I'm finally back! School was a bore, but I managed to get out good grades along with uploading a few more videos on that youtube channel of mine. You should totally check them out!

For this chapter, there are quote Unexpected Encounters. You may recognize this title from a particular AshleyMariee one-shot, but the title has nothing to do with that story. With the patience of DJMidge and Dave90000, I have brought back someone who has not appeared for a while.

Ray POV

David and I had been practicing the script out in the parking lot for two hours. By this time, both of us had our lines, blocking, and facial expressions memorized. The cast was prepared weeks ago, before Clara's death.

"And... the end… finally," David groaned, grinning, somewhat out of breath from singing our finale song.

I let out a large sigh, stretching out my arms. "Yeah I know. And the show is in two days. This is exciting! We'll finally be able to perform!"

David's relaxed mood changed into worry. "Hey, are you okay from the thing with Scott? Dan and I heard about it…"

I growled upon hearing Scott's name mentioned. "No. I'm not okay. I feel terrible. I'm playing dumb with my husband, who has no clue what's really going on."

"If you ever need help or advice, you can always come to me or Dan. We'll be there for you if you have nowhere else to go."

"Thanks. But right now there's nothing I can do. Haven't heard from Draco since the tour bus. Haven't heard from Ashley… or Allison… and Scott and Anna are just pains."

"I won't ask who most of those people are for your sake…"

A loud banging interrupted David from talking. We immediately faced the direction of the noise. An extremely familiar face who I hadn't seen in months emerged from a silver Mercedes Benz. She raced to the front doors of the theater, passing David and I. Short black hair bounced on top of her shoulders. I had seen her face plenty of times, but for some reason, she had cut her hair. I was more confused about her arrival at the theater of my musical than her new haircut. "Luna?"

Luna snapped her head to me, her lips curling into a frown; the crease in her forehead crushed together. "I'm not here for you, Hughes. I'm here forher." Luna glared towards the doors.

"Who exactly?"

"Anna freaking Malcolm. Where is she?"

The name caught me by surprise. What business would Luna have with Anna? But I trusted Luna way more than Anna, and so I instantly took Luna's side on whatever had occurred. "Inside..."

"Take me there!"

I quickly walked in front of Luna, David pacing hurriedly by my side. We traveled several halls until reaching the door to the main theater. Luna came in front, barging through them with no hesitation.

"ANNA MALCOLM!" Luna yelled at the top of her lungs. David and I had to cover our ears since her voice echoed throughout the room.

Anna, who stood on top of her pedestal for our duet number, searched the aisles for who the voice belonged to, landing on Luna. Her eyes widened, leaving her to cry out, "Luna Hemsworth, what do you have against me now?!"

I gasped, "Wait… how do you two know each other?"

Luna silently groaned, not daring to face me, keeping her eyes on Anna. "Shut up Ray. This isn't your business."

Anna ignored my confusion and continued, "What have I done?"

Luna shouted loud so everyone in the room, including several members of the crew to overhear. "You've been using steroids to increase your vocal chords!"

Anna kept her stare glued to Luna. "Huh?"

Luna shouted louder than before. "Anna Malcolm is not suited for any type of professional musical production!"

"Who told you that story?!"

Luna smirked. "Oh, I have my sources… aka your co-star from that off-Broadway production of Hairspray."

"Sarah…?"

"Yeah." Luna tried refreshing Anna's memory, "The perky little cheerleader who wanted to always be in the spotlight, but eventually you stole it from her."

"Not possible. She was murdered by Caleb years ago."

"Don't blame your actions on Caleb! Caleb has changed! You're still the same bitch from high school!"

"Sarah is dead?" I instantly thought to myself. My old friend who I thought had betrayed me but really hadn't… Suddenly my thoughts came aloud, louder than I expected. "Luna… how do you know Anna and Caleb…? I thought you went to school with Brooke, Allison, Rouge, Tiff and Clara…"

"All of us grew up in the same area. You were basically the only person who moved into the city."

"Everyone lived in Washington?! Everyone?!"

Luna glared at me, but eventually nodded.

"Whoa…" I echoed.

"What's going on here girls?" Amy bursted onstage, glancing down towards Luna, the unfamiliar face in the room.

"Anna has been using steroids to maintain her role as the Diva," I blurted out.

Amy turned to David for clarification. "Is this true?"

He glanced over to me, who nodded, and slowly nodded himself.

Amy acknowledged this motion, crossed her arms, and turned to Anna. "Anna Malcolm, you're officially demoted from your role and prohibited from entering the theater. I'll also be placing this offense in your record."

"What?!" Anna wailed, obviously upset. It seemed as if this action had been new to her.

Amy glanced towards a girl carrying a large cardboard box. Strands of neon blue hair ran down over her purple eyes. The box covered up sections of a gray tank-top, jean shorts with black leggings underneath, and camouflage combat boots. Although a strange outfit, I understood her attempts.

"You!" Amy yelled, frightening the girl. She dropped the box and scrambled to pick it up.

The girl spun towards the stage manager in a panic, wondering why she had been called. "Y-yes?"

"You're the new Diva."

The girl's jaw dropped. "Me?"

"Rosetta Jones, am I correct?"

Rosetta quickly nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Amy chuckled and smiled, "Yes. You're supposedly the Diva understudy. Learn the script. Practice with Ray and the rest of the cast. I'm trusting you with this position."

"Thank you! Thank you very much! You won't regret it!" Rosetta allowed another associate to retrieve the cardboard box while she was attended by Anna's former assistants.

Anna, in a rage, jumped off the stairwell of the pedestal, ripped off several decorations, and marched out of the theater like a mad man. Luna stood off to the side, content with her actions. She eventually exited from the room. Leaving David behind, I took off after her.

"Luna!" I yelled out once catching up to her.

