Hi all! So here is the latest chapter. I'm thinking I am going to try and end this at 15 chapters. I don't know if I will go past that or not, but the next chapters, including this one, are going to run on the longer side. I'm jumping a little bit in time, and a lot has happened in between the last chapter and the start of this one that I am going to flesh out coming up.

This chapter has some sad bits in it. One of my lovely reviewers mentioned that every good story needed some turmoil in it, and I completely agree that's part of what took me as long as it did to update because I was working on that. I hope you guys like this chapter, I will try to have the next one up soon so as to not leave you hanging for very long.

As always please review and let me know what you love and what you hate.


Marley POV

It was unexpected. There was no way to predict that it would have happened that day. Marley was sitting at a small outdoor café with Sebastian in Rome enjoying a coffee when her phone rang. She broke down sobbing right there, Sebastian immediately going to comfort, trying to find out what happened. She sobbed out her answer.

Her mom was gone.

Marley scrolled through the pictures on her phone as she thought about that day almost four months to the day now, looking at all the things that have happened over the last twelve months. She smiled at the pictures of her and Sebastian from the school year, one of them at the Colosseum in Rome, kissing under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on a boat sailing around Santorini, and many others. A picture of her sitting with her mom at Christmas, holding up her acceptance letter to The Juilliard School of Music, out to dinner with her dad and his family, her little brother Thomas and his arms wrapped around neck, cheek to cheek smiling.

Her dad had been great in helping with whatever she had needed. He had helped arrange with the exchange program that she could come home for the funeral and to take care of things following, but she had returned to finish out the year. Probably the worst feeling, aside from finding out about her mom was packing up the house. Her dad helped her get a storage unit to keep everything in until she could come back and really decide what to do with it all.

Now here she was about to begin her first semester of college and everything just felt like it was happening to someone else.

Her phone started ringing and she smiled at the photo of Sebastian holding her in front of the Fontana d'Amore. The one constant thing in her life was Sebastian, she knew he was the only reason she was standing right now.

"Hello?" She said answering the call.

"What would you say to an amazing dinner at Gallagher's Steakhouse before we jump in to the college grind on Monday?" Sebastian asked, it sounded like there were cars going past him.

Marley smiled. "I would say, what time are you picking me up?" She replied.

"How about right now?"

She got up and peaked out the window of her father's brownstone. Sebastian was leaning against his car, he smiled and waved as he saw her. She grinned and hung up, heading outside. "When did you get in?" She asked. "You were supposed to call me."

"Yeah, but I thought a romantic surprise would be nice." He said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and his arms encircled her waist. "I just dropped the last of my stuff off at home." He added to answer her question.

Sebastian, having initially been forced by his parents to learn how, had invested in stocks ever since he was fourteen with his parents' signature, so he had earned quite a bit of his own money. He took over the condo that his parents owned in Manhattan, so he could be closer to school.

"Give me ten minutes to get ready." She said smiling. "Come on up."

...

Marley got out of class early, so she decided to surprise Sebastian and stop by his class. They were five weeks into the semester and she had been to NYU with him a couple times, but it was still impressive every time got to walk around. If she timed it right, he would be in him Concert Management class.

She quietly slipped in the door and sat at the back of the class. She saw Sebastian sitting in the middle, students spread out in a half circle, their seats layered in a descending pattern down to where the teacher was lecturing. The teacher asked some question that Marley didn't know, but Sebastian raised his hand and answered easily, earning the teacher's approval.

As the class ended and people started gathering their things, Marley was about to go surprise him when she noticed a pretty girl approach him and strike up a conversation. Marley couldn't hear what they were talking about, but the girl laughed, flipped her long blonde hair, and put her hand on his arm for a little too long.

Marley frowned as she watched this. To Sebastian's credit, he politely stepped back, removing his arm from under her hand and motioned that he had to go. The blonde just batted her eyes at him and said something, leaning forward just a little to give him a view down her shirt. Sebastian had looked away though as he picked up his stuff and just bid her goodbye.

