History. Man's greatest treasure, a record of every step humanity had taken. From the days of being nobodies to rising as the leaders of entire civilizations, history was proof of growth, struggle, and victory.
Ashen's opinion on it?
Screw history. It can burn for all I care.
He tried, really tried to focus on the lesson. He gave it his best shot, but keeping up with Mister Alaric, the history teacher, was impossible. The man's voice was dull, his tone flat, and the subject itself didn't help matters.
"You're a new face," Mister Alaric suddenly stopped mid-lecture and turned toward him. "And unfortunately, you don't look like you're following along. Is my class that boring to you?"
Ashen froze. Was this man serious? Had he ever listened to himself before?
"Yes, Mister Alaric. I'm a transfer student. I just arrived in town last week and—
"See, students?" Alaric cut him off before he could finish. "This is why history is important. We're learning history right now through our new student by the name of...?"
The class burst into laughter.
Ashen didn't want to believe the man just made fun of him now?!...
By this point, Freya had already distanced herself from Ashen. He was a magnet for attention, and attention was the last thing she ever wanted.
"Ashen Freeman, sir," Ashen finally managed to answer.
"Freeman?" Alaric repeated the name, almost as if it meant something special. "Fun fact: did you know the Freeman family were one of the founding families of Riverdale?"
Ashen blinked. "No, I didn't know that." And he really didn't. "My family and I just moved here recently. My dad never mentioned anything about Riverdale, let alone having any connection to it."
Still, thinking about it for a moment, it did explain a few things. Like the big house they had moved into. His father had called it a family house. Ashen never thought much about it, but if what Alaric said was true, maybe it had roots going back decades.
Riverdale was founded in the eighties? It seemed too clean, too well-kept for something that old.
"That's unfortunate," Alaric continued, "because if I recall correctly, in 1986, when Riverdale came under attack by savages and demons, the Freeman's, alongside the Dawns, took the lead in protecting the town."
"Demons, huh?" Ashen muttered under his breath. If he had the money, he would've thrown the man a party just for saying that.
"You don't believe me?" Alaric raised a brow.
Oh yes, by all means, let's believe the history teacher who's telling demon stories in the twenty-first century.
Wait a second, did he just say Dawns?... "Hi, I'm Freya Dawn, the girl who's not interested."
Ashen remembered her words from earlier. So, she was a Dawn. Meaning her family and his were apparently tied together in the past. Did that make them… ancestral acquaintances?
Normally, he'd have been excited about that discovery. But since the person in question was Freya, it felt more like a curse than a blessing. She wasn't exactly easy to talk to.
"It's not that I don't believe you, sir," Ashen finally said. "It's just… this is the twenty-first century, and—
"And you think I'm a crazy history teacher spouting nonsense?" Alaric finished for him.
That about summed it up. The fact that the teacher had to spell it out himself made the whole situation even more awkward.
"Tell you what," Alaric said suddenly, "how about we make it into an assignment for you?"
'How about we don't?!' Ashen screamed inside his head.
"Write me a ten-page essay on the founding families of Riverdale and the events of 1986, the Great Purge, as many historians call it."
Yup. This guy's definitely crazy.
Asking a student who just arrived in town less than a ago to write ten pages about a history he knew nothing about? That was insanity at its finest.
"Due next week," Alaric added. "And mind you—uno AI assistance. I'll know if you try."
See? Crazy. Absolutely, undeniably crazy.
How was he supposed to pull off ten full pages in just one week? More than that, how could someone who barely knew the town even start such a paper?
There was only one possible answer. One person who could help him out of this mess.
Freya.
Ashen waited, counting down the minutes until Mister Alaric finally wrapped up his lecture. The second class ended, Ashen jumped out of his seat and rushed after her before she could slip away.
"No!"
That was her immediate response. She didn't even wait to hear what he was asking.
"What do you mean, no?!" Ashen cried. "How am I supposed to finish that essay without your help?"
Did she think he was some psychic who could pull the answers out of thin air?
Freya paused, frowning at him. "You do realize this is literally the first time we've spoken outside of class, right? I don't know you. You don't know me. Why on earth should I help you?"
"Fair point," Ashen admitted. "But according to history, our families are connected."
"What bond?" she asked, unimpressed.
"Weren't you paying attention to Mister Alaric's lecture? Your family, the Dawn's, and mine, the Freeman's, worked together in the past to catch demons". He intentionally emphasized on the demon part, "That kind of makes you and I related, doesn't it?"
Freya stared at him, wondering what kind of brain could twist nonsense into something that almost sounded logical. Ashen clearly had the strange ability to spin ridiculousness into sense.
Even so, her answer didn't change. "No. I have no reason, no obligation, and no interest in helping you. So please, go your way and leave me alone."
Ashen sighed. "I really wish I could just do that. Honestly, I do. But unfortunately, I can't. I need your help, and you're going to give it. Otherwise…" He leaned closer. "I'll go straight to Mister Alaric and tell him a certain someone refused to help the new guy, no matter how much he begged."
That got her attention. She froze, glaring at him, but at least she was listening now.
"You wouldn't," she said flatly.
"Try me," Ashen replied without hesitation.
And honestly? She shouldn't. Because if there was one thing Ashen Freeman knew how to do, it was push until he got what he wanted.
And right now, what he wanted was her help with that essay.
Freya studied him carefully, then sighed. "Fine. I'll help you. But only this once. After that, you and I have no reason to talk to each other again. Deal?"
Ashen grinned. "Deal."
Best deal of his life.