he'll leave you in the dust .

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-1.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] A MATTER OF TIME Throughout high school, Andrea wasn't all that popular. If anything, she was the nerdy wallflower who was known mostly for her excellent study habits. She was a straight-A student through her high school career, but grades like hers didn't come without sacrifice. Her social status suffered miserably. Drea was incredibly friendly to everyone and anyone she came into contact with, so saying she was socially awkward didn't fit the bill. Really, the student decided on her own to cut out her friends for awhile. Finding a scholarship to a school was all that mattered to her until senior year. Four years of musical theatre enhanced her love for the dramatic arts. All of her friends encouraging her to be a star didn't help, either. Suddenly, Drea wanted unrealistic things. She wanted to see her name on Hollywood Boulevard, encased in a pink star. She wanted to see herself on the big screen, reciting lines. None of this came to Anna lightly. She didn't think her timid young daughter could pull it off. Now, Andrea was working hard to prove her wrong. Drea had two movies coming out later in the year. The first was called A Stupid Apology, and the second was One Step Too Far. In the fall, she would be flying out to New York to film Zeroes as well. None of them were released, but Drea was already being recognized. Her first gossip blast on a blog called "The Creep" advertised her as Dale's secret admirer. Her affections weren't so secret anymore, and Dale's feelings for Tabitha were a no brainer. Drea didn't understand how she thought she'd be able to compete with her. Tabitha was everything a boy could ask for-- funny, entertaining, and beautiful. She wasn't a virgin, either. From Drea's standpoint, it seemed Hollywood boys avoided virgins like the plague. At least, that's what Dale seemed to be doing. He was showering now, so Andrea had the time to think everything over. In the past week, she tried her best to unravel whatever she and Dale had. She was unsuccessful so far. Drea couldn't break him. Their stay in London was lovely so far, but their week together was going to end eventually. If she didn't say anything, they would go back to Los Angeles without answers. That is, if Dale didn't man up the courage to do something about it first. Part of Drea wondered if he was afraid. Dale being afraid seemed to contradict everything he was, but could that be it? Could he be afraid of her and everything she represented? Drea wasn't about to deny that she was the fruit of innocence. After Danny declared her sexual inactivity, Dale seemed surprised. The whole situation was a mess, but Andrea couldn't shake the emotions she held for him. Rockie and Vera told her to be careful, and she was. She didn't see Dale in the light everyone else seemed to see. He was a good guy under his bad boy bravado. He just needed a little nudge to come out of it, that's all. Drea walked to the window in the hotel suite and looked out. The view was breath-taking, and she played with the hem of her shirt as she watched the cars pass in the street below. Paparazzi had been following them all week. A few articles had been posted about Dale Beresford and his "next victim," but Drea tried to avoid them. That's all she could do. As much as she wanted to be with him, she knew that jumping to conclusions was ludicrous. She didn't want anyone to get hurt along the way, and at the moment, the only one who seemed close to being burned was her. Oddly, the realization didn't faze her. Andrea Melendez wasn't a fan of "what if." That's what got her to Hollywood. She said what if, defied it, and ended up landing a manager. Now, the only "what if" revolved around Dale. What if they never tried anything? Drea wouldn't have any closure, and if there was one thing she needed most, it was that. Andrea turned away from the window after a moment and sat down on the bed once more. She checked her phone for any texts, but there weren't any. She briefly wondered how everything was going back at home. Her addiction to the public chat was completely cured in London with Dale, so she spent very little time on it. She had no doubts that she'd relapse into her usual chatting routine upon touching down in LAX. Until then, she wanted to absorb as much as the city as she could. Then again, she'd take an answer from Dale over all of it. Heartbreak was something Drea was considerably unfamiliar with. High school didn't come with many boyfriends. None of them were serious at all. Now, she was ready for one, and for whatever reason, her heart chose Dale. Drea laughed at the irony of it all, laying back. What had she gotten herself into?

