If I told you a secret
You won't tell a soul
Will you hold it and
Keep it alive

Cause it's burning a hole
And I can't get to sleep
And I can't live alone
In this life

A sigh unconsciously escaped the red-head as she shut her eyes. Her pale hand curled around curled around her coffee mug, the multiple rings that adorned her fingers clinking against it. Her mind was too clouded to think clearly. She had the worst Writer's Block since well, . . . Ever.

Paige and Marco were on a U.S. "road trip of glam-a", as Paige put it. They offered her a spot in the car, but she declined. The Core deadline, as always. It was the last reigning weeks under Jesse the horrible, and he was grilling the writers to a crisp. He said he was giving her something to work with in case she wasn't able to control The Core as the new editor.

"Right, the deadline. . ." Ellie groaned, her eyes still shut as she nibbled gently on her pen cap.

"Ellie?" A familiar voice woke her from her consuming thoughts.

Eleanor Nash's emerald eyes flashed to her former classmate. Gavin 'Spinner' Mason, still working at the Dot. Even though she heard he was going to a police academy in a year, she still felt sorry for him. Having to survive years maintaining the Dot, not too great.

"Closing up in like. . ." Spinner checked his watch, his jacket on and a ring of keys in his hand, "Now."

Ellie nodded slowly and shoved her notebooks into her messenger bag. She slung the strap onto her shoulder and scurried out of the small café. She didn't bother looking back at Spinner, she just kept walking down the street.

And you stand at the crossroads
Of highroads and low roads
And I've got a feeling
It's right

If it's real what I'm feeling
There's no make believing
The sound of the wings
Of the flight of a dove

Puddles and droplets of water formed from the earlier rain. Cold wind hit her, causing the girl to shiver. Clad in a layered long-sleeve shirt and a simple pair of gently torn skinny jeans, she still felt the icy air seep onto her skin. Ellie kept her eyes plastered to the ground as her mind filled once more with thoughts. She hated being here. Her sparkling green eyes wandered up, taking in the sight of her old school, Degrassi CS.

She hated it here. She had graduated happy, despite the drama, and everything went great. Well, until she received that phone call. After her father was transferred to Afghanistan, he was killed at a road-side bombing. That night she drove to her mother's house and held the woman for the longest time, both of them sobbing their eyes out.

It didn't surprise the girl that her mother had taken up drinking again. Just like old times, her mother wasted 24/7. This time she wasn't there to take care of her mother like she used to. She lost all contact, knowing if she spoke to her mother she would run back to her, babying her mother like she did when she was a teenage. But she had grown up, and she wouldn't waste her adult years like she had previously done so. When she was sixteen, she mustered up the courage to force a change in her mother. Why did her mother get sober to begin with? That's right, , because Ellie showed her the scars on her arm and left to live with --

Ellie shook her head quickly, getting the thought out of her head. She took a deep breath and pulled out her notebook. The Core sent her back to her old school on an assignment. The armed forces were on leave until further notice and were having a ceremony here, at her old high-school. The other staff suggested she worked on it, since her father was a (deceased) member of the forces and she had attended the high-school. They assumed she was the most familiar, so she was obviously the best choice. They didn't know that it was eating her up inside.

If the world isn't turning
Your heart won't return
Anyone, anything, anyhow

How could she work when the constant reminder of her father left her heart in pain? The girl sighed and looked at her hands resting in her lap. Her eyes wandered to her wrist. She pulled up her sleeve, gazing at the faint white scars scribbled across her arm. The last time she cut . . . SNAP! Ellie snapped a hair-tie against her wrist. She didn't want to think about that either. Lately Ellie has opted for cigarettes for stress-relieving duties over the rubber band snapping. But, she left her pack at home. The red-head continued snapping the band until a voice caused her to raise her head.

"Ellie?"

Ellie looked over to see a boy--no, man--leaning against a red parked car. He wore and army leisure uniform, she recognized, which was adorned by pins and buttons of sorts. Though the uniform was well structured, she could tell he was ripped, as she could see his mighty biceps were strangled in his uniform coat. He removed the cap he wore and gently nestled it between his side and arm. His face was tidy and well-kept and beneath his bushy eyebrows, his deep blue eyes sparkled. His slightly shaggy sandy blond hair was slicked back. A small smile tugged on the corner of his perfect pink lips.

"Sh--. . . Sean?"

So take me, don't leave me
Take me, don't leave me
Baby, love will come through
It's just waiting for you

A/N: Sooo. This is my first fic! Tiny little cliffhanger. I'm a huge Sellie fan, so expect to see that pairing a whole lot! I apologize for the short-ness. But don't worry, it'll pick up. Reviews will be loved! Stay tuned for Chapter Two ~