You are never truly alone till the last light in your life gets sucked away.

-Peter Parks.

Caleb Parks' POV

They say the first of everything is always deemed magical, and I couldn't agree more.

I never saw the need to establish a romantic connection with anyone. The world clearly didn't agree with my logic because it threw a blonde girl with blue eyes my way, and she turned my whole life upside down.

I don't know what came over me, but I had to kiss her even if I'll keep replaying it in my head till thy kingdom come. It was totally worth it.

Although I don't regret taking Jack up on his offer on how to kiss a girl. Never thought kissing a sack of popcorn would become a life skill.

I wouldn't be surprised if Peyton has been in previous relationships and compared us. I know I won't be able to hold a candle to them, but a guy can hope, can't he?

I guess Ken's wish came true; America's sweetheart finally had a girl rock his world.

Not surprisingly, she was the one to break the kiss. Her striking blue eyes filled with regret.

Was I really that bad?

I brush her cheeks, hoping it's not a dream. She's going to reconsider her choices and stay.

Please give us a chance.

Everything blurs as I focus on the amazing girl standing before me. She did what I was too much of a Coward to do all these years.

I guess you can say that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, hoping against hope that she will stay despite the deal we made.

What could be so dire that she wants to leave at all costs?

"If you let me go tonight, I promise I will be there when you get your happy ending, Deal?"

We share a passionate kiss, and the first that leaves her mouth is a deal that I can't make.

"You're not going to stay to meet her, are you?" I say, but it was of no use. As usual, she had already figured me out.

"What if I say you are my happy ending, that you are the person that should never leave? Because the ending is already here."

I go for the grovelling approach because it's true. I can't imagine connecting with anyone else like this girl has done for me, and to say that I want to keep her here would be the understatement of the year.

"Do we have a deal, Parks?" She attempts to look nonchalant, but I see right through it.

Her gaze takes me in as if it's the last time that we will meet. She looks pained as if this decision is out of her hands, and I can't begin to fathom why. If this Empire; she speaks of prevents her from being happy, I'll help her leave one way or the other.

"Deal," I say.

All I wanted to do was kiss her, again and again.

I want to do that and much more, but Carol and Dinah raised me to be a gentleman. The lady's consent and her happiness have to be accounted for. But can she say she's not happy here, with me?

I'm pulled out of my doubting thoughts when I feel a warm pair of lips near my mouth.

"Goodbye, Caleb." She gives me a pained smile and walks out of the room, where I hear her tell Jack to call the pilot.

I stand there and allow the last beacon of light to leave my life.

-

I don't know how long I've stood here and watched the door she used to walk out of the music room, out of my life.

But Jacob walks in and shakes his head at my transfixed state.

"I'm not even going to comment on this now," He says, "Jacob and Shawn with me are driving Peyton to the airport, and we'll wait for the private plane to leave there and head to Africa and pick up Trish."

He gives me a bro hug, and before he leaves the room, he turns back and offers me a sly smile, "We will work with those unkissable lips later." He winks and walks out.

I allow my thoughts to remind me of the moments we spent together.

I'm supposedly used to people leaving me; I lost two sets of parents now I lost the girl I wanted to have kids with.

Life is cruel.

Knowing that I won't be getting a good sleep after all that's happened today, I walk out of the music room and head to the corridor under the steps.

I stop by Abigail's room and open the door quietly. She is lying on her back with a mischievous smile on her lips.

The thought of explaining what happened to her parents crosses my mind, and I shake my head. I guess some heartbreaks are postponed.

One hurdle for another time.

I kissed her forehead and ruffled her head slightly.

I head over to my other sister's room, expecting her to be asleep under the covers but imagine my surprise when I walk into her monochrome room that is dimly lit.

She sat on her bed facing the window that showed the slowly descending moon.

Her voice freezes my hand as I reach for the light switch.

"If you came here to check up on me, I'm fine, but I know you're not." She hasn't even turned her face to look at me, but I know Marci is hurt.

"Why are you still up?" I mutter and close the door behind me and rest on it.

"Just thinking," She hums, "So she's gone, huh?"

I close the distance between us and sit on the bed.

"Yea,"

"I remember telling her not to break your heart; she did just that."

"Why so little faith in me?" I drawled with fake disappointment in my tone.

Marci snorts, "Oh please, you looked like a lost puppy, and she was stringing you on a leash. But I know she still felt something for you but was conflicted."

"I wonder why," I say matter of factly. "I really wanted to keep going with..."

"Please tell me you did not sleep with her in the music room?!" Marci looks appalled by the idea.

I sigh, "Only if things were that easy."

"I am never going into that room ever again, jeez! Did you at least clean up the place afterwards?"

"Marcella, all we did was share a kiss. And for the love of coconuts, what would make you think that?" I say mortified.

Marci looks at me, but her complexion makes it hard for me to read her expression. I know without a doubt that she is glaring at me for using her full name.

"Never mind."

For the first time in a long while, an awkward silence happens between us.

"Would it be a bad time to say I know how to use dad's shotgun?" Marci shrugs and says without warning.

I chuckled humorlessly, "I'm not sure if I want to know how that went down."

She raises her hands in mock surrender, "Just saying, you never know when it can come in handy."