Her gaze met mine, happier than usual when talking to me. "Yes?"

"Why haven't I known that everyone attended schools in Washington?"

"Well, you've just been behind." Then I remembered no one had questioned each others' high school lives.

I thought of another question to ask in the knick of time. Luna already arrived at the door of her car. "Does Anna really take steroids for her voice?"

Luna glanced behind her shoulder towards me and smirked. "No. She doesn't." She entered the driver's seat of her Mercedes. Once starting up, the car pulled out of the spot it had been parked in. I watched its silver glimmer zoom down the streets of the Los Angeles sunset as I silently thanked Luna for driving Anna out of my life.

Preston POV

I hadn't imagined being on another date for centuries. A guy like me hanging out with a girl like Rouge. That doesn't happen every day.

As the gentleman I am, I asked her out on a date. I took her to see the new romantic movie that all of the other girls awed about, but the whole time, Rouge and I continuously threw popcorn at the screen and bothered the people around us. That kept us entertained for a while. That is… until security kicked us out of the theater.

Rouge and I sat on a bench outside the movie theater, eating the remaining popcorn in our large buttery box.

Once Rouge swallowed a piece, she smiled and looked over to me, her eyes shining like the stars in the sky. She moved a section of her hair out of her face so she could clearly see me. "Preston you are the best thing that has happened to me. Meeting you… it's like one of those scenarios in movies that most girls aren't able to get. Like the one we just watched. You make me feel like I can be myself. Even though you're a complete cactus."

I burst out laughing, almost spilling the box of popcorn. Rouge caught its fall. My lips curled into a grin after the laugh. "Say what? I'm no cactus…" My eyes shifted down towards my lap, remembering a time where life seemed limitless. A time where there were no worries about family, murder, kidnapping… The smile turned into a emotionless stare. "Really… I'm glad you feel that way about me. I'm the same."

Rouge wiped her hands off on a napkin and placed them around mine. "You seem down… what's wrong?"

I gulped, feeling droplets of sweat on my forehead from nervousness. "If I tell you, will you not get mad?"

Rouge seemed confused, but went along with it just to keep from becoming upset. Is this what girls do to make guys like them? "Sure…"

I begun my explanation, "I had another girlfriend back in Texas… where I used to live. Her name was Sara. Her and I used to be inseparable, always side by side. When I was kidnapped and taken to Washington… I didn't have the chance to say goodbye. I was too afraid to ask Ray to go back. I knew she needed me around…"

Rouge interrupted, an agreed tone in her voice. Something had triggered her. "Wait… kidnapped?"

There it was. "Yeah… long story short… Ray's ex-boyfriend used me as bait to split up Ray and Mitch from getting married. Didn't really work out in the end for the boyfriend… but now Ray is happy. I'm happy too…"

Rouge interrupted once again. "I can get you a ticket to see her. I mean Sara."

I shook my head, both responding to the question and removing all memories of my past in Texas. "I don't need it. I'm just… scared."

She tilted her head. "Scared?"

I sighed and tightened my grip around Rouge's hands. My vision instantly drew up and I found myself peering into the violet of my date's eyes. "I've never been in quite this situation with anyone. The emotion where your heart pounds in your chest whenever you see that person. The emotion where every word you speak flows out like jello. The emotion where cactuses fly throughout your stomach."

Rouge created a slight grin, a look of understanding. "What are you referring to?"

I smiled and the tension around us suddenly lifted… as if God were to look down on us and say, I believe in them. "The way I feel when I see you. The emotion never happened when I met with Sara."

"Then don't let it go away." Rouge put her hand against my cheek and leaned in. I leaned in as well, taking in the moment. Our lips met with a sensation that I had never felt before. True love. We remained in there for about nine seconds before breaking apart.

"Rouge? My old friend?" A British female yelled out, making Rouge shake.

"Oh God no," Rouge grumbled, "It's Lia. What is she doing here?"

I burnt up, remembering what she did to Tyler. I leapt from the bench, facing Lia and her innocent appearance. Innocent from the outside, evil from the inside.

"Lia!" I shouted loud enough for the redhead to hear.

"Preston Anderson? What are you doing here?" Lia questioned, a bit confused on why I was there as well.

"I'm having a good time with Rouge and then you show up and ruin the whole thing!" I replied, tension building up yet again, although seeming that I was angrier than Rouge. Rouge looked almost… worried.

"Preston," Rouge whispered, "I don't feel right about her being here." I glanced down at my date, eventually turning back to Lia.

"What do you want?" I queried. Lia perked up, and gave us a grin. She stepped forward, each step my chest beating a little faster. Without second thought, I stood face to face with the girl who I thought had taken Rouge's place in my heart. She looked down at the palm of my right hand, where I held my cell phone. In one single swipe, the phone was gone and in her grasp.

"How... How did you do that...?" I stammered.

"No questions. Listen up or else you'll be in trouble. Ray must have no information about the events to come between you and I. If you tell her, there will be consequences," Lia growled under her breath.

"What are you gonna do? Feed us to your bearded dragon?" I teased, realizing that I shouldn't have asked that question.

"No, he doesn't need you or Rouge." Lia shook her head and placed one of her hands around the back of my neck. At this point, Rouge jumped up from the bench.

Lia moved in closer to my ear, whispering, "I have a way to make sure Ray doesn't find out about Draco's plans. Keep her distracted."

"Distracted? By what?"

Her lips attached to mine. I couldn't seen anything besides the devilish glint in Lia's eyes. Rouge let out a short scream before my vision went blank.

Ray is finally free of Anna. But will the musical go as planned? What will happen to Ray's sanity in future chapters. And what has happened to Preston? What does Lia have up that semi-magical sleeve of hers?

Find out next time in the next chapter of Living on a Few Dreams!