Once I got back to Newport, I decided to play it cool. I would find Marissa, but I had to handle this delicately. She wasn’t the type that was just going to listen to me or even follow my advice on staying as far away from Volchok as she could. If I told her to stay away from him, it would only push her that much closer to him. See, Marissa has the tendency to do that. I saw it first hand. Her mom didn’t want her around me, so what did she do? Moved in with me. So, if I try to take the same approach? Yeah, you get my point.

I got invited to this party, down on the beach. Big surfer party. So, since I’m laying low and what not, I figured what the hell? Might as well have some fun while I’m at it right? And I knew it was almost a 100 percent guarantee that Volchok and his crew would be there, which mean what? You’ve got it. Marissa would be there.

So, I figure, I go to this party, have some fun, drink some beer and maybe try to convince my ex-girlfriend that she’s making one hell of a mistake. All in a roundabout way of course. I’ve got my ways. She can live in denial all she wants, but she knows she doesn’t belong in this world. I thought I didn’t fit in her world, well she fits even less in this one.

The party was in full swing when I got there and I made my way down to where everyone was. Grabbing a beer, I twisted the cap off and walked over to talk to a few people I hadn’t seen since I moved back to LA. I was on like my 4th beer when I finally saw her. Standing over on the other side of the big bonfire someone had started. I think we noticed each other at the same time. I gave her a smile and tipped my beer at her just as Volchok walked up to her and her attention was drawn away from me.

I watched for a couple of minutes, it seemed like some kind of argument was going on between them. She kept glancing over at me, so I looked away. I wasn’t here to make things worse, I was only trying to help.

((Marissa…))

When Alex wants to get away from everything, or even to think, she always seems to go to the ocean. That seems to be the place that she can make the most sense of things. Nighttime is her favorite time to go. It’s not overly populated like it is during the day and if there happens to be anyone there, they’re so wrapped up in their own thing they pay no attention to her. It’s where she can go to get some quiet. Some peace. Just to forget about everything for a little while. She sits in the sand, staring out into the darkness, the moon casting it’s dim light over the water and the waves crashing onto the shore. When she first ran away, she went straight for the beach. It was then that she discovered its tranquil beauty. She ended up staying there for a few days. Sleeping on the sand under the stars with the waves as her lullaby. She felt safe and everything wrong in her world seemed to just fade away, like the waves were washing all her problems back out into the ocean. If only it were that easy. But still, sometimes she liked to pretend.

When I lived in Newport, I didn’t always hang with the most desirable crowds. In fact, I still don’t. What can I say? I love that life of danger. Living on the edge. I still keep in touch with some of those people from Newport. Old habits die hard I guess. As long as I keep them away from the parents, everything’s cool. Which is why I was at a Halloween party at someone’s house in LA. Not even really sure who’s house it was. Friend of a friend of a friend or something.

I was just starting to enjoy this party when I heard something that pretty much killed the buzz I’d just got going. Something that I had to go over and interrupt and ask them to repeat. Marissa and Kevin Volchok? Did she seriously have a death wish? What the hell happened to that Ryan guy? There was no way this could be true. But apparently it was. She’d been dating, seeing, whatever you want to call it, this Volchok guy. Remember how I said I knew some rough people? He’s one of them. Only he’s one I never bothered to hang out with. And he’s definitely someone Marissa has no business around.

Putting down my beer, I left the party and drove straight to my house. I changed out of my costume and into a pair of jeans and a shirt. Slipping on my shoes, I threw some clothes into a duffle and left. I threw my bag in the back of my Jeep and started driving. There was no way I could ignore this. I had to go to Newport. I had to try to talk some sense into her. I just hope she’ll listen to me.

Alex Kelly didn't go to her high school prom. She had just gone back to school after being kicked out of three other ones and then just not going for awhile. It was pretty far into the school year when she moved back to Los Angeles from Newport Beach and started at the private school her parents helped her get into. That's what no one had ever known about her. The Kelly's were wealthy, very wealthy in fact. Alex just didn't really buy into that whole thing. She rebelled against it every chance she got. The bisexuality, the emancipation, the getting herself kicked out of the other schools. She just didn't fit in with the other rich, spoiled kids, and the truth was, she didn't want to.

It wasn't that no one asked her, because they did. Once she'd gotten back to Los Angeles, she'd definitely had her share of date opportunities. At first she hadn't really been up to the whole dating thing. Not after Marissa. Jody had been persistent as well. Once she found out Alex was back in LA, she was dead set on winning her back. Alex never gave in, but she finally did give in and started seeing a guy named Kyle. He'd been asking her out for weeks. However, that didn't last long, Alex found him boring. She pretty much found all guys boring. Though she considered herself bisexual, she definitely had a preference. So, after Kyle, she ended up briefly dating Amber. That one didn't last long either.

When it came time for the prom, Alex contemplated taking a girl, just to stir things up. But she didn't. She didn't even bother going. It just wasn't her scene.

After that night on the beach, when Marissa and I broke up, I made a decision. I decided it was time. Time to go back home, live with my parents and go back to school. Give it another try or whatever. I guess you could say Marissa inspired me in a way. Sure, maybe I was emancipated, maybe I'd been kicked out of three schools, but why not try it again? I was only seventeen. It wasn't like I could work at The Bait Shop forever. Well, I could, really. Night after night of live music? I could definitely get used to that. But I had to do something, I needed more and getting away from Newport was the first step. So, that's what I did.

Do I regret that decision? Yeah, sometimes. Part of me wishes I would've stayed, that I would've fought for her. But come on, I wasn't stupid. I knew she was into that Ryan guy. I wasn't coming between that. Part of me even knew I was just something to piss her mom off. But when we were together, she made me feel like I was the only one who existed in the whole world to her. Maybe that was part of her charm. I couldn't help it, I fell for her. Hard. I was pretty messed up over losing her. Devastated even. Not that I was letting her know that. That's what made it easier to leave. Knowing she didn't want to be with me. Knowing I couldn't stick around and watch her be with Ryan when I wanted her to be with me.

I don't regret going home and going back to school, but I guess I do regret that me and Marissa never worked out. I guess we all have our regrets. Even me.