As he started to walk up the steps he looked up, seeing Marley stand up from the back row. "Hey! This is a surprise." He said, completely casual. He walked up the last few steps and gave her a kiss.

She returned the kiss and smiled, but as they walked out together, Marley glanced over her shoulder and noticed the blonde watching them. Maybe it was just paranoia, but she couldn't shake the feeling of a pit in her stomach.

Sebastian POV

Sebastian sighed, rubbing his neck as he walked out of his last class for the week. The one thing he was grateful to Dalton for was the hard classes, it was good preparation for college. The first year was already mostly over and it seems like there wasn't enough time in the day.

Marley was busy most of the time now with prep, one of her compositions had been selected to be featured at a Juilliard showcase which almost never happens with freshmen students. He was prepping for an internship that he had to begin in the summer with a record label. They hardly ever saw one another anymore.

However, they were supposed to be going to a party tonight at NYU. It was coming at a good time too, Marley had seemed off the last couple months and Sebastian felt back that he was so busy he couldn't properly find out what was going on in order to help. He had asked Blaine and even Santana if they knew if she was okay, but they said they hadn't heard anything.

Traffic in New York sucked, no matter the time of day, Sebastian had ended up just having his parents take his car back to Ohio with them when they came back over Thanksgiving. It was so much easier to get a cab, or an Uber, or even take the subway than drive.

When he got to Juilliard, he walked through the halls until he reached one of their big symphony rooms. He saw Marley talking with the conductor as they listened to the strings section. She was too nervous to conduct herself, so she had requested that someone else do it, but she stayed deeply involved in the process of getting everything ready.

He smiled as he leaned against the doorway, just watching her work. After a few minutes, she looked up and noticed him. Smiling, she waved and motioned for him to give her 10 minutes. He nodded and walked out into the hall.

"Hey!" She said when she finally walked out, immediately standing on her toes to kiss him. "Thank you for waiting."

"They sounded really good in there." He said as they held hands, walking out.

"I think so." Marley said. "They're all so talented!"

Sebastian smiled. "Yeah, but I'm sure the amazing composer has something to do with that." He said.

Marley blushed but she smiled proudly, happy with her accomplishment. "We've both worked hard this year, you got the best internship out of any of your classmates, I have the showcase." She said. "This has been pretty a pretty incredible year, despite some things."

"It's weird to think that this time last year you and I were getting ready to fly back from Italy." He said.

"I know. It almost doesn't seem real." She replied.

Marley had left her stuff at his apartment, so she didn't have to go all the way back to her father's house to get ready for the party. She often stayed at his apartment just to avoid the commute.

Sebastian sat on the sofa watching a basketball game while he waited for Marley, when she came out in a purple cocktail dress and tall heels, his jaw dropped. "Wow." He said standing up and looked her up and down. "Maybe we should just stay here tonight instead."

"Easy," she said laughing. "Didn't you say this party was unofficially required for you to attend?"

"Yes…" he said but the look in his eyes said something very different.

Marley grabbed the front of his blazer jacket to pull him close for a kiss but wouldn't let him deepen it. "Come on, we'll be late." She said pulling him with her to the door.

Marley POV

The party was loud, and crowded, but that just added to the energy of the room. Marley couldn't feel the pulsing beat from her heels to the roots of her hair. The party was a type of fundraiser officially, so the students throwing the party were allowed to rent out this amazing multistory venue with an outside pool and floor to ceiling windows, and the most spectacular view of the city.

"Oh my god," she said as they walked in.

Sebastian grinned and took her jacket, handing it off to the coat check. He told her once that he would never tire of seeing the amazement that she had over stuff like this, it made him appreciate it more. "You want a drink?" He asked over the music.

"Sure." She said back. "Just a water please."

