A/N: It's probably not the wisest idea to start a new story while working on one but this idea has been torturing me for a couple of weeks so I'm going to test it out.

Paige Knight, with her long jet black hair, shuffled through campus with her book bag slouching on one shoulder and her books teetering back and forth in her hands as she wandered across the quad to get to her dorm room. There were big tests she had to prepare for and she was in no mood to take the chance of failing. She hadn't moved here from England just to fail. They were the last exams of her second year of college – after they were done, she'd be able to catch her breath for just a beat and be able to plan out her summer plans.

There was the big chance she'd just go home until the new school year approached, but going back to her estranged family wasn't the most appealing of ideas. Her roommate had invited her to go back home with her to New York, but that idea wasn't too great either considering Paige knew she'd stick out like a sore thumb. So option three was to just pick a place on the globe and go there. The notion was a ridiculous one but at least it was better than her other options.

Maneuvering around in her book bag for her door key, Paige was grateful when her roommate opened the door to help her. "Thanks, Summer."

"Whoa! You're the only person I know who actually takes these end-of-the-year exams so serious. Lighten up, Paige. You know you're going to pass. You're practically the smartest person in this entire place."

Setting her stuff down on her bed, Paige took a brief second to fall back onto her pillows and just stare at the ceiling. Summer, on the other hand, fiddled with her strappy shoes for a moment before applying the last ounce of makeup she could possibly fit on her face without looking like she caked it on. "Are you sure you won't come tonight?"

Sitting up straight, the British woman grabbed her zombified Hello Kitty stuffed animal and cradled it in her arms. "I've really got to study, Summer."

"Seriously? You've got this one in the bag, Paige." The gorgeous blonde perched herself at the end of her friend's bed. "Do you really have to study or are you avoiding Wade?"

There was the topic she certainly hadn't wanted to talk about, especially with the gossip queen. Wade Barrett had also moved from England with a scholarship and when he met Paige, they had instantly hit it off. But like most good things, their relationship hit a rough patch and ultimately ended when Paige refused to sleep with him and he wound up sleeping with someone else. He claimed that had she given him what he wanted they would have still been together.

For the longest time she believed it was her fault for why he dumped her but after Summer and a couple of other friends showed her how it in fact wasn't, the raven-haired woman became a recluse, refusing to get hurt again.

"I really do have to study," Paige brushed off the question pertaining to her ex like a professional, simply by opening up her history book and delving right into the first chapter. However, when she felt her friend's eyes on her, she had no choice but to look up at her. "Maybe I am trying to avoid Wade, is that a problem?"

"Paige, Wade's a dick for what he did and you have all your friends who will not let him come near you. I really think you should come and say goodbye to everyone before we part ways. You've been in social decline since the break up. I think you should let your hair down, get dolled up – well dolled up in your own way – and show everyone that you're okay."

What was it about the blonde's persistence? Every time she bugged her British friend to do something, the latter always caved to her requests. But this time, Paige knew that her friend was right. She had hidden herself away from the world for so long that it was time to come out for one last hurrah before everyone left.

"If I fail these exams, I'm going to murder you."

"Is that a yes?"

Letting out an annoyed sigh, the black-haired beauty put her head down in defeat. "It's a yes."

She heard Summer squeal in excitement, jumping up off her bed and rushing over to the conjoined closet to pick something out for her friend. After a couple of minutes, the blonde feasted her eyes on the most perfect outfit for her punk friend. "This!" Holding out a leather skirt that was way shorter than Paige liked to wear and a long sleeved crop top, the blonde sat it down on the bed for the girl to look at. "You've got killer legs."

"I'm also freakin' Casper. No one's going to notice the outfit." Her English accent grew more strong in that moment. "Maybe I shouldn't go."

"Oh no! You're going. You can even wear those cute spiked heels of yours too. I think they'd go perfect with this outfit. Come on, Paige. You only live once."

"You're actually quoting that rapper?" Rap music wasn't exactly the British born woman's forte. She was more into metal or hard rock. A lot of the people here didn't really understand her taste in music since it was all about Taylor Swift or Beyonce. But she refused to change that part of her life just to please people. California was way too preppy for her liking.

"Look, I know I can't change your mind on your musical taste but you have got to get with the program. Most people here don't listen to Bullet For My Valentine or In This Moment, but everyone knows who Drakeis. Just a little piece of advice." The blonde gave her friend a quick pat on her head before going back over to the full-length mirror to look over herself once again.

