I hear my phone ding from across the room and within seconds it's in my hands. A text came through from who I can only assume is Lannan.

A-Team is onboard with going to the zoo tomorrow. I did some research and we will meet you there at 9. See you tomorrow.

The rest of the night was restless. All I could think about was the kind boy with brown eyes. Specifically how he always had something nice to say to me. By the time I had fallen asleep, the sun was shyly peaking over the horizon. A couple hours is all I need anyway. For once my dreams were pleasant. Nikki's alarm echoed throughout the room around 7:45.

"Would you like to join me for breakfast? Or if you'd like a few extra minutes I can bring some up." Nodding my head I slipped into a slight slumber. "Sam." His voice was soft, but loud enough that I slowly cracked my eyes open. His hoodie strings dangled in front of my face as he continued to speak my name. "Sam. Wake up. SAM." Finally my eyes flew open and Nikki was holding a plate consisting of two pancakes and half a banana.

"Half a banana?" She shrugged and walked over to her dresser.

"I got hungry on my way up here." She found what she was looking for and turned towards me. "So, were you dreaming about Lannan?" I could see the smirk on her face as I tried to cover my now red cheeks. "Actually, don't answer that. I already know the answer." After eating breakfast, we both got dressed into comfy attire. Considering it's the zoo, it's hot, and we have no idea how long we will be there.

"About what you said last night." Nikki was a few steps behind me as we began the journey to our bus. "Even if he did 'have a thing for me', what would happen when we go home? I just forget he ever existed. I don't want another Jake." She sighed and put her hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"Regardless of what goes down these two weeks, one thing you have to learn is that not everyone is gonna be like Jacob. I know he hurt you. The only way I can describe it is that he is a seasonal person." She caught onto my confusion when she saw my raised eyebrows. She continued to walk with me. "Some people come into our lives and they aren't meant to be a forever person. They're seasonal. Unfortunately, sometimes we mistake them for forever people. When in reality, they're only suppose to come into our lives as a lesson. Like a filler chapter, if you will. They're there to fill the space that is empty. Jacob was an ass to you. And I wish that never would have happened. But look at the person you became because of it. One day, it'll be as if he never even hurt you. Of course, the scars will still be there, but they won't be fresh wounds anymore. Just let karma do its thing, Sam." She gave me a smile and finally we gathered in the lobby with our classmates.

"One rule today. Stay with at least one other person from our group. We will meet at the exit at 3. Clear?" Everyone mumbled their 'yes' and we were off to the zoo. The ride to the zoo was quite long and made me realize just how much I actually missed home. I missed my dad, my pets, the food from the old southern factory that dad and I went to every other Sunday. I missed the way everyone knew everyone else and it seemed as if we were one big happy family. The bus came to a stop and I noticed a very familiar car parked not too far from us.

"Do you think we could see the giraffes first? They were always my mom's favorite." Nikki nodded and linked arms with me. Our class crowded into the building and we all went our separate ways. Lannan and his friends were nowhere to be found so Nikki and I took it amongst ourselves to find our way to the giraffes. Upon finding them, we stopped and watched them for a couple minutes. "What do you think she would be doing right now?"

"Who? Your mom?" I nodded ever so slightly and she looked back at the giraffes. "I'm not entirely sure. Probably blowing up your phone. 'Are you wearing sunscreen?', 'did you pack enough clothes?', 'don't forget to eat.'. She was like that."

"And it was so sickening then. But I'd give anything to have that right now." My phone dinged in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a text from Lannan.

Where are you guys?

I sent him our location and went back to watching the animals my mom had taught me to love. Every time we came to the zoo, mom would always go straight for the giraffes.

"Do you think she thinks about me?" Nikki sighed and turned towards me.

"Sam, I know she does. And I'm sure she thinks about you all the time. She was your number one fan." I nodded. A few minutes passed and Lannan came into view. I gave a quick wave and he smiled.

"Hey." He had his camera in his hand and his phone in the other. "Nikki, I'm sure you know everyone, but Sam, I'd like to introduce you to my friends. This is Kath, Nathan, Brodey, Marcus, and of course Elliot. They're the ones I said I was going to film with." I quickly shook everyone's hand and gave a smile.

"I'm Samantha. But please call me Sam." Everyone quickly warmed up to each other and within minutes we were all joking. As everyone else was filming for their vlogs, Lannan and I went for a walk.

"So what's your life like back home?" I shrugged. Not really knowing what to say.

"Pretty normal. I live with my dad. I've got two kittens that I would absolutely die for. I work a crappy job with crappy pay, but I don't think I'd have it any other way." He nods his head and glances down at his shoes. "What about you?"

"My life was pretty normal. Then YouTube took off and it hasn't slowed down ever since. I don't want to complain or sound like I don't appreciate what has happened for me, but sometimes it gets to be too much." He looked over at me and then back in front of him. "So, you've talked about your dad. What is your mom like?" This was the question I dread. Every. Single. Time. There's never a right answer. But it always seems like there's too many wrong answers.

"Well, she was the best. My number one fan if you wanna say that." I have a short, breathy laugh. "She always made sure I had a good head on my shoulders. When I was a kid, her, my dad, and myself would always go to this restaurant called The Southern Factory and it's really the only memory I have of her before."

"Before what?" I bit my lip and tried to avoid his eyes.

"When I was sixteen, she broke her arm. Obviously no one thought much of it at the time because she was slightly older and you know? Bones break. But about a month after that, she broke her shoulder. So that's when a red flag popped up. The doctor wanted to run some tests because he was worried for her well-being. 'Why would her bones be so brittle?' So he did an MRI, CT scan, pretty much any and every tests imaginable. That's when the results came back. She was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma. Which is a cancer of the kidney. It was really scary because if the cancer was in her bones, there was no chance of remission. When the final results came back, it was like being paralyzed. The cancer was in her bones. So, it was stage 4. Eventually, she became her sickness. And with each passing day she got closer and closer to death. Until one night I found her asleep in her chair. But, uh, she wasn't asleep. So ever since then it's just been me and my dad. We still go to The Southern Factory every other Sunday, but it's different without mom." Lannan let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry." I shrugged. "That must have been so hard on you." I nodded and began swaying my arms.

"It was. But in the end, she isn't suffering from an illness she didn't deserve. I just hope she's happy, wherever she is." I could feel his hand brush against mine and that's when I looked up at him. We had stopped walking and it seemed as if everything and everyone around us had disappeared.

"Would it be rude if I kissed you?" He asked softly.

"Only if you can catch me." I said as I took off sprinting. I could hear him laugh behind me and the sound of his footsteps mimicking mine. He wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around to face him.

"I'm gonna be honest, I really enjoy spending time with you. There aren't many girls like you in Australia." I giggled.

"You mean the ones with American accents and broken homes?" He rolled his eyes playfully and nodded. "Well, since were being honest. There aren't many guys like you in America."

"You mean the ones with a giant fan base and a weird accent." It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"I mean the genuine ones. But I leave in two weeks. I don't want to start something that will only come to a crushing end before it even begins." He pulls me just a bit closer to him before looking down at me.

"Then we better make it a great two weeks."