"You wrote it down, you're writing it down, and you're going to write it down anyways," Uncle Levi read out loud and I merely smiled at him, trying to contain my nervousness. He glanced up towards me before nodding, sliding the iPad back to my side of the table, "Keep it up, but you're going too slow after you had such a good pacing in the beginning."

"I'm sorry," I frowned slightly, tucking the device back inside my bag, "I wasn't able to do much when I was back home and I got kind of distracted since I came back."

He glanced up and sighed, "Although I like him for being your source of inspiration, remember that I still am your uncle and my dearest brother-in-law will not appreciate it if he learned that I simply allowed his daughter to go off with a man."

Seriously? He plays the overprotective older male relative now?

"Uncle, you know Adam," I told him, reaching over to grab a fry from the middle of the table, "He's a good guy."

"I'm aware," he nodded, "And it's not like you're a child anymore. Just be careful, Sienna."

"I think I know how to protect myself," I laughed, gently slicing my chicken, "But thank you."

"You're stubborn, impulsive, and willful," he listed off and I had to scoff. Although, his tone mellowed down as he added, "With one of the brightest spirits I have ever seen and that's what I missed most about you."

Blinking up at him, I smiled warmly before continuing with my meal. While my father was passive with these kind of things, my mom trying to think of business more than the art, and Aunt Janina looking at the technical side, my writing was on the verge of being too robotic.

But uncle made sure I didn't lose sight of what it truly was – an expression. He didn't give up on me and while I think I've dulled down a lot since when I first started, he was a constant reminder that maturing does not mean being monotonous.

After we had finished eating and he paid the bill, he went off to the university. Classes were starting tomorrow and he was trying to finish his preparation for the new semester. I glanced down on my watch and headed to the dormitories – it's been a while since I got to chat with Julia and Meg without me constantly looking at the time or being dead tired.

And besides, I owed them complete compliance during an interrogation session.

Julia even went the extra mile to grab her study lamp, close all of the lights in our room, and directed the said lamp towards my direction. Meg was facepalming beside her while I only watched on with amusement at my roommate's antics.

"Alright, talk," Julia demanded in this weird accent in a way to imitate those detective shows, but if you mixed it with her native accent and her horrible attempt, it was hilarious.

Meg rolled her eyes before pushing the curtains open and turning off the damn lamp as she mimicked Julia's tone, "Alright, stop."

Thank you for having at least one sensible person between them.

Julia grumbled some things about her being a killjoy but she turned on the ceiling lights again and sat down on the bed next to me, "But in all seriousness, how did you meet Heart Valentine? I mean, I kind of already had an idea that she and Adam knew each other because of the headline last December."

"Aren't we going to talk about the thing with Adam?"

"We all knew it was going to happen so no point in that," Meg shrugged, sitting on the carpet, gesturing for Julia to throw her a pillow, "I'm more interested on Hollywood's Princess."

"She's Adam's best friend, they've known each other since they were kids."

Julia gasped, "And nothing ever happened between them?"

I had the same damn reaction. No matter how political people wanted to be, it was kind of expected that a boy and girl who had been best friends for most of their lives will eventually come together. Something did happen – he fell in love with her and she fell in love with him.

But they valued something more than their feelings, which was their friendship.

"Nothing happened," I lied because their story was definitely not mine to tell, "I knew it for a while now."

"And you never told us?" she pouted and I rolled my eyes, throwing a pillow towards her direction.

"How on earth was I going to bring it up?" I huffed, "Oh hey, you know that celebrity you've been fawning about? He's the best friend of the guy I really like."

"That would have been nice," Julia's eyes widened and from there, I knew she was completely serious. I laughed, my annoyance melting away into pure joy at her sincerity.

I smiled before opening my luggage that still remained unpacked since I came here. The most I did was pull something out to wear every now and then, but other than that, it remained untouched. Zipping it open, I grabbed the various tacky New York souvenirs and handed it to them, "Just saying, this was my first time in a gift shop back home and it's a lot more interesting than what my friends let on."

"I saw that picture on Instagram," Meg brought up, shaking the snow globe then watching as the fake snow fell on the tiny replica of The Statue of Liberty, "Who was the guy who had his arm around you?"

Laying back down on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling, "My ex, the same guy I based my book on."

