Alright, back with another chapter! Yeah, I researched sorority groups and fraternity groups, weird I know, so I can get each detail of UCLA correct as I live in England and I'm British, so yeah. Enjoy the next chapter.

The New Years party which Rusty had went to with his friends had lasted until 2 AM and when Rusty opened the door to the condo at half past, Sharon stood at the other side, unimpressed.

"You have a curfew-"

"Yes, I do and I'm so-"

"I left you over thirty texts, all of which were not replied to-"

"I know, I'm sor-"

"And you had Ricky lie for you. I don't know which one to be more disappointed about.

Rusty sighed, closing the door behind him. "Look, I'm sorry okay? It's just that I ran into Kris and she invited me out to a New Years Party that they do every year. It was our first one and I managed to make new friends."

Sharon's stern glaze didn't waver as she pointed in the direction of his room. "We'll talk about this later in the day. Now, bed."

Rusty nodded, placing his keys in the bowl beside the front door before hastily making his way to his room. He shut the door behind him and took his phone out after it buzzed.

Kris: Did ya make it home unscathed? ;)

He smiled and texted her back, wondering whether to add an emoji or not.

Rusty: Yes, thanks to your lift and nope, got ratted out by Ricky. Now, Sharon's disappointed. Can't wait for our talk about responsibility :P How were your parents?

Kris: I'm on probation lol. Who even does that nowadays? See you in school tomorrow, G'night x

Rusty: Night x

It was natural to add a kiss if the person before kissed first, right? Shrugging, Rusty put his phone on its charger and got dressed for bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell deeply asleep.

It was a natural occurrence over the next few months that Rusty and his friends go to a party and get drunk as well as stay on top of their school work. At the beginning of every month, there had been parties hosted by Greg's fraternity, Delta Tau Delta. The reason why Greg only hung out with Rusty, Sara, Kris and Clara was because he was cousins with Sara.

"Come on, let's just go out and get drunk!" Greg would say. The rest would just look at him sceptically before being peer pressured into going.

Sharon had noticed a change in Rusty's behaviour and Ricky had just explained that he was growing up. But with threat of Phillip Stroh lurking around, Sharon didn't want Rusty to grow up. Not yet, at least, she thought.

Even Rusty noticed the change in himself and had managed to refuse party invitations even for the End of Month parties which were also being hosted. Instead, he opted to go out for dinner with Kris, their friends and Kris's dad since he could actually pay for the huge bills they racked up. He started coming home earlier, especially since it was nearly Emily's due date.

In the current month, May, she was seven months pregnant and she had opted to have her baby in L.A., where her family were. Her boyfriend had agreed since his own family came from L.A. as well.

That meant two pairs of extra eyes trained on Rusty.

It was a Wednesday. It was sunny, not too cold but not too hot either. The group of 5 found themselves sitting under a tree for shade.

"So, what are your aspirations for the future, rich kid?" Sara asked, ignoring his light glare.

Rusty shrugged. "I want to be a journalist but on the other hand, Law seems interesting. Especially since my mom is a cop." he replied.

"Keep it in the family, huh?" Clara smiled, nudging his shoulder.

"Kind of. My mom's ex-husband is a lawyer. A really good one but an annoying one at that. Ricky's freelance. I don't really know what he does but I know it has nothing to do with Law Enforcement. And Emily's a dancer."

Sara nodded, taking his words in as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "Medicine runs in my family. Business in both Kris's and Greg's families and Culinary in Clara's."

"Do you guys feel pressured to follow in their steps?" Rusty asked.

Greg was the first to answer. "I'm the oldest. And only boy. My sister's eleven and she couldn't even sell lemonade from a stall if her life depended on it. So, that means that my father's business is my inheritance."

Sara was next as she cleaned her glasses. "And I already want to go into Medicine but I don't know what as."

"I'm going to take over my parents' bakery and restaurant one day so, I naturally enjoy cooking." Clara smiled.

Rusty nodded and leaned against the tree bark. "Cool." he mumbled. He checked his watch and sighed. "Gotta head home."

"I'll drop you home this time." Kris said, getting up and picking up her bag. "I need to go toilet first, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll wait." Rusty said, making no effort to stand up.

"Be back in ten."

...

"Where did you park exactly?"

Kris rolled her eyes for the tenth time. "In front of that coffee shop on the other side of campus. Parking's gotten really expensive over the past couple of months."

"Oh." Rusty replied, agreeing with her.

It was deserted as they made their way over to Kris's car.

"So, how are you finding UCLA?" Kris asked.

Rusty shrugged. "Alright, I guess. But... I kinda have to leave the party life behind if I want to get in Sharon's good book."

Kris chuckled. "Same. My parents aren't too happy that I'm blowing my allowance on alcohol. And that I'm an underage drinker."

"Kris being rebellious? Nice."

"Rusty disobeying his Law enforcer mother? Nice." she retorted. "Lookie there, we're nearly at-"

She didn't get far as she was knocked down and dazed. She heard a groan beside her and tried to focus her eyes but she was knocked unconscious completely.

Rusty on the other hand tried to push away their attacker but he felt his body slacken as a hand went over his mouth, sending him unconscious too.