The LOUD Tour has been one of the best experiences of his life. 46 concerts in a two month time period across the US and Canada, once in a lifetime experiences, and countless screaming fans each night reminding him why music matters. It's during those moments on stage when he's looking out into the audience singing along at the top of their lungs that everything else fades away. The stress and pressure and problems of the world don't exist and it's just a group of people speaking the one language they all have in common: music. It's then that he realizes that he wouldn't trade what he's been so incredibly blessed with for anything else in the world because he's living his dream. And not many people can say that at any age, let alone seventeen years old.
But he still misses her.
He understands that it's normal, of course, because she's one of his best friends and not seeing her for months at a time after being together practically every day for the past two years is bound to bring about that empty feeling.
It's kind of driving him nuts at this point though.
It's stupid, really, because they just saw each other like a week or two ago for Austin and Ally promo stuff, when they did that Meet and Greet and visited a bunch of kids in the hospital. They spent the entire day together and it was awesome, except that even though they had a lot of fun they were still working and as soon as they were done he hopped on a plane and got back just in time to literally run from the car to backstage and Ready, Set, Rock! before the show started.
So really, if you add up the number of minutes they got to spend alone the total would be, like, none. And that bothers him.
Plus there's this whole thing about her going to prom soon.
And he's happy for her, really he is. Prom is like one of the most vital parts of high school and supposedly one of the best nights of your life. (He wouldn't know. He never went to prom. They had a prom for homeschooled kids but he'd graduated early anyway and what was the point of going to a prom where you didn't know anyone? He'd rather work on stuff for the band instead.) And Laura deserves the perfect prom night. She deserves the perfect everything.
Except… except maybe there's this teeny tiny part of him that isn't so happy for her. Which is bad, he knows, but he can't help it. Because yeah, he gets to play sold out shows nonstop for two months and it's epic and perfect and his dream. But while he's doing that, she'll be dancing the night away with some lame guy that probably isn't even that great to begin with. He's probably a drug dealer or a criminal. And then Laura would go to jail on prom night when the guy got arrested just by association, which would damage her career and her self esteem, not to mention emotionally scar her for life. (Actually, he probably isn't lame at all. And it's highly unlikely that he's a criminal. He's probably really awesome because Laura is an incredible judge of character and wouldn't just go with some creeper. Which sucks even more.) And good for the guy, you know? Because obviously he's got good taste if he asked Laura to prom and hopefully they'll have a great time.
Except what if he's like, really short? That'd be super awkward. Granted, Laura is really short too but what if he's even shorter than her? Plus she'll probably be wearing heels so the pictures would look really weird if he was the size of a little kid. Then Laura would have to stand behind him in the pictures and it would be a disaster. The guy is supposed to be taller, or at least the same height. Not that it matters or anything, because size totally doesn't. It's about what's inside that counts.
But what if the guy hates music? Or dancing? Then Laura would be stuck sitting down all night long watching everyone else have a good time while she's miserable all because her date is selfish and wouldn't even have the decency to dance with her. But he probably loves music, because everyone loves music and even if you hate dancing that's what you do at dances so it's pretty much implied that if you invite someone to a dance then you're going to, y'know, dance. So that's good.
But what if he doesn't have a way to get there? Then Laura would have to walk to prom. Who does that? You don't walk to prom, especially because she'll be in heels and her feet would get sore. And she'd be all out of breath and sweaty and tired by the time they got there and everything would be ruined. Except nobody walks to prom. Let alone do they ask someone to prom when they know they'll be walking. They'd get a ride from someone or just not go.
So he's not a criminal, he's tall enough to pass the height requirement for amusement park rides, loves music, is an excellent dancer, and has a reliable mode of transportation. Which means there's nothing to worry about, so people can calm down because Laura is going to be fine and have an amazing night.
Which is great. Really. It is.
Except… maybe there's this teeny tiny part of him that wishes it was him she was going with instead. Because even though her date is a good dancer and has a way to get there and isn't the size of his four year old cousin and doesn't have a warrant out for his arrest, you still never know about people. This guy could have a hidden past is all he's saying. Sometimes people surprise you.
Ross would never surprise her. Everyone knows he doesn't have a criminal record and loves music and is a great dancer and has a car and it's sort of impossible to miss that he's six feet tall.
Plus, like, the dude is probably ugly.
"Ross! Where you at, dude?"
He's in hell, actually. The window view is quite nice.
Riker pokes his head in the bus.
"What are you doing?"
