Long time no see! Ha. Sorry I have been MIA for a while. Well I'm not going to keep you from what you really came here for! Enjoy!

Practice has gotten off to a good start for Ana. She has managed to fit in really well with everyone there… except Nichole. She had tried to stay away from her as much as possible.

She has been in LA for about 3 weeks now. Christian hasn't been back yet, but they Skype and text every day.

"Ana," Macy says as Ana walks in from her last class of the week, "a few friends and I are going out tonight… Want to come?"

"Thanks, but I'm probably just going to stay in tonight," Ana tells her.

"That's all you have been doing! You haven't been able to explore LA because you stay in this dorm room…," Macy whines, "I promise it will be fun!"

"I'll let you know," Ana says as Macy walks out the door to her last class.

Ana grabs her phone and texts Christian.

**Hey lover boy. (: How's your day been? Miss you! Oh and I signed the papers you sent me about the investments. What would I do without you? I would definitely not know what to do with the money Dad left me. I'm glad I have someone I can trust to help me.- A

She also texts Kate.

**I miss you ): Macy is wanting me to go out with her and some of her friends tonight… I doubt I do though. Too bad you, E, and Christian aren't here…-A

**Aww we miss you too! E says hello! You should go out Ana! It's not fair that you stay in your room all the time!-K

**I swear you and Macy are so much alike! She basically said the same thing!-A

**Well see… It will be like going out with me then!-K

** Try telling Mr. Bossy/over reacting pants that!-A

**Who cares Ana. You need to go have fun!-K

**Maybe I will just call him-A

**Of course you will *insert eye roll*-K

Ana texts Christian again but he still doesn't reply. She decides to try and Skype him. No answer..

He must be busy and away from his computer.

Its only 1:15 and Ana doesn't have practice this afternoon so she decides to take a nap.

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.

.

She wakes up to her phone ringing. She answers it before even looking to see what was calling.

"Hello," she says groggy.

"So have you decided if you are going to go out with us?" Macy asks.

"I'm not sure Macy," Ana replies then looks at her phone to see if Christian called or texts while she was sleeping. Still nothing.

"Come on Ana…" Macy begged.

Ana thought about it. Christian must be busy anyways so why not go out for a little bit.

"Fine," Ana says defeatedly.

"Yayyyyyy," Macy squeals, "I know the bouncer at the new club that is opening, Club XXL. He will let us in! Dress cute!"

Ana tries to figure out what to wear after she showers but she has no clue.

She does the only thing she know to do… Facetime Kate.

"Help," she says when Kate answers, "I have no clue what to wear since I'm going to Club XXL tonight."

"So you are going out… Finally," Kate says, "Show me what you brought.. I know I packed a few outfits that would work."

"Can't I just wear my skinny jeans and converse?" Ana asks Kate.

"Come on Ana… Be real…" she replied.

Ana finally got her to agree with the skinny jeans, but these skinny jeans were all tore up down the thighs and front. In Ana's opinion they could be thrown away but Kate threated Ana if she threw those pants away she would do something drastic. Those jeans cost a lot of money.

She paired them with a pair of cream colored heels and an off the shoulder holey sweater. Kate knew Ana didn't want to go out looking sexy so she didn't have a whole lot to work with.

Macy and Ana just finished getting ready when their uber picked them up. They decided that driving might not be a good idea since there was a chance they might drink too much.

Ana tried to call Christian again before leaving but he still wasn't answering and she was starting to get worried.

She sends him a quick text on the way to the club.

**I love you. Wish you were here. – A

She also sent a text to Kate.

**Hey… I can't get in touch with Christian. Will you get Elliot to check on him, it's been all day. -A

**Of course! Have fun tonight! I'm Jealous! -K

**Thanks Kate! Love you and Miss you! -A

**I miss you too! – K

The line to get in the club is ridiculously long. Ana immediately regretted coming.

"Look at that line Macy," Ana says.

"That's because it's the club opening… We won't have to wait though… Like I said I know the bouncer. He said we were going to go through where the red carpet is," Macy said.

"Wait so we will be where all the paparazzi is?" I asked.

