Ashley Chamberlain

Ashley Chamberlain is a fictional character in the Dreams to Reality continuity, and has appeared in all three forms of the series. During the course of the evolution of the series, Ashley has gone from being a minor character in the novellas to a major character in the web series and novel series. She is the younger sister of Amy Chamberlain. Her parents do not appear in the web series, but will appear in the novel series as minor characters. In the web series, she is in the seventh grade at Eagle Creek Junior High School. She is Mark Shane's girlfriend.

In the web series (2000-2004)
At the beginning of physical education class one spring day, Ashley Chamberlain's boyfriend, Mark Shane asked his good friend Brandon Danber who he planned to take to the upcoming school dance, and Brandon replied that Lisa Walker had asked him, so he would be attending the dance with her. He also says that his original intention was to go to the dance with Danielle Grayson, but Danielle was waiting to see if Michael Bennett would ask her to the dance instead. Mark pointed out that Michael was wanting to go to the dance with Rachel McCarey, so Ashley told Brandon that it may be a good thing Danielle turned him down, because then he could be part of a dramatic love triangle. Brandon realized that Ashley was probably right, citing the then-current situation happening between Jarrid Harlen, Nicole Halloway, Josh Poncek, and Melinda Flint as a love triangle. Brandon changed the subject, saying that he assumed that Mark and Ashley would be attending the dance together and making mention that the two have been nearly inseparable lately. Ashley said that she and Mark have simply realized that they are definitely right for each other before the two shared a quick kiss. As the physical education class moved outside to a nearby baseball field, Ashley was assigned to the same team (playing shortstop) as Mark (who was the pitcher), while Brandon was playing for the opposing team. After the physical education teacher, Mr. Long, announces that Brandon's at-bat would be the final one of the game regardless of the outcome because it was nearly the end of class time, Brandon hit Mark's second pitch to him directly back at Mark, striking Mark in the chest, knocking him to the ground and causing his head to hit off the ground, which would knock him unconscious. Ashley ran to Mark's side as her classmates gathered around him, pleading for him to wake up. Mr. Long told Ashley not to move Mark before sending Brandon back into the school to call for an ambulance. Mark began to regain consciousness, much to Ashley's relief. Mark asked what happened to him, and Mr. Long explained to him what had happened, and asked if he was all right. Mark said that he felt like he was hit by a truck, and began to tell Ashley that he loved her, but stopped himself when he saw the large crowd around them. Mark would then overreact to Mr. Long telling him that an ambulance was on its way, and Ashley would try to reason with him that he is injured and needs to be checked out at the hospital. Mark stubbornly insisted that he wasn't injured, but just had the wind knocked out of him, and insisted that he didn't need to go to the hospital. Mr. Long told him that he needs to go to the hospital because he had lost consciousness for more than a minute, and school proceedure is to call in an ambulance for such a situation. Mark finally lamented, but said that he'd better not need to stay at the hospital overnight, and Ashley said that he probably wouldn't have to. Mr. Long pointed out that they may want to keep him for observation, but since he is conscious now, maybe not. When the ambulance arrived, Mark was clearly unhappy when two paramedics began wheeling a stretcher over to his location. Ashley sympathized with him, saying that the stretcher was "probably pushing it," and Mark claimed that he could get up and walk over to the ambulance, but Mr. Long ordered him to remain on the ground. As Mark was lifted into the ambulance on the stretcher, Ashley gave him a kiss on the hand, and Mark assured her that he would be fine. Ashley asked one of the paramedics if she could go to the hospital with Mark in the ambulance. However, the paramedic informed her that she wasn't allowed to unless she was a direct family member, but she was welcome to go to the hospital and wait for him to be admitted there. Ashley tells Mark that she'll get permission to leave school from Mrs. Manning. As Mark was wheeled into the ambulance, Josh and Danielle arrived on the scene and asked Ashley who is in this ambulance. Ashley explained to them what happened to Mark during the baseball game, and Josh and Danielle inform her about Nicole falling down the stairs and about her fight with Melinda during Mrs. Jackson's class. As Ashley asked if Melinda pushed Nicole down the stairs, Brandon returned and revealed that he spoke to Melinda in Mrs. Manning's office, and she was bragging about pushing Nicole down the stairs. Danielle proposed the unsettling thought that if Melinda was capable of pushing Nicole down the stairs at school, nothing is stopping her from trying to do something else to her at the hospital. Ashley wondered aloud if Melinda could be capable of killing Nicole, and Josh made it his business to find out, as he went back inside the school to confront Melinda. Ashley asked Brandon if he really thought Melinda could do something so crazy, and Brandon explained that when Nicole first went out with Josh, Melinda made it her quest to destroy Nicole's life, so if they thought it was bad when Melinda told Jarrid that Nicole slept with Josh, it's only going to get worse unless something changes very soon. Brandon, Danielle, and Ashley would soon make their way back to the school, all of them failing to notice that a man wearing a skull mask (who had been seen to be armed with a large, metallic, sharpened hook) is watching them from along the side of the school building. (DtRW #1)