Emitting a sigh, Paige stared at the outfit on her bed. It was something she'd never remotely wear, but maybe it was the point. Maybe changing her appearance for one night would let people know that her break up with Wade hadn't got the better of her. "Summer, do you ever wonder why I am the way that I am?"

With a confused look on her made up face, the blonde in particular had turned back to her friend and tilted her head to the side. It was a trick question, she was aware of it, so she needed to be careful with how she answered. "You made it clear from day one that I wasn't allowed to ask about your history and why you and your family are… distant. So no, I don't."

In true friend fashion, Summer had abided by Paige's main request on not asking about her family history. She was way too messed up and didn't want to relive the nightmare of growing up in England with a dysfunctional family – dysfunctional was too nice a word to describe them – who didn't care if she were alive or dead.

"So I think for the summer I'm just going to draw a place out of a hat and go there."

"What? Paige, no, I told you that you are more than welcome to come back to New York with me."

"And I appreciate the offer, truly, but do you really think your kind would accept me?" Closing her eyes when she realized the mistake she just made, Paige shook it off. "That came out wrong. I mean, Summer your family is caviar and I'm… soup at best. Terrible analogy but you get the point. I don't want to go somewhere where I'm going to be judged."

"My parents are pretty judgmental and I don't want you have to subject yourself to something that makes you feel uncomfortable. If drawing a country or city out of a hat makes you happy, then that's all that counts. Hey, maybe I'll ditch my family and go with you."

As much as she would have liked the company, this was something that the British woman wanted to do on her own. "No. You've made plans. What about your little sister? She's counting on seeing you. I'll be fine. I promise." Feigning a half-hearted smile, Paige grabbed the clothes from her bed and rushed into their restroom to change.

She was in no way ready to see everyone, more specifically Wade – but this was going to be the last time she got to hang out with her friends and that was all that mattered. So, pushing aside all the thoughts from her childhood and her past relationship, Paige got ready and was surprised with how comfortable she felt in something so foreign to her. Maybe tonight wouldn't be as bad as she had thought.

Seth Rollins sat in the doctor's office with his dad and stepmother as they waited the results of the latter's blood test. Did he really want to be here? Not really. A beer seemed really good right about now, but he knew he needed to be his father's support if something showed up in Diane's blood.

It wasn't that he didn't like Diane or that she was remotely cruel like most step parents, she was actually quite pleasant, it was just the fact that he resented her for marrying a man who had lost his wife seven months prior.

Playing on his cell phone, texting one of his good friends, Dean, Seth grew annoyed when he saw that he had a text from someone he really didn't want to hear from – the ex who had ripped his heart out of his chest. AJ Lee was quite a puzzle.

I'm sorry. What more do you want from me? That was message he read over and over, trying to think of witty reply to make her go away.

Sorry doesn't justify the way you played me. Was that all I was to you? A project? Did it make you feel better about yourself that I was your charity work? You're no walk in the park yourself, AJ.

It wasn't the best thing he could think of, but at least it was something. This was the most he had spoken to her in about a week. After hearing her laugh to her friends at the University about how he was just a project of hers, Seth obviously didn't take it well and broke up with her. God, he couldn't wait to get out of this town. The sooner he got into that college in California, the sooner he could be free from AJ.

Right as his phone dinged again, probably another text from AJ, Seth's attention went to the door when Diane's doctor came in and took a seat at her desk. She was pretty young to be a doctor, maybe late twenties early thirties. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a bun and her glasses were perched at the edge of her nose. "Mrs. Rollins, this is never an easy thing to tell a patient. It seems you have an extremely low white blood cell count… Now usually that could be from anything, but with your symptoms… You've got stage three leukemia."

Silence filled the room as the three people absorbed the information just handed to them. Feeling a huge lump in his throat, Seth obviously had to ask this question because his stepmother was too much of a mess and his father seemed to be in shock. "What are her options?"

"The best option for Diane is a bone marrow transplant but that means finding a match which could take a while. The best to get a match quickest is asking a family member." Doctor Boyd explained.

"She's an only child and her parents are dead. What else is there?" Seth asked, trying to find a way to fix this.

"Well then I guess starting treatment as quick as possible is going to be the best rate of success. But I have to be honest… with what stage she's in, there's no telling on whether it'll be enough to save her. There's no other family members? No uncles or aunts?"