Driving himself insane. Care to take the wheel?
"Nothing." He mutters. "Just… practicing."
Riker frowns. "Without a guitar?"
A little too late does Ross realize no instruments are even remotely close to where he's laying on the sofa. Whoops.
"I'm… doing it mentally. Going over the notes and stuff."
"I've never heard of that before."
"It's new. I'm trying it out to see how well it works." He explains. Riker nods slowly.
"And how's that going for you?"
He sighs. "Not well."
Riker steps into the bus and drops down next to him.
"Want to talk about what's really going on or should we keep going with this bogus story you made up?"
"It's nothing." He says with a frown. "It's dumb. I'm just being stupid."
"You're always stupid," Riker teases, "But that doesn't mean we can't talk about it anyway."
"Thanks." Ross rolls his eyes.
"But seriously man, what's on your mind?"
Ross sighs. "I don't even know where to start."
"The beginning is usually the best place." Riker nudges him. "Come on, out with it."
"It's not even a big deal. Prom is stupid anyway."
Realization washes across his brother's face. "Ah. So it's about Laura."
"I never said that! I just said prom was dumb. I never even mentioned Laura's name." Ross sighs after seeing the pointed look he's being given. "Alright, so it's about Laura. Whatever. It's not a big deal."
"Right. It's not a big deal. I get that, especially since you keep saying it's not a big deal."
"Because it isn't." he insists.
"Which is why you're sitting here by yourself in the middle of the day."
"I was tired."
"We've been driving for almost seventeen hours." Riker points out. "This is the first place we've stopped at for more than an hour and you're still on the bus. Even when you're sick you still get stir crazy."
"It's not a big d-"
"If you say it's not a big deal one more time I'm going to smack you."
Ross shrugs. "Well it's not."
"That's it." Riker throws his hands up in frustration and pulls out his cell phone. "You're not being cooperative, so I'm taking drastic measures. We're having a family meeting."
"What? No!" The chaos of Lynch family meetings is legendary, and the last thing Ross needs is to be bombarded right now.
"You brought it on yourself. Normally I'd let you stew but we're on a time crunch. We have a show tonight and you can't be depressed for it."
"I'm fine! And even if I wasn't, I know how to act in public." Ross insists. He's a professional, after all, and he's worked plenty of times when he hasn't felt like the happiest guy in the world.
"It's more than that though." Riker says, tapping away at a text. "I'm worried about you buddy. We all are. This way we can all sit down and help you figure this thing out." He looks up from his phone after a moment. "Okay, get up. We're meeting everyone at the diner down the street. Chop chop."
"Riker, I'm serious. This isn't necessa-"
"You either get up and come with me on your own or I'll be forced to drag you." And Ross knows he means it because even though they're nearly the same height Riker does have an inch or two on him, and he's faster so the odds aren't great for getting out of this.
He sighs. "Fine."
Which is how twenty minutes later he finds himself sitting around a table at Waffle House with the rest of his family. Because everyone knows the best comfort food is drowned in syrup. It's just a fact.
"Sweetie, don't be upset with your brother. We've all been worried about you." His mother says gently. "We just want to help."
"And I appreciate it. But I'm okay." He insists yet again.
Ryland rolls his eyes. "Yeah, we've heard. Let's skip the denial phase though and get to the real issue here. Your show starts in like five hours."
"Ryland!" his mother scolds. "Quit being insensitive!"
"We know it's about Laura, bubbie." Rydel speaks up kindly. "And prom."
"It's completely understandable that you'd want to go with her. You're best friends, after all, and you missed that milestone." His dad adds, causing his siblings and mom to all frown at him. "What?"
"You think he's upset because he didn't get to go to prom?" Rocky repeats, and his father nods.
"And because Laura is his best friend. Why wouldn't that bother him?"
Ratliff shakes his head and chuckles. (Because even though he isn't technically blood family, seriously, come on.) "You're so clueless, dad."
Mark looks around the table, confusion still shining on his face. "What?! Someone tell me what I'm apparently an idiot for missing!"
"He's in love with her, daddy." Rydel says patiently.
"What?" his father exclaims.
"WHAT?" He echoes, because seriously what the hell?
"Oh come on dude, it's so obvious." Ryland says, digging into his pancakes.
Riker nods. "Really obvious."
"Like Ricky Martin coming out of the closet obvious." Ratliff adds.