Our laughter filled the air, but it lacked mirth.

"So, how do we go about our lives that are currently falling apart?"

I do a double-take at my little sister.

It's fair to say that mine is; Peyton walked out of this house with not only my first kiss, my heart, and my last hope of finding happiness but with my happily ever after.

"Peyton and I shared a kiss while crying, and she left me in her dust with more questions about herself than when we first met."

Marci gave me a pat on my shoulder, "Hate to say it, brother, but I told you so."

Spoken like a Wellington.

I sigh. "And I agree. It does beg the question of what is this Empire, even capable of for her to leave like this."

All I know about Peyton Griffin is that she lives to not only please the people that are close to her but to protect them by making deals. She knows how to make deals as if she were a gangster and don't even get me started on her attitude.

I could go on and on about what makes this girl intrigue me, but I prefer to focus on my little sister, who is slowly becoming a shell of herself.

Marci would never stay up this late unless Nate was involved, but you can never be sure with teenagers.

"You didn't answer my question." I glance around her dimly lit room.

"Can I say I was testing out the theory of twilight?" She grinned at me.

I scowl, "Out with it."

"Just for the record, your nosiness will get you killed one day." She huffed.

I take a leaf out of Peyton's book and do an eye roll, "You're stalling."

Marci focuses her attention on the picturesque view of sunrise.

"Did my dad tell you what went down in the mansion a few nights ago?" She says with no emotion in her voice.

Marcel did say that the dinner was a disaster earlier this evening, "He did, but according to him, you were numb."

"I still am. It's not every day your mom tells you that she wants to walk out of your life because she wanted to give you siblings."

At that moment, I knew that Marci was crushed, and I had little to no idea how to help her.

As she said; it's not every day that you find out the perfect family you are used to is about to fall apart in front of your very eyes.

I pull her closer and hug her against my chest, and she wraps her hands around my neck.

The waterworks begin, and I allow her to cry it out while I hold her against me.

I let a few tears slip from my eyes. The last thing I remember is that things don't always go the way we plan when it comes to the people close to us.

-

Marci was the first to wake up from our uncomfortable position on the bed.

Her face was puffy, and her eyes were swollen and red. I hope Marcel and Dinah work out their issues and realise that the effects it will have on Marci will be more drastic than they think.

"What time is it?" Marci rubs her eyes with her knuckles.

I dread how her emo look would make her look dead, but there is only so much I could do.

"We will get through this, okay?" I hold her face and look into her lifeless light chocolate orbs.

Why do I have the sickening feeling that the last time Marci would show any emotion was last night?

She doesn't even grace me with a response because she nods.

I kiss her forehead and leave her to her own antics.

I walk into my room and instantly regret it.

"I can see that the homecoming is going according to plan." I snort as I continue to take the scene before me.

I walked in to see Taryn straddling Jack while they sucked each other's face's off with his back to me and his other senses dull. Taryn was the one among the duo that heard and saw me first.

So in a true Taryn fashion, she pushes Jack away, rushes up to me and jumps. She wrapped her hand around my neck and legs around my waist as a bright smile graced her lips.

"My favourite best friend," She grins before hugging me while hanging on me like a Koala.

Jack let out the famous attention-gaining cough, which makes Taryn throw a wink his way.

"I heard that you are finally whipped, and she left. I am not even going to convince you to forget about her. If you tell me that you will give up on love again because of what went down while I left, I'll have you know that I have a new pair of heels. They are sharp and pointy." She finishes her rant while raising one of her hands to pinch my cheeks.

I didn't even get to respond to her rant because she cooed at me, "My baby is all grown up, falling in love and whatnot."

I grimaced because she most likely had done her nails recently.

She did have a point because I was already leaning towards the 'no more love' zone again, but now that I had a taste of it, I wanted more.

But there were many things to take into consideration.

If you think about it, there was actually a lot to consider. Apart from the Empire, the press was already spreading rumours about us, and Ken is still trying to get another interview before we leave for NYC. Safe to say that if the Empire didn't rip us apart, then the press most likely would, but I would never allow that.

Jack sighed dramatically and threw his hands up in the air, "We've established that you are happy for him. Can you please get down and finish what you started?"

I do a double-take at them, "Not in my room."

"So he speaks." Taryn grins at me with mischief.

"I missed you too." I kiss her cheek as she slides down from my body.

Jack narrows his eyes at her, "When we met in the airport, the first thing you did was slap my youth off my face."

Taryn snorts, "What youth? Last time I checked, your hair dye finished before I left, and your roots look slicker with the grey outlines, Babe." She throws a seductive but sarcastic wink at Jack as she starts moving closer to the door.

"As fun as this reunion is, I must continue what I was doing with Jacob. Peace!" She raises two fingers and dashes out of the room while yelling for Jacob.

Jack looks upward and curses before going after her.

I missed this, but I missed Peyton more. I miss how she always wanted to put me in my place at the smallest of opportunities. I miss how she inspired me to move on from the previous hurt. What's more, is that I miss how it felt to have someone to connect in a level entirely foreign to me, and I crave the feeling. I crave it so bad it hurts my heart to think she is miles away.

I will have my happy ending. Empire and Paparazzi be damned.