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-1.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] PLAYING WITH FIRE Drea was fuming. She was actually fuming, for goodness sakes! She couldn't remember being so agitated at a single... two people? Anger in general was out of Andrea's character. Because of her passive personality, she rarely brought her troubles to the surface. This entire situation was something she hadn't come across before. She confessed that over the phone only minutes before. It was weird to think her mind was predominantly concerned with Dale Beresford a couple weeks ago. It made her question her reasoning back then. Had she been inclined to him romantically or by infatuation? Honestly, she couldn't come to a conclusion. Dale was desirable in every sense of the word. Everyone who followed the Twilight saga at all knew about Dale's body. He was shirtless in almost every scene. Her thoughts began to incline towards her one-shot towards intimacy, and that's where she decided to draw the line. Danny had been in her thoughts the entire time, she realized. They were as strong before because her... feelings for Dale had been muffling them. Now that she was well-aware of where she and Dale stood, there wasn't anything to make her second-guess herself or Danny. Until now. Andrea had learned about the rumor the night before. As usual, she was perusing the web for anything mildly interesting while she waited for her eyes to droop with fatigue. The article didn't catch her eye until she recognized two very familiar faces, together, with "BUSTED" written over them. Drea knew better than to read the trashy garbage, but she couldn't stop herself once she tried. And then, to make matters worse, a green monster inside of her decided to take out her insecurities on Schuyler. Andrea wanted to put the information behind her, but something else prevented her from doing so: the rumor wasn't fake. Danny had hooked up with Schuyler, and suddenly, the unkind infection grew into an epidemic. Andrea signed off the chat soon afterwards. Her emotions played tricks with her mind. She went from her peppy, happy-go-lucky norm to a strange, foreign depression. Tears were most definitely shed, and when everything began to seem brighter, a dark cloud covered the sunshine. Ignored call after call made Drea feel like the villain in the entire situation when she hadn't done anything wrong. She spoke to Danny about the situation, and she wished the same could have been said about Schuyler. Both of them expected her to explode from their wrongdoing. Drea wasn't like that. If Schu wanted to be with Danny, Schu could be with Danny. Schuyler promised she no longer felt anything for Danny, but Drea didn't believe a single word of it. No one ever slept with someone for no reason, not even in the movies. Her drunk investigation on the chat didn't do much for Drea, either. The universe obviously didn't want her to forget about the situation. As soon as some light was beginning to shine through the tunnel, there just had to be something that sent Drea spiraling into frustration once again. She felt tears pricking at her eyes once again. She hated this. She hated the wretched ache in her upper chest. She hated feeling obligated to keep her feelings for Danny a secret. It'd be so much easier if she could just blurt out the thoughts that played on a loop. She wished Danny was in town. Drea needed to speak with him in person, but he was in Hawaii. He was having a grand ol' time with Jaiden and Keani until the end of the week. The possibility of staying true to their plans for next weekend was uncertain. Drea wondered if a little distance would do them good. On the other hand, she couldn't fathom being away from him for so long. She'd miss him. He was on her mind more than Drea was comfortable with, mostly because she knew what the cute little honorable mentions in her mind could turn into.

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-1.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] OUT OF MY WORLD Was it possible for her to lose someone she never had? Andrea signed off of the public chat room with the thought heavy in her mind. The clues were unifying into something less favorable for her. Things were changing between her and Danny. The gentle throb forewarning heartache said so. Avoiding him altogether protected her against the possibility of being ignored. Over the course of a week, Drea had her fair share of ignorance. She even went as far as dishing the same platter. He hadn’t greeted her when she signed on. They led separate conversations. Only when Andrea sent out an ill-bred comment about Schuyler’s latest hook-up with Daniel did he acknowledge her. If she was pressed to make caustic retorts to win over his attention, she wasn’t sure she wanted his eyes. Andrea was a sweet lady with a heart of gold. Before filming for A Stupid Aplogy began, she vowed to her mother to stay true to who she was. Mind-numbing drama concerning Dale, Danny, and whatever boy shattered her hopes next wasn’t about to knock her off the course she’d taken. His last few words made doubting him impossible, however. The familiar pet name he’d gifted her, gorgeous, had topped off his final farewell. Daniel questioned her (with a noticeable unhappy face) after she’d confessed that her trip to Chicago may not follow through, after all. She wasn’t sure she could cope with his mixed signals any longer, and waiting for him to make up his mind wasn’t just to Andrea. She was nothing but good to him. Her loyalty to him as a friend as well as a lover was steadfast. While Tavin tried to convince her of taking her out, Drea reminded him of her commitment to Daniel, much to Alex’s displeasure. How was Andrea supposed to remain diligent in her ways when the road she was traveling on wasn't a two-way street? Drea closed the screen of her ancient laptop and laid back against her plush pillows. About this time, the female heroine would bury her head into one such pillow and scream her worries away. Andrea did not. She stared up at the ceiling with her thoughts working into overdrive. Ever since Danny punched Raynold, his attitude towards her had changed. Andrea knew something had gone amiss the morning of the incident. Danny didn't greet her with his usual enthusiasm. He didn't address her much at all. The pattern weaved throughout the week up until the very moment he chose sleeping over speaking to her. A frown troubled her features. As much as Danny tried to pass the surge of violence as an "accident," Drea was having the most difficult time believing his story. Ryland didn't think his wrongdoing was an accident. Neither did Bradley Ferrero or Raynold. Raynold, being the victim in the situation, had a more believable standpoint, didn't he? The incident had something to do with Jaiden, and Andrea supposed she couldn't be surprised. She and Danny had history. The innocent new gal didn't have a chance compared to their unbreakable connection with each other. Jaiden was beautiful. She was spunky, intelligent, and the woman that Danny obviously needed in his life. If Andrea really cared about Danny (and she did), she needed to stand back. The advice she had given Bianca was more than applicable in her life now. There was a reason why Andrea's love life had never really taken off. She fell back as soon as someone, or something, else came into the picture. Drea was convinced her job was to fulfill others first before herself. That's why she'd been so willing to give Danny away to Schuyler after their incident. That's why it seemed easy for Andrea to get used to the idea of Dale and Jolene. Andrea coped with whatever situation she was served. Immigrating from Mexico, struggling to find a home, and spending cold nights on the streets because of a cruel lack of a proper shelter made the drama she was facing now seem so, so small. The white speckled ceiling, unmoving and illuminated by a singular lamp on her bedside table, made for a soothing sight for her tear-threatened eyes. The heartache she felt now was uncomfortably familiar these days. Just as she had with Dale, Andrea sensed a growing distance between she and Danny. Her past outings with Tavin and Joshua in the past couple days had been exactly what she needed. Thinking back on the picnic at the beach slowly removed from the frown from her face. Denying the fear she'd felt while watching REC with Joshua concluded her memories with a content smile. Rather than dwelling on her plunders about Danny, she continued onward with flashbacks of her breakfast with Alessandra and Nash. All of these thoughts were nurtured by good people and positivity. These were the thoughts she perused on a loop until she finally fell into a good night's slumber, untainted by the throbbing pump of a hopeless heart.

