawled out, his voice curling around the name like smoke. Dani observed the girl. The top of Sabrina's head was level with Dani's chest while she sat in the tall bar stool. Had she been standing, they would most likely be the same height. Platinum blonde hair framed her delicate features, cropped to chin length and curled into perfect ringlets.

"Nicholas." Her red stained lips curled at the edges when she locked eyes with him. She stepped between them, her striking green eyes flitting from Nick to Dani, then back again. "Who's this?"

"This is--"

"Dani." The brunette shot out a hand, cutting off Nick's overdramatic introduction.

"You're new here." Sabrina grinned broadly and took the seat next to her, opposite Nick.

"Apparently, I might as well have a sign on my forehead." Dani chuckled, taking a sip from her drink.

"Don't worry, the town will get over it soon enough. We just don't get many new people here," Sabrina admitted. "So, are you transferring to Baxter High?"

"Yeah, actually I start on Monday. I was just asking Nick about it." Dani smiled, gesturing to the boy standing beside her.

"Oh, really?" The blonde's eyebrows knitted together.

"Relax, Sabrina, I didn't say anything weird." He rolled his eyes and Sabrina let out a light, albeit slightly nervous laugh.

"Well, if you want, I'd be more than happy to show you around school." Her exuberant smile returned full force. "I'm actually meeting my friends here now. You should join us!"

"I don't want to intrude. You really don't need--"

"You won't be intruding! How are we supposed to become friends if you don't hang out with us?" Dani smiled, Sabrina's energy was infectious, and she had an inkling they would get along great.

"Alright then." Over the next few minutes, Sabrina introduced her to Harvey, Roz, and Theo. All of which were just as welcoming as Sabrina had been. After a bit of coaxing, Nick was pulled into the little welcoming party.

"So, where did you live before this? Anywhere exciting?" Roz brought up as everyone took seats at one of the booths. Dani nodded, her attention divided between her curious new friends and the homely café-bookstore.

"Sadly, no. I moved here from Riverdale."

"How come? It's so crazy here in Greendale."

"It was for my Dad's job so I didn't really have a choice," she supplied, shrugging. "Nowhere is crazier than Riverdale, though. That's actually another reason we came here. I left a lot of crap back there, so I'm not that torn up about moving."

"Give it some time. You'll change your mind eventually," Nick said matter of factly, earning a questioning look from Dani.

"Nick!" Sabrina scolded, playfully whacking his arm with the back of her hand. "Ignore him. He's just not a big fan of... people. You're going to love it here."

"Yep. Welcome to Greendale." He gave an ironic smile, arms folded across his chest and he leaned back into the bench.

Dani chuckled at Nick's several remarks regarding his obvious distaste toward Greendale. Despite having known these people for only a few hours and occasionally feeling like an outsider because of how well the five of them already knew each other, she felt unexpectedly comfortable around them. The constant anxiety that she'd say something wrong, had completely disintegrated and what was left of her nervousness and uncertainty had subsided. The more time that passed, the more at ease she was.

"So this is your guys' main place?" Dani mentioned, glancing around for what was probably the thousandth time, yet still she managed to notice something new each time.

"You don't like it?"

"No, no. I love it." She smiled and inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh smell of coffee that people were drinking even so late at night. "Books and food. This is like, everything I could want for somewhere to hang out regularly."

"Good because you'll be hanging out with us here pretty much every day," Roz declared, giving Dani a kind smile.

"Only if you want to, of course," Harvey added, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's waist.

Dani smiled appreciatively, nodding in acceptance. She still couldn't believe that she'd met such polite and friendly people. She was only so surprised because, although she had never had it so hard at her other schools, it had never been this easy. Nick propped his arms onto the table, his hands joined as he leaned in closer to Dani.

"I'm telling you, loner. Get yourself out of this while you still can," he whispered, though it was clear his intentions were for everyone to hear.

Harvey rolled his eyes and grunted in disapproval, something Dani noticed he'd do every time Nick would say a word, and it was the same the other way around as well. "You realize you're not funny, right?"

Dani raised her eyebrows and tried at her very best to look nonchalant and unimpressed by what Nick had said, although she did find his comments quite amusing. "What's up with them?" Dani tilted to her right to whisper to Theo.

"Sabrina," Theo explained vaguely with a barely contained eye roll, causing Dani's eyebrows to knit together.

"I thought Harvey's with Roz and Nick's with Sabrina?"

"Harvey and Sabrina used to be together but that's sort of history now. And Nick- he's kinda always been into Brina, but nothing's going on between them yet. I guess now they just hate each other so much because Nicholas is a warl-" he paused for a mere second and broke eye contact with Dani. "– yeah, I actually don't really know. Probably some dumb personal stuff."

Dani pretended not to notice that Theo cut his sentence off because he almost said something he wasn't supposed to, rather than pause to think. She brushed it off and nodded in understanding, looking back to the little argument that continued.

Sabrina sighed and shook her head. "Nicholas, Harvey, come on. Can we please not do this?"

"Yeah, guys," Roz agreed. "Look... I think our food is here." Nick looked at Roz as though she was crazy, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"We didn't even order anything yet."

"Then let's order something," Dani stated, sensing the immediate need for a distraction. She picked up a menu rather abruptly and handed it to Nick in attempts of helping Theo distract him, while the others worked on Harvey. "What do you want, Nick? I think I'm going for some apple pie."

