Yes I am alive. Yes I updated this story. Yes I'm back on wattpad.

If you want to know why I stopped updating all you have to know is I worked in retail during the holidays. That's enough explanation I think. And I still work at the same job but my hours got cut down to 8 from 35... yay.

Anyways if you need a refresher on this story this is it: Aurora ran away from her family after discovering her parents got a divorce. Keenan got suspended from the football team after beating up the boys that tormented his new friend Conrad. Keenan went to the beach, called his dad, and saw Aurora there. India ran away to NYC after figuring out her dad lied to her about her mom hating her. Jesse has a record deal in the works, the girl has a crush on him, India got mad at him. And I think that's it.

Enjoy!

Finally, after waiting in line for almost an hour, India stepped up to the table. A pretty blonde girl sat behind the table, giving India a gracious smile.

"Hello, how are you today," the girl asked.

India forced a smile, running her hands over the table in front of her, covered in papers. "Pretty good," she lied.

She awoke in the morning, her eyes red and puffy from crying all night because once again, Jesse didn't tell her he loved her. Still though, India decided to make him a smoothie to help his hangover that she was sure he would wake up with. When he yelled at her though, she couldn't handle it anymore. She left the apartment in a rage, slamming the door behind her. She had to get out of there, away from him.

"What's your name," asked the girl, who appeared to be a couple years older than she.

"India Quail."

The girl's eyes rose in surprise. "I love your name! India? That's so pretty! It fits you well too!"

India blushed, smiling softly. "Thanks. My Mom named me."

"My Mom named me too," the girl responded, a soft smile on her lips. "My dad wanted to call me Meredith, but my mom over ruled him with Sadie."

India laughed, feeling a little better thanks to this girl. "I like your name too. It's pretty."

Sadie giggled, running her fingers through the stacks of papers to find India's schedule. "It's better than Meredith, that's for sure. Here we go!" She pulled out a stapled piece of paper, looking over it for a second. "India Quail . . . incoming freshman . . . Oh! We have a class together!"

"Really," India asked a little excited. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to make any new friends so to know someone in one of her classes was a relief to her.

"Yeah, British Literature on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays!" Sadie handed the papers over to India with a grin. "I'll see you there! I'll save you a seat too!"

India grinned back, feeling her day brighten. "Cool, thank you so much. I'm excited!"

The girls waved goodbye to each other, before India parted ways with her. Knowing someone in one of her classes was a weight off her shoulders. Now, the big daunting first day of class didn't seem too bad.

India's phone buzzed in her back pocket once again. She looked down at it, to no surprise it was Jesse calling her. She wanted to ignore him, she was still upset with him, but she didn't want to drag this out longer. She took a deep breath in and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi Doll," he said in a gentle voice. "Have you gotten your schedule yet?"

"Yeah, I just did." She walked outside of the main building, into a giant court yard. Hundreds of people were gathered around. Some were taking tours, some were friends catching up, and others were tourists taking pictures of the historical college.

She had imagined this moment for a very long time, but it didn't feel as good as she thought it would. Maybe because she was completely alone.

"Good," Jesse said awkwardly. India could tell that he was trying to walk on eggshells around her. "Maybe I can meet you half way between Brooklyn? We can grab lunch or something."

She spotted an empty space on bench not too far away. "I would like that. Actually do you want to come over to the college now? I want to go check out my dorm and you can come with."

"Yeah," he said excitedly. "I'm leaving now." She could hear a door slam in the background, making her smile softly to herself.

"Alright, well I'll see you soon. Call me when you get here because my phone is about to die."

"Okay baby. Bye!"

She hung up the phone, noticing she lost three percent of her battery while talking to him. She tucked her phone in her bag, then looked at her schedule. She went over the names of professors, noticing two that she had heard of when she researched the school. She was glad that she had Wednesdays and Fridays off. It would give her time to focus on studying, and maybe she could get a job. She's never had a real job before, but she's never really wanted one until now.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook and a pen. She flipped it open to a blank page and began to write down all possible jobs she would want. The page was almost full of ideas when a hand shot out and landed on her shoulder.

India squealed and dropped her notebook and pen to the ground.

"I didn't mean to scare you America."

India swung her head around to see the familiar face of Kasper standing behind the bench. He had a lopsided grin on like always and large aviator sunglasses that reflected India's face.

"Kasper," she asked shocked. "I can't believe you found me!"

He jumped over the bench, landing on the spot next to her. "Well you see, I was walking out of the building after getting my schedule and saw this pretty blonde girl sitting on a bench. I somehow worked up the courage to go up to her, but then I saw you and got distracted."

India laughed and nudged his stomach. Kasper pretended to look around, and then said. "And she's gone. Damn you India."

"Let me see your schedule! I wonder if we have any classes together!"

Kasper pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his jeans pocket. "If we did I'm sure your boyfriend would freak out. Unless you guys broke up," he said, hesitating in giving her his schedule.

She shook her head, and then snatched the paper from his hand. "We're still together."

