HIRAETH [1] || Grayson Hawthorne

Chapter 1- Cotton Candy

"It doesn't hurt to blink you know." -Lorelai Grambs

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"Lorelai Aerin Grambs?" the office aide called from the entrance of the classroom. People glanced at me for only a second before resuming whatever they were doing. "Rory? You're needed." Mrs. Banks said with a smile on her face. I stood up and brought my backpack with me as I made my way to the door.

"Hi, you were looking for me?" I said with a bright smile to a short lovable woman named Candy. "Hi dear, Mr. Altman needs you." she said and started to walk to the principals office. I followed as I began thinking immediately of all the things I've done wrong this week. Very few things came to mind, mostly drawing genitalia on the girls bathroom door and leaving love letters at random lockers. The second one isn't that bad but how would they have found out that I was the one drawing things on the bathroom door, I mean everyone does it and I didn't sign my name or anything.

My train of thought derailed once Candy opened the door and revealed my sisters. "Libby?" I looked at my blue haired sister before turning my gaze towards the other one. "Ave!" I exclaimed and hurried to run and embrace her. She was taken aback but returned it nonetheless.

"Where did you stay last night? I've been looking for you the whole day, I even asked Max." I rambled with my hands still on her shoulders. She shrugged me off, her face remained blank, "I'm fine." she said plainly before facing the desk of our principal, Mr. Altman. "What happened to you Lorelai?" our principal asked.

My hand instinctively moved to hide bruises on my face and arms, "I was mugged." I answered partially. He didn't mind whatever I said and that bothered me.

Instead, he was beaming like a little kid on Christmas, a very rare thing indeed. Someone cleared their throat and it wasn't Principal Altman who did. "Miss Lorelai Aerin Grambs I presume?" the man to Mr. Altman's right questioned.

I grinned brightly and reached an arm over to offer him my hand to shake, "Call me Rory." I said. When he made no intention to shake it, I dropped my hand immediately back to my side.

This man wore a crisp clean suit and held a kind of power in the room I couldn't quite point out. He looked clean with his pale face, eyes, and hair. I tried not to stare at him, really I did, but he looked something like a greek god and fairy mixed together.

I felt Ave elbow my arm and I dropped my gaze from him immediately. He cleared his throat once more "Principal Altman?" he said. "If you could give us a moment?"

Mr. Altman frowned in confusion, like he couldn't believe a boy young enough to be his student was asking him to leave his own office. After a few seconds of convincing he left and it was soon just us four in the room.

He barely looked the age over 20 yet he acted as if he was 30. "Is Dad..." my sister started but couldn't finish. "Your father is fine. As of yesterday, Ricky Grambs was alive, well, and safely passed out in a motel room in Michigan, an hour outside of Detroit." He answered with a rich and low voice, mesmerizing the three of us.

"How do you know that?" Libby asked curiously. "It would be best, for this moment, for you to assume that I know everything." He answered looking straight at my sister with his light gray eyes.

"A guy who thinks he knows everything, that's new." I heard my sister mutter followed by a quick "Ow." after being nudged by Libby to shut up. "A girl with a razor-sharp tongue." the boy returned with a strange smile. I snorted instinctively at his 'comeback'.

The three of them turned to look at me and I immediately tried to hide my laugh with a cough, "What do you find so funny Ms. Grambs?" he asked, his smile no longer visible.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. And it's just Rory." I answered, not wanting to tell the truth and say his comeback sucked ass. He didn't press on and instead began to talk about why he was here.

"I've come to deliver a message that unfortunately has difficulty being sent via traditional means."

"That would be my fault" Libby started. The two of them spoke for a good few minutes before he turned to Avery and me. "Let me start again, My name is Grayson Hawthorne. Grandson of Tobias Hawthorne, does that name mean anything to you?" he asked us both, not taking his eyes off of mine.

I smiled genuinely and shook my head before placing my gaze on the floor to break eye contact. "Should it?" I heard Avery say. I looked back up to see him still staring. "It doesn't hurt to blink you know." I said to the pale eyed boy.

Grayson took a deep breath and turned to look at my sister instead, "My grandfather was a very wealthy man Ms. Grambs. And it appears that, along with our family and people who worked for him for years, you both have been named in his will."

I felt the tension in the room freeze up and turn to ice, I'm in a will? 

"His what?" Avery said with disbelief. Grayson sighed, "His will, I don't know what he left you exactly but your presence is required at the will's reading. We've been postponing it for weeks." I couldn't believe it, I was in a rich mans will?

"Why would we be in his will?" I asked with a deepening frown. He placed his gaze back on me, "That's the question of the hour isn't it?"

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timeline of the fanfic might extend into a month or two instead of two weeks-ish like in the actual book