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I was getting adopted, she couldn't have been serious. This whole thing couldn't have been real. I felt sick, happy, and upset at the same time. I was happy to finally be getting out of here, but then again I was upset about leaving my friends and boyfriend behind. I was happy that I was getting adopted by a family that looked very- hopefully- sweet and kind, but then I felt like I was betraying my mom although she left me here.

"I'm what?" I questioned, making sure I heard them right. Halsey continued to smile sweetly.

"You're getting adopted, sweetie." She said, Officer McKinnon grinned at me from where he was stood, leaning against the wall.

"Why don't you go gather your things while they finish up here and come back when you're done." Miss McDougall suggested, smiling at me too.

"Am I supposed to be leaving today?" I asked almost incredulously, Halsey shook her head at me.

"No, you're leaving tomorrow afternoon after you get back from school, so that gives you time to gather your belongs properly." She said. All I could do was nod as Miss McDougall ushered me lightly out the door. I was still in so much shock as I climbed the stairs, heading up to my room that I shared for so months with Kellin and Jaime. I barely registered my movements as I grabbed my bag that was still in the closet and began to stuff my clothes, laptop and all my other essentials inside it. Just like the first day I arrived here, I didn't have much, and I still didn't...well, maybe a few of Austin's sweatshirts and sweatpants, but even that wasn't much.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kellin asked, looking down at me where I was sat in front of the closet, zipping up my bag.

"Um, I'm- I'm getting adopted." I said. The words felt so weird coming out of my mouth.

Kellin's jaw dropped slightly and his shoulders slumped as he looked at me. I could see his eyes filling up with tears as he continued to stare, and I knew before long, I, too, would probably cry.

"You're leaving?" He asked, barely above a whisper. His voice cracked slightly and I couldn't contain the tears filling up in my eyes either. All I could do was nod as I grabbed my bag from the floor and tossed it to my bed.

"Yeah, I guess I am." I said, my bottom lip quivering.

"Y-You can't though. You just- you can't leave." Kellin whimpered, the tears in his eyes now falling. My words got choked back as I pulled him into a hug. He was my best friend, now. I didn't want to leave him, or any of them for that matter.

"I know. I'm going to miss you." I said, pulling away and wiping my eyes.

"You better come back and hang out with us like, all the time, or I swear I will find you and beat you up." He said, he too wiping at his eyes. I grinned and hugged him one more time before we pulled away completely and went back downstairs. I headed back to the Questioning Room where John and Samantha were talking to Halsey. Sergeant McKinnon came over to me, slapping a hand down on my shoulder.

"Why do you look so down, kid? You should be excited, you're finally getting a second chance with a family who will love you and care for you." He said, I bit down on my lip and shook my head, watching and John and Samantha continued to talk to Halsey.

"I don't want to leave my friends...I don't want to leave Jaime or Kellin o-or..." I trailed off as my eyes began to water again as I thought about Austin. I for sure didn't want to leave him.

"Hey, you're going to see them again, it's not like you're moving across the state or the country," Sergeant McKinnon assured me. "If anything, you'll just be leaving this side of town for the much nicer side."

"But still." I whispered, rubbing my eyes to rid of the tears. God, I hated crying so much.

"You're going to be just fine, you know where to find me if you need to talk." He said, ruffling my hair and walking away as Halsey, Samantha and John approached me.

"Do you have all of your things?" Halsey asked, once again smiling. I only nodded, tugging at the hem of my shirt.

"You're going to love it with us, sweetie. We've got four kids already, three of them which have been adopted from here before. Two of them are twins and their names are Ava and Abigail and they're ten, we have a boy who is your age, maybe a year older, and his name is Tyler, and our biological is Bradley, but he's only six so he shouldn't be much of a bother." Samantha explained, a warm smile on her face the entire time. They both looked so nice, and warm, and inviting that it made me feel easy on the inside. Maybe this entire thing won't be so bad?

"Do you have any questions for them?" Halsey asked, I shook my head.