"But you know he's back in Georgia so he doesn't have to know," he said with a grin. India laughed because she knew he was only messing around.

"He actually moved to Brooklyn two weeks ago."

Kasper's amused face dropped into that of disappointment. "He's going to kill me isn't he?"

India rolled her eyes, before taking notice of his schedule. "I'm allowed to have friends. And let's see . . . oh we have British Literature together! That's funny."

"How come?"

"Well because I just met a girl who has that class too. It's a small world."

"Indeed it is," he said, jumping to his feet. "Have you checked out your dorm yet?"

"No, I was gonna wait for Jesse to come with me."

Kasper pulled his phone out to look at the time. "But it closes in twenty minutes. Do you think he'll get here in time?"

"Wait it closes," India asked shocked.

"Yeah, well tours are closing. If you're sleeping there then it opens again in two hours. Did you get your student ID?"

"Yeah, I put in here." India looked through her purse for the plastic card. She pulled it out, and Kasper grabbed it immediately.

"You don't look very happy in this photo."

"That's because I wasn't," she grumbled. She reached for her phone to call Jesse to tell him to hurry up. When it wouldn't turn on she sighed in distress. "Of course it's dead."

"Do you need to use mine?"

India took his offered phone and dialed Jesse's number. Jesse didn't answer so India instead left a voicemail, telling him that she was looking at the dorms and would meet him at the Starbucks across the street in thirty minutes.

"We should start walking so we don't get kicked out." India agreed with Kasper and followed him through the crowd of people.

"If he calls back will you tell me?"

"Yeah of course," Kasper said, typing away on his phone. "Let me just change his name to Guy Who Wants to Kill Me."

...

Aurora set down on the beach. The sand was soft against her bare legs, the cold water brushed against her feet. She rested herself on her elbows and focused on the sight before her.

This felt right. The ocean, the setting sun, the sand beneath her. She wanted to stay here forever, away from her family, away from Max, away from reality.

She took a deep breath in, soaking up the ocean breeze. She closed her eyes and for a moment forgot everything. She was simply in California, resting on the beach. That's all she needed to know. For the first time in months a smile graced her lips.

"Hey girlie," said a deep voice dangerously close. Aurora's eyes snapped open. The scrubby dirty face of an old man greeted her. She scrambled back in fear. "Do you got any money?"

Her eyes briefly rested on her bag beside him. She shook her head, wanting to put more distance between them, but she didn't want to leave her bag alone near him. It had all her money and her passport in it. She would be screwed if she lost those.

"Come on," he slurred, clearly drunk. "Just a couple dollars. I'm hungry."

Aurora was positive that he would not spend that money on food. She shook her head once again, trying to remain calm.

His eyes narrowed as he huffed out in frustration. "You're a greedy bitch." Within seconds he was up and gone, running down the shoreline. It took Aurora a couple seconds to realize that he took her bag with him.

"Hey wait," she yelled, jumping to her feet. "Give me back my bag!" She ran after him, but even in his drunken state he was more skilled at running in sand. Aurora's legs felt wobbly beneath her as her feet sank into the sand with every step. "Stop," she yelled once again, desperate to get back her bag. But it was no use.

She slowed down, not able to go any farther. She sank to the ground, tears flowing down her cheeks. She was screwed. How was she supposed to get home? Even her phone was in that bag!

She pounded her fists into the sand in frustration. She just wanted to get away from the bad parts in her life, but of course they followed her to California.

Minutes passed as she cried before a shadow laid over her. She looked up slightly to see her bag dangling in front of her.

She squealed and snatched it, holding it to her chest in joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She looked up to see her hero, a cute boy with curly brown hair and dazzling eyes.

Instantly Aurora was in a trance. He was just so good looking! A real authentic surfer boy! She never thought she would meet one in Canada.

The boy reached up to rub the back of his head, sending his shirt to raise up. She got a glimpse of his toned lower abdomen, making her swoon. "It's no problem," he said softly, kind of awkwardly.

She thought it made him cuter.

She smiled and stood up, pulling him into a hug. He stood frozen in her arms. "You have no idea how much you have helped me. I owe you big time!"

She pulled away, noticing his wide eyes and tensed figure. She stepped back quickly, putting distance between them. "Oh! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that. I forgot about personal space there for a second." She laughed nervously, brushing her hair in front of her face to hide her blushing cheeks from him.

"You could buy me dinner or something," he finally answered.

She gave him a soft smile, before leaning down to pick up her bag again. "I don't think that makes us even, but it's a start. You'll have to pick the place though because I'm not from around here."

"There's a good fish taco place by the board walk. Have you ever had one?"

"A fish taco," she laughed. "No, never. I'm from Canada so they're not really popular up there."

"They're good trust me." They began to walk along the shore as the sun made its last appearance for the day.

"I guess I'll have to. What's your name by the way?"

The boy nearly tripped over his feet, before catching himself at the last moment. Aurora looked at him oddly while he regained composure. "Um well my name is . . . Keenan."

"Keenan," she whispered to herself. "That's a cool name. I've never heard it before!"