Chapter Text
All Christen thought when she stared out of the small helicopter window was, “Everything here is so white.” The landscape outside of her window was covered in layers and layers of snow. In Christen’s preparations for moving, she had planned on there being snow in Alaska because that’s one of the first things people think of when they think of Alaska. However, she couldn’t have imagined just how much snow there would be. It made the Southern California native shiver just thinking about having to get out of the helicopter when it landed. If someone would’ve asked Christen where she thought she would end up when she declared her Marine Biology major at Stanford, she never would’ve guessed it would be Seward, Alaska.
When Christen was younger, she loved spending time at the beach. She quickly became obsessed with learning about animals that lived in the ocean, and her favorite animal was the Orca. When she went to college, after graduating Valedictorian from her high school, declaring her major had been easy. Christen spent her four years at Stanford with her nose in her books and her mind focused on what was next. She moved to Seattle after getting her Bachelor’s degree to get her doctorate in Marine Biology with a specialization in marine conservation. Her time in Seattle had been similar to her time at Stanford. Christen focused her energy on her studies and learning to become the best in her field in her graduating class. When she was focused on something, Christen worked at it until she was the best. It was part of her competitive nature.
After graduating with her doctorate, Christen was offered the job of her dreams, working with a conservation organization to help the resident and transient Orcas on the North West. Christen thought that her work would stay in Seattle, but she soon learned that her expertise was needed somewhere else, somewhere much colder and far away from the big cities where she spent her time.
Seward, Alaska was a small port city in Southern Alaska that was nestled at the base of the Kenai Mountains. Many boats and ships docked at the long docks that were one of the most defining features of the city. Tourists would visit the city in the summer months to see the breathtaking views of the mountains and the ocean. For the majority of the year, the temperature was moderate for Alaska, but the winter months would still see high quantities of snow. The small town itself, where the people of Seward lived, moved at a slow pace. It was the definition of “small town USA” where everyone knew everyone, and no one was concerned with being “hip” or “modern”. The way of life in Seward was the complete opposite of how Christen lived her life.
Looking out of the small window in the helicopter, Christen watched as the ground got closer and closer as they started their landing in her new home. Christen held on to the armrests on either side of her. Her knuckles turned white with how hard she was squeezing the armrests. Flying wasn’t one of her favorite activities, and she hated landing the most. Landing in a small helicopter was even worse than she had anticipated. Christen felt her stomach roll uncomfortably as the helicopter rocked and jerked as it quickly approached the water below. Closing her eyes, Christen took a deep breath and tried to find her center. This was a technique she had learned during her years of meditation, and she needed to find her center soon before her breakfast ended up on her shoes.
Christen’s eyes were tightly shut as she felt the helicopter land on the water. This was her first water landing, and she decided in that moment that she wouldn’t be flying anywhere any time soon.
“Ma’am?” The pilot tried to get Christen’s attention, and she finally opened her eyes to see that the helicopter was docked at the end of a long boat dock. Many different types of boats were also docked along the boat dock. “If you want to grab your bags, I’ll help you onto the dock.”
Christen nodded to the pilot, reaching beside her to grab the two bags that she had been permitted to bring with her on the helicopter due to the small size of the aircraft. Only being able to bring two bags with her as she moved to a new city had been a great annoyance for Christen, and she wasn’t happy to have to ship most of her things. Shipping to the small town was also supposed to take at least a week, so Christen had to be very selective with what she brought with her in her two bags.
After the pilot had helped Christen out of the helicopter and onto the dock, he nodded to her before walking away as if Christen knew what to do now. Christen stood at the end of the dock for a moment, looking around at the small port town that was her new home. The buildings where all one or two stories tall, a stark contrast to the skyscrapers that normally surrounded her. All the buildings looked very dated. Christen noted the people that were walking around that she could see from where she was standing. Each person wore similar clothes, puffy coats of varying earth tones, some type of jeans, and boots. Thinking about her own outfit, plaid peacoat, black leggings, heeled knee-high leather boots, Christen realized that she was definitely going to stick out among the crowd. If the ten or so people walking around could be called a crowd.
Taking a deep breath, Christen grabbed her bags, one in each hand, and started walking down the dock and towards the town. She had checked over the information about her housing when she was on the helicopter, and she knew where she needed to go, thankfully. Her new apartment was located on a side street off of the main street in front of the harbor. Living in town was easier for her with needing to get to the SeaLife Center for work and needing to be able to get out into the water on a boat to observe the Orcas.
