Trish de la Rosa sat quietly in front of her computer at the desk in her bedroom. Her to-do list was a mile long. She had just started her managing business two months before, and things were starting to pick up now that the holidays were over. She had event coordinators to contact, venues to book, and musicians to inform and that was on top of the usual homework. But Trish was happy when she was busy. Although she had never imagined becoming a manager, it fit her talents perfectly. She was in her element organizing, telling people what to do, and working out glitches. Being a manager made her feel strong and ready to take on their world—it was the perfect job that she had never known existed.
As happy as she was with the job, Trish just couldn't focus on that Saturday afternoon. No, she wasn't tired. She had slept like a baby the night before. Maybe the lazy feeling was hitting her again. Tricia, get to work. Come on, get going now, she scolded herself. No, the light wasn't too bright, and the house was perfectly quiet with both her mom and JJ out for the afternoon. Maybe that was it—it was too quiet. Trish turned on her favorite internet radio station, but that didn't help—she just couldn't get focused.
It had been quite the busy holiday season. She had opened her managing business—starting with a bang by making a ton of great contacts at the WWMAs. She hadn't had much to do for her new clients over the holidays, but she had busy getting everything ready to go for the business. Austin and Ally had set off on tour the week after Thanksgiving. She hadn't gone along this time, but she had been busy managing things for them from Miami. Then, Jace had surprised her by coming for a week over Christmas. To her delight, he had loved her crazy extended family, and the feeling was mutual. Then, Dez had left for San Francisco the day after New Years. Trish had actually accompanied the Wades to the airport for Dez's departure.
Austin and Ally had wanted to be there to see Dez off, but Ally had had a show in New York that night. Team Austin had said their goodbyes before Austin and Ally left on tour. Trish had not felt right about someone from Team Austin not being there to see Dez off when being Austin's director had been such a big part of Dez's life. Trish had not been happy that it was she was the one who had to do it, but she was not the type of person who would not be there for a friend in need.
Dez had been beside himself with joy on the day of his departure. He was so unaware of what was going on around him that he had mindlessly placed his luggage precariously in the back of the family SUV. It was only Trish's quick reflexes that had saved him from getting smashed by a falling suitcase at the airport. Trish had laughed wondering how a guy who was in danger from falling suitcases would fair on his own. Dez had also failed to read the airline names at the check-in counter and had waited in the wrong line until Trish came and pointed out his mistake. He hadn't even really been waiting in line—he had been tap dancing in circles. Trish had been sure that the whole airport was watching them. On top of that, he had kept reminded them that it was the day that he would see Carrie—he hadn't used his quietest voice either. Trish had had enough of his craziness by that time that she thought she would be happy to see him go.
Dez had been so excited to go after he finished checking-in that he had gotten to the middle of the escalator to the second floor airport security before he realized he hadn't said goodbye to his family. It had been so cute to see him give his mom, dad, and sister big hugs. And then it had been her turn. Dez had given her a bone crushing hug so tight that had made her feel like she couldn't breathe for a minute. He had said, "Goodbye Trish", in the sappy tone that only he used. Then he let go and walked away. At that moment, she took back everything about being happy to see him go—he was just too sweet. "Goodbye, Dez", she had replied waving. He had turned and smiled and then hurried on his way. She had watched him walk away until his bright red hair faded into the distant crowd.
Trish smiled thinking back to the first day that she had seen Dez in Austin's room. Her first thought had been that he was a redhead, and she had caught herself staring at his bright hair. She had never had a redheaded friend before, and there weren't any in her large extended family either. She had just had to go out and touch him with her shocker finger. She had been amazed to find him impressed rather than mad at her gesture. Then, she had nailed him with the Austin Moon foam spitter with the same effect. He screamed this adorable little kid scream, but he wasn't mad at all. It was then that she knew that he was a guy who knew how to have fun. Time had only proven her right.
A few days later, she discovered that he could sing and dance. His dancing was so spectacular, and she had found herself so impressed that she let him teach her a routine to preform for Austin and Ally. They had had so much fun with that routine. His mad dancing skills had come in handy again at the prom dance competition. Trish had felt that they must beat Chuck and Sun-Hee, and they had won even though that he hadn't danced together in months. I guess we just know how to have fun together, Trish thought. Trish got up and turned on the song from their first dance and danced through the routine the best she could by herself. She couldn't help thinking about how much more fun it would be were Dez with her.
It was then that Trish realized that her Zaliens buddy was gone. Jace liked the franchise as well, but he couldn't fly in just to watch a movie with her. Dez was just as obsessed with Zalien's as she was, and he had fun ideas for getting involved with the fandom. He gotten them both Zaliens costumes that they had used to attend the convention and even make their own fan video. Trish felt sad just thinking about not being able to go to Zaliens 9 with him in the summer or the fact that the Saturday afternoons playing video games in his basement were over.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only side to their friendship. Somehow, the redhead had managed to get under her skin. Like Dez had told Trent, teasing was a big part of their relationship, but it was not all good natured. Trish felt sad now thinking about the insults she had made. She knew that her words had hurt him. But she couldn't really help it. Something about him—she had never been able to put her finger on it exactly—had made her feel really uncomfortable.
Looking back, she saw that she had attributed it to the fact that they were different. She was a determined and passionate Latina, and he was a crazy artistic redhead. It made sense that they would never be able to get along. However, Trish didn't have a problem with people who were different. She and Ally had been best friends since kindergarten, and they were as different as two people could be. Over the many long years of their friendship, they had discovered that the differences strengthened their friendship and helped them grow.
Trish thought back to the conversation that she and Dez had had one day while they were hanging out. He had confided in her her that he had faced a lot of bullying growing up. Kids had made fun of his red hair and had called him dummy. Austin had been the first one to look beyond this and see that Dez actually had something to offer. Trish had been shocked that someone so different from her had had such a similar experience. She had thought that it was only passionate, assertive little Latinas who had it rough. Dez had gone on to say that he had often struggled but support from Austin and his family that had helped him make it through. He had gone onto ask her if she had been bullied. Trish shuddered thinking about how she had responded to this confidence with an insult.
Thinking about that conversation made Trish realize what had bothered her about Dez—he was not afraid to talk about challenges and weaknesses. He shared with those he knew could help him, knowing that with their support he could become a stronger person through it all. Even his own mistakes could be learning experiences that could help him on his quest to be the best person he could be. He was willing to be vulnerable. This was diametrically opposite to how Trish liked to deal with things. She was strong and brave, and she wanted to not have any weaknesses, to not be vulnerable. She thought that if she acted in control and ready to take on the world she wouldn't be needy. When things happened that made her feel vulnerable, she quietly moved on and pretended it hadn't happened. But all the precautions didn't make the feelings go away—they just separated her from those who could help her most. Seeing Dez made her see all of the feelings that she didn't want to admit she had. She didn't want to feel needy and vulnerable, so she pushed him away.
But the truth was that as strong as she was, Trish had weaknesses, and she had to face them if she was going to make anything out of her life. She had learned that during the Sleeping Beauty rehearsals when she had faced horrific bullying. Trying to forget and act strong and brave had made her so stressed that she had quit school. Had she not returned to school, she would not be where she was now—starting her own business and succeeding in school. She knew that it was only with the help of Team Austin that she was able to face her fears and take charge of her life. But until now, she had never known much of it she owed to Dez. He had inspired her to face her fears and supported her as she did it. Through that experience, she had grown in ways she had never dreamed possible. Suddenly, Trish realized what was wrong. She was not only missing Dez—she needed Dez, his laughter, his sense of fun, his strength. She needed that special redhead, but he was gone.