My alarm clock went off loudly in my ear. I sighed before lazily lifting my arm and shutting it off. One more week of this, of waking up at five a.m., and then I could go home, where I could be comfortable, sleep in some, and enjoy my old hobbies of reading by the fireplace, taking walks through the woods, and listening to music in my room uninterrupted by the worries of homework.

I jumped out of bed, and hurried to get dressed. I pulled a pair of blue jeans from the basket of clean clothes sitting in the chair in the corner of my room. I had to admit to being too lazy to put them away most times. Generally, if I had a day off, I'd fold them, but most of the time, I was just glad to be able to wash them. I hopped into them and quickly rubbed on deodorant and perfume before I pulled a decent, casual blouse over my head. Quickly, I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it into a lazy bun before brushing my teeth.

I grabbed my books, making sure my papers were nice and neatly tucked into the safety of the pages, and pushed them into my backpack. I would be meeting Crys at the little coffee shop across campus in twenty minutes, and I needed to get a move on, considering my dorm was the farthest from the main campus. I finished up by making sure I had pens and pencils, extra paper and my handmade flash cards to study, then locked the door and placed the key safely in my purse.

I power walked across the concrete of the breezeway, soaking up the crisp, fresh, cool early morning air. It smelled like grass, dirt, and clean water, tinged slightly with coffee from the shop. I could see Crys's backpack sitting in the window of our favorite spot already. She was early this morning. Usually, I would get to sit down and read some before she showed up, hair half brushed and her clothes disheveled from running.

Once I stepped inside, I smiled at her. She was sitting down, soaking up the warmth from the cup in her hand. She'd gotten her usual favorite, a caramel macchiato, and I watched as she took the first sip. In a dramatic show of appreciation, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she moaned. "I swear," She said, "coffee pleases me more than any man will, ever."

I laughed, then sat down, pulling out my cards. "Could I have my usual, please Marcel?" I asked from the table. We were always the first to show up at the shop, and Marcel knew us well. I heard him chuckle before the machine began to whir. Almost to the exact second, I stood and walked to the counter as it finished, and placed the exact amount on the surface. "Busy day today, Ria?" "Always, thanks Marcel!"

I sat back down across from Crys and began going through the terms. Crys's hand shot out and grabbed my forearm about ten minutes later, which startled me to spilling my coffee on my fingers.

"Ouch!" "Look!" She said, ignoring my burning fingers and pushing her phone into my face. "Crys, I don't-" "Read it!" She exclaimed. I sighed, then held the phone at a distance I could read.

And to many people's surprise, the young actor will be attending a co-signing with best friend and popular singer, Kingston Vance. Mr. Hale hasn't stated the exact place and time of his attendance, but it shall be known shortly. Fans stay tuned!

It took me a moment to understand what she wanted me to see before I realized. I felt my heart begin thudding in my chest. "That's cool and all, Crys, but I really need to study, this is a big test coming up." "Oh, come on Ria, you can't possibly tell me you aren't the least bit interested in seeing where he'll go!" "Crys…" "Ria, he's your childhood celebrity crush, of course you're interested."

I felt my cheeks redden. "He might be near our hometown, Ri, we could get a chance for you to meet him!" "Like he'd ever come to a small town like Lichen Bay. Plus, that will probably be during a time I'm sharing with my parents or when we're in school." "Ria, seriously? You would throw away this chance for school? You might never get another chance."

"I need to get to class, I'll see you later Crys." "Ria," she groaned. I hurried out the door, rushing to the class that still didn't start for fifteen minutes. Sitting in an empty classroom was better than sitting there under Crys's persuading eye and having her talk me into going to a huge signing, where hundreds of people, including Derek Hale and Kingston Vance, would be, all ready for me to make a fool of myself in front of. There would be cameras, flashing lights, and jittery fans, crying, screaming, yelling, jumping up and down, and I wasn't going to put myself into the middle of it for the sake of maybe getting an autograph. It wasn't worth the humiliation that would last a lifetime.

I sat down at the end of a row on the first bench in the classroom. My professor would be in shortly, as he always came in early to straighten up before the others got here. Once more, I pulled out my cards, but I was too distracted to focus on them too much.

Crys knew how I felt. I'd had a celebrity crush on Derek Hale since I was eight years old. It was okay, because there was no chance in hell I would ever meet him. Soon, he'd have another girlfriend, and one day he'd be a husband to someone else who was famous and rich and I'd move on with my normal life. That's how it all went. Meeting him wasn't something that ever crossed my mind.

And in the long run, meeting him would mean nothing. I'd be just another excited fangirl he had to endure for a maximum of sixty seconds until he pushed me aside kindly to brace himself for the next one. He'd be happy to have met me, he'd thank me, and, assuming I didn't make an ass of myself, he'd bid me a polite goodnight. That's how it was supposed to go, and I did not want to risk him knowing me only because I was the girl on the recap film making a cringy fool of herself.

There was no way Crys was dragging me there. She didn't even like Kingston Vance, and she had no particular liking for Derek either, she just knew that I did. I'd remind of her that later if she brought it up again, and I knew she would.

I startled slightly at a sudden clearing of a man's throat, and looked up to find my professor staring at me with a humored smile. "You said something to me, didn't you?" I asked, unable to keep a sheepish grin off my face.

"I did, indeed!" He chuckled, then stood and came over to my desk, giving my hand a light squeeze. "I said 'Good morning, Ms. North.' You seem lost in thought, dear, is everything alright?"

This was why I loved Professor Tomlinson. He always kept an eye out for us, and if we didn't want to share, he understood, he just simply wanted to make sure that he could do something for us if we needed him. He constantly treated us as if we were his own children. Truth was, we were the closest he'd have as far as we knew. Professor Tom, as we adoringly called him, had recently divorced his wife. He had always wanted a child, but after five years, and she still wasn't willing for the simple fact of 'she didn't have time', it put a huge wedge between them, and they ended up splitting. I felt terrible for him.

"Nothing bad, Prof, just a lot to think about. Whether or not I'll graduate in May, tests and papers, that sort of jazz." "Is that all? Because, really, you have nothing to worry about if that's it. You're one of the finest students to ever come through my doors. I'll be surprised if you don't make the upcoming graduation." I smiled. "Thank you. Really and truly, I'm just scared that somehow, my best friend will end up making me go to this signing an actor that I like is having. I always end up making myself look really stupid in those situations."

He laughed lightly before saying, "Yes, Crysanthe almost always has a trick up her sleeve. Nothing to worry about dear, whether you go end up going or not, you'll pick the right path. Just don't do what many do and choose not to do something because you're too scared. You will always wonder if you should have or should not have done something. It's good to come out of your comfort zone. You're a bright young woman. You can accomplish anything you set your mind too, okay?"

I was touched. He sounded just like my father talking like that. I nodded, "I'll think about it, Professor, thank you."

When the other people began filing into the classroom, Professor Tom left my desk and began writing the date on the chalkboard. I let my thoughts consume me once more.

There was a big upcoming decision to be made.

**Okay guys! I hope you're liking the story so far! Thanks for the reads, please leave a review! Have a good day!

Crysanthe (Chris-an-th)**