"Yea I think so. We might even get our pictures taken…," Macy squeals.

"But Macy we aren't even suppose to be in here. We aren't 21… What will the school say?"

"Oh your right… Lets try to not get our picture taken," she says so simply like it would be easy.

When we get to the entrance Macy walks up and gives the woman our name and they talk for a minute.

Its not long before we aren't let through. Its pretty good timing too because some celebrity comes in right behind us so we didn't have to worry about getting our pictures take.

When we walk in music is blaring. People are everywhere. Macy grabs my hand and leads us to the bar.

"What can I get you," a male bartender asks us.

"Your number would be a start," Macy says.

The bartender smiles at her.

"I'll have a dirty martini and my friend will have…." Macy looks at me for my answer.

"Umm… "

"She will have the same and throw in two shots of… Well surprise us," Macy flirts.

The bartender gets to work on our drink order and Macy looks at me.

"You have to loosen up Ana."

"I know… I know!"

The bartender slides our shots to us.

"Bottoms up," Macy says and cheers with me.

We both take our shots and squint our faces when we are done.

"Whew," Macy says.

Ana nodded her head agreeing with Macy.

The bartender is back with their drinks and slides Macy a piece of paper with it.

"It's on me tonight ladies," he tells them.

Macy smiles and him then looks at the paper. It has his number on it.

The girls walk away from the bar looking for the rest of Macy's friends. We spot them in the VIP section. Macy's friends parents are actors and in the music industry so Ana always felt a little out of place with them all even though they were always nice to her. They were a little older than Ana and Macy.

It doesn't take long for Ana to loosen up after the shot and drinks she ordered. Her and Macy are dancing around having a good time when someone taps Ana's shoulder.

Ana turns and sees a familiar face but she can't put a name with his face.

"Hey ladies…. Arent you two a little young to be in here?" he asks.

"Riley… Hey," Macy says, "Fancy meeting you here."

"What are you two doing?" he asks.

Ana is still trying to remember where she has seen him before then it hits her. He is the guy that she sees every now and then at practice.

"Oh you know…," Macy says, "Just hanging out."

"Maybe I should restate my question differently. How are you two in here," he gives us a stern look.

"Come on, Riley, don't be a buzz kill," Macy says, "Have you even officially been introduced to Ana here?"

He just gives her a side glare and replys, "No I haven't, but I have seen her around."

"Well in that case… Riley this is Ana. Ana this is Riley, he is Patrick's younger brother. He is getting experience with coaching since he is going into that field. He is a senior."

"Nice to officially meet you," he says.

"Nice to meet you too… Want to hang out with us?" Ana suggests.

He thought about it for a minute then agrees. Macy gets her and Ana another shot and they hit the dance floor but not before Ana checks her phone again. Still nothing from Christian. The whole group is together on the dance floor. Riley grabs Macy and Ana's hands and spins them around. The girls laugh and play along. Ana needed a night out like this with friends. She was starting to get lonely and she hadn't even been here for a whole month yet. It's late when they get back to their room but Ana hasn't spoken to Christian all day. She calls him but he still doesn't answer.

She eventually falls asleep around 4a.m.

"Ugh Ana," Ana hears before getting hit by a pillow, "Your phone has been going off for like 10 minutes now."

Ana groggily reaches for her phone. It is 8 in the morning and she has several missed calls and texts.

She wakes up quickly. She goes through her texts first.

Hey babe. I was extremely busy and had to get two deals closed yesterday. I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you back. -C

WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT?- C

WHO IS THIS? **picture attached of Riley spinning Ana and Macy**-C

Hey umm.. Christian is furious about a picture he saw of you and a guy dancing… He called me and Elliot. Just want to give you a heads up.-Kate

Ana jumps out of bed and walks out of the room. She calls him back as she makes her way out the door of the dorm hall.

"Ana," he picks up on the first ring.

"It's not what you think Christian. That guy is like an assistant coach for the team-"

"And he what is he doing dancing with you then… And why is he even allowing you two at the club? I know neither of you are of age yet. What kind of coach is that?"