At the end of the school day, Brandon was in a somber mood when Ashley approached him at his locker to ask him what was wrong. He was still upset with himself for being the one who hit the baseball that struck Mark in the chest and caused him to be hospitalized as a result. Ashley would reiterate to Brandon that what happened was not his fault. Brandon's mood was also being affected by his earlier conversation with Melinda about what she did to Nicole. While Brandon and Ashley were discussing what happened between Melinda and Nicole earlier, Danielle called out to them from down the hallway and asked them if they'd heard any more about Mark or Nicole. Ashley replied that she and Brandon were going to the hospital as soon as they could get there to check on them. Danielle would then ask if they'd seen Josh since he left them outside, but Brandon and Ashley hadn't, but hoped he wasn't going to do anything stupid to Melinda in retaliation. Changing the subject, Danielle would reveal that David Richards told her that Michael has a crush on her, which came as a surprise to Brandon. Danielle explained that Michael had apparently told David that he liked someone new to the school with brown hair and brown eyes. Ashley thought that it must be Danielle, and Brandon asked her if she'd talked to Michael yet. Danielle replied that she hadn't yet, but that she had gone to Michael's locker after David told her what Michael had said, but he'd already left for the day. Ashley suggested that Michael would likely be going to the hospital, assuming someone had told him about Mark and Nicole by then. Danielle remembered that Michael and Nicole are close friends and figured that Michael would surely go to the hospital to check on her. Danielle rushed off to find Michael, while Brandon hoped that David was right about this for Danielle's sake, because if David was wrong, she was going to have "a seriously tough time of it." Ashley agreed, hoping Danielle wasn't setting herself up for some major heartbreak later. Later, Brandon and Ashley waited inside a waiting room at Portage General Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, where Ashley paced back and forth impatiently waiting for an update about Mark. Dr. Steve Galan would soon approach the two of them and ask them if they were Mark Shane's friends. Ashley confirmed that they were, and Dr. Galan introduced himself to them as the doctor who examined Mark. He explainede that Mark suffered a contusion to two ribs, but would be released from the hospital that day, though would need to take it easy for a few days. Brandon asked why Mark lost consciousness when he fell, and Dr. Galan explained that when the baseball hit Mark, the wind was knocked out of him, and when he fell down, he also hit his head on the ground with just enough force to knock him unconscious. Ashley would then ask if Mark had also suffered a concussion, but Dr. Galan assured her that he just has a bumb on the back of his head, though warned that Mark would need to come back to run some tests if he were to start developing headaches afterward. Brandon and Ashley were relieved to hear that Mark would make a full recovery and asked if they could see him. Dr. Galan agreed and escorted them to Mark's room, where Mark was sitting up on his bed. Ashley quickly gave mark a hug, and Brandon immediately began apologizing to Mark, who didn't even want to hear the apologies because it wasn't Brandon's fault, but a freak accident. Dr. Galan would assure Brandon that these things just happen sometimes, and that it's what keeps him employed. Brandon would agree to finally stop beating himself up about this, and Mark told Brandon that in a couple of days when he felt better, he'd help Brandon "by kicking your butt." Brandon laughed and agreed to let him, saying he owes him one. Mark would then ask who else had been injured at school, citing the presence of a second ambulance at the school. Ashley told him about Melinda pushing Nicole down a flight of stairs and that Nicole was the one being taken out of the school at the same time. Mark asked if Nicole was all right, but Brandon and Ashley didn't know because they hadn't seen Josh, Danielle, or anyone else who might know more yet. Mark would ask Dr. Galan when he could get out of there, and Dr. Galan replied that as soon as his parents got there to sign some papers, he'd be free to go. After reminding Mark to take it easy for a few days, Dr. Galan left the room. Brandon and Mark would then tease Ashley with the prospect of Mark being assigned a beautiful private nurse to help him heal for a few weeks. While this conversation continued, Brandon excused himself and quickly rushed out of the room, telling Mark and Ashley he'd explain later, leaving Mark and Ashley to wonder what was going on. (DtRW #2)

