"Cara, hello? Can you open this up please?" Nick called through the door. Cara wasn't going to open it any time soon, so he went and got a skeleton key from Chris and unlocked it. When he didn't see her, he saw the bathroom door shut. He walked over to it and knocked.

"Cara? Please answer me," he pleaded with the door. He was about to unlock it when he heard some shuffling around. He paused so he could hear better. He could hear some sniffling; it sounded like she was crying. After a few moments the sniffling stopped. He waited a little while longer. He paused and then unlocked the door. He opened it up and looked inside.

He looked around the small room. It was a small room with a sink, a toilet, and a stand up shower. It had a towel rack on one of the walls and above it was a window. The ceiling was slanted and the window was right out onto the roof. It was open, and he stuck his head out and looked around the roof. He spotted Cara sitting a little farther up from the window, on the top of the house, sitting quietly. She was looking out at the world like it was all passing her by, and she just wanted to grab a piece before it all left.

He climbed up and sat next to her. She didn't even look up, move, or even acknowledge he was there at all. He looked at her sadly. He didn't know what to say to her to make her feel any better. He thought for a moment and became curious as to what was going through her head.

"What are you looking for out there?" he asked.

She didn't move as she answered, "I'm looking for something different, something new."

"Like what?" he looked at her.

"Like some hope. Haven't you ever felt like if one more thing would happen you were going to die because you can't even handle what you've already got? Haven't you ever felt like you were grasping onto whatever you could to pull yourself up and suddenly there's nothing more to hold onto? Hasn't life ever seemed to make you think it was going to be okay but then it all got worse? Doesn't it make you want to just give it all up sometimes? Doesn't it feel like life is just too much of a problem than good? Haven't you ever felt like you had nothing left, and nothing else to do? Well, I feel like that and some more to go around. I'm just looking out there to see if I can find something to let me know that it wont always be this hard. Something to tell me that it will be okay, and that it isn't just another false lie. I'm just looking for some hope."

"Hope that it will be better? That what will?" he could feel the pain in her words reach his own heart. He had trouble getting out his questions for clarification to make sure he knew what she was saying.

"Whenever something gets better, something else always gets worse. I just want some hope that my life will be better and stay that way. I'm so tired of dealing with all these problems all the time. It's really starting to drain my strength, and it's draining all zest for life out of me."

"Cara, you've got to keep going. You've got to suck it up and get on with life. What good is it gonna do you to sit around in your own pity?"

She paused for a minute. His words weren't harsh, mean, or really that bad. They just sort of stung to hear when she was feeling pretty vulnerable. She was just waiting for the stinging to stop before she would say anything.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," she said quietly. In reality, that was one of the last things she wanted to hear. I mean, when you're upset, you don't really want to be told to "deal with it and get over it".

He smiled at her. It was a little too late though. Her mind was already wondering why no one ever understood her at all. She just sat up and went back into the house. She pushed play on Chris's stereo. Sugar Ray filled the room softly. She walked through Chris's room to the mirror. She looked at her reflection and sighed.

She falls apart
No one there
Hold her hand
It seems to disappear
Falls apart
Might as well
Day is long
And nothing's wasted

"Mira, I wish you were here," she whispered. She put her hand out and touched her hand to the reflection of the hand. She smiled at it and met her eyes in her own stare. Her gray eyes twinkled slightly at the memory of her old friend.

"You were the only one who really knew me. Why is it that I never really let anyone in anymore?"

She thought about her friend. She knew her inside and out. She could predict her friend pretty well, but Mira always had tricks up her sleeve. She was always prepared for anything. Cara smiled and knew what Mira would say to her question, and deep in her own heart, she knew the answer herself.

That's pretty easy. If they don't know you, when they hurt you, you can always say, "You don't know me, so why should your opinion of me matter." That way it won't hurt as bad. After all, anyone you let come in your soul ends up killing you. You're better off without.

Cara smiled to herself at her old view on life. After Mira died, she made that her number one rule. Her entire life was a big play, like one big movie. She couldn't remember who she was anymore, and for so many years of acting, she didn't know how to stop. She looked at her hand and lifted it off the mirror. She heard Nick walking into the room behind her. She simply stood there, looking at herself. She wondered if her friends did the same thing. Was anyone ever being them selves? Were they all just putting on a show to protect them from getting hurt?

But in doing that, weren't you just hurting yourself?

Whoa, how'd that thought get in there? You cant think like that. Hiding is good, protection, safe, and better than being the "real you". That was the only one sure way to make sure that no one could ever hurt you. Yeah, it was also one of the biggest ways to make you always hurt.. you were always alone.. but.. if that was true, why did she hurt so bad? Why did it feel like someone had just ripped part of her heart out? Could it be that she had let someone in and not known about it till it was too late?

She walked out of the room and down the stairs. There was only one way to stop her from getting hurt again. She had to let go, and no matter how much it hurt now, it was for the best.

(a few minutes prior)

"JC, what is it that you're trying to do exactly?" Justin asked his friend.

"I didn't think I loved her anymore. I didn't think it was being fair to her if I stayed with her as a boyfriend when I didn't think I felt like that. But when I heard she was with Chris this weird feeling came over me. I felt like someone was trying to take away my happiness or something. It was really freaky, but it was then that I knew I still loved her. I just have to get her back," JC kept his eye on the stairs. He wished with all his might that she'd come running down and into his arms, telling him how she missed him.