He nodded and walked off to get it. When he walked away, Marley noticed the blonde girl from Sebastian's class, whom she had learned was named Rebecca, standing off with a group laughing. Marley would be lying if she said she was okay with her being around Sebastian, but Sebastian had never given her a reason to doubt him, so she tried to push it from her mind.

When Sebastian came back, he handed her a bottle of water. "Do you want to dance?" He asked smiling.

And just like that, Rebecca was the farthest thing from her mind as she let Sebastian pull her onto the dance floor. When they got tired of dancing, they found a quiet spot to sit for a minute. It was quickly interrupted by a few of Sebastian's friends from class coming over to intrude. Oliver and Cisco were great guys, and their girlfriends Felicity and Caitlin were also incredible.

"I think Roy and them, are looking for you." Cisco called to Sebastian over the noise. "Something about details for the internships."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Did you see where they were?"

Cisco pointed somewhere over his shoulder.

"I'll be right back." Sebastian said to Marley who nodded, smiling as he kissed her cheek.

Caitlin and Felicity smiled. "What?" Marley asked noticing their expressions.

"He really loves you." Felicity said.

Marley blushed and smiled. "I really love him too." She said.

They continued talking for a bit, but after a while Marley wanted to go explore, so she walked up to the top level, weaving through the throngs of people and finally ending up on the balcony overlooking the city. As she stood there, she pulled out her phone to take a picture of the view.

As she checked how the picture turned out, she looked down at the bottom deck and the people walking around. She saw Sebastian laughing with Roy and a few other people she didn't know, and she couldn't resist taking a picture of him from her vantage point. After another second, Sebastian left the group and started to walk inside. However, he was stopped suddenly. Marley leaned forward a little more to see that it was Rebecca he was talking to.

She couldn't hear what they were saying but Sebastian was shaking his head and replying to her question. Suddenly, Rebecca came forward and pressed her lips to Sebastian's.

Time froze, Marley couldn't breathe. Sebastian was kissing another girl. She stepped back until they were out of sight and she turned and walked out. She was going to be sick, she mindlessly pushed past the people crowding around her. As she reached the lower level, she looked back and saw Sebastian, holding Rebecca out at arm's length. He looked up and their eyes connected for a brief moment, and she saw it in his eyes that he knew she saw it. He paled, and she saw her name shouted from his lips, though she couldn't hear it over the music. She walked out, leaving her jacket behind.

Sebastian POV

Sebastian left Roy, Connor, and Troy, heading back inside to look for Marley. As he was walking back in, Rebecca stepped in his way.

"Congratulations on your internship Sebastian." She said with a flirty smile.

"Thanks." He said, trying not to be rude. She had been flirting with him from day one and it was getting under his nerves. She was one of those failed to make it singers and was trying very hard to get in with anyone who she thought might help her get to fame.

"How about a dance to celebrate?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, I need to get back inside and find Marley, you know, my girlfriend." He had tried every way to politely telling her to go away and was seconds away from finally telling her to get the hell away from him when she leaned in quickly and kissed him.

The second her lips touched his, he flinched back, putting his hands on her shoulders to hold her away. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

He looked up and his eyes connected with Marley's as she came down the stairs. Even from this distance, he could see the tears in her eyes, and the look of betrayal on her face.

Shit!"Marley!" He called moving to go after her as she tuned and left.

"Come on," Rebecca said, grabbing his sleeve, actually having the nerve to sound angry. "You're telling me that you prefer that little twig to me? She's not right for you Sebastian."

"Oh, and I suppose an attention seeking whore is the right type for me." He demanded turning to her, not caring about the stricken look on her face. "You possibly just messed up the best thing that has ever happened me, so I want you to listen very, very carefully. Do not evercome near me again."

With that he ran out, trying to catch up to Marley. Getting to street level, he came out of the rotating doors just in time to see her get into a cab and drive off. The last image he had was her sobbing into her hands as the cab pulled away.