"I know what you're doing," Nicholas rolled his eyes, but his facial expression and tone of voice were not as irritated as before. "I'm not as dense as Harry." Anxiously glancing at Harvey, Dani sighed in relief, after seeing that he hadn't heard Nick's snide comment. The brown-haired girl then allowed herself to laugh, shaking her head at the hilarity of how Nick never seemed to run out of things to say about Harvey. It was her own weak attempt to soothe the residual tension.

"Well, if you think-" Dani was interrupted by three loud honks of a car horn. She turned around to face the window, squinting to make out who it was. Her eyes widened in panic when she realized that not only was is way past dark and her curfew, but her father's car was parked out front.

"Oh! I completely spaced!" she exclaimed, pulling out her phone and scrolling through the multitude of missed calls and texts from her brother. "That's my dad. I totally forgot I was supposed to be back early." She grinned sheepishly and stood up, patting her jacket pockets to make sure she had her phone and wallet. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. This was really fun!"

"Yeah, I better get going too." Nick climbed out of his seat, briefly waving at everyone and beginning to walk to the door. After waving everyone goodbye, she hurried her pace, past the line of tables, to catch up with Nick who was waiting by the door for her. She was stunned by how dark it had become outside. It had felt like no more than an hour, but time had flown by like a bullet. The moon had replaced the sun, it's alloy-silverness glinting hypnotically through the cloudy sky. "It was nice meeting you, Dani." Nick grasped the brunette's attention. His signature overly-confident smile had returned to his face. "Hopefully I'll see you again– without them this time." She chuckled, nodding her head in agreement while making her way to the black car that waited for her. It's headlights were blinking impatiently.

"You too." She turned back to face Nick and smiled before pulling the passenger door open. As Dani jumped into the car, she was instantly met with the comforting, warm air from the heater. Surprised to see her brother sitting in the driver's seat instead of her Dad, she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hey, Cal," she said while simultaneously fastening her seatbelt, "sorry, I completely lost track of time. Where's Dad?"

"What? Not happy to see me?" A look of shock flashed across his face. After Dani rolled her eyes, he laughed and started driving. "He had to go to work. He'll be home soon, though."

"This late?" Dani kept her stare on Calum in search for more specific answers.

"He has to finish some stuff up. He said he'd be back in a bit." Calum shrugged, eyes glued to the road. "You're lucky it was me that was home to realize you weren't back in time. Dad would've killed you. I had to ping your phone to find you."

"Please don't tell him." She grimaced, thinking of how he'd chastise her for being oblivious to her surroundings and missing her curfew for the day.

"You are so lucky I'm a cool brother."

"That's definitely not one of the words I'd use to describe you," she scoffed, shooting him a look of mock disgust.

"Unless you want me to tell dad you ignored curfew to hang out with a boy, you better add 'cool' to the list of adjectives beside my name," he teased, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I wasn't hanging out with a boy! I was hanging out with a bunch of people and one of them just happened to be a boy. There's a difference!" she exclaimed in indignation.

"Not to dad." Dani had nothing to say to that. He was right. There was a slight pause between them and Dani took to watching the streetlights flash by. "I'm happy you already found friends." Calum gave her a sidelong smile. She was exceedingly thankful he decided to change the subject, she grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, they're really great."

"And you haven't scared them away yet?" he teased. Dani glared, eliciting a laugh from him, "I'm kidding! Jeez, even I'm scared of you." She shook her head and laughed, looking out the window as the trees and other cars passed by in a blur. Greendale was a little bit smaller than Riverdale, yes, but Dani valued the coziness of her new town. She had meant it when she said she wasn't too upset about moving here. She missed the friends she left behind, but Riverdale was a place too untamed to continue living in. Aside from the weird conversation with Sabrina's aunts, everything here had been perfect so far.

"Do you know if mom ever lived in Greendale?" Dani asked her brother as the memory from her strange conversation with Sabrina's aunts popped back into her mind.

He stared at her, surprised by the question. He hesitated before saying, "I don't know. Why?" Dani shrugged.

"Someone I met today mentioned her so I thought maybe she'd been here before. You think I should ask Dad?"

"What I think is that you should just forget about it," was all Calum said as he turned his attention back to the road. "I doubt it's anything important."

The rest of the trip home was silent. Another perk of Greendale, Dani thought, was that it was small enough for everything to be quite close. Within just a few minutes, the wheels of the car came to a halt in front of the Monroe house. Dani was disappointed to see that her father still wasn't home at this time of the night. He'd had stayed extra hours at work before, but there had never been a time that he left home at night to go to work.

"Don't worry about it. It's his first day at the new firm. He probably just had to finish something up," Calum reassured, as though he could read her mind.

As if on cue, Dani's phone dinged and she pulled it out of her pocket. "Dad said he'll be home soon," she stated, relieved.

"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about," Calum said. "Now go to bed, alright?"

Dani complied and mumbled "goodnight" as she trudged up the stairs to her new bedroom, overrun with boxes, waiting to be unpacked. She fell asleep at ease, content with how the day went. Despite only being there for a few days and having an unfinished bedroom and several unanswered questions, Greendale was already starting to feel like home.

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→ author's note

thank you to everyone that decided to give this book a shot! hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter and decide to stick around for the rest of the book. i can't wait to go on this journey with all of you!

votes and comments are always appreciated. and again, thanks for reading!