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/oceanbreezebg-1.png); padding-bottom: 20px;] THE MOMENT I KNEW Mexico. It turned out things did come full circle in life, after all. Andrea couldn’t remember much of her life before El Paso, Texas, but she had a hunch the emotions stayed the same. Mexico. Everything she spent the last year working on spun down the drain. Mexico. And all it took was four heartbreaks, a pregnancy scare, and her best friend sleeping with her father to pack her bags and start running. Andrea’s cheek was pressed against the cool window of her father’s car. This was the first step of the isolation she needed. This was the first step to unscrambling the person she had been and the person she had become. This was it. Her father hadn’t given her a lot of information to go off of. He’d literally told her to pack her bags and get in the car. It sounded more like a kidnapping than an escape, though Drea didn’t look at it that way. Richard had been nothing but generous to her since he reentered her life. Despite The Choice’s sour ending, she was grateful for all his credible recommendations that landed her the role of Amy Torres. Walking away was probably a dagger to her career’s heart, but she didn’t see the point of fretting too much. Hollywood was behind her. If she had thought she’d be an exception to the glam, Andrea Melendez was dead wrong. All she became was another statistic, another rolemodel gone wild. Andrea bit her lip as the landscape passed before her eyes. If she’d only gone to college and pursued a stable career like Anna asked, she wouldn’t feel obligated to run away. Maybe it wasn’t too late for her to become a veterinary assistant. Anna always promised her that God believed in second chances. If she wasn’t already damned to live her life after death in hell, maybe he’d be so gracious as to give her one more shot to live her life virtuously. Helping out the strays of Mexico sounded innocent enough. She’d never be out of work. Perhaps Richard might even let her complete some charity work, too. Stars weren’t the only individuals who could give back to their communities. Andrea had seen some of the most ordinary people change lives just by being around to help. At this prospect, a gentle smile overcame her lips. For the rest of the car ride, Andrea’s thoughts had a heyday brainstorming ways to redeem her former glory. Occasionally she took on the task of toggling with the radio station when the songs hit too close to home. A year ago, she hadn’t known Holly Cartwright or Phoenix Grace. Hits like One More Night caused her grief because part of didn’t want to leave her new life behind. But Richard was right. Leaving was the best option for her at the moment. There wasn’t much either could contribute to a conversation anymore. Twenty-six hours of driving time wasn’t necessarily ideal, and their relationship wasn’t strong enough to joke around. Andrea wasn’t sure if her father joked at all. Business never seemed to leave him no matter where they were. “We’re almost there,” Richard informed her. Drea glanced in his direction momentarily. She was much too eager to scope out the surroundings. The ocean waves lapped against the shore just a few hundred feet away, and elegant beach houses towered over her like a giant. Andrea was surprised when Richard surpassed the ornate front gate of the community. There were two facts Andrea knew for sure. One, no one knew where she was except Anna and Richard. Two, no one else was allowed to contact her, either. No cell phone. No television. No magazines. It was the ultimate cleanse she never asked for. Oh, and she wasn’t supposed to leave the house unless it was absolutely necessary. Richard was afraid someone might recognize her, and Andrea really couldn’t handle paparazzi attacking her Mexican retreat. By getting in her father’s car, Andrea had agreed to all these terms. Finally, with the beach houses a few miles behind them, Richard pulled into a dirt road. Vegetation lined each side of the narrow pass, which winded and turned until a clearing came into view. The resulting view was surprising, to say the least. The house wasn’t any bigger than a small American one-story. Honestly, Drea was shocked. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but a small shack certainly hadn’t been in her cards. Nonetheless, she put on a happy smile and stepped out of her father’s car full of curiosity. A shard of hope propelled her into the house itself, but the interior wasn’t much more spectacular than the curb appeal. “Do you like it?” her father asked. His hand lingered on the small of her back. She didn’t really know what to say, so she nodded politely. Her mind was buzzing with possible improvements. Years of apartment living had made her acute to personalizing small spaces. What made this exotic shack any different?

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