Plain was one way to describe Christen’s apartment. When walking in the front door, the living room and the kitchen were built together in the main room. A brown couch, wood coffee table, and an outdated television were in the part of the room that was considered the living room. The kitchen was as outdated as the living room. The appliances looked to be twenty years old, and the cabinets and shelves were all made of wood. A short hallway off to the right corner of the living room kitchen combo led to the one bedroom. A queen-sized bed sat against the far wall with one bedside table beside it. The bedroom contained two doors. One door led to a small closet, and the other door led to a bathroom that was large enough for one person.
Christen sat her bags down on the floor of the bedroom, and she took another deep breath. She told herself that everything was going to be okay. She was following her dream, and she had somewhere to live. That’s what mattered. She could spend her free time making the apartment feel like home. It was going to be okay. Christen told herself that over and over again until she started to believe it. A rumbling in her stomach pulled her from her thoughts after a while. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and she figured that walking around looking for a place to eat at would be a great way to explore the town.
The town was so much smaller than the large cities that Christen was used to, but she found that she liked the quiet and calm mood in the town. She hadn’t ever been somewhere that was so quiet. Noises could be heard coming from inside the businesses, but all the sounds were faint. It was the opposite of a large city where loud voices and car horns filled the air at all hours of the day. After walking around and looking at all of the businesses, Christen found a small café where she was able to get a pastry and a coffee to enjoy. She sat at a small table by the one main window in the café and looked out at her new home while she ate. When she was finished, she thanked the young woman working behind the counter before leaving the café and deciding that it would be a good idea to call her parents.
Christen pulled out her cellphone to call her parents to let them know she had made it safely, but the “no service” notification at the top of the screen flashed back at her. Christen grumbled as she tried to move the phone through the air to find a signal. She took a few steps forward, staring up towards the sky, when she felt her feet move out from under her. She internally braced herself to hit the ground. Within seconds, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, keeping her from hitting the concrete.
“Whoa there, princess!” A deep voice rumbled from behind Christen. The strong arms helped her to her feet, and Christen was already forming an apology on her lips as she turned to face the person that had helped her. Her green eyes met the light brown eyes of a woman that was around the same height as her. Christen’s first thought was that the woman was exceptionally beautiful, standing there in relaxed, ripped jeans, a green plaid button up shirt, a puffy brown jacket, and a black snapback that sat backwards on top of shoulder length, chestnut brown hair.
“Maybe watch where you’re going rather than messing with that useless device in your hand.” The woman snapped at Christen before turning to walk away.
Gaping at the retreating figure of the woman, Christen retorted, “Excuse me?” She couldn’t believe that the woman that had just saved her from falling to the ground had so rudely dismissed her. In the moment, Christen hadn’t even realized that the woman had also called her “princess”, but it would be something that she would fume about later when she replayed the entire scene in her mind.
“You’re excused!” The woman returned without even turning her head towards Christen. Christen stared for a few seconds at the back of the woman. She hoped that not everyone in this small town was as rude as that woman, and she also hoped that she didn’t run into her again any time soon.
“Aw, I see you met our resident grouch.” A different voice spoke up behind Christen. This voice had a playful, breathy tone. Turning around, Christen’s gaze met a pair of friendly, hazel eyes. The woman standing near Christen had a large, welcoming smile on her face. “Don’t let Tobin scare you. She’s a real softy once you get to know her. Just doesn’t like many people is all.”
Doubting what this woman said about the rude woman being a “softy”, Christen didn’t want to be rude so she smiled at the woman. “No worries.”
The other woman nodded at her. “You must be new here because I know everyone in this town.” Christen didn’t doubt that at all because this woman seemed extremely friendly. “I’m Kelley, by the way. Kelley O’Hara. My family owns the one hardware store in the town. That’s where you’ll find me most days.” Kelley O’Hara looked like the poster woman for the small town. She wore what seemed to be the town’s uniform of boots, jeans, and a dark brown jacket. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that ended around her shoulder blades. Freckles covered her forehead and cheekbones. She was a few inches shorter than Christen, but she had a strong, athletic frame.
After taking in the appearance of the woman in front of her, Christen responded. “It’s nice to meet you, Kelley. I’m Christen, and you’re right. I just moved here from Seattle to work at the SeaLife Center.”
