Mia's POV:

"I need to see him, now." I tell Niall, determination now coming over me.

"Woah, woah. Slow the fuck down." Niall tells me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"No, Niall! I don't think you understand how much I need this. I have spent months thinking I was crazy! Thinking I made some guy up, but he's real. And I know there was something between us."

His eyes widen, "Okay. I understand. What do you want to do?"

"I need to find out where the hell he could be."

"Well, think about it."

I run over all memories, trying my best to think of anything that he has said about it. Then it hits me.

"Alaska or Russia."

Niall scrunches his face, "Why the fuck?"

"He likes the cold." I smile, slightly.

"Whatever. Where do you want to check first?"

"Alaska, probably. Best to start closest."

"Let's hurry and go to the library and look up tickets." He suggests, picking his backpack up and heading down the hall.

I follow him into the library and sit next to him as he searches up tickets.

"For a good seat, it will cost about $1,100. Where the hell are you going to get that money? And on top of that, let us say he isn't even in Alaska and you have to fly to Russia." Niall glares at me. "Oh, wait! There's no airline that flies from Alaska to Russia! So you would have to fly to somewhere like London, coming in at another $1,400. And then from London to Russia, it is $300."

I bite my lip, "Well..."

"Exactly. You have no fucking money to get to him."

"I could just...just..." Tears start falling out my eyes as I realize I have absolutely no money.

"Fucking hell, Mia. Don't fucking cry." He clenches his jaw, turning his face away from me. "Stop."

I can see him looking at me out of the corner of his eyes, though.

"Fucking hell! Fine, fine. You know what? I'll help you."

I snort, "You have as much money as I do."

"Not true. I have access to my college tuition."

"What? Niall! Hell no, I can not take that." I gasp, my eyes widening.

"I'm not asking, Meemo. I want to help. And I can take money out of an ATM using the credit card my parents gave me for emergencies, I would classify this as one. Wouldn't you?"

Tears fall once again as I look at Niall gratefully, "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"No."

"Well, I love you soooo much."

"You're only fucking saying that because I am giving you money."

I grin, kissing his cheek, "Never."

"I love you a lot, Meemo. Now let's make a plan."

*3 Days Later*

My heartbeat quickens and I can't help but feel as if I am about to throw up from nerves. Today is the day...the day I finally leave to go find Zayn.

School just ended, and as soon as I get home, the plan is in action.

I take a step through the door and head to the kitchen where both my parents are, "Hey guys."

"Mia!" My mom grins, hugging me. "How're you?"

"Good. Can I ask you both a question?"

"Of course, honey." She tells me, moving closer to my dad.

"If you guys could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

My dad's face scrunches, "What kind of question is this?"

"What I think your dad is trying to ask is where this question has come from..."

I take a deep breath, "Haven't you guys ever wanted to get up and just leave? Go somewhere and never look back. Somewhere nobody knows you."

"Are you on drugs?" He asks, sighing.

"What? No! it's just a question."

"I would stay here." My mom tells me. "I love it here."

"Really?" I ask, laughing. "This place is nothing. It's boring and bland. I want to live on the west coast, it is so...lively."

"The west coast is for damn hippies." My dad tells me, pointing his fork at me. "Are you a damn hippie?"

I roll my eyes, "You guys never understand."

"Understand what, Mia? This is the dumbest conversation ever. If you're trying to convince us to move to the west, it is not happening."

"Whatever," I say, sassily.

"Do not pull that tone on me, young lady." My dad tells me, glaring. "What is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem!"

"There you go with that fucking attitude."

"What fucking attitude?" I raise my voice, folding my arms.

My dad stares at my mom, getting permission to go off on me.

"Mia, stop it. Go to your room, now." She tells me, raising her voice also.

"Whatever."

As soon as I am in my room, I pull out my bag and throw my things in it as fast as I can. When I am done with that, I rip out a paper from my notebook and write my parents a note.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything. I just needed to leave, the air is too suffocating here. I need to live somewhere lively, not Louisiana. It's too bland and boring here for me.

It's not anybody else but me. Please don't try to come and find me, I need this time. And I can promise you, you won't find me.