Julia let out an overdramatic gasp and Meg surprisingly mimicked it. Sighing, I closed my eyes as I tried to remember that evening. That adventurous night filled with laughter and nostalgia – it was if college and life didn't smack us all in the face and instead, we were just ten high school students sneaking out at midnight.

And it reminded me why I held them so dear. They brought out a side of me that I have seemingly lost since we've graduated. The Sienna who ran freely without a care of the consequences. Now I was cautious in everything, and although it proved to be good, it didn't feel right.

My so-called relationship with Adam was a slow and steady burn. During those moments before Justin and I dated, I remember diving head first to his advances.

Even when it came to making friends, I placed a huge barrier between me and these two, but I remember literally befriending my high school group by just a couple of coincidental circumstances.

"Girls, what's your impression of me?" I dared to ask, sitting right back up. They were obviously caught off-guard by my question so I further explained, "I mean, what do you think is my personality."

"You're careful and distant," Julia answered, shocking me because that was the last thing I thought she was going to say. Actually, I was more surprised at how blunt she was, "But I understand, you're in a different country so you're taking your time to adjust."

Careful? Distant?

"But I'm not careful," I breathed out, "I'm used to running all over the place and to be honest, being idle here bores me."

"Yeah, because being piss drunk after a frat party is definitely boring," Meg scoffed.

I gave her a deadpan look before walking towards my closet and grabbing my coat, "I'm just saying, it's go to class then back here or I go to Adam's place. All I see are darn trees and although it's peaceful, one thing that coming back home made me realize was that I'm not made for this kind of life."

"It's just this place, most of the cities across the country are pretty lively."

"But that's the thing, I'm not staying in those places, I'm staying here," I muttered, "So what do you say?"

The two of them exchanged a look and then back to me, "Say to what?"

"Well, my first class starts at nine, Meg's at nine-thirty, and Julia's at eleven," I listed off, "If we leave now, we can all make it in time."

"Leave where exactly?" they shot again and I looked over my shoulder before shooting them a wink, something the new me would have never done.

"I don't know."

I have never seen two girls so afraid in their life at the mere thought of driving. But here we a\were, we got a rental car and were now on our way to drive miles and miles away from the university. We had nothing but our wallets and phones, we didn't even bother with a charger.

Since we were still in the country part, I could bring down the window and scream with joy. I was the one behind the wheel and we were going at such a fast pace, bordering the speed limit.

Meg was next to me, holding onto her seatbelt while Julia was at the back, gripping onto the headrest of Meg's chair like a vice, "What have you done to our Sienna?"

I brought her back.

To be reckless, to fear nothing.

We stopped a few times for gas, but that was it. None of us knew where this long winding road took us, but we just allowed ourselves to get lost. By this time, Meg had given up in reasoning out with me while Julia looked like she was ready to let go herself.

The night approached quickly and soon, the sky was peppered with beautiful twinkling stars and a quarter moon. I found a space at the side of the road and I pulled over, stopping right there and turning off the engine.

The two other girls were skeptical when I stepped out of the car and took a deep inhale. We were really far from any town so all we saw were roads and fields. The wind blew through my hair, messing it up more than it already was. My phone had lost all of its battery so it was nothing more than paperweight in my pocket.

"So what do you think?" I questioned, urging them to step out as well. They did a complete one-eighty before their gazes landing on me once again, waiting for an explanation, "Wasn't it thrilling? This was what my friends and I used to do back home, just keep on an adventure we never knew where or when it was going to end."

"It was completely out of our comfort zone," Julia said, smiling happily as she wrapped her coat tighter around her body, "But I don't regret coming with you."

"How come you have never shown this side of you?" Meg asked, tentatively sitting on the hood of the car.

Because even I lost that side of me. I used to always go out but due to my slump, that horrid gap year, I forgot what it felt like to feel the rush of the breeze, to expertly move through the sidewalk crowds, and to enjoy with little restraint.

I became a full-pledged writer because I realized how painful heartbreak could be. But when I remember the short entries I had in my journal before the stupid breakup, it was filled with so much emotions. Most of them were happy thoughts, and that was what I tried to write down in the first place.

To be stupid and dumb. I've been caught, I've been scolded, but that never deterred my spirit.

How weak and dependent was I to lose myself because of a guy?

"I came to England with more hesitation than hope," I admitted, "But now, it's the other way around and I could finally remember why I got hurt and why writing became my true love."

I have always jumped without looking and the consequences have always hit me hard.

You're stubborn, impulsive, and willful.