"What if in a week or something you don't think you're in love again? I'm sorry, man. You know you're like my brother, but she's also like my sister. And well, you sound like you could start playing her. I can't let that happen. Listen to yourself. If Cara told you about her boyfriend that was doing this to her, what would you tell her to do?"

"I'd tell her to go for it, and if he did it again, leave him. Everyone deserves a second chance, Justin."

"Think about it, JC. Think about having some punk break her heart because he didn't think he was in love. When she's trying to move on, and get with someone who will love her, he's trying to mess it up and work his way back in her life. What if he did it again as soon as he realized no one was gonna take her? What if it's just jealousy because you just don't want anyone else to have her? JC, just think about it. What would you tell her? There's no way you'd let her do that, and you know it!" Justin protested.

"I would so, shut up. You don't know what I would and wouldn't do. Just stop it okay?" he looked at Justin with pleading eyes. JC didn't want to fight about it, he knew what he felt now.

They both turned their heads when they heard familiar song lyrics.

Runaway Runaway
Hold you but your going away
Runaway Runaway
Hold you tomorrow but you're leaving today
Runaway Runaway
Hold you but your going away
But your leaving today, but you're leaving today

JC and Justin slowly turned and looked each other in the eye. They both had sad looks on their faces. The song after all was sort of depressing. They could only wonder what was going on. It was amazing how many people's lives could suddenly flip upside down from one night.

"You know, I always thought that things were supposed to go well in star's lives. I thought that people on TV were supposed to have it all, including happiness. I could never have been more wrong," JC said as he looked down at the ground in a sort of sad stare.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to think that too.. I thought that if we became famous, that was it.. our lives would be perfect. It's just brought us trouble. We have to go in the studios soon to work on our new CD.. I don't know what will happen to these girls of ours if we have to leave them," Justin said quietly.

JC hadn't thought of that. If he didn't get Cara back soon, he would probably never get her back. She was his best friend; he had to at least get her friendship back before he had to leave. After the CD, it would be back to touring all the time again. He wouldn't see her, and if she wasn't back, she wouldn't talk on the phone with him either.

Danielle and Neyda were talking later after Joey and Lance had gone home. They were smiling and giggling because both of them looked like they had some blossoming relationships that were about to happen. They were talking girl talk like some teenies about how much they liked this new guy in their life. Neyda wasn't really sure she was really into Joey. She didn't really like him; she just kind of thought he was cute. Danielle was really into Lance though. She would smile and blush as she talked about him, and giggle whenever Neyda pointed it out.

"Hey, you wanna go hang out at the mall and maybe go see a movie?" Neyda said as she looked across the counter in her kitchen at her new friend.

"That sounds like a pretty good idea to me. What's playing? Do ya know?" Danielle asked as she put the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Hmm, I'm not really sure.. well, we can go and see what's playing when we get there. And if it isn't anything good, we can just cruise the mall and then get something to eat, or whatever," Neyda shrugged her shoulders and finished clearing off the counter.

"Okay, sounds cool to me," Danielle said as she closed the dishwasher.

The two went out to the mall and went to a variety of different stores. They stopped into a Bath and Body Works shop and smelled the new fragrances of lotion and body sprays.

"Whoa, smell this one!" Danielle said as she accidentally squirted some lotion at Neyda.

"Uh, smelling and having it all over my face are two different things," Neyda said as she wiped some of the lotion off her cheek.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to do that, Neyda," Danielle said as she grabbed a napkin type towel looking object to help Neyda wash it off.

"Well, that's alright Danielle," Neyda said with a sly smile on her face.

"Um, why does that look make me nervous?" Danielle said eyeing her friend nervously.

"oh, I have no idea," Neyda said as she grabbed some body spray and sprayed Danielle about 15 times.

"Neyda!! AHH!!! It's gonna be SO strong!! It's gonna probably gag people when they walk by me!" Danielle said with wide eyes as she looked at herself.

"Yeah, but you wont have your hair and face all sticky from lotion," Neyda was giggling at her as she spoke.

"Hmm, maybe you need to smell some of this!" Danielle said as she grabbed some more lotion and squirted it at Neyda.

"Oh yeah?! Two can play that game, missy!" Neyda yelled as she grabbed some of her own lotion.

Just then, Joey, Lance, and Steve (Joey's younger brother) walked into the same store.

"Joe, I don't know what one Mom would like. They all smell weird to me," Steve said as he looked around.

"Just pick one then," Joey said, "It smells gross in here, so hurry up."

Lance was giggling, and Joey looked over at him questioningly.

"Uh, Lance? You okay there, buddy?" Joey asked.

"Look over there," Lance pointed to the direction of Danielle and Neyda as he laughed.

Joey started laughing too as the two of them walked over to the girls.

Danielle threw a wad of lotion at Neyda, but it smacked into Joey's face. The two boys joined in the smelly material fight, and soon they had a pretty big mess going on. They all sat on the ground laughing loudly. They looked around quickly and realized how big of a mess they made. This particular shop was pretty big, so no one that worked there had actually seen it yet. Joey put down a $50 on the ground to cover the materials that were used in the fight. The four then grabbed Steve and ran out of the store giggling.

"Man, Joey, I cant take you and your friends anywhere!" Steve laughed.

"Danielle started it!" Neyda giggled.

"I didn't mean to, but it was fun anyway," Danielle smiled.

The group laughed as they walked down the hall to the restrooms to get washed up. After they looked decent, they went into a pizza shop to have some lunch.