Ross just stares at them all for a minute in shock. How they even came up with this ridiculous idea is beyond him. It makes absolutely no sense at all. He isn't in love with Laura. He just thinks she's pretty is all. More like beautiful, actually. And funny. And quirky. And really smart. And one of the kindest people he knows. And incredibly talented. But of course he thinks all of that because she's his best friend. Why wouldn't he think those things about her?
Except maybe he thinks about her just slightly more often than a usual best friend. And it's possible that thinking about kissing your best friend on a regular basis isn't considered normal. Or missing her all the time and wanting to be with her 24/7 just to do stupid stuff to make her laugh, because you love her laugh and seeing her smile is the best thing ever and when you spend time together everything is just better-
Oh crap.
"So now that it's finally dawned on you," Rocky continues after a moment, "We can figure out a plan."
"A plan for what?" It's taking a second for his brain to regain function completely because holy crap he's in love with Laura when did that happen?
"To get you your girl!" Rydel exclaims excitedly. "Come on, keep up!"
His mom steps in quickly. "We're not going to do anything too extreme though, right guys? Because even though we love and support Ross-"
"And Laura!" Rydel adds.
"And Laura," She agrees. "This isn't our business. And the last thing we want is to force something too fast."
"Is it really forcing if they both want it to happen?" Rocky questions, making his mother frown.
"Not the point."
"We get it. We'll behave, mom." Ratliff promises, grinning in a way that is probably supposed to look innocent but in reality just comes off creepy.
Stormie eyes the group of kids suspiciously. "You promise?"
"We promise!" they all chime. But it's rather obvious that nobody at the table, including themselves, believes it.
[PAGE BREAK YAY]
He has no clue why he agreed to this. It's pretty much the worst plan ever to exist in the history of plans and he still has trouble understanding how his parents even agreed to it in the first place. Plus there's the small detail that it isn't going to work.
Yet somehow here he is, standing on her front porch dressed in a tux looking like a complete idiot while his entire family is waiting in the car down the street.
This is going to be a disaster.
He knows if he doesn't do something soon though that his brothers will start honking the horn and being obnoxious, so he gathers every last bit of courage possible and rings the bell.
She's stunning. As soon as the door opens Ross loses every train of thought in his mind because wow. She's beautiful. Her hair has the sides braided and pulled back with just a few pieces framing her face. The dress she has on is the perfect shade of lavender and it reminds him of something a Greek goddess would wear because it fits her perfectly in all the right places and drapes in others and holy crap he's never seen something so perfect in his life.
"Ross?" Laura doesn't even bother to hide her tone of shock. He can't exactly blame her, seeing as how she had no idea that he was coming. "What are you doing here? Why are you dressed up? I'm leaving soon for-"
"I know." He interrupts quickly. "I know. But I need to talk to you. Please." It doesn't even matter that he sounds pathetic right now. He doesn't care. She just needs to listen to him.
"I…" she sighs and then steps back. "Let's go on the back porch." And so he follows her inside, through the path he knows quite well of their living room and kitchen, blushing slightly as her parents grin from their place by the sink.
"I don't understand. What are you even doing here? Is everything okay? Did something happen?" Laura sits down on the swing, careful not to mess up her dress, and he slowly joins her.
"Everything's fine. Well it's not, but it is. I mean, nothing is wrong. Except for what's going on, but it's not important. It is though, but not like a national emergency. But it matters to me." He blabbers stupidly. "Crap, this isn't going right."
"Ross, what's going on?" she asks gently.
"I sort of… realized something recently." He says slowly. "And it's a big deal. But I'm scared to tell you because I don't want to freak you out."
Laura frowns, clearly not understanding. "Is it bad?"
"Not really. I mean, I don't think so. It's just…"
"Ross, just tell me." She begs. "Whatever it is, I promise we'll figure it out."
He takes a breath and then turns to face her. "It's like… you know that feeling you get when you perform and the audience starts to cheer louder than you ever imagined possible, and suddenly you're weightless and this feeling of just, like, complete joy washes over you? Like you're a superhero and nothing in the world can stop you because you're so freaking happy?" When she nods he can't help but shrug as he finally tells the truth. "I realized that feeling is nothing compared to how I feel when I'm with you."
Laura stares at him for a moment, her mouth wide open in shock without any sound coming out.
"Y-you-"
"I didn't mean to." He says quickly. "I mean, not that it would be a bad thing if I did mean to, but that sort of thing isn't really in anyone's control, you know? It just happens. And I know it might screw up our friendship if things go bad and I know it'll be harder at work and I know it'll be everywhere when the press gets a hold of it and I know it won't be easy. But I don't care. I just want to be happy and you make me happy and not being with you makes me a mess. And I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it and I realize now is like the worst possible time in the history of forever to tell you but the idea of not telling you and letting someone else take you to prom when it should be me was something I just couldn't let happen. Not without at least trying."