Mark Shane
Apparently fairly recently as of the beginning of the web series, Ashley entered into a relationship with Mark Shane, considering that Brandon asked the two of them in their first appearance what was going on between the two of them, noting that they had been nearly inseparable together lately. The two appeared to be fairly close, and Ashley would be very concerned for Mark when he was knocked unconscious during a baseball game in physical education class at school. Mark did seem shy when it came to making his feelings for her public when he regained consciousness and stopped himself from telling her something when he realized how many people were around him. Ashley wanted to go with Mark in the ambulance to the hospital, but was not allowed to go with the paramedics, but she promised she'd get to the hospital as soon as she could. Ashley was quick to grow impatient while waiting for news about Mark's condition at the hospital, and was very relieved when she learned that he would make a full recovery in a couple of days. Mark and Ashley seemed to have a playful relationship, as evidenced when Mark picked on Ashley, claiming that he'd need a private nurse to take care of him while recovered, but Ashley was quick to tell him that if anyone was going to wait on him hand and foot, it would be her, though did get Mark back a bit by saying when she breaks a nail, she'd need a gorgeous guy to rub her back and feed her grapes. (DtRW #1-2)

Background & Trivia

 * Ashley has appeared in all three incarnations of Dreams to Reality, but started off as a minor character in the novellas. Her character has always been intended to be fleshed out in all three incarnations, but she did not really start to make a lot of appearances until the web series. She will play an even larger role in the novel series.
 * Ashley was originally an only child, before the character of Amy was created and made to be Ashley's older sister, in order to tie the new character of Amy to an existing cast member.
 * Ashley was at one time considered to be one of the characters that would gain superpowers in the series similar to the ones Michael Bennett formed. She would not actually gain any superpowers during the web series and as of August 2010 is not expected ever to end up gaining superpowers in the novel series.
 * Ashley was originally paired with Jack Brock in the novellas, but ended up starting the web series as Mark Shane's girlfriend. This is because Mark was not an original character in the novellas and was added to the cast at the beginning of the web series. Her relationship with Jack was explored during the web series, as she and Jack were a couple about a year and a half prior to the events of the web series before parting ways (though the two remained friends). In the novel series, Ashley will begin the series as Jack's girlfriend once again, while Mark will be residing in Coral Beach, Florida, so Ashley likely does not even know Mark in the novel series (at least at first).
 * Additionally, in the web series, it was originally intended for Mark and Ashley to be involved in a love triangle with Brandon. His relationship with Lisa Walker throughout the web series kept this from ever really panning out, and there are no plans to revisit the idea in the novel series.
 * Planned storylines for future episodes of the web series that never made it to the internet included a bombshell revelation that would have come around episode #35 that Ashley was actually Jake Tenners (Skullface)' daughter. A confrontation between Margo Hawk and Elaine Flint revealed that Skullface had an additional daughter in Eagle Creek, and this was about to be confirmed to be Ashley just before the web series was canceled. The storyline was to be the main storyline on the web series while a good chunk of the cast left the show temporarily to launch the Past to Future spinoff and would have fully developed Ashley's character and the rest of the Chamberlain family. As of August 2010, the storyline is currently still planned to eventually be brought up, but whether Ashley will be the character this storyline centers on remains to be seen in order for this article not to contain spoilers for the novel series.