"I don't think so. Diane?"

Lifting her head up, the ill woman wiped the tears from her eyes. "I gave up a daughter nineteen years ago… that's the only family. But I don't want to put this on her."

"If this is going to save your life, Diane, then you have no choice. Do you know where she is?" Seth queried, trying to be as sympathetic as possible. "I will personally go get her myself and fill her in."

"Seth, my dear sweet boy, I love your persistence, but it isn't fair to lay that kind of responsibility on someone who has never met me. When I gave her up, I believed I was doing what was best for her. She went to a loving family… Why take that away from her?" Her English accent assailed everyone's ears.

"With all due respect, Diane, if she's going to hold a grudge against you for giving her up and let you die, she's a shitty person, excuse the language. If you know where she is, you need to let someone know so we can get in contact with her."

After contemplating it, the woman let out a defeated sigh and pulled out a letter from a name that Seth hadn't recognized. "Who's Elena Knight?" Once again, Seth inquired.

"It's my daughter's adoptive mother. It seems like Paige, that's her name, is in California at some university. She hasn't been home since she moved there. It doesn't say much, just that Elena would appreciate it if I didn't contact Paige or herself ever again."

"Okay, I'll do some digging around to see if I can find where this Paige Knight girl is. You're going to be fine, Diane. Dad, I promise you, I will get Paige here to save her life." Hopping up from his seat, Seth rummaged through his pockets to find his cell phone. Dialing a number he really didn't want to use, he swallowed his pride anyways. "Hey, it's Seth, I need a favor."

Paige was surprisingly having a wonderful time at the party, indulging herself with some rum and dancing. When she perused the room, there was no sign of Wade Barrett, which made it even better. The Paige that she used to be had seemingly disappeared for the time being.

"You're really going to do that, Paige? That sounds like a lot of fun but also scary. You definitely have to let me know how it goes." Emma, her good friend from Australia, spoke up, but was so hammered. Her words were completely slurred.

"I'll take lots of pictures. I'm going to sit before I sweat off this makeup. Pardon me." After excusing herself, Paige wasn't all too shocked to find that no one was sitting on the couch, which was fine by her. The thought of sitting next to a bunch of people in such a close proximity wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

"I'm surprise you're here, Paige." The British accent caused her to jerk her head up at none other than her ex boyfriend. With a devious smirk on his face, he pointed the spot beside her. "May I?"

"Go ahead." Grabbing her phone from her purse, Paige scrolled down to the one name in her phone who she knew would come through for her. Wade's here and he's found me. I'm sitting on the couch. Please come and rescue me.

"You look good. How long have you been dodging me now? Four, five months? Look, I've been wanting to talk to you. About how I treated you. I just want to say that I'm sorry."

The inflection in his voice said otherwise or maybe it was the alcohol getting to her. Either way, she didn't know what to think. "You're sorry for what exactly? For cheating on me because I wouldn't sleep with you? Or for trying to make it seem like it was my fault that you cheated?"

"For both, actually. I've been thinking a lot about you. I know summer is approaching but maybe when school comes back next semester we could try again. Just think about it. That's all I'm asking. And if you don't want to go back down that path, I understand. But can we at least be civil or maybe even friends?"

Before she had time to answer, Summer came over and stared down the man. "Get away from my friend, you douche. Paige doesn't want anything to do with you after what you did." For being little, the blonde was definitely a feisty thing. "Go!" She waved him off which he laughed at. When he was out of sight, she took a seat next to her friend and grabbed a hold of her hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah… He apologized and asked me if I wanted to start things back up."

"You told him no, right?"

"I didn't get the chance to. You came to my rescue. Thank you, by the way." Resting her head on her friend's shoulder, Paige scanned the room. Her good mood had fizzled out due to her meeting with Wade. "I think I'm going to go. I really need to study."

Patting her friend's thigh, Summer stood and then helped her buzzed friend to her feet. "Okay, I understand. Thank you for coming though. You did have fun. And… a lot of guys were checking you out. You were a hit."

"I don't know about that." Her bashful side came out. The thought of guys being infatuated with her seemed odd to consider. Summer was always the one to get hit on, but never Paige. After hugging her drunk friend, Paige sauntered off on her own back to the other side of campus, back to her dorm room.

Once she was alone, the young student did exactly as she said and studied until she fell asleep, still dressed up and everything.