Kelley’s smile grew even wider, if that was possible. “The SeaLife Center? You must be the new Marine Biologist everyone’s talking about! Welcome!”
“Thank you!” Christen smiled at Kelley again. She had only just met the woman, but she liked how friendly she was. “I’m excited to get started working. I’m not really used to the small town life, though.”
Kelley chuckled. “I bet not, coming from Seattle and all! I went there once to visit. Way too crazy for me, but I grew up here so I’m a small town woman.” Kelley reached out and placed a gentle hand on Christen’s shoulder. “Listen here, Christen, I’ve got to head back to the shop, but you come find me if you need anything. Okay?”
Christen nodded. “Thank you, Kelley. It was so nice meeting you!”
“You too!” Kelley called as she started walking down the street. “Oh, and be careful walking in those heels! Don’t know how you do it!”
Christen let out a breath. Her sense of style definitely didn’t fit Seward, Alaska. Looking back down at the cellphone in her hand, Christen realized she still had a problem. “Hey, Kelley?” She called out before Kelley got too far away, and Kelley turned to look at her. “You don’t happen to know how I can call someone do you? My phone has no service.”
Kelley laughed. “Sure thing! C’mon with me to the shop, and you can use our landline. We’ll also get you a phone for your place if you don’t have one because cellphones don’t work good here.”
“Fantastic.” Christen grumbled under her breath as she walked to catch up with Kelley. She couldn’t even remember the last time she called someone on a landline. “I’m guessing wifi probably doesn’t work here, either?” She asked when she caught up to Kelley.
“We’ll get you set up with the internet too. Can’t promise you that it’ll work all the time, but something’s better than nothing.” Kelley said as she walked alongside Christen.
It took about five minutes to walk to the hardware store. It was a large store compared the to buildings around it. Christen followed Kelley inside, and she looked around at the aisles of various hardware items. She wasn’t very hardware savvy, and Christen was lucky if she was able to identify a hammer from a wrench. As her eyes scanned the large room, her stomach fell when her eyes landed on the woman from earlier. She remembered that Kelley had called her “Tobin.” Her eyes met the brown eyes of the woman, and the woman actually smirked at her. Christen felt anger pool in her belly.
“Tobester!” Kelley called out to Tobin, slapping her hand on Tobin’s shoulder.
Tobin shrugged Kelley’s hand off before glaring at her. “You know I hate when you call me that.”
Kelley laughed. “But you really love it!” She placed her hand on Tobin’s shoulder again, and this time, Tobin let it stay there. “Tobin, I believe you met our new resident already, even though you were very rude to her.” Kelley pointed to where Christen was standing a few feet away. “We talked about your people skills, dude.” Kelley loudly whispered at Tobin.
“Fuck off, Kell!” Tobin pushed Kelley’s hand off her this time. “It’s not my fault that princess can’t walk in those heels she has on.” Tobin turned her attention to Christen again. “Did you know where the helicopter was bringing you or do you just not know how to dress appropriately?”
Christen was speechless. She had never had someone talk to her the way that Tobin did, and she wasn’t sure what to say for a moment, but she found her voice soon enough. “Thank you again for helping me earlier.” She smiled at Tobin, but it was laced with venom. “Hopefully we won’t see each other again.” Tobin gaped at Christen’s reply, and Christen felt a small bit of triumph. “Kelley, can you show me what I need? I’d like to get back to my apartment to get ready for my first day of work tomorrow.”
Kelley, who had been looking between Tobin and Christen during their heated exchange, nodded. “Sure thing, Christen! Follow me!” Kelley walked around Tobin and down one of the aisles. Christen followed Kelley, making sure not to make eye contact with Tobin as she walked past her, but she swore she could feel Tobin’s heated gaze on her skin as she walked past. When she reached where Kelley had stopped, Christen dared to look where Tobin had been standing, but her eyes only saw an empty space. Christen let out a quiet sigh of relief before turning her attention to what Kelley was saying about the different types of phones in stock.
Later that night after Christen had gotten her phone and internet set up, she thought about her first day in the small town. She was glad that she had met Kelley, and she hoped that they could become friends. Living in the town would be a lot easier with a friend. Her thoughts then moved to Tobin. She wasn’t sure what made the woman act so rudely towards her, but she was determined to keep her distance from the “resident grouch”.
Keeping her distance, however, would prove to be difficult.