Looking back up, I lost myself with the sight of the stars. Light pollution had made it impossible for me to see them back home, but now I can watch them shine.

With one of the brightest spirits I have ever seen.

"I missed you," I whispered under my breath, seeing my reflection through the sideview mirror.

Welcome back, Sienna Clark. I missed that spark in you, that insecurity that you hid with laughter, those imperfections you embraced with open arms, that lack of caution that got you into so many horrible situations.

But most of all, I missed it when you let yourself ride your thoughts. You have never feared them before, but that break up with Justin made you afraid because that was the one time you let your feelings reign before your rational thinking. You've became afraid of what you were feeling.

Closing my eyes, I knew that I would be cursing myself during class, but I couldn't find it within me to care the moment, "Let's go back?"

"Where are we anyway?" Julia asked, going back inside the car, "And how do we get back?"

"Who knows," I shrugged, snapping on my seatbelt, "Don't worry, we still have eight hours until my first class."

Did we make it on time? Yes, because I simply drove straight so we didn't get lost. We arrived back at the university with enough time for a quick shower before I bolted to my first class. It was a bit sad that Uncle Levi wouldn't be the first professor I see during the week, but I worked with what I have.

Of course, no sleep did take its toll on me. While the professor was droning on about introductions to the course and such, my eyelids felt so heavy. I tried to pay attention, I really did, but by the time he was saying something about the chapters we had to read, my mind was full on sleep mode.

I felt something hit me on the back of my head, causing me to jolt up in attention. Looking down, I saw a crumpled up piece of paper and I rolled my eyes – what was this? Third grade?

Glancing over my shoulder, I was slightly surprised by Vance who was sitting a few rows behind me. He caught me looking at him and sent a wink towards my way before turning his focus back to the professor.

Once the class was done, I quickly packed up my bags, took the piece of paper and chucked it towards him. He snickered at my childish retaliation and waited for me to catch up with him.

"You're the last person I imagined to see in this course," I said, "And aren't you a year higher?"

"I cross-enrolled," he explained, stopping right in front of another lecture hall, "Glad that I did, I wouldn't be able to see such a pretty face so early in the morning if I didn't."

I huffed in annoyance before he burst into chuckles, placing a friendly hand on my shoulder, "I'm only kidding, Sienna. Besides, I would never hear the end of it from Adam if I did try to flirt with you for real."

My mouth clamped shut and my cheeks burned with just the mere thought of him being slightly possessive. He was the jealous type, I've learned that through our petty arguments but there was still a thrill to it.

He saw my reaction to his words and a mischievous smirk found its way on his lips, "Wait a minute, are you two dating now?"

Well... Can I say that it wass complicated?

"We're not..." I muttered my quiet reply, "Together in that sense, if that's what you're implying."

Under his scrutinizing gaze, I felt like he could see right through me. Thankfully for now, he allowed it to pass, "Right, I want weekly updates, Sienna."

"You're saying that as if we're also about to make friendship bracelets," I couldn't help but laugh.

"No, but I've known Adam far longer than you have," he told me with an underlying tone of caution, "Don't play with his heart like a fiddle, I'll put my trust on you for now."

Really, Vance would get along with Uncle Levi and Andy, they were all so ominous, "Whatever you say."

I had one more class to go through before I could sleep so the last thing I wanted to do was to waste my energy on this guy. He saw my tired expression and fought back another smile, "I'll see you soon, Sienna."

-----------------

I have no excuse except that I constantly forget to update. I swear, I need someone to message me on twitter or instagram or something a reminder to update.

{Old A/N: So if you haven't been catching up with me, I'M GOING TO HAVE A BOOKSIGNING THIS SATURDAY AT MIBF ALONG WITH OTHER POP FICTION AUTHORS! Sorry for the caps, but that's also where you'll get the first copies of the physical copy of Hollywood's Princess (which this is a spin-off of) so I'm super excited to meet you if you're going. Also, follow me on my social medias to be updated!

Another thing, I'm changing my update sched to every other week to give myself time to breath. Sis, I just went to work with a hangover after I was throwing up on the side of the street the night before because of how much I drank so if that isn't a sign that I can juggle things then I don't know what is.}

Question: Plain Sienna or wild Sienna?

I think that's all I need to tell you guys so far. Don't forget to vote, comment, and leave me a follow while you're at it. I love you guys and I shall see you all next chapter.