Thank you for being amazing parents. I will never forget you or anything you have done for me. Goodbye, I love you.

-Mia

After I am done, I set it on my desk and write in the back of the notebook, "one day I will run away to somewhere beautiful".

I close the notebook and set the note on top of it, praying they would find that hint. Then I grab a school notebook from my backpack and write "dreaming of the west coast".

This leaving notes was Niall's idea. If the police did a full on investigation, they would look through my notebooks and locker at school to try and figure out where I went. He told me to write these exact things so that they would think I was already planning on running away, and that I was somewhere on the west coast.

After I am fully done, I take one more look at my room and everything I am leaving behind. And then I open my window and leave it all.

I open Niall's car door and slide in, speaking no words to him. He starts the engine and pulls away from my house, heading towards the city of Baton Rouge.

"Are you doing alright?" He asks, his eyes not leaving the road.

I put on a convincing smile, "Yeah."

"If you say so."

We drive a bit farther, not speaking one word.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous is all." I tell him, breaking the silence.

"I figured." Niall smiles. "This is a scary thing to do."

"Yeah," I breathe out. "It really is."

"Will you miss them?"

"Of course. They're my parents. And I'll miss you and Louis and everybody...but I have to do this."

"Yeah...and I'll always be here for you. No matter what." He tells me as he pulls into the airport parking lot.

"I love you, best friend."

A small smile finds his lips, "Here's a new phone. It's a burner. After a week, it will disable. There's five more in your bag, my number is saved in each of them. This will stop the police from being able to track you."

I listen intently as he goes on, "I need your phone."

Without hesitation, I hand it over and watch as he puts it in his pocket.

"What're you going to do with it?"

"Get rid of it, obviously."

I laugh, "Okay."

"Anyway, that's how you are going to keep in touch with me. I have another phone that nobody knows about, so I will be using that to talk with you. The police will look through my phone thoroughly looking for information."

I nod, "Okay. But what kind of shady shit are you in to have a second phone?"

"No shady shit," He laughs. "Just an old phone."

"Got it."

"Now, here is all my college savings and money I got from an ATM. It's a total of $70,000. You use it for whatever you need. Hotels, clothes, food, anything. This will make it so the police can't track you. Rule one of running away is keeping it on the down low."

Clenching my jaw with anxiety, I listen to him go on.

"Your name is no longer Mia Clarke. Well, I mean, to hotels and the airport it isn't. Your new name is Martha Keller."

"Why do I sound like I am an old lady?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Just go with it." He grins. "When you get in there, the first thing you need to do is go up and purchase a ticket to Alaska under your new name. As for me, I will take your parents credit card and purchase a one way ticket to Oregon."

"This isn't a part of the plan, Niall!"

"I know, but I need to purchase a ticket to Oregon in your name. I'll get on and fly there, and as soon as I get there, I'll head home."

"How will you be getting home?" I ask, sighing.

"I have some friends that will get me home before anyone even realizes I am gone."

"God, how could I ever thank you?"

"Just be happy, okay? That's all I want. You weren't happy here and I could tell." Niall shrugs.

"But I can't just take your money...this is your college money!" I tell him, frustration hitting me.

"I'm not asking, Mia. Just take it. You need it."

I lean over and hug him tightly, "You're the best."

"I know."

My heart pounds as I head up to the ticket booth. As I walk up, the lady looks at me and grins, "Hello! How may I help you?"

"W-What?" I ask, gulping.

"How may I help you?"

"Oh!" I say out loud, surprised. "I mean, can I get a ticket to Juneau, Alaska?"

"Yes, you may. Any preference on where you want to be seated?"

"Economical, please."

"Okay! Your total is $1,120."

I take out the money from my purse with my hands shaking, "Here you go."

"Okay! Your flight is departing at 6:00. Have a nice flight!"

As I walk away, I look at my phone and see that it is 5:20.

I take a deep breath and head down the terminal without looking back once.

----

Here you all go! Happy May 19th and the first chapter of "Shadows"!

This one will not be as long as the first one, but it won't be short. I hope you all enjoy the second book as much as you did the first one.

I will be able to update a lot because school ends next Thursday, so be ready (;

I love you all so much!