The next few days would feel like short hours to Sierra. As she made an effort every second to stop and appreciate all the little things she loved about the lavish house, the thought of the inevitable still lurked in the air. It calmed her knowing that just on the other side of the hallway was someone that loved her and continued to stay by her side. As she spent the next few days packing her bags, she knew it wasn't the end.

"Are you ready to go?"

The sound of a horn in the driveway was the alarm. Was her time really up? The two of them packed their luggage and said their goodbyes as they made their way out of the neighborhood, they once called home. Cody looked back at his childhood home until it was out of sight. He then looked over at Sierra as she tugged on the seatbelt quietly and shuffled her feet. Her feelings and fears started to resonate with him as he was aware of the mental weight this has had on her. A simple month ago he wouldn't have known how deep emotions like this can be. A month ago, he wouldn't have known he'd care.

"Sierra…" He paused as she looked over at him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm not the best but… it'd be a lot worse if you weren't here."

It warmed his heart to know that he made the best decision. It may have disrupted his whole world, leaving his home behind, but he felt truly at home when he was with her. This was a new adventure for the both of them. They spent the majority of the car ride making pleasant small-talk with each other and Sierra's mother. He found it interesting as this would be his first time interacting with her and how it wasn't supposed to be like this. The air in the backseat was still heavy with Sierra's annoyance of the entire situation.

Time slowed as the car pulled into a dirt driveway of a ragged house surrounded by tall trees. She felt her body lock as the fear of it all started to set in. This unfamiliar place became the beacon of all the things she once feared. Her emotion drained from her as she lifted herself out of the car and stood numb in the driveway. She stared at the cottage drearily as he unpacked their bags out of the trunk.

He walked up the driveway and stood next to her, "It's okay…" She stood deafened as the sound of the car driving off had her attention. The sound of being stranded. Her arms started to shake as she pulled him into her chest. It startled him as it always had but felt content in her arms. He stood with her and let nothing happen for a moment. It wasn't about him anymore… it was never about him. After she let go of him, she walked up to the front door as Cody peaked through a small rounded window of the garage. The door mocked her as she lifted her fist up to knock.

"No one is here," Cody called out as he made his way over to the door, "I didn't see a car or anything." She sighed in relief and timidly opened the door. The house seemed simple yet cozy with a large fireplace surrounded by chairs and a fur rug. The house lacked an upstairs and had a narrow hallway adjacent to the living room. She felt claustrophobic as she stepped down the crooked hallway. The sight of a small yellow post it not loosely attached to the handle of a door caught her attention and she waved him over quickly.

"I guess he was expecting us today…" He pondered as he tore off the note with her name loosely scribbled on it. As she opened the door, she was surprised by the tidiness of the room. A patch made quilt draped over the iron-framed bed and feathered curtains covered the windows that looked out behind the house.

He set their bags down by the edge of the bed and looked back at her, "Well, what side of the bed do you want?" She chuckled as she laid down on the bed and he followed. She watched the tulle curtains blow softly in the breeze as they laid in the bed together of the unfamiliar house. It almost felt like a fantasy. It was everything she wanted, everything she let go and everything she ended up getting. She wrapped her arms around him and they shared a kiss in the sun-lit room.

"When are you going to tell me you love me?"

She chuckled, "When I'm ready." When she looked at him, she blanked as to where she was and why she was there. None of that mattered when she was able to get lost in him. She laid with him in an oasis of their own, just the two of them. But her paradise collapsed as the sound of a car pulling into the shabby garage alarmed them both.

"Uhh…" Sierra hesitated, "I should probably get going." She quickly walked out of the room leaving him behind. He stared at the closed door for a moment, wondering if she needed him to follow. At the end of the day, it wasn't his battle. He could love and support all he wanted but this was something that never involved him. He thought he might as well relax while he sat in this strange room and looked over the bed at his bag on the floor. That's when he saw it…

Cody couldn't help himself. The mere reflection of the laptop poking out of Sierra's bag blinded him as he stared over the bed at it. He carefully lifted the computer onto the bed and felt ashamed as he opened it. The computer was left unlocked as he saw the spam of tabs and bookmarks placed on her web browser. He never liked to talk to her about her blogs and forums. While the conversation of it made her uncomfortable, he couldn't help but feel curious. How would she find all this information? Where did she know to look? He clicked on the first tab and saw a private chat between her and Izzy.