"He's not our real coach… He is like a student coach. He is still in school. There was no harm in what happened. He just spun us around…at the same time once! Where did you even get that picture from in the first place?"

"I hired someone-,"

"YOU HIRED SOMEONE TO SPY ON ME?" Ana screamed.

"No. I hired someone for your protection," he says.

"Without my permission?" Ana demanded.

"Yes," he said calmly.

"You can't do that! I don't need someone following me around!"

"Why are you afraid they might come back and tell me that you are doing something wrong?" he said.

"What?! The fact that you even think that about me says a lot Christian. What is your deal?"

"So am I not suppose to worry about you while you are there?"

"No you can worry but I don't need a baby sitter. You are suppose to trust me," Ana tells him.

"It's not that I don't trust you. I have a hard time trusting other people," he tells her.

"That is something you are going to have to get over Christian. I would have stayed in Seattle with you if I knew I would need a baby sitter," Ana says, "You need to tell him to leave. I won't be followed around Christian."

"Ana he is there for your protection-,"

"And for you to spy on me it seems," she quickly replies.

"Ana-,"

"I have things I need to do today Christian. I will just talk to you later," Ana says before she hangs up.

She doesn't even let him reply.

She actually did not have any plans. She was just too annoyed to listen to his excuses. She went back to her room where Macy was still sleeping. She decided she would do the same.

.

.

*Bang* *Bang*

"Ughhhh…," both girls moaned.

"I've got it," Ana rolled out of bed. She glanced at her watch. It was nearly 1:30.

Wow. She couldn't believe she has slept that long.

She opens the door, "Yea?"

"Looks like you did have a lot to do. Love the bed head by the way," Christian says.

"What are you doing here? We are fighting right now," Ana says still half asleep.

"That is exactly why I am here," he says.

Ana rolls her eyes. Well let me get dressed and I will be back out.

She could not believe he was here. Why did he come all the way here?

She quickly got dressed and grabbed a hat and a pair of sunglasses. She knew after their late night she had dark circles under her eyes, along with last nights makeup.

She walked back out of her room. She finds Christian standing outside the dorms.

"Want to go somewhere with me," he asks.

"Do I really have a choice," Ana says sarcastically.

Christian just glances at her.

.

.

.

They end up at a private rooftop at Petit Ermitage. They order lunch and look out at the amazing views of the Hollywood Hills.

"What are you doing here Christian?" Ana finally asks.

He looks over at her and takes a big sip of his whiskey, "I don't like fighting with you Ana. I didn't want to leave things like they were earlier."

"We had a disagreement Christian. That's what happens in relationships. As perfect as you are… Relationships aren't always perfect," Ana says.

"I'm not perfect," he says.

"I just… I don't want a baby sitter Christian. You have to understand that," she tells him.

"That's not what it is Ana. It is for your protection. People know we are together. Anything could happen," he says, "I would never forgive myself."

"I am a big girl Christian. I won't be followed around. What if I want to go do something and this "security guy" calls you and you are afraid for me to do it. Will he try to stop me? Will I have to ask permission to do things now?"

"No. You don't have to ask permission. But yes. If I think it will endanger you… I would have him intervene," he says taking another drink of whiskey.

"Yea, that is where the problem is. I have to live my life and experience this phase I am in. I need this. I can't have someone stopping me from doing that. I don't what to have a body guard. I won't Christian," Ana says.

They both sit there for a while just looking out at the view.

About 10 minutes goes by before Christian finally speaks up.

"You're right," he says.

"Excuse me," Ana says not really sure if she heard him right. He was actually agreeing with her on this.

"You're right," he says again standing up.

Ana jumps up too. "I knew you would agree if you heard me out," she sighed in relief, "I am so happy you did."

Christian turns toward her. She takes in her natural beauty.

"Ana. I agree… I am going to let you live your life here in LA. I won't get in the way of that. You should be able to have this amazing experience," he sighs, "Which means I must have to make the hardest decision of my life. I have to let you go. I won't interfere with your experience."

"Wait what?" Ana says shocked.

"It's for the best," he tells her but looks away as he says it.