"Oh! I can't wait for him to be with us!" Samantha said, pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

"Honey, calm down." John said, chuckling and pulling his wife off of me. She only grinned at me more before they said a goodbye, telling me they'd be arriving as soon as I got back from school. Halsey and Sergeant McKinnon left too, leaving me to be alone in the Questioning Room.

Now it was time to tell everyone else.

。。。

"What?! You're getting adopted?!" Jaime shouted, way too loudly for my liking. I nodded and grinned softly, letting out a breath as he pulled me into a tight hug. I had been getting these way too much throughout the afternoon from every one. Mike, Vic, Tony, Alex, Jack, all of them. Jaime was the last to hear- besides Austin- to get the news, and unlike the majority, he didn't cry. He was rather excited about it, because he had been in here for some time.

"It felt like it was only yesterday that you were walking in through that door all shy and whatnot." He said, I grinned and rolled my eyes at him. "I'm gonna miss you staying in here."

"I'm gonna miss you, too," I told him, pulling away. "But, now if you'll excuse me...I have to tell one last person." Jaime and Kellin waved me off as I left out of the room, heading down the hallway. It was only nine o'clock, so I didn't expect Austin to be asleep.

I knocked on the door and waited until I heard someone shout "come in". Slowly I opened it up and peered inside. Austin was sat on his bed, reading a comic book while Vic messed around on his laptop and Mike and Tony cuddled on Mike's bed.

"Hey," Austin grinned, looking up from his comic book and up at me.

"Hey," I grinned and greeted back as I stood in the doorway. "Um, I need to tell you something."

Austin's grin faltered some and he sat up, setting his comic book aside as he nodded and waved me over. I guess Vic, Mike and Tony knew what this was about, so they excused themselves and left from the room.

"Is everything okay?" Austin asked as I came over and sat down beside him on his bed.

"Everything's fine, especially between us, so there's no need to worry about that." I said, reassuring him. Austin let out a little breath and chuckled.

"Oh, thank God. I thought it was one of those relationship talks." He said, I grinned and shook my head, leaning in and kissing his cheek. He smiled and placed his hand on my thigh, giving a little squeeze.

"So, um," I fumbled with the blanket on his bed while I tried to form the words in my head. I didn't think of what I was going to say to him, because it's not like we were breaking up.

"When Miss McDougall came and got me earlier this afternoon, she took me in the Questioning Room and my social worker, Sergeant McKinnon along with this family were in there," I explained softly and Austin sat there, listening to me with a small smile on his face. "Um, to put it short and blunt, I'm getting adopted and tomorrow after school will be my last time here."

The smile on Austin's lips dropped and he looked a little confused for a moment before the smile reappeared.

"Th-That...That's great!" He said, grinning widely. I wasn't sure if it was real or forced.

"Really? You're not like, upset or anything?" I questioned, Austin shook his head and leaned in, pecking my lips. "Why are you so calm about this?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, I'm a little sadden that you're not going to be here with me all day, everyday, but I mean, Alan, you're getting adopted into a family who I hope is going to treat you well and give you all the love that you've deserved for so long," Austin said, brushing little strands of hair from my face. "But I hope to God these people don't mind me coming into their house all the time, because I'm going to be coming over like, all the time just so I can be with you."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "You're lucky you're cute." I muttered, Austin just shrugged and kissed me again.

"So are these people nice?" He asked, leaning against the headboard of his bed and pulling me into his arms. I leaned against him, my head on his chest.

"Definitely, they've already got four kids- three of which they've adopted and one that's their biological." I explained, grinning as Austin kissed the top of my head.

"Good, you deserve the best of family." He mumbled. I smiled and leaned up, kissing him softly.

That's how I spent the rest of my night, in Austin's arms and talking until we both fell asleep.

。。。

I treated the next day at school like it was any other, and I mean it was, but afterwards wasn't going to be the same. I would heading to a new home- one that was hopefully permanent and better than what I had before. I was scared and nervous, honestly. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was hoping for the best.

