The Dawn of Autumn

Six Weeks in September

A/N: Hi, everyone. Raise your hand if you've ever been victimized by my emotional rollercoaster mess of a mind? *stares out into audience* Wow, um...that's a lot of hands.

If you're fresh off of "Tapestry of Scars"...how ya doing, fam? Need to send me your therapy bills? Heh.

If you have read my work before and you're still here to support me even after I've wrecked you...thanks for being in it for the long haul. If you're a newbie, hi, I'm very friendly. I won't bite. I promise.

This fic will be slightly different. Really brief overview...it will be a blend of the book world and the show world. I'm putting my own spin on things. It is by far the lightest of my stories. Doesn't mean there won't be *some* discomfort and bad juju. There are going to be some things that make you go, "wait, what?" But I assure you...it's never what you think.

I only have one request. Be nice. Remember that I write and share for free. All fanfic writers do. We chip off a piece of our heart and bleed our souls into our art. I do this because I love it. Don't make me regret that love. I say this not because of anything I've encountered (people have been generous to me here in the past), but because of what I've seen others encounter. The fandom, as a whole, has collectively taken a nosedive into being really negative to each other. I'm not about that life. But by all means, if a character is acting like a dick, you can call them the Dipshidiot King of Douchebaggastan. Just don't hate just to hate.

Given the state of the world with this COVID-19 pandemic, I thought we could all use a little escape. Everyone stay healthy. Stay safe. And be kind to one another. Hope you enjoy the ride.

*****

Chapter 1:

Six Weeks in September

The thing Emily had missed the most about living in the northeast was the vibrant season of fall. She remembered the way the sky had looked like it was aflame bursting with fiery embers of reds and yellows from the backseat of her father's SUV the day they'd moved away. The sky had been so blue that day. And the sun shining through the leaves had made them nearly translucent.

September in Pennsylvania had been one of her favorite things when she was younger, because that's when the leaves slowly started to change shades. They didn't hit their peak until October, but Emily had always loved beginnings, and September was the beginning of fall.

Before they moved she'd often taken trips with her parents to see the foliage. She had always been mesmerized by the colors. Every time she saw the beauty of autumn she would close her eyes and wish that September could last for forever. That had actually been her birthday wish once. She'd wished that September was longer.

There was a period between the end of summer and the beginning of school that felt so serene. She enjoyed summers with her friends. But there was one summer in particular that she would never forget. The summer she had her first kiss. It was just another reason to love September.

September had given her a lot of great memories. It had given her a lot of moments with her friends. It had given her a lot of moments with her parents, too, but that was before she'd screwed everything up. It had been almost six years since they'd seen the last of autumn in Pennsylvania. Emily had changed a lot in those six years.

Rosewood was a small town compared to San Antonio, Texas, where Emily had spent the past four years of her life. The army base where her father had worked was much bigger than Rosewood.

She'd been born in Pennsylvania and had spent a good amount of her childhood in Rosewood, but the memories seemed like a lifetime ago. They were like a murky vision of something underwater. She could see it just enough to know it was there. But she couldn't see the entire picture.