a/n: I can't write Jack's accent so I'm just not going to attempt it so I can spare you from the cringe.

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December 31

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The rolling scenery of the rural countryside sped past the moving vehicle that Katherine rode in, where she sat gazing out of the windows at the landscape. Katherine wasn't sure where exactly her location was for the Experiment, but that lack of information only held her in suspense.

She tried asking Hannah and her father. Neither wanted to give away the locations of every subject, for they were a secret along with the Experiment. But based off of the dry, occasionally dusty nature, Katherine assumed they were somewhere within the Southwest or Rocky Mountains region. Massive hills surrounded the road they traveled on, creating a valley between the landscape. The grass across the soil was thin, but Katherine couldn't tell if it was from the impending winter or the previous summer heat.

Katherine could only assume.

Hours seemed to pass of merciless boredom, the scenery changing from mountainous to calm hills. The car drove through a small town, and Katherine barely had enough time to make out a sign that held many words but where one word was most obvious: Chimayo.

Chimayo. Katherine didn't recognize that name. It sounded strange, almost as if it was inspired by a different language. Was it Spanish? Latin?

The car pulled down a secluded road and to a gate, where the chauffeur pressed a button. The gate opened, and the car pulled past the entrance and down a long driveway. A house approached in the distance, and Katherine couldn't help but marvel at it.

Of course her father would put the Experiment's subjects in some of the most elaborate homes.

"It appears your partner is already here," he driver said, stopping behind another car that was in front of the house.

"Really?" Katherine responded, looking out of the window and finding the other vehicle with a door open. She watched as someone uneasily stepped out, and she arched an eyebrow as she inspected him. He didn't seem to be the kind of man her father would want her to be with, but she didn't care. Her father was going to kill her anyways for switching out her partner.

Katherine opened the car door, taking one more moment to inspect her partner. She remembered his name was Jack Kelly, and a crooked grin grew on her lips at the thought. She took her suitcase out of the car's trunk, setting it on the ground. When she looked back up at the second vehicle, she saw that Jack's eyes were on hers that were accompanied by a smirk.

Oh, great. He's one of those guys.

Katherine gave him a weak smile, ignoring her chauffeur who was offering to carry her bags and approaching Jack.

"Good evening, Miss," Jack said when she approached him. He held his hand out in greeting, but Katherine gave him a revolted look when she saw that he had spit in the palm of his hand.

"That's disgusting," Katherine remarked, causing him to exhale deeply and wipe his hands on his pants. She finally let him shake her hand, though she was still quite disgusted from his attempt at a spit-shake. "So I assume you're Jack Kelly?"

"Yeah," he responded, leaning onto his suitcase. "You're Laurie Smalls?"

Katherine shook her head, unable to suppress her grin at the thought. "I'm Katherine. Katherine Plumber."

"Why the change?" Jack asked, arching an eyebrow inquisitively.

Katherine shrugged nonchalantly, stepping past Jack and to the front door of the villa. "Beats me if I know. I guess someone decided our old partners weren't a good fit." That someone was me.

Jack followed close behind Katherine, stepping in behind her to the grand villa. The house was a two-story, but there was a loft in the main entrance where the second floor could look out upon the living room. Katherine saw Jack mouth a startled 'woah' before she continued into the house, setting her suitcase by the couch in the living room.

Windows lined nearly every inch of the walls, casting natural light into the house. There was a peninsula that separated part of the kitchen and living room, with a dining room built off of the living room. Katherine could tell the villa was not only built to house the subjects but also to impress.

This was classic Pulitzer architecture.

A spiral staircase was next to a bathroom on the first floor, close to the back of the house. Katherine instantly stepped up the staircase, expecting what she saw: two doors that were on each side of the loft that also served as a lounge. She knew those two doors led to individual bedrooms, each with its own en suite bathroom. To Katherine, her father's plans were entirely predictable.

The best part about this experiment, though, wasn't the ability to live in a grand house with one other person; it was the seclusion. Katherine wasn't willing to give in to the experiment's purpose; she wasn't willing to believe that twelve months alone with a stranger could cause her to fall in love. Being Joseph Pulitzer's daughter meant she was never alone. She didn't know how Jack was, but she knew herself: she was going to spend these twelve months doing what she'd rather do rather than become a guinea pig of some meaningless test.

Thus began day one of three hundred sixty-five days.