Austin barely let me go throughout the day. He walked me to all of my classes, held my hand in the hallways, snuck kisses to me during our shared classes and during lunch. I guess he was trying to make up for the loss contact we would have now that we weren't going to be together all the time.

Everyone was acting a little bit out of character, but I thought that it was sweet they were trying to say some kind of goodbye- even if we'd still see each other at school and still will hang out.

Lynn even took liberty into making a card and having everyone sign it, wishing me sweet things and saying a congratulatory for getting adopted. I thought it was a little much, but everyone was just so excite, except for me. I was still scared.

When the school day drew to an end, I got on the bus just like everyone else and sat down beside Austin like I always did. He smiled at me and greeted me with a kiss.

The ride was long, just like always. It seemed like forever by the time we reached the orphanage. All those who belonged got off and went inside. I almost didn't want to walk through the doors. I thought that maybe if I held off for a little bit, that would mean John and Samantha weren't going to come and get me. Maybe I could have at least a few more hours in this place, even if I despised it. But I knew I couldn't wait. I knew I couldn't just not walk through the doors and be taken away to somewhere great. I had to walk through those doors, and I did.

I wasn't leaving right away. I had enough to time to sit down on the couch where I spent a lot of my time and watch TV like I always did after school. It wasn't until an hour or so after being relaxed did Miss McDougall say that John and Samantha were waiting outside and that I needed to grab my things.

Austin helped carry the one bag I did have downstairs and out to the car where, just like Miss McDougall said, John and Samantha were waiting, big smiles on their faces. Kellin, Jack, Vic, all of them, came outside and said goodbyes, hugging me and everything. I was already sick of all the hugs that I had gotten, that by time it came to Austin, I just kissed him sweetly and pulled away.

"It's gonna be a little weird sleeping without you in my arms." Austin said, grinning softly.

"You're a tough boy, I think you can handle a few days." I told him, chuckling. Austin chuckled too and kissed the top of my head before joining the others who were gathered at the steps.

"You all ready to go?" Samantha came up beside me and asked. I nodded at her and waved one last goodbye before getting into the car. John and Samantha got in too, after putting my things in the trunk.

The car started up and we pulled away from the building. I turned and looked back, seeing everyone waving. It felt like I was leaving them for good, although I knew that wasn't true.

"I hope you know you're still going to see them again." Samantha said, turning in her seat and looking at me.

"I know." I mumbled, smiling softly at her.

"I think- well I hope you'll like at your new home. Tyler is actually excited about having a sibling around his age, and the little ones, they're always excited about everything." She explained, grinning.

"Did you tell him about the living arrangements?" John asked, taking a glance at her.

"Oh, no I forgot!" Samantha said. She was a very hyperactive woman, she still looked young. Maybe at least in her mid or late twenties. "You're getting your own room, which I hope is okay, but I think it might be. Tyler will more than likely show you around, considering John has to be at work tonight." She rambled, I nodded slowly, tuning in and out as Samantha continued to talk.

Soon we reached a very nice neighborhood that had houses up to two or three stories. The lawns were healthy and green, gates surrounded every house, and everything just seemed...so nice. This definitely wasn't anything like my old neighborhood.

John pulled up into a garage to a house of which I assumed was theirs. It was really nice, simply two stories and painted a very clean white. He and Samantha got out, leaving me to follow. I grabbed my bag from the trunk and followed behind them both through a door in the garage that led into the kitchen.

"Well, sweetie, welcome to your new home." Samantha said, wrapping me up in a tight hug. I took the chance to glance around at what I could see, and to say the least, I wasn't that disappointed. Maybe this was my second chance at having the great family I always dreamed of.

。。。

double update because I'm really feeling it. Also, this is slowly coming to an end, which is making me rather sad because I love writing this, although I suck at updating and had writers block for majority of this. I'm not sure how many chapters are left, though

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