Disclaimer: I should've done this earlier but I forgot. And yeah, 'sweep' doesn't belong to me, everything is Cate Tiernans'. Except for Lily Epson, she's mine. And the plot.

Oh, my God, I hate myself for not updating faster; it's been like, months, right? And I have to explain a few things, such as how Cal and Hunter came to live under the same roof. I'm so sorry for not explaining things sooner. Ok, so everything happened as Hunter said it did, with Hunter's parents disappearing and going into hiding. Not only did his parents go into hiding but so did his Uncle and Aunt that took care of him. Sorry, I've forgotten their names. Sky was taken care of by someone else. So Selene volunteered to look after Hunter, Linden (he's still alive here) and Alwyn. Yes, Selene's evil but Hunter and his siblings aren't; they aren't aware of the evil side of 'Aunt Selene'. But whether or not Cal is evil or not, you'll have to read to find out. So I hope you get it, on with the chapter.

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"…inspiration for this was unknown until recently. Art scholars managed to…" The tour guide droned on as many of the curious tourists stood on their tippee toes to get glance at the almost ancient painting. I, however, was not among them.

"You could at least look like you're trying to catch a glimpse of it," Mary K said as she joined me where I was standing, my arms crossed. "Since we got here, you don't even enjoy the places we go to. It's like you hate it here or something."

My hard face softened as I realised where she was getting at. "I'm sorry, Mary K. I'm just in a bad mood; you don't have to worry about me,"

She looked up and smiled, "You sure?"

I nodded, "I'm fine."

But for now, I needed a time-out. I excused myself from the rest of the group and headed for the courtyard situated at the very back of the dilapidated building. I was in the prehistoric courtyard of The National Gallery of London. Now, don't get me wrong the artwork was fascinating and everything but it just didn't cut it for me. I was bored out of my skull. To be honest, impressions and paintings from the renaissance didn't interest me in the least. No offence or anything. I just wasn't the artsy kind of girl.

I came to a narrow pathway leading out into a forest of some kind. The path was made of stone and was nearly completely covered with vines, sprouting from the sides. I walked along this path for a while before I came to a little clearing, it was as big as a football field and it was just as empty. Just beyond it was a white-washed four storey building with the works. A fifty-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool sat quietly in a little corner and four massive tennis courts sat in another, balls scattered everywhere. 'New London High School' was plastered onto the front building, in bold, cursive writing. I felt the sense of authority, influence and pride emitting from the place already.

Whoa, I thought, stunned. Why didn't schools like that exist in Widows Vale, America? If they did, I don't think I'd complain about going to school everyday.

I was about to walk right up to the school to see if I could enrol when a voice behind me shouted, "What do you think you're doing here!"

I turned sharply and came face to face with a girl, no more then 17 years. She wore a stern look and regarded me with a mixed expression. She was about 1.7 metres in height and a brunette, her hair coming down in straight layers, falling onto her shoulders. She had a pretty face that I'm sure had one many hearts. She wore a black and white school shirt and skirt with the logo, 'NLHS' displayed prominently.

"Uhh..." I trailed off.

She stared at me expectantly. "Well? You know this is private land, don't you? That means no non-students are allowed on the grounds, do you understand?"

"Ye-yeah," I stumbled, "I didn't know that this was a school. You see, I just came from the gallery over-" I pointed in the direction I had just come "-there."

She considered this for a few seconds before her face broke into a smile, revealing her flawless row of teeth. I swear, they couldn't have gotten any whiter.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said with such a sweet tone that it sickened me. Oh, I was a sucker for alliteration.

She marched right up to me and took my hand, shaking it. Up and down, up and down. She was starting to irritate me.

"I'm sorry!" she said again, "So many people get lost and turn up here, at the school, when they're supposed to be in that art gallery. That pathway is such a nuisance sometimes. I always find myself having to direct people back to the gallery."

I nodded, trying to smile myself. She held herself confidently and spoke in an almost contempt manner, as if she was better than me. I snorted inwardly.

"Well, I'm Lily Epson, who are you?"

Was it just my imagination or had a gust of wind just picked up so suddenly? The wind managed to travel down my back and spread to the rest of my body, sending chills everywhere.

"Morgan Rowlands."

"Well, Morgan, by the sound of your accent-" I had an accent now? Pfft, maybe she did, but I didn't. "-I'm guessing you don't live here in England?"

Bingo! You get a cookie, I thought. "Yeah, I'm from Widows Vale, America."

"America! That's amazing," she gushed with that brilliant English accent. "Well, it's been great to meet you but don't you think you should be heading back now?" she said pointing the way back, along the overgrown path. "But, if you ever need any help, you can reach me at the gallery. I work part time there."

I didn't ever intend of seeing her again but out of politeness, I nodded. To me, she seemed like all rule and regulations. "Great," I said, "See ya."

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"That's great!" came Bree's voice on the other end of the line.

I was talking to Bree, using the hotel phone and had just told her about the art galleries we had finished visiting. She seemed genuinely intrigued, which seemed like enough reason for me to be surprised.

"So, what are you up to next?" she asked.

I fiddled with my bed spread. A loose stitch had come out and I was making it worse by playing with it. "Um, I don't know. My parents decide that." I answered.

"Oh, ok…" she seemed hesitant and I was positive I was about to go through another one of 'Bree's episodes'. Ones where she'd chat nervously about guys she was going out with and cry over them. I don't mean to sound rude or anything but it was pathetic, and she'd always end up dumping them anyway.

"Listen, Bree? I got to go." I said.

If my life was a TV series drama then Bree was the typical rich daddy's girl who got, basically, everything. But, you know, it's not like she took it all for granted. Nope, she was well aware of her power and used it to her advantage. With the help of me, of course. I was the brains, she the beauty. I didn't mind, well, not really, it's just that she got little overbearing at times. Still, though, I coped.

