In The Pursuit of Success

College & Confusion

Sequel to my fic "Behind The Camera"! Please read that before starting this one. ;) It'll be more serious and angsty in tone than its predecessor. Some more focus on Trish and Dez's relationship, too. Nothing is certain right now, just let me know what you all think!

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"Trish – what is this?" the chestnut-haired girl looks to her friend as her hand holds out a piece of paper that she had procured from the waste bin. The crumpled paper, still legible, had opened up to reveal formal, typed letter – with a letterhead bearing the logo of the University of California: Los Angeles.

The shorter girl looks up from her freshly-painted nails, her smile diminishing as she realizes what her best friend had just discovered in her bin. "Ally, why are you looking through my trash?"

"I accidentally dropped my earring in and – hey, don't change the subject!" She makes her way over to Trish, hopping up beside her on her bed. "Trish, you applied to UCLA?"

"Well, yeah, but –" the dark-haired girl starts.

"–You got accepted! And by the looks of this…" Ally continues, re-reading the letter, once again. "You got a full ride for the music industry program. Why would you throw this away?"

"Well, I was planning on recycling it, Ally, don't worry," Trish replies, trying to brush away the conversation as quickly as possible. This is clearly not something she wants to discuss.

"You know that isn't what I meant, Trish," Ally rests her hand gently on her friend's shoulder. "Why would you throw away an opportunity like this? Please don't tell me this is about the team breaking up…You know that won't happen, no matter what."

"Ally, you gave up MUNY for us, remember? You said you were living the dream already, and I happen to be part of that, too…" Trish explains, blowing at her damp fingernails.

"Well, then why did you even send in an application? I didn't send one to MUNY, you guys did that for me, remember? This…You sent this application, Trish. You want to go to UCLA," Ally states, in an almost accusatory tone.

"I just wanted to see if I was good enough, Ally, that's all. I just wanted to know that I could if I wanted to," Trish continues to explain, unable to hold any sort of eye contact with her best friend at this point.

"Trish, you're my best friend," Ally takes Trish by the chin, turning her head around so that they could be face-to-face. "Don't lie to me. You want to go."

"I-I…I can't," Trish chokes out, suddenly sounding broken. She had done a pretty good job of appearing nonchalant up until this point. The truth had fought its way out, however. "I can't just leave you guys…I'm part of Team Austin and Ally. And even Dez needs me to help him out with his films and-"

"Trish, I never thought the day would come that I'd have to say this, but…You need to be more selfish," Ally states, her words coming off as more of a command than a request. Trish bites her lip.

"Four years, Ally…I'll be at the other side of the country, away from you guys, for four years," Trish pulls her head away from Ally's grasp on her chin, continuing to stare down at her hands. Her nail polish had dried at this point.

"Who said we can't keep in touch? We can face-chat everyday on my MyTab – it'll be like you never left. Things don't have to change entirely, Trish…Only if you let it happen," Ally adds, her tone softening up, seeing how distraught her friend had become.

"Maybe I should talk to Austin and Dez before I decide any –"

"–No, Trish. This is your decision to make," Ally stops her. "You've helped me make tough decisions for my future in the past. Now I'm helping you. Go for it, if that's what you truly want. You have to think about your future here, Trish…"