It takes another minute for Laura to respond.
"That's… a lot of words to process in thirty seconds." She says finally. "Ross, I don't know what to say."
"How about yes?" he offers timidly. She sighs.
"It's not that easy though. This isn't just about us. We have careers to think about and a show and-"
"I know. I know that." He promises. "And I know how lucky we are to have everything. But that doesn't mean we can't have this too. Yeah we're actors and artists and a label, but we're also still only seventeen years old. And I know it sounds completely crazy, and maybe it is, but I know it's not a mistake."
"But if it didn't work out-"
"I realize how many ways this could go wrong. But to be honest I don't care. I just want to be with you." He sighs. "Look, Laura, I'm not going to force anything on you. If you don't feel the same way just tell me. I'll leave and we can forget this ever happened. I just couldn't not try, you know?"
"You know for someone that graduated early you sure are dumb. It's a wonder I ever fell for you in the first place." She murmurs, causing his ears to perk up.
"Wait, does that mean you want to be with me too?"
Laura smiles. "Of course it does, you dork."
A grin of his own appears to match hers as they both lean in, but of course Laura pulls away just before their lips touch.
"Wait, you never explained why you're in a tux. That…matches my dress."
Oh right, that. Ross smiles sheepishly.
"I was wondering if maybe I could take you to prom?"
Her face lights up for only a millisecond before falling again.
"I would love that so much." She tells him. "But I already promised Simon I'd go with him. He's actually supposed to be here soon."
Ross looks at her with a gleam in his eye.
"What if I said I could take care of that?"
[PAGE BREAK YAY]
"Okay, everybody smile!"
"Laura, honey, look over here!"
"Simon, lower your arm just a little- there! Don't move!"
"Everyone say cheese!"
"No, say prom!"
"Oh, yeah! Prom is better! Everyone say prom!"
"I still can't believe you did this." Laura says quietly with a slight shake of her head. And to be honest, neither can he. It had been his sister and brothers plan though, he'd just been dragged along.
"I can't believe it actually worked."
"Ross, stop gripping so tight. It looks like you're trying to hurt her." His dad orders, and he dutifully loosens his hold on Laura's waist while the parents continue to snap away.
"It makes sense now though." Laura continues. "When my friends all said they had dates but wouldn't tell me who, I knew something was up. I just never would have guessed it'd be this."
"Well, Rydel doesn't like to do anything halfway." He says, making her nod.
"Clearly. Explain how this all happened again."
"Okay, now we're going to take individual shots of the couples!" His mother announces, allowing the group to break apart from where they've been huddled in front of Laura's house. Ross takes her hand and moves away from the group to tell his story.
"Well, Rydel looked up your friend Celeen's number online and called her to explain. After Celeen was on board, Rydel got Simon's number from her and called him. Then when he agreed Celeen called your other friends-"
"Beth and Ivy," Laura supplies with a nod.
"Right. Celeen called Beth and Ivy, and Rydel called your parents and set the whole thing up."
"That's insane." She says simply, and he shrugs.
"That's Rydel. It worked out though."
"Yeah." They both gaze out to where Rydel and Simon are posing for pictures in front of the house. Of course Rydel's plan had been not only for Ross to confess his feelings, but to switch everyone's dates around and somehow get the entire band to attend prom. Which was why Simon had shown up wearing a completely different color tie that matched Rydel's dress, Ratliff's girlfriend just happened to coincidentally be in town, and his brothers had shown up in tuxes to match the dresses of Celeen, Beth, and Ivy. Not to mention the fact that somehow seven extra prom tickets had magically shown up. What were the odds?
Nine hundred hours later the parents have finally finished taking pictures (alright, so it was thirty minutes)and they're allowed to leave. He steps into the limo that his entire family just happened to arrive in (because that's how everyone gets around these days, right?) and looks around at the group of people. Out of the corner of his eye he can see his mom and dad talking animatedly with the other parents still huddled in the yard, and suddenly he can't stop grinning. His family is crazy. Heck, his entire life is crazy. But he doesn't even care, because he truly has never been happier.
Laura nudges his ribs. "You okay?" she asks quietly.
"Yeah," he nods, the grin still locked on his face. "Yeah, I'm living the dream."
END.