She paused for a second before saying, "Oh ok, then, bye Morgan. Call me soon."

No sooner had I gotten off the phone with Bree, my cell rang. Yes, I had cell phone! This was the break through of the century! For me, at least. I mean, while everyone in school, including Bree, had one of these 'cool' and 'hip' ringing devices, I was left with nothing but a pager. I know sad, right? I mean I still had a pager! But since I had entered senior year, my parents thought I was old enough to get a cell phone for myself. About time.

"Hey Robbie!" Robbie was another one of my best friends. He was a guy, of course, but always seemed to understand what was running through my mind.

"Hey Morgan," he answered, somewhat tiredly.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just thought I'd call to see how you're doing," he replied, "To make sure you didn't, like, die on the plane trip or anything."

"Well, that's thoughtful of you. What's been happening in Widows Vale since I've been gone?"

He sighed, seeming exhausted. "Let's see: some attention seeker thought it would be funny to leave the bathroom taps on and consequently flooding the school but unfortunately, for him, it didn't stop the lessons from starting again."

"Too bad."

He continued, "And Sharon and Ethan have decided to hook up, you know about them, right?"

I chuckled. Sharon was a girly type of girl. She usually overdid things and she was always the one to go to for fashion advice. Where as, Ethan was the resident junkie. He smoked pot, cigarettes and anything else that you could light and suck on. He also jigged school and according to the Widows Vale high rumour mills, he managed to, despite his busy schedule, hook up with most of the girls going to Widows Vale High. Cupid couldn't have chosen more opposite people to get together. It was more than bizarre.

"Wow, that's somewhat scary. But what's up with Bree?" I said, "She called earlier, sounding really edgy, is it another guy?"

This time, rather than the tentative answers I seemed to be getting before, Robbie stopped talking altogether, although I did hear some breathing.

"Want me to count how many breaths you have in a minute? I'm sure it's a fun game."

He ignored me. "Well, Bree? It's a long story...don't think you'd like to hear about it."

"On the contrary, I'm very much interested,"

"Okay, well…it all started when you left Widows Vale for your oh-so-fun vacation with your family and we were left here, lonely and forgotten,"

"Oh, come on, I did not forget you!" I replied, "I totally remembered to call, see what we're doing now?"

"Actually, I'm not the one that called you,"

"Oh…uh, I was gonna…"

"Yeah, well getting on with the story, we kind of got together for a Buffy marathon, I didn't want to, trust me, but Bree forced me, and we ended up getting close," He took a deep breath, "really close."

At first, my face scrunched up into a puzzled look. "But haven't you always been close?"

He sighed, "Oh, Morgan, you know what I mean. We became much, much closer."

Something snapped in my brain, and it all seemed to make sense. Bree's edginess and Robbie's anxiousness. Oh, my God, I thought. It made a hell of lot more sense but it was just so…wrong.

"No. Way."

"Yeah," Robbie said, "Way."

"But…but…you're best friends, aren't you?"

"Right, but now, it also seems almost like we're going out."

Hearing the words straight from him sent me into a fit of giggling. I wasn't the giggly type, but it just seemed so ironic. And funny, I might add.

"So, does this mean you and Bree are an, what's the word? Item?" I teased.

"Morgan, you and I know that labels on such things are just so belittling." He shot back, jokingly.

I stopped laughing and contemplated this for a while. My two best friends were going out. Yes, it was awkward, but so what? They were happy. Well, it thought so anyway.

"How's Bree taking this?"

"She's taking it," was all he said.

"Have you passed the awkward silences stage?"

He snorted, "Believe me, we've just started."

I was surprised, Bree was always rushing things. "Huh, that's strange,"

"Tell me about it. I have a feeling this relationship, if you will, is going to drive straight into the rocks."

"Relax," I said, "You're going into it way too much. Just talk to her. She just needs time, trust me."

After that our conversation took a dive. There wasn't much left to talk about and we didn't have much energy left anyway.

Robbie and I exchanged our good-byes and I trotted out into the main room of the suite. That was when I noticed that it was as silent as a graveyard. I realised that my family were gone and had left a note.

Honey, gone out to do a little more shopping. Meet us for dinner at the French restaurant by Victoria Road by six. See you soon, Mom.

To tell you the truth, I was glad they were out. Almost happy for them, except my dad, of course, he despised shopping as much as I do. Now, I was able to catch up on my much needed rest. Going on vacation wasn't easy, you know.

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I was lost, yet again. I managed to leave the hotel room early, I even caught the right train and came out of the right subway, yet, I found myself lost between streets and street of people. It was like Myer had suddenly decided it was Christmas in July, and it was the After Christmas sale. Fifty-percent off everyone! Grab anything while you can!

Um, anyway, I stopped where I was which was in front of a cheesecake store. Yes, a cheesecake store, no where near the French restaurant I was supposed to be.

So I decided to ask someone for directions. But was anyone kind enough to stop for me? No, they were too conversed in their own business to care about a seventeen year old tourist from America. I was pissed; everyone I tried to stop just gave me one of those pitiful glances and walked away. And I know I was being annoying but one word from them and I'd be on my way.

My feet were exhausted so I'd thought I'd sit down for a while and call my parents for directions. After a few minutes I stood up and tugged on my bag. But it was stuck on the bench. I gave is one last tug and THWACK! It had hit the person standing next to me. My face was starting to burn up, with humiliation but I had to apologise. I twisted to the guy standing next to me and put my hand on his arm, where I had hit him. Then I got the shock of my life.

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I just wanted to tie Robbie and Bree into the story somehow but seeing as they're all the way in Widows Vale, this was all I could come up with. Wow, this chapter was long. Review, please!