119Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of the characters. I only own my OC.
A/N: Yet again, inspiration for a new story hit me. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. This is a more of an intro for my OC from Roman's perspective. The next chapter will be more focused on Imogen! Btw, Imogen's face-claim is Anya Taylor-Joy.
Summary: Imogen O'Dwyer is a bit of a recluse. She's been living in Hemlock Grove for a few months now, and has yet to expand her social life. That is until she meets the town's newest member. Finding some unexpected cordiality, she befriends him, and along the way also accepts the school's bad boy into her life. Who unbeknownst to her, has been keeping a close eye on her. Roman/OC.
"I have little left in myself - I must have you. The world may laugh - may call me absurd, selfish - but it does not signify. My very soul demands you: it will be satisfied, or it will take deadly vengeance on its frame." ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Chapter 1: Imogen O'Dwyer
He'd been watching her for months now.
Ever since she moved to this Godforsaken town.
Hemlock Grove was a relatively boring town for Roman Godfrey. So to have someone move here out of the blue during the summer certainly caused people in town to turn their heads. His included. Although to be honest it was the rumors he heard that made him curious about the new girl.
The same said rumors that were first spread around by another town resident―Christina Wendall. The young girl had said some very tactless things about the new girl. Mostly the rumors revolved around the new girl's grandmother who she now lived with. Saying that her grandmother was a witch and that she was one as well.
She being Imogen O'Dwyer.
That was her name. The name of the girl that had caught his attention. And in his opinion the name Imogen fit her perfectly. It was different...unique. It was a name that Roman had taken into his memory ever since first hearing it for himself. It made her stand out from the riff-raffs that resided in Hemlock Grove. Unfortunately, so did the rumors about her and her grandmother. But unlike her name the rumors made her stand out in a more negative way.
Even before Imogen's arrival, Roman knew that her grandmother Agatha was not very well liked by the town members. They perceived her as the crazy old lady who lived in a trailer hidden in the woods. And because of how odd she seemed, people came to the conclusion that she was indeed a witch. Plus the rumors that were first started off by that Wendall girl didn't help. If anything the rumors about Agatha O'Dwyer had spread like wild fire around the town of Hemlock Grove. By now everyone in town knew about the infamous old lady who was labeled as crazy. As time passed the rumors calmed down a bit. But a spark reignited again when innocent and mousy looking Imogen O'Dwyer moved into town a few months ago.
People, along with himself, were surprised that old Agatha O'Dwyer had an actual living relative. They all thought she had no family members. She was never one to mention anything family related. So the arrival of her granddaughter was big gossip for the town folks.
However, the arrival of Imogen O'Dwyer was not very welcoming. Her presence just made the rumors about Agatha being a witch resurface again. Only this time Imogen was part of it too.
Now Roman himself didn't care about said rumors. If anything they just added more to his intrigue towards her. Except did he believe in them?
Well...
Maybe, why the hell not? Sure, it might have been foolish to think that a person could be a witch, but some part of him...deep down thought it could be true. However, did he actually think that mousy looking Imogen O'Dwyer was one? Once it again, maybe. He knew for sure that there was definitely something about her that made her different from everyone else. He just didn't know what exactly that was...not yet anyways. He wanted to find out for himself, but trying to come up with something proved to be more difficult than he thought.
It didn't exactly help that Imogen was a bit of a recluse. Not that Roman blamed her. Especially with the way the town perceived her. But it was her antisocial behavior that was getting in the way of him trying to get close to her. Whenever he saw her he noticed how she barely interacted with the other people in town. She was just as shy as his sister Shelley—if not maybe even more.
Which is something he noticed based on the observations he'd done on her. He took several mental notes such as how she didn't like making eye contact with people, to the way she dressed in layers of clothing—preferably dark colored clothing—how her hair was always let down and slightly unkempt, and to the way she spoke. He also knew from the small amount of times he'd overheard her talk that she had a low soft voice.
Now normally the innocent mousy, and slightly unkempt looking type of girls never attracted his attention. If anything they were a huge turn off for him. But Imogen's air of mysteriousness was enough for him to look past all this. Allowing him to notice the qualities that actually made him find her attractive. Her hair, although always slightly unkempt, was a nice raven color. She had fair skin that he knew if he got to touch, would be soft underneath his fingers. But it was her eyes that absolutely intrigued him the most. They were dark but when underneath light they were a rich warm brown color.
Like they were right now.
Roman took notice of her eye color, as he was discreetly staring at her from across the room.
They were at the small coffee shop the town had. Imogen would go there by herself from time to time to read or write in her notebook. He knew by now that whenever she went into the coffee shop that she would always order the same thing. A caramel mocha latte, with extra whip cream. He on the other hand would just order a regular coffee. Since all he really cared about was watching her from a distance. He wasn't so far away from her though, because he was still able to see the small actions she did. All them just intrigued him.
Now it was moments like these that almost made Roman finally introduce himself to her. Except he had a feeling that would just backfire on him. She was just too damn timid...which only meant he had to wait for the right moment to make his move on her. Which sucked because he was never one for waiting.
His thoughts faltered a bit and he straightened his posture in his seat when he saw her stand up. He took this chance to narrow his gaze on her heavy layered clothed form, trying to see if he could make out her body type—but it was no use. He should have already known by now that doing this was just pointless. The baggy grey sweater she was wearing hid her upper body perfectly well and the dark jeans she was wearing weren't giving him much details on her legs either. Which blew royally for him. It'd been a few months now and he had yet to get a good view on what type of body she had underneath all those clothes she always had on.
Roman let out a sigh when he saw her make her way out of the coffee shop—completely unaware of his intent staring on her retreating form. He had to tell himself that he'd see her again—real soon to. The summer break was about to end, and although he was annoyed that he had to go back to school, he couldn't deny the eagerness he felt. The school environment would only allow more opportunities for him to interact with the raven haired girl. Pleased at that realization, he brought the coffee cup he had to his lips. While doing so, he let a smirk grow as the thought of finally intruding into her life left a pleasant hum within him.