"Oh right…" He thought, "Izzy was giving her leaks." It was strange how he forgot that while Sierra was spreading all this information, it was Izzy who was providing her with it. His heart sank a little thinking back to the others, as well as himself, always judging her while another one of their friends was equally to blame. As he looked at the messages further, he noticed that Sierra had sent her a message just a week ago.

"Thanks for all the help! I don't need you to send me anything anymore."

The next tab that caught his eye had his face as the icon. He shielded his eyes while clicking down on the tab. It was far too strange for him to go back and remember her as the fan she was… and it pained him to wonder if she still behaved like that towards him online. He slowly lifted his hand away from his face and… nothing. A 404-error glared back at him as he stared into the bright screen. Did she delete them for him? Or did she decide to move on for herself? He clicked away onto another account and saw another web page open about himself. It seemed to be set up by a separate server and had moveable boxes with info cards and community polls. Information like his name, birthday and hometown were all available on the site. Being considered famous still felt weird to him; that people cared so much about knowing this information. He scrolled down and noticed a comment section underneath, though he didn't see any from Sierra. There were hundreds of other comments left by hundreds of other fans.

"...I wonder."

He paused for a moment as he faintly heard the sound of the girl he loved talking from the other end of the house. She was always on his mind. He typed her name into the search bar on the same website and found her easily. Surly enough, information like her full name and birthday were plastered on the screen. He beamed as he realized her birthday wasn't too long from then. So, he wouldn't forget, he grabbed his phone and promptly marked it down in his calendar. Though... his mood would fade as he scrolled down to look at the comments. He struggled to find a positive comment about the girl he'd fallen in love with. It almost broke his heart reading what others had to say. He signed in his full name and email to leave a positive comment of his own.

He sighed as he closed the computer before putting it back where he found it. It felt weird going through Sierra's private life, something she tried to keep away from him. He proceeded to empty the clothes out of both bags and place them in the wooden dresser at the foot of the bed. He thought about her and how she probably felt a year ago looking through all those forums and message boards. The kind of empty happiness she'd receive from looking into the lives from others and interacting with other fans. It was a kind of happiness he never wanted for her… for them. For he had seen her truly happy. He sat on the hardwood of the bedroom floor as she quietly opened the door and stared down at him.

"Oh…" She sighed, "Thank you for doing that."

"No problem." He was tempted to ask about her father and what he said to her when she stepped out of the room. As curious as he could have been about the situation, he knew that what really mattered was making sure she was safe and happy. He started to stand up when he noticed a small paper booklet sticking out of his bag.

"Oh, right there was another thing." He smiled as he buried his hand in his bag and pulled out a small picture book, "I remembered in your room back home you had these little pictures around the walls, I thought we could tape up some pictures here too." He handed her the book and she lifted the cover up cautiously. She was surprised to see every photo they'd taken from the past month nicely printed on card stock. Every little moment she was able to capture. They were the best moments of her life. She closed her eyes and held the little book up to her chest.

"It's a nice idea, but I think I just want to keep them in this book if that's okay."

"Book's yours." Her heart was full as she kissed him on the forehead. He was her confidant. And she knew nothing would be possible without him…

The light of the moon glistened through the curtains as she sat up in the bed, slowly flipping through the little picture book, staring at the pages for hours. She looked over at him, curled up in the bed and deep into sleep. She never felt like she never deserved him and was indebted to him for his behavior. Every little thing he did spoke for lifetimes as she's never felt this love before. It made her want to open her heart for others and love more. It made her feel like she could love again. She closed the book and reached over for her computer.

The blogs, the chats rooms, and the forums. They became a temptation. She didn't have a care for the other contestants but being able to post about them felt like a normalcy. A routine born from an escape. As the screen booted up, she noticed the open tabs were messed with. More particularly a tab which once was a fan site for him, was now on a page about her. The idea that a fan site about her even existed was baffling as she was normally the one on the other end of the screen; but this would be the first time she'd see herself on both ends. She scrolled down and noticed the hurtful comments and while it was something she feared to acknowledge, she felt numb seeing them for the first time. It was only then when she noticed a beaming little comment that warmed her heart as she knew, it was him. She felt like she didn't deserve him, but the joy he got from loving her was everything she ever wanted for him.

"I'm her number one fan."