"No," Ana replied, "That's not what I want. NO! You can't do this Christian. NO!"

Ana was at a loss for words. She was shocked by what he had just said. All she could think was NO!

"I'm going to go now. Do you want me to drop you back off at the dorm?" he asked.

"No," Ana says now crying.

Christian lifts her hat and kisses her forehead. He lingers there for a moment before walking towards the door.

"Christian," Ana says making him stop but not turn around.

"Please don't go… You PROMISED you wouldn't leave me," she cries, "I love you."

"I love you too Ana. I always will," he says then walks away.

Ana is too shocked to do anything. She just stands there looking at the door he just walked through. He left her. He broke up with her.

She eventually sits back down and just stares off into the distance. She's not sure how long she has been sitting there but she is startled by her phone ringing.

*KATE*

"Hello" Ana manages to get out.

"Ana. Are you ok? Christian just called E. He told him to tell me to call and check on you. Is everything ok?" Kate says frantically.

"He didn't tell you?" Ana mumbles.

"No. He just said to make sure you were ok," she said.

"He….He broke up with me."

"HE DID WHAT?" she screamed.

"I'll be ok. I will talk to you later ok Kate," Ana cries.

"Oh Ana," Kate says.

"I'm fine Kate," she says.

"I'll talk to you later then. Please call me when you are ready to talk. We love you," Kate says.

"I love both of you too. Bye," Ana hangs up.

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.

.

Ana makes it back to her dorm thanks to an Uber.

She stays in bed for the rest of the weekend. She tells Macy she just doesn't feel well.

She gets a notification from Facebook.

She unlocks her phone and opens her Facebook.

Riley Thomas sent you a friend request.

Ana hits confirm and looks through her other notifications.

She tries to find Christian's page, but she can't find it. He has either blocked her or deleted his account completely.

She sighs. Then she goes to her relationship status. She changes it to single. As much as she hates to…

Shortly after she sees that Kate reacted to her status. She hit the sad face. Her friend from high school Gabbi did as well.

She sees a quote someone shared and it touched her heart. She shares it.

"One day, whether you are 14, 28 or 65… you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in you that cannot die. However, the saddest most awful truth you will ever come to find—is that they are not always with whom we spend our lives.

She also decides to update her own status.

Someday, everything will make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.

The next couple of days went by as a blur. Ana just went about her day as best as she could. School, softball, school work, and sleep. Her days turned into weeks which turned into a month and a half going by. Macy finally had enough of it.

"Ana, we are going to the beach tomorrow. It's Saturday and we are not sitting in this dorm room and being gloomy. You need to go out and have fun," she tells Ana.

"I don't know Mace," Ana replied.

"Oh.. I wasn't giving you the option. I've already invited some for the girls and some of the baseball team. I think Riley said he would come too," she says.

"Macy…," Ana groans.

"I've already talked to Kate and she said don't give you a choice," Macy stood with her hands on her hips.

Great… Now Kate is 'training' Macy to be like her! This should be fun she thought to herself.

"Fine," Ana groaned.

"Let's pick out your outfit," Macy states.

"Oh no. You really have been talking to Kate," Ana whined.

She didn't argue though. She knew it was pointless. She grabs the bathing suits she has.

.

.

They get to the beach after everyone else. It took Macy 20 minutes to convince Ana to not wear a one piece. They finally chose a black bikini top with ripped high waisted blue jean shorts. She also grabbed a plaid button up shirt to thrown over it all.

"Finally," Riley says as they walk up to the group, "I wasn't sure if my dancing partners were going to make it."

"Well I did plan the thing crazy," Macy says.

"Where's the beer?" Ana asked.

They all laughed then Riley showed them to the drinks.

Ana grabs her phone and starts taking pictures of the group and the party. She makes sure she sends a few to Kate to let her know she is fine.

"Come on Mace. Let's take a selfie to send to Kate," Ana says.

She opens her snapchat. She hadn't posted anything on het story or sent any snaps since Christian left her.

She holds it up where you can see her and Macy with the beach and ocean view behind them. They smile real big and held up their beer. Ana goes to take the picture and as soon as she does Riley jumps in it also.

"Riley," the girls say in unison.

I'm just going to delete it and take another one Ana says.

"No don't do that," Riley fake pouts.

"Maybe you shouldn't," Macy says, "Maybe you should add that picture to your story. You have been single over a month now…"

Ana glared at Macy. She didn't really want to talk about it… especially here.

"I guess you're right," Ana says.

She sent the picture to a couple of friends including Kate and Gabbi, and then added it to her snapchat story.

They girls join the party. A few of them get a volleyball game started. Before they all knew it the sun was starting to set.

"Riley you did bring the stuff to make a fire right?" Macy asked.

"Have I ever let you down," he smirked at her.

"That's debatable," she said back and stuck out her tongue.

"So guess who just showed up," Macy whispers to Ana.

"Who?" Ana asked. All that came to her mind was that Christian showed up but why would he.

"Nathan," she whispered and squealed at the same time.

Macy has had a crush on Nathan since he transferred her after Christmas from Tennessee. She is just in love with his southern accent, gorgeous green eye and tan.

"Here's your chance then," I nudge her shoulder.

"Yea right! We have said like what two word to each other before," she said.

Ana smirked. She grabs Macy's arm and pulls her over to Nathan.

"Nathan right?" she asked as if she didn't know.

"Yep. That's me," he says.

"I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Ana. I'm on the softball team and this here is my friend Macy. She is also on the team," Ana says.

"Well it's nice to meet you Ana. Macy," he says.

"Ok well now that you two have been introduced…," Ana says a casually walks away giggling.

She glances back and Macy gives her a death glare.

"How's the fire going," she asks Riley.

"Well it will be up and going in just a minute or so," Riley says, "Want to help?"

"Ha. I'll leave that in your hands bud," Ana laughs, "I'm going to walk down the beach a little. Just let Macy know if she gets to wondering. I know how she is."

"Yea. She seems pretty protective over you," he states.

Ana shrugs her shoulders, "Yea. She is."

Ana walks down the beach and find a nice quiet spot where she can look out over the water with her toes in the sand.

Her phone beeps showing she has a notification from snapchat.

She opens it up to see that Kate has snapped her back.

It's a picture of her, Elliot, and Mia. She wrote: We are jealous you at the beach. We're celebrating Grace's birthday.

She quickly hit reply and take a picture of the sunset. She writes: Please tell Grace Happy Birthday from me. Miss you!

Anas take another picture of the sunset and write: My thinking spotYours. She added it to my snap story. She sees that several people have viewed the picture on her story that she added earlier. She clicks to see who has viewed. As she scrolls through the names she smile. A lot are friends from Aspen that she hasn't spoken to in forever but then she sees a name she never thought she would see. Christian. She forgot he had a snapchat because he rarely used it. Her heart sank a little.

She gets off of snapchat a goes to facebook. He deactivated his. She posts some of the pictures she took earlier of the party and everyone hanging out. She captions it 'My therapy'.

She decides to update her status as well.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe, and have faith that everything will work out for the best.

She wraps her arms around her knees as the breeze from the waves hits her skin.

After a few minutes she hears footsteps in the sand walking towards her.

"I saw this sitting near the fire," Riley says as he lifts her plaid button up, "I know its getting chilly out here."

"Thanks Riley," Ana said.

Riley crouched down and laid the shirt over her.

She wraps it around her and continues to look out over the water.

"So how's everything going?" he asks her.

"Good," she replied a little too quickly.

"Ana… You know you can talk to me right? I think we have become pretty good friends," he says pausing for a minute, "I just want you to know you have someone here you can vent to or just have here to listen to you."

Ana looked up at Riley and smiled genuinely, "Thanks Riley. Want to sit and watch the sunset with me?"

"Sure," he says and sits down next to her.

They sit there in silence for a while. They did continue taking glances at the other, always giggling when they caught each other.

"Ana," Riley starts to say when Ana's phone starts ringing.

"Umm…. Hold that thought. I've got to take this," she says jumping up.

Riley sees the name on the phone but doesn't say anything.

As Ana starts to answer the phone it turns into a missed call notification on her screen.

She stares at it for a minute in disbelief. Why?

Should she call back?

She decides she will… Something could be wrong…. Why else would he call her.

As the phone starts ringing her heart beats faster. She isn't sure she should just hang up or not.

Before she has a chance to decide she quits hearing the ringing and then hears Ana.

Her heart nearly shreds into pieces.

"Christian," she musters up, "Was there a reason you called and hung up?"

"I didn't realize I let it ring," he says.

"What do you mean?" Ana asked,

"I thought I hung up before letting it go through to your phone," he said.

"Oh…," she says,

"I… Umm… I see you are having a good time," he tells her, "I seen some of the pictures you are tagged in on facebook and the ones you added on snapchat."

Facebook?! He deactivated his Facebook, Ana thought.

She quickly switched him to speaker phone, no one was in hearing distance anyways and opens her facebook app.

She sees the pictures Macy added that she tagged her in and one Riley tagged her in. In the picture Riley tagged her in, she is sitting by herself looking out at the water. Ana had no clue he took it. Macy tagged her in a few. Some were of the group and party. Some where taken off guard. One was her jumping on Riley's back and one of her a Riley just sitting and watching the sunset.

"So who's the guy?" Christian broke the silence, "Is it the club guy?"

Ans doesn't know what to reply at first. She stays silent for a minute but she soon gets angry.

"You have no right to ask me that now," she snaps, "Is that really why you called me? Well you know what Christian… That's really none of your business. Ok!"

She hangs up as she quickly wipes the tears about to run down her face.

She composes herself before walking back over to where Riley is.

She sits back down by him and stays silent.

Her phone beeps letting her know she received a text.

She sighs before looking down and seeing his name again.

She opens it:

You are right. It is not my right to know or ask you questions anymore. I'm sorry.

This time she couldn't stop the tears from slowly rolling down her cheeks.

She soon feels a finger wipe the tears away.

She looks over at Riley and sighs.

"Ana… I want to tell you this and you take it how you want. I don't know what is going on between you two anymore. I thought you two were broken up. By the way you are now after that phone call and text, I'm not sure. I just want to tell you that whatever you two are he is stupid. There should be no reason for you to be crying. I like you Ana. I have no clue how you feel but I needed you to know. If you want to be just friends I respect that and that is how it will be, but I couldn't just not tell you," he says.

Ana is silent. She wasn't expecting him to say that.

"Umm… Well we are broken up. I just… It still hurts," she confesses, "I don't really know if now is a good time to start something new or not."

"I understand, " he says, "I just want you to know I'm here. Willing to fight for you if you are willing."

"Thanks Riley," Ana says and leans her head on his shoulder.

Her phone beeps again.

She doesn't want to look at it but she does.

She does s sigh of relief when she sees Macys name.

Hey can you ride back with Riley? You two seems cozy… Lol! I'm going to go hang out with Nathan. Didn't want you to Uber back by yourself.

Ana rolls her eyes.

"Do you mind if I get a ride back with you," Ana asked, "Macy is going to hang out with Nathan."

"You don't even have to ask," he told her.

"You are too nice to me Riley," she told him.

"Nahhhh," he shrugged, "Just treating you like you should be treated."

He looks down and smiles at her. She smiles back and him and lays her head back down on his shoulder.

Before long they noticed everyone was starting to leave.

"I guess we could clean this mess up," Ana suggested, "We really shouldn't leave it all here."

"You're right," Riley agreed, "Then we can stop and grab something to eat if you want. I'm starving."

"Sounds good. I could eat," Ana said picking up bottles and cups from the party as Riley gets the fire put out.

Well that is it for this chapter. I know it has been FOREVER and a DAY since I have updated. Sorry about that… Life is all I can say! I am hoping to update weekly if possible. I know some of you aren't going to like the direction this is going in either but… Here it is anyways. Just bear with me while I get back into the groove of writing. It will get better. Thanks to everyone for leaving reviews and following/favoriting. And to all of the new readers welcome. Thanks for reading!